Safari Toobs Hopes and Dreams

[JVM]

I am a big fan of the toobs line (may make a new thread on them soon) from Safari - while I do buy other animal figurines, the toobs are why I looked up this site, curious what I might have missed from a series of toys I thought ended new mold production long ago.

There a lot of species that could still use an appearance in toob form - here are some of my hopes and dreams! I aimed for 9-12 animals per toob.

Asian Highland
There are some species here I really want - red panda, ibex, moon bear - but it was hard to think of what would 'anchor' it successfully. Another tiger or panda probably.
- Giant Panda [probably unavoidable]
- Asiatic Black Bear
- Red Panda
- Snow Leopard
- Siberian Tiger or Amur Leopard
- Siberian Ibex
- Markhor
- Sichuan Takin
- Japanese Crane
- Giant Salamander
- Chiru
Amur and Snow leopard in one toob might be too repetitious but I'd rather get both than a new tiger

Endangered Species II
There is already an endangered toob but I wanted to come up with some new species. I was aiming specifically for twelve. I found out about the Venomous toob komodo later.
- Sumatran Rhinoceros
- Komodo Dragon
- Przwalaski's Wild Horse
- Sable Antelope
- Schimitar-Horned Oryx or Arbian Oryx
- Hycanith Macaw
- Manatee
- California Condor
- Cuban Crocodile
- Kiwi
- Red Wolf
- Leatherback Sea Turtle

Congo Rainforest
I've always been fascinated by this habitat and I think okapi is one of the most needed figures in mini form, so I tried to come up with a whole fitting toob.
- Okapi
- Pygmy Hippopotamus
- Bongo
- Red River Hog
- Eastern or Angolan Colobus Monkey
- Mountain Gorilla (new mold)
- White-Bellied Pangolin
- Forest Buffalo or Yellow-Backed or Red-Flanced Duiker
- Sengi
- Congo Peafowl
I scrapped a spot-necked otter from this toob; congo peafowl could be subbed for another bird or a reptile

African Savannah
For many this probably sounds like a boring rehash and making it interesting without too many reissues was hard; but I keep Wild Republic gazelles, wildebeest, warthog, ostrich, etc. near my Safari animals to diversify the plains, and I bet Safari could do better. I also had ostrich, hyena and cheetah listed before the Sahara Desert and South Africa toobs came to my attention. Zebra/Rhino/giraffe I'm willing to trade off but I think it needs one and a predator to sell.
- Masai Giraffe
- White Rhinoceros
- Thomson's Gazelle
- Grevy's Zebra
- Common Wildebeest
- Meerkat
- Warthog
- African Leopard?
- Oxpecker
- Guineafowl
- Nile Monitor
Greater Kudu would be my next choice, if we removed rhino, zebra or giraffe. Leopard could be swapped for any predator.

Canids
This was mostly a challenge to offset the Big Cats toob. It was a bit harder to pull off but I think it could be successful just from the popularity of the better known ones.
- Gray Wolf or Red Wolf
- Coyote
- Dhole
- Dingo
- Maned Wolf
- Bush Dog
- Small-Eared Zorro
- Raccoon Dog
- Black-Backed Jackal

Australia II
Some of my favorite animals weren't in the Down Under toob, so I tried to see if something that would sell well on its own while expanding Australia was possible.
- Wallaby
- Cassowary
- Kookaburra
- Echidna
- Dugong
- Pelican
- Zebra Shark
- Australian Lungfish
- Kangaroo Rat
- Kakapo
- Perentie
May swap Pelican for Tiger Quoll if idea from second post is used

Extinct Species
A very unique and totally untapped theme.
- Dodo
- Thylacine
- Great Auk
- Steller's Sea Cow
- Oo
- Passenger Pigeon
- Elephant Bird
- Carolina Paraeet
- Quagga
- Baiji
- Golden Toad
Kouprey or Warrah could sub for Carolina Parakeet

Would love to see some toob ideas of your own -- there are so many underrepresented species that I'm sure those of you could name that are way off my mind, but of course certain big names or themes will be needed to make them move. Look forward to seeing them.

[Gwangi]

Good idea for a thread. I like your TOOB ideas, the Congo and Extinct Species TOOBs in particular.

I TOOB I would like to see the most is a Chesapeake Bay TOOB, since that's where I currently live and I have a special fondness for local animals, no matter where I'm living. I would include...

-Blue crab
-Eastern Oyster
-Striped Bass
-Osprey
-Black Duck
-Muskrat
-Delmarva Fox Squirrel
-Diamondback Terrapin
-Oyster Toadfish
-Horseshoe Crab

I would also like to see a follow-up to Safari's backyard bird TOOB that might include...

