Before I start this review, I would like to thank @Toymany-kenc and the folks at Toymany for these review samples. We hope this is the start of a long and productive relationship between Toymany and the Animal Toy Forum and Animal Toy Blog!
The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is one of the most recognizable, familiar, and iconic animals on the planet. It is no wonder there have been so many figures of them produced over the years. At the time of this writing, the thumbnail page for the giant panda on the Toy Animal Wiki has 109 examples of the species! And that number doesn’t include the six we’ll be looking at today by Toymany. The giant panda needs little introduction, so for a quick recap, the bear is endemic to China. There are two subspecies, the nominate A. m. melanoleuca, from Sichuan which displays the classic black-and-white color pattern, and the Qinling, or brown, panda (A. m. quinlingensis), which is endemic to the Qinling Mountains of Shaanxi and is characterized by a brown and white coat. Despite being members of Carnivora, they are vegetarians, and get about 99% of their diet from bamboo. Taxonomically, they have bounced around, and have been allied with both bears and raccoons, although both genetic and morphologic data place them within the family Ursidae, although probably basal, having diverged from the common ancestor of the rest of the bears about 19 million years ago. They are currently classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN, primarily due to habitat destruction.
Today’s set consists of six pandas, two adults and four cubs. In the wild, pandas give birth to twins about 50% of the time; however, the mother selects the stronger of the two and the other is left to starve. Because female pandas do not store fat, they cannot produce enough milk to sustain more than one cub at a time. So, looking at this family set by Toymany, we must assume that two of the cubs came from other parents (or three if the adults represent a male and female). Or perhaps they are captive bred and we have two sets of twins. It’s ultimately up to the collector to decide, but the set of six allows the collector numerous display scenarios! Speaking of which, the tree in the pics is also by Toymany; it was originally produced for their koala figures, but can be bought individually from their store.
Let’s look at the adults first. One is displayed walking while the other is kicking back enjoying some bamboo. The walking one is easier to measure and has a body length of approximately 10 centimeters for a scale of 1:12-1:19. They appear to be about the same size, although generally males are 10-20% larger than females. Both are made of a very hard, solid plastic and have an incredible amount of detail! Fur is meticulously sculpted all over the body and the undersides of the feet have the pads sculpted (although they are technically only correct for the front paws). Even teeth are sculpted, and in the walking panda with an open mouth, two small, sharp teeth are present in the lower jaw. The paint job is accurate for the species and carefully applied.
Next, we’ll look at the four cubs!
The four cubs all have body lengths of approximately 6 centimeters and are in scale with the adults. Two are snacking (one on bamboo and the other on what appears to be a carrot), one is standing on its hind feet (or perhaps leaning on a log?), and the fourth is sitting and hunched over napping. They all share the same attention to detail as the adults, but share the same issue with the hind foot pads. Also, unlike the adults, the cubs don’t have their foot pads painted a different color from the rest of the underside of the feet (but that is a very minor detail). Overall, their quality is on par with the adults.
Overall this is a fun little set of well-made pandas. It comes recommended to collectors of pandas, bears, or non-synoptic collectors generally. They are especially nice for creating family scenes and dioramas. It really creates a challenge for someone like me who tried to maintain a synoptic collection ;-). Because Toymany sells their figures individually on their website, one can easily purchase only one or a couple of these bears, if desired! Toymany is quickly becoming a rising star in the toy animal community. With their willingness to engage with and listen to collectors, their production of original high-quality models, and making their products inexpensive and readily available through their own website they are quickly becoming fan favorites among collectors of toy animals. When using the link above, or the discount code TMAFBM10 when ordering directly from Toymany’s site, you can receive a 10% discount!