Schleich - new for 2020

[austrosaurus]

Are we even surprised at this point? Schleich were never good even when they were at their best, and they've been in rapid decline since the ReplicaSaurus line got canned. They're basically Papo without the production quality at this point in terms of trying to emulate Jurassic Park's style rather than put any creativity or scientific rigour into their work.

[Shonisaurus]

Are we even surprised at this point? Schleich were never good even when they were at their best, and they've been in rapid decline since the ReplicaSaurus line got canned. They're basically Papo without the production quality at this point in terms of trying to emulate Jurassic Park's style rather than put any creativity or scientific rigour into their work.

A @austrosaurus You are absolutely right, the downside of all this is that Schleich has the potential to make figures of equal or superior quality to the best brands of toy dinosaurs and even collectibles, but I am totally convinced that they will never adopt the posture of being a brand. of dinosaur toys competitive in the aspect of making scientific or hyper-realistic prehistoric animal figures such as brands like Nanmu Studio because they are not interested in doing so well for Schleich from an economic and production point of view. I only ask one thing:

Vlad Konstantinov makes Schleich prehistoric animal figures again !!! We need you!!!

[PumperKrickel]

Schleich were never good even when they were at their best

They released great figures in the last 5 years alone, both their 2015 Kentrosaurus and the Psittacosaurus were even voted into our top tens of the year. Schleich don´t deserve half of the abuse they are subjected to every year and I think it´s rather sad that the constructive critique is usually buried under a mountain of rudeness, ridicule and cynicism. It´s unsurprising that Schleich are basically turning their backs to us, just imagine you were one of their representatives reading the last few pages. If this is how we want to represent our community we should expect to alienate some companies.

[SidB]

Schleich were never good even when they were at their best

They released great figures in the last 5 years alone, both their 2015 Kentrosaurus and the Psittacosaurus were even voted into our top tens of the year. Schleich don´t deserve half of the abuse they are subjected to every year and I think it´s rather sad that the constructive critique is usually buried under a mountain of rudeness, ridicule and cynicism. It´s unsurprising that Schleich are basically turning their backs to us, just imagine you were one of their representatives reading the last few pages. If this is how we want to represent our community we should expect to alienate some companies.

What you are saying is the truth - they have produced SOME very good figures, which, I suppose is a large part of the collector's aggravation with the company. They are capable of better, regardless of the fact that they aim their offerings at young children. Kids deserve quality, yet rugged toys.

However, your other point is even more relevant. The DTF community does give them their fair share of criticism. That's okay. What is not okay is the abuse that sometimes accompanies it. I've been guilty of this too. Another somewhat similar negative dynamic arose shortly after the self-introduction of Rebor products.Stop you will say, Rebor was asking for the response they got due to their hubris; Schleich's aggressive marketing techniques and wildly inconsistent output IS a provocation too. But what is similar is the need for a certain moderation on our part.

We've gotten a good bit better. We are on very civil, even sympathetic terms with Rebor. I believe that the majority of DTF members genuinely want Schleich to succeed in upping their game. We will applaud them next year if they return to last year's quality. But, yes, it can be and is frustrating to see their not inconsiderable talent wasted, like this year.

[stargatedalek]

Well,  more picture of those playets, courtesy of Collect Jurassic:
https://www.facebook.com/collectjurassic/posts/882380792220852?__tn__=-R
The Jurassic Park fans seem to react rather positively to what is basically a rip-off of their beloved franchise.

Here's the thing there though; Jurassic doesn't own the concept of modern buildings with a pseudo-zoo aesthetic containing dinosaurs any more than King Kong does. Heck, these buildings could just as easily be something out of Aliens.

Mattel doesn't seem to really be in the playset business, so I don't see an issue if someone else is going to pickup the slack. And just from a personal perspective I guess it might as well be Schleich because their dinosaurs alone just, aren't good, so why not try to reach an alternate market.

