2023 Safari Mountain Lion Walkaround With Comparisons

Another new Safari release, the mountain lion!

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Like many others on the forum, I never felt like I had the "Perfect" mountain lion. I'm not sure if this new Safari one is *the* mountain lion, but to me it gets pretty close. In my opinion this is the new best mountain lion on the market. The sculpt and paintwork is done very well. I like the details on the face of the old Papo one more, but the sculpt and size I'm not too impressed with. I like the skin folds on Safari's and the face is detailed and not sloppy. Granted I do not have Mojo's or Schleich's old mountain lions, but here are comparisons with my others.

From left to right: Safari, Safari, Schleich, Papo, Papo

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In my opinion it has one of the nicest faces

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With Safari's previous mountain lion

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Schleich's from last year, a figure I was quite happy with

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Papo

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Old Papo

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Honestly my biggest complaint about this figure is the price tag. Luckily I get a discount at work but it retails for over $14! So this figure may not be worth it if you have many other mountain lions. But if not I highly recommend it, it's a great figure Very pleased with Safari this year.

Thank you Jolie for this beautiful comparison, magnificent figure

I was really looking forward to this walk around! I definitely like this figure; it's the best mountain lion figure in this category. I think only the front legs should be less bulky, but everything else seems perfect. The proportions are very realistic, with very long back legs, just as it should be, something Schleich missed, for instance. The head/face looks good, and I love felines in a walking pose. I would also prefer it to be slightly smaller, but the size is still acceptable. I can't ignore the fact that it is quite overpriced. Even if it's better than its counterparts, selling it for over 10 dollars doesn't seem fair to me. I don't know if the development of this figure required a bigger investment, but I hope such high prices don't become the norm.
Can I ask for two more pictures, please? One showing a close-up of the back of the ears and another showing it alongside the Papo lioness.

Thank you for this comparison!
I really like him. He has a nice pose and colouring and I like him much more than the older one (his face looks nicer to me).
The price is not something I am happy about, let's see how much he'll cost in Europe.
Otherwise he seems to be a great model!
A little slightly random question: Does the newer Papo cougar have a specified gender or is it a simply a genderless model?

Why any of major brands can't make the mountain lion's face close to its reality?
I'm really sorry for designers of this beautiful cat that make it like a kid painting

Very nice, but I am sticking with my older Safari!

Roger wrote:

I was really looking forward to this walk around! I definitely like this figure; it's the best mountain lion figure in this category. I think only the front legs should be less bulky, but everything else seems perfect. The proportions are very realistic, with very long back legs, just as it should be, something Schleich missed, for instance. The head/face looks good, and I love felines in a walking pose. I would also prefer it to be slightly smaller, but the size is still acceptable. I can't ignore the fact that it is quite overpriced. Even if it's better than its counterparts, selling it for over 10 dollars doesn't seem fair to me. I don't know if the development of this figure required a bigger investment, but I hope such high prices don't become the norm.
Can I ask for two more pictures, please? One showing a close-up of the back of the ears and another showing it alongside the Papo lioness.

Really not sure why the price is so high on this one. At the store we paid about $7 for it so we double the prices. So it was a $14 figure, same as the tuatara.. I've noticed a slow increase in prices with Safari's figures of course due to inflation, but this one seems unreasonably high. I would imagine it would be even more expensive overseas.

And sure I can take a photo of the back of the ears, although I don't have the Papo lioness I have all the Safari lions and a few from Schleich though? Or I can take a photo with some other cat.

Katy Leven wrote:

Thank you for this comparison!
I really like him. He has a nice pose and colouring and I like him much more than the older one (his face looks nicer to me).
The price is not something I am happy about, let's see how much he'll cost in Europe.
Otherwise he seems to be a great model!
A little slightly random question: Does the newer Papo cougar have a specified gender or is it a simply a genderless model?

Don't see any indication of a gender on the Papo one.

Joliezac wrote:

Roger wrote:

I was really looking forward to this walk around! I definitely like this figure; it's the best mountain lion figure in this category. I think only the front legs should be less bulky, but everything else seems perfect. The proportions are very realistic, with very long back legs, just as it should be, something Schleich missed, for instance. The head/face looks good, and I love felines in a walking pose. I would also prefer it to be slightly smaller, but the size is still acceptable. I can't ignore the fact that it is quite overpriced. Even if it's better than its counterparts, selling it for over 10 dollars doesn't seem fair to me. I don't know if the development of this figure required a bigger investment, but I hope such high prices don't become the norm.
Can I ask for two more pictures, please? One showing a close-up of the back of the ears and another showing it alongside the Papo lioness.

Really not sure why the price is so high on this one. At the store we paid about $7 for it so we double the prices. So it was a $14 figure, same as the tuatara.. I've noticed a slow increase in prices with Safari's figures of course due to inflation, but this one seems unreasonably high. I would imagine it would be even more expensive overseas.

And sure I can take a photo of the back of the ears, although I don't have the Papo lioness I have all the Safari lions and a few from Schleich though? Or I can take a photo with some other cat.

How is it possible? No Papo lioness? That figure is the starting point for my collection and I regret not having the original one I bought although my sample is not bad. Don't you like it or you just didn't find one with a satisfatory painting finish?
I don't have Safari lions, could you please photograph it with a Schleich lioness or the Safari jaguar?

Roger wrote:

Joliezac wrote:

Roger wrote:

I was really looking forward to this walk around! I definitely like this figure; it's the best mountain lion figure in this category. I think only the front legs should be less bulky, but everything else seems perfect. The proportions are very realistic, with very long back legs, just as it should be, something Schleich missed, for instance. The head/face looks good, and I love felines in a walking pose. I would also prefer it to be slightly smaller, but the size is still acceptable. I can't ignore the fact that it is quite overpriced. Even if it's better than its counterparts, selling it for over 10 dollars doesn't seem fair to me. I don't know if the development of this figure required a bigger investment, but I hope such high prices don't become the norm.
Can I ask for two more pictures, please? One showing a close-up of the back of the ears and another showing it alongside the Papo lioness.

