The German answer to Lego never stops — here are ten more weird Playmobil sets for your consideration.
Sunburnt swimmer: he has real UV light-induced red skin action! Maybe the Baywatch-ready guy on a beach quad can offer some sun safety tips.
Napoleon: Do you think Lego would bring the monarchy back to France?
Pregnant woman and baby: There is a grand, albeit small and sometimes controversial tradition of pregnant doll. But this set appears to get around the question of post-pregnancy by just having two figures, one with a stomach, the other without. No points for realism.
Playmobil prison escape and the excellently named “Starter Pack Bank Robbery.”
Playmobil knows that kids might want to play dramatic criminal escape, but they also might want to play unshaven man in a bar playing darts?
I would already love the Playmobil Angel and Devil set even if it wasn’t mysteriously released under their “History” collection.
Perhaps I should make an entire Playmobil list of just “world’s most boringly specific careers” sets. Being a glazier is probably a lot more interesting than I am imagining, but I still have no idea how a child might play with it. Perhaps they could have the glazier carefully carrying the glass sheet across the street in front of a car chase.
In my day, even Lego didn’t have many branded sets — we had to make our own Star Wars Lego! — much less Playmobil. The latter is still not at Lego level, but there’s a lot of cross-promotion. The set with the smallest possible number of eager fans might be the Monster High/Playmobil figures. Playmobil is sort of timelessly uncool (complimentary) and though Monster High certainly has some adult fans still, it had its peak in the early to mid 2000s. But don’t worry, these Monster High students are also cheerleaders, for some reason.
(On a side note, I object to the existence of new Playmobil American football player sets. I want both Playmobil and Lego keep being slightly European if possible.)
Physical therapy at the orthopedic doctor’s office or an MRI machine complete with headphones to block out their very loud sounds are the kind of relatable medical content that I would have enjoyed, and surely some kids will.
Playmobil always shines with that level of detail. But then they get hilariously anodyne with sets like this chic-looking figure (apparently a “stylist”?) ironing a dress for a party. Even the detail involved in “man with bathtub,” however, elevates the weirdly banal set. There’s something about that sort of set that never would have thrilled child me in itself, yet would be weirdly satisfying. If you don’t have the “small version of a thing, yes, good” receptor in your brain, perhaps it cannot be explained. .
