Pictures of New Schleich 2011 Models @ London Toy Fair Jan 2011

Wow Numaan! You took some really nice photos. I wish we had toy fairs like that in Finland, but of course we don't... The war elephant does look amazingly detailed and realistic, though it's not on my buy-list because I have my priorities :) Schleich 2012 sounds really interesting! I don't care so much about tractors etc but maybe they could make a nice new horsey vehicle, a new kind of carriage for example? Something like this would be nice, we call it "vossikka" in Finnish, btw the horse in the picture is of our national breed, the Finnhorse

Thank you Numaan for the wonderful photos, it's like I was there!

I agree with the Kirill's idea for the poll...everyone choses a list of 10 animals and we will get out the 10 most voted animals and send to Schleich...why not?

It must have been awesome getting to go to the Toy Fair again. Thanks for the great pictures and your thoughts on the animals. Can't wait for the next releases to come out.

Those animals are great! Thanks for posting them! The badgers and foxes are wonderful! Since you said that Schleich pays close attention to forums like these, we definitly need to post our opinions on here! Here are my ideas:
1. Ostrich female
2. Dog sled
3. Palamino mare and foal
4. Hyena
5. Mountain lion family
6. Eland family
7. Llama
8. Skunk
9. Kiang tibetan ass
10. Beaver
11. Coyote
12. Pronghorn Antelope
13. Hippopotamus calf
14. Yak calf
15. Lusitano mare and foal
16. Quater Horse mare and foal
17. Tennesee Walker mare and foal
18. Pygmy goats
19. Wild mustangs
20. Jersey cows

[quote="smhilin"]Those animals are great! Thanks for posting them! The badgers and foxes are wonderful! Since you said that Schleich pays close attention to forums like these, we definitly need to post our opinions on here!

Some time ago I told everybody that Schleich pay atention to these foruns! But they are only reading comments of people with less than 14 years old! I told everybody to change its age in the profile.
Other brands told me the same and I don't believe, it's clear in Numaan words that we are uninteresting for them!
By the way see how many young people is only posting in Schleich 2011 treads and what happen with other brands, many experient collectors posting there!
You are young too but you have a collecting feeling and not playing purposes!
Nothing against Schleich, playing or young people... only a point of view!:)

By the way, today I've bought the arctic fox, unfortunately I have not Safari in local shops! The Safari arctic fox looks much more detailed, but never see it in my hands! Desapointed with eyes, too long tail, paws, etc. Like the walking pose, small ears and small size!:)
Does anyone have both arctic foxes to show comparison pictures?

Thanks for the sharing these pictures and for the very interesting and exciting news. So, there will be a good reason to smile in 2012.

I would love to see a Schleich capybara. A coati wouldn't be bad, either. And while we are lingering in South America, why not a yellow or green anaconda, not to mention a harpy eagle?

And please, the Philippine Eagle as well.

Lasersword1973 wrote:

I would love to see a Schleich capybara. A coati wouldn't be bad, either. And while we are lingering in South America, why not a yellow or green anaconda, not to mention a harpy eagle?

And please, the Philippine Eagle as well.

Yes, another beautiful and striking bird...!

Schleichzoo wrote:

Hi everyone.

So I visited the London Toy fair again today for the second year running simply to see the Schleich and Papo stands. It was quite exciting but at the same time nerve racking because everytime I would approach any stand, even just to look at items, a sales person would appear trying to get a deal out of me! Of course I am not running a business and so it was a little embarrassing for me. The atmosphere in these places is all about deals, deals, deals and there I am simply trying to enjoy my hobby.

Anyway I shall report back on what I have discovered.

To my delight I came across mini stands for Safari Ltd and Collecta which I didnt see last year. Both companies did not represent themselves but were represented by UK distributors and so there were literally just a little area dedicated to both names, still better than nothing. I also managed to get catalogues from both which were great.

One of the reps on that Papo stand recognised me from last year and I was quite embarassed about that but she was totally fine about it ha! The Papo stand was empty and so I was not confident in taking pictures. The few pictures I did manage to take didnt come out very well but I will post them in the Papo section and not here, the same for Collecta.

