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Very welcome. Today we are going to talk about the dolls with U-shaped hands, hair with fringes, straight cut legs and that have been a hit since the 80s: who hasn't played with a Playmobil?
The cool thing about this toy is the possibility of building up a collection with various scenarios and themes. You can give your child a different kit for every birthday, Children's Day and Christmas, and over the years they will have a whole city to play with.
In this article, we will talk about the various Playmobil themes, with tips on how to choose the ideal one for your child according to age and tastes, and give you some suggestions on what are the best models available on the market.
Contents
The most important facts
- All Playmobil dolls and scenery are made with non-toxic material and paint and approved by Inmetro. This toy is suitable for children from four years old, but there is a line for minors (from 18 months).
- There are almost 30 Playmobil themes, the most popular are: City Life, Sports and Action, Family Fun and History. Other themes are inspired by movies like Dragons and Ghostbusters.
- The toys can be bought in boxes with sceneries, vehicles and characters or in individual mini figures. On the brand's official website, children can also play online games and read comic books with the characters.
The Best Playmobile: Our Picks
Buying Guide
Playmobil toys have been around for 45 years and every year a new collection is launched, keeping up with the evolution of children and coming up with more and more modern accessories, characters and scenery.
The coolest thing is that this toy is not exclusive for boys or girls, because children of both sexes and ages can play with Playmobil sets.
What is Playmobil and where to use it?
Playmobil sets and minifigures fit into this style of toy that stimulates the child's mental abilities. Although it's not a toy with interlocking parts, children can assemble scenarios and create their own adventures.
Because it is themed, the toy can also serve to teach history to your child. The History Playmobil, for example, can be used to tell your child about wars in the Middle Ages, battles in the Roman Empire, pharaohs and mummies of ancient Egypt and much more.
The coolest thing about Playmobil is that children can play various roles and also try to recreate their own world in miniature, with kits about their favourite places or the profession of their parents and family members.
Children from one and a half years of age can play with Playmobil's 1.2.3 range, which has simpler and larger pieces with different themes. Children from four years old onwards can enjoy all the other lines.
What are the most common Playmobil themes?
1.2.3
This is the simplest theme, with toys designed for children over 18 months. The pieces are bigger and not very detailed. The minifigures and the sceneries are a general overview of most of the themes.
Sand
The toys in this line are made for playing in the sand at the beach or at the playground. There is a sand bucket, truck, excavator, water truck, among others.
Dinos (dinosaurs)
This theme explores the most popular dinosaurs like T-Rex, Velociraptor, Plesiosauria, Stegosaurus, Triceratop, among others. The minifigures of this theme always have vehicles to capture or run away from the dinosaurs.
City Action
With City Action, children can play at being a fireman for a day, drive an armoured vehicle, work on building a building or be a policeman.
City Life
City Life kits explore common establishments in big cities such as a shopping mall, children's hospital, zoo, wedding dress shop, school, modern homes and more.
Action
With this theme, your child can play with an Eskimo family, climb mountains like a mountain climber, ride a high-speed car or motocross bike, be a cyclist or mountain rescue.
Family Fun
this is one of the most fun lines as it has a ski resort, aquarium, jet ski, paddle boat, family picnic, water park, beach and lots of other family fun activities.
Space
With this theme, kids can launch their minifigure into space, pilot a spaceship, a reconnaissance vehicle, have a research station on mars, fight a meteor shower, have their own robot and lots more.
History
With the History kits, children can take a trip to the Middle Ages with legendary knights, discover Egypt and its legends, be a gladiator or a Roman soldier.
Knights
With Playmobil Knights your child will live playful adventures like building the dwarves' fortress, escaping from the attack of a ferocious dragon, facing ghosts (equipped with LED lights), being a knight, king or queen, or even fighting trolls.
Wild Life
With the Wild Life theme, kids can go on safari in Africa and meet wild animals, live in a tree house, float down a wild river and even save one animal of each species to board Noah's Ark.
Country
Playmobil Country lets you play with farm animals like cattle, chickens, ponies, calves and goats, drive a logging truck, plow the land and more.
Pirates
With this version, the child will play at being a pirate, fight soldiers, sail in unknown waters, attack ships to plunder treasures, launch cannons, plan their routes with the map of the seven seas, among other adventures.
Princess / Fairies
These themes are quite similar, with them the child can live the magical world of princesses and fairies, have a castle, a unicorn and more.
Dollhouse
With the pieces of the Dollhouse line, children can build a house for their dolls, with the main rooms such as bedroom, kitchen, living room, bathroom and more.
Besides the themes we have detailed, you can find Playmobil with specific themes: from the movies Spirit (Runaway Rider), Ghostbuster (Ghostbusters) and Dragons (How to train your dragon).
Playmobil or Lego?
Although they have the proposal and some very similar characteristics, Playmobil is very different from Lego and you will know why in the table below:
| Playmobil | Lego | |
|---|---|---|
| The toy | It is a toy to assemble and disassemble scenarios to build stories | It consists of little blocks of fitting together to assemble characters, scenarios and vehicles |
| Differences | The toy is fitted every time in the same way | The toy can be assembled in different ways |
| For what age is the toy recommended | Children from one year and a half | Children from one year and a half |
| Themes | Playmobil has 24 options of different themes | Lego also has 24 options of different themes |
| Prices | From GBP$ 8 to GBP$ 194 | From GBP$ 4 to GBP$ 388 |
How much does it cost?
Buying criteria: Factors to compare the different Playmobil models
If you want to choose a Playmobil toy for your child, but are a little unsure which one to buy (after all, there are dozens of options), check out the tips we've prepared in this last section of the Buying Guide. Please observe the following criteria:
- Themes
- Age Recommendation
- Mini-figure or suitcase?
- Extra resources
Themes
One of the most important features to note when buying a Playmobil is which theme you will choose. There are 24 main themes, but within each there are several options. The most popular are City Life, City Action, Family Fun, History and Country.
Although the Playmobil is a toy for children of both genders, there are some options that are more popular with girls such as the Princess, Fairies and Dollhouse themes.
Age recommendation
As with any toy, Playmobil's suitcases and minifigures come with a minimum and maximum allowed age recommendation. Most models are intended for children between the ages of 4 and 12.
There is also a specific line for children from one and a half years of age, called 1.2.3. This line has larger toys with less detail, so that there is no risk of the child swallowing any piece.
Mini figure or suitcase?
Playmobil kits usually come with a scenario, several small pieces that the child can assemble according to his/her preferences and the mini figures.
If you want you can buy separate mini figures, they are a little cheaper than the kits and you can find them according to the theme. There are mini figures of all themes.
Extra Features
Playmobil dolls are very modern, besides the mobility of the hands, today you can choose a model with a boat that floats, cars that emit sounds and lights, dolls that throw water and much more.
The Playmobil Central Polar expedition, for example, has LED lamps in the research station and cannons that launch bombs. The underwater vision boat is floatable and has a transparent floor with a magnifying lens so that the child can see the little fish (also floatable) in the water.
The Playmobil aquarium has a tank that you can fill with real water to put the little fish and other sea animals to float.
(Featured image source: Jackmac34 / Pixabay)
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