10/11/04

DOUBLE FARM EXCLUSIVE FOR IDEE+SPIEL

"Idee Und Spiel"-affiliated toy stores in Germany are offering two new exclusive Farm sets. The Farm (4066) itself seems familiar to the Farm Adventure Set (3909) from two years ago. The smaller Grazing Animals (4069) companion set completes the farm's livestock with cows, goats, pigs and sheep.
 

02/06/04

AUGUST 2004: PLAYMOBIL® CASTLES GO SYSTEM-X

Up to this point, the castles were amongst the last few PLAYMOBIL® buildings left that still used the old and popular Steck-System.

This fall, the Knights Castles will finally be pushed in to the System-X era as the entire Knights theme will undergo a mayor overhaul:  All of the currently available knights items will be replaced by brand new sets.  

For a first look at the most interesting developments amongst the 2004 PLAYMOBIL® novelties, head over to our Nürnberg Toy Fair Coverage.
 

02/05/04

30 YEARS OF PLAYMOBIL: CLASSIC WESTERN SET

While the 25th anniversary of PLAYMOBIL® went by without the release of any commemorative sets, it seems that this 30th birth year they intend tol make up for it with the release of this Western Classic Edition (4431) set.



More about this re-release of the once so successful PLAYMOBIL® Western theme in our Nürnberg Toy Fair Coverage.
 

02/04/04

END OF MAY 2004 : SPEEDSTAR RACEBOAT

And there's also a race going on in the water: for some reason, PLAYMOBIL®s traditional may action set most often contains a boat of some sort.

This year, the Speedstar Race Boat (3399) is to try its good fortune as the pre-summer action set. This newly designed race boat comes complete with a truck and a transportation trailer.
 

02/03/04

MAY 2004: OFF ROAD RACING ADVENTURE

An adventurous new racing theme takes us into the rough terrains of the North-African deserts. Just like in the famous Paris-Dakar desert rally, Racing Pilots put their Bikes, Jeeps and Trucks to the test while they chase through a treacherous desert landscape, filled with snakes, vultures and scorpions.


Don't get stuck in the sand. Be prepared and read all about desert racing in collectobil's Nürnberg Toy Fair Coverage.
 

02/02/04

MARCH 2004: POST OFFICE AND NEW SHOPS

This years' wave of springtime novelties starts with new city life themed sets centered around two nice new systemX city buildings: A multi-functional Post Office (4400) and a Bakery Shop (4410).

Filled with lots of surprising little details, the 8 new sets will be bringing further commercial activity into the PLAYMOBIL® city and will tie in nicely with the already existing supermarket sets.

Find out for yourself, in this years' edition of collectobils' Nürnberg Toy Fair Coverage.

 

11/16/03

'30 YEARS OF PLAYMOBIL®' EXHIBITION IN SPEYER

From November 30th until mid April next year, the Historical Museum in Speyer (Germany) will host an exhibition centered around the 30 year long history of PLAYMOBIL®.

The exhibition begins with some examples of the products that were made by Geobra Brandstätter in the decades that preceded the 'invention' of the PLAYMOBIL® toy system.
Next, the exhibition focuses on the way PLAYMOBIL® came into existence between 1971 and 1974, and then goes on to shows the many steps from initial idea right up to a finished PLAYMOBIL® product.

Besides shedding light on the history of PLAYMOBIL®, the exhibition also examines the influence on Popular Culture through works of art and even showcases some fan-creations... And above all, there is room to take part in the PLAYMOBIL® experience in several play areas. 
 

10/12/03

2004 ADVENT CALENDAR PRE-RELEASE FOR VEDES

VEDES affiliates in Germany are continuing their traditional Advent Calendar pre-release action. Next year's new Advent Calendar "Christmas Living room" (3950) is being offered at VEDES for 12.99 EUR. 

 

10/05/03

EXCLUSIVE APARTMENT WITH INTERIOR LIGHTING

Karstadt/Quelle offers a small furnished Apartment (4062) - complete with an interior lighting system which previously was only available through PLAYMOBIL®s Direct Service.

 

09/28/03

UPDATED BATTLE TOWER RETURNS AS EXCLUSIVE

The Baron's Battle Tower (3665) was discontinued at the beginning of this year. An updated version of that set - the Battle Tower & Hideout (4063) - is now being offered to affiliates of the 'Spiel und Spass' buying group in Germany.


