For many people, the first image they conjure up while thinking of the ice age is a large animal with shaggy fur, long curved tusks, with its trunk lifted, bellowing to its herd while crossing the icy steppe. Of course I am talking of the Woolly Mammoth, and even though there are many other fascinating species of mammoth, its the Woolly Mammoth that tends to be made into toy form.
This Woolly Mammoth was made back in 1987 by HG toys, a company that was dissolved a long time ago. They made a few prehistoric animals, and many of them have that “classic” look and style of pre- 90’s dinosaur toys. The amazing thing is that the Woolly Mammoth toy actually looks rather nice and is not too far off the mark in terms of accuracy.
About the toy: Starting with its head, the sculpt has a long trunk, “with no fingers on it”, small ears, and hump on top of its dome. The eyes are big, green, and really cute which really adds some personality to it. You could also say it takes away the from the realism of the animal by having a cartoonish looking eyes. The tusks are not as curved as you might expect, but that can differ from toy to toy as the tusks are very bendable. Not only are the tusks bendable, but so is the trunk. It can bend and move in any direction, but it will not stay in the position that you put it in, it will bend back to its original form. It also has a high shoulder hump above the shoulders, but the back really doesn’t slope downward like it should. The tail is also rather long, and covered in a thick layer of fur. There are four toes on each foot.
The texture on this animal is just a bunch of wavy lines that are supposed to resemble fur. There is no differentiation between the outer layer of guard hair or the inner layer of hair. At the bottom of its belly, there are some rougher bumps to signify the lower surface of fur. The seam lines for many parts of the body, especially the head and neck, are visible on this toy
The toy has some good articulation. All four legs move, so you can lay it flat on its belly if you choose to. Also the head can also twist back and forth, left to right, so it can give a quizzical look if you choose too. The trunk is fully bendable and the tail can rotate and bend as it is made with a flexible material. The main color is brown, with the trunks in white. The eyes are green, and so are the toes, which is a strange choice.
Overall Appraisal: This is by no means in the same ball park as your museum quality toys, but it isn’t that far off. For the time period it was made, it is a decent toy. It is also a very tough and fun toy to play with. It is safe for use outside and inside, and can take one heck of a beating before falling apart. It can be found in garage sales or even ebay, usually at a low price. Even though it is an older toy, and has some flaws, after beating its doey eyes on you, who knows, you might find yourself falling for this figure.
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i vagely remember this line was’nt there a smilodon and a cavebear as well??
Okay thanks! I really like blow-molded items. Vinyl too, but blow molded toys have a certain ‘inexpensive’ charm. …That sticky feel in the rubbery parts is plasticizer migration. It’s happening to a number of the human/alien characters with my Dino Riders toys and it totally bums me out. …Great toys though. 🙂
It is a blown molded plastic, but some of it has a soft feel to it, which can feel sticky unless you rub it down with alcohol.
Is this a vinyl mammoth or is it a thin blow molded plastic? …Them nails are purdy.