Kikimalou's "Scale" collection - 1/15 shelves - updated March 17 2023

It's been a long time since I promised Rogério to show my collection in 1/15 scale. My life have prevented me from keeping my promise. But patience pays off and everything eventually happens.  

So I decided to open this new topic to present my mainstream collection scale by scale. Of course I suggest we start the visit with the 1/15 scale.  

For those who are put off by philosophical speeches and technical problems, you can go to the following posts…  

For the braves… Thanks to stay here    

I have been collecting seriously for almost 20 years and my collection has evolved as I aged. It is now divided into 5 sub-collections: The composition vintage, the metal vintage, the plastic vintage, the unexpected and mysterious collection and finally the mainstream collection (with my modern figurines and some vintage scattered here and there).

Since my move three or four years ago, I decided to reorganize and present my mainstream collection by scale.

There have been a lot of discussions on STS about compatible models since the birth of our forum. I wanted to go all the way.

I'm not a synoptic collector, I'm unable of restricting myself to a single figurine per species, it's even unthinkable, I collect the models I fall in love with. Collecting by scale is an excellent alibi for adding many figurines of a single species...

Seriously collecting by scale is fun, rewarding, sometimes surprising, but above all it's a lot of work.
Those who follow Roger's remarkable work on the 1/32 scale or Blaine's work (remarkable too) for his Mathison Museum of Natural History topic will not contradict me.

Building a collection by scale is a bit like doing the work that Roger did for his 1/32 collection, but in reverse.
I'm not looking to know if a model is compatible with 1/32, I'm looking with what scales it is compatible. So that leaves me a choice but also a lot of questions.

There are different ways to establish a scale: height at the withers, head and body length, standing height or wingspan for birds but also sometimes the measurement of a part of the anatomy as Leyster does.

Sometimes the different measures overlap and everything is fine. Sometimes not, "height at the withers" and "head and body length" are not or very little compatible... It is then necessary to choose which is the most correct method by comparing the figurine with photos of real animals.

From experience regarding a collection where different animals will be exhibited side by side, I prefer the "height at the withers" because, in a display case, the differences in size are more visible than the differences in length... except when length is the point of differentiation.

When the "scientific" and normative work is done, it is then necessary to choose on which shelf and therefore on which scale I will expose the model.

This is the "creative" part of the job, choosing the models that go well together. the aesthetic aspect is essential but it is not the only one, the space available on the shelves is also imperative to take into account.
Another thing that comes into concrete consideration is the style, the look, the overall shape of the sculpture. What we measure are toys or models that are a more or less realistic representation of real animals, the style of the artist or company is also an important factor.

To illustrate these little dilemmas, I'm going to talk to you about African wild dogs and Cheetahs.

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First let’s go with the canids, Mojo and Safari Ltd produced African wild dogs compatible with a 1/15 collection. The Safari Ltd hesitates between the 11.5 and 15.3 scale, for the Mojo it's almost the same thing: 12.2 and 15.6.

The thing is that the Mojo is longer but less high than Le safari Ltd, the phenomenon is "aggravated" by the fact that the Mojo runs with its legs folded up. The two figurines have heads of similar sizes and could therefore represent two Lycaons of different morphologies on the same scale. At 1/15 both represent a large African wild dog.

My problem is that the Safari Ltd is so leggy that it surpasses the 1/15 shelf Cheetah in height at the withers. It is possible with a small cheetah and a large wild dog but in real life cheetahs are generally higher than wild dogs and I want to show this in my display. So I decided to dedicate the Mojo at 1/15 scale and the Safari Ltd at 1/12 scale where it represents a smaller individual.

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Let's move on to the cheetahs now. In this order of scale, I own the Papo from 2004 but also the Schleich from 1998, the latter is a gift from my friends Willy and Ana who repainted it in King cheetah, I really care about it.  

The Papo scale can vary from 13.4 to 17.8, the Schleich scale is between 14.3 and 18.9. They are therefore both compatible with the 1/15 scale, the Schleich representing a small-sized subject and the Papo a medium-sized individual.

