Specials

All the Specials, 4501-4698, 4740-4757, 4900, 4902.

In February 1994, Geobra began the release of their Playmobil Specials series. Six small sets were released, each containing a single Klicky (one was actually a Vulture) and each set contained several accessories.

The first six…

These were the first of 218 Specials issued in groups of six every six months (with some minor variations) until 2012, 18 years later.

The sets, numbered consecutively from 4501 to 4757 (omitting numbers 4699 to 4739), plus 4900 and 4902, contain a wide variety of klickies, most of them unique to the series, many of them now ‘classics’. Each set came in a small box, priced to make them attractive as ‘pocket money toys’ for children and parents. Judging by second-hand PM lots I have bought, few children’s Playmobil collections from the 1990s and 2000s were without several Specials.

Our collection!

After 2012 and up to the present day, the Special Series was extended with further sets of 6 figures known as ‘Special Plus’ sets; these contain more accessories, but are again mostly single-klicky sets.

In 2013, Geobra started releasing the ‘Mystery Figures’ series, 24 per series (12 ‘boys’ and 12 ‘girls figures in each) with one or two series per year. These are single klicky sets sold in ‘blind bags.’

This review focusses on the 218 Specials issued between 1994 and 2011. I have not covered the Special Plus or Mystery figures. Before 1994, there were a number of single-klicky sets which were not officially called Specials (though they are sometimes referred to as ‘Specials’). Some of these are classics in their own right, but they are not included in this review either.

I haven’t included pictures of all 218 sets, but if you want them they are here.

Reason for this review

When I started collecting Specials I realised many of the set inventories on PlaymoDB were incomplete. This is not surprising given that only three Specials (4658, 4698 and 4756) were ever issued with building instruction sheets.

“Specials don’t need building instructions” – a Geobra manager

I also noticed that, although all the klickies have a number in PlaymoDB (30 nn nnnn or knnnna) and at least a basic description, many klicky details are missing.

I decided to set about filling in the gaps, gathering information from set box pictures, e.g. Collectobil (now defunct) -which had pictures of 145 sets (4901 to 4644, plus 4900), and pictures elsewhere on the Internet. I verified the information by reference to actual sets, especially the 49 I have MISB. The result is, I hope, a complete inventory of all 218 sets with full descriptions of all the klickies. The data is available in various formats, in the following links. Note: PlaymoDB has been updated since I created these documents in 2014.

  • All Specials data on Excel 2010 spreadsheet (colour coded to show information not in PlaymoDB) Specials data
  • Adobe pdf. showing tabulated Specials data, colour coded to show data not in PlaymoDB (35 pages) Specials data
  • Word 2010 document listing contents of each set and full description of each klicky (57 pages) Specials set lists and klicky details
  • Adobe pdf. document listing contents of each set and full description of each klicky (57 pages) Specials set lists and klicky details
  • Other formats (e.g. compatible with earlier versions of Word or Excel, CSV file, etc.) available on request!

Parts

I established there are 1420 parts, including 223 klickies, in the 218 sets, an average of 6.52 parts per set. (I counted a set of 5 daggers (for example) as one part).

Two sets had 14 different parts (4597 Flower Maiden and 4751 Little Flower Fairy),

Many parts!

while 5 sets had only 3 parts (4574 Purple Spirit, 4635 Football Player, 4637 Surfer, 4750 Vet with Dog and 4757 Zookeeper with Baby Gorilla).

Not many parts!

Of the 1420 parts I listed,

  • 911 parts are listed in PlaymoDB Text List inventories for the Special sets,
  • 509 parts I have added to the set inventories
  • 351 are identical with other parts already in the database
  • 109 I have given the same name as an existing part (because they differ from that part in colour only) and invented a pnnnnx part number
  • 49 parts I have invented names for (as nothing similar is in the DB) and invented a pnnnnx part number

Some Special sets could be considered special by virtue of the accessories they came with. To date, many accessories have only been released with Specials, but some have been re-used in more recent sets and this is likely to continue.

Not including klickies, I found 378 parts unique to the Specials series (not found in any other sets) and a further 160 parts found in a Special set and one other set only.

  • 34 sets have no unique parts,
  • 78 sets have one unique part,
  • 57 have two,
  • 26 have three,
  • 13 have four,
  • 2 have five,
  • 4 have six,
  • 3 have 8 unique parts
    • 4521 Arab Warrior,
    • 4553 Astronaut,
    • 4747 Yellow Astronaut
  • one set has 9 unique parts: 4698 Motorcross Boy, making it perhaps the most ’Special’ of the Specials, by virtue of having the most unique parts.

This all ignores the possibility that parts have been used in more recent sets which weren’t in PlaymoDB when I researched this.

