Project : Rtas' farm of freaks

Hi !

Being currently looking for new outlets for my collecting hobby which was starting to struggle a bit lately, I decided to start buying Japanese and homemade figures to fill the taxonomic gaps of my main, wildlife collection. Today, I found a third direction to take. A much less ambitious, demanding and costly one but still quite a lot of fun in my opinion !

I don't collect domestic animals, that's a boundary I settled to avoid being overwhelmed. Still, I afforded a few exceptions for exotic breeds often kept in zoos like watusi and brhaman cattles, llama and alpaca, dromedary or my dear fellow Vietnamese countrypigs. And now I own almost all I want from wildlife ranges of major brands, I feel like it's a shame not to have at least one representative of each farm animal to show. I'm in NO WAY going to start a big exhaustive domestic collection. But just a few farm animals to populate a small educational farm would be nice.

This farm will be faithful to my tastes and I'm going to be very picky about my choices. Each animal will be represented by a charismatic breed I am naturally appealed to. It will be a "farm of freaks", that is to say a farm of original, unusual and weird-looking breeds. Breeds I am very familiar with because they are often kept in zoos and educational farms rather than true professional ones.

I had a look on TAI in the afternoon and selected the brands and models I want. All three biggest brands will be represented almost equally : Schleich, Papo and CollectA. Actually, CollectA was the main one to inspire me. I remember being tempted several times by its unusual breeds when ordering my wildlife models.

Here is my selection :

1) The donkey

My donkey will be the "Baudet du Poitou" a French breed I have always liked very much. The selected model is Schleich which is an astonishing figure much better than Papo's in my opinion.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

A foal may join the mother
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

A Papo male may also complete the family. But I'm unaware of Papo Poitou's gender. Anyway, as I said, the newer rendition has a quite miserable glossy/plastic-looking finish IMO :
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

The previous model would make a much better mate if I manage to find it (and if it's a male of course) :
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

2) The cow

My cow will be a Scottish highland from Papo.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

She is much likely to marry the Schleich model which is fortunately a bull
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

3) The bull

Initially, the plan was to have a bull and a cow from different breeds to respect the synoptic approach. But then, I decided to make families. So my farm will have two cattle families. That's something I can be more flexible with as I already have some domestic cattle in my main collection, namely a watusi family and a brhaman herd. Bovine figures are hardly ever ugly and very often masterpieces with Western brands so they kind of became my guilty pleasure. The selected bull was initially the outstanding new CollectA Texas longhorn.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

He will form a lovely family with Schleich's cow and calf
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

4) The geese

My geese will be the CollectA African pair.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

5) The sheep

The sheep will be four-horned Jacob's breed from CollectA. A critter I have often seen in zoos and have always been fascinated by.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

6) The goat

My selected goat is the angoran one which is, like the Jacob's sheep, a breed I'm familiar with from zoos.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

7) The pig

My beloved pot-bellied pigs will be part of my farm. But I find it's a shame to deprive myself the pleasure of buying a new pig as part of this farm building process. Even more so that I have a target in mind. Indeed, I have always been tempted by CollectA's Hungarian wild boar-looking pig. Once in a small zoo, I remember seing a monstruous specimen which was kind of rabid and had been separated from the others because of its aggressivity. When we approached the fence, it bit it in a frenzy and slobber was dropping down its mouth. The rightful heir to entelodonts, no doubt about it.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

8 ) The hen

I would accept no other hen than the wonderful Papo silkie chicken, a model I have been on the edge of buying countless times even if it would have been out of place in my collection. With that farm project, it won't be anymore !
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

9) The rabbit

For the moment, there is no real alternative to the Papo angora, even if I'm not convinced about it because I feel like there are already too many angoran/long-haired beasts in my farm... I would prefer a lop-eared rabbit. I had one as a pet but I'm not sure they are used as farm animals and breeded for meat.

10) The duck

I want an Indian runner as my duck but no brand has ever produced one so I shall wait.

