Preschool Week :: Poison Ivy Playmobil Custom Figure

Wrapping up Preschool Week is a closer look at my custom Playmobil Poison Ivy figure. This is one of my simplest kitbash customs, because Playmobil released a Lady GaGa inspired Fi?ure which was pretty much all there in terms of the perfect Poison Ivy costume. Better still, the Lady GaGa head was the one with the domino mask, so I had to have it anyways so that head could be used for Harley. I merely had to give this body a more basic head and properly colored hair and, along with a flower headband: voila! Playmobil Pamela Isley.

The crossbow came later, when I found a bunch of Playmobil knights and weapons etc at a garage sale. And the lily came from the Hula Girl from Series 4. It looks unassuming, but I'm sure it's a poisonous mutation. Don't sniff it!

Well that does it for Preschool Week. Time to stop all this childish nonsense and grow up to play with toys meant for the 6-12 age bracket! What are you all, a bunch of babies?!?!

Preschool Week :: Playmobil Catwoman Custom Figure

I've added a couple parts to my Playmobil Catwoman custom figure since first putting her together. Namely the gloves and the bandanna mask. Since there's no official Playmobil part that can effectively represent cat ears (that I am aware of at least), I am going with the more basic 'cat burglar' representation of the character. This is Selina Kyle out stealing stuff, plain and simple. She even has a bag of ill-gotten goods in her clutches!

I'm positive they make a Playmobil whip, so I should really track one of those down. It would complete the look, at least until I can get her some cat ears! I've also toyed (hahaha get it? Toy humor!) with the idea of losing the domino masked head and just going with one that would allow her eyes to show, but Catwoman has always kept most of her face hidden so I think I like her this way better. I do have some Playmobil sunglasses, but they don't work with any of the short female dark hair pieces I have.

I've clearly given this figure WAY too much thought!

Preschool Week :: Playmobil Harley Quinn - Again

I've modified and adjusted my Playmobil Harley Quinn multiple times. I've had her in a cheerleader themed get-up, a western themed get-up, a dark haired version reminiscent of Harley in mourning at the end of Arkham City, and many more. I've used geisha heads, (an effective white, but without a domino mask) a Lady GaGa head (domino mask, but skin tone and not white faced) and even a zombie like head (it glows!) The custom possibilities for my Playmobil Harley have been endless!

Right now I've settled on this version, with more red parts added in order to contrast the blacks in her clothes. Nowhere near her classic costume, but some may argue it's better than her current comicbook look.

The Playmobil Fi?ures series 6 lineup has a girl in a fifties style red dress with white polka dots - I'd like to pick one of those up to give Harley a fancy dress; you know, for church and classy murdering and stuff. But since those darn Fi?ures are so hard to come by (I still haven't seen series five anywhere) I'll be content with what I've got and if I find one I find one. No big. And hey, at least she has a mallet! I found that in a pile of Playmobil stuff I found at a garage sale. I would have never imagined such a thing even existed, so it was pretty lucky I found it in the mix. I would expect that Playmobil has made a sledge hammer at some point, but an oversized wooden mallet? Who knew?!?!

Preschool Week :: Imaginext Catwoman by Fisher-Price

Imaginext Catwoman. The one that started it all - at least as far as female DC Universe characters go. Catwoman was made right before Imaginext shifted their designs from sculpted heads to featureless heads (except for noses) and painted on faces. If she came out today, you can bet her lips would be painted on. One wonders if the goggles would have been painted on too?

Honestly, some red lips would really enhance Catwoman's face, which is sort of bland as it is; but if it would have meant losing the sculpted goggles, then I am much happier with this version.

Pre-School Week :: Playmobil Cowgirl Harley Quinn

'I'm your Huckle-Harley'

Preschool Week continues with another custom Playmobil Harley Quinn!

I spent some time this past weekend playing around with my Playmobil parts (hahaha dirty!) and came up with this Western Harley Quinn. For no real reason other than I had this spiffy Playmobil cowboy hat.

