Debate: Papo vs. Schleich

Schleich has better horses and other farm animals. Papo has better big cats. They both have awesome dinosaurs. It's hard to pick.

∴Worlds∴in∴Miniature∴ wrote:

I'm a big fan of both Papo and Schleich.
Basically, my personal collector's creed is that  as long as a figure is realistic and that I like it, and that it is of compatible size with the others I already have, I'll  buy it, no matter the brand.

Fully agree with your first two points. Realistic seems to be subjective. Personally, I don’t find many new products realistic. If you don’t like a figure why are you buying it? Maybe the reason is you want an example of everything a certain company makes?

As for compatibility Schleich and Papo unfortunately don’t make their products in one scale across their ranges. Scale is number one regarding compatibility for me. However, it doesn’t prevent me from buying a model if I like it!

Shame neither Papo nor Schleich have any of their animal figures in what is for me the traditional 1:32nd scale.

I started with Schleich..a few horses, i found them beautiful and i still believe they are the best on the market.Then i discovered Papo, as written before Papo big cats are really wonderful..now i discovered Collecta (am i off topic?)..and i love the choice of portraying unusual animals.I too find that Scleich is slowly improving but they are not very realistic.Their target are the babies with n o great anatomical knowledge of the beast portrayed.I come from the world of toy soldier collecting and there too are these distinctions..there is the mainstream brand producing toy like soldiers (by the way is a hobby a "little more" costly)..there's the in between brand and there's the brand producing little oeuvres' d'art..well i don't know if you are acquainted with Toy soldiers brands, but for me King & Country is Schleich, William Britain is Papo and First legion is Collecta (by the way i don't like their horses and cats..:)..

As a specie collector i only can say that Schleich have more not common species for me as Papo but both brands have very nice figurines     

widukind wrote:

As a specie collector i only can say that Schleich have more not common species for me as Papo but both brands have very nice figurines     

I'm Agree       

Schleich cute and cuddly:

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Schleich female cheetah 14614 4 by Chris*4, on Flickr

Papo realistic and menacing:

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Papo Jaguar 50094 2 by Chris*4, on Flickr

Great pics! Love the second one  

Awesome photos Chris!

jonesee wrote:

Great pics! Love the second one  

Animal_Figures_4U wrote:

Awesome photos Chris!

Many thanks Jonas and 4U.  

Schleich's Jaguar is vastly more realistic than Papo's Jaguar. Papo's Jaguar almost looks like a Leopard. It's tale is way to long and its jaw shape is incorrect. The Schleich Jaguar is perfect in these aeas.

In my opinion, Papo is better than Schleich in sculpting quality but Schleich nailed it better in painting quality. So, if you want animal figurine in realistic way, go find Papo.

My reactions to the news from this year may illustrate :
The surprise that the Papo badger was not very good, versus my surprise that the cheetas from Schleich were good

First, let me say that I KNOW that this is a forum for ANIMAL collectors.... but you all seem to be knowledgeable and I thought you might be able to help me out. While I do have some of the animals (mainly for my kids), I personally lean towards medieval figures (knights, not dragons and wizards). While I liked the old World of Knights figures, the new direction Schleich has taken doesn't do much for me. Yes, the Wyvern rider is cool, but he hardly fits in with a bunch of French Knights I've seen Papo's knights and I've never really been impressed. The "mutant" line of warriors looked cool in the brochure but have failed to impress me in person. So, have any of you run across a line of KNIGHT figures that are as good (or preferably better) than the old Schleich line without breaking the bank? I've found a few cool looking knights but I just don't want to drop $50 per figure. (and an on topic quest... who has the best Moose and Sea Turtle? My wife is a fan of both of those). Thanks.

Hi, Menicus, wellcome here

I do not know the first thing about knoght models. But I have some of the Papo historical models, and they are fantastic .

Uhh, the best moose and sea turtles, - that is a question of taste.
Some of the Japanese brands make magnificent sea creatures, but many are extremely fragile, and they aren't cheap if you include shipping.

About moose, I love the one from Bullyland [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and the new, huge one from Safari is great, if you don't find it too big. If you look at out Toyanimal-wiki , you can see there are many, but a lot are long retired and hard to find [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] . If you point on a picture, a blue text appears, and if you click on it, you can read a little more about each model    

There are many kinds of sea tutles, - your wife can take a look on "TAI" [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] to see more about them too

Thanks... researching :) We keep travelling to "moose" country and she never sees one so I was going to get one as kind of a joke and then take pics of it with her camera when she's not paying attention :)

Thanks... researching :)   We keep travelling to "moose" country and she never sees one so I was going to get one as kind of a joke and then take pics of it with her camera when she's not paying attention :)

*edit* just got done looking at that Bullyland young sea turtle and it is great. Never heard of them before but I'm checking their stuff out :)

Moose are so impressive ! They are enormous
Perhaps you can trigger off the collector's gene in your wife ?

I hope you can find that sea turtle, it is ever so cute
Bullyland is not easy to find outside Europe, I think, but perhaps in Canada ?

Please let us know what you find

baltimore zoo wrote:

My other real problem(besides keeping them all on one scale) is that there IS SO MUCH COPYCATTING!
It's fine for each company to make the same animal, but make it in a TOTALLY different position! They're so transparent in their approach!