The thing is that the Schleich has a larger head than the Papo and this difference is accentuated by a smaller body for the Schleich.

If I use the Schleich and its big head next to the Mojo African wild dog, they will be the same height and it's over for what I explained above. If I use the Schleich on a larger scale, the head may not fit. Fortunately on the 1/18 scale it is in the company of the Papo lionesses and the size of the head goes almost unnoticed.
So 1/15 for the Papo and 1/18 for the Schleich.

Now let us look at my mainstream collection. I’m sorry I won’t be able to show it in one time, even not on a weekly basis but each time I will be able to make enough pics of a particular scale. For the first shot, here are my 1/15 scale shelves.

The African rainforest
Schleich Mandrill, CollectA Red river hog, Schleich female gorilla, Kaiyodo Mantled colobus, Papo Silverback, CollectA Pygmy hippopotamus, Papo Chimpanzee
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The south western Angola
Papo Leopard, HKH Angolan gemsbok, CollectA Springbok
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East African savannah
Schleich Warthog family, Papo Eastern white-bearded wildebeest, Nayab Thomson gazelle, Mojo African wild dog, Safari Ltd Lesser kudu, CollectA Hirola and Papo cheetah & cub
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a marsh in East Africa
CollectA Shoebill, Papo Nile crocodile, Papo Marabou stork, Schleich Great white pelican
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North Western Africa
Jasman Striped hyena, CollectA scimitar oryx, Starlux Fennec fox, Mojo Honey badger
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South Africa
Nine Product Chacma baboon, Cape penguin, CollectA Black wildebeest, Mojo Honey badger & cub, Papo Boer goat
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Europe
Papo Eurasian lynx, CollectA Fallow deer, CollectA Mouflon, Mojo Wild boar
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India
PV Asian palm Civet, Papo Indian peafowl, Papo Tigress & cubs, Mojo Black panther, CollectA Striped hyena
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South East Asia
Kaiyodo Crested serpent eagle, Kaiyodo Masked palm civet,  Mojo Sun bear, Papo Tigress & cub, Fututa Great Hornbill
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China
Yujin Northern snakehead, CollectA Chiru, Papo Snow leopard, Furuta Golden snub-nosed monkey, Eikoh Red panda, Kaiyodo Oriental stork, Yujin Chinese softshell turtle, CollectA Saïga antelope, Kaiyodo Formosan rock macaque
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Japan
Kaiyodo Raccoon dog, Colorata Iriomote cat, Kitan club Japanese giant salamander, Bandai Mikado pheasant
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Far East Russia
Epoch Steller’s sea eagle, Kaiyodo Short-tailed albatros, Kaiyodo snowy owl, Kaiyodo Arctic fox.
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North America
Mojo Baribal, Safari Ltd Collared peccary, Kaiyodo Raccoon, Safari Ltd WW American bison, Mojo Mississipi alligator, Kaiyodo Striped skunk, Mojo Wolverine, Colorata Bald eagle.
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South America
Kabaya Scarlet macaw, Safari Ltd K&M Turkey vulture, PV Green iguana, Papo Giant anteater, PV Tamandua, CollectA Maned wolf, Colorata Boa constrictor, Safari Ltd Colombian woolly monkey, Schlaich Chilean flamingo, Bandai Galapagos land iguana, Safari Ltd Capybara, Kaiyodo Humboldt penguin
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Pacific ocean
Safari Ltd Pelagic thresher, Kaiyodo Tri-spine horseshoe crab, PV Zebra bullhead shark, Colorata Japanese bullhead shark
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Australia
Southland Replicas red kangaroo, Safari Ltd Red-necked wallaby, CollectA Southern cassowary, Southland Replicas Northern Koala, S&N Black swan, Noah’s Pals Platypus pair, Southland Replicas Eastern gray kangaroo, Southland Replicas Dingo, Colorata Yellow-footed rock-wallaby
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Tasmania and New-Zealand
Kaiyodo Yellow-eyed penguin, Milelire Thylacine, Southland Replicas Thylacine, Southland Replicas Spotted-tailed quoll, Kaiyodo Erect-crested penguin
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Antarctic
Kaiyodo Adelie penguin, CollectA Gentoo penguin, Kaiyodo Magellanic penguin ( a mistake, it would fit better with his South american friends ), Papo Emperor penguin, Kaiyod macaroni penguin, Kaiyodo Chinstrap penguin
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Our dear departed, before KT
Primeval Hesperornis, CollectA edaphosaurus, PV Gerrothorax, Bullyland Paratypothorax
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Our dear departed, after KT
Papo Dodo, CollectA Smilodon, Kaiyodo Great auk, Southland Replicas Diprotodon, Southland Replicas Thylacoleo
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A few more picture for fun

