I've always been fascinated by Playmobil. It combines the simplistic joy of imagination toys with some of the most horrifying concepts known to man. Sure the pirate ghosts can be attributed to the pirate fantasy line, although the gladiator arena with gladiators carrying tridents and swords is less cheery. But it's the Playmobil toys that fall under the theme of "the real world" which are the most odd, showcasing the real world horrors alongside the stuff we normally show to kids on children's television. Which is why you get playsets for hazmat clean up or police snipers alongside the doctors and veterinarians. It makes you wonder how much the Dutch tell their kids about how the world works.
One of the popular subsets of this theme is the cops and robbers sets. Which is how we come to this Jewel Thieves set. I love this set. For one thing it's a crime playset that features no police or other law enforcement. It's just criminals. Which seems to imply that the thieves will be successful in their heist. Also, it's got a toy version of a museum display case, complete with round bit cut out of the top so whatever is displayed inside can be pilfered. That is freaking awesome.
The other accessories that makes this set are the Playmobil painting and easel (like you see in the best museums he said snarkily) and the crowbar. Although I'm betting that the fishing rod isn't really used much in modern thievery.
The only bit I'm a little annoyed at is the base of the display. It's designed so that when you take off the glass box an alarm sound, courtesey of some electronics biult into the base. It goes off for about 10 seconds, a high pitched beeping that gets annoying real fast.
Maybe the alarm thing is so you can play Operation - try to get the treasure out without setting off the alarm!
ReplyDeleteI have to say this is one of these coolest playsets i have seen in a very long while.
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