Pictures of New Schleich 2011 Models @ London Toy Fair Jan 2011

Hi everyone.

So I visited the London Toy fair again today for the second year running simply to see the Schleich and Papo stands. It was quite exciting but at the same time nerve racking because everytime I would approach any stand, even just to look at items, a sales person would appear trying to get a deal out of me! Of course I am not running a business and so it was a little embarrassing for me. The atmosphere in these places is all about deals, deals, deals and there I am simply trying to enjoy my hobby.

Anyway I shall report back on what I have discovered.

To my delight I came across mini stands for Safari Ltd and Collecta which I didnt see last year. Both companies did not represent themselves but were represented by UK distributors and so there were literally just a little area dedicated to both names, still better than nothing. I also managed to get catalogues from both which were great.

One of the reps on that Papo stand recognised me from last year and I was quite embarassed about that but she was totally fine about it ha! The Papo stand was empty and so I was not confident in taking pictures. The few pictures I did manage to take didnt come out very well but I will post them in the Papo section and not here, the same for Collecta.

The Schleich stand was awesome as ever and the entire 2011 range was on display which was awesome! As well as the usual Jan release animals I also got to see and touch the May release Forest animals. The badgers were fine, the foxes were really nice and much much better than previous models but the best surprise was the bellowing stag. It is amazing! I really like this model - it is dynamic and the stag is sculpted really well. In fact, and I cannot believe I am saying this but it is my favourite model from the animal ranges, even better than the Kudu! Thats just my opinion of course.

Ofcourse the biggest dedicated areas was to Schleichs new range of Heroes and warriors and I have to say that they are also great, particularly the animals that come with them. The Kenjok Crocodile looks like the standard wildlife croc but it is bright green and also a little larger. I dont remember the names of all the warriors as I am only interested in the animals.

The Porcupine is really good with many soft ended spikes (they are not as pointy as they should be but then that must be due to child safety). However it throws out the idea that a male gazelle is not made because of pointy horns?! The porcupine is great. The cheetah is brilliant because it is not in the usual standard boring pose but also dynamic and walking. It is perfectly in scale with the current Cheetah so will be an addition to the cheetah family. The two new dragons looks ok but they are not my thing, however another fantastic model is the new warrior bear - superb sculpting and brilliant pose. It is fantastic! Although i would say it is a little large in scale compared to the current bears but this bear is a must have along with the Cheetah and porcupine! Great additions to the wildlife range even though they are not sold individually.

It was funny to see the new modified Pegasus baby with the wings pointing up. The Elf carriages come with two of the current horse models that are revised slightly with pure white coats that have a slight shimmer to them and pink coloured hooves. I dont collect this series but the horses are great!

Last and best of all the mighty Warrior Elephant was AWESOME BRILLIANT FANTASTIC AND A MASTERPIECE! I absolutely love this model and it is huge! It has nothing to do with being in scale with the current animals. It is in scale with the human models that is comes with and hence is really big and quite heavy and solid. The sculpting on the elephant is so superb that it would actually make a wonderful ornament or decoration piece in someones home - it is that good! I tried picking it up and noticed the minute detail on its skins, tusks, feet etc. A rep then came up to me and explained that the warrior elephants on display were not the final commerical product but the prototype and that these are made and cut via special lasers etc hence why this model was more robust, solid and more detailed. A commerical moulded version would naturally lose some of the detail which I think is a real shame. Even if you dont collect this new series, trust me that elephant is a wonder. It is going to be an expensive year for me and I dont care if the elephant does not go with my wildlife models. I am buying it!

I had a quick conversation with one of the UK Schleich representatives and I told her about OUR (the collectors) disapointment at a lack of new animals this year. She told me that Schleich are aware of how disgruntled some of us are because they have received alot of letters, emails and even some complaints from collectors around the world. She also said that they check out some of our forums quite often and understand that collectors get frustrated. She then went on to say that Schleich are tring their best to please us collectors but that they also must ensure that the needs of their main market (children) was also met. They are also looking at marketing more toys for boys hence the warriors ranges this year and this will increase over the next few years. I was also told that they realise 2011 was not a year for many animals but that 2012 is going to be a BIG year across all lines. The wildlife and farm ranges are their core lines and they will increase these next year - she even said that they are going to bring out more farm accessories next year with more tractors and other vehicles and accessories. They will also hopefully have more wildlife models too and that this year because of the warriors ranges their resources were limited.

