knights

If there’s one great thing about collecting Playmobil over collecting other figural toys, it’s that any given wave of Playmobil figures is usually easy to find, and they’re usually a delightful surprise, just hangin’ out on the shelf near the Lego and a cheaper (but still satisfying) alternative.

In the world of collecting action figures, it’s always talk about series of figures being impossible to find, having quality control issues, the cost of the secondary market, the rising costs, testing for toxins… but with Playmobil, none of that is a concern. And it’s a breath of fresh, plasticy air to have a toy collection that isn’t in some way a ‘concern’.

At a cost of roughly $3 for a pack of two figures, and $5 for a small pack with accessories, new Playmobil sets appeared this week, and I was happy to snatch a few up for my collection. Their broad historical, social and fictional references are generic enough to appeal to mostly anyone who has an interest in…. anything. So this month, I snagged some vaguely Lord of the Rings elven Knights, some evil Dragon Knights, and some awesome Vikings. You know, out of respect for my heritage – though if I were truly going to respect my viking heritage, I would have stolen them, kicked over the display and walked out with an attractive shopgirl and a hearty shank of roasted meat.

For the moment, I passed on the Asian pirates, an evil knight on horseback, and the traditional pirates (if only to have something to look forward to next time), though I DID pick up the $3 Fireman and Policeman 2-pack for my mom. She was eyeing it so admiringly, and knowing how small toys pick me up emotionally, I couldn’t resist. I think that the motivation to share is at the core of the best collections.

For the low cost of $15, I assembled these six warriors, four swords, four different shields, four different helmets, and a whole bunch of bows and quivers of arrows. As a side note, the unadorned, beardfaced vikings can easily double for any number of unkempt indie rockers. The Dragon Knights, of course, would fit well into an elaborate heavy metal performance.

The online Playmobil shop reveals such a vast array of warriors and characters, as well as accessory packs at wonderfully inexpensive prices, that I can barely restrain myself from adding onto my collection exponentially with mushroom hat faeries, cowboys, and magicians. Many of the items there are made exclusively for online distribution, and will never see a traditional store shelf, and come polybagged instead of boxed.

If you’re interested in building up castles and scenery, elven Knights and the Dragon Knights also come in larger packs with dragons and rockfaces for about $15 – $20. Playmobil creates a lot of cheap acreage with their large, exciting playsets, even if you’re just looking for scenery for other displays.

With the prices that Lego minifigures often resell for, especially figures that come exclusively in large sets, the easy availability of Playmobil figures is an excellent surrogate – and Playmobil has still avoided selling out to any licensed properties, keeping their brand completely pure. Spongebob Lego are neat, but I can’t help but wonder if it dilutes the brand.

This upcoming April promises a whole line of ‘Nautical Expeditions‘, which includes all manner of sea creatures, a deep sea diver, and some submarine equipment. I still cherish my retro Deep Sea Diver in his aqualung and shark-fightin’ knife, so I’d love to have a modern counterpart. And the ghosts? Works of genius. And did I mention that they were inexpensive?

So, this month’s Playmobil releases are true winners, and during financially pressing times and pay cuts at work, it’s nice to walk out of a store with a little bit of something guiltless.

My son’s first grade teacher informed the parents yesterday that she’ll be teaching our six and seven year olds how to play chess this year. I would never have thought to teach chess to a child that young, but apparently she does it every year and the kids love it. I myself have never become a proficient player, but I’ll give it another go this year so I can play with the little guy, and that will give me an excuse to get one of those beautiful chess sets that I’m always admiring in stores but never buy.

There is some disagreement about the origins of the modern version of the game of chess – some say it came from India while others believe that China was the birthplace of chess. The game spread into Persia and on to the Arab world and during the middle ages was brought by tradesmen and invaders to Europe, where it quickly became popular among the nobility and upper classes and developed into the game we know today. Medieval Europeans gave the pieces names and shapes of familiar characters of their time – knights, bishops, kings and queens. The standard shapes that are used today were developed in 1849.

While chess sets with horses representing the knights and crowns representing kings and queens are perhaps the most well-known, there are all sorts of sets available for those who love chess, and collectors love searching out a new and different set. There are sets with elaborately carved kings and queens and sets that depict figures from actual wars and battles, such as the Civil War or Battle of Hastings. There are sets designed for children with friendly characters from familiar cartoons like Scooby Doo or famous movies like Star Wars. There are even chess sets made from materials like jade or pewter – the choices are endless!