The great "Special" series of Playmobil toys brought us a ton of wacky one-offs. We got a nun, robots, ghosts, pirates, and yes - ghost pirates. The Pizza Baker started as a one-off but a Pizzaria and a Delivery Car were made later - I've seen neither in person. Playmobil distribution in much of the USA is dreadful as many mom & pops dropped the brand and Toys R Us carries only a limited selection. (I get a lot of mine at Hobby Bench in Glendale, AZ.)
The figure, for four or five bucks, is a decent deal. The pizza man has a tanner skin than usual, and comes complete with the kind of facial hair you would expect from Mario and Luigi. He has the classic jagged hair piece and a swell hat with a unique "P" logo unique to this one-off eatery that doesn't actually exist. The icon is carried on the box as well, as is a brick oven which designates that the pizza costs more. What makes this one really nifty is that the hat could be reused for a number of food related jobs, and the arms have rolled-up sleeves so they won't catch fire when he shoves the long wooden platter in to get the pizza out.
Articulation is the usual 6 points and the figure is the standard 3-inches tall. No assembly is required of the figure other than his hat, but you're going to need to slap a label on the pizza, the pizza box, a can, and a jar. (The other can has no label.) Because it's Playmobil, all parts fit in a hand as one might expect. Well, except for the cans, those had holes in the bottom which can be gripped. These guys do a nice job.
The table reminds me a lot of the plastic things they used to put in pizzas (maybe still do) to prevent crushing and cave-ins where the cheese smashes in to the top of the box - it's quite fitting. It's undecorated and feels like the kind of cheapo tables you'd get at a big box store that can be hosed off. You've no doubt eaten off several. The two-piece pizza box requires a label slapped on top - don't sneeze - and comes apart in two pieces. The pizza itself is one piece with a sticker, and fits like a dream. A jar and can have labels you need to affix, but it's easy to do.
Regular specials run anywhere from $2-$4, so $5 for one with some furniture seems just fine. It's strange to have a cook without an oven or an environment to prepare his wares, but I guess that's where imagination is supposed to come in anyway. It's a fun figure and has a unique, distinctive outfit that you'll no doubt feel is somewhat familiar depending on where you got your pizzas growing up. I wouldn't go nuts to track it down - similar figures and parts are in larger sets - but it's fun enough if you spot it in a store for cheap.
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