It was an interesting conversation and I was given a copy of the large format catalogue which was great. I did tell her that we wished for more variety in terms of species and she immediately said that the most common request Schleich receives at their UK and German offices are for different types of monkeys! I was surprised thinking it should be antelopes and told her that they must consider antelopes. She said she would pass my comments on......lets see. I dream of a Schleich Bongo, Gemsbok and most of all a Sable Antelope. She did end the conversation with saying that the UK Schleich office were surprised when the Wolverine was brought out as even she thought of all the animals, why a wolverine when it is so obscure. This shows me that even Schleich staff may question the viability of producing different unusual species. We as collectors want them but Schleich are treading a fine line in trying to please us and their main market which are children. They are doing their best but we just want more! From the hints I was given I am looking forward to 2012 already - I really hope it will be a bumper year. I also think that many of us collectors need to get our lists together and seriously approach Schleich once again and ask them to consider making some animals for 2012 for us such as Antelopes, Okapi family, Male gazelle and whatever else you desire. I know apoll was taken before. Can someone start a brand new poll and send this to Schleich for careful consideration? It would be useful.

Anyway folks, in the next few posting I will post ALL 50 plus photos I took - apologies again. I dont have much money these days and I tend to spend it on Schleich and so have never gotten round to replacing my digital camera. So instead I use my mobile and I think not all the pictures came out very well SORRY!

Well at least the pics are better than nothing! Enjoy! :)

thanks for the pictures!

hi numaan thanks for the info and the pictures
steve

Dear Numaan thanks a lot for your very interesting report...however I am unable to see the pictures: it's written: picture moved or deleted - photobucket.....I do I get to see the pictures? Could you kindly help? Thanks!

pm64 wrote:

Dear Numaan thanks a lot for your very interesting report...however I am unable to see the pictures: it's written: picture moved or deleted - photobucket.....I do I get to see the pictures? Could you kindly help? Thanks!

Same for me I don't see the pictures. Look forward to though! :)

~ Sue

Thanks so much! I don't see pix, though

They've been here, shortly...

I don't know what happened to the pictures! I didnt do anything I promised. I just posted some pictures in the Collecta and Papo sections too so take a look. Here are the Schleich pictures again:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Thank you for all those fantastic pictures Numaan!! wow the elephant is fabulous and I LOVE the red fox, badger and calling stag!!! I'm certainly going to get those. The bear from the heroes series is really nice, but they are quite pricey to get, I like the cheetah as well.

HKHollinstone wrote:

Thank you for all those fantastic pictures Numaan!! wow the elephant is fabulous and I LOVE the red fox, badger and calling stag!!! I'm certainly going to get those. The bear from the heroes series is really nice, but they are quite pricey to get, I like the cheetah as well.

Hello!

Yes the sets are a little pricey but I look at it like this - in the uk they cost around £10 each which is equivalent two two large standard Schleich animals (ie Elephant or Yak) so given that there are less animals introduced this year then that money can be used to buy the sets....that bear really is something......and the cheetah and stag. It just shows that Schleich CAN produce really good models in dynamic poses - they just need to put their mind to it and not give us the usual boring standing pose with heads turned...

WOW! In spite of the pushy sellers you must have had a fantastic day.

1000 times thanks for the great photoes, Numaa, , - only, eeeek, I MUST have the white Elefant and the dragon when they are available, - and the porcupine+man and....

wow! thank you for the pics. The cheetah and the bear are amazing!

Numaan I can imagine the feeling, like a kid in candy store

Thank you for this report, Numaan! I really enjoyed.
By the way, the fox looks to be almost the same size as the wolverine. IS it really so?

Schleichzoo wrote:

... I did tell her that we wished for more variety in terms of species and she immediately said that the most common request Schleich receives at their UK and German offices are for different types of monkeys!

