Playmobil Fi?ures - Series 2: Lara Croft Tomb Raider Female Action Figure REVIEW

Once in a while, the little boy in me still wants to play with Playmobil haha. For the unfamiliar (seriously?!), Playmobil (pronounced play-mo-beel) is a line of toys produced by the Brandstätter Group (Geobra Brandstätter GmbH & Co KG), headquartered in Zirndorf, Germany. Developed by Hans Beck (1929 – 2009), the toy figure, at 7.5 cm tall, would fit easily in a child's hand and its facial design would be based on children's drawings (large head, big smile, no nose). Playmobil figures do not have names, thus allowing the children to invent their own characters. Adult Playmobil people are approximately 3 inches tall and are a 1:22.5 scale. Playmobil began to be sold worldwide in 1975, and has grown ever since. [source: wiki]

Playmobil Fi?ures are a new Playmobil theme that was recently launched. Playmobil Fi?ures consist of polybagged Playmobil Figures, in two different assortments. At SGD3.95 per bag, it wasn't a very hard decision to make when it came to buy or not buy. I managed to grab a Playmobil ZORRO figure from series 1 (see my post and pictures HERE)

Eric Stettmeier (check out his cool toy blog "TOYRIFFIC") brought series 2 to my attention when he posted his haul of Playmobil Series 2 Fi?ures (see his post HERE). Among the figures he got was a very cool Lara Croft Tomb Raider figure :) That made me go out to the store as I had to get MY OWN Lara Croft Tomb Raider figure haha


The Playmobil Fi?ures all come polybagged with no name or distinguishable feature to tell you what figure is inside each bag. It's very much like the old "Tikam-tikam" games from my childhood days - you choose a random bag and hope for the best. As the popular saying goes: "May the odds be ever in your favor" ;p

OR you could simply apply the squeeze method i.e. you pick up a bag and start squeezing and feeling the parts inside for distinctive parts that are unique to the set you want. In this case, Lara Croft's holster was the key. Then it was a matter of confirmation by feeling for the pistols and the head lamp / light.

Here's a picture of the bag and its contents. The Playmobil fi?ure comes unassembled in loose parts so that you can mix and match various bags and customize your own figure if you so desire.

The first step is to attach the "skeleton" (for lack of a better word) to the lower body / legs.

The upper body / torso with the arms inserted is then added to the legs. The body goes over the "skeleton"

The head and hair are the final pieces to be added to form the basic Playmobil figure.

Last but not least, you put on the additional accessories that make each figure unique. In this case, they are the double holster and twin pistols + head lamp (NOT headlamp as that would be the lamp that is attached to the front of a vehicle)

Lara Croft is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Square Enix video game series "Tomb Raider". She is presented as a beautiful, intelligent, and athletic British archaeologist-adventurer who ventures into ancient, hazardous tombs and ruins around the world.

Created by Toby Gard during his employment at UK developer Core Design, the character first appeared in the 1996 video game "Tomb Raider". Inspired by pop artist Neneh Cherry and comic book character Tank Girl, Gard designed Lara Croft to counter stereotypical female characters. The company modified the character for subsequent titles, which included graphical improvements and gameplay additions.

Lara Croft is depicted as an athletic woman; she has brown eyes and hair, frequently kept in a plait or ponytail. The character's classic costume is a turquoise sleeveless tank top, light brown shorts, calf-high boots, and long white socks. Accessories include fingerless gloves, a backpack, a utility belt with holsters on either side, and two pistols.

In the later games, Croft wears a crop top, camouflage pants and black or light brown shirts. When exploring, she often carries two pistols, but has used other weaponry throughout the series. Lara Croft is fluent in several languages.

Core Design co-founder Jeremy Smith characterized the design as derivative of Indiana Jones, and asked for more originality. Gard decided that a female character would work better from a design standpoint. He also claimed a desire to counter stereotypical female characters, which he has characterized as "bimbos" or "dominatrix" types.

Smith was sceptical of a female lead at first because few contemporary games featured them. He came to regard a female lead as a great hook and put faith in Gard's idea. Here's a close-up of the Playmobil Series 2 Fi?ures Lara Croft Tomb Raider Female Action Figure head lamp...

And double holsters plus calf-high boots

Didn't expect this figure at all so this is a nice bonus :) Life's simple pleasures haha

Want to know what other Playmobil figures / characters are in the Playmobil Fi?ures Series 2 line? Check out the pictures below :)

For the boys, it looks like there's a pirate captain, space alien, punk rocker (rockist), ELVIS, basketball player, skateboarder, mexican musician with guitar, prisoner with ball and chain, armored knight, German (Bavarian) with dog, Ninja with nunchaku and sword, and super hero

For the girls: a fairy (Tinkerbell), (Egyptian woman) Queen Cleopatra, cheerleader (Glee?), Lara Croft, Tarzan's wife with pet monkey, princess / queen / rich lady, showering gal, female vampire (Dracula's wife), ballerina, German flower girl, female veterinarian and Geisha (Kimono girl).

Check out Eric's post of this same figure in "(Tomb) Raiders of the Lost Playmobil" HERE