Re: The Pirate's Fate - Comic Free Download [addons]
Melva Simons
Look, Oafers - I love Playmobil. You know this, I know this... DOGS know this. I. Love. Playmobil. In fact, my earliest toy memory was receiving the Playmobil Pirate Ship from Santa. Ever since I discovered there was a "Fun Park" (not quite a theme park and not quite a store) in Florida it has been an unattainable dream to go there. Fortunately I recently found myself but a stone's throw from West Palm Beach, FL, and, at last, made the pilgrimage. It has the fully stocked Company Store you would hope for but my dreams were fulfilled when I spied, along the back wall, bin upon bin upon bin of Add-On pieces, much like the Pick-a-Brick wall at Lego Stores. It is thus that I went nuts and loaded up. I present to thee, kind reader, the resultant spree.
Playmobil - Add-Ons: Bandit with Horse (7458)
Here is a trend for this week's Spoils - 2012 marks the relaunch of the Western Theme in Europe, meaning we'll get it early next year. Western is one third of my Playmo-Triumverate of collections and thus I am MORE than excited by this news, and thus many things purchased are meant to be added on to that impending expansion. Thus it is that I add yet another Bandit to my collection. In all honesty there is little new or special about this figure but were you devoid of a Bandit he'd fit that niche well. I was most drawn to the gold bag, the 'metal' case, the silver coins and the saddle. The latter is particular fun as it includes a tab at the back onto which a bedroll can be applied and, more cool-ly, has a rifle holster on the front right. So incredibly badass.
Playmobil - Add-Ons: Barn Fencing (6208)
Olde Timey fencing has never been easy for me to come by so I was pleased to get this bag. It's six lengths of wooden fence and three each of two kinds of base. One kind is wider, the other more narrow and with a peghole for some small foliage. This will work equally well for Knights or for Western, though the green base means it'll likely go to the former for me. My only complaint is that the fence sections don't actually interlink at the edges, so you have to rely on them being butted up against one another for it to look visually fine. A section with a gate would be nice too. It'd be great to see a yellow base version of this get added to better fit the Western theme.
Playmobil - Add-Ons: British Soldiers (6229)
These guys got added this year to go with the re-boot of Pirates and return the Brits, now in a different kind of red coat, as the foil to piracy. Since most of the sets have Soldiers but usually it's an officer and a soldier, this is a fairly essentially set to build out those ranks. You get three soldiers per bag (clearly I bought two) which come with three hats, three "feathers," three swords, three sword holders, three rifles and three bayonets - not bad! Best of all, and unlike (sadly) most of the armybuilder sets the bodies are identical so some simple hair swaps will help differentiate them up (though one dude has a mustache and another freckles). Skip on the Officer because you'll be getting at least one with any purchase of any set. This is the best of the armybuilder sets and while I'd prefer building up a Spanish armada, one I'd recommend and will probably get more off.
Playmobil - Add-Ons: Cannons (7335)
You can never have enough cannons. Especially coming off of the horrible short-changing from Lego on the Queen Anne's Revenge I felt compelled to buy two of these sets. Each set contains two full cannons, two plungers, twelve cannonballs plus a triangle and a square ball-holder. These are the U.S./Canada versions which are identical to the standard version of cannon minus one crucial bit - we get no springs in them. Thus, when you pull on the black plunger nothing happens and no ball is fired. Oh what terrible fun. The balls and plungers have four grooves on them that match the "+" guiderails in the cannon, but that just means they (especially the balls) look terribly inaccurate. Still though, a cannon is a cannon and more is always better than less!
Playmobil - Add-Ons: Classic Car (6240)
When I saw this get added to the catalog I was in lust. While I have the 1900 Victorian Mansion and several of the sets for it I never did get the car, but it looks absolutely stellar and is worth having even without any real place for it in your themes. The tires are rubber and I believe the seats are as well, perhaps a very hard rubber - they feel a bit softer than plastic. The front has a freely spinning Wind-Up crank, then of course we get a turnable steering wheel and neatest of all the shocks for the back two wheels are a separate silver piece so that it will actually do a little bit of bobbing (at least when the car is lifted by hand). The original release came in a cream color while this is a dark green which I think looks better. I believe it runs for about $17 and is just a stellar, stellar piece. A perfect execution of a cool car in the Playmobil style.
