Yesterday, the Blog showcased the 2023 Papo Salers bull. Today we will look at his counterpart, the cow. This cow was originally released in 2005 and retired in 2014, only to be released again in 2019. Today we will be looking at the 2019 release (although it is still stamped with the original production year of 2004). In 2023, Papo also released a calf, giving collectors the opportunity to display an entire family unit!
The Salers originated in the Cantal Region in the Massif Central of France. It is one of the oldest European cattle breeds, and its roots can be traced back to 16,500-year-old cave drawings. Modern Salers cattle are native to the Auvergne region of south central France and today are bred mostly in Europe, North America, Africa, and Australia. The Salers was originally bred for work, milk, and beef; the milk of the Salers cattle is used to produce several cheeses, including Cantal and, of course, Salers.
The Papo Salers cow is approximately 12.5 cm long. It stands approximately 7.0 cm at the shoulders for a scale of 1:20.
The cow is sculpted in a rather static pose, gently looking to its right. There is fine pitting giving the impression of a short, thick coat. The horns are lyre-shaped with asymmetrical bends, which is not uncommon. Because today’s figure represents a cow, the figure is sculpted with a smooth udder.
The color is somewhere between a mahogany red and dark burnt orange, with dark accents in what probably represents shaded areas(it looks a little redder in the pics than in-hand, probably due to lighting and the background diorama). The horns are pale with infuscated tips. The nose and skin area around the eyes is a characteristic pink, which is accurate for the breed. The udder is a pale pink-grey. The switch at the end of the tale is black, unlike the white on the bull figure; looking at pics online, the switch apparently can be reddish, white, or black. The hooves are nearly black, certainly darker than in the bull figure.
Overall, the Papo Salers cow offers a great opportunity for collectors of cattle breeds, or livestock in general, to acquire a representative of this breed. And it complements the bull nicely, for those wanting both sexes. The slight differences in size and color will offer nice natural variation, which can be seen in the breed. And don’t forget, there’s a calf too!
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Well, you can tell it’s a 20 year old model. Haha. Not bad though, and I like that the horns are more properly shaped even if they are a bit too thick. This was a fun collaboration. Hope our readers like cattle!
It would be udderly ridiculous if our readers didn’t like cattle 😀