-Black-capped Chickadee
-Eastern Bluebird
-Carolina Wren
-Downy Woodpecker
-Purple Martin
-Chipping Sparrow
-Mourning Dove
-American Goldfinch

I would honestly like just about any TOOB of birds that focused on songbirds and other rarely produced groups. Waterfowl, warblers, sparrows, hummingbirds. They would all make great TOOBS.

When it comes to TOOBS my preference is for TOOBS featuring smaller, rarely made animals. Here are a few more ideas.

Amphibian TOOB
-Tiger Salamander
-Alpine Newt
-Crested Newt
-Mossy Frog
-Spring Peeper
-Hellbender
-Caecilian
-Purple Frog
-Desert Rain Frog

North American Insects TOOB
-Wheel Bug
-Velvet Ant
-Periodical Cicada
-Giant Water Bug
-Ebony Jewelwing
-Lubber Grasshopper
-Jerusalem Cricket
-Eastern Hercules Beetle

North American Fishes TOOB
-Banded Sunfish
-Tadpole Madtom
-Rainbow Darter
-Pirate Perch
-Mountain Red-belly Dace
-Everglades Pygmy Sunfish
-Swampfish
-Bluefin Killifish

[bmathison1972]

I don't engage in wishlists or 'hopes and dreams'. And when following Safari's plan, their goal is education and so expect any TOOB to have some familiar and common species.

I won't say what I would 'wish' for, but looking at Safari's recent trends of geographically-centric set, I could easily see these being made:
Everglades
Pacific Coast
Sonoran Desert
Himalayas (although they just did a generic 'Asian' TOOB)
Indian subcontinent (again, though with the recent Asian TOOB maybe not)
Congo Basin (I hadn't considered this, but JVM's suggestion is a good one)
New Zealand
...and maybe updated TOOBs for Madagascar, Australia, Hawaii, or Antarctica

[MudpupWaterdog]

Those are some neat ideas! I'm also a fan of Toobs, especially when the small animals from a Toob fit the same scale as some larger animals - they're really good for dioramas if the size difference works out like that. If you can track it down, K&M made a Congo Rainforest tube about two decades ago.

My dream Toobs are all probably too niche to be marketable to kids, but for fun, here's what I would make:

Tide Pool/Touch Tank
Hopefully good for some variety at aquarium gift shops, and good for school projects
-Sea urchin
-Sea anemone
-Shore crab (Grapsid of some kind)
-Sea star
-Goby
-Gunnel
-Turban snail
-Hermit Crab
-Limpet
-Sea cucumber

Beach
Could overlap with much of Tide Pool, so I won't repeat myself but most of those suggestions would also fit here.
-Seagull
-Sandpiper
-Mole crab
-Polychaete worm
-Moon jellyfish
-Sand dollar

An actual Indochina Toob
As in, not just megafauna from India/China but more unique species from peninsular Southeast Asia or Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos, sometimes including parts of Thailand and Myanmar. Since this is where I live and the focus of my academic life, this was naturally my first geographic-based Toob idea.
-Swinhoe's/Yangtze softshell turtle
-Saola
-Reticulated python
-Mekong giant catfish
-Binturong or Civet
-Asian water monitor
-Some kind of Langur, maybe a red-shanked douc?
-Pangolin
-Vietnamese mossy frog
-Mekong giant stingray
-Tiger prawn

Kelp Forest
I know, K&M did this too, but it's just such a cool biome. Plus, maybe the Monterey Bay Aquarium would go in on this theme?
-Leopard shark
-Sea otter
-Wolf fish
-Garibaldi
-Sea urchin
-Kelp crab
-Giant seabass
-Kelp bass
-California spiny lobster or Spot prawn
-Sheepshead (male)

Everglades
-Crawfish
-Alligator
-Roseate spoonbill
-Brown pelican
-Florida panther
-Largemouth bass, or tarpon or some kind of gar
-Nutria or Raccoon
-Manatee
-Green anole
-Horseshoe crab

Mangroves
This theme could overlap with a lot of the Everglades Toob fauna too.
-Snook, or a tarpon or red drum
-Horseshoe crab
-Fiddler crab
-Archer fish
-Mudskipper
-American crocodile
-Asian small clawed otter
-Scarlet ibis
-Mangrove snake
-Mangrove tree

Stream/Pond Life
-Crayfish
-Leech
-Dragonfly nymph
-Giant waterbug
-Common newt
-Brown bullhead
-Creek chub
-Great pond snail
-Muskrat
-Loon, or another kind of waterbird that hasn't been done before, just to round it out.

[NSD Bashe]

One I'm almost surprised hasn't been done is a carnivorous plants TOOB, I feel like it would be super popular and they've already done regular flowers and trees...

[endogenylove]

I would like a small mammals TOOB, although I know it will likely never come to pass. Some interesting things like possums, solenodons, hyraxes, prairie dogs/marmots, etc. It would hopefully provide some much needed species diversity amongst these underrepresented groups.

