Playmobil - Haunted House Chest

Description

Ghosts and costumed children are nothing new, and there's already precedent for vampires in this toy line, but the non-unionized German equivalent of Frankenstein's Monster? Now that's something! However, this set is an exception, as it includes an "electric" contraption that's a cross between a Borg charging station and an electric chair. It's cool, but the clip for a figure is a tight fit, and with his coat, the Monster doesn't fit. The figures are great: Rockabilly Dracula has a spectacular mane, while the Monster's is nothing new, just in orange. The flat head and elements of the Universal Studios monster are usually legally protected, but the literary idea of ​​the Monster and vampires is in the public domain, so seeing a reinterpretation of these themes is quite interesting. It also opens the door to various gill men, werewolves, and other forms of the undead, should they so choose. Our vampire friend has sharp fangs, dark eyes, and a spiky cape that gives him a very funny look, while the Monster's clothes are tattered and his skin is green with stitches all over it. He really does look like a pile of dead parts, and these figures are made from existing pieces from other lines. Another point in favor of efficiency. The highlight is the Haunted House: it's fun to assemble, with clever stickers that peel off the sheet, fit into the box, and peel off again to leave a double-sided adhesive pad that holds the cardboard pieces together. It's really ingenious. Tabs and shelves also keep them in place, in case they dry out over time. The set itself is basically an empty purple box, and you can arrange the included furniture to create a laboratory or a vampire castle. Since it's a bit empty, Playmobil filled it with various bottles, funnels, torches, and creatures of the night to give you something to play with. Lacking any action features or an imposing presence, the 12.7 cm wide box doesn't make much of an impression when fully unfolded. However, it is portable. This is one aspect I wish more toy manufacturers would learn from the Micro craze of the 1990s: storage is key.