The design of the included human is rather flagrant, but I doubt many people are actually interested in the Schleich human figures, especially the new ones with their part realistic part cartoon look.

Schleich were never good even when they were at their best

They released great figures in the last 5 years alone, both their 2015 Kentrosaurus and the Psittacosaurus were even voted into our top tens of the year. Schleich don´t deserve half of the abuse they are subjected to every year and I think it´s rather sad that the constructive critique is usually buried under a mountain of rudeness, ridicule and cynicism. It´s unsurprising that Schleich are basically turning their backs to us, just imagine you were one of their representatives reading the last few pages. If this is how we want to represent our community we should expect to alienate some companies.

Then Schleich discontinued those figures almost immediately, meanwhile the crayon rex continues to get produced, retooled, and repainted at every opportunity.

[PumperKrickel]

Then Schleich discontinued those figures almost immediately, meanwhile the crayon rex continues to get produced, retooled, and repainted at every opportunity.

Are you suggesting they discontinue the great figures to spite us? Otherwise I don´t see how that´s a relevant point. It´s not a valid excuse for the abuse this forum hurls at them either way.

It´s just frustrating. This forum is supposed to be a friendly and open community, but there´s this underlying hostility towards anything not geared towards scientific accuracy. Schleich has shown a considerable effort in bringing us unique and obscure animals and personally I think an imperfect Tawa is better than having none. That´s them extending an olive branch towards us. They certainly don´t make a Dinogorgon for the children who only know Jurassic World. It´s for adult collectors like us. Yet we still make fun of them, compare them to cheap knock-offs and pepper it with the usual snarky comment about the Jurassic franchise. Schleich is called uncreative for emulating a certain style, but when Safari produces basically an entire wave of creatures that are yellow with brown stripes, we applaud them. Do we really need a Schleich sculptor to become an active member of the community in order to treat them with respect?

[Halichoeres]

A couple of fair points there. We pretty often fail to live up to the friendly and open claim, and not just with respect to inaccurate dinosaurs. On the one hand, this is the only dinosaur toy community online, to my knowledge, that isn't overwhelmingly dominated by either JP/JW or Rebor/Papo types of figures. Maybe some amount of territoriality plays a role in the derision heaped on less accurate figures. I've been trying to train myself to just ignore threads that contain things I don't like rather than taking potshots, but the temptation is pretty strong!

It's also probably fair to say that people pull punches a little bit because Safari's sculptor is on the forum, although it's not like people don't aim barbs at his work. At the same time, if (big if!) what you're most interested in is accuracy, Safari does have some of the best output according to that criterion. (For what it's worth, I would prefer color schemes that reflect that most dinosaurs probably had color vision at least as good as ours.)

As for figures like the Psittacosaurus, Dinogorgon, and Tawa, it's hard to escape the conclusion that Schleich tried, but those things didn't sell well. I usually buy their unusual species (like you , I think an imperfect Tawa is better than none), but that doesn't seem to be enough to keep them coming on a regular basis. It kind of seems like the market is demanding Isla Nublar playsets and goofy, toothy theropods, as much as I'd wish the opposite to be true.

[stargatedalek]

Then Schleich discontinued those figures almost immediately, meanwhile the crayon rex continues to get produced, retooled, and repainted at every opportunity.

Are you suggesting they discontinue the great figures to spite us? Otherwise I don´t see how that´s a relevant point. It´s not a valid excuse for the abuse this forum hurls at them either way.

I'm saying they don't even care about making good products, just good profits. If they don't care about praise than they sure as heck don't care about criticism, constructive or otherwise. Schleich will make whatever they think will best grab the attention of parents, and for whatever reason that means bright colours and big "educational" labels with no substance behind that claim.

The STS is a forum more or less built around praising Schleich for their modern animals, and Schleich rewards them with active contempt and even legal threats.

