FAQ PART 3 : ASSORTMENT QUESTIONS

Was there ever a red framework house?

The red framework house - that was often depicted on those panoramic scenes that were printed on the (back-) sides of so many boxes - has never been available on the market. It was a prototype that did not go into production. The decoration department that was responsible for the setup of the box cover scenes, did use it a lot before it really became clear that the set never would reach the market. The Red Framework house would have been a small farm house, and it was the only one that had a black rooftop.

 

What is known about prototypes and themes that were developed  but never made their way to the market?

Not a great deal. The golden rule is: if a proposed set is not picked up for release, it is kept in storage and under wraps until it might be of use in a future set. Some parts of prototype sets that were not granted a place on the market turned up in a different combination at a later time.

A few very interesting sets were designed as additions to the Victorian product line, like a Mississippi steamer and a real working Town Square Fountain. The prototypes were beautiful, but they would have been too expensive to mass-manufacture. The steamboat for example would have reached an on-the-shelve price of up to €300.

A few other sets containing Chinese Railroad Workers and a Grave Digger for the western theme, were never released because they were found to be too cruel for children to play with. For the same reasons, a Medieval Torture Room was kept out of  production.

And of course there have been lots of prototypes produced by PLAYMOBIL® staffers that were only designed to amuse the team itself than to actually put them up for production, like a Mafiosi figure with his legs deep in concrete or a 007 James Bond figure.