When I was asked what I wanted for Christmas, I had short list – basically anything except another coffee maker. Knowing my love of curling, Chris started to look for things related to the sport and came across a set on eBay. I was a little surprised to find out that Playmobil even had a curling set and I almost fell over when I noticed that the box was still sealed and in great condition. After checking around I found out that this set was released in the late 80’s then again in the early 90’s before being discontinued in 1993. I knew that I could turn around and sell this for a nice chunk of change but it was a gift … a very cool gift … so I did what any toy junkie would do, I carefully sliced the bottom of the box open on the seam, gingerly pulled out the contents and started to slobber. Overall the set is a nice take on the sport and something that I highly recommend for those who are in to it. It isn’t a complete team but gives you the basics to set up a nice little scene and looks pretty darn spiffy with the various other figures that sit on my computer desk and new computer monitor.

Playmobil Curling Scene

Chances are that most people aren’t even aware of curling. Unless you live in Canada or one of the upper regions of the United States, most people think curling is something you do to your hair. No, completely different subject. Curling is a sport that uses carved marble stones on an ice surface, points are accrued according to a set of rules and teams try to get their stones closest to the tee mark [also called “the house”] as possible with the final stone shot being called the hammer. To most people it’s about as exciting to watch as gold or tennis but to me it is a fascinating sport that requires just as much talent as it does luck. This set does the sport a lot of justice although it only comes with three figures [only two of which seem to be contestants] whereas most teams consist of four players. The two player figures represent the United States and some unnamed foreign country – possibly Switzerland or England. The third figure is an ecstatic fan cheering on the players and looks a little younger than the other two but is the same size – almost three inches in height.

Probably the cutest part of the set is the small dachshund that comes complete with a warmer blanket that features the winter-sport logo. It’s not often that you come across dachshunds so I was pretty freakin’ happy about finding one in this set. I really have no idea what the significance of it is to the set, maybe some type of mascot or used at local matches. The stones are a decent representation, not exact copies but a close likeness. I’m still a little confused as to why there are five stones with three color markings [red, yellow and blue] since from what I’ve seen in curling, there are just two colors in play at any given time. The set also comes with one sweeper [the broom-like thing] that’s used to mar the ice to allow the stone to glide, gain speed or move the direction of it when it’s going down the chute.

Like almost every other Playmobil set, this one doesn’t come with instructions but does have a small insert card showing you how to set up the pieces. This is suggested for ages four and older due to the small pieces but unless you have a family of curling enthusiasts, chances are this will be as awe inspiring as watching paint dry. This set gets a solid eight out of ten from me, it could have used a few more players to make a complete team and a few more stones but in all honesty, it’s a miracle that one of these even exists so I am not going to get too picky about the minor things.

Things To Know

• This set was discontinued in 1993 but can still be found [for a hefty price] at online auctions or through private collectors. If you are going to try and order this online, make sure that you are getting exactly what you want and the seller is on the up and up. When this was on the open market it had a suggested retail price of $3.99 to $4.99 but that has tripled or quadrupled over the years.

• There are some small pieces in this set so make sure you keep it away from small children [choking hazard] as well as pets since they seem to really like to make off with the curling stones and sweeper. The ferrets already did a job on one of the stones, next time they make a move on them they’re getting the squirt gun [just a joke all you animal lovers].

The Bottom Line

I have no worries that the boys will try to make off with this set, after I “forced” them to sit down and watch 20 minutes of curling on ESPN2 they literally run as fast as they can when they hear me hooting and howling that curling is on. This was a most unexpected gift and one that I instantly fell in love with. If you are a member of a curling team or club, know someone who is or just like the sport, this is a great set to try and track down. If you are interested in learning more about the sport of curling there are a lot of websites that give you the basics but Curling.CA [Canadian Curling Association] gives you a lot of animations and background about the sport so it’s a little easier to follow. Interested? Here’s the website and specific target to the educational section: www.curling.ca/learn_and_play/index.asp.


The Stats

Set Name: Curling Scene
Family Set: Winter Sports Series
Playmobil Set: 3686
Number of Pieces: 18
Age Recommendation: 4 and older
Ease Of Assembly: Easy
Time Of Assembly: 2 Minutes
Cost: $ 3.99 [suggested retail price]


Thanks for the read!

^V^ Freak ^V^

© 2004 Freak369


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Thanks to Mary Tara for adding this to the database!





Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): ==gift==
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: Whole Family