Schleich Eldrador Hellhound Review – Sometimes the Little Guilty Pleasures Matter Most

Life has a funny way of teaching us that not every victory has to be some grand, life-changing event. Sometimes we're chasing funding applications, working on exhibitions, trying to finish projects before deadlines, dealing with bills, grieving people or pets we've lost, or simply trying to make it through another exhausting week without losing our minds. During times like that, I think everybody develops little guilty pleasures that help keep the gears turning. Maybe it's a favorite dessert, maybe it's a good book, maybe it's binge-watching a television series you've already seen a dozen times. Maybe it's to simply have a good wank- hey, it's really good for you! :) We all have those little rituals that somehow make life just a little more manageable.

Now, I know what some of you are already thinking. "Johnny, collecting action figures is your guilty pleasure." Well...yes and no. It's actually a lot more complicated than that.

People sometimes imagine collecting as simply clicking "Buy Now," opening the package when it arrives, putting the figure on a shelf, and calling it a day. For me, it has never worked that way. Being totally blind means every purchase starts with research. I spend hours reading reviews, listening to YouTube videos, trying to build a mental picture of what the sculpt actually looks like, figuring out whether the figure fits my collection, deciding whether I can justify the cost, and wondering where in the world I'm going to display it. Then after it arrives, there's putting it together, photographing it, cataloguing it, writing a review, and often filming a video. If you've ever wondered how difficult it is for a blind guy to photograph action figures, trust me, it's a challenge worthy of Hercules himself. By the time everything is finished, buying one figure has turned into something that feels suspiciously like a part-time job.

Then there is another layer that many people don't know about.

A few years ago, my beautiful girlfriend Desi asked me why I had so many unopened figures sitting around the house. Most collectors would probably answer that they were saving them for resale value or because they simply hadn't gotten around to opening them yet. My answer was a little different. I told her that opening a figure is almost ceremonial for me. Think about going out for a really fancy dinner. You don't usually scarf it down while standing in the kitchen with the television blaring in the background. You want the right atmosphere, the right company, the right mood, and enough time to actually enjoy the experience. Opening a new figure is exactly like that for me. It brings back memories of Christmas mornings, birthdays, and those rare moments during childhood when life actually felt safe and happy. Some of my happiest childhood memories involve toys, so opening a new figure has become a strangely therapeutic ritual that I don't like rushing. Unless I know I'll have a few uninterrupted hours or I desperately need a little emotional pick-me-up, that figure stays in its package.

So no, collecting itself isn't really the guilty pleasure I speak of; Schleich Eldrador figurines are.

That is probably the longest possible way I could have found to introduce today's review, but there's a reason for it. The figure itself honestly doesn't require a terribly long review. It isn't articulated, it doesn't include accessories, and in my particular case it also arrived with a broken back paw after I bought it second-hand from Poshmark. It's a cool-looking plastic figurine of a two-headed lava hellhound. There. Review over.

Image: This image showcases a stylized hellhound collectible with two snarling heads sharing a single body. The creature is mid-leap, arched backward so the chests are thrust upward and the knees are pulled in, giving it a very predatory, spring-loaded posture.

Both heads are wolf-like with long muzzles, open jaws, and sharp, individually sculpted teeth painted in off-white with red gums and mouth interiors. The eyes are small and bright, standing out against the dark fur and giving a fierce, alert expression. Around the base of the necks is a spiked collar, painted silver with raised studs that break up the fur texture.

The body is covered in layered, sculpted fur: deep black on the upper torso, shoulders, forearms, lower legs, and tail, and a warm tan on the chest, belly, upper arms, and thighs. The contrast makes the musculature and pose easy to read. Each paw ends in splayed toes with short, pale claws picked out in a bone color.

The tail is long and whip-like, curving behind the body to enhance the sense of motion. Overall, the figure’s sculpt emphasizes sinewy muscle and wild fur, with paintwork that’s clean and sharp, especially around the teeth, claws, and color transitions. It’s posed dynamically enough that even at rest it feels like it’s about to pounce.

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Except...not really. Because this little guy gives me an excuse to talk about one of my favorite fantasy toy lines that almost nobody seems to discuss.

My introduction to Schleich actually had nothing to do with Eldrador. Many years ago, my good friend Wesley gave me a pair of Schleich Marvel figures for my birthday. I think it was somewhere around 2016, although don't quote me on the exact year. They were much too small for the scale I normally collect, but I was impressed enough by the sculpting that I decided to see what else Schleich had produced. That's when I stumbled across the Eldrador line, and suddenly I was looking at lava scorpions, magma lizards, ice spiders, rock beasts, dragons, and all sorts of wonderfully ridiculous fantasy creatures. As somebody who has spent his entire life obsessed with mythology, fantasy, and monsters, I think my exact reaction was something along the lines of "Holy shit I FUCKING STRUCK GOLD!"