I view Schleich the same way I view Amazon or Walmart, big glitch-in-capitalism tier puppet-master corporation that exists as a natural if unfortunate result of consumer culture within its given industry. In 2018 they made over 185 million Euros in profit, and the only information I found for 2019 was a claim of 17% growth.

This is why I personally don't hold back when it comes to them. They may not present like they are but Schleich is up there with the likes of Hasbro, a corporate giant.

[suspsy]

I don't hate Schleich, but @stargatedalek raises a number of salient points about their business practices and overall attitude. They've long struck me as far less friendly than the folks at CollectA and Safari. And while those two companies have steadily improved their prehistoric figures over the years, Schleich's continue to fluctuate between superb and subpar. On the one hand, you've got their Diabloceratops, Dinogorgon, Dracorex, Oviraptor, and Psittacosaurus. But on the other hand, you've got their Carnotaurus, Cryolophosaurus, Plesiosaurus, Pteranodon, etc. Just plain grotesque.

And even their extant animal figures, which I've long thought to be top notch, have been showing a noticable drop in quality lately. These ones in particular look like cartoon characters. It's not so much a question of scientific accuracy as it is a question of just looking straight up BAD.

[PumperKrickel]

On the one hand, this is the only dinosaur toy community online, to my knowledge, that isn't overwhelmingly dominated by either JP/JW or Rebor/Papo types of figures. Maybe some amount of territoriality plays a role in the derision heaped on less accurate figures.

I hadn´t considered that aspect, but it does make a lot of sense.

It kind of seems like the market is demanding Isla Nublar playsets and goofy, toothy theropods, as much as I'd wish the opposite to be true.

I have no doubt that this is an accurate observation. Figures that are "inspired by" the JP franchise are much more approachable for casual dinosaur fans. The movie monsters are easily identifiable, which seems to be reason enough to buy. An appeciation of accurate dinosaur figures however takes quite a lot of knowledge about dinosaur anatomy.

This is why I personally don't hold back when it comes to them. They may not present like they are but Schleich is up there with the likes of Hasbro, a corporate giant.

So they deserve rudeness, because they´re successful?

Look, I´m not going to pretend I don´t dislike their business practices and many of their figures. However, I believe the discussion about the particular figures should be separated from the company´s ethics and as unbiased as possible. Otherwise it´s almost pointless to visit certain threads, because you already know they´re negative regardless of the figure quality. When perceived inaccuracies in BotM or Safari figures are pointed out, it´s usually nuanced and supported by sources, which often leads to interesting discussions. Why can those standards not apply for all companies?

[Concavenator]

I'm saying they don't even care about making good products, just good profits.

Well, if you were in charge of a company you would also seek good profits for your company, wouldn't you? Otherwise all the process of developing a product (as bad as it might be), and market it would be a total waste of time and energy. I prefer Safari, CollectA and Eofauna over Schleich, because I like their products a lot more. But in the end, they're all companies and they all want to make profit. If they don't get the profit, they wouldn't be making the dinosaur figures we have, love, and collect.

Schleich, CollectA and Safari all know perfectly what their target is, and they develop their products and create new releases along the lines of what they think will bring them profits, based on their experience. To be fair, I think Schleich has their dinosaur line as nothing more than a placeholder. They put out some nice figures sometimes as it's been mentioned, but they don't last very long until they're retired, sadly. They may obtain more profit from other lines. CollectA and Safari, on the other hand, are definitely more oriented at a target like us, that's why they study and put in the effort to have their figures being accurate and making figures of recently discovered prehistoric animals (look at CollectA's Bajadasaurus and Safari's Shringasaurus). They know that, as long as they stay the same, they will sell.

I view Schleich the same way I view Amazon or Walmart, big glitch-in-capitalism tier puppet-master corporation that exists as a natural if unfortunate result of consumer culture within its given industry. In 2018 they made over 185 million Euros in profit, and the only information I found for 2019 was a claim of 17% growth.