Really not sure why the price is so high on this one. At the store we paid about $7 for it so we double the prices. So it was a $14 figure, same as the tuatara.. I've noticed a slow increase in prices with Safari's figures of course due to inflation, but this one seems unreasonably high. I would imagine it would be even more expensive overseas.

And sure I can take a photo of the back of the ears, although I don't have the Papo lioness I have all the Safari lions and a few from Schleich though? Or I can take a photo with some other cat.

How is it possible? No Papo lioness? That figure is the starting point for my collection and I regret not having the original one I bought although my sample is not bad. Don't you like it or you just didn't find one with a satisfatory painting finish?
I don't have Safari lions, could you please photograph it with a Schleich lioness or the Safari jaguar?

I know I know… unfortunately I didn’t find out about Papo or CollectA animals until I was a teen (since Papo and CollectA I’ve never been able to find locally except for dinosaurs). So by the time I was ordering online there were no longer original batches. I really love all the Papo lions but I haven’t been able to find one with a reasonable paint job.

I can take comparison pics with the jaguar and Schleich lion though

Joliezac wrote:

Katy Leven wrote:

Thank you for this comparison!
I really like him. He has a nice pose and colouring and I like him much more than the older one (his face looks nicer to me).
The price is not something I am happy about, let's see how much he'll cost in Europe.
Otherwise he seems to be a great model!
A little slightly random question: Does the newer Papo cougar have a specified gender or is it a simply a genderless model?

Don't see any indication of a gender on the Papo one.

Thank you!
That's great news. I can use it as a female then. Now I only need some of the brands to make a cub...

It is really impossible to find original batches or at least early batches of the Papo lioness buying it mint new. You need to find a good 2nd hand one.

Katy Leven wrote:

Joliezac wrote:

Katy Leven wrote:

Thank you for this comparison!
I really like him. He has a nice pose and colouring and I like him much more than the older one (his face looks nicer to me).
The price is not something I am happy about, let's see how much he'll cost in Europe.
Otherwise he seems to be a great model!
A little slightly random question: Does the newer Papo cougar have a specified gender or is it a simply a genderless model?

Don't see any indication of a gender on the Papo one.

Thank you!
That's great news. I can use it as a female then. Now I only need some of the brands to make a cub...

Bullyland released a puma youngster but it is hard to find. You can see it here.

Roger wrote:

It is really impossible to find original batches or at least early batches of the Papo lioness buying it mint new. You need to find a good 2nd hand one.

Katy Leven wrote:

Joliezac wrote:

Katy Leven wrote:

Thank you for this comparison!
I really like him. He has a nice pose and colouring and I like him much more than the older one (his face looks nicer to me).
The price is not something I am happy about, let's see how much he'll cost in Europe.
Otherwise he seems to be a great model!
A little slightly random question: Does the newer Papo cougar have a specified gender or is it a simply a genderless model?

Don't see any indication of a gender on the Papo one.

Thank you!
That's great news. I can use it as a female then. Now I only need some of the brands to make a cub...

Bullyland released a puma youngster but it is hard to find. You can see it here.

Oh, it's really sweet! But probably too hard to find for me unfortunately. Hopefully we'll see a new one in the next years.

Same I also want a cub.. Haven't been able to find the Bullyland one

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Here is the mountain lion with the Schleich & Safari lioness and Safari Jaguar.

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And here is the back of the head:

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An excellent cougar, thank you for showing

Until this one my favorite was still the oldest Papo, nevertheless I will add the new Safari Ltd even if it is pricey.

I guess it could be a 1/15 scaled cougar, could you tell us the head&body lenght please ?

Maybe I would repaint a bit the head.

Kikimalou wrote:

An excellent cougar, thank you for showing

Until this one my favorite was still the oldest Papo, nevertheless I will add the new Safari Ltd even if it is pricey.

I guess it could be a 1/15 scaled cougar, could you tell us the head&body lenght please ?

Maybe I would repaint a bit the head.

The older Papo one was also my favorite until now. It is a fairly large sized figure at least which justifies the price a little bit.

It is 5.5 cm tall and 14 cm long

Thanks so much for these comparison pictures, Jolie!
They're really useful although a little cruel for those who want a cougar roughly at the same scale as the standard sized feline figures. The comparisons with the Schleich lioness and the Safari jaguar are particularly illucidative about the large size of this model.
Though, the comparison with the Safari lioness is not so cruel and it also shows how the sculptor of this puma captured competently the differences of a puma and other felines. This one does not look like a lioness as it happens often.

Roger wrote:

Thanks so much for these comparison pictures, Jolie!
They're really useful although a little cruel for those who want a cougar roughly at the same scale as the standard sized feline figures. The comparisons with the Schleich lioness and the Safari jaguar are particularly illucidative about the large size of this model.
Though, the comparison with the Safari lioness is not so cruel and it also shows how the sculptor of this puma captured competently the differences of a puma and other felines. This one does not look like a lioness as it happens often.

One of the reasons I like the Safari lions so much is because they were nice and big, so they actually were larger than most of my other cats.

Christophe's speculation isn't correct, it is probably between 1/11 and 1/14.

Thank you for your help Jolie

Beautiful model and super comparison, thank you!

many thanks for this turnaround and comparative pictures Jolie!

It is undoubtly a good model but a little too big to my taste.

It looks like a real puma!

What a great looking mountain lion! I think it is one of the best ones out there yet!
Great photos!