Playmobil 70183 1.2.3 Fisherman with Boat, Fun Imaginative Role-Play, PlaySets Suitable for Children Ages 1.5+

Product Information

Beginning with the Dutch market, Playmobil started to market a whole host of figures, from medieval knights, to Native Americans, and construction workers. It took a little time, but children started to fall in love with the toys, for their mixture of positivity and realism. Taking a completely different approach, Playmobil Country includes an array of rural-themed characters, as well as cottages, farming equipment, farm animals, and much more. And the Playmobil Crystal Palace range has a wonderful fairy tale theme that little princesses will adore. When I build something, I’m not too concerned about having the most secure connections. As long as it looks good on display, it’s good enough for me. And this is also what I would expect from most fan-designed models. However, if LEGO is going to put their name on a model, I expect to see the strong fundamentals they incorporate in nearly every set they sell. Unfortunately, this model has issues. Playmobil's major competitor is Lego, but the two brands aren't really in the same category. While Lego's offerings are all about creativity and engineering, Playmobil's sets come fully formed, with much less practical work required to get them up and running. The Playmobil Hospital – Playmobil actually offers a couple of hospital models for buyers to choose from, and both will be great for girls and boys who are interested in the medical profession. The Large Hospital has the most features, with wards, an operating theatre, waiting rooms, ambulances, and the staff needed to keep things running. The Furnished Children's Hospital is a great companion piece, with special wards for children and features like interactive operating table lights.

I think my biggest issue with the set is that it appears that it was only built digitally and never with actual LEGO pieces. Of course, I don’t know for sure if this was the case, but it definitely felt like that through a number of instances as I was building the model.However, there is one important exception to this age rating. Recently, Playmobil has launched a collection called 1-2-3, which caters for children under the age of 4. It features colourful, safe toys, with chunky designs that aren't based around small parts or jagged edges. If your toddler is into Vtech or Fisher Price toys, it could be a nice way to transition to more grown-up toys. The Playmobil Castle – Also known as the Hawk Knight's Castle, this kit has a hefty price tag (even more than the Pirate Ship), but it justifies it, with secret trapdoors and staircases, workable draw-bridges, cannons, swords, bows and arrows, and plenty of space in the secure dungeon. It's a great starting point for a Dragon collection, or just an army of standard Playmobil Knights.

It's worth noting here that Playmobil have come up with a special Playmobil: the Movie collection, featuring scenes from the film. So, if your kids adore the storyline and want to relive it for themselves, it's a good collection to browse. But the section that almost ended this build for me was the front-most side. On one end, it uses two clips to continue the wrap. On the other end, you have to thread an angled axle into a connector without seeing and without breaking the other side of the boat. In my attempts, I managed to disconnect the support that was supposed to anchor the side down. There are only four studs so it didn’t have a great grip.I want to be clear; I’m not at all upset with the fan designer of this project. After all, they created a model that looked good in pictures, and they got it this far with strong fan support and votes. Ultimately, I believe LEGO failed the fan designers and didn’t support them in a meaningful way. Instead, fan designers were expected to magically know what goes into a professionally designed LEGO set.