Playmobil Knights 6004 Ogre

I spotted this brand new Playmobil Ogre set during my last trip to Toys R Us and had to snap a couple pictures of it. I won't be getting it myself (unless I get my hands on the Ogre for cheap someday) - the set was selling for $26.99 at my local Toys R Us (it can probably be found for around 20-25 elsewhere) and it's a bit outside my collecting focus (hahahaha 'focus', that's a good one!) - but it's incredibly awesome and I couldn't pass up the chance to let my fellow toy geeks know about it.

The Playmobil Knights sub-theme has a few Dragons, and the Fairy sub-theme has Unicorns and perhaps Pegasuses (Pegasi?) but this is the first time to my knowledge Playmobil has made an oversized humanoid mythical creature. It may be completely anecdotal, but I swear I read once that Playmobil would only make toys of 'real' or historical people and animals. Like firemen and farmers and giraffes and knights and elephants and dogs and stuff. I suppose any variation on the human figure could also be considered 'real' as anyone can dress up as anything, so even a fairy or a ghost was ok because it was always easily explained as just a real person dressed up as a fairy or a ghost. I think I read about this when Playmobil first started making dinosaurs and dinosaur themed playsets - there was some trepidation about doing so, because although they are real and historical, they are not something that humans ever interacted with (and that was a big theme for the dinosaur sets). But they were real once, so it was ok...I guess.

I don't know what changed, perhaps the death of the founder of Playmobil in 2009, but Playmobil has slowly been expanding their repertoire with more and more mythical creatures over the past few years, culminating in this awesome Ogre. Man, I really want this thing now! If anyone out there does have him, send me some pics and I'll post them for the world to see!

Playmobil Catwoman 2.0

Until the official unofficial Playmobil Catwoman comes out in Fi?ures Series 9 I have to be content with my custom Playmobil Catwoman creations. But never content, I had to update my Catwoman from her previous version to this new version upon obtaining a few new pieces I borrowed from the Fi?ures Series 8 burgler.

I changed out her hair with a piece which (along with her legs) came from Aeon Flux. Her torso is from Lara Croft, and her head is the same as the one that came with the burgler (although this one came from a previous release - some sort of space superhero somesuch. I don't remember, but I try to nab domino masked Playmobil headed figures whenever I can for my Harley Quinn customs, which is why I nabbed this one) and I gave her the burgler's jacket and bag of stolen goods/robber tools. I also gave her the lasso from a recent Cowgirl to emulate her whip. Not sure which random figure the arms or gloves come from, but who can keep track anyways?

Although I still haven't solved the riddle of how to give her cat-ears, I haven't really given it much effort either. I'm sure construction paper or something like that would work just fine if I tried. As it stands, she's a solid kitbash custom, and with the addition of the official Catwoman mask when it's released along with Series 9 (painted black of course) she'll be phenomenal!

Playmobil Fi?ures Series 8 Gladiatrix

I found a box of Playmobil Fi?ures Series 8 at my local Toys R Us - a historically unreliable Playmobil source - and was able to squeeze (there is no 'code' or secret way to decipher what's inside) my way to the one figure I truly wanted: The Gladiatrix (or possibly Amazonian Warrior):

I would have originally argued that she's a Gladiatrix, but now that I have her in hand I have to lean more towards Amazonian Warrior. She just comes across as more of a seasoned battle veteran than an indentured fighter. But honestly she could go either way. She comes with that massive shield (I am pretty sure she's holding it correctly, that is how she's shown holding it in the packaging insert.) the style of which I have never seen in Playmobil form. Any weapons experts out there care to educate us as to this shield style's origins?

She also comes with a long sword and her Roman style helmet which reminds me of Marvin the Martian. Isn't that delightful, hmmm?

And in case things get real ugly, she comes with a dagger holstered to the back of her loin cloth.

Everything about this Amazonian Warrior is awesome - especially her tattoo and angry expression. This is not a woman you want to mess with!

Happy Independence Day, America!

Happy Independence Day for Americans everywhere from Toyriffic and the Playmobil Fi?ures Series 3 Statue of Liberty and Series 1 Uncle Sam.

Playmobil 'Catwoman' Coming Soon!

Playmobil just released an official image of their upcoming blind bagged Fi?ures Series 9 Catwoman (and friend!)

Of course they don't officially call this gal Catwoman (Playmobil doesn't give official names to most of their figures anyways) but we're not blind and or stupid.

Even if her costume is mostly red.

