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Wednesday, February 11, 2009  My world shrank a little bit over the holidays because Felix was introduced to the tiny tiny universe that is Playmobil. This is not in any way a complaint because I love the small people, the occasional issues of scale (the guinea pigs are just a little bit enormous when put next to their care givers, but maybe they grow them big in Germany), the obsessive attention to detail. Because Felix wants to be a zookeeper, his aunt presented him with a zoo set that comes complete with animal enrichment activities, tiny snap-on hair ribbons for zookeepers, and balloons for the small children who are zoo guests. (Playmobil parents are more indulgent than Felix's real parents who avoid balloons on zoo excursions.) So I spend a lot more time under the couch looking for bitsy flowers that have popped off zoo landscaping displays. (The zoo comes with at least 3 different varieties of flower-- not that I can identify them but I bet the Playmobil folks could. Actually, I bet the Playmobil people could tell you what botanical hybrids were employed to create the flowers.) And it is something of a trick to protect Playmobil worlds from the gargantuan Godzilla creature that is Sebastian, who lives to destroy and laugh about it. But in spite of these time-sucking issues, I can't argue with the amusement I get out of hearing Felix narrate zoo activities. (Also, as you can see, Playmobil often combines in what may be an unholy alliance with other small worlds.) And it was with some sadness that I read this week about the January death of Playmobil's creator, one Hans Beck. The obsessive rigor of Playmobil certainly originated with its inventor, and after reading this obituary, I have to admit, I would completely love to see some of his creations that, for various reasons, never made it to stores. Some of Beck's favorite Playmobil creations presented slices of history that were deemed politically incorrect, such as a group of 19th century Chinese railroad workers that was never sold in stores. "When you're presenting a picture of a time past, you have to show all sides of it," Beck told the Christian Science Monitor in 1997. But it must be done with "Fingerspitzengefuhl," he said, employing a German word that translates as "instinctive feeling." posted by Elise at 6:33 AM ........................................................ 1 Comments:  Laura K. Curtis said...
Oh, no! How sad that he is no longer alive. I love Playmobil, and love that I have nieces and nephews to buy it for since I have no excuse to buy it for myself. 2/11/2009 2:08 PM........................................................ |
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