Phoenix (Bayala by Schleich)

Review and photos by EmperorDinobot.

They say the phoenix is a symbol of rebirth, of reincarnation, revival, rejuvenation, revitalization, renewal, resurrection; the poetic idea of everlasting life, strength over destiny, power over fate, over the inevitable. the mythical phoenix rises from the ashes, but only after it dies. It cannot live again without dying. Our species is obsessed with these ideals, out of fear, or out of hope, the hope that death is not the end, and that our being will transcend in some way or form, whether it be in a spiritual manifestation, or in some form we do not understand. What we do know is that everything shall return to the Earth from which we came, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

This little phoenix, lovingly designed by Schleich, captures the beauty of these ideals of immortality. When I, Emperor Dinobot bought it, I was accompanied with my cousin to the local Fred Meyer store in order for me to distract myself and maybe get some food. My sister had entered the ICU a few days before because her ability to breathe had failed, and the oxygen machine at home was no longer able to support her. They were the darkest times in my life, and my worst nightmares were finally being realized. I bought this figure after routinely checking the toys, including the Schleich area, and once I stumbled upon it, it was giving me the “take me, take me!” look. Afterwards, I took it to the hospital to give it to her, with the hope that she would wake up and see it, play with it, and cheer herself up, even if just for a little bit. I was hoping that she would rise beyond her grave condition, and come back home, one way or another. Ultimately, all of our earthly hopes were dashed, and while she did indeed rise beyond us, beyond our understanding, out of that bed of tears a phoenix did rise in the form of love, love between family, friends, and the promise that we would meet again someday.

My sister would help me edit my reviews, and I would narrate paragraphs while she lay in bed, and she would tell me what worked and what did not. My collection was hers just as it was mine, so she was familiar with the content that was coming out of my fingertips. Even though she is not physically here anymore, I can hear her whispering ideas into my mind. I obviously know this is not true, but something tells me that she is out there in the aether of the cosmos. The fire of the phoenix burns inside us. She and I had the same illness, and we both survived past what was medically possible, but the sands of time catch up fast, especially when we stop running. We cannot outrun our destiny. But we do hope someone can carry on the torch, with the burning flame of our spirit, hoping the flame will dance and sing while it is thrust onwards, so it can continue the cycle of life and death, passing the fire along. That is all a part of living, a part of our shared experience on this world.

Anyways, onto the actual review! I know some of us find Schleich to be a bit “too much” when it comes to some of their dinosaur models. We are primarily dinosaur figure collectors, which is why sometimes we overlook Schleich’s other creatures. They make lovely animal figures, and they make amazing fantastical creatures, under the Bayala and Eldrador lines. Passing over them is truly a disservice, especially since we also love the fantastic, the legendary, and the mythical.

This lovely phoenix captures us immediately with its giant, movable ball-jointed wings, and with its piercing yet innocent, deep shiny black eyes. The head looks like that of a pheasant, though in my mind, it also looks like a cute chicken. Painted lovingly by hand, the body is mostly light yellow. The breast has some pink mixed with yellow, as is the rest of the body. The beak and talons are clad in gold, and though the claws are not painted, I do not think this is an accident, or laziness like it is on a Mattel dinosaur. It is perched on molten gold due to the intense heat it irradiates. The ends of the wings and the tail feathers are plain pink, and while it is a bit hard to see, the tail feathers and the wings have gold glitter sprinkled throughout! It looks lovely on a sunny day, resplendent as light itself. The details are flawless, with textured feathers throughout.. It is also bigger than one would expect, measuring 6.2″ L x 5″ H. It has an impressive 8″ wingspan. I believe these figures are 1:18 compatible, but as phoenixes are not real, realistically I cannot say how big it is compared to a real one.

A lot of Schlech’s mythical creatures have an imposing presence due to their size. They are bigger than safari’s mythical monsters, maybe not by a lot. Safari does have a bigger dragon flock, but then again, Schleich’s Bayala line features mostly horses of a mystical nature. Their horses, fairy-like or realistic really is where their strength lies. The phoenix, or Luffy’s Phoenix (that was her nickname) really is a force to be reckoned with. It does live outside of my collection, and lives in my dad’s office, right next to his owl; a sad juxtaposition of the symbols for rebirth and of wisdom, the wisdom to remind ourselves of the cyclical nature of our existence. We are what we grow beyond.

Here it is pictured with Safari Ltd.’s lovely fire phoenix, and it is very large compared to it! Unfortunately I do not have any other Schleich non-dinosaur creatures, but I see a storm coming, and I may have to find an area for more fantastic creatures, as I do not have too many of them. Dinosaurs were always fantastic enough for me.

As you have noticed, this creature comes with a pink saddle. I was looking through Happy Hen Toys’ Bayala catalog, and the fairy figures are kind of static, so they would ride prim and proper with both legs on the side, though I am sure for the more adventure minded like myself, any 1:18 scale super articulated figure will fit just fine, and I believe Schleich sells tack kits for their equestrian life figures for a safe and secure journey. As I stated above, I believe this is a 1:18 scale figure, as Bayala’s fairies, and their action figures for the farm life and dinosaur lines are 1:18 scale. Fairies, however, are supposed to be tiny figures, and this figure is meant to be the size of a small dove.

I chose Sabine Wren to be the first rider of Luffy’s Phoenix, and I am sure she would have appreciated that.

Chaaarge!

Onto infinity and beyond. Forever.

Being a reviewer at the DinoToyBlog, and being one of the first members of the fantastic animal model triumvirate is a privilege i shall try not to waste. I am proud to be part of this community. Earlier in the year, my sister and I would talk about how this needed to exist, because we not only collect dinosaur figures. We all collect Kaijus, Pokemon, Transformers, monsters of yore, and for us who live in the Pacific Northwest, creatures like Bigfoot, who has been on my mind lately (that conversation coming to a forest near you). I hope to bring beautiful creatures to your screens so you can chase them down as well. A lot of artistry go to the manufacturing of these toys, and Schleich has captured this art perfectly and lovingly, and I recommend this figure to all collectors, as it has something for everyone regardless of age.

I dedicate this review to my fellow collectors, my fellow reviewers, Dr. Smith for helping us open this door, bridging collectors together and creating a safe space where we can share our hobby peacefully and solemnly. I dedicate this to our members, past and present, active or inactive, and to those members who have left us too soon, like Radman, as well as to artists like Dan LoRusso, who also left us too soon. And finally, to my brave sister, who was as smart as she was humble. I don’t know if she even saw her phoenix, or knew that I had gotten one. Now I look at its eyes, and wonder if I can rise above this loss. But then I think about how life goes on. I think about the birth of this most essential blog. I hope our enthusiasm and our flaming passion will never fade in the wind, or in the days to come.

May 24 1996-May 20 2024

She was a sweet, innocent little melody. And I was lucky to have heard it.