Playmobil Inventor Dies

Hans Beck, the German inventor of Playmobil toys, has died at the age of 79. Beck created the 7.5cm tall figures with their clip-on clothes in response to a plastic shortage caused by the oil crisis of the early 1970s. They became so popular that over 2 billion of them have been sold in more than 70 countries.

Beck, originally a furniture maker, worked according to the motto "No horror, no superficial violence, no short-lived trends". His first Playmobil characters were a knight, a builder and a Native American. For the full story, read this article in the UK's Guardian newspaper.