Image: This image focuses on the midsection and back of a dragon-like collectible perched against a surface. The creature’s body is heavily textured with layered, scale-like plates running from the neck down the spine. These plates fade from a cool metallic silver at the top into deep purple along the sides and underside, giving a magical, almost glowing transition.

Running along the center of the back is a ridge of translucent purple spines, each one sharply defined and slightly curved, creating a jagged silhouette. The main body color is a dark charcoal gray, with the musculature of the shoulders and limbs sculpted in smooth, powerful shapes that contrast with the rough, ridged torso.

The limbs that are visible end in clawed feet painted a pale icy blue, which matches the frosty highlights brushed across some of the scales. Part of the head is visible at the edge of the frame, showing swept-back horn-like structures and a hint of a fierce eye, suggesting a menacing, fantasy-dragon design overall.

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I still wasn't completely convinced, though. Scale is important to me, and buying figures online while blind always involves a certain amount of educated guesswork. That's why my first Eldrador purchase was the Lava Scorpion. Scorpions are one of those wonderful creatures that work at almost any scale. If it's a little small, congratulations, now it's just a large scorpion. If it's oversized, congratulations again, now it's a giant fantasy scorpion. Either way it fits beautifully alongside one-twelfth scale action figures. You can't really say the same thing about horses, tigers, or people. If they're too small they look ridiculous, and if they're too large they look equally ridiculous for completely different reasons. The Lava Scorpion was my safe experiment, and once it arrived I was completely hooked.

From that point on, Eldrador figures quietly became one of my favorite impulse purchases. You know those moments when you're shopping on Amazon and discover you're only fifteen dollars away from free shipping? Most people throw a pack of batteries or some toothpaste into the cart. I start browsing Eldrador monsters instead. Somehow a lava monster always seems like the more sensible financial decision. Don't tell my mom I said that...

Image: This collectible depicts a low, prowling fire dragon-like creature, captured in a menacing crawl with its head thrust forward and jaws open.

The creature’s body is a vivid, molten red, covered in finely textured scales. Along its back, large, irregular black plates are outlined with hints of yellow, giving a lava-rock effect. Rising from the spine is a tall, semi-translucent red crest that looks like a sheet of flowing flame.

The head is long and squat with a wide mouth full of chunky, off‑white teeth, some pointing unevenly to enhance the feral look. Inside the mouth, the palette shifts to hot yellow and orange, as if the dragon is lit from within. The eyes are bright yellow ovals with slitted pupils, set in heavy ridges that angle downward into a glare.

Two pairs of thick yellow horns jut backward from the sides of the skull, adding a sturdy, armored feel. The front limbs are braced on the ground, muscles suggested by the sculpt, and the claws are painted glossy black for contrast. Overall, the figure’s colors and textures drive home a volcanic, fire-breathing theme with a snarling, ready-to-strike posture.

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So when I found the old Toy Biz Cerberus from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys on Poshmark, I noticed the seller also had the Schleich Hellhound listed for nine dollars. Since the Eldrador Hellhound is very clearly inspired by Orthrus, the two-headed brother of Cerberus from Greek mythology, buying both at the same time felt strangely appropriate. Orthrus guarded the red cattle of Geryon while his much more famous brother watched over the gates of the Underworld, so having both legendary hounds arrive together almost felt like mythology itself was approving of my shopping habits. And they're almost the same scale too. Hellhound is slightly smaller, but not so much so that they look out of place from one another.

Image: Two monstrous hounds confront each other on a crumbling stone staircase, like a standoff at the mouth of a dungeon.

At the top of the steps, the tan-and-black Cerberus rears forward, both snarling muzzles bared and fangs flashing. Its claws dig into the rough stone blocks, muscles tensed as if guarding the high ground.

Below it on the stairs, a bulkier, lava‑themed hellhound climbs upward, jaws wide and glowing orange inside, molten cracks burning across its black fur and a plume of fire trailing from its back. Its body language pushes straight toward the defender, as though ready to charge right through.

The stone steps between them feel like a narrow battleground, with the background kept simple so all the tension sits in this imminent clash between guardian and invader.

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Unfortunately, my poor Orthrus had apparently survived a battle that the seller forgot to mention. When I unpacked him, I discovered that one of his back paws had been broken off. The funny part is that I'm still trying to figure out how on earth somebody managed to break it in the first place. This isn't an action figure with delicate joints and tiny moving parts. It's a solid chunk of Schleich plastic. If somebody challenged me to intentionally snap this thing in half, I think my first instinct would be to reach for an axe. Did somebody's dog chew on the hellhound? Did it fall under a truck? Was there some sort of epic backyard fantasy war that got wildly out of hand? I honestly have no idea, but I almost wish the figure came with a story explaining its injury. Or at least an apology from the seller LOL.