11) The horse

The choice of the horse is the most difficult one. There are so many breeds and horses are not animals I appreciate, I even quite dislike them to be honest, and one even tried to commit suicide with me on its back once. So any advice is welcome but it will have to be a draft breed.

Well, that's all, as I said, it's just a tiny project to enrich my collection a bit and allow me to add a few models I have always wanted without being ever able to find a good excuse to add them. Don't hesitate to share your thoughts about that selection and give me any advice about it !

Farm of freaks lol... lop rabbits have been bred as meat animals, so they could fit. Specifically, the larger lop breeds such as French and English were originally for meat not pet.

For horses, what about a feral/semi feral type such as the mustang, brumbie, Sorraia, various British ponies or Chincoteague etc.? That way they can straddle the zoo/farm line perhaps like some of your cattle.

An excellent idea! Can't wait to see how it develops. If you need any comparison photos I can help with most of these, or you can refer to my collection photos as usual.  Happy freak farming!

Nice farm figures.

I love your idea, and I love your choices

An excellent idea and so many beautiful models!
Might there be a dog on this farm?

Very interesting! I have received my Sorraia today and it is a magnificent figure so I could also suggest it to you but no, it is not in any way a farm horse. Also, as you want a draft, I would suggest Gustav, the Wia horse, probably one of the best drafts around and a chance to introduce one more brand in your collection. Though, this model also has a little problem, it seems we don't know the breed or I forgot it. I think the craziest draft horse breed is the Gypsy Vanner, not unusual but your longhorn cattle is also not a unusual breed. Bonnie is right, it is not her dog fever talking, why not a dog in your farm? Farms also need foxes, moles, crows but those I believe you already got.
OK, it is not a project but I am also collecting, very slowly, a farm. I have the old Boer goats from Schleich, I am getting the same donkey as you, a good number of horses, a few dogs, a black sheep is also coming and I like most of the figures you're presenting here.
As you are Benjamin and you start this topic with a donkey, I suspect you're finding some inspiration on Animal Farm by George Orwell... or is it just a coincidence?

This is a cool project. :) There are several zoo facilities in my region that keep miniature horses on their farms, but since you are thinking specifically a draft breed, we used to have fjords come temporarily to stay at the farm at our zoo. We did not have facilities to keep them full time, however, so it was only short stays to have a little variety. I am trying to remember any other drafters I know of being kept in zoos . . . I will ask my zoo community, maybe they will have some good ideas!

Also, I have wanted for many years to work at a facility that kept poitou, I think that is an excellent addition to your farm project.

In the UK, farm parks and petting-zoo type places often have a rare breed draft horse or two, even if they don't use them as work animals (or maybe just cart rides, or a few demo days a year), so you could go for just a rare breed, rather than one which would be theoretically working the land of your farm.
The rarest is the Suffolk Punch, which the Rare Breed Survival Trust tells us is rarer than the panda, because there's less of them in the world - just a few hundred. So the open-to-the-public farms try to promote their cause, and breed them if at all possible, to help keep numbers up.

It's lovely you are getting into domestic species Ben!

You have picked many gorgeous figures for your farm, and I can confirm the most recent Papo Poitou is male. I am also happy you picked a silkie and Highland cattle as these breeds are very close to my heart as I have a good number of them. The Mangalista pig was also a fab choice, as they are so woolly.

If you were to go with any horse I'd pick the shire or Suffolk punch, I have a big soft spot for heavy horses. The Mojo figure s the only adult Suffolk punch, but they also did a foal. For the shire I would either pick the Schleich 13605, which is a mare, or the CollectA 88574 in grey. For the stallion or gelding I'm very undecided but the Papo 51517 isn't too bad.

pipsxlch wrote:

Farm of freaks lol... lop rabbits have been bred as meat animals, so they could fit. Specifically, the larger lop breeds such as French and English were originally for meat not pet.

For horses, what about a feral/semi feral type such as the mustang, brumbie, Sorraia, various British ponies or Chincoteague etc.? That way they can straddle the zoo/farm line perhaps like some of your cattle.

