Patric van Boven Kaarsmaker’s Playmobil Walhalla has been saved. For ten years the museum with shop was at Breda station. But the NS has found a tenant for the space and so everything has to go. A new place has now been found in a vacant garage. And that means a mega job for the volunteers: they have to move 21 gigantic scenes and at least one hundred thousand dolls.
“You have to look through it,” laughs 56-year-old Patric. He shows the vacant garage at the Teteringsedijk in Breda, next to the former Aldi. He can sit there for two years of anti-squat. “Here we are going to put big dolls, that attracts people,” he laughs proudly, pointing to the window. He enthusiastically shows self-scratched sketches of the new museum with shop and warehouse.
1200 square meters: that large is the building at the station that is being emptied. It must be empty in two weeks. The structures are huge. For example, a scene of 15 meters by 6.5 meters has been demolished. Building it took a month.
More than ten years ago the adventure of the Playmobil fanatic started. It started with a Christmas village that there would be a maximum of three months. The small Playmobil dream grew into a giant museum with a meeting place and shop: Happy Station. Patric moved within the station a few times. He was allowed to stay in this building until the NS needed it again: so now.
“You knew that the moment would come,” says Patric. Yet the thump was huge for the volunteers. Especially for a 75-year-old woman who calls the volunteers ‘grandma’. “She has sleepless nights. Big crying too,” says the fantasy buildings. “She doesn’t want to come here when breaking down. She can’t see it.”
So after twenty attempts there is a new place for the volunteers. Moving is not easy. “Certainly not with the storm yesterday,” laughs the construction fan. “Hup, another box of Playmobil on the street. Then I crawl back on the floor again.”
“I’m having a hard time with it,” says the 47-year-old volunteer Bas van London. In countless hours he was busy with the toy. “It is a lot of your life that you throw away.” Yet he is looking forward to the new place. “It is still a lot of work,” he sighs.
‘Guest builders’ and Playmobil fanatics: they come from far: Germany, Luxembourg, France or Spain. There is a living room where people can chat and a shop for Playmobil. Everything runs on volunteers and the proceeds are used, among other things, to expand the museum. Or the money goes to a hotel stay for a guest builder. “I just want to make people happy,” Patric explains his motivation.
Also people on benefits or a disability: they find a place at Patric. “People come in cheerfully. They have another goal. A boy likes it so much, who eats within three minutes to continue building,” he laughs. Although he is still looking for volunteers. “Certainly in a city it is very difficult.”
Patric wants to open the shop again on 1 October. He also hopes to reopen the museum before Christmas. “We keep the courage in it. It gets even more beautiful,” he says radiantly.
