It has been a unusually warm winter, but finally this week, winter has assuredly come to my neck of the woods in North America. I know this because the snow is finally falling, the temperature is freezing, the super bowl is done, and the Toronto Maple leafs are making trades to figure out how to improve their team. To honor the cold weather that has descended upon my home, I decided to review something that was woolly and knew how to enjoy the cold.
The Woolly Rhino is not quite as popular as the Woolly Mammoth in toy form, but it is made from time to time by different companies. Some of the defining characteristics of the animal were; two horns on its snout, a stocky body with short legs, and of course, it was covered in shaggy hair. To adapt to living in cold climates it also had small ears and a short tail. The Woolly rhino still has one family member left, the Sumatran Rhino, unfortunately there are probably under one hundred left on the planet.
About the toy: The pose on the figure is very passive, with all four feet calmly on the ground with its head down ready to dig through the snow for vegetation to eat. It is 6in long and 2.5in high at the hump. I would think it is closer to 1:30 scale, though it stamped 1:24. The mouth is square and closed. The first horn is long and curves back toward the body. This would have helped the animal brush and clear away snow to get at the vegetation underneath. The second horn is just in front of the eyes with no gap between the bases of the two horns. There is a prominent bump on the top of its head and the two Shrek like ears are up and alert, sprouting from either side of the head. The neck and the top of the back is big and thick. The legs are short and as it is a three toed ungulate, the feet have the correct amount of toes.
On its face, the fur is short. Starting on top of the head and along the rest of the body, it is covered in long swirls of dense, thick fur. As the fur on both sides of the neck descend down towards the throat, it meets and melds into a small uneven clump of fur under the neck. On the belly there is the Bullyland trade mark information. On the rump there is a short tail that curves to its left side. The colorization is you typical dark and light browns. The coat is dark brown, and has light brown highlights. The belly, head, and feet are a lighter brown. The horns are tan. The eyes are glossy black.
Play-ability: Despite its boring colors and stance, it is a stable and playful toy. It turns out to be a very nice toy for kids to play with. By no means does it tend to get top billing like the mammoths, but it has a place in the herd. With its long but not sharp horn, kids will have fun charging this animal at predators, cars, blocks, or whatever needs to be knocked over. The paint does scuff, but it is easily touched up.
Overall: The Bullyland Woolly Rhinoceros is a really nice figure. The pose is not as dynamic or amazing as some other companies Woolly rhino’s are, and the sculpt may seem a little rudimentary when compared to some of the detailed figures that are now being made, but it is still really nice. It can be a pleasant addition to any prehistoric collectors shelf. It can also be useful for education, dioramas, and in a kids imaginary playtime. If you like prehistoric mammals, I would recommend this figure.
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Early humans living alongside woolly rhinos actually left us cave art showing the patterns on their fur, as eye witnesses right at the time: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/the-remarkable-life-appearance-of-the-woolly-rhino/
This blows my mind – thought it was the kind of thing this community would be into, and definitely something to keep in mind when reviewing woolly rhino figurines 🙂
From my point of view the best figures by the Megatherium and mammoth of the same brand.
It is perhaps one of the most realistic toy market within the woolly rhinoceros figures.