According to your logic, when we forum members occasionally buy dinosaur figures on Amazon (or any other retailer) we are letting an evil monster get their goal (profit) and we are expressing our (unfortunate) consumist behaviour. Since you're that upset with the likes of Amazon and Walmart, then I'm assuming the completion of your collection are figures that you bought from physical stores and that also weren't corporate giants. Not to mention that we collectors have the (unfortunate) habit of consuming (buying dinosaur figures). Specially people who are completists, i.e, they buy all the figures a company releases, like them or not. Those are bad people indeed, aren't they? 

[Shonisaurus]

We should all DTF members respect all toy dinosaur brands like Schleich for example. Constructive criticism can be made and if, in the case of Schleich, our constructive publications unfortunately do not refer to them, we should not answer with disqualifications since with that attitude we only managed to worsen the problem.

We must bear in mind that Schleich is a brand of dinosaurs and other toy figures intended for very young children such as Lego or Play Movil (magnificent and endearing brands of which I have a very good memory) and, of course, it is not a brand intended for fans. fans of prehistoric life among other facets such as wild animals, farm. Schleich is intended for the enjoyment of children who do not care about scientific precision. We should take that into account.

On the other hand the Schleich baryonyx is a pretty good figure and the ankylosaurus and agustinia although they are not notable figures fall within the range of figures acceptable as toys and even for collector completists as is my case.

I believe that this company began its decline as a creator of dinosaurs after failing its concert of realization of prehistoric animals (including prehistoric mammals) and dinosaurs with the Humbold Museum in Berlin, that caused them to change owners and make it a more practical brand for the fun of the smallest of the house from my own opinion. It is a practical company that does not risk and I understand that its behavior is wise and practical and that is one of the reasons that it makes good profits.

[SidB]

Then Schleich discontinued those figures almost immediately, meanwhile the crayon rex continues to get produced, retooled, and repainted at every opportunity.

Are you suggesting they discontinue the great figures to spite us? Otherwise I don´t see how that´s a relevant point. It´s not a valid excuse for the abuse this forum hurls at them either way.

I'm saying they don't even care about making good products, just good profits. If they don't care about praise than they sure as heck don't care about criticism, constructive or otherwise. Schleich will make whatever they think will best grab the attention of parents, and for whatever reason that means bright colours and big "educational" labels with no substance behind that claim.

The STS is a forum more or less built around praising Schleich for their modern animals, and Schleich rewards them with active contempt and even legal threats.

I view Schleich the same way I view Amazon or Walmart, big glitch-in-capitalism tier puppet-master corporation that exists as a natural if unfortunate result of consumer culture within its given industry. In 2018 they made over 185 million Euros in profit, and the only information I found for 2019 was a claim of 17% growth.

This is why I personally don't hold back when it comes to them. They may not present like they are but Schleich is up there with the likes of Hasbro, a corporate giant.

Among the strong points raised here, one struck me with some force, one also implied in @suspsy 's response. This is the apparent "contempt" or arrogant apathy shown by Schleich's absolute disinterest in responding to or reaching out towards any feedback concerning  or even praise offered towards their products. Am I wrong? I can't ever think of a single response overtly made by them or a representative of theirs in regards to any opinion, suggestion or other input by this forum. Any correction needed in this regard concerning my opinion? Is my memory faulty?

If I'm correct, this seems to be a more serious matter than outright anger or sharp disagreement. At least Rebor responded and continues to respond. This is commendable. This is at least human. Schleich's apparent indifference seems to reduce us to mere objects of indifference, objects ... period. At least the person upset with you recognizes you as a conversation partner, however heated the disagreement. Better that than cold distain.

[Loon]

I think Schleich is probably the biggest company that makes animal figures? Like, compared even to Safari or CollectA, they're massive. So, I feel like that has something to do with their poor PR.

[Takama]

I think Schleich is probably the biggest company that makes animal figures? Like, compared even to Safari or CollectA, they're massive. So, I feel like that has something to do with their poor PR.

