Debate: Papo vs. Schleich

Interesting topic! I think that each company has it's own strengths and weaknesses like most people here.

Dogs: This definitely goes to Papo for their unusual breed selection and level of detail. Schleich's dogs used to be just as good, but unfortunately the new ones can't compete. Even if I didn't mind the smaller scale, they still lack musculature and realism.

Big Cats: This goes to Papo as well. For some reason, this company seems to excel in some areas much more than others and their big cats are pretty much the best on the market, especially their tigers.

Domestic Cats: Schleich still has some of the best domestic kitties, and if you've seen their recent grey and black ones, they seem to be getting much better at them each year. Let's hope they keep the scale the same and don't make small ones.

Horses: Schleich has traditionally had some of the best horses on the market. That being said, I've noticed the quality has recently started to slip, but I still think they're better than Papo horses in general.

Dinosaurs: Tie. Papo dinosaurs are amazingly detailed while Schleich dinosaurs have very unique colors and style. Neither one are my thing (I personally prefer Battat/Terra and CollectA) but I can understand why both lines are quite popular amongst collectors.

I am giving my two cents as well.

I am primarily a collector of Schleich, because it is the only brand commonly available in The Netherlands.
I also find the Schleich horses [of which I evidently have the most] more appealing than Papo's. While Papo's horses are very nice, Schleich has always been more natural to me. Papo is to me, even compared to the new schleich horses, more toyish.
Papo, how ever, is very good with dinosaurs and dogs and I am starting to gather some more papo dogs lately.

Schleich still has my top spot, even though I find CollectA and Safari more and more aesthetically appealing in their wild life and CollectA and Breyer with their horses. I have my breyer and CollectA for these reasons.
My Schleich collection, how ever is not just there to be pretty. I make stories and build a whole world around then in which I like to lose myself when times get hard at home.

In my opinion, the PAPO figures have a more modern, more realistic and more dynamic finish, the sensation of movement and expressiveness is much greater - practically identical to that of animals in their wild state. PAPO knows how to accurately reflect the essence of each animal, not only in terms of its physical characteristics, but also with respect to its psychology and personality. As a weak point against it, it should be noted that PAPO does not enjoy sales and distribution channels that make it a well-known and popular brand. In addition they are very expensive figures, scarce and difficult to obtain. It is clear that in PAPO the quality over quantity is high, so it is a product designed for adult collecting. Pure luxury and French refinement for select minorities.

As for the SCHLEICH figures, they still have not abandoned that naive and hieratic aspect that characterized their models of the mid-90s. These are generally well-made figures, although more immature, aimed at a children's audience. Due to its high number and variety, SCHLEICH occasionally offers us figures of extraordinary beauty and drama - the male African elephant and the zebra family of the 2014 catalog are memorable! -. It is also worth mentioning its extensive repertoire of horses, which are very beautiful - the ponies are tender and charming! -. But SCHLEICH lacks in many other things - the American Bald eagle of the catalog 2017 and the 2014 look like different animals, the new dogs do not reach the level of the old models, the quality of the big cats is very variable and combines good figures with others more discreet, the marine animals of the new catalog are well made, but lack the touch of strength and Portuguese genius that MAIA & BORGES gave to aquatic animals in the editions prior to 2013. SCHLEICH is a great brand in continuous process of evolution and experimentation, with a huge range of models and variants. Another positive aspect is the wide spread in the market and the ease of acquisition of its main animal models. Although we can see that in its latest catalogs of 2016/2017 have ostensibly cut the range of figures available, which leads to think that SCHLEICH is betting on a market strategy much more aggressive and focused on those models with more sales. As a negative point, the exorbitant price of accessories - buildings, infrastructures, vehicles -, which are also quite rare and difficult to get. Nor are animal figures at an affordable price, and here the value for money is not the best on the market. In my opinion, SCHLEICH continues to play a leading role in making figures, but at the expense of degrading the quality of its products - more plastic and less wood, smaller figures, many repainting of previous models - and reducing the number of models... a clear indicator that this company is losing ground against its more direct competitors.

