Playmobil FI?URES Girls Series 4

Four Series' into the Fi?ures line and the designers have really hit their stride! This may not be the home run that Boys Series 4 is, but is has more interesting and cool figures in than each of the previous series. There are some really fun "almost but not quite" Klickies clearly inspired by popular characters and even a couple absolutely perfect female Klickies which show off how great this line can truly be!

I've had trouble tracking down complete series' of this line in the past. Series 3 in particular was a real beast to complete, but this time around it was nearly a dream! A friend tipped me off about a local art supply store and when I went in hopes of completing the previous series I was also able to completely knock this one out, too! Well, almost entirely, they had all but one figure and I was prepared for the worst - but a chance a return to the Playmobil FunPark let me complete the set with little trouble.

We see a return to yet another pink package, this time in two different tones. It looks good, but that now makes 75% percent of the Girls Fi?ures coming in pink-based packaging - BORING. Red? Purple? Pastels? There's nothing else we could try here? My biggest concern is actually a sales one, I worry that with such non-determinate patterns they run the risk of it appearing to be the same stock so shoppers won't buy them, sales will go down, and the line will end! Maybe that's a little extreme, but the logic is sound and my passion for Fi?ures is high!

Playmobil - Fi?ures Series 4: Long-Braided Princess
RapunzelWe begin with a mainstay of this line - the "not-actually-but-probably-a-specific-character" figure! This was something Playmobil avoided for a long time and while I agree with that, certain designs, like this one, fit well into this line and add an extra level of fun. This is clearly Rapunzel, and one can't help but presume it's timeliness is connected to the popularity of Disney's Tangled (which is apparently titled Rapunzel in Europe?). The dress is a nice bit of white and pink with some good rose printing but it isn't anything particularly special after so many variations on the big gown (though the flower print helps a lot). What is great here is the all-new hair piece with a very long braid flowing over her shoulder. It's nice balance between "that's probably Rapunzel" and plausible for "real life." She comes with a bow for the braid, bracelets and, of course, a brush. The pink of the dress feels a little lackluster but the new hair piece really helps make this Princess feel unique amongst her sisters, and indeed, our collection!

Playmobil - Fi?ures Series 4: Farmer
FarmerNext up we get The Gardener. Be it professional or casual gardening this dashing woman-about-Earth will sow exactly what the dirt bears! For such a relatively simply and modern figure I must say I quite like her. I think it's a great combination of colors and pieces mixed with an elaborate torso print that makes this figure feel more complex than she actually is. Doesn't hurt that she reminds me a lot of a dear friend, too! She comes with a rake, but the only think that could have improved this is some kind of "something" to garden - maybe one of those gopher holes, or a turnip or such vegetable. Despite being from one of my least preferred themes I quite like this figure.

Playmobil - Fi?ures Series 4: Fairy
FairyHere we get yet another Fairy variation. This one has pink wings, a green dress and blonde hair which makes her totally different than the one from Series 2. That one was a really good entry and felt pretty unique, and even a bit like Tinker Bell. This one... well, she's fine. She gets a pink wand and a little beaded necklace plus a light pink flower-chain that plugs into her light blonde hair. The dress features two shades of green with some odd, kelp-like pink pattern on it and the white of the lower half feels a bit too bland. The glitter-filled translucent wings continue to be too backwards-bent to be very enjoyable from a forwards view. Fairies aren't really my thing, but this figure really feels like the designers are on auto-pilot, or just making due with parts and colors from overstock. Why couldn't this one be a redhead in a blue dress with yellow wings. Perhaps some non-caucasian Fairies would be interesting too? Let's try and think outside the box here guys.

Playmobil - Fi?ures Series 4: Hula Dancer
Hula GirlThis klicky is just 12 different kinds of awesome! I got two which may have been a mistake because 10 probably wouldn't be enough. Not only is she just a great looking figure she's a bit of a battle builder (in terms of a dance troupe) AND she fits multiple themes and dioramas! A group on a tropical island for the Pirates or Vacation themes, performing at a theater, restaurant or club in the City theme - you just can't get enough Hula Girls! I think I would have preferred her to have a bikini top painted on with a sculpted lei (and maybe a spare lei for tourists) but maybe that's something for a "version 2" and regardless this figure is a-okay as is! (She even has the implication of being the first ever topless female Klicky (there is no paint on her back...) teeheehee) The skirt is a nice new piece with some vertical detailing to infer the classic grass skirt look. She gets two loose bracelets and two new grass anklets! A beaded necklace and lotus-like flower for her hair completes the look and she come with fantastic Lillie as an accessory! This is the Fi?ures concept at it's absolute best! The only flaw with the figure is that I didn't get several more of her!

Playmobil - Fi?ures Series 4: Pirate
PirateAwesome! The hits keep on rolling with this excellent female pirate Klicky. It never really occurred to me until the revelation of this figure that there is a shocking lack of women characters in the Pirates theme. While there have been a couple here and there, few really offer the swashbuckling fun of this character! She is a prefect design because she offers the beloved "blank slate" of Playmobil meaning she can be whatever you want her to be! Hero, Villain, Rogue - they all would make sense with this design, plus, the violet coloring of her dress is both historically plausible and also makes her work in the other more conventional girl themes (she could be the Jack Sparrow of the Fantasy line!). Plus the sculpturally sleeved arms really help sell the look of the outfit. Ultimately I think they accomplished a great feat here with a figure that appeals to both boys and girls, and I wish more Fi?ures could be this great (looking at you generi-Fairy). This fine lady comes with a hat, gold necklace and bracelets, and a great fencing foil identical to the 'Crystal Skull' Pirate from Series 2. Interestingly, there is a standard scabbard peg on her torso which the 'sword loop' connects to. It's a bummer they couldn't make a new sash scabbard that followed the contour of her chest, but the paint design is good enough.

