Animal figures to get

[Sim]

Hello, you might know me from the Dinosaur Toy Forum!  I was buying dinosaur figures the other day and saw the Schleich alligator and newer crocodile listed.  I thought they looked nice, and this started a train of thoughts about getting extant animal figures.  I have lots of prehistoric animal figures but no extant ones.  There are extant animals I like a lot and I think I'd like to have figures of some.  I've done some researching for figures of extant species I'm interested in, but I'm a beginner when it comes to them.  So, I'm going to list which species I'm interested in and would very much appreciate you more knowledgeable folk tell me which are best/most accurate for each animal and good options I might have missed.

Alligator
I'm aware of the Safari Wild Wildlife version but it's too big for me.  I've seen several different colour schemes of the Wild Safari alligator, does anyone know which the current one is?  Or most accurate one, since it seems to me an older colouration is the best one?
The Papo and CollectA alligators look nice.  Schleich's does too, but it appears to be missing teeth in the middle of its lower jaw?  Mojo's alligator looks like the best one, to me.

[bmathison1972]

Hi Sim

Welcome to the ATF!

This Safari alligator is actually really good. It's been repainted not too long ago with nice color (not sure which version is in the link):
https://toyanimalwiki.mywikis.wiki/wiki/Safari_276429_Alligator

I had the Safari one above but replaced it with this one by Papo, which is really nice but too 'green': https://animaltoyforum.com/blog/american-alligator-wild-animals-by-papo/

For the Nile crocodile, it's been a challenge finding one where all the features (osteoderms, teeth, head shape) are accurate, but I went with this one by Schleich. It at least as accurate osteoderms: https://animaltoyforum.com/blog/nile-crocodile-schleich/

There are some better Nile crocs (eg Bandai) but are larger and more expensive.

[Shane]

The Wild Safari Wildlife Alligator used to have a brownish coloration, but the current coloration is the one scene here: https://www.safariltd.com/products/wild-safari-wildlife-alligator-figurines-276429

As far as size, it's around the same size I believe as the others from Papo, Schleich, etc. The ATF review of the Papo gator states that it's 19 cm long, while the Wild Safari is about 15 cm long, and that's with the curved tail.

There is the Wild Wildlife Alligator that's quite a bit larger, but also has a lot more detail: https://animaltoyforum.com/blog/american-alligator-wild-wildlife-by-safari-ltd/

As someone who's been around quite a few alligators growing up and living in Florida, I can say that in my opinion, the Schleich, Papo and Collecta figures just don't LOOK like alligators to me. Schleich and Papo's offerings look more like crocodiles, it's hard to explain but the snouts and heads just look off to me. Collecta's has a better head, but the body is weirdly shaped.

Mojo's gets the head mostly right, but its body looks a bit underfed. One could say the same about the Wild Safari gator, but its midsection is a bit beefier.

I think the winner far and away is the Safari Wild Wildlife, though it sounds like that might be too big for your needs.

*Disclaimer* I know that some will contend I am biased on the subject, but I'm trying to be objective as possible as someone who has been around alligators for several decades.

[bmathison1972]

@Shane - do you know what year the WSW 'gator got it new colors? I have actually been considering putting it back in my collection!

[Shane]

@Shane - do you know what year the WSW 'gator got it new colors? I have actually been considering putting it back in my collection!

Did some digging through old Collector's Guides, and it looks like it was listed as "Remastered" in 2017. That's when it went from brown above/cream below to its current coloration of dark gray-green above and a drab lighter green below.

One thing most alligator toys really don't convey accurately is the true coloration of the animal. They're usually pretty close to black above, especially in larger, older animals. The newer Wild Safari coloration tries to do something like this. I'd say honestly the Mojo comes closest to the "true" alligator color.

[bmathison1972]

Thanks! It's funny how alligator toys default to green when they are not green at all!

[Shane]

Thanks! It's funny how alligator toys default to green when they are not green at all!

Yes, I think the greenish coloration is part of what makes a lot of examples read more as crocodiles than alligators to me. And there's just something about the skulls that doesn't quite read as gator.