Image: This shot zeroes in on the underside and back of the hellhound collectible, highlighting the molten armor effect. Across its shoulders and spine, jagged plates are sculpted like cracked rock, painted in glossy black with bright red and orange glowing through the “fissures,” as if the creature’s core is pure magma.

The main body underneath is a dark, charcoal black with tight, sinewy musculature and fine fur texture. One front paw is raised toward the viewer, the pads and claws clearly defined, with the claws tipped in fiery orange and yellow to match the lava theme.

Near the lower torso, small molded text is stamped into the plastic, indicating manufacturer details. A flaming tail, bright orange with yellow highlights, curls off to one side, reinforcing the impression that this beast is wreathed in fire even when at rest.

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Thankfully, even with one wounded paw, the sculpt itself is fantastic. Schleich based the creature on Orthrus rather than simply making a smaller Cerberus, giving him two distinct heads posed in different directions, thick muscular limbs, and a wonderfully exaggerated lava aesthetic that fits perfectly into the Eldrador universe. The heavy armor plating resembles cooling magma, while the tail becomes a flaming whip instead of an ordinary serpent tail (like those are ordinary to begin with). It isn't remotely mythologically accurate, but it also isn't trying to be. It's taking an ancient legend and filtering it through Saturday morning cartoon logic, and honestly that's part of its charm.

Image: The hellhound is mid-climb up a crumbling stone wall, hauling its massive body upward with all four limbs dug into the rock. Its muscles are stretched and taut, black fur pulling tight as it claws for the next handhold.

Along its spine and haunches, molten plates flare outward—jagged red and orange chunks that look like fresh lava bursting through cooled stone. Glowing embers dot its limbs and back, as if heat is leaking through every crack in its body. The tail sweeps behind it in a vivid orange flame, trailing the motion of the ascent.

One of its snarling heads hangs lower, turned outward as though searching for an enemy below even while the rest of the body drives higher, giving the whole pose a relentless, hellish determination as the beast scales the ruined masonry.

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These days he stands proudly beside my Berserker Studios Hades along with my various Cerberus figures, including the Toy Biz release and the Guardian Force Cerberus from Final Fantasy VIII. Despite his battle damage, or maybe because of it, he fits into that display perfectly. Every good ruler of the Underworld deserves an intimidating pack of supernatural dogs watching his throne, and my Hades certainly isn't going to complain about adding one more two-headed beast to his pack.

Image: A pack of monstrous guardians has converged in a rocky cavern, each one roaring at the others in a chaotic standoff.

On the left, the tan‑and‑black Cerberus crouches atop a ruined stone bridge, muzzles gaping as it leans down toward the intruders below. At the base of the structure, the lava hound rears up, twin heads blazing with molten cracks and a flaming tail sweeping behind it, challenging the higher ground.

Facing them in the center is a towering three‑headed dog, more realistic in style, with tan fur, black muzzles, and mouths stretched wide in deep, throaty barks. Its stance is firm and dominating, like it’s ready to decide who owns this territory.

Off to the right, a smoky amber creature with multiple snarling heads surges forward, its translucent bodies and jagged forms looking like they’ve been carved from living flame or molten resin.

Behind them all, a cave backdrop with dark rock and scattered boulders turns the scene into a full-on mythic showdown, every beast bristling, teeth bared, as if one wrong move will trigger an all-out monster brawl.

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Sometimes that's really all a figure has to do. It doesn't have to revolutionize toy engineering. It doesn't have to cost hundreds of dollars. It doesn't have to become the centerpiece of an entire collection. Sometimes all it has to do is remind you why you fell in love with fantasy in the first place, and this little lava-covered Orthrus manages to do exactly that every time I reach over and pick him up.

Image: This close-up highlights the twin heads of the hellhound collectible. Both muzzles are thrown open in full roars, showing rows of thick, off‑white teeth and deep red mouths, with just a hint of greenish tongue in one jaw. The fur is sculpted in dense, swirling tufts of matte black, giving the beast a rough, matted look.

Around the neck, jagged lava plates form a collar of molten rock. They’re painted in bright red with yellow tips that darken to black at the very edges, like cooling magma. These shards jut outward at different angles, adding a spiky, dangerous silhouette that frames the snarling faces and reinforces the fiery, underworld theme of the figure.

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If you'd like to read more of my action figure reviews, adventures in mythology, martial arts, music, and whatever strange rabbit hole my brain wanders into next, be sure to visit **johnnytiger.com**. If you're curious about my tactile artwork and accessibility projects, you can also visit **tigertactile.com**, where you'll find a very different kind of fantasy brought to life through touch.

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