Playmobil Roman Boat and Microsets
by Mr. Stinkhead

[Ed note:Each review is immediately followed by it's gallery of pics, instead of grouping them all at the end.]

Back in the fall I hit up the Playmobil Fun Park in Orlando. They get all the German sets 11 months earlier than the rest of the country, so I stocked up. When the Princess of Power saw that I was getting more playmobil romans, she exclaimed "This is madness!" I replied with THIS - IS - PLAYMOBIL.

Sorry. I had to get that out. I just saw the movie 300 this weekend and it's all I can think about.

In August, this roman galley joins the fleet of rescue, pirate, viking, and speed boats that actually float in water, but look great rolling across your carpet. I love the sail and the embellishments at the front and rear. The oars coming out the sides are terrific, and the shields flanking the sides can be popped off for battle. There is a mounted crossbow, like the one that comes with the Roman tent, and a compartment that can store the treasure they're probably returning home.

It's a handsome looking boat, it's looks great up on the shelf, but it has some sweet play value. If you were a little kid and wanted to stage a hostile takeover on your living room floor, this would be pretty satisfying. The mounted crossbow can pivot, the oars shift up and down, and there are wheels so it will sail effortlessly over hardwood. (Need I say there is a notch for attaching the underwater motor?) There are subtle plastic rings protruding from the deck that allow you to stand most playmobil figures. There's a nice hooded "throne" type seat for the captain or visiting dignitary to ride in the shade. If this is a diplomatic mission, where is the ambassador?

Lot's a plusses, but I do want to mention a few disappointments. Overall, I love this boat, I think it looks great, but I had expected the oars to move up and down with the movement of the boat, or move in a greater distance. They only go up and down just a little bit, that you don't know if it's in the up or down position until you switch it. Again, my imagination gets the better of me. I do like the fact that rigging the sail with the little threads was easier than with the pirate ship.

I'm pleased with the figures you get with this set. When they're not tending to the rigging, they can be hanging out in the bleachers of my Colosseum. I found it interesting you get almost one of each type of helmet found in this Roman series. You get an appropriate number of figures (any more and the ship will be crowded), and a slew of accessories.

Overall, this is a little pricey at $50, but it looks fantastic and should be received as a valued addition to the collector, or little kid getting their grubby hands on it.

You can skip below these pics and check out the Microsets.

Microsets

Here's something weird but welcomed... it's playmobil for your playmobil. In attempting to recreate the aspects of my life down to every single detail, I noticed that one major aspect was missing for my playmo-counterpart. He had no playmobil for him to collect. That's just not fair! And playmobil agreed. This April they are introducing the playmobil microsets in the US. Four popular playsets get the micro treatment, shrunk down to scale with the playmobil-as-human-sized world, and magnetized so they don't get lost. The dioramas close up into a carrying case to further prevent playmobil loss. These sets are designed for collectors and households that do not have children that put everything in their mouth.

Noah's Ark
I know a lot of folks that like the story/theme of Noah's Ark, but couldn't put down the $80 or so to get the actual set. This is a perfect alternative. You get a handful of animals-in-pairs, Noah and his wife, the Ark (with removable top and ramp), and quickly disappearing dry land. The set is magnetic so it's easy to set up your little display, without the tiny pieces falling over or getting lost. They could get lost, but if you're reasonably careful, they'll stay stuck to the magnetic base.

The best part is that the ramp is removable, so you could stage the important boarding of the animals before the flood, or remove the ramp and set 'er out to sea, and relive the 40 days and 40 nights trapped aboard a floating litter box.

I think the playmobil designers may have been snoozing when they included two male lions. I understand that it's a cost investment issue, but maybe they could have played with the paint? I dunno. I don't think your typical six year old will throw down this set in disgust and refuse to play with it because of that. Eight years old maybe, but definitely not six.

Besides the lions, you get two elephants, camels, rhinos, zebras, and giraffes. These molds are 100% new, they've never made playmobil this scale previously. You also get a boy and girl, and they come with a bucket and a stick.

Skip to the next review.

Fairytale Princess Castle
I bought this for our friend Bobbi at Raving Toy Maniac, but I felt I should photograph it first. (I'm generous, and I'm not... so sue me).

This is a close replica of the intricate Fairy Tale Princess castle that has been popular with playmo-enthusiasts for years. Here you get the castle, a king and queen, bride and groom (prince and princess?) some dignitaries, a mounted knight, an ornate fountain, and the wedding carriage. You get a very lucky girl playmobil child, and the unluckiest playmobil boy in the entire playmobil universe. I don't think that even the starving prisoners in the Pirates tower envy this poor guy. But in another light, now you too can display the age-honored tradition of building up an unattainable fantasy life in the mind and heart of a young girl, in miniature!

Skip to the next review.

King's Castle
I have portions of the King's Castle. I have lots of knights, lots of walls and the attack tower. I have absolutely no room to set that all up. I actually have no room to set up the Roman Colosseum, but somehow it's on display right now. Anyway, having this micro King's Castle finally allows me to actualize my fantasy world where my opinion actually matters to anyone. I recently posted pictures of my desk showing that another "King" has moved in.

With this set you get the castle, a dragon, a handful of knights (both on and off horses) a playmobil girl, and a playmobil boy with helmet, wooden sword and shield.

Skip to the next review.

Pirate Ship
I recently received the English version of the 30 year history of playmobil, Playmobil: The Story of a Smile. On the last page there is a blurb about a certain US graphic designer that used the playmobil pirate ship to propose to his wife. (It's me). Anyway, it's nice to have a scale model of the playmobil pirate ship so that perhaps I can reenact that famous proposal for our anniversary in the future. If I was any kind of husband, I would have done it by now, right? Ha ha. I think this set has a lot of play value as well. You have the boat you can stick figures on, and the fortified coastline to shoot back. You can have all kinds of battles in miniature, right there in this little playmobil sized world.

I loved these sets, and I'd love to see playmobil continue and make the Colosseum in miniature, and perhaps the hospital or construction equipment. The vikings or dinosaurs would be great as well.

We love playmobil at MillionairePlayboy.com, check out our review of the centerpiece of this entire Roman collection, the Colosseum! And then check out the rest of our playmobil coverage

All images and article ©2007 MillionairePlayboy.com.

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