[Gwangi]

I have the Wild Wildlife alligator and consider it a masterpiece, one of my favorite figures in my collection. But if I wanted something smaller I would probably go with the Wild Safari gator. Actually, I might end up getting the white version of that one anyway. Mojo's is decent but at 8" it's not much smaller than the WW gator. I guess Papo would be next in my ranking. I don't really like CollectA's or Schleich's but prefer the latter over the former. 

Happy Hen Toys did a buyer's guide but they didn't really take accuracy into account. Great comparison pictures though.
https://www.happyhentoys.com/alligator-toy-reviews.html

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Welcome Sim! And congratulations on deciding to add some extant animals.

I can try to take a quick group photo of my modern brand gators and crocs (I think the only one missing is the CollectA). I have several that may be good comparisons to see what suits your fancy.

[BlueKrono]

Welcome @Sim! Looks like you've fallen down the extant animal rabbit hole too.

[Sim]

Thanks for the responses guys!  I had a look in the first link bmathison1972 shared and compared alligator figures I was considering and the only two I'll consider now are the Wild Safari and Mojo.  The Safari Wild Wildlife does look very good but it's too big for me.

The next species I'm interested in are indeed crocodiles.

Saltwater crocodile
I'm aware of the Hasbro action figure, which looks very good, but the colouration isn't realistic enough for me, compared to what I've seen of saltwater crocodiles.  That appears to just leave the Safari version.  I've read that in some ways it resembles another species, but I've compared it to a crocodile species comparison on Wikipedia and photos of the saltwater crocodile and I'm content with the Safari figure representing the saltwater crocodile in my collection.  Am I right in thinking the Safari figure's current colouration is the one seen in the following link https://www.safariltd.com/products/incredible-creatures-saltwater-crocodile-figurines-262629 And that this is a more accurate colouration than the previous one?

Nile crocodile
I see Safari has one, but it looks reminiscent of the first Wild Safari dinosaurs, not looking very realistic?  CollectA's also don't look very realistic to me, and while interesting I don't want a jumping up pose on a crocodile figure.  Schleich's looks good to me and bmathison1972's comments on nile crocodile figures, the Schleich figure in particular, is helpful.  Papo's 2007 crocodile looks good to me, although does anyone know if it has an articulated jaw?  Mojo's crocodile looks amazing to me.  I'm not a fan of PNSO's version.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

I will let Shane address the saltie question.

For the Nile Crocs, Papo's mouth is not moveable, it is set in the open position. Mojo has a newer croc also in a jumping pose, but then there is the resting older version. I have the resting model in the original and new color scheme. I am a big fan of the newer color version.

Again, many of the major brands I can provide comparison photos of. Are you concerned over scale? Or is there a prehistoric model I could include for you to gauge size? (The Safari Sarchosuchus or Kaprosuchus might be helpful perhaps?)

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Also, just curious... this salt water croc is 12 inches.

Whereas this alligator is about 10.5 inches long.

Just thought I would point it out since you keep saying the american gator is too big. I also love this model and for me it represents a big old bull gator.  I don't have the croc though.

*sorry to keep commenting, its a slow day at work!*

[Sim]

Thanks Saarlooswolfhound!  The older Mojo crocodile looks a bit strange to me, but maybe I just haven't seen flattering photos of it?  I haven't seen much of it.  If you're okay with providing a photo of it with the Safari Sarcosuchus I'd appreciate it!

Regarding scale, I would prefer figures to be roughly in scale with each other.  Since the saltwater crododile is so large I'm okay with having a figure of it in that size.

[bmathison1972]

The Safari IC Saltwater Crocodile is definitely not sculpted as a Saltie. It's a Nile Croc. It was evaluated by brontodocus (who is a professional zoologist): https://animaltoyforum.com/index.php?topic=176.0

and then again by an independent Blog reviewer who is a crocodilian specialist: https://animaltoyforum.com/blog/nile-crocodile-saltwater-crocodile-incredible-creatures-by-safari-ltd/


Also, I just got home from work and swapped out the Papo gator for the Safari gator! Glad I held on to the latter

[Gwangi]

The Safari IC Saltwater Crocodile is definitely not sculpted as a Saltie. It's a Nile Croc. It was evaluated by brontodocus (who is a professional zoologist): https://animaltoyforum.com/index.php?topic=176.0

and then again by an independent Blog reviewer who is a crocodilian specialist: https://animaltoyforum.com/blog/nile-crocodile-saltwater-crocodile-incredible-creatures-by-safari-ltd/


Also, I just got home from work and swapped out the Papo gator for the Safari gator! Glad I held on to the latter

I don't know that I would call aLeahgator a crocodilian specialist, since he was the guy claiming that crocodilians are the closest thing we have left to dinosaurs  . He might like and collect crocodilians but calling him a specialist (like Brontodocus) is a bit misleading. Unless you know something about him that I don't.

