The special beginning of Playmobil

In the 1980s we were two kinds of children in our neighborhood: Those who enjoyed building challenges with Lego bricks and those fared into adventures with castles or pirateships in realm of Playmobil.A very brief recap of Playmobil history. Back in 1971 German toy engineer Hans Beck unveiled the first prototypes for his employer, but it was only in 1973 and 1974 that Playmobil launched. Together with Horst Brandstätter Hans Beck created a unique toy with roleplaying in mind and the specific intention of offering "best value for money".... up until 2010's, Playmobil became on of the top 10 toy brands of all time. Knights made the early cut, although I preferred Western. On my childhood street, especially one friend of mine had been won over by the medieval Playmobil knights. We spent many afternoons lobbing boulders at large castles while knights, bowmen and pikemen went head on in hourlong campaigns in his room. Back then old Westerns were still dominating the TV in our living room. Be it John Wayne or Clint Eastwood, I would always marvel at the fierce history of the new Americas. Today it's a hot political topic. Indians, cowboys and cavalry have been subject to some fierce debate. But back then my only Playmobil possessions were Western figures. Recreating those epic scenes from the good the bad and the ugly mightn't have been the most childfriendly, but that wasn't as much an issue back in the 80s as it is today. Setting up rows of cavalry and knocking them down with cannons made heaps of fun. Even if I also had those tiny 5mm tall plastic soldiers, Playmobil was a lot easier to set up for play together with my best friends.Today Playmobil western has just been rereleased after being redesigned. it was also paused due to the political and cultural implications of how the native americans were once treated. But since Playmobil Western was amongst the very figures, they have made a rerelease in a new beautiful design. There's a vast difference from the early figures to today... product methods and options have evolved immensely since the 1974 release of the first native american. Now from a fathers perspective. Although I was mostly a Lego builder at the time, I have since converted into Playmobil after becoming a father. The reason is very simple: Legos are excellent for creativity, but design often end up on display, and never get played with. Here Playmobil shines: The tiny figures and their many different themes get played with again and again, and have been passed on between brothers and sisters.I still feel immensely luck to have a father-in-law, who has retailed Playmobil for decades. Playmobil was something unique in the 80s, and still is. Apart from being a great toy it offers so many educational and psychologically helpful attributes.  Children today need to act out what they experience in school, at home and friends. Playmobil figures are magnificent toys that help your children develop empathy through rolepay and work out both good and bad experiences by replaying them with toys. It wasn't just the 80s.... Playmobil is still great!