Seeing Double

With some of my recent new models it got me thinking about some aspects of my collection. I have had some of my models since I was 3 years old. Since many of my oldest models were originally toys they are often a little worse for wear. Because of this when the opportunity arises to get another example of the figure in closer to mint condition I try to get one. Since I have gotten a few at this point I thought I would periodically update and share them along with some short stories.

First up are my Schleich donkeys. The gray was one of my first ever toys and I loved him so much his ears and tail have started to slowly break off... as an older kid I tried to glue them but  it hasn't worked very well. (If anyone has better repair tips I would welcome ideas!) In the meantime I am just VERY gentle with my old friend. But now, he has a new friend that I recently acquired from Germany, and it has a slightly different paint than mine. The other donkey was a later color release and again... I loved her so much. she has almost turned white! A few weeks ago I found this newer one at a thrift store so luckily now both my donkeys have near mint versions of themselves, but I can still enjoy my old childhood friends too. I don't have any specific memories for these two as they have just been with me SO long I have too many.

Newer in front, old in back




If anyone else wants to join in feel free to post your childhood models too! I would love to see them.

This is such a wonderful topic idea and it will be so fun to see your old and new friends of each animal! What a gorgeous pair of donkeys!

Dad, are you seeing those two donkeys?
I mean, if you were already drunk, you were not seing two donkeys but 4 donkeys instead.!!!
But son, I only can see one

Well, I don't know how many am I seeing but everything look beautiful to me and what a great idea for a topic.

I love it! Look at all the love and history on those old friends.    It's great that you have found "collection" pieces of them, but that you also have the originals that carry all the memories. That's a great little model, too, a very honest and humble little donkey.

I think replacing childhood pieces or finding things that have the same nostalgic feel (maybe getting models I would have liked or always wanted as a kid but never got!) is the most fun part of collecting. I also love finding well loved toys and adding them to my collection. I've got some Funrise dogs (that I will, eventually, get pictures of for TAW) that were clearly played with heavily, and since they were clearly ready to move on elsewhere, I love that I can preserve them in a different way. I try to get mint condition models to collect, of course, but there's something about a beat up vintage/retro that gets me, so when they come my way I try to keep them.

I lost a lot of toys as a kid (I was not a careful child) so I don't have a lot of comparisons. Some of my most dramatic comparisons are actually in my My Little Pony collection (blast that rooted hair and its fragility) . . . but I think Beans the Brumby from Funrise is a pretty good illustration of the idea of this thread!

I got Beans the First when I was about . . . seven or eight? My parents ordered a whole case of horses after having me agree to "always keep my room clean for the rest of my life." I am not sure why they thought that long range of a plan was going to work. Maybe cleaning it that week or something would have gone over better. I even signed a little contract. I did not uphold my end of it, though - but I do still have many of those horses. Beans the Second I got earlier this year, in the same case with the same friends, brand new in package, so the contrast is stark, though not quite so extreme as your well loved almost paintless donkey! There's also a Beans in the Middle, a third "double" who can't stand up on her own . . .

Thank you everybody. :)

Jill your little ponies are great too! While as a collector I prefer better condition figures, as a person I love to see models that you can tell were loved. Each sign of wear is a past childhood moment.

I think it's a lovely idea to replace them but not replace them - the original gets to stay and be treasured while having a perfect stunt stand-in for the collection!

Thanks George. I see it as getting a collector piece but as you said, keeping the memories with the original model too.

Here are my fleckvieh bulls from Schleich (nearly all of my old childhood models will be Schleich and Safari). I had the old bull (front) for several years and then for Christmas one year I got the box set of bulls (this one, the holstein, texas longhorn, and rodeo bulls I think) and so I got a double of this and the holstein bull. The "new" one has some scuffs too but fewer and has maintained the paint better.

Another wonderful pair of two loyal bulls!

What a pair of good looking lads! Such a soulful face on them.

Thank you Bonnie and Jill.

Great to see childhood friends together with unplayed examples. Like you, I have also bought "better" versions of my childhood figures, but the originals have a special place in my collection.

Thank you Roger!

Next is the old Schleich Saint Bernard. Another model I have had for forever, I got it as a birthday present alongside the pup and Bernese Mountain Dog adult and pup when I was about 11 or so. Old model in front, newer model on back was acquired by a past member here when I first joined the forum and is a slight paint variation from my original.

... when you were 11 and now you are 24! Very popular model as far as I remember.

Such gorgeous models, how wonderful it must have been to have grown up around the time that Schleich were bringing out such beautiful dogs!
Definitely a bonus that your newer version was also a variation, he is in perfect condition! And your older friend has such a lovable expression, it must be a wonderful feeling to have owned this model for so long, definitely a very special St. Bernard!

Look at all the love on that old nose. Looks like another steadfast friend. :)

It's really strange to me, after being on this forum a little while, that Schleich was not in my life until I was an adult, and then only very sporadically. I mean, they had everything I would have loved as a kid, how did they never end up in my hands? Why don't I recognize them at all? Where WAS I?