The Schleich stand was awesome as ever and the entire 2011 range was on display which was awesome! As well as the usual Jan release animals I also got to see and touch the May release Forest animals. The badgers were fine, the foxes were really nice and much much better than previous models but the best surprise was the bellowing stag. It is amazing! I really like this model - it is dynamic and the stag is sculpted really well. In fact, and I cannot believe I am saying this but it is my favourite model from the animal ranges, even better than the Kudu! Thats just my opinion of course.

Ofcourse the biggest dedicated areas was to Schleichs new range of Heroes and warriors and I have to say that they are also great, particularly the animals that come with them. The Kenjok Crocodile looks like the standard wildlife croc but it is bright green and also a little larger. I dont remember the names of all the warriors as I am only interested in the animals.

The Porcupine is really good with many soft ended spikes (they are not as pointy as they should be but then that must be due to child safety). However it throws out the idea that a male gazelle is not made because of pointy horns?! The porcupine is great. The cheetah is brilliant because it is not in the usual standard boring pose but also dynamic and walking. It is perfectly in scale with the current Cheetah so will be an addition to the cheetah family. The two new dragons looks ok but they are not my thing, however another fantastic model is the new warrior bear - superb sculpting and brilliant pose. It is fantastic! Although i would say it is a little large in scale compared to the current bears but this bear is a must have along with the Cheetah and porcupine! Great additions to the wildlife range even though they are not sold individually.

It was funny to see the new modified Pegasus baby with the wings pointing up. The Elf carriages come with two of the current horse models that are revised slightly with pure white coats that have a slight shimmer to them and pink coloured hooves. I dont collect this series but the horses are great!

Last and best of all the mighty Warrior Elephant was AWESOME BRILLIANT FANTASTIC AND A MASTERPIECE! I absolutely love this model and it is huge! It has nothing to do with being in scale with the current animals. It is in scale with the human models that is comes with and hence is really big and quite heavy and solid. The sculpting on the elephant is so superb that it would actually make a wonderful ornament or decoration piece in someones home - it is that good! I tried picking it up and noticed the minute detail on its skins, tusks, feet etc. A rep then came up to me and explained that the warrior elephants on display were not the final commerical product but the prototype and that these are made and cut via special lasers etc hence why this model was more robust, solid and more detailed. A commerical moulded version would naturally lose some of the detail which I think is a real shame. Even if you dont collect this new series, trust me that elephant is a wonder. It is going to be an expensive year for me and I dont care if the elephant does not go with my wildlife models. I am buying it!

I had a quick conversation with one of the UK Schleich representatives and I told her about OUR (the collectors) disapointment at a lack of new animals this year. She told me that Schleich are aware of how disgruntled some of us are because they have received alot of letters, emails and even some complaints from collectors around the world. She also said that they check out some of our forums quite often and understand that collectors get frustrated. She then went on to say that Schleich are tring their best to please us collectors but that they also must ensure that the needs of their main market (children) was also met. They are also looking at marketing more toys for boys hence the warriors ranges this year and this will increase over the next few years. I was also told that they realise 2011 was not a year for many animals but that 2012 is going to be a BIG year across all lines. The wildlife and farm ranges are their core lines and they will increase these next year - she even said that they are going to bring out more farm accessories next year with more tractors and other vehicles and accessories. They will also hopefully have more wildlife models too and that this year because of the warriors ranges their resources were limited.

It was an interesting conversation and I was given a copy of the large format catalogue which was great. I did tell her that we wished for more variety in terms of species and she immediately said that the most common request Schleich receives at their UK and German offices are for different types of monkeys! I was surprised thinking it should be antelopes and told her that they must consider antelopes. She said she would pass my comments on......lets see. I dream of a Schleich Bongo, Gemsbok and most of all a Sable Antelope. She did end the conversation with saying that the UK Schleich office were surprised when the Wolverine was brought out as even she thought of all the animals, why a wolverine when it is so obscure. This shows me that even Schleich staff may question the viability of producing different unusual species. We as collectors want them but Schleich are treading a fine line in trying to please us and their main market which are children. They are doing their best but we just want more! From the hints I was given I am looking forward to 2012 already - I really hope it will be a bumper year. I also think that many of us collectors need to get our lists together and seriously approach Schleich once again and ask them to consider making some animals for 2012 for us such as Antelopes, Okapi family, Male gazelle and whatever else you desire. I know apoll was taken before. Can someone start a brand new poll and send this to Schleich for careful consideration? It would be useful.