Playmobil - Fi?ures Series 4: Angel
AngelThis is a pretty interesting release in that skews towards the proverbial hot bed of religion, however Playmobil has a long history of making arguably "religious" figures, so this is of no surprise. She comes with stylized wings cast in white which plug into her back the same as with Fairy wings. Thankfully the wings are molded 'flat' so we get to see them unlike the Fairy wings that stick straight back. In fact this could easily pass an an addition to the Fairies theme, but I think the intent is clear. She even comes with a translucent blue harp to complete the effect (though no halo). This isn't the most exciting figure ever but it's still pretty cool. I just wish they'd done a devil here or in the Boys line to complete the classic imagery of Good versus Evil.

Playmobil - Fi?ures Series 4: Medic
MedicHere we get an EMT in her safety oranges and with a silver suitcase for supplies. I suppose she could be an off duty construction worker or a firefighter, there's little here to really clarify her profession, but she looks like an Emergency Medical Technician to me. It's a pretty simple figure but the silver and yellow striping on the outfit help a lot to make her outfit fairly interesting visually.

Playmobil - Fi?ures Series 4: Princess
Snow WhiteAt first I was all like "siiiiiigh, yet another princess..." but then, I realized this is public domain Snow White! And even if she isn't, who cares - she looks great! I don't even know where to begin but suffice to say this is absolutely the best princess they've released yet and easily in the top 10 figures of the entire Fi?ures line! The color combination of blue and yellow plays together wonderfully, and the light blue, white and cream colored accents add spectacular depth to this otherwise simple figure. In fact it's that yellow and blue scheme, combined with the black hair and light skin, that convince me this is meant to be Snow White (much like the pink and the long braid convince me of Rapunzel's true identity above) and the mirror accessory only helps to corroborate this. This figure was incredibly hard to find and was, in fact, the one keeping me from a complete collection until a visit to the Playmobil FunPark in Florida late last summer, where a helpful employee felt through bags with me to locate her. I just... yeah, I'm totally bonkers for this Klicky and would have two if it were possible to find her.

Playmobil - Fi?ures Series 4: Lifeguard
LifeguardWell... they always did say Baywatch was insanely popular in Germany... This is a weird choice, though I suppose it does make some sense with their recent "summer/beach fun" trends in the Vacation theme. Plus, who could ignore the tendency of Fi?ures to make identical characters to ones Lego has already made in their Collectible Mini-Figure line. As you may be able to tell, I was completely ready to mock this figure, but you know what... once in hand I liked it much more than anticipated. The cross-straps on the bathing suit are a nice detail that helps make things a little more visually interesting and casting the float in orange helps add a bit more color to the figure, indeed we basically get the 'warm' half of the color wheel here. A very simple figure but pretty fun for what it is.

Playmobil - Fi?ures Series 4: Adventure Girl
Pipi LongstockingDuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude.....!!!! Pippi Longstocking!?!? YES!!!! Again, like Rapunzel and Snow White above, as close as legally possible, but still it's her! As a child of the '80s I grew up watching these movies so it is INSANELY exciting to get this figure - a character so unlikely she was never even on my 'to desire' list. The striped stockings and painted on suspenders look great. She comes with two of the ponytail ribbons for her dual, sideways ponytails and a cone of... ice cream? Oranges? Balls? I'm not sure but there they are. It would have been cool if she'd gotten a wooden sword or spyglass but this is fine, though it does feel like a little too much yellow and orange when paired with her costume. The only downsides are that the hair isn't red and that she doesn't have freckles - but again... 'as close as legally possible.' I'd really, really love to see them put out a figure with this new hair piece cast in ginger/red in a future series so that we combine them to create a true Pippi. Seriously... man, just how cool is this figure!?

Playmobil - Fi?ures Series 4: Tourist
TouristWell... uhm... this is a toy of an Asian woman with a camera. So..... yeah. Playmobil? Are you oblivious or....? Anyways, questionable intent aside this is an okay figure. She'd likely fit right in with any contemporary theme which means there is some nice versatility to her. However, there's really nothing all that exciting about her though. The outfit is nice, visually appealing but stylistically bland, and she has but a single accessory. There's just not a whole lot for her to do other than be display filler. It is nice, though, to get the cool camera accessory though.

Playmobil - Fi?ures Series 4: Chef
ChefThis is a pretty awesome looking chef! The shirt is a little too flashy, particularly by way of the the knife/ladle logo, to be a standard chef and it really brings Iron Chef to mind, so I like to think this is a sort of Cat Cora figure. She gets red cuffs, a chef's hat, a frying pan and a saucepan for extreme culinary wizardry. This a great looking figure and quite a fun addition. I particularly love when they do things like this for the Girls line, girls can be much more than just princesses and fairies.

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4 Responses to Playmobil FI?URES Girls Series 4

  1. Soundwinder says:

    "girls can be much more than just princesses and fairies."

    Yes, they can also stay in the kitchen.

    (Just so we're clear, I'm not trying to pretend there's anything wrong with the point, I just thought it was funny).

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