'Yeah, Harley Quinn. The roughest, toughest, he-man stuffest hombre who ever crossed the Rio Grande... And I don't mean Mahatma Gandhi!'

The head piece doesn't provide the best representation of Harley Quinn's face - although the eye color and the black around the eyes works, the blue lips detract a bit. it would be better if they were black or perhaps red, but since the extent of my Playmobil customs are simply kitbashes, it works for me. Bonus: it glows in the dark!

Preschool Week :: Imaginext Poison Ivy and Scarecrow by Fisher Price

Another theme week!

This week, we look at a bunch of toys intended for toddlers! So stick your thumb in your mouth or your finger in your nose and take a nap or throw a tantrum and don't eat your peas and be in bed by seven, because Preschool Week begins NOW!

Only the fourth female character to have made it to the DC Super Heroes Imaginext toyline line-up (behind Catwoman, Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn) - I present to you the chlorophyll cutie herself: Poison Ivy.

The detail on Poison Ivy is incredible. Her bodice and shoes are sculpted with all sorts of little details that could have been ignored in the design phase. Fisher-Price could have just given her a flat green oufit and called it a day. Her hair is nicely sculpted too, and the little plant details painted on her help her stand out as something more than just a green skinned gal. Of note: her arms are also much skinnier than the previous female Imaginext figures. It makes sense in a way because Ivy is not wearing sleeves/gloves like Catwoman or Harley, but I hope it doesn't mean female Imaginext figures are going to have a different body type moving forward. The line has lasted so long there are already design changes that make them a bit inconsistent when put together as a group (for instance, the previous sculpted faces vs. the latest painted-on faces.) And with the about-once-a-year female character releases Fisher Price seems to be keeping to, there will be massive design differences by the time we even get a handful of gals in our DC Imaginext collections!

Although Imaginext has been going strong for many years now, it's hard to believe Poison Ivy is only the fourth female character from the DC Comics line-up to make an appearance. More surprising, all three Batman themed females that they have made are villains! Sure, they made Wonder Woman, but considering other such no-brainers as Batgirl and Supergirl have yet to make the Imaginext roster of female characters, Poison Ivy is a welcome addition indeed, but does leave one wondering what goes on behind closed doors at the Fisher-Price offices!

Actually, as odd as it sounds, I honestly believe the primary gauge used for Batman themed character selection are the Arkham video games of recent years. Crazy, because this toyline is aimed at a fanbase much younger than that of the video games, but it makes sense considering that the Arkham video games have introduced Batman and his rogue gallery to a much larger audience than the comics and movies alone. It also makes sense because these toys are aimed at a young audience not familiar with the archaic mediums of entertainment their parents grew up enjoying. Like, basically, anything that doesn't have a screen!

When you consider the Arkham video games as a template for the Imaginext toyline, it makes sense to have Harley Quinn, Catwoman and Poison Ivy, who all make prominent appearances in the games and not, say, Batgirl, who does not appear in the video games (okay, she appears as Barbara Gordon/Oracle, but that is different, especially for the non-comicbook geek.)

Anyways, that's my theory, and I am sure there are many other factors that play into Fisher-Price's character selection. But I think my theory is pretty solid, and may also be reinforced by the character Poison Ivy is packed with: Scarecrow!

Scarecrow also plays an important part in the Arkham series, and is apparently lined up to play an even bigger part in the upcoming Arkham Knight game set for release later this year.

Scarecrow is incredibly detailed, you can tell a lot of love and attention went into his design. He even has a noose sculpted around his neck - or at least a rope with a knot in it - I'd love to talk to the designers and hear if they are ever asked to tone their designs down or if they are given any specific 'no-nos' when making these kiddy toys.

Scarecrow comes with a scythe that I do not believe has made a previous appearance anywhere in the Imaginext toyline, and Poison Ivy comes with a vine that seems designed to hook on other Imaginext figures' necks or heads or whatever.

Fun for the whole family!