Man, I don’t know who or what they have working at Playmobil’s automotive plastic things department, but whatever it is, they’re not playing fair. I’m an old man, I shouldn’t find myself desiring injection-molded plastic toys from a company that targets those weird smart-family kids who always have friends from Europe over and eat Nutella, and yet here we are. All because Playmobil somehow knows exactly what details to include on their iconic classic car-based toys, like what they did for their new Citroën 2CV toy. They give you multiple headlight lenses, so you can pick between traditional French-market yellow headlights or more mainstream Europe clear headlights. Those fuckers. Those greedy, clever bastards. They know that a detail like that is meth-soaked catnip for sad obsessive motherscratchers like me, and that’s why they’re so damn good at this.
Yes, Playmobil knows exactly what they’re doing. Even if the Playmobil humans are radically simplified approximations of the human form, their cars tend to be wildly accurate. A couple years back they made some air-cooled Volkswagen toys, a Beetle and a Bus, and I marveled at how incredibly detailed they made the engines:
I think it’s clear that when it comes to old cars, Playmobil is not fucking around.
For one thing, they’ve gone back to the 2CV’s roots, thematically, since it was originally designed to be a car for French farmers, so much so that the design brief famously included the requirement that it should be able to traverse a plowed field with a basket of eggs and not break a single one. To that end, the set comes with a couple of geese, a pig, a farmer, and some milk jugs. I’m sure at least one of those is capable of laying eggs.
They’ve also included what I guess is some kind of Plamobil hippie or counterculturalist, and a French cop, I suppose so your kid can have fun playing getting harassed by the man, or, I suppose, getting hassled by l’homme.
The hood doesn’t open on the 2CV to reveal the engine, which is disappointing, but the trunk opens to hold the milk jugs or some change or your drug stash, so that’s good. I suspect that Playmobil’s injection-molding technique makes opening a large curved panel like the hood impossible; the Beetle’s front trunk didn’t open, either, and I suspect for the same reasons. I guess the state of Plamobil tech in 2023 is just able to make doors and rear lids open on cars.
Based on the taillights and the 2CV6 Special nameplate on the car, I think the model being shown here is a 1976 2CV, though I suppose it could be an 80s-era one, too. But definitely post 1970, because of those angular taillights from the Citroën Ami.
And, speaking of lights, I should show you the real party trick of the Playmobil 2CV: the swappable light colors:
I suppose to many this may seem like a minor, even silly thing, but there’s something about those French Selective Yellow headlights, and Playmobil knows this. They also know that making them swappable for clear lights just amps up the appeal of them, somehow, in some way I can’t quite explain. As for why the French were the only country to mandate yellow headlights, which they did from 1937 or so until 1994, there’s a number of explanations. Automotive lighting guru Daniel Stern explains it like this:
What is “selective yellow” light?
It is a particular kind of yellow light that was required from all road illumination lamps on vehicles in France for many years. Light appears (more or less) white when it contains a mix of all the colours—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. By removing (filtering) the blue, indigo, and violet out of white light, we get selective yellow light. It is not the same as the more orange colour called “yellow” or “amber” used for vehicle turn signals, side marker lights, and (in some countries) clearance and front position or “parking” lights.
Why and when did France require selective yellow light?
A number of folk explanations have long been in circulation for the French yellow-lights requirement that started in the mid-1930s. Some say it was a tactical decision at the urging of the military, to facilitate identification of the nationality of a vehicle at night, useful during the war. Some say it was because French road pavement had peculiar reflective properties. Some say it was nothing but market protectionism. And a particularly persistent myth holds that yellow light “penetrates fog better” because blue light scatters more, as evidenced by the sky being blue. The sky is indeed blue because of Rayleigh Scattering—short-wavelength light such as blue, indigo and violet does indeed scatter more—but only in droplets and particles equal or smaller than the wavelength of the light. That’s much smaller than the particles and droplets that make up ground-level fog, rain, and snow; there is no Rayleigh Scattering happening to the light from a vehicle’s front lamps, and whatever blue light those lamps might be producing does not get scattered by the fog, snow, or rain more than other colours of light.
The fact is, in late 1936 lawmakers in France put forth legislation requiring road-illumination lamps (headlamps, fog lamps, etc.) on all vehicles to emit selective yellow light. This legislation was based on advice from the French Central Commission for Automobiles and Traffic, which in turn was based on experiments done by the French Academy of Sciences, concluding that selective yellow light is less glaring than white. Here is the decree, published in the 5 November 1936 edition of the Journal Officiel de la Republique Française—Official Journal of the French Republic, like the U.S. Federal Register or the Canada Gazette.
There are also theories that the yellow lights were chosen for military reasons, possibly to make them easy to differentiate from vehicles from Germany. Really, no one is exactly sure how it started, but it definitely became a hallmark of French automotive quirkiness.
So, there you go. Another hard-to-resist car toy to clutter your home and make you wonder if you’ve even grown up at all, or just gotten grayer and tubbier. Good work, as always, Playmobil.
