Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Playmobil Toy Founder Dies At 79


From geekology, Hans Beck, the founder of the German toy manufacturer Playmobil, has passed away. He was 79.

"No horror, no superficial violence, not short-lived trends," was Beck's motto, and some 2.2 billion dolls later, the range is the foundation of the company's prosperity and is exported to 70 nations.

The company grew to a payroll of nearly 3,000 and had sales last year of 452 million euros ($588 million).


I definitely played with Playmobil when I was a kid, and may or may not still stage Playmobil vs LEGO battles. So what if I do? Awesome, that's what.

R.I.P. Hans

2 comments:

Octopunk said...

Those are excellent toys. They typify what I think of as the European toy vibe: there are few lines, but the ones that are there are perfect. It's the anti-McFarlane.

I can't recall a single time I played with Playmobil as a kid, but I have a number of the people and animals today, that I purchased as a grown-up.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Beck. You made good toys.

JPX said...

I agree, not only are they awesome toys, but they're reasonably priced unlike Legos. Somewhere I have a Playmobil "guy on deserted island" set - I love that motif.