CollectA — New for 2024

[Saarlooswolfhound]

The elk is great but its dark like it is wet from standing in the rain, might have been nicer to have the more iconic buckskin buff color instead. But the pose is nice! Really great line up so far, and from the sounds of it, only one more batch of announcement left? "Halfway through the new items already... here is the 3rd batch:" taken from my email.

[GojiraGuy1954]

Wouldnt that imply 6 batches

[Gwangi]

Well, I honestly wish brands stop copying each others. So, if possible, no chamois for me but rather a new ungulate

But, come on, Papo releases a valais black face sheep the same year as Schleich, CollectA releases an axolotl the year after Safari, and I can keep going
Show some originality!!

I know they have to offer "similar" things to avoid the other brands entering in your market, but there are other ways.

Don't forget back-to-back elk with Safari and CollectA. Would have been nice if at least one of the axolotls had the wild-type coloration. 

Hard to take issue with similarities between CollectA and Safari releases when CollectA can be difficult to find in the U.S. and Safari can be difficult to find in Europe.

Additionally, it's really unlikely that there's direct "copying" going on. Companies release figures of what they think is going to be popular. Axolotls are very "hot" right now for example, and there is a noticeable lack of figures. So it's not surprising that multiple figures are now coming out from different companies.

Yup, that's also a good point. I'm honestly surprised it took this long to get axolotls.

[sbell]

Well, I honestly wish brands stop copying each others. So, if possible, no chamois for me but rather a new ungulate

But, come on, Papo releases a valais black face sheep the same year as Schleich, CollectA releases an axolotl the year after Safari, and I can keep going
Show some originality!!

I know they have to offer "similar" things to avoid the other brands entering in your market, but there are other ways.

Don't forget back-to-back elk with Safari and CollectA. Would have been nice if at least one of the axolotls had the wild-type coloration. 

Hard to take issue with similarities between CollectA and Safari releases when CollectA can be difficult to find in the U.S. and Safari can be difficult to find in Europe.

I have equal difficulty so it's often whatever MiniZoo has first...or I completely forget.

I'd probably lean towards the CollectA axolotl just for the size... but I would also prefer a wild pattern.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Wouldnt that imply 6 batches

Well, thats my question. My initial interpretation was that "halfway through new items already" meant that the halfway mark of 2 batches being presented had been reached (implying 4 total). But thinking on it again, it could be that batch 3 is the halfway point?

Last year there were 4 batches of introductions.

[SerAndrew]

Well, I honestly wish brands stop copying each others. So, if possible, no chamois for me but rather a new ungulate

But, come on, Papo releases a valais black face sheep the same year as Schleich, CollectA releases an axolotl the year after Safari, and I can keep going
Show some originality!!

I know they have to offer "similar" things to avoid the other brands entering in your market, but there are other ways.

Don't forget back-to-back elk with Safari and CollectA. Would have been nice if at least one of the axolotls had the wild-type coloration. 

Hard to take issue with similarities between CollectA and Safari releases when CollectA can be difficult to find in the U.S. and Safari can be difficult to find in Europe.

Additionally, it's really unlikely that there's direct "copying" going on. Companies release figures of what they think is going to be popular. Axolotls are very "hot" right now for example, and there is a noticeable lack of figures. So it's not surprising that multiple figures are now coming out from different companies.

Yup, that's also a good point. I'm honestly surprised it took this long to get axolotls.

Ok about axolots, bit what about the longhorns, valais sheep, aardvark, anacondas, python, and I can continue

[Sim]

What python?  Do you mean CollectA's green python and Safari's emerald tree boa?  Those two are quite different animals, even if they look similar.

[Gwangi]

Well, I honestly wish brands stop copying each others. So, if possible, no chamois for me but rather a new ungulate

But, come on, Papo releases a valais black face sheep the same year as Schleich, CollectA releases an axolotl the year after Safari, and I can keep going
Show some originality!!

I know they have to offer "similar" things to avoid the other brands entering in your market, but there are other ways.

Don't forget back-to-back elk with Safari and CollectA. Would have been nice if at least one of the axolotls had the wild-type coloration. 

Hard to take issue with similarities between CollectA and Safari releases when CollectA can be difficult to find in the U.S. and Safari can be difficult to find in Europe.

Additionally, it's really unlikely that there's direct "copying" going on. Companies release figures of what they think is going to be popular. Axolotls are very "hot" right now for example, and there is a noticeable lack of figures. So it's not surprising that multiple figures are now coming out from different companies.

Yup, that's also a good point. I'm honestly surprised it took this long to get axolotls.

Ok about axolots, bit what about the longhorns, valais sheep, aardvark, anacondas, python, and I can continue

Well I don't exactly have my finger on the pulse of what's popular with every demographic but livestock figures appear popular in general and large snake species are popular, especially with kids, and especially the anaconda.