Thanks, I will study these breeds even if I don't think they're exactly what I'm looking for. You seem to be shocked by the word "freak" which probably has a negative connotation but from me it's actually a very beautiful compliment.

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

An excellent idea! Can't wait to see how it develops. If you need any comparison photos I can help with most of these, or you can refer to my collection photos as usual. Happy freak farming!

Thanks Paige ! I already know everything will fit and be compatible but I may still ask you one or two comparisons just for the pleasure of my eyes while I'll be waiting for my animals to join

Bonnie wrote:

An excellent idea and so many beautiful models!
Might there be a dog on this farm?

Yes Lilias, why not ! My choice would then be the Shar Pei but I'm not fully convinced by CollectA's rendition because I think it's very possible to make a masterpiece from this breed and the current model, despite being all right, is not what I would call so. Moreover, Kosta (spacelab) told me any dog would be a bit big compared to farm animals but if they're not too enormous, that will be something I can perfectly accommodate myself to.

Quote :

OK, it is not a project but I am also collecting, very slowly, a farm. I have the old Boer goats from Schleich, I am getting the same donkey as you, a good number of horses, a few dogs, a black sheep is also coming and I like most of the figures you're presenting here.

Oh Roger, I didn't notice those models when scrolling TAI but now, I certainly want them as my goats ! I will still buy the Papo angora because it is available in the shop near my job but will also add those Boer if I ever find the opportunity to. Where did you find them, on Gaschers.de maybe ?

Roger wrote:

As you are Benjamin and you start this topic with a donkey, I suspect you're finding some inspiration on Animal Farm by George Orwell... or is it just a coincidence?

I didn't notice the irony until you mentionned it but that's indeed very very clever and subtle of you, as the similarities spread beyond the only common name... Maybe I can indeed roughly base my farm on this one, I already have some ideas concerning the pigs...

Quote :

This is a cool project. :) There are several zoo facilities in my region that keep miniature horses on their farms, but since you are thinking specifically a draft breed, we used to have fjords come temporarily to stay at the farm at our zoo. We did not have facilities to keep them full time, however, so it was only short stays to have a little variety. I am trying to remember any other drafters I know of being kept in zoos . . . I will ask my zoo community, maybe they will have some good ideas!

Also, I have wanted for many years to work at a facility that kept poitou, I think that is an excellent addition to your farm project.

Well... I did not think about miniature horses but that's certainly, certainly a great idea that pleases me very much ! I'm going to have a look to the available models straightaway !

George wrote:

In the UK, farm parks and petting-zoo type places often have a rare breed draft horse or two, even if they don't use them as work animals (or maybe just cart rides, or a few demo days a year), so you could go for just a rare breed, rather than one which would be theoretically working the land of your farm.
The rarest is the Suffolk Punch, which the Rare Breed Survival Trust tells us is rarer than the panda, because there's less of them in the world - just a few hundred. So the open-to-the-public farms try to promote their cause, and breed them if at all possible, to help keep numbers up.

Yet, that's a domestic breed of the horse species so maybe not so much comparable to the Panda case. But I checked that breed and your suggestion pleases me more than several others I have been made so I will definitely keep your idea in my mind.

Advicot wrote:

It's lovely you are getting into domestic species Ben!
You have picked many gorgeous figures for your farm, and I can confirm the most recent Papo Poitou is male. I am also happy you picked a silkie and Highland cattle as these breeds are very close to my heart as I have a good number of them. The Mangalista pig was also a fab choice, as they are so woolly.

If you were to go with any horse I'd pick the shire or Suffolk punch, I have a big soft spot for heavy horses. The Mojo figure s the only adult Suffolk punch, but they also did a foal. For the shire I would either pick the Schleich 13605, which is a mare, or the CollectA 88574 in grey. For the stallion or gelding I'm very undecided but the Papo 51517 isn't too bad.

Yep, I knew you would like that !

So, one more vote for the Suffolk punch ! Don't know about the Shire, it's certainly impressive but also very well known as even I know it !