Well, apparently Playmobil's lawyers had to draw the line somewhere.

Regardless, it's about time Playmobil started getting into the superhero game, even if it's not official. I'd love to see more masks from them in the future.

According to their Facebook page, Playmobil Fi?ures Series 9 is expected in stores this month. That must be for the non US overseas market however, because I don't think we've even seen series 8 in the US yet.

Playmobil Fi?ures Series 10 and 11 Revealed and...izzat you, Harley Quinn?!?!?!

UPDATE: These Playmobil Series 10 and 11 Fi?ures are customs and NOT actual upcoming Playmobil releases.

Ok so it's an official Playmobil Harlequin...but I have to believe Harley Quinn served as inspiration for this upcoming Playmobil blind bagged Fi?ure!

Toyriffic reader Dmitry sent a link to this image which appears to show the upcoming Playmobil Fi?ures Series 10 and 11. It looks real enough to me, and since the Harlequin is part of Series 11 I hope and pray it is because I need like fifty of them!

Let's take a closer look at the blind bagged F?ures offerings coming in 2016 from Playmobil:

Due for release (in Europe at least) February 2016:
Playmobil Fi?ures Series 10 'Boys:'

Wizard
Spy? Secret Service Agent?
Indiana Jones
Pharaoh
Plumber
Grave Digger? Slash from Guns and Roses?
Racecar Driver or probably Dirt Bike Rider
Apple Farmer
Gamer
Matador
Tin Man from Wizard of Oz
Mime

Lots of great klickys in this wave. Tin Man is a must-have. And note: the whitefaced grinning mime could easily be customized into a Joker with the addition of green hair!

Playmobil Fi?ures Series 10 'Girls:'

Princess
Prisoner
Pizza Chef
Aztec Goddess
Business Woman? Author?
Boogie Boarder
Amazon Warrior
Chef
Water Girl
Princess (Snow White perhaps?)
Girl getting ready for bedtime
Medusa!

Yeah, I have to have Medusa. Multiples in fact. That hairpiece and snake body will be great for use on a Medusa army of klickys!

Due for release (in Europe at least) August 2016:
Playmobil Fi?ures Series 11 'Boys:'

Saxophone Player
Lumberjack
Hipster
Sherlock Holmes (modern?)
Prospector
Policeman
Jockey
Arabian Warrior
Safari Hunter
Crash Test Dummy
Skier
Hip Hop Kid

Note the green hair on the Hip-Hop kid - perfect for your Series 10 Mime to turn him into The Joker! I think I want the Crash Test Dummy for sure.

Playmobil Fi?ures Series 11 'Girls:'

Princess
Scientist
80s Girl
Fancy Lady
Businesswoman
Boxer
Painter
HARLEQUIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunbather
Lady Gangster
Viking
Fairy

Yeah, ok, I will simply have to own fifty Harley Quinns (I mean Harlequins) for Harley Quinn customs. I will of course also have to have at least one that I don't alter one single bit because she is a pretty awesome klicky in her own right.

Release dates are clearly for Europe, and usually the US is a few months behind. It's going to be a loooong wait, but some of these Fi?ures (Harlequin!!!) look to be worth it!

Playmobil Housewife Harley Quinn :: Harley Qwednesday

"Time for walksies, baby!"

It may not be politically correct to call this simple custom Playmobil figure 'Housewife Harley' but I think it's funny, and I'm pretty sure Harley would appreciate the irony. 'Fifties Harley' also comes to mind but it doesn't carry the same weight. I can totally see Harley trying (and failing) to fetishize the 'domestic goddess' concept in order to impress Joker and this figure really captures that vibe.

It's taken me quite some time, but I finally got the polkadot dressed Playmobil Fi?ures Series 6 figure thanks to Alex at ShesFantastic.com. Ever since my local Playmobil resource, a neat little educational toy store, closed it's doors, I have not had half the luck I used to in getting the Fi?ures I want and need for my collection. Sadface!

Housewife Harley is the simplest of customs, just add Series 1 Geisha head and voila! (Not so) Fun Fact: I've now officially run out of Series 1 Geisha heads. More sadface! I can of course pop these figures apart and back together at a whim, but I'm pretty proud of Hip-Hop Harley, Officer Harley and now Housewife Harley, so my next concept is going to have to be pretty darn clever for me to take any of those gals apart!

Although the clothes are completely different, this is definitely the vibe I am going for with this version of Harley Quinn.

