Recently, when forum member Suspsy reviewed the Papo emperor penguin, I made a comment that I also had this figure, and it was one of only a couple figures I didn’t initially retain from Colorata’s Penguins of the World box set. After I published that comment it got me thinking, and I revisited the three figures from that set I didn’t retain (the other two were the chinstrap penguin and rockhopper penguin, both of which I went with Safari Ltd.’s versions). I finally decided I wanted to retain the entire Colorata set in my collection, and so the Papo and Safari figures went into the trade/donation bin, and the remaining Colorata figures went back onto the shelves. It also gave me the inspiration to review the set on the Blog. The set originally come out in 2003, but my set is a 2017 release.
For this Blog review, I am going to briefly cover each species. I will have only one pic per figure with some basic information: 1) common and Latin names, 2) geographic distribution, 3) habitat, 4) size and scale, 5) frequency of the species in toy form, and 6) other comments (as needed). If anyone wants to do full reviews of any of the figures in this set, please do so. Today’s Blog review is only an overview of the entire collection. Figures will be shown in the order they appear in the accompanying booklet.
Shall we begin?
Little Penguin, Eudyptula minor
Distribution: New Zealand (outside of Otago Region)
Habitat: Coastal forests, dunes, grasslands
Size/scale: Height 3.5 cm for a scale of 1:8.6
Frequency in toy/figure form: Uncommon; other figures were made by Kaiyodo, Science & Nature, Stuart Sales & Service, and Cadbury for both Australian and UK Yowies
Other comments: This is the only species in the set to come with two separate individual birds
South African Penguin, Spheniscus demersus
Geographic distribution: Coastal southwestern Africa (Namibia, South Africa)
Habitat: Rocky coasts, sandy beaches, coastal islands
Size/scale: Height 5.0 cm for a scale of 1:12-1:14
Frequency in toy/figure form: Common; several other examples available, including by major Western companies such as CollectA, Safari Ltd., Papo, and Schleich
Rockhopper Penguin, Eudyptes chrysocome
Geographic distribution: Sub-Antarctic islands, including the Falkland, Kerguelen, and Macquarie Islands
Habitat: Rocky coasts, coastal grasslands
Size/scale: Height 5.0 cm for a scale of 1:10
Frequency in toy/figure form: Uncommon; most figures are smaller (tube) or Japanese, but Safari and CollectA both made this species. The Safari figure originally came out in 1999, but was refined and re-released in 2019.
Humboldt Penguin, Spheniscus humboldti
Geographic distribution: Coastal Chile and Peru, and their surrounding islands
Habitat: Coastal waters, breeding on rocky shores, in guano pits, and caves
Size/scale: Body length 7.0 cm for a scale of 1:10
Frequency in toy/figure form: Uncommon; among major Western companies in the modern era, only Safari Ltd. has produced this species. Others are by AAA, K&M International, and several Japanese companies.
Magellanic Penguin, Spheniscus magellanicus
Geographic distribution: Southern coasts of Chile and Argentina, the Falkland Islands; occasionally migrating north to Brazil or Uruguay
Habitat: Pelagic, returning to rocky cliffs and coastal grasslands for breeding
Size/scale: Height 5.5 cm for a scale of 1:11-1:14
Frequency in toy/figure form: Rare; other examples known to me are by Kaiyodo (twice) and Maia & Borges
Erect-crested Penguin, Eudyptes sclateri
Geographic distribution: New Zealand, breeding on Antipodes, Bounty, Auckland, and Campbell Islands
Habitat: Pelagic, returning to rocky shores and cliffs for breeding
Size/scale: Height 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:10.8
Frequency in toy/figure form: Very rare; I am only aware of one more, by Kaiyodo
Macaroni Penguin, Eudyptes chrysolophus
Geographic distribution: Antarctic Peninsula, southern Chile, and sub-Antarctic islands south of Africa and South America, including South Georgia and the Falkland, South Sandwich, South Shetland, Crozet, Kerguelen, and McDonald Islands
Habitat: Rocky coasts and coastal cliffs
Size/scale: Height 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:11.7
Frequency in toy/figure form: Very rare; I am only aware of one more, by Kaiyodo
Adelie Penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae
Geographic distribution: Coastal Antarctica and surrounding islands
Habitat: Coastal ice platforms, breeding on ice-free rocky beaches
Size/scale: Height 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:10
Frequency in toy/figure form: Uncommon; all figures are either Japanese or older ‘small’ figures (tubes, etc.). To date, no ‘standard-sized’ figures made by major Western companies
Gentoo Penguin, Pygoscelis papua
Geographic distribution: Sub-Antarctic islands, especially in the South Pacific and South Atlantic Oceans; nearly half the world’s population occurs on the Falkland Islands
Habitat: Coastal shorelines, usually above the snow and ice
Size/scale: Height approximately 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:11.5
Frequency in toy/figure form: Uncommon; produced also by CollectA, Mojö Fun, and Safari Ltd., the latter as a TOOB figure.
Chinstrap Penguin, Pygoscelis antarctica
Geographic distribution: Sub-Antarctic Islands, Antarctic Peninsula, southern Argentina and Chile
Habitat: Icebergs and ice sheets; breeding occurs on rocky coasts, rocky slopes, and cliff edges
Size/scale: Height approximately 5.8 cm for a scale of 1:12.5
Frequency in toy/figure form: Uncommon; made twice by Safari Ltd. (see below)
Other comments: This same sculpt was used by Safari Ltd. in 2006 for their Wild Safari Sealife line. Sculpt-sharing is known between Safari Ltd. and Schleich, but this is the first example I know of Safari sharing a sculpt with a Japanese company. The Colorata figure came out first (2003). I reached out to forum members Shane and Doug Watson, but neither of them know the origin of the figure (and Doug confirmed he didn’t sculpt it). Safari Ltd. is not one to bootleg other figures, so I assume there was some formal agreement. Perhaps the artist works primarily for Safari but produced this first for Colorata and later Safari got the rights to it (?).
King Penguin, Aptenodytes patagonicus
Geographic distribution: Sub-Antarctic islands, especially Crozet, Falkland, Heard, Kerguelen, Macquarie, Prince Edward, South Georgia, and South Sandwich
Habitat: Sparsely-vegetated areas on islands, hollows in broad plains, and gently-sloping beaches
Size/scale: Height approximately 7.5 cm for a scale of 1:11.3-13.3
Frequency in toy/figure form: Uncommon; most figures are retired
Emperor Penguin, Aptenodytes forsteri
Geographic distribution: Antarctica
Habitat: Coastal ice shelves, stable off-shore pack ice; breeding usually occurs in areas where ice cliffs and icebergs provide protection from cross winds
Size/scale: Scale difficult to calculate, but height approximately 10 cm for a scale of 1:10-1:13.2
Frequency in toy/figure form: Very common. There is no shortage of options, including several figures of chicks or adults with chicks (as seen today).
Other comments: Despite the obvious seam near the base of the neck, assembly is not required.
Overall, this Colorata set is a great way to get 12 well-made species of penguins in one purchase! Most figures are in the ‘standard’ range as seen with Western companies. The set was re-released as recently as 2017 and shows up on eBay periodically.