Schleich Helicopter Playset Lion Figure Walkaround

I first saw the new Schleich helicopter playset online, and only took notice because it included a lion figure I had never seen before. Unlike the hippo calf (which seems to be a repurposed version of the 2012 figure) the lion is completely unique. I hesitated and hesitated, but finally decided to bite the bullet and purchase the set, figuring I could resell what I didn't want. The lion lover in me just couldn't pass up that unique pose.

One disappointment I have with this figure is that it's a little off in terms of size. The photos don't do this justice, but it's not really to scale with the other Schleich lions. The anatomy isn't terrible, but it's not fantastic either. The mouth is actually very nicely detailed, but the "hairline" is too low, making the whole head and face look squashed. The toes and the mane both leave something to be desired in their detailing, and the paintjob is the same very simple variety Schleich has been using recently.

Despite all of the faults, I'm still happy to have picked this figure up. It's a very interesting pose, and I think a little forced perspective will help when posing it with other figures for outdoor photography.

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Oh thanks ! I was definitely looking forward a walkaround of this !!!

That very light mane could definitely qualify for an Angolan lion.

Very, very interesting !!!!

Thankyou for this great walkaround

Very useful walk around. Not many people have the chance of buying it or even of having a good idea of what this lion looks like before getting such a set.
I believe Schleich made an effort to put the lion reasonably at the same scale as their human figures what is probably also the scale of the helicopter. So, it makes sense if the lion is around 1:20 scale, it is not to go with the figures of their regular Africa Wildlife series, I guess. Actually, this model does not have the traditional look of a Schleich figure. The pose is exciting and it is good that it is different from the regular lion.

What's the general opinion on set-only releases for wildlife type figures? Especially this sort, where it's a sculpt you can ONLY get in the set, rather than an existing model in some exclusive colour.
In the model horse world, we tend to see the expensive sets with nice horses in as a real annoyance and groan inwardly whenever it happens, cos then you're paying extra for stuff you don't want and won't use, and it's hard to re-sell the extra cos no other collectors want it either - or if they do, they want the entire set WITH the horse. So whenever there's a set released, there's the frustration of having to pay more when you only want the horse(s), or deciding to miss out on that release to save money and not gain clutter, on the off chance of managing to buy just the horses second hand later.
Is it similar in wildlife figure collecting, where you see these and are cursing the fact you'll end up with stuff you don't want taking up space you need for actual animals, or are they something a lot of people treat as extra collectable goodies and look forward to buying?

Great presentation and very useful indeed!
Now, for the model I'm negative. I like the pose and I understand it can make even a lion look smaller in length, but not this much..
I'm not sure the scale is smaller, focusing on the size of the legs they seem more or less the same. I think it's just proportionally wrong. Maybe the photos confuse me, but that's how I see it. I don't like it much, even for an Angolan one.

George wrote:

What's the general opinion on set-only releases for wildlife type figures? Especially this sort, where it's a sculpt you can ONLY get in the set, rather than an existing model in some exclusive colour.
In the model horse world, we tend to see the expensive sets with nice horses in as a real annoyance and groan inwardly whenever it happens, cos then you're paying extra for stuff you don't want and won't use, and it's hard to re-sell the extra cos no other collectors want it either - or if they do, they want the entire set WITH the horse. So whenever there's a set released, there's the frustration of having to pay more when you only want the horse(s), or deciding to miss out on that release to save money and not gain clutter, on the off chance of managing to buy just the horses second hand later.
Is it similar in wildlife figure collecting, where you see these and are cursing the fact you'll end up with stuff you don't want taking up space you need for actual animals, or are they something a lot of people treat as extra collectable goodies and look forward to buying?

That's a hard question because we tend to see it through the perspective of the collector of animal toy figures. Thus, if it is a animal figure exclusive to a set, it is frustrating that we have to pay so much for a figure. though, in terms of offer, it is enriching to the range of the company that they offer a set with something distinct from their regular range. It also helps selling the set because the brands know that some customers will only buy it to get the exclusive figure.
I am a collector of toy animal figures and I surely wished some figures were not exclusive to sets but it is how this hobby works. It is not frustrating for me this particular lion because we surely can find better lion figures and this is the commonest wild animal. Though, let's suppose it was a side-striped jackal instead. This set is not particularly expensive but it is enough to demove me from buying it just for a single figure.

A interesting lion

It's so interesting to see this Schleich lion, especially because it seems so unique compared to other more recent lions! The pose, and the face with the snarling mouth, lots of detail there- and the anatomy is definitely the best I've seen for a while with Schleich! Thank you so much for sharing, it's a model I doubt we would have seen otherwise!
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] I think Roger gave the perfect answer, but I completely agree, I find it quite frustrating when new dogs come out in expensive sets- there's either the option to just save up and buy it, or to wait a few years for the dog to come up separately on places such as Ebay. Schleich are very skilled at this- so many smaller dogs just painted a different colour to their standard figures, that appear in huge and really expensive sets! But I'm always so happy whenever they release new dogs so I just think of the positives and enjoy the fact that there is another Schleich dog out there to collect!

Thank you for this beautiful and useful walkaround VewVamp! :)