When my son chose to purchase the Playmobil Rock Castle with the money he received for Christmas this year, I could see we were moving into a different area of interest. I decided to focus on more figures and playsets to go with the castle for his birthday.

The Fierce Knight Leader is a part of this theme from Playmobil. The figure is sold separately from the Playmobil Three Fierce Knights. Together they all make a nice looking set, but the leader does stand out.

From the bottom up, the Fierce Knight Leader has black boots designed to look like a traditional leather boot with a cuff on top. Red pants match the red cuffs to be added on. A black belt compliments it, although it’s not functional to hold weaponry. His shirt is black with an illustration of chainmail. His neck scarf is gray, all of this contributing to his look of leadership.

Where it really comes in, however, is the weaponry and accessories that come with him. His helmet is gray like metal and all-covering except for the eyes. He has a crossbow that’s brown and textured to give it an authentic wood appearance. His mace is nice looking too with a wooden handle attached to a chain upon which the black ball sits. His arrow-holder is a lighter shade of brown than the crossbow and goes over his shoulder, sitting nicely on his back and holding two black arrows.

All of the weaponry fits together nice. The Fierce Knight Leader can hold the crossbow and/or the mace in his curved hands. All of the items from all of the sets are interchangeable, so he could also pick up a sword left behind by a defeated opponent during a battle and use that. Likewise, the opponent can get his hands on the nice-looking mace and do some damage with that.

All of the pieces are made of plastic that is high-quality and has some give to it to prevent breaking. Our kittens have picked up the mace by the chain already and carried it around until chased down, and it survived with no damage. I really like that there is no leftover plastic at the seams of the toys, everything is nice and smooth. Too many small pieces like this have rough edges from the plastic molds, but Playmobil is always high-quality and I don’t have to worry about rough edges.

The Fierce Knight Leader moves at the waist from a standing to sitting position, his arms move up and down, and his head swivels from side to side. All of this helps to allow my son to use his imagination when the knight leads others into battle. His colors and insignia isn’t aligned with anyone else in the line, so he can jump in with his troops on any side at any time. It’s nice to see my son use it this way around the castle and interacting with other figures. Sometimes, the knights pay a visit to “construction world” and do battle with the construction workers or help them out. It’s nice that his imagination can be stretched and not constrained by differences between the series’.

The small pieces are a concern, whether you have pets or young children. The age recommendation is ages 4 and up. That would be accurate as swallowing the plastic pieces could be dangerous. I have seen our cats carrying the pieces in their mouths and do have some concern, but for the most part they seem content to bat them around like some of their own toys.

The Fierce Knight Leader is priced at $2.99 through the Playmobil Online Store. I feel that it’s well worth the price with all the weaponry which he comes with as well as the versatility of the figure. It’s all very durable, while at the same time encouraging my son to use his imagination and providing a quiet, entertaining playtime. I am sure they will be around for years to come among his toys and it’s something that will look cool sitting on a shelf long after he’s moved beyond the toy phase.


Other Playmobil toy reviews:

Playmobil Black Lion Leader ~ Playmobil Cannon Guard ~ Playmobil Captive Prince ~ Playmobil Dragon Attack Cannon ~ Playmobil Dragon Troops ~ Playmobil Evil Knight ~ Playmobil Gold Dragon Leader ~ Playmobil Knights Duel Advent Calendar ~ Playmobil Knights Tournament ~ Playmobil Red Dragon ~ Playmobil Rock Castle ~ Playmobil Three Black Lion Knights ~ Playmobil Three Fierce Knights ~ Playmobil Three Gold Dragon Knights ~ Playmobil Treasure Transport ~ Playmobil Viking Boat

Playmobil Compactor ~ Playmobil Crane ~ Playmobil Dump Truck ~ Playmobil Excavator ~ Playmobil Forklift

Playmobil Small Zoo ~ Playmobil Safari Set


© 2006 Patti Aliventi

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): $2.99