The History of Playmobil

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Growing up, I only stumbled across Playmobil figures a couple of times. They seemed so old and dated. It wasn't until I got older that I appreciated the wonderfully mid-century modern design of this magnificent toy line. These days, I absolutely love Playmobil. I appreciate what it brought to the toy table at the time and even today. In this episode, we'll be taking a look at Playmobil's history from its beginnings to what it's currently releasing as of this recording. Playmobil always gets the shaft and is constantly being compared to Lego when both are different animals altogether. The Danish Lego began in 1949 with bricks from 1958 still being able to interlock with modern bricks. The German Playmobil began in 1974 with the play sets, vehicles, and accessories always being compatible. Lego's first minifigure was introduced in 1978. Playmobil always had figures since its beginning in 1974. Uh oh. For those who think Playmobil ripped off Lego, one could say it went the other way around now, couldn't they? Let's go to the very beginning of Brand Stotter. "It was found in 1876, they produced casket ornamental fittings and locks. Between then and 1921, they were producing metal toys and switched to plastics in 1954. They made plastic toys such as the multi-worker playset. Going back a bit, around 1940, a ten-ish year old boy by the name of Hans Beck was making little cars, trucks, dolls, and furniture for the dolls so that his nine siblings could have something to play with. After World War II, a teenage Hans Beck worked as a cabinet maker and also began making lightweight airplanes as a hobby. In 1958, Mr. Beck presented Geo Bra Bronstotter with one of his model planes and was recruited from 20 other candidates to work for Geo Bra Bronstotter. In 1971, the company was looking for a new toy to be developed. Mr. Beck developed a new toy line for three-year-olds. If you haven't figured it out by now, Mr. Beck is considered the father of Playmobil. He researched what was on the market and noticed that only ten soldiers that were made since the 1800s were available. So, he made the figures under three inches and allowed them to have articulation at the head, arms, and legs. This would allow children more room for imagination. I would put the little figures in their hands, without saying anything about what they were. They accepted them right away. They invented little scenarios for them, and they never grew tired of playing with them. Geo Bra Bronstotter wasn't too keen on the idea, but allowed Mr. Beck to continue development. The 1973 oil crisis increased the price of plastics. It was time to look at Mr. Beck's product and they made the figures with interchangeable small parts out of the expensive materials and offered a high value product. The figures themselves are called Clicky. The prototype for the Clicky had rounded hair, which eventually became a peg for hats, helmets, and other headgear to be attached. In 1974, the first three Playmobil sets included Castle, Construction, and at the time, Indians or Native Americans. Oof. The Clicky were patented as "Figure with Open Bottom". They are made from seven pieces: hair, head, torso, two arms, skeleton, and legs. Geo Bra Bronstotter showed these sets in their display room, but visitors weren't impressed. They then displayed the sets in the 1974 International Toy Fair in Nuremberg. A Dutch firm took interest in Playmobil and ordered an entire year's worth of product. By the end of the year, Geo Bra made 3 million Deutschmarks or about 5 million USD in 2021. In 1975, Playmobil was sold in other parts of the world. I got the Deluxe sets for Castle, Construction, and Native Americans. Oof. Since my boxes are in English, I'm going to assume that they aren't from 1974. I love these early sets. And yes, there are differences with these old Clicky and the current classic ones. The 1970's Clicky have hair that is a little on the translucent side. It feels softer than the hard plastic used on the bodies. It can also scratch much easier. There are two hairstyles. Boys and girls, who were introduced in 1976. The earliest Clicky had their faces painted, but soon after, most of the heads were made of three parts. Hair, face, and head. The eyes and mouth are made from a brown plastic. I guess you could say that it's the skull. [00:07:33] Speaker ?: You could say that it's the actual place. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. 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[00:08:22] Speaker ?: You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. [00:08:45] Speaker 1: You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. [00:08:58] Speaker ?: You could say it's the skull. [00:08:59] Speaker 1: You could say it's the skull. 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You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. [00:11:14] Speaker ?: You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. You could say it's the skull. [00:11:31] Speaker 1: In the 2010s, Playmobil collaborated with Funko to make 6 inch clicky from different franchises which boosted their visibility to collectors. Afterwards, Playmobil Ghostbusters made its debut with 5 sets. In 2011, Playmobil began to make blind bag figures. This was similar to Lego. They had been making blind bag figures since the previous year. The bags included a chest, legs, inner working parts, head, headpiece and accessories to go with the theme of your figure. These blind bags would expand the figures from the Playmobil movie in 2019 and Scooby Doo in 2020. In 2019, French CGI animation company Method Animation or Method Animation Studios or Norman Studios or On Studios or On Kids and Family or Media One Animation and DMG Entertainment produced the Playmobil movie. The Playmobil movie was a complete bomb and as always, it was consistently being compared to the Lego movie. As stated earlier, the Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Playmobil movie was a complete bomb and as always, it was consistently being compared to the Lego movie. As stated earlier, the Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. 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The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. [00:14:31] Speaker ?: The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. [00:14:44] Speaker 1: The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. The Lego movie was a complete bomb. 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