Rev Markus Bomhard, 38, an evangelical preacher from Eschborn, Hesse, glued breasts on to his "Eve" character and even recreated the Passion in plastic, depicting the Crucifixion by using a hairdryer to melt and mould the Christ figure's hands to a cross.
But the montage attracted the wrath of Germany's favourite toy company, which produces the Klicky figures used by the pastor, after a series of pictures were published on the internet.
The toy maker claimed the church was violating copyright and instructed lawyers to write to the pastor to dismantle his creation. Mr Bomhard, who claims to have received a letter from Pope Benedict XVI praising his attempts to bring the Christian story to children, has rejected the company's complaints, pointing out that Palymobil figures had been put to far more profane use. He said that a talk show host in Germany had presented Playmobil figure on his programme that was dressed up to look like Hitler.
"It's true that I did use a hairdryer to soften the figure for the crucifixion scene because the fingers wouldn't spread out properly otherwise," he said. "Then I had to let it harden again before I could nail it to the cross."
Gisela Kupiak, a Playmobil spokesman, said the pastor was violating the company's commercial rights for his own benefit. "We are quite tolerant if this is done in the privacy of the home but if someone crucifies a Playmobil figure, or, as in the case of Eve, glues on breasts, then this is a completely different dimension," she said.
There's a photo gallery here.
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