The following four sets have only unique parts (including the klickies):

  • 4521        Arab Warrior (8 unique parts)
  • 4530        Evil Witch (6 unique parts)
  • 4553        Astronaut (7 unique parts)
  • 4668        Mother and Baby (4 unique parts)

For me, the Arab Warrior is the nicest Special because those parts are so wonderful, as well as being unique!

My favourite Special!

Klickies

In the 218 sets there are 223 klickies:

  • 209 sets have single klickies,
  • 7 sets have two klickies
    • 6 with a klicky baby and an adult female,
    • one (4686) with two child klickies
  • 2 sets have no klickies:
    • 4503 Vulture and Skeleton
    • 4563 Dog, Cat and Mouse

The 223 klickies are:

  • 142 adult male,
  • 36 adult female,
  • 19 male children,
  • 17 female children,
  • 4 male babies,
  • 2 female babies,
  • 2 robots
  • 1 alien

 

  • 158 klickies are unique, found only in the Special set they came in, which perhaps makes them more Special than other Specials.
  • 43 other klickies were issued as a Special and in one other set.
  • Two Specials really aren’t very special at all: 4540 (Norse Warrior) and 4580 (Police Officer) are each to be found in seven other sets (not the same seven sets, Norse Police haven’t been created yet!).

Is he calling us boring?

I made 691 corrections to Klicky descriptions: 528 gaps filled, 84 partial changes, 79 complete changes.

Printing and clothing

Many of the klickies have special printing or non-detachable clothes.

Of 223 klickies

  • 184 have torso printing of some sort,
  • 39 have plain (unprinted) torsos, but 26 of these have clothes such as vests, jackets, armour, etc.
  • 125 klickies have clothes (19 of these have only a belt, 3 only glasses, 2 only earrings, 1 only a clown-nose, 1 only a necklace).
  • 104 have face printing,
  • 79 have leg printing,
  • 30 have arm printing and
  • one (4652) has printing on the feet.

Hairstyles

  • There are 30 hair styles in 17 colours
    • 63 have classic male hair, in 10 different colours
    • only 8 have classic female hair (in 4 colours)
  • 31 klickies have beards (in 11 styles).
  • There are 9 face colours:
    • 185 are light skintone
    • 21 are red-brown,
    • 7 are glow-in-the dark
    • 3 are brown
    • 3 are silver
    • 1 each of white, gold, light green and red
  • There are 17 hand colours
  • 28 have bare feet.

Questions

I am sure there are probably errors in my inventories of the Specials. If you find any, let me know and I will update the inventory files.

For the three sets mentioned below, I have some questions about what parts were included, so if you have these (perhaps as MISB sets) perhaps you could help?

  • 4507 Cat burglar. What is the string like (colour, length, thickness)? Is there a hook or a handhold on the string?
  • 4542 Ruffian Redcoat. What sort of white feather is in his hat (length, width or identical part known in another set)?
  • 4554 Ninja. Does the diagonal red strap have two pegs or just one on the back? Some set-box pictures seem to show one, some two, so different versions of this part may have been included at different times.

Variations

As with most PM sets, variations exist, where parts have been changed in later editions. Several of the Specials have been issued in other guises (give-aways, keychains, etc.) and some were on sale for several years, so variations have crept in. Here are a few I have noticed. In all cases, except 4600, any changes to the contents of a set were NOT reflected in the pictures on the front or back of the box.

  • 4514 Pierrot. Cuffs may be pleated (as on the box picture) or plain.
  • 4600 Child with Tipping Tractor. The rear wheels of the tractor were large in some versions (possibly earlier ones, as well as in the similar US exclusive set 4930) but in other versions they were small, the same size as the front wheels. This is the only Special I have found where the box picture has been changed to reflect a change in contents.
  • 4603 Halloween Costume. Collector 3rd edition shows two versions. Version 1 has white printing (I think) and version 2 has glow-in-the-dark printing. Or perhaps it is just that the boxes differ: version 2 has an inset picture on the front showing the ‘glow-in-the-dark’ effect.
  • 4622 Confederate Soldier. Collector 3rd edition shows two versions Version 1 has insignia printed on the hat and version 2 has no insignia.
  • 4633 Dragon Warrior, 4646 Knight with Double Axe and 4689 Swan Knight. For each of these, there are two versions of the klicky’s armour; with or without pointed shoulders.
  • 4633 Dragon Warrior, 4689 Swan Knight, 4694 Hooded Ghost, 4696 Dragon Prince and probably others with the part ‘Sword, guard curves away from handle’. Later versions have the sword with guards perpendicular to the blade; 
  • 4650 Scary Ghost. The ball and loop for the chain may be metal in some versions.

Created 16 May 2018. Links updated 27 April 2019