Review and photographs by PhilSauria, edited by Dinotoyblog
If you were in the marketing department of a company intending to put out a line of dinosaur toys, it’s odds on that you would include a Triceratops, right? Not only do most brands have a Triceratops in their range, but the species is frequently updated and released in different versions. The company that produced this one, Schleich, have produced at least four earlier versions dating back to the 1990s.
Schleich’s ‘house style’ does not always result in designs that have collectors of museum quality depictions of extinct animals filling their shelves or cabinets. That’s not to say the animals they produce are all stylised. Cases in point are Schleich’s naturalistic depictions of the Macrauchenia, Kentrosaurus [both their World of History and exceedingly similar Conquering the Earth versions – Ed], Pteranodon (2001), giant sloth (Megatherium), Parasaurolophus (2007) and Brachiosaurus (2008), to name a few.
Their new 2017/18 Triceratops can be added to that list, unlike its immediate predecessor and I make no bones about not being a fan of Schleich’s earlier World of History Triceratops. However, this new replacement gets my full endorsement. It is part of Schleich’s Conquering the Earth line (on Schleich’s website they call it a “theme”), a sub-line of their ‘Dinosaurs’ line. [Here’s how Schleich’s lines break down if you’re interested – it’s confusing, and it doesn’t help that they renamed their line so some figures can correctly be attributed to one line or another – Ed.]
This Triceratops is a reasonably large figure, at 20cm / 8 inches long, and 9cm / 3.5 inches high, just about the same size as the earlier brown World of History version, and coincidentally close to the size as the new Wild Safari Triceratops by Safari Ltd, only not so well-fed! Doubtless those with a keen eye for detail in regard to the fossil remains of the actual animal could find issues to make note of. But for my money it’s a pretty good interpretation of this iconic animal, and any issues worth noting would make for a much shorter list than a similar appraisal of earlier versions of this ceratopsian by Schleich.
In terms of colouration it is not that elaborate: muted shades of brown with red markings on the back, frill and snout. Some collectors have not been crazy about the colour scheme but I have no problem with it. The black eye has a nice glossy treatment and there is a red tongue, although the ‘hooves’ are not picked out in much more than a lighter shade of brown.
In terms of detail the sculpt approaches a Papo level. This is particularly so on the head, with a variety of scale sizes on different parts of the face, the same cracked effect on the horns that you see on Papo’s Triceratops, and ridges sculpted into the roof of the mouth. Schleich has not included the raised scales on some of the body areas as seen in the fossilised skin impressions and which Safari Ltd have incorporated into their figure, nor have Schleich added any speculative quills, although these don’t appear on the Safari Ltd version either.
While I’d say that the Safari Ltd Triceratops is currently the best model of this animal available from the makers of mass produced paleo-figures, Schleich has seriously raised their game to the point where their new Triceratops runs a close second – both are worth owning. Four stars!
Available from Amazon.com here.
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Which species of Triceratops would this most likely represent? The nasal horn suggests T. horridus, but I’ve got something of a bias for T. prorsus for this toy.
good site
Schleich does seem to have a habbit for making really nice herbivorous dinosaurs. It’s kinda a shame though because they don’t really have any nice theropods to complement them.
Eh, I think there’s plenty of good theropods in the world…
This figure is very well done, especially for Schleich. But for me it still comes in at a firm 5th place or so, well behind not only the Safari Ltd. figure, but also both the series 1 and 2 Favorite CO figures, and the IMO highly underrated Papo Trike.
Ah, the Favorite & Kinto figures! – how could I have overlooked those? I knew that I had to have the Kinto Triceratops from the moment I saw it. I also quite like the Safari Great Dinos Triceratops. Should have actually compiled a list before doing the review summery.
Thanks for the comment.
I am really happy to see that like Safari Ltd, Schleich is releasing new, improved and accurate versions of their figures. This means that Schleich is taking a new initiative and moving ahead. Finally, both kids and collectors can have a look at the wide range of prehistoric figures and get obscure species represented as a figure. This is really nice.
I am also glad to see a new T Rex and a new Triceratops from Schleich this year. We got improved version of the King dinosaur and its rival! And, if this is your first review, I must say that both you and the editor(DinosaurToyBlog) have done an excellent work on this review. Congratulations. I hope to see more reviews from you and let us wait and see what Schleich has in store for us next year!
The number of painted hooves on each front leg should be 3 instead of 5, so the two outer ones on each front leg should be painted the same color as the legs themselves, which I’ve done with mine. Ideally, these toes should be somewhat elevated, as with the Safari. Otherwise a great model. Thanks for the review.
A well-written review with excellent photos. I am now leaning towards buying one after all.
First off, congrats on your excellent first review Philsauria.
While this figure does have its issues (it is a Schleich, after all), it is undeniably the best reconstruction of a popular dinosaur made by this company.
I do think the Safari Ltd figure is better (in most aspects), but I will say that this figure (along with the Oviraptor and, to an extent, the Psittacosaurus) is a good reminder that this is probably the best year for Schleich’s dinosaurs in a long time.
What Schleich said is making the best figures of the last twenty years and all followed.
My congratulations for the great article and my congratulations to Schleich because this year has been the best in replicas of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals.
The best triceratops made by the Schleich company and apart from that and that is the most important thing cozying up with the best toy dinosaur companies in the aspect of genius and precision. My note is five stars.
My congratulations on your first review, Phil, and very well written 🙂 Credit should be given were credit is due and though I will not trade in my Safari Trike for that one, this is another fine example of what Schleich can dish out if they only want. Another nice figure for 2018…. I am already curious about 2019.
Thanks for the comments. And I’d like to thank the Editor for his brand related info and links which kicked this review up a notch or two.