Playmobil Romans

This is the first in a series of Playmobil posts. I don't want anyone to think the security screening playset in the previous post is typical for Playmobil. As you can see, Playmobil makes action figures, usually based around a particular theme such as Romans, knights, vikings, construction workers, and pirates. The people are almost 3" high, the body can bend or sit, the head can turn, and the arms and legs have a limited range of motion as well. Hands can grasp items like swords, torches, steering wheels, etc. The action figures encourage imaginative play. the fact that they are not based on any movie or television show means that the world is wide open.

One of the best parts of Playmobil action figures are the amount of detail included in the clothing, weapons, and other accessories that come with each figure. Parts are interchangeable with other sets too, so making a viking/policeman or a knight/zookeeper is possible, in fact, making silly characters is a lot of fun.

Another great aspect of Playmobil is that while there are a few large sets that you can buy (like the Colosseum above) most of the figures can be bought separately usually for less than $10. Cole has a Playmobil pirate ship that we have continued to buy him additional figures for stocking stuffers and occasional treats.

There is one other possibility for play, while the figures are far from realistic, the wealth and detail of accessories and settings make them attractive to people interested in taking diorama pictures and stop motion movies. This would obviously involve the participation of an adult, but just imagine how rewarding it would be for your child to come up with a plot and dialogue, and to control the cinematography and editing of a short movie.

One thing to be aware of, there are lots (and I mean LOTS) of small pieces with these toys. In the picture of the roman senator, the grapes, goblet, laurel crown, fire brazier, column, scroll, and table are all separate pieces that can potentially be scattered. This is an important consideration if you have a baby in the house or have a vacuum cleaner on it's last legs.

Playmobil successfully encourages imaginative play and comes in a range of prices, they are definitely worth purchasing.

Playmobil Roman Warriors at amazon.com
Playmobil Roman Senator at amazon.com
Playmobil Roman Arena at amazon.com
Playmobil at ebay.com

Related posts: Playmobil Oddities and Battlestar Galactica Action Figures