Before I start with the review, I would like to thank Happy Hen Toys for providing me with this review sample for the blog! Our friends there have an excellent selection of animal models for collectors and enthusiasts alike; feel free to go check out their website for products like this.
Classification: Mammals
Elephant Seal (Marine Life by Papo)
4.9 (7 votes)
The elephant seals (Mirounga spp.) are easily among the most visually striking pinnipeds. Two species respectively inhabitat the coasts of the North Pacific (M. angustirostris) and Southern Hemisphere (M. leoninae). Elephant seals exhibit the most extreme sexual dimorphism amongst pinnipeds and most mammals.
Eurasian Otter (Wild Life Europe by Schleich)
5 (4 votes)
The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) is the widest ranging of all otter species, with a distribution covering most of Europe, large portions of Asia, and even part of northern Africa. It is also the most commonly made otter species by toy companies, although the North American river otter and sea otter are well represented too.
Mule Deer (Hunting Toys by Big Country Farm Toys, LLC)
3.8 (5 votes)
The mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) is an iconic animal in the American West. Currently living in the Salt Lake region of Utah, I myself can barely go a couple days without seeing them, whether in my neighborhood, while running or birding up City Creek Canyon, commuting through the University of Utah Campus, our outside my office and lab at the University’s Research Park.
Indian Crested Porcupine (Wildlife by CollectA)
4.8 (9 votes)
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
As its name suggests, the Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) is an Old World porcupine that ranges across most of India as well as much of the Middle East. And like most porcupines, it is covered in a formidable coat of quills for defense against predators.
Eurasian Wolf, Adult and Pup 2022 (Wild Animals by Papo)
3.9 (9 votes)
Happy spooky season to everyone! I hope this article finds you in good spirits to enjoy a spooky old bed time story. The topic is on the Papo wolf pair (Canis lupus) introduced in 2022, #50283 and #50284 respectively, but our story begins in Europe… La Beté du Gèvaudan is a longstanding horror story from Southern France.
Cassis Lapdog (Farm Life by Papo)
4.8 (5 votes)
Welcome to the spooky season series of articles! I hope you have had a nice time so far and will enjoy my contributions. My selection for my first article is the Papo “Cassis Lapdog” #54013. This model was released back in 2012 and retired in 2019. It appears to resemble a grizzled older animal with a dark coat washed with a lighter graying and special attention was given to graying brows and around the mouth of the animal.
Gray Wolf, 2015 (Wild Life America by Schleich)
3.8 (8 votes)
Carrying on with Spooky Season here on the Animal Toy Blog, it’s time to look at the “big bad wolf” and based on its appearance, this one certainly fits that description. It’s the Schleich 2015 gray wolf (Canis lupus). If I’m being honest, it’s not a figure I would pick for my own collection.
Maned Wolf (Wildlife by CollectA)
4.8 (8 votes)
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) is the largest wild dog on the South American continent and with its very fox-like head and coloration, and long, spindly limbs, easily one of the weirdest-looking members of the entire dog family.
Released in 2013, the CollectA maned wolf is sculpted in a walking stance with its head turned to look to the right, its right front paw extended forward, and its left hind paw raised very slightly off the ground.
Chimpanzee, 2016 (Wild Safari Wildlife by Safari Ltd.)
4.8 (8 votes)
Walk-around of the Safari Ltd. Wild Safari Wildlife (male) Common Chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes (Blumenbach, 1776); item No. 224729, produced in 2016. Snout-vent length is approx. 72 mm, so the scale is somewhere between 1:9 and 1:13. The human figure (South American Father by Miniland “Los Amigos del Mundo”) is approx.
Blue Wildebeest (Wild Animals by Papo)
5 (7 votes)
A walk-around of Papo’s Blue or Common Wildebeest, Connochaetes taurinus (Burchell, 1823) from the Wild Animals line or “Les Animaux Sauvages”, originally produced in 2009. The shoulder height of this figure is 79 mm, so corresponding to a shoulder height of adult specimens between 1.18 and 1.45 m the scale would be approx.
White Rhinoceros, 2019 (Wildlife by CollectA)
5 (8 votes)
The white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) is the 4th heaviest species of terrestrial animal, just edging out the hippopotamus. Only the three extant elephant species are heavier. Males average about 5,070 lbs. (2,300 kg) while females average 3,750 lbs. (1,700 kg) and larger specimens have been reported. Two sub-species of white rhinoceros have been described, the southern (C.
Giant River Otter (Wild Water Series by Yowie Group)
5 (5 votes)
Review and images by Sam; edited by bmathison1972
The giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is the world’s largest otter species as well as the longest member of the Mustellidae family. It originates from South America, and is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, with only 5,000 giant otters remaining in the wild.
Fish Assortment 2 (Wonder World by Kenner)
3.5 (6 votes)
Today I am reviewing a set of four animals I originally bought for just one of the figures. The set, which was being sold on eBay, was alerted to me on the ATF by forum member NSD Bashe. The set is called Fish Assortment 2 and it is one of four components of a larger collection that’s part of the Wonder World line by Kenner, a subsidiary of Hasbro at the time it was released (1995).
Platypus (Wildlife by Mojö Fun)
5 (10 votes)
Review and images by Fembrogon; edited by bmathison1972
Is there any animal more perfectly suited as the poster child of nature’s weirdness than the duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus)? …Well, okay, there probably is; but the platypus is almost certainly the most ubiquitous. When it was first discovered by the Western scientific world, many did not believe this “flat-footed” mammal was real; of course, today we know clearly otherwise.