Collecta: what are your thoughts on this brand?

Dear Sts Friends:

Well, I started this topic to see what you all think about the quality of the figures made by the brand Collecta. What should I do if I want to collect these? At this point, I can't say whether I like this brand, for I've only seen at least one figure of theirs. Still, it is tempting. As of late, I've been thinking of starting a thread about this whole thingy of the sculpting of collecta's figures. So the question is, how good is the sculpting? Is it as good, as say, Safari? You see, when I buy a figure, I buy it for the following things:

The species, the sculpture, and the company.

That's one of the reasons I collect actually. I don't really care about the painting very much, which makes sense, since I'm blind, and can't see the colors very well anyway. So, back to the main thread. So, what are your thoughts on collecta's figures? Are they good? I mean, not cheaply made? And by cheaply made, I mean hollow, squishy vinyl, or rubber, or some such thingy like that. Either way, I have my standards when it comes to the purchasing of a figure. Anyway, if anyone has any thoughts on this dilemma of mine, I would be glad to hear from you. In the meantime,I'll start constructing a list of collecta figures that I want to get.

Aschuck

I only own a few CollectA figures, and I'm overall impressed by them. The sculpts are among the most beautiful I've seen. The one horse figure I have (actually gotten to gift to my mom) is the Arabian mare- beautiful sculpt, better than many Breyers let alone Safaris, but the plastic is too soft in the legs resulting in them warping as it stands. Other than this materials issue, it seems anything but cheaply made. My other couple CollectAs are dinosaurs.

Hope this helps!

I think the quality is overall very good for their new stuff. They have old models still in production and some of those are far from my taste, like the wild boar family, but anything from about 2015 on definitely the sculpting quality is there. They have a great selection of rare species I think you'd like (like a maned wolf I told you about in another topic), and coloration aside they are detailed moulds. Plastic seems to be an issue sometimes, because for instance if I have the same arabian mare kelly speaks of, my model's legs are totally fine and it stands normally. I don't have a lot of CollectA models but I do have several and have no issues with any plastic warping yet (like I do with some papo dinosaurs for instance). Hope this feedback helps.

The figures made by Collecta are of high quality.

It offers us a great variety.

There are many species of antelope that are truly spectacular.

Collecting CollectA is a fantastic experience. I have around 100 of them and they offer to us an array of species that we've never seen before. Saola, saiga antelope, mountain nyala, chiru, hirola, nilgai, pere's David deer, baird's tapir, etc.
They are very well sculpted, when animals have delicate legs or horns, CollectA respects it and makes them really thin giving a special realism to their figures. Material is pvc, similar to Schleich or Safari. They may look more fragile exactly because they have delicate sculpts but they are not fragile at all. Kelly mentioned the Arabian horse being bendy but that was just a kind of experimental production run, exclusive with horses, that CollectA started in 2011, when they moved to a new sculptor of horses and they needed to use a more flexible material to avoid such delicate sculpts to break easily. They abandoned that material a pair of years later and now, even horses, have a high quality material. CollectA is quite famous for their antelopes and unusual species but their more recent commoner species are also among the best. Their sizes are in average between the standard Schleich and the Wild Safari lines.
CollectA is so accurate with their sculpts that you can distinguish between a plains zebra and a grevy's zebra just using your hands. A sighted person tends to identify them because of their strips but you can identify just using the touch, if you get both models, you will notice that grevy's zebras are larger and more robustely built than plains zebras. Something you can't see with AAA models because the mould they use for a Grevy's is also used as a plains zebra. The only idfference is the painting. Although the painting is not important for you, let me tell you that CollectA figures are painted to the least detail and their production runs are very consistent, we rarely find a badly painted figure as it happens with other brands.
Go for it, you will love CollectA and you will know species that are really wonderful, what about antelopes with trunks as tapirs or "wolves" with very long legs?
You can always use this topic to ask about anything related to CollectA you're doubtful about.

Having only just discovered the brand this year (Although I did have some models from when it was called 'Procon') I can definitely say that it is a very good brand! I only really know about their dogs, and judging from photos over the years they seem to be getting better and better, especially with the new toy poodle this year which was so realistic for a small model!!

Wonderful wildlife, pets and gorgeous prehistoric animals.

But i don't like their horses. They have often bad paintjob and can't stand.

Just you collect their models and I'm sure you will love CollectA. Their recent models - especially starting from 2012 - are fabulous. They have the best unusual species range. The sculpture is one of the best among major brands - if not the best. And the paintjob is overall the best. You won't be disappointed.

The quality of the CollectA models is what made me to start to seriosuly collect figurines. Until I discovered them I was used to more cartoonish Schleich that often means little to me. It was the CollectA African Wild Ass incredible detail and quality (veins, furrows in the fur, the incredibly well done hairs inside the ears) one of the biggest reasons for start to grow the collection.