You all gave me very useful advice and I thank you for it ! However, not surprisingly actually, Roger was the one to find my selected breed for draft : the Gypsy vanner. Its look and traditional use are definitely what I'm looking for a "farm of freaks".

However, if I'm going to draw inspiration from Orwell's novel, I may afford three horses, even if they are not the same breed as in the book.

It would be a funny idea to have the largest horse in the world, the Shire (Boxer, stallion), and the smallest one, the miniature horse (Clover, mare). And the gypsy that will have to be a mare to portray Mollie. Or maybe Clover is the Suffolk punch and I just accept one extra miniature horse.

Anyway, there are so many breeds of horses available in toy form that it wouldn't be "representative of the market" to have only one in my farm. I just would need a few more sheep but I guess a black one from Schleich and the Merino family from Papo will be just fine to keep company to the Jacob's sheep.

However, I hope you are aware that we are completely giving up the synoptic approach and doing exactly what I was NOT supposed to in the first place, that is to say starting a whole new collection

But I already have or am about to have the donkeys, all Papo are available in my usual shop and CollectA are not retired so the only investments will be the Boer goats and the black sheep from Schleich, I may not ruin myself.

I will also need the farm itself... I mean, the infrastructure. But I'm sure Schleich has something to offer. Finally, I will need farmers. That's may be more problematic...

Ok, after further research, it seems that the miniature horse has to be Falabella either with that paintjob
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

or that one
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Then the Shire I want to be a stallion should be Schleich
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

or Papo (but I kind of don't really trust Papo about horses, that has never been their most famous strenght from what I heard)
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Finally the Gypsy has to be a mare. Of course, there is a recent Schleich rendition
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

But I find the CollectA model way more iconic and charismatic
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Size is surely going to be a determining factor. Indeed, I have been told that CollectA horses were larger than Schleich ones. BUT the Shire stallion has to be the biggest one. So, it would be kind if someone could provide me with comparison pics of the CollectA Gypsy mare with both the Schleich and Papo Shire stallions !

Falabella is a great choice, and so is the vanner and shire! A great combo for size differences, for sure. I can't provide any sizing help for the models, but I love your choices. :)

(I personally think the Shleich has a more Shire-shaped head, of the two)

I've been labeled a freak too many times in my life to be offended by it lol. No harm meant. I like the idea of a farm of the unusual.

Breyers made some lovely barns, but they may not be so available in France. Schleich probably would be the best bet. That way there will be farmfolk in scale with the building(s). You might be able to find something nice homemade.

CollectA make a much more anatomically accurate and aesthetically pleasing Falabella than Schleich, if you can get hold of one. A model from just a year or two ago, so shouldn't be retired or sold out yet.

I've got the CollectA cob mare and the Schleich shire stallion, but I've got to leave for work right now, so I'll get a picture of them together this afternoon, unless anyone else has both and helps you out in the meantime!
Just incase she's bigger than he is, the Mojo 'tinker mare' is the same breed and a bit smaller, if I remember rightly, I'll get a comparison shot of those two as well.

George wrote:

CollectA make a much more anatomically accurate and aesthetically pleasing Falabella than Schleich, if you can get hold of one. A model from just a year or two ago, so shouldn't be retired or sold out yet.

I've got the CollectA cob mare and the Schleich shire stallion, but I've got to leave for work right now, so I'll get a picture of them together this afternoon, unless anyone else has both and helps you out in the meantime!
Just incase she's bigger than he is, the Mojo 'tinker mare' is the same breed and a bit smaller, if I remember rightly, I'll get a comparison shot of those two as well.

Yes indeed, it's not on TAI
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Concerning the Gypsy, the Mojo is even better IMO so it would be nice if they fitted
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Ben, how would you feel if I made you some farm infrastructure, like a wooden pig sty, chicken coop, cow barn and horse stable? You could make Animal Farm dioramas.

I think the gypsy vanner is a great choice, and I'd personally pick the most recent Schleich stallion or the most recent Safari figure.

Boxer, no doubt about it, is a shire, being a large and very strong beast. Clover would work well as a Suffolk punch, as she is a heavy horse too! Now Mollie, she is rather vain, and a white horse, so, maybe an Arabian or Lipizzaner. She also wears ribbons in her mane.

