Before I start this review I must once again thank @Kenc and our friends at Toymany for donating this review sample, the fourth in a series of six I will be reviewing!
The reticulated giraffe (Giraffa reticulata) breeds every 20-30 months. The gestation period is roughly 457 days. A female giraffe will give birth while standing or even actively walking and the calf will stand within 5-20 minutes after being born. For the first week or so, the mother will keep the calf isolated and guarded, forming a 25-meter perimeter around where the calf is hidden. After about 3-4 weeks, the mother will introduce the calf to a crèche group consisting of other mothers and their calves. Mothers take turns guarding the calves in the crèche, allowing the other mothers time to wander around so they can eat and drink. The weaning period is 12-16 months and calves become independent at about 2 years old. Female giraffes tend to stay with their herds, but young males become independent until they find or take over their own herd and become the dominant male. Otherwise, males that have not achieved dominance tend to live solitary lives. Like other commonly-made species of animals, there is no shortage of figures or toys of baby giraffes, and almost every major company that has produced and adult has also produced a corresponding calf. Today we will be looking at a giraffe calf produced by Toymany in their 2024 Baby Wildlife collection.
The figure has a total height of nearly 9.5 cm, but again without knowing a precise age, I cannot calculate an exact scale. It scales very well with the 2018 adult by Papo (next pic) which scales at 1:27-1:36.
The sculpt is very nice and the proportions are good. It stands very well on legs that are nice and thin (there was some minor warping in transit, but nothing a quick dip in warm water couldn’t fix). The figure is sculpted alert, standing tall with its head slightly to the animal’s left. In-hand, the figure has a fine texture to it; I really like that it wasn’t made smooth and glossy like many smaller and baby animals are
The color is typical for the species, with a light cream base and orange-brown maculae, with some lighter infuscations around the top of the hooves and darker brown infuscations on the head and horns. The eyes and the tip of the tail are black while the hooves are brown.
I know I am sounding a bit repetitive at this point, but like others in the set so far, this is a charming little figure that is sure to complement any collections and displays featuring herds and families. Toymany had previously released a set of four giraffes (two adults, two calves), but I am not sure how today’s figure scales with them. This giraffe calf is available individually or as part of the Baby Wildlife set on Toymany’s website. Remember to use the discount code TMAFBM10 when ordering directly from Toymany’s website and receive a 10% discount.
