Collection Review: Schleich and Papo Felines

Figure Brand: Schleich & Papo

Figure Name(s): Cougar (14853)
Lynx (50241)
Cheetah (14746)

Sex:
Cougar – Female
Lynx - Male
Cheetah- Female

Name: Cougar – Laetitia (Latin- Joy/Happiness)
Lynx – Dahy (Quick/Agile- Irish)
Cheetah- Aya (Fly swiftly- Hebrew)

Year Made:
Cougar – 2022
Lynx - 2018
Cheetah- 2016

Observations/Thoughts:
Nice enough collection of wild felines from Schleich and Papo.

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First is Laetitia, the Schleich cougar. I like her a lot as she is a realistic enough model of a cougar, especially the one paw lifted and a slightly hunched pose, it definitely gives the impression she’s spotted prey and is slowly stalking near it. Overall her coat is a mid-sandy gold, but with a dark brown tuft on the end of her tail and a slight gradient to brown around her nose and ear tips. I believe this is close enough colouring to the real animal, though I believe most have pale beige brown markings on both cheeks?

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My favourite of the trio is Dahy the Papo Lynx. He’s a lovely little model and I think once again Papo have done really well with modelling their wild cats. I called him ‘Dahy’(pronounced ‘Dah-hee’) as in Irish, the name means ‘quick’ and ‘agile’ which these cats definitely are. His pose adopts another active one, with one paw stretched out in front giving the impression he’s likely climbing over snow or tree trunks, probably preying on something. What I also love about him is his really sharp gaze and attentive looking face, then the ears which with one slightly more to the side seems to be pricked, listening to something.
His body is also overall mid brown, with grey underparts and black spots and speckles all down both flanks and a black tail tip. He’s also got a slight mane at both cheeks which is grey giving him a wise look, with stripes through it. Papo did very well with the painting of this model.

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Aya is a cheetah from Schleich. I called her Aya which in Hebrew apparently means ‘fly switfly’ which as she’s a cheetah, it’s a very suitable name for her. I’m still not sure of her pose, I can’t decide if she’s supposed to be stalking, or merely ready to launch at some prey. She has a very focused look to her, with her head slightly downward but straight and her tail picked up, makes me think she’s in a slight aggressive mode. She’s a light creamy yellow overall with a lighter cream on her cheeks and paws and her body is covered with the typical black spots’ cheetahs have, even her tail is cream with black and white rings which is fairly accurate.

Rating: Cougar – 4/5
Lynx – 5/5
Cheetah- 4/5

I don't have the cougar, I still don't know how much I like it.
I love the lynx, Papo did pretty well with this figure and offered to us the best lynx rendition in the market. Which number is painted on yours?
I also love this cheetah, my favorite of all Schleich cheetahs. I can't tell the meaning of the pose, it looks like the animal was just wandering and suddenly, something on a different direction grabbed her atention.

Thanks Roger, I love the Lynx too, I agree about it likely being the best one out there.
And as for the cheetah, but I like your interpretation of her just seeing something of interest.

Three good models for sure that I also have!

 How many stripes on the lynx forehead please?

Hi Caracal, he has three stripes on his head, but a tiny sort of smudge that appears at the bottom but branches up to three stripes.

Ok so it is a recent model, for older ones have 4 stripes on the forehead. Though, I noticed these recent models received a better painting on the body! :)

Mine has 4 strips but I can't find the clock mark with the production date. That's why I asked the printed numbers but probably those have clock marking instead.

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I believe mine has a clock mark on the belly underneath, I'll have to have a look at him again

Roger wrote:

Mine has 4 strips but I can't find the clock mark with the production date. That's why I asked the printed numbers but probably those have clock marking instead.

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  The very little clock mark is inside the right thigh. On the 2 mines with forehead four stripes, the clock indicates 10. On the two other ones I got later (1euro each!) with three stripes, the clock indicates 4. And on the one I bought two weeks ago with a pretty painting but only three stripes, the clock indicates 6. :)

You got one for only a euro? That's an impressive bargain

..and not only lynces but many other Papo models in my local "Jouet-Club" store when this latter decided to stop selling Papo production! :)

Perfect, I forgot to check the clock mark on the legs. So, mine has the number 17 on the watch face while the hand (aiguile) points to the number 10. This means that my copy was produced in the 10th month of the year 2017. Alain, I believe the numbers you mention are the ones the hand points to, but it's also important to look at the number that appears on the watch face, the digits surrounding the hand, as they indicate the year of manufacture. Can you still find Papo figures for 1 Euro? They're incredibly expensive here. For example, a Papo lioness is currently being sold for 10,50 Euros in the closest shop.

Yes the numbers I mention are the ones pointed by the hand into the very little clock mark inside the right thigh.. I had not noticed the number carved on each side of the hand!

 So, my four stripes lynx, like your, is from  october 2017.   My two three stripes over ones are from april 2018 and the last I bought is from june 2022..

 About the Papo low cost, as I said upper, it just was because "my" "Jouet-Club" store had sold the last Papo models they still had after to have decided to sell Papo models no more three years ago.. I could get 2 lynces, 2 tamarin-lion, 1 beluga, 1 sea lion, 3 cave-men and some others I forgot.. but now I can't find any Papo in this store..  :)

Thanks Alain, at that price they surely sold every Papo in a short time but on the other hand, it is a pity they do not carry Papo anymore. Luckily you can find the brand in another shop close to you.
I find those variations of the lynxes being consistent with the manufacturing date such an interesting detail. I'm not completely happy with my lynx, especially those dark blotches you can see on inner legs so, if I find a better one and I have some money left, I'll probably get it. Though, my sample is obviously not terribly painted, I actually love this figure.

Your sample is, like my 2 first ones, from the first 2017 production with 4 stripes on the forehead what is, according to me, enough to be considered as the best version, even if the painting on the face and the body could have been a little more meticulous. I had bought 2 of this first production and lightly repainted one on the face with a thin white line around the eyes..

Thanks Alain, I will keep my first batch version. It is exactly the white line around the eyes what I like about the latter version, it makes a huge difference. Though, there's a richer base color which is more realistic in the early version as you commented.

My beloved kitties!

I remember how I was excited when I found out that Schleich would release a new cougar but now the more I see it the more I dislike it sadly. It just doesn't look good enough to me and I definitely prefer Papo's and the most recent Safari's cougars to this one. So currently she is not on my wishlist.

The lynx is definitely on my wishlist though! He looks really nicely done and would be a great mate for my (2012?) Schleich's lynx. Hopefully he will join my collection someday.

Aya (wonderful name between) is the only one of these three that I have in my collection. I quite like her pose, she looks very active and agile. Unfortunately she doesn't have a name yet but I want to come with something in the future. She is a nice little cheetah, I just like her paintjob quite a bit.

Thanks Katy and yes, I see why the cougar doesn't get enough love sadly, I find her understated which is what I like about her, but I definitely agree on the Lynx, he IS fabulous alright!