Some Caniformia people
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A Feliformia crew
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Hoofed animals nation (sorry I was tired I missed the Wildebeest head )
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Wild boars company
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Reptiles gang
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Predators meeting
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I VERY much look forward to this. :) Already, so many gems! The wild dogs of course I love, your lovely custom king cheetah too. That vintage striped hyena and fennec, the extraordinary Papo goat billy(!), the iriomote cat, pheasants, giant salamander, that Safari bison, your Milelire thylacine, and that boa are all grogeous and stunning! Congrats and thank you for sharing, I hope this topic can continue to grow.

I'm so ahppy! Really happy! It is lik a birthday gift!
Everything looks really so perfect and I'm bookmarking this topic because I know I will revisit it countless times.
Just as simple examples, we can see here how giant is a bison or how tiny is a fennec. Many thanks for finding your time and motivation to present such an interesting topic I asked you so much when you were not having your best days. :

Wow such gorgeous models! Many of these I haven't seen.. Kaiyodo always amazes me

I find it very interesting that you collect in scales, the animals together this way look very pleasing and realistic

Can't wait to see more!

ah this is truly wonderful Christophe! thank you for taking so much time to present these continent groups!

I collect in scale, 99% of the time, and I am so intrigued to see these slightly larger scale (larger than the 1/32nd I collect), and how they all compliment each other.
I really like how you have put the many different brands fearlessly together. Bravo! because they all look good in their groupings!
I have not seen a few of these before as well! so this is both a delight and a discovery. I love being surprised on here time and time again

I look forward to seeing this grow over time, thank you:)

Oh My god , very interesting factors in this clasification . This job is amazing.
Congratulations.

Well done mon ami, great work!

Wow, I love this! The scale group photos like those are my favorite!
Thank you for sharing Kikimalou! And that must have been a lot of work

WILLYBACOMAN wrote:

Well done mon ami, great work!

A real pleasure to follow you always beautiful images

It´s amazing Congratulations!

Beautiful photos as always and great comparisons! It looks like 1/15 is a great scale to collect in. Is this the scale in which you have most models or most models in "standard size" from the big brands?

Your method of collecting to scale is a very good one. Because you don't need to limit yourself to figures that are in a particular scale, there is no risk that you collect something that isn't to scale. It's part of the excitement, but all to often, I buy things that I can't use for my scale.

I normally use shoulder height rather than head+body length too. One reason is that many animal models don't have their head and body in a straight line, so it is very difficult to measure head+body length accurately. The other reason is that it is often not entirely clear whether the tail is included in the literature and especially on the web. And if the tail is included, then the problem is often that the tail length of the model isn't accurate. In some cases, I have found that the scale of a model is very different depending on whether I use its shoulder height or head+body length and I don't have any idea why.

The red kangaroo and honey badger strike me as large. I haven't done any "research" on honey badgers, because I don't have any and I need to check the literature for red kangaroos more, but my red kangaroos are considerably smaller than my cassowaries. Or perhaps the cassowary is small?

Very nice! It's great to see similar-scale figures next to each other, mixing brands and taxa! Really neat!

Wonderful montages and great to see them all to scale!!!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]: Each time I made a blue pic I thought about you    I also hope this topic will continue to grow.  

