Playmobil “variations”

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The Royal North Surrey of THE FOUR FEATHERS fame (1939 movie). Quite difficult to get the parts!. Legs from one standard figure, torso with stickers -as the arms- resin helmets with stickers… and what not! Sold them too.
To understand the process of customization, this is the basic figure that permitted building the Royal North Surrey, the color of the arms and torso matched the legs of the Spanish Conquistador, use the correct stickers (I asked that color RAL) and the rest is mechanical.
Guards Pioneers
The Line about to Wheel…
Full caption…
Household Cavalry
Detail
Stored in the Cabinet to play another day…
Queen Elizabeth the Second… and personalities…

I could not resist doing some Highlanders too.

I am afraid the Goldberg are much better! specially those by Gould. But joking aside I did dedicate a whole chapter of my book to those plastic german chaps. They can be customized quite easily once you learn how.

And that is entertaining, specially if you are affected by the syndrome “I’ve been there, done that, got the T-shirt”. There used to be the middle age crisis -I do not know what middle age is nowadays- at 39 I bought a New Model LOTUS ELAN two seater (front traction) if you know what I mean… Happy marriage does not need a divorce! As I said before let’s put joking aside.

Basically a Click as they are known is a plastic chasis with a head plug that holds all the other parts together. Quite simple concept. But a small engineering feat. They were originally very crude and toys for kids. They evolved. From what I call the third generation onwards they began to interest me. I started buying them for my grandchildren -who already got them never fear- and stocked a few because they were too young by far. Then one thing lead to another IT WAS FUN!… anything that fits the formula TOY SOLDIER + FUN = ENTERTAINMENT in my life. So, there I was, first I learned to disassemble them -YouTube is full of tutorials -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y8KYaO-83o-, and Wikipedia will tell you the full story of Playmobil- and the “creation” of new soldiers, or to be fair, NON existing ranges was extremely funny.

Age of Reason clash!… Fictional Armies now in the hands of my grandchildren. The “tricorne” period is where the availability of parts is better in the markets.

After an intermittent span of ten years since I bought the first one and finally lost interest and got back to wargaming -6mm- and collecting -54mm toy soldiers- I went through many periods, I customized a lot, gifts to grandchildren were made, and complicated conversions were even sold! I have the tendency to sell the parts that does not interest me anymore to raise funds for new ventures, that way I have a real budget -more or less- I always spend more than I cash back but it helps!

So I did the ACW -and then sold the collection because it was too real brother against brother- I did Ancients (sold), I did British Colonials including Highlanders! (sold), I did the 7th at the LBH (still in my hands but for sale), I did the Household troops I already had in 54mm Traditional Toy Soldiers -quite a recurrent job- I did the Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimea (sold). I did the Spanish and French Foreign Legion outfits (both sold). I bought Ships -customized them- now in the navies of my grandchildren. And I probably forget the Ivory Patrol and a lot of other minor subjects that were also sold. It was real FUN.

Two versions of ACW General Custer.
The whole 7th at the LBH… many customs.

I explained it all quite in detail in my book but it is a lot easier to include pics in a blog.

Highlanders… that is not easy!… you need special kits…(for the kilts).
The whole Zulu set…also sold!
Somehow I collected a lot of Mounties in 75mm too…

Thought I add some more pics…

The last eleven at Maiwand…

PLAYMOBIL-PICS

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A collection of Playmobil pictures…

Napoleonic Customs… using stickers and resin headgear (Playmobil purists do not like at all… LOL)
Guard Inspection at the Castle
Piano playing… and look through the window… what do you see?… the other side of the Guards Inspection…
Trooping the Colour

As a summing up of the periods I was involved with in the decade or so I toyed with original Playmobils and customized a lot of them (to avoid enamels or painting a lot) with stickers, some felt pen additions and resin parts (mainly headgear), here you have a collection of pics quite self-explanation in themselves.

Wheeling the Line (Trooping the Colour)
Carthaginian Army.
Peloponnesian War
Second Punic War
SEcond Punic War
Hannibal
Ships and rol-playing a bit…
Close up
Naval combats
Close up.
XVIII Century Tricorne period… very easy to get the parts…
Spanish or Austrian Army (choose the flags and that’s it)
Grenadiers and similar… quite complicated headgear to get right.
Wargames in 75mm
Now in the Collections of my Grandchildren.
Only two ever Napoleonics I got… too complicated I guess…
Crimean War: Charge of the Light Brigade.
Another view.
ACW: The Horse Soldiers
ACW: Union Infantry
ACW: Confederate Infantry
ACW: Generals
Detail
Headgear makes the Man… or the soldier…
French Foreign Legion
Detail
RCMP
See OSPREY book.
7th Cavalry 1876
Ulundi
Abu Klea
Spanish 1920 tercio de extranjeros… aka Spanish Foreign Legion.