Anyway folks, in the next few posting I will post ALL 50 plus photos I took - apologies again. I dont have much money these days and I tend to spend it on Schleich and so have never gotten round to replacing my digital camera. So instead I use my mobile and I think not all the pictures came out very well SORRY!

Well at least the pics are better than nothing! Enjoy! :)

THANX FOR ALL OD YOURE SUGGESTIONS THEY ARE THE BEST AND THE GREATEST IDEAS,SAME BY THE WAY?
I STRONGLY AGREED WITH YOU, MORE ANTILOPES, MORE BOVINES, MORE FELINES,CAININES, FROM ALL THE CONTINENT'S.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW ABOUT THIS LIST. I ALREADY HAVE ONE?
LET'S GET TOGETHER FROM THE HERE IN AMERICA, (IN WHICH I LOVE SCHLEICH)
I CAN I BE YOU'RE NEW FRIEND,,, MR. "SCHLEICHZOO"????

schleich61 wrote:

Lasersword1973 wrote:

I would love to see a Schleich capybara. A coati wouldn't be bad, either. And while we are lingering in South America, why not a yellow or green anaconda, not to mention a harpy eagle?

And please, the Philippine Eagle as well.

Yes, another beautiful and striking bird...!

Thanks Phil.

Loved to see these fantastic birds too, but in a serious brand, Schleich is not able to make a decent bald eagle, old one was very bad and the new one is a species from their imagination! Maybe CollectA or Safari! Is better think in other poses for rabbits and cats! : :)
Let me tell you that in Schleich 2011 farm world there's no goats or pigs, is it possible?

Firstly thanks again for the great pics of the fair Numaan!
I wish we had something like that around here, and that i would be able to go there!

My absolute favourite is the war-elephant, as it is finally on the right scale as it seems, and it looks very realistic to!
I will buy it for sure, with or without the attachments and accesoires.
I like the cheetah, porcupine, roaring red deer and the big bear to, they look great!
Thanks again Numaan!

I concur with regards to the elephant. I'd written it off as something that wouldn't fit in my collection, but after taking some hard looks at it, it'll only be a matter of time before I shell out 40 bucks for the piece. It's amazing. It can hang out with my papo mutants.

MARTINLATIN wrote:

THANX FOR ALL OD YOURE SUGGESTIONS THEY ARE THE BEST AND THE GREATEST IDEAS,SAME BY THE WAY?
I STRONGLY AGREED WITH YOU, MORE ANTILOPES, MORE BOVINES, MORE FELINES,CAININES, FROM ALL THE CONTINENT'S.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW ABOUT THIS LIST. I ALREADY HAVE ONE?
LET'S GET TOGETHER FROM THE HERE IN AMERICA, (IN WHICH I LOVE SCHLEICH)
I CAN I BE YOU'RE NEW FRIEND,,, MR. "SCHLEICHZOO"???? [/quote]

Hello, Phil G. here in placid Northern California, about 30 miles east of Sacramento. Where are you located?

WILLYBACOMAN wrote:

roaring red deer

I didn't know red deer roared

[/quote]

...Thank you very much Numaan! I must have this wolverin and badgers and foxes and kudus and white elephant (with a warrior?) and bear (with a hero?) and porcopine (with a hero?) and...... Where is my money???!!!

Sergey wrote:

...Thank you very much Numaan! I must have this wolverin and badgers and foxes and kudus and white elephant (with a warrior?) and bear (with a hero?) and porcopine (with a hero?) and...... Where is my money???!!! [/quote]

Good luck with that. I will also get the bear, cheetah and porcupine sets but only for the animals which I will add to my Schleich wildlife collection because they are all in scale - as I collect two of each animal model I will end up with spare human figures which I definitely do not want and will trade these with you guys at a later date....lets see.