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Zurita, welcome on forum and thanks for your post. Your comment is very interesting and shows that you have an amazing level of knowledge about these brands and about the market. Loved to read it.

Roger wrote:

Zurita, welcome on forum and thanks for your post. Your comment is very interesting and shows that you have an amazing level of knowledge about these brands and about the market. Loved to read it.

Just what I thought also

You are so right : The two strengths of Schleich are distribution and appeal to children.

About the horses,
- when I put a random Schleich horse and a random Papo horse beside each other, the Schleich one will most likely be the shining star,
- but I can also pick quite a few Papo horse that beat Schleich,
- and if I take a flock from each brand, Schleich are so much like each other these days, that I can no longer tell them apart, while the Papo horses each have their own personality

I think Schleich and Papo are on a similar level.In fact, the problem is that the schleich is practically everywhere And papo is behind them because they do not drown their products even in their country to promote it;Schleich every year around January 20 systematically gives us new and i live in france and sporadically see new models it some joke I recently bought a hippopotamus female which came out in 2014 and in any store and there were quite a lot of them before A similar situation with a tiger stjacym, a beautiful figurine bought online and I was in all skeps and until now I did not see it.So I think papo is wonderful in some figurines but hardly available.Schleich is a great brand that gives us beautiful animals and accessories and is reliable.

costicuba wrote:

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 :)

I think, like Roger said about one company releasing an Elasmotherium as an example, that each company should make ITS OWN SPECIES. Just like: "Safari ltd released a Carnotaurus? Well! We, Schleich, will release an Argentinosaurus to go with it!" or "Bullyland released a Paratypothorax? Well, we, Papo, will release a Stagonolepis!" Instead, we buyers end up choosing between a Carnotaurus, a Carnotaurus and a Carnotaurus. What kind of choice is that!!??

Bowhead Whale wrote:

costicuba wrote:

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 :)

I think, like Roger said about one company releasing an Elasmotherium as an example, that each company should make ITS OWN SPECIES. Just like: "Safari ltd released a Carnotaurus? Well! We, Schleich, will release an Argentinosaurus to go with it!" or "Bullyland released a Paratypothorax? Well, we, Papo, will release a Stagonolepis!" Instead, we buyers end up choosing between a Carnotaurus, a Carnotaurus and a Carnotaurus. What kind of choice is that!!??

I respect your taste and your point of view but ..
Valerie, I think that you forget one very important thing...
And the thing is that You, Me and the other collectors, We are not the MAIN BUYERS from the major brands.
The children are !!! (or of course their parents..)
These companies doesn`t work for your wishes and your taste. They work for much much bigger contingent - Children!
The children wants famous dinosaur ...and Carnotaurus is exactly this ! Remember the Disney movie - Dinosaur (2000) ?
So of course , major brands what to make models, which will be ``bestsellers``
And we are talking about companies from different places in the world...
so why not these companies give to the children from these different places what they want ?
Yes, We - collectors order our models from all over the world, but children don`t .
And We- collectors want different models
of different animals from the major brands...
But dear Valerie, don`t forget who makes the money for the companies ..We ? ...or the Children

And last thing.
Ok, "Safari ltd released a Carnotaurus" ... ok, but maybe I don`t like this model so much...
but I like this dinosaur and I want to have a better model of it ... so - Thank you Papo, that you made a better one for me    .. just an example ...
Or I like this dinosaur so much, that I want not only one model of it ..I want more ..
So, Thank you Safari, Papo, Battat, Schleich ..and...
...this example works too.
What I mean is this - different collectors- different tastes ...And your taste is not the taste of all collectors. :)

In my opinion, Schleich is for children. Papo is for serious toy animal collectors.

In average, all Papo animals look better than Schleich's. But in specific products, I admit Schleich is better than Papo, such as Schleich Gorilla 2017, Schleich Wild Boar, Schleich Zebra, etc.

