The exhibition is on the first floor of the International Maritime Museum in Hamburg. Seven different worlds have been lovingly curated in the dioramas. All the exhibits used come from Playmobil, from the personal collection of Playmobil artist Oliver Schaffer. Schaffer's aim is to present the different eras as authentically as possible. Some Playmobil toys from the 1970s are also used for this purpose.
Twelve days of construction
Even though the artist Oliver Schaffer, in collaboration with the curators of the museum in Hamburg's Speicherstadt, wants to convey an authentic picture of the respective period, some of the exhibits are certainly not exactly like the original. This is mainly due to the selection of Playmobil products. Even though Schaffer owns thousands of pieces, a compromise had to be made again and again during construction in order to condense the largely prefabricated Playmobil models, from Roman legionaries to Viking dragon ships, into seven different worlds.
Unique Playmobil worlds
In order to create as authentic an impression as possible, some of the original figures had to be remodelled. For example, eggs were painted yellow to represent a bowl of lemons on a small boat in ancient Egypt. Some were also misappropriated and subsequently remodelled to fit in with the respective era.
The Hanseatic cog, for example, was created as an elaborate one-off from two combined pirate ships, in which Schaffer placed the mast amidships and replaced the modern steering wheel with a historically correct capstan. He transformed an official Egyptian Nile ship by omitting colourful decorations and furled sails into a simple working barge, which now transports a massive obelisk.
It took a small team led by Oliver Schaffer a total of twelve days to set up. Not only the Playmobil pieces are worth seeing. The scenery was elaborately modelled. Each world has a different water surface, for example, which was elaborately designed using paper, paint, paste and colours. This gives the individual dioramas a more realistic appearance.
A journey back in time to ancient Egypt
The programme in the exhibition is not limited to the Playmobil exhibits alone. A children's audio book, which can be listened to directly at the dioramas, and small Easter eggs also tell the story of a time traveller who travels from ancient Egypt to modern times in a hot air balloon.
The maritime journey through time is brought to life by interactive rallies and workshops, with explanatory texts for both children and adults presented at all exhibits. The Exhibition can be seen daily from 8 May to 8 November 2026. Admission to the museum is 18 euros.
David Ingelfinger
Volontär
