Schleich 2023 Thomson's Gazelle Updated Paintwork Comparison & Review

Back in 2023 I was very pleased with Schleich's new Thomson's gazelle. The sculpt was good and the paintwork was satisfying.

However, while at work, more Schleich came in and I noticed the new batch of gazelles had updated paintwork! This really surprised me as I don't usually see Schleich nowadays update their paintwork. More and more I see poor quality control and some figures come in with noses/eyes/hooves not painted.

So of course I had to get this updated gazelle and compare it with my early 2023 batch. Has anyone seen/gotten this updated paint scheme?

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Some key differences: The horns are lighter and have a gradient and textured wash look to them. The original was just a flat shiny grey. The colors on the body are more tan and natural, not bright orange. The black on the body fades in more and isn't as distinct. The face has less black but is more detailed and neat looking. The rear markings are also less harsh and neater. Overall I'm most happy with the more natural body coloration. The orange bothered me before and it didn't match with my other gazelle.

New: left
Original: right

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Now because of the new coloration, this gazelle fits perfectly in with my herd. Now it works out that I have 2 males, 2 females, and 2 babies

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These gazelle work very well in trios. Here are the 3 Schleich together: Male, female, calf

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The Mojo male & calf with Safari's female. I find they work very nicely together

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Then the males from Schleich & Mojo

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If you got the original gazelle I highly recommend this new paint variant! I'm very pleased Schleich made the effort to update the paint.

That's a very evident variation or an update as you suggest. Are they made in the same country?
I like the less contrasting and more natural colors, they work more realistic and less cartoon like. Thanks for all the comparisons, I always love them.

Roger wrote:

That's a very evident variation or an update as you suggest. Are they made in the same country?
I like the less contrasting and more natural colors, they work more realistic and less cartoon like. Thanks for all the comparisons, I always love them.

Thank you for pointing that out! I would not have checked. The original one I got is made in Vietnam while the new updated one is made in China.

Yes, there will be differences from factory to factory in different places.

Joliezac wrote:

Roger wrote:

That's a very evident variation or an update as you suggest. Are they made in the same country?
I like the less contrasting and more natural colors, they work more realistic and less cartoon like. Thanks for all the comparisons, I always love them.

Thank you for pointing that out! I would not have checked. The original one I got is made in Vietnam while the new updated one is made in China.

You're welcome and thanks for checking. While Mojö Fun uses to update the paintings, Schleich usually offers variations. They're not updated versions, just figures made in different factories.

The new one is clearly better. Especially the black around the eyes is more satisfactory.

I prefer the MiC one, thanks for sharing I will add the pics on TAW

Much better, good job!