CollectA at the London Toy Fair 2013 - PHOTOS

Dear friends

You can view all the photos I took at the CollectA stand here: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

CollectA visited this fair for the first time as they usually only visit Nuremberg. It was great for me to finally meet the team and share ideas as well as take photos of many of the new models that I had not seen in real life until now.

I thanked the team for listening to many of our ideas and suggestions and for being bold enough to make new wildlife species previously not made by anyone else. I also stressed the importance of creating unusual animals which many of the other competitor brands wouldn't dream of making - of course I did mention antelopes but I do know we need more birds, primates and reptilian species, I have not forgotten these I promise. The team consisted of wonderfully patient and polite people keen to listen to new ideas and suggestions and for this I am extremely grateful. The reception I received from the staff here is a stark contrast to staff at Schleich who seem to be totally sales orientated and not very interested in me as soon as they realise I am just a collector. I have this feeling every time I visit the Schleich stand - people are polite but not interested in discussing much and I often feel as though I am in the way and this is partially the reason I feel embarrassed and take photos quickly then run

The CollectA team included the director and some of the designers themselves and hence it was a worthwhile trip as they were keen to talk and listen which is a bonus for us all.

It was great to see many of the models up close as some do vary from the catalogue. As I mentioned previously some of the animals have since been modified such as the Saola and Markhor. You will see a difference in the photos of the Saola model in comparison to the catalogue photo and I definitely think it has improved. Finally the Prz horse which has caused much controversy was not as bad as I had thought. I quite liked it.

I hope you enjoy the photos and I wish CollectA all the best with the Nuremberg show!

Thanks Numaan!
Do you mind if I share some of these photos (and some of Papo) on two Polish forums?

Hi there, sure I dont mind. No problem as long as you promise to include a link to this website when you post them - lets get more people into STS!

Wow!
I love all collecta line for that year. Thank you Numaan

It is increduble !!! SO many wonderful news !!!!
CollectA surely is SO much better than Schleich ( this year ) !!! WOW!!!

Thankyou 1000 times, Numaan !
I will go back again and again an watch these marvellous photoes

I just noticed they didn't bring the new bigger horses. Too bad, I was hoping to see them too.
Generally I really like what I see. Except for Przewalski's Horse, he looks a bit better than on first photos, but still not good enough, he's still way too short-bodied I might buy him anyway, but he still needs some serious resculpting.

Thank you

Thanks Numaan, the new figures are wonderfull, I think I'll buy them all!!!

Beautiful photos! Thank you so much! (o)):

Just one question - were there the new big horses? I can't see them on your photos, these would be probably the only new models not shown on your photos.

Thanks for sharing, lovely photos Many delightful models.

Epic photos; Appetite well and truly wetted !!!

This is really interesting, thanks for sharing. I confess, the more I find out about CollectA, the more I like this company.

Thanks for the photos! I'm very impressed with all of the sealife releases (o)): The pilot whale's dorsal fin is a little shorter than the preview photos CollectA released last year. The orca calf's blowhole seems to be too far back on it's head, it could be because of how they had to mold it. Other than that I will probably buy these as well because of CollectA making species that aren't really seen on the market today. Like Worlds In Miniature said, CollectA is also becoming my favorite company.

Thank you so much Numaan!!! New models are fantastic!!
I´m dissapointed in Schleich´s people attitude...

Thanks Numaan, it is great that CollectA is hearing us collectors. That is the reason why I am seeing some masterpieces and extremely interesting figures here and I can't find them in your Schleich reporting. It is not a problem when we have to wait a little more to get some extraordinary figures. When they are made to be correct representations the work continues while when they are made to be only pretty, it is not neccessary to waste many time with the development.

Hi everyone

I am really sorry I think I have given a bad impression of Schleich and that is not my intention. What I mean is that the Schleich stand is very professional and the people working for them are sales reps - all young, hip and trendy and very nice and kind but speaking to a few of them I realise that it is geared towards sales sales sales and when speaking I cant help but feel that in their mind they think they are not going to get sales from me so lets just get back to work.

Everyone is polite but they are not that interested in discussing products, ideas and that sort of thing if you know what I mean. So because many visitors come to the stand the sales people are keen to show them the models and I am always in the way trying to take many photos and of course I dont want them to get frustrated with me in any way nor do I want to push them so i dart in, talk a little, take photos then get out hehe. It is after all, all about making new business contacts not meeting collectors like me. So please remember the staff are nice but the difference in meeting with CollectA was that the people involved in the design making process, the director and the idea makers were all there and so it was much more pleasurable to talk ideas, species, the design process that sort of thing - such people are not present at the Schleich stand.

Now with Papo there is a lady I see every year - she is also a big sales rep but also a figurines designer and she is extremely pleasant and very kind - she comes up, says hello, we talk a little, I share ideas and she is always cheerful so I never feel like I am in the way. With CollectA they were more than happy for me to take photos and were moving models around for me to make it easier - it is just more pleasurable when meeting such people.

Anyway, next time a fellow collector is in town perhaps we can meet and go to the fair together

Numaan, again, thank you so much for these great pictures!!

I have to say, the King Cheetah looks a little odd to me. In fact, several of the models had me staring and squinting at them.

But some looked AMAZING! I'm particular excited about the Markhor and the Saola. I really liked them. Also, the Pacific White Side Dolphin looks just fantastic!

Thank you for taking all of those great photos.
It's very nice to see the new releases.
The maned wolf looks great.
The coat of the Markhor sure is dulled down a bit, (I personally liked the bright colours on the pre-example), but it is still looking beautiful.

I hope you had a wonderful time at the Toy Fair!

Thanks Numaan for sharing this news!!

They look amazing! I'm so excited about CollectA's horses! I'm in love!

However, I saw the newer Haflinger mare a few days ago, the model was interesting, but it was soo small! The foal too, it couldn't even stand..

Great photos! The saola looks good, but the horns look much longer than in the stock photo.

wow!WOW! ........the old ones look like rubbish beside the news!
I also love nearly all of the news. unfortunatley it's still so hard to find CollectA anywhere in germany,....

thank you for the story and pics Numaan, it is every year a pleasure to read your reviews about the London Toy Fair and I'm especially happy to see the CollectA displays. No doubt CollectA is now the "Antelopes" company The Saloa is far better now and I'm very pleased by the Scimitar oryx and the blackbuck pics

I think maybe the people from the Schleich stand aren't involved in decision making process (choosing species, design, etc.). It sounds like Schleich needs to send over friendly people who are actually involved in the process of making a model so that their booth is more interesting instead of just trying to attract new customers. I'm not trying to bad mouth Schleich at all, but I hate it when you go somewhere and try to get involved a little, and discuss something and the person just makes you feel like a hassle and an inconvenience. I appreciate your pictures from all the companies by the way. CollectA has some great animals this year, but I still think that the Prezwalski horse looks kinda funny. Thanks again for the pics and info.

Thank you very much Numaan! You took beautiful pics! I'm in love with the figures and love love love that saola!