Harpy Eagle (Wild Life America by Schleich)

Review and images by Fembrogon; edited by bmathison1972

I would like to start by offering my genuine thanks to Happy Hen Toys for this generously offered review sample. Happy Hen toys is one of the best current retailers for extant & extinct animals alike, from brands including CollectA, Mojö Fun, and of course Schleich. Be sure to check out their website at happyhentoys.com.

If you are like me, and your primary exposure to Schleich has been through their dinosaur figures, you might have mixed opinions about the German company’s product output. Thankfully, Schleich’s modern animal output tends to fare a little better, and one of the newest testaments to their capabilities is the 2023 harpy eagle. Considered the second or first-largest eagle in the world today, Harpia harpyja is all the living proof you need in connecting birds to the dinosaur family tree. The largest individuals of the species can reach lengths of just over one meter (3 ft 6 in) and weights of 20 pounds, with the strength and armaments to hunt and kill monkeys, sloths, and all manner of other prey, sometimes rivaling the eagle’s own size. It is perhaps this position as the apex predator of the Amazon Jungle’s canopies which leads the bird to be surprisingly unafraid of humans – a fearlessness which sadly works against the near-threatened birds when facing hunters looking for easy targets.

Schleich’s Harpy eagle figure measures about 6 cm (2.4 in) tall upright, and 7.5 cm (3 in) long from beak to tail feathers – positioning the figure around 1:14 scale for a big female. The figure is posed in a basic standing position with feet flat on the ground, head raised and alert. Although promotional photos depict the figure resting on its tail tripod-style, my copy can (precariously) balance with its feathers off the ground; I recommend hot water treatment to correct any stability issues, at least temporarily. The figure also lacks some of the finer details seen in the initial photos, but the sculpt still successfully captures the sense of the bird’s size and fearless attitude, even at a small scale.

The head bears the signature “scowl” seen in most raptors, due to the reinforced brow structure of the skull, positioned behind a hefty beak – regrettably my eagle’s beak is warped, but that might be another possible hot water fix. Thankfully it’s only noticeable up close and head on. The full head is framed by the eagle’s facial disk of feathers, which are thought to enhance the bird’s hearing; and the longer crest feathers are spread in display, suggesting this eagle is posed at full alert. Feather details on the back of the head and down the breast are softer, but the large primaries over the wings and tail have distinguishable rachis and barbs, enhancing the volume of the bird’s hefty plumage.

Perhaps the most important traits to capture in a harpy eagle toy are the great raptor’s enormous feet – which can grow as large as a grown man’s fist, tipped in sickled talons reaching 5 inches in length. Even dulled to child safety standards, there’s no mistaking the massive toes and talons of Schleich’s miniature apex predator. There’s hardly even any exaggeration for the sake of balancing; harpy eagle feet are just plain huge! Schleich has also accurately depicted the varying sizes of the talons between toes. Raptor talons aren’t typically uniform in size; the second toe and the rear-facing hallux usually bear the largest talons for striking and killing prey. Schleich has correctly reflected these traits in the toy’s feet, with the second toe ending in a particularly large (albeit blunted) talon. Any extinct dromaeosaur would be glowing with pride.

While production copies of the harpy eagle don’t quite match the nuance in detail suggested in Schleich’s promotional photo, the figure nonetheless gets a solid job in paint apps overall. Harpy eagles are relatively plain in coloration: predominantly black and white with additional grey areas, with more emphasis on contrasting patterns than color palette. Schleich’s figure accurately captures the jet black of the back and folded wings, with the bright white face and chest separated by a small “vest” of gray – borders are smooth in application, although live individuals can have more variation and erratic edges, depending on plumage.

A softer gray is applied around the eyes (with the intent to emphasize the bird’s scowl, which… mostly works?), with the eyes themselves a glossy black. The soft grey is applied to the longer crest feathers at the back of the head as well. Dirty white striping punctuates the tail feathers, and black bands highlight the tarsal (leg) feathers. Stealing the attention from the stark monochrome plumage are, once again, the feet, painted vivid yellow and tipped with deep gray talons. Schleich could have pushed production values a bit more, but for all intents and purposes this is a satisfactory paint job that leaves no mistaking of the predator being portrayed.

Schleich’s harpy eagle comes as a genuinely pleasant surprise from the new 2023 figure lineup; this is a very good depiction of the spectacular Amazonian raptor, hitting high marks all around for its size and price. I do recommend this figure to fans of birds of prey, birds in general, or anyone who just wants a cool apex predator in miniature for their display collection. I extend my thanks again to Happy Hen Toys for offering this sample for review, and encourage readers to visit their website for purchasing the figure in question, in addition to the rest of the new Schleich 2023 lineup which is now in stock.