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]: So happy birthday Rogério  

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]: I'm very happy you like the job, your way of presenting your animals amazes me and I am delighted if I can return the favor, at least a little bit  

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]: Thank you annette, collecting by scale is surely a big job but it gives me big joy and sharing my pics with you all is abig part of the pleasure so stay tune  

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]: Thanks Fernando, I know how much you like to show us different animals from different brand. I was sure you wouldn't be lost here  

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]: Willy, mon vieil ami, having the pleasure of reading you on STS justifies all the work  

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]: Thank you Ania, it was indeed a lot of work but I think it is something I'm good at. I hope I will be able to put some paints on a model to read you expert point.  

@lucky luke Merci Jean-Luc, knowing the way you show us your models I was sure you would like this topic  

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[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]: Thank you Andrea

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]: Yes 1/15 is my most numerous scale, the second is the 1/10. Nevertheless, if I add my 1/20 to my 1/22 collection, it is bigger than 1/15, the same if I add my 1/35 to my 1/30.
I have around 26 different scales.

I'm indeed unable to restrain myself to one scale, I'm even unable to restrain myself with one animal toys collection, I've got five different    I love too much things (dixit my wife and my banker   )
The way I collect is on a "Me want" basis    So a scale collection is for me the best way to collect the models I love with my taste for scales.

To measure head and body on "yoga position" models. I used a tailor's meter or string that I measure afterwards. Indeed some snakes gave me Itching moments  
I try to use books like "Bovids of the World" etc because they give us Height at shoulders or head and body lenght.  

As you I have sometimes found that the scale of a model is very different depending on whether I use its shoulder height or head+body length. As I said in my first post, my idea is we are measuring someone's interpretation of an animal, not the animal itself. Some models have wrong proportions, nothing match but you still have the feeling that it represent perfectly the species. After years of measuring pieces of plastic, I think it's true. To really measure the scale and "realism" of a figure, the silhouette, the overall proportions but also the talent of the artist must be taken into account.

The red kangaroo buck scale is between 13,6 and 16,8 (Red kangaroo males have a H&B lenght of 1,3–1,6 m). The Southern cassowary scale is between 13,4 and 17,9.
Honey badgers have a H&B lenght of 74-96 cm so the female scale is between 12,5 and 16,5, the male is between 12,3 and 16.
Since my next shelves are 1/12 and 1/18, the 1/15 was the only possibility.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]: Thank you Blaine, I'm glad you like this.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]: Thank you Taylor

A really fascinating read, from the details of how exactly you compare the various models to choose who works together and who doesn't, to the great group photos which so clearly show the differences in brands style of sculpting and painting, and yet they all work together so well when split into their habitat or family groups. It's clear there's a lot of work and thought put in to your scale collection, although I totally agree on the 'I buy what I like' sentiment, and how that can mean some wildly differing scales get a place in the shelves as well!

Kikimalou wrote:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]: Yes 1/15 is my most numerous scale, the second is the 1/10. Nevertheless, if I add my 1/20 to my 1/22 collection, it is bigger than 1/15, the same if I add my 1/35 to my 1/30.
I have around 26 different scales.

Good to read that around 1/32 scale isn't so bad. I assumed that 1/15 or 1/20 would have many more models. Why do you have both 1/20 and 1/22? Do you otherwise have figures that fall between the scales?

Kikimalou wrote:

I'm indeed unable to restrain myself to one scale, I'm even unable to restrain myself with one animal toys collection, I've got five different    I love too much things (dixit my wife and my banker   )
The way I collect is on a "Me want" basis    So a scale collection is for me the best way to collect the models I love with my taste for scales.

Seen that way, many scales may be a disadvantage . I know I'd be the same if I collected other scales, so I stick to one as a form of self protection.

Kikimalou wrote:

To measure head and body on "yoga position" models. I used a tailor's meter or string that I measure afterwards. Indeed some snakes gave me Itching moments  

I try to use books like "Bovids of the World" etc because they give us Height at shoulders or head and body lenght.  

