A Playmobil Nativity

A few years ago, while visiting my family in Malta, I found in my nephews' collection of toys a Christmas Nativity set produced by Playmobil. I also found out that these little figures are assembled in Malta, in a big factory which was built over two decades ago. Playmobil is a line of toys produced by the Brandstatter Group, headquartered in Zirndorf, Germany. This ever growing company was started in 1975 and even though the plastic pieces are made in Germany, they are all assembled in Malta, which gives every box the distinctive honor of seeing "Made in Malta" on every box produced.

The signature Playmobil toy is a 7.5 cm (approximately 3 inch) tall (1:24 scale) human figure, in its early days known as a "klicky". A wide range of accessories, buildings and vehicles, as well as many sorts of animals, are also part of the Playmobil line. Playmobil toys are produced in themed series of sets as well as individual special figures and playsets. New products and product lines developed by a 50-strong development team are introduced frequently, and older sets are discontinued. Promotional and one-off products are sometimes produced in very limited quantities. These practices have helped give rise to a sizeable community of collectors. Collector activities extend beyond collecting and free-form play and include customization, and the creation of photo stories and stop-motion films.