A manatee, a mantee and a mantee LOL

The Manatee from Schleich, and the one from Maia & Borges are clearly from the same mould, probably both made by M&B.
Seing the new one in the Papo catalogue, I was 99,99% sure that she must be a triplet, but I just HAD to be 100,00% sure   

Now I AM sure -don't you agree ?
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My Schleich Manatee has been played with, and she is s little more glossy.
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But the two others are exactly the same...only Papo has a bit of paint peeling on her nose   
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No, not exactly . The Papo one has a number on her tail   
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The names of the "manufacturer" are different, of course :
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All are made in Portugal, but M&B does not have a year on her.  
Ups ! Schleich Manatee needs a bath   
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yep they are practically the same mold. but they are all pretty, Susanne.   

Congrats Susanne! Now you have a triplet manatee babies. They are so cute, almost like manatee babies.

Congratulations! I have to say I'm a bit surprised the colorway is exactly the same - I expected something either lighter or darker than the M+B and Schleich ones. This is going to be difficult to identify them in online auction lots!

Thanks for sharing Susanne. I find it funny that the Mia & Borges models are so popular for recurring models.

All the same mold indeed.The colors/shader are different

Haha, they look adorable Susanne, especially from the top view!!     

Oh, 3 manatees!! Great Susanne!!

Very interesting Susanne!
HEre is an evidence how Maia & Borges is an important company in this hobby. In 1987, when Schleich went bancrupt, they needed to close some factories and Maia & Borges factory was one of the few that kept working and contributed to save the brand. So, those who love Schleich should remember that if it was not M&B, probably we were not enjoying Schleich figures all these years.
Now we are seeing, a 1998 mold that already served Schleich range, being used by another major company as it is Papo. M&B design, is more adjusted to newere concepts that it is AAA. As a comics company, they give a small touch of cuteness that is not always realistic but contributes to turn figures more appealing. Schleich also had that style along these yars.
What means 1401? Is it January 2014?

Haha thanks for showing! They're just cool!   

Thankyou, friends ! I am happy you like my triplets   

Roger wrote:

....
What means 1401? Is it January 2014?

Ohh, yes ! Of course !   

BTW, - ( One of?) Papo's Chinese manufacturers has begun with the more modern date-stamp , it seems :
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Very sharp picture to show the clock showing August 2013 as date of production. Quite interesting for a 2014 release.

Roger wrote:

Very interesting Susanne!
HEre is an evidence how Maia & Borges is an important company in this hobby. In 1987, when Schleich went bancrupt, they needed to close some factories and Maia & Borges factory was one of the few that kept working and contributed to save the brand. So, those who love Schleich should remember that if it was not M&B, probably we were not enjoying Schleich figures all these years.
Now we are seeing, a 1998 mold that already served Schleich range, being used by another major company as it is Papo. M&B design, is more adjusted to newere concepts that it is AAA. As a comics company, they give a small touch of cuteness that is not always realistic but contributes to turn figures more appealing. Schleich also had that style along these yars.
What means 1401? Is it January 2014?

I think Bullyland has always shared that particular aesthetic, also...

Roger wrote:

Very sharp picture to show the clock showing August 2013 as date of production. Quite interesting for a 2014 release.

   Thanks, Croger  Sometimes me and my little ol' camera are lucky   

[quote="schleich61"]

Roger wrote:

M&B design, is more adjusted to newere concepts that it is AAA. As a comics company, they give a small touch of cuteness that is not always realistic but contributes to turn figures more appealing. Schleich also had that style along these yars.

I think Bullyland has always shared that particular aesthetic, also...

You're completely right, Phil! Bullyland and Schleich histories were always intertwined as the hairs of a braid. In average, Schleich are more convincent in terms of realism but no doubts the design shares a somewhat similar cooking recipe, only the amount of sugar is different.

SUSANNE wrote:

Roger wrote:

Very sharp picture to show the clock showing August 2013 as date of production. Quite interesting for a 2014 release.

   Thanks, Croger  Sometimes me and my little ol' camera are lucky   

If you compare your more recent pictures with older ones, you'll see that you improved a lot, so, I don't believe it is only lucky. No doubts you are learning how to manage these things.

Nice comparison Susanne! I'm really looking forward to getting this Papo model (I don't have either the Schleich or the M&B, so this will be a new sculpt for me.) It's really lovely.

Roger, I like that metaphor (cooking and sugar). Occasionally I like bullyland figures; but often they are too sweet for even my Schleich-ruined rotted teeth.

scot(t) wrote:

Roger, I like that metaphor (cooking and sugar). Occasionally I like bullyland figures; but often they are too sweet for even my Schleich-ruined rotted teeth.

CONGRATS Susanne for the nice figures. The new manatee is really different of the others... NO, it's not true
However, the manatee by papo has a new family and now they are the triplets  

scot(t) wrote:

Roger, I like that metaphor (cooking and sugar). Occasionally I like bullyland figures; but often they are too sweet for even my Schleich-ruined rotted teeth.

Well, if one is only looking for sugar, one will find sugar. Hmm, some of their models are strange, or downright ugly, but sugar ?   

I won't say occasional either, .. have you seen all the forest animals, dogs etc.. ? And insects, snakes, birds of prey..Giraffes, Indian elephants, Mountain-series..

We could point out a few funny Schleich, Papos, CollectAs and even a Safari or two also   

When cooking, sugar is not to turn funny but to turn sweet.
To turn funny we usually use... carrots!

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Safari 1998 black bear

   

Did someone say carrot?  

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Hurrayyyyy    Kristie is back with wonderful photoes     

Awww, beautiful bunny!      

Thanks for sharing! It is nice, but just looks too similar to Schleich's/M&B and isn't as realistic looking as CollectA's manatees so most likely I won't be buying it. I was really expecting it to look more realistic, which is what Papo is known for, and not a "copy".