Author: Guest Reviews

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Spotted Eagle Ray (Marine Life by Papo)

Name(s): Aetobatus, Aetobatus narinari, spotted eagle ray Brand: Papo Classification: Fish, Sharks, Rays & Kin Type: Figurine Range: Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean

5 (6 votes)

Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972

In the past reviews, I’ve lamented on how there isn’t enough rays represented in plastic. So far, in the last 3 years there have been quite a few cartilaginous fish figures made, some that are underrepresented: 2021 gives us a Helicoprion and Cretoxyrhina from PNSO, a really stylised great white shark branded as a megalodon from Papo, an awesome basking shark from CollectA, a set of stylized ray figures from Kitan Club, and a Xingu river ray by Kaiyodo.

Emperor Penguin (Wild Animals by Papo)

Name(s): Aptenodytes, Aptenodytes forsteri, Emperor penguin Brand: Papo Classification: Birds, Penguins Type: Figurine Range: Antarctica, Southern Ocean

4.9 (11 votes)

Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972

Well, it turns out that my previous review was in fact my 100th for the Animal Toy Blog and I completely overlooked that fact! So I guess I’ll celebrate with #101 instead. My subject is the Papo emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) with chick, yet another generous sample from Happy Hen Toys, bless them.

Griffon Vulture (Wild Animals by Papo)

Name(s): griffon vulture, Gyps, Gyps fulvus Brand: Papo Classification: Birds, Birds of Prey Type: Figurine Range: Africa, Asia, Europe

4.3 (12 votes)

Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972

I’ve always been rather fond of vultures due to their large size, intimidating appearance, and the crucial role they play in consuming carrion. The Eurasian griffon (Gyps fulvus) is a very typical Old World vulture with quite a large population in Spain and much smaller populations scattered across the rest of Europe.

Ocellaris Clownfish (Nature Techni Colour: Toba Aquarium by Kitan Club

Name(s): Amphiprion, Amphiprion ocellaris, Blue Damselfish, Chrysiptera, Chrysiptera cyanea, Heteractis, Heteractis magnifica, magnificent sea anemone, ocellaris clownfish Brand: Kitan Club/Ikimon Classification: Clownfish & damselfish, Corals, Anemones & Jellyfish, Fish Type: Figurine Range: Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean

5 (4 votes)

Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972

In a lagoon within the Great Barrier Reef, the little residents are out and about their colorful home doing what animals do to survive: eat, socialize, adjust to changes, reproduce, and not get themselves eaten. What appears to be a ball of hair is one of the more predatory residents: the sea anemone.

Tasmanian Devil (Wild Safari Wildlife by Safari Ltd.)

Name(s): Sarcophilus, Sarcophilus harrisii, Tasmanian devil Brand: Safari Ltd., Wild Safari Wildlife Classification: Mammals, Marsupials Type: Figurine Range: Oceania

4.9 (8 votes)

Review and images by Kikimalou; edited by bmathison1972

The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is the largest carnivorous marsupial still alive. About the length of a Corgi, with a stocky body, a large head full of teeth, and a tail about half the length of its body. The coat is black with, most of the time, white markings on the neck and on the rump at the base of the tail.

Harpy Eagle (Wings of the World by Safari Ltd.)

Name(s): Harpia, Harpia harpyja, harpy eagle Brand: Safari Ltd., Wings of the World Classification: Birds, Birds of Prey Type: Figurine Range: North America, South America

3.8 (16 votes)

Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972

The harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) of South America is perhaps the most awesome and powerful avian predator on Earth. A big female can reach up to 1 metre/3 feet in length, 2 metres/6.5 feet in wingspan, and 9 kg/20 lbs in weight, and boasts hind talons that are around the same size as a grizzly bear’s claws and much sharper.

Hippopotamus, adult (2018) and calf (2020) (Wild Life Africa by Schleich)

Name(s): common hippopotamus, Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus amphibius Brand: Schleich Classification: Hippopotamuses, Mammals Type: Baby Animal, Figurine Range: Africa

4.3 (18 votes)

Review and images by Hippocollector; edited by bmathison1972

Hippopotamuses, or hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius), are very big and funny-looking animals that spend most of their time in water. Don’t let their cute appearance fool you! They are one of the deadliest animals that live in Africa and are very territorial, so it’s not the best idea to roam in their territory, so let’s look at small and safe hippos instead!

