Schleich chestnut horse 13225: same model, different copyright year!

Has anybody noticed this on any other Schleich model too?
The chestnut mare 13225 has been released in 1994. We have one model (made in Germany) that says © 1993 and another model (made in China) which says © 1994.
No noticable changes in the model, though.
Strange, huh?

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Yes, I have noticed and seen both. And then I have also seen this without any year!

Quite a few models don't have a copyright year printed, and then later models do (for instance the one without copyright is also without "made in" and then you get the "made in China" ones), but two different copyrights on the same model/color/number we hadn't noticed till this one

This is very interesting

So they made the mould a year before in Germany than in China...

And perhaps the first mould was made without year at all, like they did at the beginning

My chestnut mare was made in 1994, China.

I have another "year variation": [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] But in this case one is a bit bigger

Aaaah, so the chestnut mare is not the only one - there's also the appaloosa stallion 13229 (by the way, our appaloosa has copyright 1995 and made in is not printed).
Are there more?

Are the Chinese and German-manufactured variants the same dimensions? Sometimes, they are of different sizes, such as with the St. Bernard (16307) or the King Cobra...

I have never seen this horse in real life, but she is on my wishlist! :)

-Kristie

really they have a date on some of them i have been looking mine doesnt have the date

Most have a copyright date on their belly, or with smaller animals also to be found on the inside of the legs or under the tail etc., and also the country in which that model has been made.
This is very often the year before the model has been released for sale.
But, not all have this copyright date printed, nor "made in" mentioned. The newer models usually have, but not always the old ones.

funny

zwartvoet and I have for years in our collection
but never told ..
find one redder than the other

I think, mostly the moulds start in Germany, and the first of these series were released in Germany to, specially in the older models.
When they finally got into real production, the decided afterwards to put the year of release under them.
Phil is right to say, that some models are even different in size when you look at the country of production.
Just look at the first Indian rhino, from which the first greenish models are quit broader from above then the somewhat later models...
But both of next two models were made in Portugal...

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