I got my first CollectAs back in 2014 (I think) and still think they are my favorite brand in the toy market. The sculptures are almost every time very well done, but still, they are not perfect and you'll find a lot of erros among them, specially the chest and the pelvic area on some of the models look very wrong from some angles. As others said before, they do indeed have some very think legs, sometimes they get a bit bendy (again, specially in the antelopes).
As for the paintjob, it is mostly very nicely done, similar to Schleichs quality. Though I'm seeing some issues with the colors on some of my older models, but that may be due the very high temperatures we have in northeastern Brazil.
For the species, I can only say, take a look at their catalogue, I'm sure you will see some species you've probably never heard before.
For last, I would say that you should definitely give them a try, maybe buying just a few of them for the first time.

Dear Sts Friends:

Well, I've done it, so to speak. I've made a plan about the collectA part of my collection. Since I've heard so much about their species, I thought I'd start with their koalas. Well, it's a start, anyway. I'm planning on ordering them from Ebay this week. I guess that's the beginning of that portion of my collection. Also, does anyone know what Collecta is doing for 2021? Just wondering. Now I'm curious as to what they're up to as far as new stuff goes. Anyway, I guess I'll just keep watching the forum, for now anyway. Well, that's it for news, so I'll probably post when there's more.

Aschuck

Hi guys,

Hey, just wondering, does anyone know of any stores in the U.S. that sell Collecta Figures. If so, then great. I'm planning on ordering two collectA Things from ebay this week, so that's good. As for other news, well, there isn't much. I mean, really, there isn't much to report today. Anyway, if anyone can help me with this Collecta thingy, that would be great.

Aschuck

aschuck wrote:

Hi guys,

Hey, just wondering, does anyone know of any stores in the U.S. that sell Collecta Figures.  If so, then great.  I'm planning on ordering two collectA Things from ebay this week, so that's good.  As for other news, well, there isn't much.  I mean, really, there isn't much to report today.  Anyway, if anyone can help me with this Collecta thingy, that would be great.  

Aschuck

If you are OK with buying online, try Happy Hen Toys, based out of Indiana. Or check for US dealers on eBay.

Not much I can add, except that I mainly agree with all that has been said

Only, I have never had a CollectA model that could not stand, or that was of bad material .
When the brand was quite new there was an issue with the paint peeling off , but I wrote to them and they sent me new ones immediately.
I think most brands have had some of that, even Schleich, where it is almost impossible to find the Brown Swiss cattle from 02 - 04 with all the paint on

bmathison1972 wrote:

aschuck wrote:

Hi guys,

Hey, just wondering, does anyone know of any stores in the U.S. that sell Collecta Figures.  If so, then great.  I'm planning on ordering two collectA Things from ebay this week, so that's good.  As for other news, well, there isn't much.  I mean, really, there isn't much to report today.  Anyway, if anyone can help me with this Collecta thingy, that would be great.  

Aschuck

If you are OK with buying online, try Happy Hen Toys, based out of Indiana. Or check for US dealers on eBay.

I second this, Happy Hen Toys is great and usually has good prices.

To the best of my knowledge, there are no brick and mortar stores anywhere in the US selling CollectAs. Your best bet is Happy Hen or another online vendor.

Dear Sts Friends:
Well, now that I've seen some of the collecta figures, this is a great brand. I now have two collecta models in my collection. They are the ammonite, and trilobite models.

Aschuck

Congratulations with your new CollectA models, Aschuck
Unusual and very good choices of species

I am sure you are positively impressed with these two models. They are recent and they seem to be very good. Much more than toys, these are educational tools, for someone that cannot know these extinct creatures through a book, browsing on web or watching tv, they work much better for you than the fossiles you can find in museums. Very good choices, I am sure you will enjoy a lot to see how many wonderful creatures have existed and still exist in our unique planet.

Wonderful choice, and as Roger says, a very unusual and interesting species to start your CollectA collection!

aschuck wrote:

Dear Sts Friends:
Well, now that I've seen some of the collecta figures, this is a great brand. I now have two collecta models in my collection. They are the ammonite, and trilobite models.  

Aschuck

Congratulations! Good start!

Dear Sts Friends:

Hi again. Hey, I was wondering, does anyone know just how big the figures in the collecta tubes are? If they're the size of the Safari toobs, then that's too small for my tastes. Just wondering, so your help would be appreciated. Also, any wishes for Collecta 2022? Just wondering about that too. Well, Here's my wishlist:

Collecta Ideas for 2022:
flying squirrel (because we can never have too many of those) Kiwi (Did they even do this one yet? If they did, that's great.) Narwhal remake (i have always wanted a collecta narwhal, but the old one seemed, well, kind of, and I mean only kind of, cartoony) Megatherium (This would be cool in large scale) And lastly: Woolly Rhino (This would also be nice in large scale).


Anyway, that's my list for now, so if any one has anything else to add, then let me know.

Aschuck

P.S. I'd also like a Collecta hermit crab.

Great list!! I have one figure from their tubes (The Border Collie), but no Safari Toobs yet so I'm not sure how they compare in size- I hope someone else can help with this! But he seems quite small, I might even guess smaller than those in Safari Toobs although I'm not certain!

The animals in the CollectA Wild Animals tube I have (A1105) have a similar size as in the Safari toobs. They have a higher quality feel than the Safari toobs, especially the painting is better.

They release Kiwi in 2015. It's very good.