Review and photographs by Stolpergeist, edited by Suspsy
Woolly mammoths are among the most majestic mammalian megafauna of the past. Being such iconic prehistoric animals, plenty of toys have been made by various companies, from the fantastic and anatomically accurate figures by Favorite Co. Ltd. and Wild Safari to the imposing beasts by Schleich and Safari’s Missing Links. In 1990, the company AAA released a large mammoth as part of their Prehistoric Beasts series, which focused on extinct mammals. The smaller version of the northern proboscidean has been reviewed on this blog before. This large one, which has the serial number 35001, is similar in style, but has a different pose and proportions.
While the small model is shown standing still and trumpeting, the large AAA woolly mammoth is walking with its trunk held in a neutral position. The colouration is the same as on the smaller version: dark brown material delicately brushed on with a brighter tone over the nicely sculpted fur and stinging red eyes. The same red was used to paint the tongue and nostrils. The underside is a greyish pink and the toe nails and tusks are white. The tusks are very flexible and easy to bend, likely so a child handling and playing with the toy won’t get hurt.
This mammoth has an overall softness to it, as it is hollow and thus somewhat squishy. Similar to a bath toy, air can enter and leave the hollow interior by way of where the tusks attach. As a result, the figure is quite light despite its size. Its length is an impressive 24.1 cm, the height is a towering 16.5 cm, and the width an immense 8.3 cm.
The toy’s sculpting was alright for me when I was a child, and I was just happy to have such a large mammoth toy, but looking at it now, it didn’t age too well. The back is essentially a straight line and the hump on the Pleistocene proboscidean’s withers which was used to store fat is hinted at, but rather small. Adaptations like this were vital for the animal’s survival during the harsh winters of the ice age. The back almost forms a straight line with the head if it weren’t for the neck. The top of the head isn’t as round as on the smaller version, and it looks unimpressive from the side, but from the front, one can see that it is split into two sections that may indicate the bulging jaw muscles. Below the head, a wall of fur is hanging down in front of the chest between the front limbs. From behind, one can see the mammoth’s small tail. Its elbows and knees are covered by the shaggy fur, but they are at about the height where the dark brown borders the pink underside.
Overall, the large version of AAA’s woolly mammoth, which is simply stamped as “mammoth” on the underside, is a far better sculpt than the small version, although not a pinnacle of anatomical accuracy compared to the 70s masterpiece by Invicta. It is still nice-looking overall, although the piercing red eyes AAA decided to give this model are a bit unsettling.
The AAA large woolly mammoth is great for children to play with, being huge and soft. For collectors, it is a matter of taste or customization, and certainly not a model for everyone. As a toy, which is its real purpose, it is simply fantastic. It is a retired figure, one that is considered to be a rarity nowadays.
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I would have loved a big Mammoth like this as a kid, but it does look pretty strange. It reminds me of Snuffaluffagus from Sesame Street. Something about the proportions really gives off the vibe of two people in a costume.
Not related to the figure but I’m not sure about the number of commas in the text, it feels like there are now far too many after the edit…
The text has the correct number and use of commas.
Ah okay, I was a bit confused because of the nonsense I learned back in school (Including the constant “as Germans we are inclined to use too many commas in English, remember to not put commas before ‘but’ or ‘and’ “).