Ravenheartx wrote:

......But in specific products, I admit Schleich is better than Papo, such as Schleich Gorilla 2017, Schleich Wild Boar, Schleich Zebra, etc.

Yes ! Papo does certainly not have a good way with zebras at all

But I like the Papo wild boars better then the new one from Schleich

Schleich is great. But Papo in some models amazing.here is my papo list amazing Standing tiger,lying tiger,tiger, tiger cub ,lion roaring,lioness,hippopotamus female,snow panther,polar bear standing,puma ,kangaroo,tailed deer

I have just bought an indian rhino with a small one They are great We will wait for the answer now Schleich ;Papo models are more accurate and gorgeous

Kikimalou wrote:

I agree with a lot of things you said here Sphyrna18 and that's the reason I have no hope to see an "only one scale" brand. On day I decided this problem wouldn't disturb my joy of collecting and life is better like that... Since I can't do anything to change this !

Nevertheless, about LINEOL, this brand made animals "nearly in scale" in a time where international competition was very low. But they didn't made their animals or soldiers for the model trains and related hobbies. The company which made model trains is LIONEL and have nothing to do in this story.
LINEOL was a German company and LIONEL is a US company.
LINEOL disappeared after WW2 because this company was in the DDR. Then VEB PLAHO made smaller plastic animals inspred by LINEOL models.

A New LINEOL borned after the reunification of Germany but you still have to search for the zoo line  

There have been to-scale lines. Remember Noah's Pals? Good variety, all to scale. Then Schleich bought them, with the goal being to improve the distribution. And then killed the line.

Southland Replicas is also entirely to scale. It means some very tiny monotremes, but everything fits together.

As for the original question... I have more Schleich, but I lean toward neither.

In 2011 I said Schleich was better (talking about horses).

Now I´m going to change my mind... I am starting to hate Schleich horses. They are absolutely ugly now. It has been now 3 years since I lost the interest on them.

Happy to see this topic brought up again. I have a lot of things and thoughts to share according to my experience...

This topic immediately interested me, because it reminded me of an argue between two people: "Who is better: cats or dogs?". Conversations like that have always surprised and disappointed me, since there is no point in arguing about it and this is the same as arguing about: "What is better: ice cream or ham?". A ham lover and an ice cream lover will both be satisfied, but why collectors can not decide which brand is better? My answer is simple: what you like is better. After all, if we begin going deeply into the wild jungle about what brand is better or worse, we will argue in the end about the brand’s creators: "Who of them did more good deeds?"...
Once upon a time, when I was just starting to collect animal replicas there were only Schleichs and Safari Ltd., since I lived in Ukraine and our choice at that time (10 years ago) was limited. When, after a while, I saw my first ever Papo models, more new Safaris etc. I was immediately very interested in it: you can buy lots of stuff!
Then I had a period of time when I decided to collect only Schleich brand, convincing myself that I like it so much. After a while, I began to regret that I had sold or missed good figures from other brands.
Most importantly, you need to remember: you collect only for yourself and your collection is needed only for you. Be honest with your desires and collect what you like, not what’s popular or "someone’s". Collecting must be approached consciously, as this is not a cheap hobby and you also need to appreciate the time spent on choosing models.
In my collection there are now Schleichs, Papos, and Breyers, and I can’t say what is my favorite brand. Every brand has my favorite model.
I also have been straggling with the fact that the CollectA brand sculpting figures from rubber, which imho make them look poor, but many of them are really good and worth attention - I realised that after a long time!
Beeing addicted to the brand is the worst thing that could happen.

Why isn't CollectA included in this poll ?

To my mind, CollectA literally destroys both Papo and Schleich !

Its figures are so well painted that they look alive.

Its species range is smaller than Schleich but it is still a young brand and it has much more uncommon species.

Their ungulates are the most beautiful things I have ever seen as an animal figure collector...
It is not as good as Schleich and Papo as far as well-known species are concerned : Elephants, Giraffes (still way better than Papo's Giraffes ) big cats, apes... but they are getting much better and their last White rhino and Hippo are masterpieces I also look forward to get their new Gorilla which may compete with Schleich's last one !