Anyway, I'm personally waiting for better saltwater and Nile crocodile figures to come along instead of pursuing what is available. But if I ever came across the IC crocodile I would get it and display it as a Nile croc.

[bmathison1972]

By specialist I was not inferring professionalism, but enthusiasts for various taxa are often quite knowledgeable about them. It was more that it was discovered independently from two different sources and not just one individual's opinion. The fact that a professional zoologist and croc enthusiast came to the same conclusion supports the model is not a good representative of a Saltie 

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Here is what I have for alligators and crocodiles. I hope you find the images useful. If you have any other requests (closeups, certain models, other species) feel free to ask privately or here. I am happy to help where I can/have the figures in question.

My safari gator is the ooooooold paint work. I got it nearly 20 years ago now.

For fun, I looked up the largest alligator ever recorded. It was nearly 20 feet. Obviously they don't get that big nowadays, but they have the ability to if given the right circumstances like their cousins.

The Mojo croc is much less dramatic than the CollectA.


The only saltie I have thats not a mini is Colorata. Pictured the Papo adult and baby for idea of scale.


And then a couple of shots for the old Mojo croc.

[NSD Bashe]

I have the Safari albino alligator, which is a pretty fun oddity

[Shane]

Thanks for the responses guys!  I had a look in the first link bmathison1972 shared and compared alligator figures I was considering and the only two I'll consider now are the Wild Safari and Mojo.  The Safari Wild Wildlife does look very good but it's too big for me.

The next species I'm interested in are indeed crocodiles.

Saltwater crocodile
I'm aware of the Hasbro action figure, which looks very good, but the colouration isn't realistic enough for me, compared to what I've seen of saltwater crocodiles.  That appears to just leave the Safari version.  I've read that in some ways it resembles another species, but I've compared it to a crocodile species comparison on Wikipedia and photos of the saltwater crocodile and I'm content with the Safari figure representing the saltwater crocodile in my collection.  Am I right in thinking the Safari figure's current colouration is the one seen in the following link https://www.safariltd.com/products/incredible-creatures-saltwater-crocodile-figurines-262629 And that this is a more accurate colouration than the previous one?

Nile crocodile
I see Safari has one, but it looks reminiscent of the first Wild Safari dinosaurs, not looking very realistic?  CollectA's also don't look very realistic to me, and while interesting I don't want a jumping up pose on a crocodile figure.  Schleich's looks good to me and bmathison1972's comments on nile crocodile figures, the Schleich figure in particular, is helpful.  Papo's 2007 crocodile looks good to me, although does anyone know if it has an articulated jaw?  Mojo's crocodile looks amazing to me.  I'm not a fan of PNSO's version.

Some insight I can provide on the Safari side of things:

- The Incredible Creatures Saltwater Crocodile coloration on the Safari site is indeed the current version. It's pretty accurate I'd say, from a coloration standpoint (others have commented on its sculptural accuracy so I'll leave that to them). There is an older coloration (which I own) that can be seen here: https://toyanimalwiki.mywikis.wiki/wiki/Safari_262629_Saltwater_Crocodile

- The Wild Safari Nile Crocodile holds a special place in my heart as I've had it for over 20 years. It's been through several color changes (my example is an olive green with some brown striping which I believe is the original color release). Then there was a version that had a dark brownish green head and upper body with sort of a mustard green lower body. They can both be seen here: https://toyanimalwiki.mywikis.wiki/wiki/Safari_272729_Crocodile

The current coloration is a bit more naturalistic: https://www.safariltd.com/products/wild-safari-wildlife-crocodile-figurines-272729

One thing I'll say about the Wild Safari sculpt: it's old. I think it still holds up well, but it's just worth noting, it's one of the oldest still in use Safari sculpts. The original release was around 1998/1999 but I believe the actual design was used by AAA even earlier than that. So, something to consider when making your choice.