Review and photos by Bokisaurus, edited by Suspsy
Today, our little furry friend decided that he missed his Ice Age co-stars and so he decided to travel back to that time and meet up with one of the big stars!
Love it or not, you have to admire the level of popularity and recognition that the woolly mammoth have achieved in the toy industry as well as popular culture. So popular is the mammoth that it is usually the mammal that any company adds to their list of prehistoric animals. So what makes it so popular? Like the Tyrannosaurus rex, it is a large and impressive creature. Although not a hunter, its sheer size, long fur, and even longer tusks have made it an animal that one can never forget. It also entered the popular culture much earlier than other mega-beasts, starring in many films and documentaries. And like Mr. T, it also has a name that is easy to remember and has a good ring to it, unlike many tongue-twister names of the other prehistoric mammals.
You don’t have to be a fan of prehistoric mammals to know what a mammoth is. Perhaps its close association with early humans, for whom it was often a source of food, clothing, and shelter, has also ingrained its presence in our collective consciousness. It also helps that it only went extinct not too long ago, and is a focus of some scientific experiments to try and clone it someday.
In the toy world, almost all the major brands that produce prehistoric line of animals will surely have one. And let’s not forget the ubiquitous no-name cheap figures that are flowing around the market. I have to admit that I am not a big mammoth fan, just like I’m not a big fan of Mr. T. That said, both of these animals’ popularity is so inescapable that one soon finds his or her collection dominated by these two iconic symbols of the past and extinction. Back in 2009, CollectA (then known as Procon) released a pair of prehistoric mega-beasts, a Paraceratherium and a pair of woolly mammoths. Today we will look at the latter.
It is no secret that the early CollectA/Procon figures were often misses rather than hits, especially those proceeded before 2010. Being a 2009 figure, one would expect that these mammoths would have many flaws, and indeed they do, but they also has many good qualities to them. The adult was released under the Deluxe series, making it one of the larger figures in the collection. It measures 18 cm long and stands 13.5 cm tall.
Personally, I like this mammoth. The detailing on the fur is nice and it looks as if the hairs are being blown by the wind. The head, I think, is where most of the issues with this figure are. At certain angles, it looks nice, but looking at the left profile, you can see some problems. Let’s look at the good side first. The distinct head dome is well done and sports many thick strands of hair, like bangs. These long hairs continue down the forehead all the way down the trunk. The ears are small as they should be. The long tusks are nicely sculpted and very rich in minute details that are easily missed. Often with elephant figures, both extant and prehistoric, the tusks are too smooth and very white. Not so on this figure. Here one can see textures on the tusks in the form of small grooves and lines, and more impressive is that they are not pure white in color. They have a dirty white tone to them, and the lines and grooves are visible since they are of darker color. The impressive tusks also have a nice curve to them. The trunk is held low with the tip curving upwards and the mouth is slightly open.
Color-wise, the figure is given an overall dark brown tone. But this is not just one solid color, in fact there are so many different shades that it’s hard to pinpoint which shade is really the dominant color. There is a reddish shade, a dark brown, and a lighter brown/yellow/bronze that highlights the individual hairs. I find this really nice.
The big problem for me are the eyes, and this is very typical of early CollectA/Procon figures.
Here they are shaped so much like human eyes and the orange color and the pupils are so pronounced. They also look a bit too big. The good thing is that despite these flaws, the eyes do have a life-like quality to them as if the figure is following you around. The head dome is another issue that, at certain angles is not obvious, but turn it around and you can see that it looks too much of a hump. I guess this is mostly due to the neck being too thin when it should be more muscular and not too pinched in. This is especially obvious here where you can see that the head dome and hump on the back and neck just looks like a camel’s.
The pose is not as static as many other mammoth figures out there. The adult is posed relaxed and looks to be walking slowly. Its left front leg is slightly raised off the ground. Its sideways head pose is designed to make the figure looks as if it is calling for its baby or just simply keeping a watchful eye on the rambunctious little one. Overall, the pose is pleasing and has a really nice flow to it.
Along with the adult, a baby mammoth was also produced that same year. It is very cute, and is better executed that the adult. This little guy is also full of details, and the fur is every bit as detailed as its mother’s. The same blending and color choices are used on the baby. The cute little ears are visible under the long hair. His little trunk is held up enthusiastically. This pose really give this figure a lot of flexibility as far as how one interpret what he is doing. It could be that he is trying to suckle, or sniffing the air, or trying out his vocals, etc.
The calf is not too young since he is already showing a little bit of his tusks, and like in the adult, the calf’s tusks are also textured and have the same color. His little mouth is wide open. The figure is cute, but cute in a realistic baby way and not the often cartoony cute that one see when baby animals are depicted. His eyes are also big and shaped like a humans. On my copy, the paint is slightly off, resulting in a round white dot with a black pupil. It’s not as bad as that of the adult. His raised left front leg, raised trunk, and overall facial expression gives this little guy a lot of character. He stands 5 cm tall and measures 8.5 cm long.
In closing, despite some of the flaws mentioned, I really like these pair of woolly mammoths. They are designed to really interact with each other. The active poses are again a nice change to the often static pose that is seen on many mammoth figures. The rich details and textures on the fur, as well as the layers of colors, really gives the figures a wonderful naturalistic and finished look. Being one of the first prehistoric mammals from CollectA, almost 10 years old, their look and craftsmanship do not hold well with later releases like the Andrewsarchus and the Uintatherium. The difference in quality in these figures is simply too great when they are viewed all together.
If you’re a fan of prehistoric mammals, or just mammoths, this pair is a great one to add to your collection. I find that despite the many mammoth figures I have in my collection, this pair remains one of the more interesting ones on my shelf. But I also hope that one day, CollectA will decide to release an updated version of this iconic beast.
That concludes this review. I hope you enjoyed it, thanks for reading. Until the next one, cheers!
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if you get a chance RECUR also made a mammoth!!
While a new version would certainly be nice, I’d rather CollectA not. There are so many wonderful prehistoric proboscidians that have rarely or never had a toy before: Mammut borsoni, Stegodon, Phiomia, Platybelodon, etc. I’d much prefer CollectA do them.
Thanks everyone, yes, this pair is not that bad, and as I said, I rather like them both.
In a line up with other mammoths, they fit in nicely.
Agreed, the head dome and neck are the big issues with the adult. Nevertheless, its quality of execution and pose allow it to integrate well into my herd of mammoths. It’s quite acceptable for a 2009 rendition, as you point out. Thanks again for this review.
To me honestly I find the figures fabulous, although we must also emphasize that both the adult mammoth and its offspring have beautiful tooth details that are not seen in most prehistoric animal toy companies and in particular the mammoth.
It should also emphasize its beautiful details of teeth and tongue of both figures.
I have the baby. I am not too sure if it is original or not. I have seen both the adult and the baby in a toy shop. Glad to see that this long awaited review for CollectA has been finally uploaded.