Review and images by Sam; edited by bmathison1972
The blue and gold macaw (Ara ararauna) is one of the world’s most popular parrots. These beautiful birds come from Central and South America and the Caribbean, and are a resident in the countries of Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Suriname, French Guiana, Venezuela, Guyana, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Paraguay.
Hello again! Here we will have the review for the mare counterpart to the fjord horse pairing. If you would like to read more about the breed itself, I included a history and variety of facts for them in the Schleich’s gelding article here. The figure being discussed below is the mare figure by Schleich produced in 2024, #13980.
Howdy folks! I have another horse review, huge thanks to Happy Hen Toys and their enormous generosity to provide a sample of this pair of horses. A rather rare breed in toy form, these two were welcome to my herd and are quite an improvement over the previous generation.
Before I start this review I must once again thank @Kenc and our friends at Toymany for donating this review sample. The quality of Toymany’s figures, their relatively inexpensive price point, and their willingness to engage with, and take thoughts and comments by, the toy animal collector community shows why they are a quickly rising star in our hobby!
Over the course of the summer I reviewed the entirety of Safari’s famous and sadly discontinued Tennessee Aquarium Salamanders line, a set of 7 life-like and life-size models released in 1995 (one in 1997) and retired in the mid-2000s. But I also hinted at a spiritual successor that, while not in the line, fits alongside them in theme, style, and production…also geographically.
The Everglades is a subtropical and tropical wetland spanning 7,800 square miles (20,000 km2) in central and south Florida in the United States. Water from the Kissimmee River south of Orlando feeds into Lake Okeechobee and then continues south into Florida Bay. Although mostly marsh and flooded grassland the Everglades also run through cypress swamps, hardwood hammocks, pinelands, coastal prairies, and mangrove forests.
Before I start this review I would like to thank our friends at Happy Hen Toys for providing this review sample for the Blog! I have been waffling back and forth on whether or not to get this particular figure, so when an opportunity came up to review it, I was most grateful!
So here we are–the final figure in the Tennessee Aquarium series from Safari, the only figure released after 1995 (1997 to be exact). This is the common mudpuppy Necturus maculosus, number 210672, probably the hardest to find one and, when stacked together, the largest and most imposing by a wide margin.
Before I start this review, I would like to thank @Kenc and our friends at Toymany for providing this review sample for the Blog! It is very much appreciated!
The common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) usually mates during the wet season. Mating typically takes place in the water, with the female almost entirely submerged, only poking her head up on occasion to draw a breath of air.
Before we begin the review, I would like to extend my gratitude towards Happy Hen Toys for sending this figure along as a review sample. Happy Hen Toys is a U.S. distributor of animal figures and one of the only places in the country where you can get CollectA figures at a reasonable price.
Review and images by Sam; edited by bmathison1972
The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is the world’s largest rodent. It is native to South America, in the countries of Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and Guyana. It eats grass and fresh fruits including citrus fruits and watermelons. Its ecological niche is to create new habitats for the other animals of its native ecosystem by eating the grass.
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is a critically endangered salamander native only to Lake Xochimilco in southern Mexico City, Mexico. Only between 50 and 1000 individuals reside there, although there are many more being raised in zoos, research laboratories, and the pet trade.
For the first time since I introduced the Tennessee Aquarium salamander figures with the fire salamander we are going back to Europe, the northern crested newt, Triturus cristatus, and this is also the last European species in the series. This one is item number 210572, the sixth and final figure in the original 1995 releases–and the penultimate figure in the series overall.
Before I start this review, I would like to thank @Kenc and our friends at Toymany for providing this review sample for the Blog! It is very much appreciated!
White rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum) live in herds (commonly called ‘crashes’) of up to 14 animals. These crashes are composed primarily of females.
Here is one more lungless plethodontid salamander from the official Tennessee Aquarium series, the yonahlossee salamander Plethodon yonahlossee, item number 210472. Probably the figure with the most distinctive colours, it may also be one of the salamander figures with the longest lasting presence on the various Safari lines overall.