I do have two Playmobil Hyena (Bud and Lou, natch) but I only have one Playmobil leash. So for now Harley will just have to take them for a walk one at a time.

Playmobil Fi?ures Series 6 Evil Sorceress (Maleficent)

A few months back Ed of AEIOU and Sometimes Why and I made a trade, and one of the things I got from him is the Playmobil Maleficent (unofficial) Fi?ure from Series 6!

She's a fun evil witch/sorceress regardless of what the Disney lawyers say!

As is sometimes the case, Playmobil has given Maleficent (not her real name) an official Playmobil basic face and a...well...a face only someone who payed $20 to a streetwalker could love. GAH! It's terrible. But fortunately for all of us Maleficent(not Maleficent)'s standard Playmobil face is sufficient to get the point across as to who this figure is supposed to be/inspired by (totally NOT Maleficent!)

Playmobil Blackbeard's Ghost

This is a pretty light custom. Basically I just gave this ghost pirate a sweet beard to make him into Blackbeard's ghost.

Playmobil makes the wackiest stuff. Get a load of that beard with little bows in it. How cool is that?

As if everything about this guy wasn't cool enough, he also glows in the dark. Aw yeah Playmobil!

Playmobil Wolverine

When I found a set of Playmobil mutton chops in my Playmobil acquisitions, my first thought was of course 'I need to make a Playmobile Wolverine!'

Or at least an unmasked Wolverine aka Logan.

So I did, and it was cool, but THEN I learned that Playmobil actually makes Wolverine claws!!!

I think they are supposed to be a ninja or samurai accessory...but WOLVERINE CLAWS!!!!

So I got my hands on some and now I have an unmasked Wolverine Playmobil figure - with claws.

"I'm the best at what I do, and what I do is provide hours of imaginative playtime fun for the under-ten set."

SNIKT!

Of course I had to do an unmasked Logan, since there's nothing in the Playmobil repertoire that even resembles a Wolverine mask, but I tried to mix together clothing colors reminiscent of Wolverine's costume colors as best I could.

If I had the wherewithal, I would 3D print custom superhero masks and other accessories for Playmobil figures. I'm surprised no one is doing so already.

Imaginext and Playmobil: Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together.

If you are a fan of Imaginext and a fan of Playmobil you may have discovered that some of the figures and accessories are compatible. It is particularly fun to match Imaginext figures with Playmobil accessories, as Playmobil makes some very serious, real-world weapons and accessories:

Killer Croc is definitely the Bowie Knife type.

And what is Scarecrow without a crow?

I picked this guy up from the flea market a couple weeks ago. I know he comes from one of the knight themed sets, but I don't know if he has an official name. He is certainly inspired by Masters of the Universe - he reminds me a lot of the Snake Men, and he even has fur shorts over his brown pants. Anyways, I gave him a battle-axe and a viking shield that resembled his slithery mug.

You can also see Penguin in the background, who has a laser gun of some sort.

And finally Gill Man or The Creature from the Black Lagoon - I gave him a Playmobil trident, which looks a bit more serious and realistic than the one he came with.

These pics were taken while my intern and I played with some of our Playmobil and Imaginext figures. At first it was Monsters vs. Superheroes and Princesses, but eventually everyone decided to just be friends.

Playmobil Warrior Nun and Battle Angel

Playmobil's blind bagged 'Fi?ures' series ship to my area incredibly inconsistently. It can be frustrating when there is one specific figure I want for a custom, but can never find because the shelves are either bare or full of a different wave, or the wave I need has been skipped over entirely by the lone location I can find them nowadays.

But sometimes that lack of exactly what I want leads to innovation. Case in point, this Playmobil custom I cobbled together inspired by that incredibly ridiculous nineties comic creation: Warrior Nun Areala.

One of the figures in the Playmobil Fi?ures Series 7 blind bags is a Nun. I don't care if you are a religious person or not: you've got to hand it to Playmobil for making a Nun! Including a Nun in their blind bagged series is the perfect blending of 'ok, that makes sense' and 'wtf!' that Playmobil is famous for. I promise you LEGO will never make a Nun minifigure!

Regardless, I didn't really need a Nun, but I figured since it had been so long since I had copped a feel on the Playmobil blind bags that I might as well see if I can find one. Because: Nun. If nothing else I could stick a geisha head on her to make Sister Mary Harley of the Eternal Order of Chaos or something.