As you I have sometimes found that the scale of a model is very different depending on whether I use its shoulder height or head+body length. As I said in my first post, my idea is we are measuring someone's interpretation of an animal, not the animal itself. Some models have wrong proportions, nothing match but you still have the feeling that it represent perfectly the species. After years of measuring pieces of plastic, I think it's true. To really measure the scale and "realism" of a figure, the silhouette, the overall proportions but also the talent of the artist must be taken into account.

Yes, the snakes are particularly good fun. When I measure a model's length, one problem I often encounter is that I don't know where the tail starts. I can see where the plastic separates from the body, but is that really where the beginning of the tail would be in reality? My feeling is that this sometimes leads to a discrepancy with shoulder height. And as you say, the body proportions of our models don't always match the real proportions.

Kikimalou wrote:

The red kangaroo buck scale is between 13,6 and 16,8 (Red kangaroo males have a H&B lenght of 1,3–1,6 m). The Southern cassowary scale is between 13,4 and 17,9.
Honey badgers have a H&B lenght of 74-96 cm so the female scale is between 12,5 and 16,5, the male is between 12,3 and 16.
Since my next shelves are 1/12 and 1/18, the 1/15 was the only possibility.

When I looked at the photo again, I noticed that the head+body length of the kangaroo is indeed about the same as the height of the cassowary. It's because the kangaroo stretches itself out that it looks so large. It shows that we shouldn't just go with our impression, but that measurements are important.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]: Thank you for reading, I was a bit affraid to be boring with all my explanations. I will try to do my best for the next shelves.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]: Do I have figures that fall between the scales ? 1/20 and 1/22 ? It is worse since I have also a 1/18 There is enough models which are nearly the same scale but some are just too big to be on a 1/22 shelf and some are too small to be on a 1/20. I'am asking myself if I can't choose a compromise and open a single 1/21 scale, it is perhaps a possibility but I really need to convince myself.

It is the same story with the 1/32 scale, I had too much models which are just too big or just too small, splitting the 1/32 in 1/30 and 1/35 shelves was my solution to the problem.

I only have a few models that are alone in their categories but less than the fingers of one hand.

The 1/20 isn't a very big scale with less than 40 models, the 1/1, 1/18 or 1/22 are nearly twice.

Sticking to a single scale is indeed safer and wiser... But when it comes to collecting, I don't want to be wise at all

Where the tail sarts ? Shoulder height ? You aren't talking about a snake ?
For me the Head and body lenght stop at the back of the posterior thighs, et the rump, not necessarily where the tail begins.

The kangaroo height is indeed surprising and that's what I like with scale displaying, we have heaps of a priori on the respective sizes of the animals and trying to be rigorous is an adventure where many certainties go up in smoke.

Very useful by scale display and as usualy, very beautiful pictures!

Kiki, really impressive selection with lot of rarities, thank for sharing your photos!
BTW: I think the Safari Ltd Turkey vulture is rather KM Int. Turkey vulture, right?

Thank you Alain and Jaromir I've changed the post, the Turkey vulture is indeed a K&M.

I was reading it again and it is surprising that you don't have a 1/24 scale collection.
1/24 is one of the most popular scales across the world of miniatures and animal figures at this scale are also relatively common.
We have the Noah's Pals, Breyer Paddock Pal, the Preiser/Hausser which are known among us as 1/25 but I suspect they're 1/24 what is not important since both scales are easily interchangeable. Even among major brands, wild animals larger than a cow and smaller then an elephant often fall onto this scale.Not to forget the smaller figures of 1/32 scale brands that often work better as 1/24 than 1/32.
It is also very common for dollhouses, diecast model cars, etc.
Though, I hope your focus continue with the 1/15 scale which is the one I intend to dedicate a part of my collecting hobby. Apparently we don't have elephants at this scale but rhinos and hippos are known.

Usualy, I don't like too much Clorata models whose legs often are too thick and colours too bright but this constricror boa is awesome!

I didn't find the brand HKH of this wonderful Gemsbock..