At the same time, Schleich is becoming more and more cartoonish and Papo is releasing awfully painted figures [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I tell you : "Schleich and Papo are dead, long live CollectA !"

RtasVadumee wrote:

Why isn't CollectA included in this poll ?

To my mind, CollectA literally destroys both Papo and Schleich !

Its figures are so well painted that they look alive.

Its species range is smaller than Schleich but it is still a young brand and it has much more uncommon species.

Their ungulates are the most beautiful things I have ever seen as an animal figure collector...
It is not as good as Schleich and Papo as far as well-known species are concerned : Elephants, Giraffes (still way better than Papo's Giraffes ) big cats, apes... but they are getting much better and their last White rhino and Hippo are masterpieces I also look forward to get their new Gorilla which may compete with Schleich's last one !

At the same time, Schleich is becoming more and more cartoonish and Papo is releasing awfully painted figures [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I tell you : "Schleich and Papo are dead, long live CollectA !"

Easy, this discussion started in 2011.
CollectA was virtually unknown and hard to find, not even in online shops.
If you remove the CollectA releases after 2011, you will find that the average quality is far from what we see these days.
Ten years ago, most collectors were only focused in Schleich and very reluctant to accept other brand figures in their collections.
Some Papo figures, clearly superior to Schleich's counterparts, namely the tiger walking and lioness, promoted a lot the debat between Schleich and Papo that remained for a long time.
Shortly after, Mojö Fun entered in this discussion bringing some new species to the market and CollectA replied with the most fascinating range of wonderful and unusual animal figures. Though, both brands were always hard to find and buying online was not such a common thing as it is today.
Now, we are seeing CollectA breaking a little in terms of diversity and replacing their old nuclear models for a new generation of masterpieces. Namely the hippo, rhino, lion, tiger and other common animals.
Schleich is now an inconsistent brand, breaking with the past and Papo is consolidating their range without risking too much as they always made.
Safari Ltd, already very active ten years ago, was an outsider and is probably the best company of the last two years.
Though, if the word is quality, in among this kind of figures, Southlands Replicas are probably the best finished of all of these.
Concluding, with so many good options, Schleich and Papo discussion doesn't make too much sense these days and they are only two brands among many others that can provide us lots of options to enjoy our collecting hobby.

Yes, of course, I did not look at the date this topic was created...

I do not know a lot about Safari. I just know that it has the widest range of species. I may use this brand to complete my collection once I have bought all the Mojo figures I want and then, I will create another topic to ask you for comparison pics

I do not know Southlands Replicas at all. I can see from its website that it is mostly about Australian fauna. I would love to get an Echidna

I see what you mean when you talk about Schleich collectors. There is a guy in my parent's town who collects every single figure made by Schleich but refuses to buy any other brand. I cannot understand that but I guess anyone is free to do whatever he/she wants with his/her collection.

I also would like to apologise about asking questions that have already been answered and unearth old topics that have already been dealt with

RtasVadumee wrote:

Yes, of course, I did not look at the date this topic was created...

I do not know a lot about Safari. I just know that it has the widest range of species. I may use this brand to complete my collection once I have bought all the Mojo figures I want and then, I will create another topic to ask you for comparison pics

I do not know Southlands Replicas at all. I can see from its website that it is mostly about Australian fauna. I would love to get an Echidna

I see what you mean when you talk about Schleich collectors. There is a guy in my parent's town who collects every single figure made by Schleich but refuses to buy any other brand. I cannot understand that but I guess anyone is free to do whatever he/she wants with his/her collection.

I also would like to apologise about asking questions that have already been answered and unearth old topics that have already been dealt with

Oh, you don't have to apologise. It is a forum with a long story already and it is not easy to find things when there are thousands of topics. Feel free to ask anything you want.
I will try to compile comparison pictures of Safari as I did before with Papo and CollectA. It could be interesting to everyone once Safari is the less coerent in terms of sizes. Then, feel confortable to ask comparisons of what you think may be of interest for your collection.