[Gwangi]

A lot of great ideas here, even if they are far fetched. I realize my own lists will never come to pass, but it's what I want.  A diverse assortment of insects, amphibians, and fishes? From a company outside of Japan? Ha!

[GojiraGuy1954]

Extinct birds toob with Pelagornis and some other stuff idk

[JVM]

I updated my previous post with some small changes, and have some new toob ideas to add. Maybe one day I will e-mail these to Safari or something.

AQUATIC BIRDS
Aquatic bird houses were once a common taxonomic exhibit in zoos and while they have declined it made me think it would be a great toob concept. That said I had trouble nailing down specific species here.
- Penguin [any species]
- Brown Pelican
- Atlantic Puffin
- Heron [any species]
- African Crowned Crane
- Flamingo [any species]
- Shoebill
- Marabou or White Stork
- African Spoonbill
- Northern Bald Ibis
- Duck [any species]

REPTILES
I am not satisfied with the current reptile toobs in showcasing the diversity of the class.
- Orinoco Crocodile
- Green Anaconda
- Chain Kingsnake
- Coral Snake
- African Spurred Tortoise
- Matamata Turtle
- Gray's Monitor
- Green Iguana
- Chameleon
- Flatback Sea Turtle

NOCTURNAL ANIMALS
This is my favorite idea I have come up with!
- Aardvark
- Aardwolf
- Binturong
- Clouded Leopard
- Pygmy Slow Loris
- Tree Shrew
- Kinkajou
- Tayra
- Opossum
- Night Parrot
I would swap in an echidna or a wombat if this happened but Australia toob did not.

HOOFED ANIMALS
- Dromedary Camel
- Greater Kudu
- Gemsbok
- Somalian Wild Ass
- Javen Banteng
- Marsh Deer
- Japanese Serow
- Hippopotamus (new mold)
- Wisent
- West Caucasian Tur
A lot of specific species choices aren't as hardline for me, but I did want to include at least an antelope, a horse, a caprid, a bovid, a deer.

ANDES MOUNTAINS
I toyed with making a Highlands toob instead of this or Asian, but the Andean list came together so well on its own I can keep them separate.
- Andean Bear
- Guanaco
- Andean Deer
- Chinchilla
- Andean Mountain Cat
- Mountain Tapir
- Andean Condor
- Darwin's Rhea
- Andean Flamingo
- Cock of the Rock

BEARS
I'd like to imagine new molds for most of these, relative to what is currently available not necessarily other toob suggestions I have. Like big cats, canids and primates I think they are a group of animals that could support a taxonomic toob.
- Giant Panda
- Asiatic Black Bear
- Sloth Bear
- Malayan Sun Bear
- American Black Bear
- Alaskan Brown Bear
- Grizzly Bear
- Polar Bear
- Andean Bear

[Sable Antelope]

Oooh I would love any of these. I like the idea of the more obscure animals being included in toobs as I don't think they'd sell as well as individuals. What I would give for an aardwolf!

How about a recently extinct toob? (thylacine, quagga, dodo, stellar sea cow, warrah, moa) I feel it would be great for children to get acquainted with recently extinct animals as they're a powerful reminder of the importance of conservation.

Another good one would maybe be a toob with invertebrates (sponge, comb jelly, bobbit worm, sea squirts, maybe some a few arthropod that need love etc). Figures that wouldn't sell on their own but with a few colorful species maybe it can catch some eyes.

A bat toob showcasing the diversity of bats, a Philippines toob, and maybe a Permanian toob would all be great.

Pssst Safari if you're listening I would buy all of these toobs and some for my little cousins 😉

[JVM]

Oooh I would love any of these. I like the idea of the more obscure animals being included in toobs as I don't think they'd sell as well as individuals. What I would give for an aardwolf!

How about a recently extinct toob? (thylacine, quagga, dodo, stellar sea cow, warrah, moa) I feel it would be great for children to get acquainted with recently extinct animals as they're a powerful reminder of the importance of conservation.

Another good one would maybe be a toob with invertebrates (sponge, comb jelly, bobbit worm, sea squirts, maybe some a few arthropod that need love etc). Figures that wouldn't sell on their own but with a few colorful species maybe it can catch some eyes.

A bat toob showcasing the diversity of bats, a Philippines toob, and maybe a Permanian toob would all be great.

Pssst Safari if you're listening I would buy all of these toobs and some for my little cousins 😉

I did put a Recently Extinct toob in my first post, although I did flip-flop on a few of the species ideas. Invertebrates is a good choice. What would you recommend for a Phillipines toob? I have a few thoughts but I'd love to hear someone else's. Bats are also a great idea!

[JVM]

We seem to be getting another Australia toob, but besides the Kakapo, none of my suggestions were used, as instead the new animals come from New Zealand, such as the Kiwi, which I included as an endangered species toob animal. Very interesting nonetheless! I hope they give me more opportunities to compare notes.