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Yes, yellow headlights are not as tiring for the eyes, because they EMIT LESS LIGHT (some of the color spectrum cut out). You can get the same result with a 6 volt electrical system, like in an old Porsche or VW.
Wondering if there were some other old french law stating that all vehicles should be able to be hand crank started? Since it’s there on the 2CV, DS, Renault 4, Peugeot 404 (and probably a lot others)
I think the hand crank thing had to be more of a practicality thing and the effect of basing new designs in older architectures (if the old powertrain they were strapping to this new model had it, what’s the point in not keeping it a feature), as it wasn’t a universal thing. Likely one of those things that took a little longer to die off in some specific domestic market (like, say, the fender-mounted rearview mirrors in JDM cars; I don’t think that was a legal requirement, just a trend that lasted longer in domestic cars from that particular market).
Lego and Playmobil are in some kind of License War… What one put in shops the other has to have too.
Just look at the BTTF De Lorean. Lego got it first ( from Lego Idea ) , then Playmobil got one, and now Lego made another larger one.
Both got Ecto1 (again one after the other ) and both are trying to get the 60s/70s vibes with vehicles from that era.
Well, I guess I have to buy one of these. Check my profile. ????
Do you think there’s any chance they could make a ‘74 Javelin next? I’d love to have on to match my other fun car.
Noice.
I really need a VW 411 to match my obscure fun car, really, really, really, really, really. I will venture into the world of Playmobil to get a Nasenbär in model form. Please, toy companies. Cater to my needs.
For decades playmobil kept their vehicles generic as to not have to pay license fees.
The 911 was the first deviation and it appears they have almost pivoted 180 degrees and happy to pay up while the audience is welcoming automotive treasures.
If Lego movies are a thing, where the heck are the Playmobil movies?
They made one, I think Daniel Radcliffe starred in it (as a Porsche Taycan-driving spy or something like that). It was apparently not good, and disappeared from the public consciousness quickly.
Try googling Super 4.
( I know it’s a French specific thing… but it might have been exported )
I checked it out. Please forgive me. I withdraw the question. I was only interested in the automotive aspects.
It even comes with a playmobil Charles Manson!
The policeman is probably a nod to the movies “Le gendarme de Saint-Tropez” which often featured the 2cv, including a famous scene where a nun drives one that’s been cut in half like a lunatic!
Yeah, when I saw the gendarme, I wondered “where is the nun?”
She’s been jailed for reckless driving years ago!
Kinda feels like you didn’t read all the way through that block quote you dropped in there, Torch.
Oh well… wrong French people’s car, but I won’t lie: I want this one.
And Playmobil: you’ve done the Beetle, the Mini and the 2CV. Get working on the Renault 4 already.
Personal experience; those yellow headlights are indeed a lot lesh harsh than white ones. It really made driving in France a lot better compared to when everybody is driving around with white lights
This right here. Yellow lights are much, much less harsh. I’m from a country where French headlights are legal in cars that could have come with them stock, with a cut-off registry year in the late 80s (not sure what year exactly). That means they’re illegal in my 1991 Renault 4, but someone driving, say, an 85, can totally rock yellow headlights even if that particular example originally came with clear headlights. Lots of people with older French cars actually install yellow headlights and it’s such a pleasure to pass by one of those at night. Like, polar opposite to passing by a BMW suv that won’t turn off the high beams.
When I was a kid, all my friends wanted to fantasy play soldier or fireman. I wanted to play French farmer and later when I heard hippies didn’t have to bathe…
Playmobil’s slogan should be “Too Little, Too Late”
Playmobil could make the 2CV’s hood and Beetle’s frunk open if they wanted to, I’m sure it’s just a cost / play value decision (and Playmobil has other toys with analogous compartments that show they can mold anything they need to). Having the engine is the rear is an iconic, definitive Beetle feature, so if tooling costs demand either the frunk or engine cover will open but *not both,* engine cover is the obvious choice. “Engine up front” is not an important part of the 2CVs identity, and has less play value than being able to stash milk containers in the boot–hence the decision there. I think. I don’t *know* anything. This is all a simulation, for all I know. Nobody knows.
Growing up in Canada, but with a French father and plenty of French relatives, I was always told that yellow lights were chosen because they were less blinding to opposing traffic. I never heard the other reasons, but I never questioned that idea until now.
When I landed in Luxemburg in my first ever trip to France I was totally weirded out by the yellow street lights and later the French headlights. I think the reason you were given originally is how I have understood it all these years
James Bond Aston Martin DB5 – Goldfinger Edition with authentic gadgets including the passenger ejector seat and revolving number plates which first appeared in Goldfinger (1964). Also featuring James Bond, Auric Goldfinger, Oddjob and another of Goldfinger’s henchman.
https://www.playmobil.ca/en/james-bond-aston-martin-db5—goldfinger-edition/70578.html
What, no Pussy Galore?