I totally agree with that! Monkeys (esp. tree-dwelling ones) are real must-haves for any rainforest display - Africa, India, S. America. Children love playing monkey figures too. That said, there are almost no monkey figures on the market!!!

Schleichzoo wrote:

I was surprised thinking it should be antelopes and told her that they must consider antelopes.

Sure, there are many wonderful antelope species not embodied as figurines. But on the other side - there are already not so few antelope figures on the market: various kudus, gnus, Schleich's gazelle, Safari oryx. While the situation with monkeys is really catastrophic!

Schleichzoo wrote:

I also think that many of us collectors need to get our lists together and seriously approach Schleich once again and ask them to consider making some animals for 2012 for us such as Antelopes, Okapi family, Male gazelle and whatever else you desire. I know apoll was taken before. Can someone start a brand new poll and send this to Schleich for careful consideration? It would be useful.

I support the idea!
Everyone could propose, say, his Top-10 of species, and the most frequently mentioned animals could be included into a 20-piece poll, for example. Out of which 10 species could be chosen and sent to Schleich. Although it could influence their model range not earlier than 2013-2014, I think.

Wow! That's quite a line-up. I think I need a wart hog.

-Kristie

Kiryuha wrote:

Schleichzoo wrote:

I also think that many of us collectors need to get our lists together and seriously approach Schleich once again and ask them to consider making some animals for 2012 for us such as Antelopes, Okapi family, Male gazelle and whatever else you desire. I know apoll was taken before. Can someone start a brand new poll and send this to Schleich for careful consideration? It would be useful.

I support the idea!
Everyone could propose, say, his Top-10 of species, and the most frequently mentioned animals could be included into a 20-piece poll, for example. Out of which 10 species could be chosen and sent to Schleich. Although it could influence their model range not earlier than 2013-2014, I think.

It's a really good idea. I'm agreed with that too.

I would like to see a capybara and some new Fjord horses!

-Kristie

Thanks Numaan!

I think we should seriously put up a poll or gather a list.

Kiryuha wrote:

Schleichzoo wrote:

I also think that many of us collectors need to get our lists together and seriously approach Schleich once again and ask them to consider making some animals for 2012 for us such as Antelopes, Okapi family, Male gazelle and whatever else you desire. I know apoll was taken before. Can someone start a brand new poll and send this to Schleich for careful consideration? It would be useful.

I support the idea!
Everyone could propose, say, his Top-10 of species, and the most frequently mentioned animals could be included into a 20-piece poll, for example. Out of which 10 species could be chosen and sent to Schleich. Although it could influence their model range not earlier than 2013-2014, I think.

I agree too, it is a very good idea!

Let's create the schleichtiersammler forum lobby

Schleichzoo wrote:

........I did tell her that we wished for more variety in terms of species and she immediately said that the most common request Schleich receives at their UK and German offices are for different types of monkeys! .........

Hi, Numaan, I have read your great report from the exhibition and taken the liberty to cut this out, because I fully agree with the great masses here : More monkeys, - really the only ones they have ever made was the baboons, if I remember right.
All the others are apes, - gorillas, chimps and orangutangs, - not even gibbons !!!!

I am not at all surprised that the volverine was sold out.
Just look at all the tigers, they have made, I hav a whole box of them, and they are more or less the same except for the first ones, and that some re white.
The new kudu and buffalo are nice, - but they made those before, why repeat ?????
There ars SO many species to schoose from !

Thanks for the beautiful pictures

Izzy wrote:

I would like to see a capybara and some new Fjord horses!

-Kristie

I would love to see a Schleich capybara. A coati wouldn't be bad, either. And while we are lingering in South America, why not a yellow or green anaconda, not to mention a harpy eagle?

Well, Torben could make a separate thread for collecting our Top-10s, I think. With some rules - not more than 10 animals from one person , for example.

schleich61 wrote:

Izzy wrote:

I would like to see a capybara and some new Fjord horses!

I would love to see a Schleich capybara. A coati wouldn't be bad, either. And while we are lingering in South America, why not a yellow or green anaconda, not to mention a harpy eagle?

Oh, yeah, to have anaconda and harpy eagle figures would be fantastic!

WOOW! Amazing