Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
Probably even the most urban European citizen can instantly recognize the European robin (Erithacus rubecula) by its striking red breast. So it a small wonder it took the toy companies so long to produce a figure of this small bird. Given, according to toyanimal.info there is a small selection of figures, but none of them is particular good in depicting the real bird and none is easily available nowadays.
In short, Papo hit the nail on the head perfectly. Yes, a dedicated customizer could emphasize aspects of the paint job to give it a even more authentic look, but for a mass produced toy with a fair price this is as far as one could ask. Let’s get a bit into detail….
The European robin is a small member of the passerines and feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates. As it does not migrate, it also accepts berries and other soft plant produce. This makes the small feather ball a prominent visitor of bird feeders and attracts a lot of them out of the forests into urban areas and gardens. The robin is no timid bird and does tolerate a much closer approach than other birds. Towards other birds it can be quite harsh in its behaviour and does not shy away to shoo bigger birds.
Papo’s figure is also quite small, tail to beak it measures 5 cm, stands a mere 3.5 cm tall, and is 2 cm wide at the breast with wings. That still leaves it in no reasonable scale with most other animal figures, but we are used to that, especially in birds. Nevertheless, Papo packed all the details possible into that delicate piece of PVC. Most remarkable is, that the legs and toes are even thinner than most images make them look and the tiny claws are curved downward and pointed. You really need to see it in person, as Papo did a great job there. The paint job is authentic and precisely done. If there’s something to bemoan, then maybe that the white stripe aligning the upper part of the wing may be too strong and the red breast too marked off, but that is nitpicking on a very high level.
Passerines are seldom made in toy form, and you will be hard-pressed to find a more finely done bird of this order that is both a strong and characteristic piece for a collection as well as a suitable toy.
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I was so excited to see your review of this. I have the figure, too, and I was stunned on how good it is. Could easily be one of the best bird figures outside of Japan. Speaking of which, it’s small enough it scales well with several Kaiyodo passerines!
Thanks, … my Robin decorates my desk with its presence, right on eye level and aligned by its PNSO theropod (and other dino) relatives. It sure does not need to hide from them in terms of detailing. I hope these birds sell well and Papo continues to give us more of them.