Thank you for the link. Now I hate you. Bug, Bus, Mini, OMG the gull wing Merc, checks visa balance…Hmmm
The A-Team van! I didn’t know they made that one!
But the Scooby Doo van is a fucking 90s Chevy, WTF??
Torch, if they were *really* greedy, they’d make one model with the yellow headlights and another with white so you’d have to buy them both.
Being the cynical person that I am, when I read the headline that’s exactly what I thought they did
Funny timing, I was up the mall last weekend and wandered into a store that was selling Playmobil and I was really impressed with the cars they had on sale. I just remembered wanting Playmobil as a kid but never got any because my mom said they were too expensive. My friend had some and I remember thinking the truck he had felt really sturdy for what it was.
If I got the Playmobil 2CV, I’d give the gun to the hippie. Why? It’s funny that’s why
If the French actually chose their headlights color for military reasons, wouldn’t they have selected white to indicate they were surrendering?
You mean the headlights?
If the French are such pussies why is the U.S. capital filled with stuff honoring French soldiers? Is that because it wouldn’t be a country without them?
“I yellowed out my headlamps so they work worse” is a very French thing to do in its own right, either way.
I had never seen those Playmobil VW toys. Its too bad that I don’t have any kids.
Fortunately for me, all of my friends do.
What are the two white things between the pistol and the duffel bag? Are those the drugs that the hippie-chick sells from the duffel bag?
The clear lenses
I had to look again, and you’re right. I mistook them for diamonds, and I mistook the cow picture on the jugs as windows with diamonds inside, making the gendarmerie make sense.
Don’t judge me! It’s early on a Sunday and I don’t have my glasses on and I haven’t had my caffeine and, and…yeah, I know.
Gee, and here I thought Playmobile only made pirates. Those pirates that would somehow spread to all parts of the apartment, under cover of darkness to be stepped upon. Hundreds of tiny pirates.
and monkeys from the jungle set, buried in the shag carper waiting…waiting…waaiting
“I’m an old man, I shouldn’t find myself desiring injection-molded plastic toys from a company that targets those weird smart-family kids who always have friends from Europe over and eat Nutella, and yet here we are.”
Says who? Matchbox, Hot Wheels and LEGO have all figured us out. The Germans finally realized we’re all a bunch of mannkinder und fraukinder.
Exactly. Many toy brands cater both to children and adults who played with those toys as children. Lego actually over-does it a bit in my opinion, way too many sets are 100% adult oriented. One thing I love about these Playmobil sets with real cars is that they retain their childish appeal. They’re still very unashamedly toys, unlike say the Lego Architecture line, or those super expensive Star Wars sets (which I love, sure, but the nostalgia-based cash grab is just too apparent with those).
My daughter got in while I was reading the article and was blown away; suddenly she was devising a plan for how we could save up to go halfsies on it (I was blown away too and I don’t think I did a great job trying to hide it).
I have been buying my grandchildren Playmobil from Craigslist, serious stuff, fire engines, speed boats, 4×4’s, monkeys, a camper with beds. (also insanely expensive) I now can buy this under the guise of: it is for the grandkids. Luckily we are a francophone household so it makes sense. Never mind that I lust for a DS 21 and now thanks to you Jason I must have the Renault. I am leaving Utopian now for a dive into bay/France.
Or?
“Are you smarter than a fifth grader?”
look, Nutella kicks ass
I was hoping the driver to be a none and the cop being from Saint Tropez.
Judging by the color of his uniform, you are correct, it is a gendarme de Saint Tropez. It was the color for the summer gendarmerie uniform you see in the series. There is a serious lack of nuns !!!
It definitely was the French Gendarmerie uniform in the 70s.
Now it also look like the *Terre de France* Uniform from the French Army in the 90s
but by that time the Gendarmes were known as *Les Bleus* ( because of the blue uniform )
Shouldn’t it come with a basket of eggs to set on the front seat?
Cost too much.
So the yellowing plastic lenses on American cars suggest that after a certain age, we all start to get a little more French. Pass the Gauloises, crank up the ye ye, we’re eating cheese tonight!
Well, they got the fromage right.
ACAB includes Playmobil cops with guns. Why did they give him a gun??
Geese can be assholes.
cotd
Yep. Geese and ducks have razor-sharp teeth in their bills. I discovered this the hard way as a child.
And don’t leave out turkeys with those sharp claws (or spurs). I’ve been dive-bombed by one several years ago for no apparent reason.
And you thought water moccasins were bad.
The gun belongs to the geese?
And not one of those hand-held round Arret! signs the Playmobile forces often wield…
No it’s an AZAM
Twist: the gun belongs to the woman. She’s a German RAF operative on the lam in southern France who just hitched a ride with a local farmer, and that cop at the checkpoint armed with nothing but a whistle and a pair of euro-style lenses he just bought for his own 2CV – guy’s a gearhead – is about to be in a “fuck around and find out” situation. He does not want to mess with the German girl. Or the pair of geese in the backseat.