Crocodilia - crocodiles, alligators, caimans & gharials

[Mark1]

Where does one find the AAA American Alligator??? It's beautiful??? Any help would be greatly appreciated.... Thanks! :}

[tyrantqueen]

Where does one find the AAA American Alligator??? It's beautiful??? Any help would be greatly appreciated.... Thanks! :}

If you're in the UK, you can get it here:  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ALLIGATOR-TOY-toy-crocodile-gift-present-MODEL-ALLIGATOR-TOY-ALLIGATOR-/230792940361?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item35bc54cb49 I don't know about international shipping, though.

[postsaurischian]

Series:   Kaiyodo / Takara - ChocoQ  Animatales:  AMAZING ANIMALS
                                                     _{(This is figure No.12)}









                         

[brontodocus]

One of the greatest scenes those Animatales have to offer. And wonderful photos, too, Helge! By the way, it's apparently in the range of 1:50 scale, at least based on the size of the Impala.

[Jetoar]

It is a perfect figure for dioramas. Thanks for sharing friend, well done  !.

[tyrantqueen]

Very dynamic posing but also brutal at the same time. Nice model

[brontodocus]

Quite recently, Schleich has started to release dinosaur figures with moveable lower jaw in a similar way Papo did before. Now they gave a moveable jaw to their new 2015 crocodilian figures, too. This is the walk-around of the Schleich Wild Life 14727 Alligator. The figure is obviously meant to represent an American Alligator, Alligator mississippiensis (Daudin, 1802). However, distinguishing characters that allow for an identification to species level are missing or too generic, e.g. the arrangement of neck osteoderms doesn't match any species of Alligatoridae exactly. The tip of the snout is very broad even for an alligator, almost square. This is possibly due to the fact that most of the teeth of the lower jaw (including the enlarged fourth tooth) will be concealed by those of the upper jaw when the mouth is closed - just like how it is typical for the family Alligatoridae. The last three teeth in the lower jaw have to stay outside of the upper jaw's tooth row, though, probably because otherwise the snout would have had to be made even wider. The teeth are a bit blunt and the detail is not as sharp as that of Papo's crocodilians but other than that and the abovementioned head and neck osteoderms issues the figure is surprisingly good. It's sculpted in a walking pose with the belly fully lifted from the ground, much like CollectA's American Alligator but much more convincing. The paint job is excellent with many shades between yellow ochre and dark olive green and a dark wash highlits the armour scutes very well. The moveable jaw feature looks very convincing and the head looks good no matter if the mouth is closed or opened. But unlike that of Schleich's new Crocodile 14736 the jaw hinge is a bit loose and tends to disarticulate during play. I bought this figure in a toy shop and could choose from six of them and most of them had a jaw hinge that left a slight gap at the corner of the mouth. On the other hand, all of the new Schleich Crocodile figures I've seen had a jaw that worked perfectly with a tightly fitting hinge. The Schleich alligator has a total length of 204 mm (192 mm measured in direct line) so if we regard it as Alligator mississippiensis the scale may be between 1:12 and 1:21 or up to 1:28 for an individual of world record size. The human figure (Charles Darwin from Accoutrements "Evolving Darwin" playset) is approx. 1:22.5 scale. A few decades ago the American Alligator population was threatened by hunting and habitat loss but since its protection the species has recovered and it is considered "Least Concern" by IUCN.



















Together with Schleich Wild Life 14736 Crocodile:


Together with CollectA Wild Life American Alligator:



Edit 2017-02-05: Fixed broken image urls.

[brontodocus]

The second of Schleich's 2015 releases of a crocodilian with moveable jaw (the other being the Alligator 14727) is a crocodile, which, although a bit generic, seems to be a vast improvement over any previous Schleich extant crocodile figure. So here is the Schleich Wild Life Crocodile, most likely meant to represent a Nile Crocodile, Crocodylus niloticus Laurenti, 1768. And while it's a bit too generic when it comes to the arrangement of neck osteoderms and head detail, the presence of neck osteoderms in combination with a relatively broad snout devoid of any dorsal ornamentation (there are e.g. no longitudinal ridges as in C. porosus) would support an identification as C. niloticus. The figure measures 186 mm in direct line but completely stretched out it would be approx. 215 mm total length. The tail is a bit short at approx. 100 mm versus 115 mm snout-vent length, so the total length with a normally proportioned tail would be a bit longer, perhaps around 230 mm. As a consequence, the scale may be somewhere between 1:15 and 1:28 for a mature individual. The human figure (man from Safari Ltd "People in Motion" toob) is approx. 1:23 - 1:27 scale. The moveable jaw works very well and fits tightly. In contrast to the Alligator 14727 the fourth tooth in the lower jaw remains visible when the mouth is closed. I was very happy to see that Schleich got this important character right on both figures because it is crucial in telling Crocodylidae (true crocodiles) and Alligatoridae (alligators and caimans) apart. The Nile Crocodile has one of the widest geographical distributions of all crocodiles and is present in nearly all Sub-Saharan African countries and Madagascar. Although its conservation status needs updating, IUCN considers the species "Least Concern".



