Playmobil - Add-Ons: 2 Cows with Calf (Black - 7892; Brown - 7079)
Cows! I need livestock for my themes! Originally I had got these for my Medieval village but now I'm thinking they'll be for the Cowboys. Each bag gets a Bull, a Cow and a Calf and they're available in white and brown or white and black. I got two of each. The coloring is a two-tone plastic affair which is part of the awesome Playmobil aesthetic. They're in the "new" style which I can't really make my mind up about. I think it's heightened realism better fits with the rest of the Playmobil "look" but I am still fairly attached to the old "chess piece" style of horses and cows. The Bulls have wider necks, which is cool, and the Cows get an udder that is cast in separate tan plastic. I quite like these, though honestly I wish there were a version that just offered three cows, as Bulls and Calvss I don't need as much of (perhaps in alternate colors like brown or black with whites spots!).
Playmobil - Add-Ons: Ghosts
The Playmobil Ghost is an absolute classic and this is a nice Gen 2. The adult uses much the same body paint as the Grim Reaper from Fi?ures Series 1 but gets the classic ghost sheet, a lantern and a plastic ball-and-chain. He is accompanied by a child ghost which is a repaint of a Halloween theme set from about a decade ago. The sheet is a nice piece with a bit of a point at the top, but the whole thing fits a little too tightly on the Klicky. The boy gets more green on him that I was expecting or would prefer and has Asian eyes - which seems like an conspicuous choice. Both sheets are glow-in-the-dark and are a bit too green in tint plus they don't seem to glow all that well, but I confess I only checked their powers tangentially.
Playmobil - Add-Ons: Green Dragon (7481)
Here we get a repaint of the Red Dragon from one of the Dragon Knight Castles. That was one of the many good-in-theory but not so great new themes. Better than Ghost Pirates it still lacks the reconfigurable perfection and pseudo realism of the classic Steck era. At any rate - this is probably my favorite Playmo-Dragon. Classic Dragon colors and a nice sculpt that fits well within the Playmo-aesthetic. You get effectively a T-crotch with ball-jointed wings, a vertically hinged head with hinged jaw and hinged "fire tongue." The fire actually works overall better than I expected it would and I'm pleased it's there. If I could change one thing, I'd add swivels to the biceps for better wing posing, but whats there is good enough. If you get one Playmo-Dragon, make it this one!
Playmobil - Add-Ons: Horse Shed (7917)
Much like fencing this is a great omni-theme piece that fits a very necessary niche, in fact I wish I had gotten a couple of these. It's a simple five piece construction and, interestingly, the thatch roof sits in place rather than snaps in place. It would be nice if it included a gate for keeping the horses in, but as is it's a fine shelter for the equestrian ilk, and indeed living stocks of all manner.
Playmobil - Add-Ons: Knights/Castle Treasure (7371)
Another thing one simply can not have enough of is treasure and thankfully this sets helps to right that. For pure decoration it's a little too pricey, but many of the pieces can be used as accessories since they are proper bits of armor and so on. In fact, this is a set worth getting duplicates of for most every piece is worth having as an accessory as well as treasure room clutter. In fact, the translucent jug and bottle I mean to move in to my Western Saloon, if I'm ever able to aquire one. Plus you get a Spaniard helmet, an Archer helmet and a Viking helmet and an assortment of crowns and scepters. Then, to round out the assortment of gold armor, there are a couple cups, bracelets, and necklaces plus a golden idol and magic lamp!
Playmobil - Add-Ons: Large Barrel (6218)
Oh my god have I coveted this beast. Ever since it's release I've yearned for this centerpiece of any Medieval tableau. Now, available for only $5, I've bought four and feel the compulsive urge to get more. The European Castle, the Medieval Inn, the Modern Wedding; Knights, Pirates, Western, it can all benefit from a giant barrel of ale. It comes in four parts, one being the base (complete with handles so it can be pallbearer-ed into place and tabs to keep the barrel upright), the main body and then identical heads for either end. It also includes three tan tabs and one spigot. There is a hole in the top of the barrel as well in either end, thus you can choose to have the whole thing plugged up, tapped or whatever have you. This is stellar and an awesome reminder of how great Playmobil is. Seriously, name me one other toyline that offers you a man-sized barrel of beer! Do it!!! You can not! Playmobil F.T.W.!!!
Playmobil - Add-Ons: Native American Chief
I hadn't looked at the new Western sets in a while before my visit so I couldn't rightly recall what all Indians we'll be getting so I decided to stock up on some necessaries - though there is definitely at least one Chief coming in the new line. This guy is very classic in his execution, in fact a bit too much so for my tastes. Basically a bit too 80s in color choice and deco. The feather on his spear and on his headdress and single, rubber pieces that fit into place surprisingly well for pieces designed and tooled in the mid '70s. He also gets a classic rifle and four or five black knives. Why? Cause he can, I suppose. It's a nice set but at this point more for the history than the play - just wait for the new sets.