Schleich toys are known for its beautiful and very well-made animal figurines. Schleich is also well-loved by children. However, you may have situations where your children want to bring the toys to their bathtub sessions. This may lead you to wonder whether Schleich animals are waterproof.
Schleich animals are probably waterproof. This is because Schleich does not mention that their animals are waterproof. However, some users have soaked their Schleich under scalding water, and the paint did not come off. Common sense dictates that Schleich may make their toys waterproof to prevent children from ingesting the colors.
In this article, we discuss Schleich and explore how waterproof it is. We also discuss why Schleich does not explicitly claim that their toys are waterproof.
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What Is Schleich?
You may know Schleich as a figurine maker, but Schleich is an old company with roots back in the 1930s. Here is a brief introduction to Schleich.
Schleich is a toy maker based in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany. Schleich is known for their intricate, hand-painted animal figurines. Schleich toys are made of PVC plastic and are engineered in Germany, with hand painting done in many countries outside. Schleich figurines are well-loved by children and collected by adults.
Schleich is well-known as a maker of intricate, detailed animal figurines, with hand painting for higher realism. Schleich is also known for their Smurfs figurines, which they produce under license.
Schleich was founded by Friedrich Schleich in 1935, and the company survived the war. Its first figurines hit the market in the 1950s and started growing its legion of fans. Schleich was known for making comic figurines, such as Snoopy and Smurfs, during this time.
In the 1980s, Schleich began making animal figurines and Muppet characters, which opened up a new market and helped Schleich to grow beyond just a simple comic figurine maker. In fact, Schleich is much more known for its animal figurines today.
Schleich was operated as a family-owned business until 2006 when it was taken over by HgCapital, A British investment company. It is currently owned by Ardian, a French private equity firm.
Are Schleich Animals Waterproof?
Schleich is popular with children; children may sometimes want to bring their Schleich figurines into their bathtub play. This may lead you to wonder if Schleich animals are waterproof.
Schleich never mentioned explicitly that their toys are waterproof. However, some users have been exposing their Schleich figurines to water, even soaking them in hot water, only to see the paint intact. It may be safe to assume Schleich is waterproof, since Schleich needs to ensure the paint does not get ingested by children.
The Schleich toy company does not explicitly say that their animal figures are waterproof. The furthest they went is to say that different toys may have different levels of waterproof performance.
The company did not give a convincing answer, so many of Schleich's customers decided to take things into their own hands instead. They submerged it in water. Some allowed their children to take it into the bathtub. Some even soaked it in hot, scalding water for some time to soften the figurine, to reposition it.
These 'experiments' showed that their figurines remain brand new, with no loss of paint or color.
There is another way to consider Schleich figurines and waterproofness. Rather than trying to test the claim physically, we can try to think about it from Schleich's position.
Schleich would want to make sure that their toys are safe for children. Children, being children, may subject the toys to a very different sort of test, such as licking or biting them.
If the paints are not waterproof, children may easily ingest some of the paint, and this may leave Schleich in a lot of liability. Therefore, you may logically assume Schleich is waterproof.
However, understand that most Schleich is dense and will sink in water. This means they should not be played in deep water such as lakes, rivers, etc. Some figurines may have hair, and water may cause the hair to clump or fall out.
Why Does Schleich Do Not Claim That Their Toys Are Waterproof?
Now that we can safely assume that Schleich may be waterproof, this may raise another question. Why don't Schleich just go ahead and claim that their toys are waterproof? This may ease the concern of many and certainly would help their sales.
Schleich may not claim that their toys are waterproof due to many reasons. Perhaps their older figurines may not be waterproof. The waterproof paint may deteriorate as the toys age, making them more fragile. Lastly, customers may test the claim in unpredictable ways, leaving Schleich liable for a possible lawsuit.
The furthest Schleich goes with their waterproof claim is to say that different Schleich figurines may have different levels of waterproofing.
On the surface, Schleich may be seen as being unsure or playing chicken about the figurine's waterproofness in a rougher language. However, when thinking about it deeper, there may be reasons why Schleich does not make such claims.
Their Legacy Figurines May Not Be Waterproof
Schleich may not want to lay claims that their toys are waterproof, simply because if they are to make such a claim, they will need to ensure all their figurines, back from their first ever models, are waterproof.
This may be hard and difficult for Schleich, as the early figurines and toys may not have similar technology and paint quality to be waterproof. As such, perhaps Schleich thinks that it may be too risky to do so.
Paint May Deteriorate At Different Rate
Schleich may be confident that the figurines are waterproof when their figurines are packed into their boxes. However, the figurines may be subject to varying treatment levels in their customers' hands.
Some may keep them safely in display boxes as a collection. Some may play with the figurines under the sun, mud, and water. Some children may bite, throw or scratch the toys.
Some customers may try to soak the toys in hot water for hours to soften them so they can change the figurines' pose.
These actions may deteriorate the paint faster, meaning the paint on some Schleich figurines may deteriorate faster than the rest and become less waterproof.
As such, Schleich may be very hard to test and claim that their toys and figurines remain waterproof under all these treatments.
Customers May Test The Claim In Unpredictable Ways
Consumers have an odd habit. When a claim is made, they often will give the claim a test, check and try. Some approach this with a genuine interest in testing the claim. However, some may test the claim as a chance to expose possible liability and push for a lawsuit.
If Schleich is to claim that their toys are waterproof. These testers may try to stretch the definition of 'water.' They may use boiling water and soak the toy for hours, days, or weeks. As such, Schleich may want to spare themselves from these tests and instead choose to stay silent over the claim.
Too Many Caveats
You may think Schleich can still claim their toys and figurines to be waterproof by applying caveats. Caveats are exceptions on top of a general claim, usually done to avoid legal liability.
For example, Schleich can claim their toys to be waterproof, but only when:
- Not exposed to boiling water
- Not soaked underwater for over an hour
- The figurines are not older than 5 years
- And a variety of other reasons that may push the limits
If Schleich is to take the caveats very seriously, it may result in a very long list. These caveats may simply be too long, to the point that the claim of their toys being waterproof becomes meaningless.
As such, it may be better for Schleich to claim that their toys and figurines may be waterproof at a different level and spare themselves the headache.