• From April 25 to May 1, a couple of collectors exhibit nearly 7,000 Playmobil in Mimizan, in the Landes.
  • Linking history and toys of the German brand, they challenge themselves to teach the youngest while making the older ones fall back into childhood.
  • In total, Vincent has a collection of 100 cubic meters of the brand's toys. Only a "small part" of which is exhibited in Mimizan.

"The idea is to present creations, but above all to fall back into childhood." This Thursday morning in Mimizan, Vincent Rousseau finds the time to present his more than satisfactory balance sheet since he installed his exhibition in the north of the Landes. With his wife, they are co-presidents of the association "Playmo du Sud" and they walk the France with their Playmobil on their backs. He is a professor of history and geography, she teaches French. So they combine their passion for the German toy brand with the desire to tell significant moments of history. From a raid on England by the Vikings to the Crusades and a trip on the Nile, they challenge themselves "to teach children while making the older ones fall back into childhood".

If they have put their thousands of figurines on the Landes coast since April 25, it is because the municipality of Mimizan has called on them. "The tourist office kindly invited us, proposing a theme: that of the sea". In total, nearly 7,000 Playmobil will come to life until May 1st. Even if Vincent quickly tempers: "At home, I have nearly 100,000 cubic meters, I could only bring a small part." A small part that still asked for "more than three days of implementation". And the collector adds: "The longest are all the small details that give life to the staging," he says, taking an example from a tea room exhibited on the theme "bathing in the belle époque". But he readily admits, "That's what people prefer."

The greatest collector of France

Especially for their first exhibition in the Landes, the two enthusiasts have made a "Landes forest" part. Within it, shepherds on stilts and dressed in long woollen coats watch over a flock of sheep. "It takes six to seven hours of work per character. Special outfits are made piece by piece, you have to carve by hand. But it works pretty well, because we had not planned to sell it and we have orders since yesterday, "smiles the one who defines himself as the largest collector of France in "Playmobil on historical themes".


If they go to such lengths, it is precisely to get as close as possible to historical reality. So, they do not hesitate to dig into all the scenes and make new pieces. Above all, they had to devote themselves to a "lot of research work" to best respect the codes of the time. "We also work with museums or over specific periods. For example, we are preparing an exhibition on the theme of Napoleon III. And the couple divides up the work, devoting him more to the creation of military buildings and rooms when his wife makes smaller pieces.

33 years of collection

For the origin of this collection, we have to rewind some 33 years ago. "It's a personal collection, since adolescence I've been passionate about models and history," recalls the man from Narbonne. So, he began to participate in exhibitions to "make something of everything he has amassed for so many years". And it works quite well: "It's a good vector, it allows children to discover conflicts or periods they do not know very well," says the fifty-year-old.

On this Thursday morning, they are nearly fifteen to walk between the historical scenes, "mainly families", smiles Vincent. As for the first returns, the couple is satisfied that they are "very good". And to conclude "we have locals, but also a lot of tourists, we made more than 1,200 entries on the first two days". Even if he concedes "it's a little thanks to the weather too, which was capricious". Hoping that this one gives a little more work to the couple of collectors.

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