16bit.com Figure of the Day Review: Playmobil School 4329 School Band

Main
Features
FOTD
Toy Fair 2023
SDCC 2023
Toy Fair 2020
NYCC 2019
SDCC 2019
Toy Fair 2019
SDCC 2018
Toy Fair 2018
HasCon 2017
SDCC 2017
Toy Fair 2017
SDCC 2016
Toy Fair 2016
SDCC 2015
Toy Fair 2015
SDCC 2014
C2E2 2014
Toy Fair 2014
SDCC 2013
C2E2 2013
Toy Fair 2013
SDCC 2012
C2E2 2012
Toy Fair 2012
NYCC 2011
SDCC 2011
Toy Fair 2011
Archives
Books
DVD
Music
Statues
Prop Replicas
Toys
Video Games
Credits
Contact

This site is part of Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Entertainment Earth affiliate programs. We may earn a commission when you click one of their links.

Playmobil School 4329 School Band Playmobil, 2008

Day #1,139: March 17, 2015

School 4329 School Band Not Creepy, I Swear Playmobil School Item No.: No. 4329 Manufacturer: Playmobil Includes: 4 figures, sticker sheet, maracas, xylophone, bongos, ukelele Action Feature: n/a Retail: $9.99 Availability: 2008 Other: Clearance
PREVIOUS	RSS	NEXT

I've had this one sitting, photographed in the box, in my photo gallery for about a year and a half. I found 4329 School Band at a Toys R Us on clearance in either 2012 or 2013, if memory serves it hit the $2-$4 or so price point. As an old man I have no reason to own this - but my long-suffering wife is amused by toy schools and I immediately gravitated to the bongos and the strange alien design on the yellow t-shirt. This was, in a word, neat - useless, but neat. Due to the hobo needing more accessories to futz with, this was not a hard purchase to make. It costs a lot more now, but dem's the breaks - those who fail to buy toys on clearance have to pay a hefty mark-up.

Each 2-inch figure is, like most Playmobil children, essentially a blank slate - the little blonde girl's hairstyle is similar to another figure I had as a kid back in 1984, but her strange Cheshire Cat meets Deadmau5 shirt seems like some freaky, drugged-out design that's completely wrong for little kids - so naturally, I want a life-size version. The same is true of the brown haired boy's shirt - I don't know what that freaky bug alien thing is all about, but I dig it. I'd wear that. Like the girl and the red-shirt boy figure, they have short sleeve shirts and articulated wrists. Rounding out the quartet is a black-haired girl in a strawberry shirt that says "Sweet" on it, which is cute and odd. I almost wish it had something strange like "SWEAT" on it just because it'd be funnier, but this is why they don't let me do design on toys for preschoolers.

The xylophone keys and bongo tops are stickers which are fairly easy and painless to apply, unlike stickers from other Rhode Island-based companies I could name that just don't fit every because they are clearly disdainful of children. (I'm talking about Hasbro.) The bongos are each two pieces of plastic you squeeze together, and everything else comes pre-assembled. I'm pretty sure the small guitar (or ukelele, I am not a musician) is a mold dating back to the 1980s if not earlier but it fits in his hand nicely and will work well for your eventual custom Playmobil Tiny Tim or Garfunkel & Oates toys. The maracas are neat, but dull, and the xylophone looks similar to toys sold in the USA. It's also sized for the smaller children. The bongos, on the other hand, are just the right size for adult figures. You could put these with your Sam with the Showing Scalp Flat Top figures, but it works just fine for these knee-high to a grasshopper children too.

Most Playmobil toys are charming and this one is no exception. There are no obvious flaws, no pieces that don't fit, nothing is broken and no accessories don't fit in the figure hands. The execution is simple and effective, which serves as a reminder that toys for children often yield more satisfying results than figures made for collectors. Granted, they're an elementary school band which is about as interesting as an elementary school band. The kids are great diorama fodder and the bongos are going to work well for your Wall of Voodoo custom figures, but in and of themselves this set is probably going to appeal mostly to people shorter than you are.

--Adam Pawlus

Additional Images

Click Here for 2014

Figure of the
Day 2015

January 2015

1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

February 2015

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

March 2015

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30 31

April 2015

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30

May 2015

1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31

June 2015

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30

July 2015

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30 31

August 2015

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

30 31

September 2015

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30

October 2015

1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

November 2015

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30

December 2015

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30 31

Click Here for 2016

16bit.com is best not viewed in Apple's Safari browser, we don't know why. All material on this site copyright their respective copyright holders. All materials appear hear for informative and entertainment purposes. 16bit.com is not to be held responsible for anything, ever. Photos taken by the 16bit.com staff. Site design, graphics, writing, and whatnot credited on the credits page. Be cool-- don't steal.
We know where you live and we'll break your friggin' legs.