Special Plus Action Figure
Item No.: No. 5294 Manufacturer:Playmobil Includes:Figure, table, model home, compass, blueprints, suitcase, helmet, drawing gear Action Feature:n/a Retail:$4.99 Availability:2013 Other:I can't believe this is real, either
I love Playmobil, but I'm not as crazed about it as I am some lines - I lapse from time to time, and then wander into a store and see things like the Architect just sitting there. What makes this toy line great is its mundane specificity - you don't just get something from the real world, you get something that seems like it got a little bit of research. Not always a lot of research - just a little bit. Figures like this pop up and sit cheaply for a few years, but as soon as supply evaporates you know they're going to be a pain in the neck to get as people realize a) they missed it and b) their mom/friend/dad/cousin the architect needs one.
As with other blind-bagged figures, assembly is required and it's simple. You know the drill.
The figure is a pretty great white collar middle-class dweeb. Glasses, short sleeve shirt, IKEA-colored tie, and a vest with a briefcase. This might be a 1950s IBM employee. His silver rimmed glasses look a bit like mine, actually, with a bright yellow hard hat reading "Construct" on it. I love this detail because it looks like it could be a licensed brand or logo, but it's just some thing they made up. It looks great. As always he has six points of articulation with nicely integrated wrists.
What makes a good set great? Accessories. A figure is a figure, and a building is a building - but with the right gear, you've got something special. This set includes a green "lawn" table, two drafting tools, a compass you've no doubt seen previously, a two-part model home, a two-piece briefcase that snaps together, and a superb tiny model home. You can tear the roof off that sucker. It's more than he would reasonably need, but it's also surprisingly complete and specific. This is a toy set that tells more than a bit of a story, although as a child I might not know what the heck all this stuff is for. I still don't know what the orange tools are called.
I'm greatly amused by the mundane - this seems like an item that should exist solely as a gift for up-and-coming architects. I can't imagine asking for this as a child, but as an adult this is a real charmer. Everything works together and it's goofy, so it is welcome here. Get one if hte price is right.
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