Ok, here's a batch of comparison pics. I took everything I thought might be helpful (except the Papo shire you mentioned, I don't own him)

Schleich shire stallion, CollectA cob mare :
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
(my custom shire cos I don't have an original finish, but no resculpting or alteration to the mould, so he's just as they come apart from his colour)

Same pair from the front, I thought the balanced pencil might help illustrate the height difference :

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Here you can tell from the angle that they're not really to scale with each other - the shire would have to be an unusually short one for his breed, or the cob would be nearer drum-horse height than their usual average

Just for comparison, here's how the CollectA shire looks beside the CollectA cob mare, you can see within the brand the scaling is fine. It's only when you mix with Schleich that their heavy horses aren't taller enough :

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Here's the Schleich shire stallion again, this time with the recent cob mare (the nicest of all their cob sculpts, I think)

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

And with the pencil :

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Next, the same shire with the Mojo cob mare :

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

With the pencil :

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Just as an extra bit of advice, I'd say either the Schleich OR Mojo mares would be fine, size wise.
I know both these breeds personally (grew up living next door to shires, and learnt to ride on cobs), and either of these pairs would be realistic sizing.
Cobs are a massively varied kind of horse, as they're a crossbred type rather than a true breed, so you can mix a lot of different kinds of horse together and the results are still called a cob. For example, two cobs of similar height and build, obviously produce a cob when bred together.
BUT, a cob put to a trotter makes a lighter cob.
A cob put to a draft mare makes a big cob.
A pony can even be a cob, if it's feathered - I've known some which don't even reach 14hh by adulthood and are still ponies, but at the same time I've met others which are huge partbred shires and not much shorter than a full draft horse.
This probably helps rather than confuses your scale problem, because it's not a matter of working out scale to the mm when the real horses' heights can vary by a foot or more!

Finally, here's the shire with the two falabella options

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Hope that helps, and I apologise for the ugly pictures with bits of bike and socks in the background " />

My boer goat family is with me for a long time. I've found one of the parents in a shop in the South of Portugal when it was already retired. I think the other two I got from Harriet and Susanne as gifts.
I think this old picture is mine.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I enjoy that you like my suggestion of a Tinker for a freak farm.
The old Schleich mare is still easy to find and it is an appealing model.

If you get that Shire Stallion from Schleich, you can get his mate, famous on forum as the Princess, despite being a draft, it can be used as Mollie and complement your Shire stallion since you like couples. Their foal is in my opinion the nicest foal Schleich ever made.
These are suggestions for you, not my choices. However, I think you have other priorities.
Probably this Arabian mare is the best interpretation of Mollie on Schleich range but please do not get it.
Sorry for distracting your original freak project with the Animal Farm novel. Don't miss your freak idea because it is much nicer than the confusion around these characters and Benjamin can't be a Poitou.

RtasVadumee wrote:

Yes Lilias, why not ! My choice would then be the Shar Pei but I'm not fully convinced by CollectA's rendition because I think it's very possible to make a masterpiece from this breed and the current model, despite being all right, is not what I would call so. Moreover, Kosta (spacelab) told me any dog would be a bit big compared to farm animals but if they're not too enormous, that will be something I can perfectly accommodate myself to.

The Shar Pei is a wonderful choice!
I actually really like the CollectA model, but I agree, probably best to wait for a masterpiece to be made!
I can imagine a Japanese brand doing this breed very well- especially as it has quite a smooth coat and lots of details with the wrinkles, it would fit their style well. Yes, and scale might be a problem, but there should be enough dogs out there to be roughly in scale! I know you're looking for unusual breeds but a Chihuahua would never look too big (Unless you want it to look in proportion to how small a Chihuahua would look compared to any farm animal), and I know this breed it a favourite of yours!

So much to answer, I'll do that tomorrow !

Advicot wrote:

Ben, how would you feel if I made you some farm infrastructure, like a wooden pig sty, chicken coop, cow barn and horse stable? You could make Animal Farm dioramas.