Roger wrote:

RtasVadumee wrote:

Yes, of course, I did not look at the date this topic was created...

I do not know a lot about Safari. I just know that it has the widest range of species. I may use this brand to complete my collection once I have bought all the Mojo figures I want and then, I will create another topic to ask you for comparison pics

I do not know Southlands Replicas at all. I can see from its website that it is mostly about Australian fauna. I would love to get an Echidna

I see what you mean when you talk about Schleich collectors. There is a guy in my parent's town who collects every single figure made by Schleich but refuses to buy any other brand. I cannot understand that but I guess anyone is free to do whatever he/she wants with his/her collection.

I also would like to apologise about asking questions that have already been answered and unearth old topics that have already been dealt with

Oh, you don't have to apologise. It is a forum with a long story already and it is not easy to find things when there are thousands of topics. Feel free to ask anything you want.
I will try to compile comparison pictures of Safari as I did before with Papo and CollectA. It could be interesting to everyone once Safari is the less coerent in terms of sizes. Then, feel confortable to ask comparisons of what you think may be of interest for your collection.

It would be great ! Also, don't hesitate to share your most beautiful Safari figures since quality seems very unequal from one model to another.

RtasVadumee wrote:

Roger wrote:

RtasVadumee wrote:

Yes, of course, I did not look at the date this topic was created...

I do not know a lot about Safari. I just know that it has the widest range of species. I may use this brand to complete my collection once I have bought all the Mojo figures I want and then, I will create another topic to ask you for comparison pics

I do not know Southlands Replicas at all. I can see from its website that it is mostly about Australian fauna. I would love to get an Echidna

I see what you mean when you talk about Schleich collectors. There is a guy in my parent's town who collects every single figure made by Schleich but refuses to buy any other brand. I cannot understand that but I guess anyone is free to do whatever he/she wants with his/her collection.

I also would like to apologise about asking questions that have already been answered and unearth old topics that have already been dealt with

Oh, you don't have to apologise. It is a forum with a long story already and it is not easy to find things when there are thousands of topics. Feel free to ask anything you want.
I will try to compile comparison pictures of Safari as I did before with Papo and CollectA. It could be interesting to everyone once Safari is the less coerent in terms of sizes. Then, feel confortable to ask comparisons of what you think may be of interest for your collection.

It would be great ! Also, don't hesitate to share your most beautiful Safari figures since quality seems very unequal from one model to another.

You can find the topic [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] but you can ask comparison pictures of whatever is of your personal interest.

If companies are primary making toys then in-scale isn't a priority they will make an animal or car in any size they like or more likely to fit the mould they are using to manufacture the said item. Hence 'smaller' animals/cars will be a similar size to 'larger' ones.

However, there are companies that make toys that fit into modelling e.g. railways. In this case they will provide animal figures to populate the fields surrounding the layout and Hornby are a modern example.

Preiser don't make railway locos, wagons, coaches or track but they do make human and animals that fit into every major railway scale.

In the past Britains in Great Britain and Lineol and Elastolin in Germany made in scale animal figures because they were issued under the 'educational' label and this helped sales.

Chris Sweetman wrote:

If companies are primary making toys then in-scale isn't a priority they will make an animal or car in any size they like or more likely to fit the mould they are using to manufacture the said item. Hence 'smaller' animals/cars will be a similar size to 'larger' ones.

However, there are companies that make toys that fit into modelling e.g. railways. In this case they will provide animal figures to populate the fields surrounding the layout and Hornby are a modern example.

Preiser don't make railway locos, wagons, coaches or track but they do make human and animals that fit into every major railway scale.

In the past Britains in Great Britain and Lineol and Elastolin in Germany made in scale animal figures because they were issued under the 'educational' label and this helped sales.

...Also, there is the matter of safety : Even if they write on the tag that the models are not suitable for children under 3, larger children have small siblings.
I can imagine the compensation, if children in USA swallowed a small plastic model