If it weren't for an email from a friend asking me if I ordered the "Royal Couple" set from the 2005 Playmobil catalog I may very well have over looked it. In the middle of the catalog there is a pull out section for Add On sets; most of these were created to add to the replay value of a series and are ones that we already have or have absolutely no need for. Towards the back of the section there are the odds and ends sets; including this very adorable and enchanting royal couple. Since I collect various Playmobil figures I was kicking myself for not checking the Add On section to see if they added any new figures. Needless to say, the next time I placed an order online, I added this to my shopping cart!

Playmobil Royal Couple 7236

Since I have a lot of other medieval themed figures from the Special and Pals line, it seemed only right that I add these two to the line up. They look great with the Prince and Princess as well as with the Victorian Bride and Groom. These are standard sized Playmobil figures - a little under three inches in height, so if you have other figures these will blend in well with them although the crown on the queen does make her look a little larger than others. You get a king and queen in this set; both of them are decked out in their best clothing and look like royalty from top to bottom. The only thing that I don't like about the set is that the queen has a rather large crown that sits on her head, if I was designing this I would have made the crown rest a little lower so that it didn't look so out of place but hey, I just write the reviews.

The king is very colorful; with shades of blue, yellow and red he looks like he just stepped off the pages of a book about royalty. His crown is a little less obtrusive than his mate but it tops off his outfit perfectly. There is a good bit of detail to the crown but if you want to really go all the way, grab a permanent marker and add some red or green accents to it for gems. He has the usual Playmobil smile and facial features [round eyes] and comes with a beard. The white flowing cape can be removed if you wish but personally I think he looks better with it on. The king comes with a mid sized sword but no belt to attach it to so if you want him to handle it, you'll have to snap it into his hand. Some of the best parts of the king are the gold accented designs on his chest and the removable cape. This is a nice feature if you want to pose him on horseback, there's no need to fumble with it when trying to pose him that way.

The queen is a nice match for the king but she lacks the ornate colors; her outfit is white with gold accents and to be perfectly honest, she does look a little plain when compared to the king. One of the strangest things is her hair - well, that is a review in itself. When you first look at her you think she has dark hair then over it some type of cover then on top of that mess, the large crown. I am assuming that the designers were looking for a way to have the queen posable with or without the crown and this was the only way to do it. Personally I think she looks more like an Egyptian queen than one from medieval times; her white and gold clothing are nice but they aren't as colorful as the king. If you want to add some color to her you can do so with Sharpie markers but be sure that this is something that you really want to do, once you apply the ink it is almost impossible to remove it without some staining.

Price

This is almost impossible to find in retail stores because it is a specialty set; simply put, there isn't a lot of call for it unless people are buying them for a figure collection or to add to a castle scene. There is only one store in my area that stocks the Pals, Special and Add On's sets and even they didn't have this so I had to order it from the website. You can get this through their catalog or at the Playmobil Online Store for $3.99, a nice price for what you get and a great thing to toss in someone's stocking for the holidays. There is a lot that you can do with the figures in the set so don't balk at the four dollar suggested retail price, it is definately worth it!

The Bottom Line

For four dollars you do get two amazing figures that will add a lot of replay value to any castle scene. You can have the queen get captured by enemy knights or reenact their royal wedding ... the only limits there are to what you can do with this set are the ones that you make. There are some small pieces in this set so you will want to make sure that the figures are out of reach of younger children - the wrist cuffs on the king and queen are the ones that could present a real choking hazard so remove them from the figures or keep these on a shelf where the little ones can't get to them. I really wish more stores would carry these Special and Pals types of sets, they add a lot of replay value to the mid sized and larger sets and are just the thing to get kids into creative play time. I'd suggest this set to anyone that has a love of royalty, medieval times or collecting the individual Playmobil figures.

The Stats

Set Name: Royal Couple
Family Set: : Castle / Special / Add On's
Set Number: 7236
Number of Pieces: 12
Age Recommendation: 4 and older
Cost: $3.99

As always, thanks for the read!

~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~

© 2006 Freak369


Related Playmobil figures and sets ...
Victorian Bride and Groom, Green Dragon Fighter, Gold Dragon Leader, Dark Knight, Dragon Warrior, Fierce Knight Leader, Crusader, Blue Knight, Golden Knight, Wizard, Prince and Princess, Wedding Carriage, Knight In Armor, Roman Legionary, Red Musketeer, Viking Family, Evil Knight, Silver Knight






Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): see review
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: Whole Family