Moorish Idol (Kinder Surprise Natoons by Kinder)

Name(s): Moorish idol, Zanclus, Zanclus cornutus Brand: Kinder Classification: Fish, Surgeonfish & kin Type: Figurine Range: Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean

3.7 (9 votes)

Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972

Many fish toys made by toy companies like Lego and Playmobil are usually generic fish with little to no effort to identify them to any species and are usually accessories thus not much effort are put into creating them. A few exceptions do try, but they often nail the sculpt passively and the colours usually are hit or miss.

Indian Rhinoceros, calf (Wild Life Asia by Schleich)

Name(s): Indian rhinoceros, Rhinoceros, Rhinoceros unicornis Brand: Schleich Classification: Mammals, Rhinoceroses Type: Baby Animal, Figurine Range: Asia

4.3 (15 votes)

Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972

A baby Indian rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) is born after a gestation period of nearly 16 months. Its weight at birth ranges between 80-100 lbs and it can stand up sturdily on its own feet within an hour. The baby is cared for entirely by its mother, who will often trample down tall plants to provide food for her little one.

King Cobra (Wildlife by CollectA)

Name(s): king cobra, Ophiophagus, Ophiophagus hannah Brand: CollectA Classification: Reptiles, Snakes Type: Figurine Range: Asia

4.1 (8 votes)

Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972

The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) of Southeast Asia is actually not a ‘true’ cobra in the genus Naja, but it most definitely lives up to the first part of its name. It’s one of the more deadly venomous snakes, fully capable of killing animals up to the size of Asian elephants with a single bite.

Green Iguana (Wild Life America by Schleich)

Name(s): green iguana, Iguana, Iguana iguana Brand: Schleich Classification: Lizards, Reptiles Type: Figurine Range: North America, South America

3.9 (16 votes)

Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972

The common or green iguana (Iguana iguana) is a reptile of many titles. It’s the largest member of the iguana family, measuring up to 1.7 metres from head to tail, with most of that length being tail. It has probably the widest distribution of any lizard, ranging throughout most of South America and all the way up into southern Mexico, plus it’s been introduced to places like Florida, Hawaii, Singapore, Thailand, and Taiwan.

Manta Ray (Monterey Bay Aquarium Collection by Safari Ltd.)

Name(s): giant oceanic manta ray, Mobula, Mobula birostris Brand: Monterey Bay Aquarium, Safari Ltd. Classification: Fish, Sharks, Rays & Kin Type: Figurine Range: Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean

4.7 (9 votes)

Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972

Make no surprise there have already been multiple manta ray figures reviewed on this blog, with 3 from the big 4 already being tackled: CollectA, Papo, and Schleich. It is not surprising, as there is no shortage of manta ray figures, with a number of good and incredible figures in many different sizes: from tube-sized to standard-sized figures, across both the reef and oceanic mantas.

Andean Condor (Wild Animals by Papo)

Name(s): Andean Condor, Vultur, Vultur gryphus Brand: Papo Classification: Birds, Birds of Prey Type: Figurine Range: South America

4.3 (18 votes)

Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972

When I was a child of eight or nine my dad gave us cassettes with audio plays once in a while which he brought from the big city where he worked. One of these plays was The Children of Captain Grant (or In Search of the Castaways) by Jules Verne.

Bat Ray (Venomous Creatures TOOB by Safari Ltd.)

Name(s): bat ray, Myliobatis, Myliobatis californica Brand: Safari Ltd. Classification: Fish, Sharks, Rays & Kin Type: Figurine, Set Range: Pacific Ocean

4 (11 votes)

Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972

Disclaimer: I’ll be covering Version 2 of the Safari Ltd. Venomous Creatures TOOB bat ray, as it is the only figure I have from the TOOB and rays are my specialty when it comes to animal reviews. Also, another review would likely do a run through the entire set with the other figures.

African Elephant, 2021 (Wildlife by Mojö Fun)

Name(s): African bush elephant, Loxodonta, Loxodonta africana Brand: Mojo Fun Classification: Elephants, Mammals Type: Figurine Range: Africa

4.5 (11 votes)

Review and images by Kikimalou; edited by bmathison1972

Today we’ll be looking at the 2021 African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) by Mojö Fun. This is the first African elephant by a major western company since 2017, when Papo produced one. As for Mojö Fun, their last African elephant dates back to 2015.

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