And more good news for fans of the Knights theme: TOYS'RUS stores in Germany will get the Knights Castle (5725) as this years' Christmas season action set. The Knights Castle - initially intended to be sold exclusively in the US Mass Markets - hereby makes its European debut.
 

09/21/03

THE PLAYMOBIL® CIRCUS IS BACK IN TOWN.

Kaufhof stores in Germany will soon offer an  exclusive Wild Animal Act (4061) that brings back part of the discontinued PLAYMOBIL® ROMANI circus.
 

09/18/03

EXCLUSIVE 'GLÜCKS-PONYHOF' FOR IDEE+SPIEL

After being off the market for over 2 years, the old Steck-System Pony Stable (3775) is brought back as an exclusive PLAYMOBIL® action set produced for the Idee+Spiel stores in Germany.

 

09/15/03

NEW FALL CATALOG & JANUARY 2004 SUPERSETS.

Although the new fall catalog was originally scheduled to be available with the release of the zoo/animal park last month, it has finally arrived in stores this week together with Noah's Arc. Since mid august, the catalog was however candidly available at the fun park in Zirndorf. therefore, it's content - and especially it's new products for the first months of 2004 - may not be a surprise to some.

Apart from the Dinosaur Expedition sets, the catalog also introduces 4 new supersets - scheduled for a German release towards the end of January 2004 - and the usual 6 new February 2004 winter specials.
 

	3134  Flower Garden Superset 3135  Seal Pool Superset 3136  Crime Scene Superset 3137  Knights' Ambush Superset

The catalog has two nice booklets worked into the cover, containing both a dinosaur comic strip and a step-by-step look at how a PLAYMOBIL® set makes it from initial idea into a finished PLAYMOBIL® product.   

09/06/02

SPECIAL SERIES GOING INTO ITS 10TH YEAR.

These 6 new winter specials scheduled for February 2004 will mark the tenth anniversary of the 'PLAYMOBIL® special' series. Since the series was launched in February 1994, the special series has seen over 120 figures added to its collection.   

'All good things come to those who wait...' The popular New York Fire Fighter that was a much hyped exclusive at TOYS R US in  the US last year, now becomes part of the general PLAYMOBIL® assortment as the US Fire Fighter (4621) special. Some other interesting uniforms are worn by the Confederate Soldier (4622) and the Crusader (4625).

08/30/03

JANUARY 2004: 'DINOSAURS ON ICE'.

Hans Beck - the now retired creator of PLAYMOBIL® - once mentioned in an interview the three things that he never thought possible within the PLAYMOBIL® universe: a PLAYMOBIL® jumbo jet, alien figures and... short-lived trends like dinosaurs. A decade later, we have already seen the aliens and airline jets being introduced into the PLAYMOBIL® assortment.

So it was only a matter of time before the PLAYMOBIL® Dinosaurs would pop up... In January 2004, the new Dinosaur Expedition theme will send out its researchers to the North Pole to discover dinosaur skeletons and even a few living specimens buried in the ice... The expedition team and its equipment are spread out over 6 new PLAYMOBIL® sets:

	3170  Dinosaur Discovery 3184  Skeleton Excavation Site 3191  Dinosaur Transport 3192  Hovercraft 3193  Dinosaur Egg 3194  Polar Researcher

 

07/31/03

PLAYMOBIL® COLLECTOR BOOK IN THE WORKS.

A collector book listing the full PLAYMOBIL® product range from the last 30 years is finally in the works. A previous attempt to create such a book stranded a few years ago, but with the growing interest in old and new PLAYMOBIL® sets and the upcoming 30th birthday next year, the time seems perfect for this kind of book project.

The book will be a licensed product from Geobra and publisher Fantasia Verlag. The book will be edited by freelance publicist Axel Hennel, who has created several successful collector catalogs before.

When asked about the format of the book, Axel Hennel revealed:
"All the sets will be shown in full color and in chronological order, to illustrate the "evolution" of the toys and the box designs. At the end of the catalogue will be an index, sorted by product number. So technically everybody should be able to find what he or she is looking for."

The aim is to list some 2000 PLAYMOBIL® products, of which 1500 have already been researched and photographed. For the remaining sets - especially the export and foreign license products - Axel is counting on the help of the online collector community. To join the effort to complete the first official collector book about PLAYMOBIL®, check out this thread over at the playmoboard discussion board.