Thank you Roger, Bonnie, and Jill! I have now realized how OLD I am! But it is a great feeling to reminisce on the time spent with all these guys. Sandboxes, backyards, intermixed with my older sisters' barbies, playing with them with my old childhood dog Pippen... I have strong attachments to these old things.


Another oldie but a goodie! The old Schleich bald eagle. This is one of the few I do not remember buying at my local CAL-Ranch store when I was a child... so I assume I got it as a gift at some point. For me, no other bald eagle has surpassed this one and his female companion in excellence. My dear friend on the right, and my "new" thrift find from last year on the left as a slight paint variation or at least less sun faded, and a little less paint loss. As my country's official bird and a species I have been fortunate to be in contact with regularly (there was a bird in Yellowstone National Park who nested in a giant pine tree on the west entrance to the park for 15 some years...) it has been a very dear model to me.

Ohhh dear Pippen and a little terrier- I love this photo!
A wonderful pair of Eagles, it reminded me instantly of mine, of the very few older Schleich models I bought when I was much younger this was one of them, and mine too is also very well-loved! I have always loved the wings of this model, so stunning!

Some friends are really helpful!
I have the Mojo eagle but I probably owned this model at a certain point. It is a great figure.

Jill wrote:

Look at all the love on that old nose. Looks like another steadfast friend. :)

It's really strange to me, after being on this forum a little while, that Schleich was not in my life until I was an adult, and then only very sporadically. I mean, they had everything I would have loved as a kid, how did they never end up in my hands? Why don't I recognize them at all? Where WAS I?

Same here. I didn't meet them or pretty much any of the brands celebrated here until I was in my 30s buying toys (that I would have dearly loved as a child) for my toddler daughter. As a child I had Breyers and Britains style knockoffs, and I think Marx.

Here is a big update. The Schleich Angus cattle family and Shire geldings.

First up are the cattle. I adored these models as a child as it was one of few I originally could recognize easily (besides growing up alongside herefords and mixed breeds). This set,  by popular demand if I am not mistaken, was retired and then rereleased. Like the fool I am I did not buy a replacement set at the original rerelease, and then recently (just last year) decided that I should as I became un-blind to their condition... luckily Ebay didn't murder my wallet for them.

Older models are so scuffed you can see the pinkish rubbery plastic of the mould... each model is "in front" of the presentation angle. If that makes sense.


Schleich REALLY made such handsome bulls.




My poor calf...


And another OLD friend. I bough my original shire (for the longest time I thought these were clydesdales as they looked like my grandfather's pair of horses) when I was 3 with the old charming sorrel mare. My very FIRST schleich models!
My dad later insisted I have 2 since draft horses work in teams. My original got so abused and played with while the other maintained most of his paint. Somewhere along the line I found a store selling old stock and made the wise decision to buy a more intact condition model. So here is my original duplicate and the collector piece.


Then, as a foolish young teen budding artist... I repainted my oldest friend. I have mixed feelings on it as an adult collector, but at any rate, I still love him and the new look is part of his and my story now. (I am probably blind to the reality but I think it isn't half bad for my first Schleich custom at age like 12 or so...)


And lastly, my second purchased model for the draft team alongside my original mare. The pair who started everything:

So many more wonderful old friends and newer models! I love how each one has a story to tell about how you bought/ changed them, it gives them a new level of personality!

Those cattle are great, great models but also just perfect with all those scuffs and rub from so much play. They've got so much character! Not going to lie, that kind of wear is such a good 'aesthetic.'

I also painted so many of my old toys in highschool, on a fit of customizing. Definitely a few regrets in there, ha! Your custom looks really good, though! Clearly, you were off to a great start.

Everything looks and sounds wonderful to me. From your first custom to your stories about your Clydesdales. Yes, this is what they are for you. Hahah, i won't provide a chart with the most popular cattle breeds in toy shape but number 1 is Holstein.

Thank you everyone. :) Up until recently I have had an excellent memory and could remember each occassion that I recieved a model. Recently, (seems to be since I have gotten my Covid vax...) my memory has been a little less great at recalling things.

Anywho, another double upload! First up is a rat. My family insists that rats are terrible creatures and were a bit weirded out when I found one thrift shopping to customize (a long ways off...). So here is a compatriot to share. I found the original (right) at a toy store when I first started seriously collecting in 2009 and HAD to get the old Schleich there (quite lucky as I bought 3 of the rare-ish tropical fish). Back then my "collection" wasn't on display it was still stored in plastic pull out drawers and the poor guy got a good scrape on him. Then in recent years I came across another in an ebay lot. Again, a slight paint variation but I really like this sculpt and both are quite cute to me.


Aaaaaand what kind of wolf enthusiast would I be if the species didn't infiltrate nearly every topic I start? This is one of the first wolves I ever got (the older schleich and the coyote-ish safari were my very firsts). And I played with this handsome model ALL THE TIME. Just before it retired I had the good sense to grab a duplicate (good sense is rare in such a young budding collector). And I still adore this sculpts, though of course I love my super pack.

Two more wonderful pairs- I knew it wouldn't be long until we saw a wolf!
Both animals are so realistic, but I loved seeing your oldest wolf the most because I can definitely see how much you loved him!