Author: Sirenia

I'm Daniel Waite (aka ‘Sirenia’ on the Animal Toy Blog/Forum and ‘Indohyus’ on the Dinosaur Toy Blog/Forum). Ever since I was young, I would love any chance to see animals. Whether it’s visiting Safari parks, zoos, farms or local parks, I would love seeing animals around, doing what they did. Though I skewed towards ancient species later on, I still kept my love for extant species alive. I’ve had many pets, including dogs (my greyhound River is in the photo), cats, ferrets, mice and goldfish. I liked collecting many animal figures over the years, often from my trips to zoos and safari parks, resulting in a vast menagerie of models. As a result, my reviews can come with a heavy feeling of nostalgia. Hope you enjoy!

All reviews by this author

Flamingo (AAA)

3.7 (3 votes)

Across the globe, there are many amazing bird species. One of the few groups of vertebrates to develop powered flight, they now fill the skies with song and colour. Some are more colourful than others, with this review’s subject being a great example, the flamingo, a bird seen in America, Africa, Asia and Europe.

Tiger, 1996 (Wild Safari Wildlife by Safari Ltd.)

2.8 (4 votes)

There are few predators in the world as well equipped for the hunt as members of the cat family. With stealthy bodies, keen senses, and a powerful array of weapons at their disposal, it is no wonder they have spread across the globe, and are often the top predators of their regions.

White-tailed Deer, doe (Terra North American Animals by Battat)

2 (1 votes)

Intraspecific competition has resulted in a variety of species evolving phenomenal anatomical features in order to sort the adults from the juveniles (so to speak). This results in many examples of male creatures being put into toy production, owing to amazing plumage or impressive antlers or horns. This does, however, result in showing the sexual dimorphism of their female counterparts, which do not receive as much attention in figure form.

Impala, pair (Noah’s Pals by Caboodle! Toys LLC)

3.8 (4 votes)

The major force behind the variety of life is the evolutionary arms race between predator and prey. Predators evolve to catch and kill, it’s prey to run or fight back. One of the major groups to have evolved a mix of these ways of prey surviving are antelopes, as they can run quickly, they have horns to fight back.

Giant Moa (SignatuStudio)

3.7 (3 votes)

Back in 2015, after finishing my Palaeontology degree and wanting to keep a grip on news in that field, I discovered a toy site that seemed quite interesting. Several months later, I bit the bullet and posted my first review. The rest is history, and now I have reached a major milestone, my 100th review!

Komodo Dragon (AAA)

3.3 (3 votes)

When many animal toys are made, they are often made in a smaller scale, allowing for greater detail yet not fill up toy boxes, also meaning people will buy more of the smaller figures. Not all companies follow this, however, such as AAA, who produced some whopping great reptile models. In this review, we shall inspect the large model of the largest lizard in the world, the Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis).

Dove, pair (Noah’s Pals by Caboodle! Toys LLC)

4 (1 votes)

Whatever your stance on religion, it is hard to deny the impact that the story of Noah has had on animal welfare and conservation. Zoos have been named in his honour, and peace symbols based on animals in his story. In the mid 2000’s it also inspired a toy line, Noah’s Pals, where animals are packed two-by-two and numbers based on their conservation status, educating children in a fascinating way.

Giant Eland (Wildlife by CollectA)

5 (4 votes)

Grass has been an incredible influence on the world, and resulted in an incredibly diverse number of animals that could eat it: the grazers. Some of the greatest numbers of these animals come from the plains and savanna of Africa, with this review covering the largest of the antelopes, the giant eland (Taurotragus derbianus).

Komodo Dragon (Wild Animals by Papo)

4 (3 votes)

Dragons! Huge, powerful reptiles, with mighty claws and a flaming breath! They are known throughout the world….. as fictional creatures. Nonetheless, the repute of these mythical monsters have been passed to a few giant reptiles of the real world, those whose power, size and ferocity earn it the reputation. The most famous, of course, is the Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis), a relictual species of monitor from a time when the world had many bigger monitors prowling around.

Gray Whale (Big Miracle by Burger King)

3 (2 votes)

One of the great tales of evolution is the whales. That tiny, tree living creatures would become gigantic, secondarily aquatic mammals is fascinating, and fills the oceans with many fine forms of cetaceans. Though whaling and ocean pollution threatens them, there are still efforts to teach the youth of today to protect and learn about them.

Gharial (Wild Animals by Papo)

4.3 (6 votes)

I have a keen love of crocodilians. They are fascinating, from their looks to their anatomy, and look very prehistoric. While many seem fairly similar, their are some interesting variants with this, such as this one: the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), a fish eating crocodilian from India and China.

Eternal Lost Breeds, Extinct animal (Takara Tomy A.R.T.S.)

3 (6 votes)

Despite the progress we have made as a species, there is one fact we cannot change: extinction is forever. As a result of our hubris, many spectacular species have been wiped from the face of the earth. Takara have created quite an exquisite set, showing a selection of the species that have been lost of the centuries, each with a stand stating scientific names and year of extinction.

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