Then I got her home and it dawned on me: Warrior Nun! I have plenty of Knight components in my Playmobil bag, so a Warrior Nun is a unique and easy custom to cobble together. I added some armored Knight legs, a couple wrist guards reminiscent of Areala's leather and metal gloves, a sword, a belt/scabbard, and a chainmail headpiece. Then I gave her a sweet sword and a mean shield (which still needs a cross decal or painted on or something.)

THEN I remembered the Playmobil Angel from Series 4 that I picked up a few months back. Every good Knight needs a Squire, right?

Battle Angel! I just gave the Angel figure a helmet, a different hairpiece (she's a ginger now, so she's probably an angel of Nordic lineage. Also if she's a ginger and an angel perhaps gingers do have souls after all, but don't take my word for it. I'm no theologian.), a wooden shield and a brutal battle axe.

"We came to kick ass and sing hymnals, and we're all out of hymnals."

Although there are still many Playmobil figures I am searching for (and may never find due to the poor local distribution) I am very glad I decided to hunt down the Nun figure. Warrior Nun is one of my proudest Playmobil customs thus far. The concept is so utterly ridiculous, and the dichotomy of the concept in Playmobil form just makes me smile!

Oh yeah, and Battle Angel is cool too!

Playmobil Golden Age Sandman

Golden Age Sandman Playmobil custom. The Mrs. brought home a couple Playmobil figures from the thrift store the other day, and as luck would have it one was wearing a gas mask! As soon as I saw the gas mask I started digging into the bag of random Playmobil accessories and figures I have (wait, you don't have a bag full of miscellaneous Playmobil parts and accessories? I thought everyone did!) to cobble together a reasonable likeness of Wesley Dodds's classic comic book alter ego.

I will eventually need to find a Playmobil figure in all green or a green suit. And a purple cape. But until then this pirate body and red cape closely represent the gaudy colors of the Sandman. Or maybe I can find a more subdued suit in brown and a brown cape, and make him more 'real world' looking. I also need some sort of gas-gun but have yet to come up with anything acceptable from my bag of parts.

This is actually ver. 1.5 of my Sandman Custom. The first version I put together used black and red parts and, while a cool looking version of The Sandman, he is based on no particular appearance of the character in the comics:

Either way, The Sandman is a great Golden Age character and I'm glad to finally be able to make him in Playmobil form, no matter how many versions it takes to get him just right!

Playmobil Fi?ures Series 6 (and 7) Coming Soon!

As of this posting, I still haven't seen Playmobil's blind bagged Fi?ures Series 5 in stores. But in some parts of the world Series 6 is just around the corner!

According to Playmobil's Facebook page, Series 6 is scheduled to hit outside the US in February 2014. Series 6 is scheduled to hit the US March 2014, but I wouldn't expect to see these in the US until mid year at the earliest, while Series 7 is scheduled to be released in the US August 2014.

Check out the lineup for Series 6 below, and Series 7 at the bottom of the page!

Fairy.

Gladiator.

Cowboy.

Alien.

Karate Guy.

Surfing Santa. For real. Check out the reindeer on the surfboard!

Secret Agent.

Pirate.

Highlander, perhaps? I like this one.

Construction worker.

Guy in pajamas brushing his teeth. What?

Baywatch dude.

Aladdin? Persian Prince?

Queen.

Koala and zookeeper/jungle adventurer.

Gymnast.

Maleficent? Great idea, but the face is a little weird.

Princess.

Police woman.

Retro chick.

Another Queen or Princess.

Hiker.

Asian lady.

Cleopatra.

That's the entire Playmobil Fi?ures Series 6 line-up. Not very exciting, to be honest, although I could go for one or two of them. I like the Highlander, and the gal in the polkadot dress would work well for my custom Harley Quinn Playmobil figure.

And thanks to Dex of AEIOU and Sometimes Why, here's a pic of the entire Series 7 lineup:

For the boys, it looks like:
King, Chef, Clown, Scuba Diver, Skateboarder, Roman Legionnaire, Fencer, Space Cadet, Gangster, Robin Hood, King Neptune, and a Cameraman.

For the girls:
Queen, Cowgirl, Snake Charmer, Ice Cream Gal, Fitness Girl, Hippie, Fairy, Nun, Indian Princess?, Girl with Puppy, Horse Rider, and Miner?

I don't know if all of those titles are accurate, some are hard to see, but Series 7 does look to have more must-haves than Series 6 for me!

I'll be sure to update this post when I finally see these in stores, whether I buy any or not!

Pics courtesy of Playmobil Collector's Club.