Plus there EVERYWHERE YOU GO. And they force stores who stock there products to NOT Stock any other compnays products as well.   

Oh,  and if you dare try to leak there products, they get ***** and try to threaten legal action when no other company does this except maybe Mattel

[PumperKrickel]

I can't ever think of a single response overtly made by them or a representative of theirs in regards to any opinion, suggestion or other input by this forum.

Have Kaiyodo, Collecta, Eofauna, Pnso, Vitae or Papo ever acknowleged this forum? If this many companies have contempt for us, maybe we are the problem. 

Oh,  and if you dare try to leak there products, they get ***** and try to threaten legal action when no other company does this except maybe Mattel

I don´t think any company would be thrilled to have their products leaked.

[Takama]

I can't ever think of a single response overtly made by them or a representative of theirs in regards to any opinion, suggestion or other input by this forum.

Have Kaiyodo, Collecta, Eofauna, Pnso, Vitae or Papo ever acknowleged this forum? If this many companies have contempt for us, maybe we are the problem. 

Oh,  and if you dare try to leak there products, they get ***** and try to threaten legal action when no other company does this except maybe Mattel

I don´t think any company would be thrilled to have their products leaked.

But they at least dont try to sue the forum leaking the pictures..   Safari has a better time keeping there stuff a secret, and when someone finds pictures of Schleichs upcomeing products for the following year, they  theraten to sue the whole forum, just because one person wanted to show off whats new, because this company cant keep a secret as good as there rivals

[PumperKrickel]

But they at least dont try to sue the forum leaking the pictures..   Safari has a better time keeping there stuff a secret, and when someone finds pictures of Schleichs upcomeing products for the following year, they  theraten to sue the whole forum, just because one person wanted to show off whats new, because this company cant keep a secret as good as there rivals

Of course Safari has an easier time keeping their products a secret, they are tiny in comparison. They have a fraction of the number of employees Schleich has, so they have a way smaller potential for leaks. And Schleich didn´t sue the forum, no harm done.

Fact is that the hostility towards Schleich makes no difference for them. No matter how many threads devolve into an endless parade of people finding new ways to express how bad Schleich is, they don´t lose a single dollar. It does not affect them. It does however negatively affect the climate in this forum. It´s a toxic behaviour that for now is limited to specific threads, but it might spread if it isn´t addressed. Maybe it´s time for us to re-evaluate the quality of discourse we want to represent as a community and act accordingly.

[SidB]

I can't ever think of a single response overtly made by them or a representative of theirs in regards to any opinion, suggestion or other input by this forum.

Have Kaiyodo, Collecta, Eofauna, Pnso, Vitae or Papo ever acknowleged this forum? If this many companies have contempt for us, maybe we are the problem. 

Oh,  and if you dare try to leak there products, they get ***** and try to threaten legal action when no other company does this except maybe Mattel

I don´t think any company would be thrilled to have their products leaked.

Eofauna has used the forum. None of these others, though.

[stargatedalek]

This is why I personally don't hold back when it comes to them. They may not present like they are but Schleich is up there with the likes of Hasbro, a corporate giant.

So they deserve rudeness, because they´re successful?

Look, I´m not going to pretend I don´t dislike their business practices and many of their figures. However, I believe the discussion about the particular figures should be separated from the company´s ethics and as unbiased as possible. Otherwise it´s almost pointless to visit certain threads, because you already know they´re negative regardless of the figure quality. When perceived inaccuracies in BotM or Safari figures are pointed out, it´s usually nuanced and supported by sources, which often leads to interesting discussions. Why can those standards not apply for all companies?

"Successful" is not the word I would use. Safari is plenty successful, there is successful and then there is 185 million Euros and rising.

Whatever word you want to use to describe it, they certainly don't deserve any hand-holding for it. When they are so far removed from their customers it's fair to act on the assumption that they aren't aware of feedback, hence discussion of their products is solely for the benefit of ourselves, hence no holds barred.

