Playmobil And Childhood Stories
By Kadence Buchanan
Why medieval castles seemed so familiar in the history class
for me and most of my classmates? Why some of us have a déjà vu
when we watch films like the "Pirates of the Caribbean"? We have
spent so much time assembling the Playmobil version of the
castle, or making stories about pirates, knights, sheriffs and
Native Americans as children and playing with the Playmobil
spaceship, that sometimes we think that we actually have lived
in all those places. For everyone who was a child in the 1980s
and later Playmobil is not just the name of a toy, it is a
legend.
This legendary story of "Playmobil" started in the 1971, when
Horst Brandstätter the owner of toy manufacturer "geobra
Brandstätter", asked the -so called- "father of Playmobil", Hans
Beck, then a cabinetmaker to develop figures for children. Beck
spent three years developing what became Playmobil. His aim was
to create a simple and flexible toy and as it turns out he could
not be more successful. Playmobil, a 7.5 cm toy, with hands,
which are capable of gripping and holding objects and a facial
design based on children's drawings (big smile, no nose), was
first presented at the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg in
1974. The first figures were of Native Americans, construction
workers and knights, while the 1973 oil crisis made it possible
for Playmobil to be considered a viable product. Rising oil
prices made plastics extremely expensive and larger plastic toys
virtually unaffordable. Playmobil began to be sold worldwide in
1975 and had an unprecedented success.
Only a few years after the first introduction of the product,
"geobra Brandstätter" became the German toy manufacturer with
the highest turnover. In 2004 when Playmobil celebrated its 30th
Anniversary, 1.8 billion figures had been produced. And these
little figures have been almost everywhere: in movies, video
games, fast food restaurants. Today, there are seven Playmobil
fun parks worldwide three of them in the United States (Orlando,
Florida -Palm Beach Gardens, Florida - Woodbridge, New Jersey)
and four in Europe: in Paris, Athens, Malta and in Zirndorf,
Germany where the manufacturer's headquarters are located.
"Playmobil is a toy that doesn't impose specific play patterns
on children, but rather stimulates their imagination," said once
Hans Beck. And he is right. Some months ago when I visited a
friendly couple, I found out that children still play with
Playmobil, creating their own scenarios and stories. The memory
of the Playmobil pirate ship, that I got as a present for my 6th
birthday brought tears in my eyes. As a representative of my
generation I owe a big thanks to Hans Beck, for all the dreams
that he helped me to create, all the stories, most importantly,
all those little friends, who may be now kept in some attic, but
they often come to my mind and make me smile.
About the Author: Kadence Buchanan writes articles for
http://universeoftoys.com/ - In addition, Kadence also writes
articles for http://supershoppingtips.com/ and
http://thebusinessbuzz.net/
Source: http://www.isnare.com
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