Monday, November 7, 2011

Playmobil Fi?ures - go figure ;p

Playmobil Fi?ures are a new Playmobil theme that was recently launched. Playmobil Fi?ures consist of polybagged Playmobil Figures, in two different assortments (pink for girls, blue for boys). They appear to be based off LEGO's popular Collectable Minifigires. Jamie Dickinson, marketing manager at Playmobil said: "The figure is at the heart of every toy Playmobil makes. It was the first Playmobil product designed, so it’s a natural progression that the figure has its own dedicated range with an exciting twist."


I was intrigued by this new Playmobil Fi?ure series when I came across it last Friday at Takashimaya. At SGD3.95, they were cheaper then the single boxed Playmobil figures (usually SGD5.95) and worth a shot. Anyway, for a mystery figure, being packed in a bag is way better than a box because you can actually feel the package to know if the Playmobil Fi?ure you really want is inside the package. And I only wanted a particular figure out of the entire series 1 line.


Thanks to the ability to feel the packaging, I managed to get what I wanted


I think this is the first time the Playmobil figure comes unassembled. In the past, the Playmobil figures are always assembled when they come with the packaging but this is not the case with Playmobil Fi?ures. You get to put the figure together with the simple instruction sheet provided.


Putting this Playmobil Fi?ure together was no problem at all. And if you get it wrong, you can simply take it apart and put it together again, unlike Humpty Dumpty. What's more fun is that you can now switch parts with the other figures in the series and customize your very own Playmobil figure. As for me, I'm just happy with this particular figure :)


Out of the twelve Playmobil Fi?ures in Series 1, I only wanted this ZORRO Playmobil figure :) As I am not a real hardcore Playmobil collector, I only buy certain figures that I like or fancy and this Playmobil Zorro figure certainly caught my attention.


Zorro is a fictional character created in 1919 by New York-based pulp writer Johnston McCulley. The character has been featured in numerous books, films, television series, and other media. Zorro (Spanish for fox) is the secret identity of Don Diego de la Vega (originally Don Diego Vega), a nobleman and master living in the Spanish colonial era of California. The character has undergone changes through the years, but the typical image of him is a dashing black-clad masked outlaw who defends the people of the land against tyrannical officials and other villains. Not only is he much too cunning and foxlike for the bumbling authorities to catch, but he delights in publicly humiliating those same foes.


His favored weapon is a rapier which he often uses to leave his distinctive mark, a Z made with three quick cuts. He also uses a bullwhip. In his debut, he uses a pistol. His heroic pose consists of rearing on his horse, sword raised high.


The character's visual motif is typically a black costume with a flowing Spanish cape, a flat-brimmed black sombrero cordobés, and a black cowl sackcloth mask that covers the top of the head from eye level upwards. In his first appearance, he wears a cloak instead of a cape, and a black cloth veil mask covering his whole face with slits for eyes. Other features of the costume may vary; sometimes black riding boots or bell-bottom trousers, sometimes a vest, a waistsash or riding belt, sometimes a moustache, sometimes not.


Bob Kane has credited Zorro as part of the inspiration for the Batman. Like Zorro, Bruce Wayne is affluent, the heir of wealth built by his parents. His everyday persona encourages others to think of him as shallow, foolish and uncaring to throw off suspicion. Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns and The Dark Knight Strikes Again includes multiple Zorro references including the Batman inscribing a Z on a defeated foe.


Puss in Boots, the cat in the Shrek film series, was based both on the fairy tale character of the same name and on Zorro. The character was voiced by Antonio Banderas, the actor who portrayed Zorro in "The Mask of Zorro" and "The Legend of Zorro". At one point the cat uses his sword to scratch a "P" on his victims, a parody of Zorro's trademark move.


The other Playmobil Fi?ures in Series 1 are: Boxer, Dragon Rider, American Football Player, Grim Reaper, Guitarist, Headsman, Mummy, Pizza baker, Knight, Sports Champion and Uncle Sam

4 comments:

cosmicbaby said...

Zorro is a good catch!

alex teo said...

thanks Marcus, I think so too :)

Bubbashelby said...

This one is great - but I have to recommend the executioner to you as well. He's the best in Series 1 in my opinion!

alex teo said...

thanks Eric :) I'll look out for the red hood haha