I can't ever think of a single response overtly made by them or a representative of theirs in regards to any opinion, suggestion or other input by this forum.

Have Kaiyodo, Collecta, Eofauna, Pnso, Vitae or Papo ever acknowleged this forum? If this many companies have contempt for us, maybe we are the problem. 

Have companies that don't sell predominantly in English speaking regions contacted an English forum of a small portion of their market? Uh, no, no they haven't and no it isn't indicative of some greater picture.

I'm saying they don't even care about making good products, just good profits.

Well, if you were in charge of a company you would also seek good profits for your company, wouldn't you? Otherwise all the process of developing a product (as bad as it might be), and market it would be a total waste of time and energy. I prefer Safari, CollectA and Eofauna over Schleich, because I like their products a lot more. But in the end, they're all companies and they all want to make profit. If they don't get the profit, they wouldn't be making the dinosaur figures we have, love, and collect.

Schleich, CollectA and Safari all know perfectly what their target is, and they develop their products and create new releases along the lines of what they think will bring them profits, based on their experience. To be fair, I think Schleich has their dinosaur line as nothing more than a placeholder. They put out some nice figures sometimes as it's been mentioned, but they don't last very long until they're retired, sadly. They may obtain more profit from other lines. CollectA and Safari, on the other hand, are definitely more oriented at a target like us, that's why they study and put in the effort to have their figures being accurate and making figures of recently discovered prehistoric animals (look at CollectA's Bajadasaurus and Safari's Shringasaurus). They know that, as long as they stay the same, they will sell.

Common sense dictates Safari and CollectA would similarly make more money if they emulated Schleich and made products designed solely to grab attention with bright colours and meaningless buzzwords. That they don't is indicative of them holding genuine ethics about the claims they make and the quality of the products that they sell.

They are all trying to get the same market, parents who want educational toys. Schleich preys on the public's lack of education and pop culture misconceptions in order to one-up their rivals while Safari and CollectA don't.

I view Schleich the same way I view Amazon or Walmart, big glitch-in-capitalism tier puppet-master corporation that exists as a natural if unfortunate result of consumer culture within its given industry. In 2018 they made over 185 million Euros in profit, and the only information I found for 2019 was a claim of 17% growth.

According to your logic, when we forum members occasionally buy dinosaur figures on Amazon (or any other retailer) we are letting an evil monster get their goal (profit) and we are expressing our (unfortunate) consumist behaviour. Since you're that upset with the likes of Amazon and Walmart, then I'm assuming the completion of your collection are figures that you bought from physical stores and that also weren't corporate giants. Not to mention that we collectors have the (unfortunate) habit of consuming (buying dinosaur figures). Specially people who are completists, i.e, they buy all the figures a company releases, like them or not. Those are bad people indeed, aren't they? 

Man, I really did set off your "filthy leftist" alarms didn't I?

Just because Bezos is bad that doesn't mean the people who can't afford to shop elsewhere or can't find a product at an alternate retailer are bad people, and I in no way implied that. Consumption and creation of goods does in no way require monopolies or other unethical policies that take advantage of consumers.

It's impossible to avoid buying from large corporations entirely without substantial resources of ones own, but there is plenty of opportunity to make conscious choices to support companies with more ethical practices. Even if you don't have access to or can't afford to buy from a farmers market, you can still buy your groceries from a local superstore or Costco rather than supporting Walmart or Amazon.

Buying toys from Amazon or Walmart when no other retailer available stocks them is fine, but it's important that we do make that effort to buy from other sources when possible.

Since you think it matters so much, I have a total of two figures that I purchased from Amazon. The Mattel Suchomimus and Super Colossal Blue. I purchased these using a coupon I received as compensation for doing some product testing for a local game studio. And I tried to have both ordered at TRU before resorting to that (not a small store but still small compared to Amazon and more ethically operated).