Looking at Toy Animal Wiki, there are really not that many aardvarks in production. And looking at python figures the selection is actually pretty abysmal.

[EpicRaptorMan]

That is the thing though. Axolotls have been popular pets, plushies, and memes for a long time now – not just this year and last. And it took companies this long to make figures of them? It's definitely a big coincidence and I wouldn't be surprised if there was some copying going on.

[Gwangi]

That is the thing though. Axolotls have been popular pets, plushies, and memes for a long time now – not just this year and last. And it took companies this long to make figures of them? It's definitely a big coincidence and I wouldn't be surprised if there was some copying going on.

I wouldn't be that surprised either, honestly. Someone "in the know" hears a rumor that the competition is producing animal X, Y, or Z and that gets them wanting to make one too. You see this phenomenon with a lot of things. In film I remember Finding Nemo and Shark Tale coming out back-to-back. Deep Impact and Armageddon, Wyatt Earp and Tombstone, etc. Could be coincidence but it also seems like it happens too often for that to always be the case. Doesn't bother me though, it gives me more options.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

I think the only direct copying that ever happened was with the Mojo Sable antelope because it was a public project, CollectA and Safari ended up making one the same year or the year after if I remember right and sort of stole Mojo's thunder. And I only apply this because this is a lesser known species to lay people.

Otherwise, indirect "copying" can happen when major motion pictures come out (as one example). And again, I think that some animals can only be posed in so many ways, so when the same species comes out by another brand in a similar pose it gets called a "copy" even though X model really only has so many options to work with... This is sort of like the "bootleg" argument, in reality we don't know the entire behind the scenes work up for a figure but it does take time to produce.

[SerAndrew]

If so popular, why hadn't brands made axolotls before?

Not may aardvarks or anacondas, no, but most them released in the last two years.

Again, there can be coincidences, but it's obvious that brands take other's releases into account when making their plans.

Papo even re-released its.anteater after Schleich releasing one, and the same year Mojo was launching one!

If I could bet, I'd say we will see a Schleich and/or CollectA capuchin next year. Maybe even a guinea fowl too

[GojiraGuy1954]

That is the thing though. Axolotls have been popular pets, plushies, and memes for a long time now – not just this year and last. And it took companies this long to make figures of them? It's definitely a big coincidence and I wouldn't be surprised if there was some copying going on.

I'm surprised that nobody has made a new Capybara in response to memes also. CollectA's I believe is old and Safari's only Capybara is in a toob.

[bmathison1972]

That is the thing though. Axolotls have been popular pets, plushies, and memes for a long time now – not just this year and last. And it took companies this long to make figures of them? It's definitely a big coincidence and I wouldn't be surprised if there was some copying going on.

I'm surprised that nobody has made a new Capybara in response to memes also. CollectA's I believe is old and Safari's only Capybara is in a toob.

Geeze I'd certainly hope memes don't influence what companies make...

[Gwangi]

That is the thing though. Axolotls have been popular pets, plushies, and memes for a long time now – not just this year and last. And it took companies this long to make figures of them? It's definitely a big coincidence and I wouldn't be surprised if there was some copying going on.

I'm surprised that nobody has made a new Capybara in response to memes also. CollectA's I believe is old and Safari's only Capybara is in a toob.

I think it takes more than just memes. As pointed out, axolotls are also popular pets. I think their addition to Minecraft also helped.

[GojiraGuy1954]

That is the thing though. Axolotls have been popular pets, plushies, and memes for a long time now – not just this year and last. And it took companies this long to make figures of them? It's definitely a big coincidence and I wouldn't be surprised if there was some copying going on.

I'm surprised that nobody has made a new Capybara in response to memes also. CollectA's I believe is old and Safari's only Capybara is in a toob.

Geeze I'd certainly hope memes don't influence what companies make...

Capitalising on models of popular animals seems like a decent business practice to me

[EpicRaptorMan]

That is the thing though. Axolotls have been popular pets, plushies, and memes for a long time now – not just this year and last. And it took companies this long to make figures of them? It's definitely a big coincidence and I wouldn't be surprised if there was some copying going on.

I'm surprised that nobody has made a new Capybara in response to memes also. CollectA's I believe is old and Safari's only Capybara is in a toob.

Geeze I'd certainly hope memes don't influence what companies make...

Why? Companies are just going with the flow and capitalizing on such. Memes, and the internet as a whole, isn't inherently bad.

[bmathison1972]

No one said it was bad.

[Shane]

So when a rep for a company is at a tradeshow and a dozen people from various stores and businesses come up and say "Why don't you guys make this animal? All my customers want this animal," the company is going to seriously consider making that animal. And it's highly likely that those same stores and businesses are going up the the company's competitors and also saying "why don't you make X animal, all our customers want X animal stuff."

A lot of the nefarious intent that gets read into these coincidences is really just companies listening to what customers are asking for.

[SerAndrew]

It was taking so long, again...

"Nefarious intent"...