Together with Schleich Wild Life 14736 Alligator:


Edit 2017-02-05: Fixed broken image urls.

[stargatedalek]

Its nice, but in terms of accuracy I feel that the CollectA is superior. This one I would say looks more "life-like" despite not being as realistic. By this I mean it looks like a moving breathing animal, whereas the CollectA has a feel to it that almost resembles a mount, very stiff in comparison to this Schleich one.

[GABSATO02]

Small crocs by an unknown maker.  Knockoffs are solid in color.  Identified as (Left - Right): Crocodile (Nile?), Crocodile (Freshwater), Gharial, Caiman (Spectacled?), Alligator (American), Crocodile (Saltwater?).

Hello everybody! I'm new at the forum...

Hey, Varanus! Have you discover the maker of these crocs? I'm asking because I had these when I was a child and they were very detailed and nice figures...I'm looking for them but I can't find it and I think that if I knew the manufacturer it will become easier.

Sorry for the poor English...I'm really bad to write in English...haha

[Jetoar]

Really cool figure but I think that the eyes will be better in another color. Generally speaking, I like a little more than Collecta version because it is heavier  .

[Jetoar]

Nice figure, I think that poseable it is a good point but, it is very possible that the new Collecta Nile Crocodile will be better  .

[brontodocus]

Nice figure, I think that poseable it is a good point but, it is very possible that the new Collecta Nile Crocodile will be better  .

Thanks, Jetoar! The CollectA may be better or not, I'll wait until I have it. I remember my disappointment about CollectA's alligator all too well which looked phantastic from the first photos we've seen.

[brontodocus]

Thanks, stargatedalek & Jetoar!

Its nice, but in terms of accuracy I feel that the CollectA is superior. This one I would say looks more "life-like" despite not being as realistic. By this I mean it looks like a moving breathing animal, whereas the CollectA has a feel to it that almost resembles a mount, very stiff in comparison to this Schleich one.

Well, the CollectA figure has its own inaccuracies (I listed those that bother me here). I think in that respect, they may be equal in the end, only the inaccuracies are different ones.

Really cool figure but I think that the eyes will be better in another color. Generally speaking, I like a little more than Collecta version because it is heavier  .

Yes, the eye colour is a bit strange, the eyes could also have been a little smaller, proportionally.

[Jetoar]

Nice figure, I think that poseable it is a good point but, it is very possible that the new Collecta Nile Crocodile will be better  .

Thanks, Jetoar! The CollectA may be better or not, I'll wait until I have it. I remember my disappointment about CollectA's alligator all too well which looked phantastic from the first photos we've seen.

Yes, I understand you partner   .

[Jetoar]

Thanks, stargatedalek & Jetoar!

Its nice, but in terms of accuracy I feel that the CollectA is superior. This one I would say looks more "life-like" despite not being as realistic. By this I mean it looks like a moving breathing animal, whereas the CollectA has a feel to it that almost resembles a mount, very stiff in comparison to this Schleich one.

Well, the CollectA figure has its own inaccuracies (I listed those that bother me here). I think in that respect, they may be equal in the end, only the inaccuracies are different ones.

Really cool figure but I think that the eyes will be better in another color. Generally speaking, I like a little more than Collecta version because it is heavier  .

Yes, the eye colour is a bit strange, the eyes could also have been a little smaller, proportionally.

Yes, generally speaking, yes of this specie are more dark even the skin  .

[Jetoar]

More images of Crocodilia  .



Papo Nile Crocodile.



Schleich Nile Crocodile-2007.



Sun Wat Toys Crocodile.



Schleich Nile Crocodile cub-2007.



Mojo Nile Crocodile.



Collecta Ameican Alligator.



Schleich Nile Crocodile-90th Dark Version.



Schleich Nile Crocodile-90th Light Version.



Schleich Gharial.

[stemturtle]

Slender-snouted crocodile, Mecistops (syn. Crocodylus) cataphractus (Nayab),
5 5/8 inches or 14.4 cm.

Our forum member Kikimalou identified this crocodile on the Toy Animal Wiki . The word China is the only marking on the belly.


There are 3 transverse rows of scales behind the head, while all other Crocodylus species have only 2 rows. This important field mark is only weakly represented, and placed too high. The 6 nucal scales were omitted. A narrower snout should have been sculpted without ridges in front of the eyes. In spite of the shortcomings, we can be glad to add this attractive species to our collections.

This figure is for sale by the Dinosaur Corporation .

[brontodocus]

Wow, I never thought there was a Mecistops cataphractus figure! And, yes, the armor scutes behind the head and on the neck are key characters in identifying crocodile species (which is why I do not regard the Safari Ltd IC "Walking Crocodile" or "Saltwater Crocodile" as representing C. porosus).

[sbell]

Wow, I never thought there was a Mecistops cataphractus figure! And, yes, the armor scutes behind the head and on the neck are key characters in identifying crocodile species (which is why I do not regard the Safari Ltd IC "Walking Crocodile" or "Saltwater Crocodile" as representing C. porosus).

Then what would it be?