Review: A Whole Herd of Schleich

Donkeys, Okapis and Horses...Oh My! There's nothing more fun than opening up a box of products for review and finding a whole herd of wild animals (at least the "wild" animals are not my kiddos this time). They couldn't wait to dig in.




They quickly divided them up and the animals disappeared...somewhere. They periodically reappear (usually one in each of Emma's fists).

We received (my own pics were woefully inadequate for showing the detail, so these are from the Schleich site):



Donkey





Dartmoor Pony



Gnu


Gnu Calf



Indian Elephant Calf
Okapi


Przewalski's Horse


Swabian-Hall Piglet Eating

Schleich is a German company that has been producing quality hand-painted toys for 75 years. You can find them in Target, Toys R Us, and even some farm supply stores, with prices ranging from just a few dollars for small pieces to over $100 for some of the sets.

We reviewed Schleich a couple of years ago, and I was impressed with the quality of the craftsmanship. I still am, but I found a few flaws that I didn't expect. The Dartmoor Pony, for example, had some poorly painted horseshoes:

That's not glare from the flash (I didn't actually use a flash) but silver paint on the hooves around where the horseshoes are supposed to be. You'll notice, also, a scratch or patch of missing paint on the leg in the upper right corner of the pic. That was there when we received it. All in all, though, the detail is good (the pic of the Okapi really doesn't do it justice), and after playing with these a bit, they are going to be scratched anyway. We've found they stand up to the rough and tumble of a 4-kid household quite nicely.

And the kid verdict?
"When can we get some more?"

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As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I received the products mentioned in this review for free for review purposes. I received no other compensation and this post contains my honest opinions and experiences regarding this product.

For more reviews, please visit the Crew Blog.