You can say that again! That is the main reason why I don't like Schleich and Papo that much: THEY TEND TOO MUCH TO COPY OTHER MANUFACTURERS. When do you see Schleich or Papo release a figure of a totally unknown species? HARDLY EVER. Consider the following:

- In 2008, Safari ltd released a Carnotaurus. A few years later, Schleich and Papo each released a Carnotaurus.
- In 2007 or so, Bullyland re-releassed its prehistoric animals for the joy of collectors, including their Archéoptéryx and Whooly Rhino. A few years later, Papo released an Archéoptéryx and a Whooly Rhino.
- In 2006 or so, Safari ltd released a Kentrosaurus. Last year, Schleich released a Kentrosaurus.
- A few years back, Safari ltd released a Tapejara. Guess what Papo released later: a Tapejara!

See what I mean? Schleich and Papo lets Safari ltd and Bullyland do the hard work of trying to sell new animals on the market. And when those animals meet success, Papo and Schleich copy them! Bleah...

Bowhead Whale wrote:

baltimore zoo wrote:

My other real problem(besides keeping them all on one scale) is that there IS SO MUCH COPYCATTING!
It's fine for each company to make the same animal, but make it in a TOTALLY different position! They're so transparent in their approach!

You can say that again! That is the main reason why I don't like Schleich and Papo that much: THEY TEND TOO MUCH TO COPY OTHER MANUFACTURERS. When do you see Schleich or Papo release a figure of a totally unknown species? HARDLY EVER. Consider the following:

- In 2008, Safari ltd released a Carnotaurus. A few years later, Schleich and Papo each released a Carnotaurus.
- In 2007 or so, Bullyland re-releassed its prehistoric animals for the joy of collectors, including their Archéoptéryx and Whooly Rhino. A few years later, Papo released an Archéoptéryx and a Whooly Rhino.
- In 2006 or so, Safari ltd released a Kentrosaurus. Last year, Schleich released a Kentrosaurus.
- A few years back, Safari ltd released a Tapejara. Guess what Papo released later: a Tapejara!

See what I mean? Schleich and Papo lets Safari ltd and Bullyland do the hard work of trying to sell new animals on the market. And when those animals meet success, Papo and Schleich copy them! Bleah...

And why not ..?!?

I think it`s nothing wrong with that... It is normal and it is also the right way for a company, finding way to be a successfull.
To make and sell this what people like.
Otherwise, with your logic, we have to expect from Papo to make what... aliens ?!?  (of course I`m just kidding in a friendly way )

Papo is a younger company then Safari or Bullyland .
In the world, this is called : competition.
When the first smartphone was made from one company, after that many other companies also start to make smartphones.
Do we blame them ..? No :)

Yes ! Competition, and the main reason for development . Your example with the smartphone is very good, Kosta

Still it is a very interesting list there, BW ! Thankyou

They all have their own style, so it is not completely copycatting in my opinion.
Of course they make the same animal, but if that animal is doing good on the market, it is not more than a logical step for others to follow. It is us, the customers/collectors to make the difference.
For instance, you decide which one you think is best and to buy that one. Or from a standard few, buy only Safari and Bullyland. Of course we want to see as much animals in model form as possible, so we tent to get a bit frustrated if an other brand does make the same animal a few years after.

To get back on the topic: Papo or Schleich. I go with Papo, but with the old Schleich

There are only so many animals to go around... and obviously it would be very hard for any company to do both an elephant and a mouse in scale to one another That being said, I'm a fan of whoever can be the most realistic AND in "relative" scale. Looks like mix and match may be the best way to go :)

My opinion is exactly in the middle of Kosta's and Valerie's opinions. Competeition is fulcral as well as good sales, if a company is not selling, there's no brand, there's no toys. So, much better two wooly rhinos than zero.
Though, I always believe that brands could be more immaginative without risking too much.
Bully released a wooly rhino, the most popular prehistoric rhino and the one that warrants bigger sales. Papo love the idea and introduces another prehistoric rhino in their range. Nothing wrong, but why another wooly rhino?
For example, Papo could release an elasmotherium instead, the common customer, would feel the same enthusiasm with an elasmotherium as with a wooly rhino. So, sales could result similar. OK, distributors don't like the elasmotherium idea once it is a strange thing. Easy, the same way as toy companies don't use the name coelodonta to wooly rhinos, they could also call the elasmotherium as a giant rhinoceros, a very appealing name that is often used to this creature. Here is an unusual species that in my opinion could easily be as successful as a wooly rhino.

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Giant rhino from Wikipedia

Honestly... I like them both! But I agree that sometimes they should expand their species range. That´s what I liked seeing about Schleich´s range this year: they gave us some obscure prehistoric species. I can only hope they keep it up instead of releasing species that are too well known. I mean, there´s nothing, and I mean NOTHING, wrong with the T-Rex, the Triceratops or the Velociraptor, but there were more dinosaurs besides those! No need to only release them.

Both have good figures, some more, some less.

Horses: Schleich
Wild and forest animals: Schleich
Big cats: Papo
Dinosaurs: Both
Dogs: Schleich
Small cats: Both
Fantasy: Both
Knights: Both
Humans: Both

Let's see, which brand will bring an Uintatherium(or Eobasileus).