Thanks Adam ! Don't know about that though, might be difficult to ship. I'll tell you about that !

Wonderful comparisons George, I couldn't dream of anything better !

I think I'm now quite decided about the Schleich shire stallion and CollectA Fallabella. Then, I prefer the Schleich gypsy mare sculpt but find the Mojo's coat more typical.

Quote :

Boxer, no doubt about it, is a shire, being a large and very strong beast. Clover would work well as a Suffolk punch, as she is a heavy horse too! Now Mollie, she is rather vain, and a white horse, so, maybe an Arabian or Lipizzaner. She also wears ribbons in her mane.

Quote :

Sorry for distracting your original freak project with the Animal Farm novel. Don't miss your freak idea because it is much nicer than the confusion around these characters and Benjamin can't be a Poitou.

You both didn't get it : my goal is not to reproduce Orwell's farm faithfully with the same exact breeds but to adapt it with some liberties over casting choices like some kind of Netflix adaptation So the idea is to keep some kind of similar structure and characters' general "vibe" while hiring actors from... "minorities"

For example, my vietnamese pig from childhood is old, vintage and full of scratches so it would make a good candidate to portray the wise Ho Chi Minh Lenin-like pig. My main memory of a Mangalista pig is that of a fierce and mad beast close to the wild boar so the CollectA could play the Stalin-based pig. Even if the breeds are not the same than in the book.

That's why a Gypsy mare for girly Molly was not so out of place in my mind.

Bonnie wrote:

RtasVadumee wrote:

Yes Lilias, why not ! My choice would then be the Shar Pei but I'm not fully convinced by CollectA's rendition because I think it's very possible to make a masterpiece from this breed and the current model, despite being all right, is not what I would call so. Moreover, Kosta (spacelab) told me any dog would be a bit big compared to farm animals but if they're not too enormous, that will be something I can perfectly accommodate myself to.

The Shar Pei is a wonderful choice!
I actually really like the CollectA model, but I agree, probably best to wait for a masterpiece to be made!
I can imagine a Japanese brand doing this breed very well- especially as it has quite a smooth coat and lots of details with the wrinkles, it would fit their style well. Yes, and scale might be a problem, but there should be enough dogs out there to be roughly in scale! I know you're looking for unusual breeds but a Chihuahua would never look too big (Unless you want it to look in proportion to how small a Chihuahua would look compared to any farm animal), and I know this breed it a favourite of yours!

Chihuahua is not a favourite breed of mine, I just madly love MY dog as an individual And you'll notice he's far from having the typical chihuahua phenotype, his skull especially, does not show the typical hypertrophy which makes chihuahuas look weird, alien, almost sickly and well, frankly ugly. His body is also longer and more athletic than average and we sometimes wondered if he had some dachshund's blood (his alleged purebred chihuahua father was not really "porté sur la chose" and several other dogs used to visit the house where his parents live...).

Spacelab sent me that :
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

So let's forget about it. Maybe I can just buy the Papo Patou from local shop... or the great dane from Safari. A great dane and a chihuahua would make a great pair but the joke has already been made with horses...

Update about my farm building : The Schleich Poitou and Boer goats have been bought

Yes, I'm sure he's much more healthy with that athletic build, and I completely agree that some Chihuahuas these days just look so ill! Those are all fantastic dog model choices too- there is certainly no shortage of dogs so I'm sure you'll find the right model!

As Rabbit I would suggest the Papo Angora if you really want something freaky. As Angoras are a breed use for their fur, you could argue them as a farm animal. If you want something more traditional, there are lot of models of different companies, that represent meat breeds.
But yes, rabbits are mostly used as pets, I don´t think that there really is a toy model that you would name only as pet or only as farm animal.

With regards to your Chihuahua he could be the 'deer' type.Originally there were 2 types of Chihuahua but when they were standardised for showing they went for the 'Applehead' type and this is the commonest one seen today.The deer type however can still occur and these tend to be longer legged,lighter, with less rounded head and a bit more terrier like.