Beauty and the beast : A dromedary and a poor, little ridgeback .

There were two models from Schleich this year, which I looked much forward to se :

- The dromedary, because i love dromedaries, and
- the Rhodesian Ridgeback, because it is a fantastic dog : Big, powerful, yet extremely athletic, and with a strong, but yet sensitive disposition

I looked so much forward to the parcel from Germany, and...

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...the dromedary is absolutely wonderful  
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Look at the details on the legs, - and no doubt it is a female, - perhaps she gets a foal next year ?  
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Some designer/artist has really, really done a magnificent work here  
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BUT  
Poor, narrow little dog  
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Well, it could perhaps be a 6 months old puppy ?  
It is a female, but still, where are the muscles and the elegance ?
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There are nice details if you look close, - but who made a cross on her chest  
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And...the eyes  
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The nose looks as if it has been cut off very abruptly  
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Untill now, the series of small dog models has been really nice, and I treasure them a lot , - and now this  
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It may not be polite to talk about money, but this model could fit in a 12-piece TOOB, and still the price is the same as those above, and of the beautyful Mojo Labrador.  

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Schleich, in 1950 you made bendies, and they were not meant to be very lifelike :
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But look around now :
Papo began their animal model series in 2004, Collecta in 2006, Mojo 2011, and Southland in 2016, - not to mention all the awesome models from the far east
The market is getting more and more competitive, and a model like that from you makes me sad.

Come on, Schleich !
You are too good for that kind of failure, that dog model should have been stopped and a better one modelled before it reached the market !!!

BUT THANKYOU for the gorgeous dromedary, - you can still make great models these days, so tie your belt, wake up, and do some quality control at the design stage

The rhodesian is a shame. It does not represent the breed at all. It reminds me of my fathers labrador, she is a female and is built rangy and lanky (long limbs, narrow waist). That's not a rhodesian in my eyes. And the price for that figure...

The camel is delightful! Big congrats on your new friends.

Congratulations Susanne

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

The rhodesian is a shame. It does not represent the breed at all. It reminds me of my fathers labrador, she is a female and is built rangy and lanky (long limbs, narrow waist). That's not a rhodesian in my eyes. And the price for that figure...

The camel is delightful! Big congrats on your new friends.

I am very happy that it is not only me, who think it is an insult to the Ridgies
But I wished I had a more steady hand and could paint eyes on her. It would help a little at least

Yes,would agree not the best model of this breed.The Bullyland one is much better and I have a ceramic model which again is a much better model of this breed.

You just killed me with the cross on the chest

This is what I call fantastic pictures, Susanne! I can enjoy every single detail in a way that I cannot do when I have the real figure. Some details I really forget to check as the genital attributes. The dromedary female is really nice and very detailed. Maybe their best until now. Legs also do not look as short as the previous models although they also do not look as perfectly proportioned as what we can see on Papo figure.
I agree the dog is very plain and do not give justice to the good work Schleich performed in the past with their figures. Here is very well illustrated what I'm saying about Schleich these years. I think they are doing a good job with Wildlife (my collecting subject), the only minus is that some figures are not as nicely painted as before but the sculpts are mostly improvements from the previous generations. Where I see a general dicreasing of quality is with the farm related figures, especially noticiable in their horses and now also this dog. I think these contributed a lot to big popularity of the company and most of the disappointment of last years is mainly from horse collectors, I guess.

Thank you Susanne, your walkarounds are such a delight!

Roger wrote:

Legs also do not look as short as the previous models although they also do not look as perfectly proportioned as what we can see on Papo figure.

Can you be more specific on this Roger? All I see it's just a bit bigger feet.. otherwise the legs look quite similar to me.. On the other hand, I love the sculpting on the hump and neck of the Schleich, as much as I like the fantastic eyebrow's expression on the Papo. Equally beautiful models I think!

Roger wrote:

Where I see a general dicreasing of quality is with the farm related figures, especially noticiable in their horses and now also this dog. I think these contributed a lot to big popularity of the company and most of the disappointment of last years is mainly from horse collectors, I guess.

You are right, I'm most disappointed with the turkey, especially the head looks so childish made.. And now this dog.. (the new cat is nice though)

SUSANNE wrote:

It may not be polite to talk about money,

Sorry for the off-topic, but why is that? Is this a north-european culture thing? I'm really interested to know.. I believe that since this is a collectors forum, it's also somehow a consumer's one.. Especially when you feel ripped-off, is it the most sincere thing to do?

[quote="spacelab"]

Roger wrote:

Legs also do not look as short as the previous models although they also do not look as perfectly proportioned as what we can see on Papo figure.

Can you be more specific on this Roger? All I see it's just a bit bigger feet.. otherwise the legs look quite similar to me.. On the other hand, I love the sculpting on the hump and neck of the Schleich, as much as I like the fantastic eyebrow's expression on the Papo. Equally beautiful models I think! (/quote]

Dromedaries have very long and delicate legs. If you compare the length of a leg with the length of the body, for example, you will see what I mean with proportions. Honestly, watching again pictures, of both models, the differences are not so obvious, maybe Papo's model has more delicate legs but it is hard to be sure what is a good news to this new wonderful mare from Schleich.

The dromedary mare is wonderful But she has one flaw Her udder has four tits, and these animals only have two They did the same with their old one, but otherwise she looks perfect

Farm collector wrote:

The dromedary mare is wonderful But she has one flaw Her udder has four tits, and these animals only have two They did the same with their old one, but otherwise she looks perfect

I think they DO have four, whereas Lamas have two  
At least that is what it says when I google. See for instance HERE

SUSANNE wrote:

Farm collector wrote:

The dromedary mare is wonderful But she has one flaw Her udder has four tits, and these animals only have two They did the same with their old one, but otherwise she looks perfect

I think they DO have four, whereas Lamas have two  
At least that is what it says when I google. See for instance HERE

Fortunately you are right, Susanne. It means the company got it correctly and that is always a good news. Sometimes, a little unnoticiable flaw is enough to turn a figure a little less interesting.

Wonderful pictures Susanne and the Dromedar is gorgeous!! But I will not collect Dromedars as well..
Instead, the poor Ridgeback made it in my shopping cart. It is still a nice dog but really really sleek, thin and small. The new American shorthaired cat is almost as big as the Ridgeback...

Thankyou, Shanti

Have you considered repainting the little doggie ?
It could be interesting to see if you can get something out of it
At least remove that ridiculous cross she has on her chest and correct the eyes and nose

The dromedary is on its way to my shelves currently but that ridgeback (which I thought about getting) is staying far away from my collection unless the paint job dramatically improves by 100%!!!!!

I considered repainting a lot of figurines and this Ridgeback might be a happy candidate!
Currently I am in Home Office and my hobby workspace is occupied with computer etc. No place or space for my hobby now. But eventually someday it might happen!

I look forward to that