Kikimalou's "Scale" collection - 1/25 shelves - updated March 1 2024

Last year I showed you the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] floors of my collection. I wasn't able to show you another shelves before now, too much other things to do first and this kind of topic needs more work than a "what's new" or a walkaround.

The 1/25 (or 1/24) scale is a classic in the toy world, and was widely used officially in Germany in the second half of the 20th century.
With 99 inhabitants, it's the 5th most populated floor in my mainstream collection.

This is a pivotal scale for me, from here on and beyond, models of extinct species will occupy more space, both in number and size. For the 1/25, they only represent a quarter of the total, but that's not bad for a collector as unspecialised as me.

Let's begin our journey as usual, with Africa

South Africa: CollectA white rhino, Takara Tomy Lion and Meerkat
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Kenya savannah: Mojo White rhino calf, Eikoh White rhino, CollectA Giraffe, Colorata African wild dog and Yujin Warthog
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Liberia: Preiser Buffalo,used as a Sudan buffalo, Play Visions Spotted hyena, Starlux Goliath heron and Starlux Jentink's duiker.
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Ouganda marsh: Eikoh Shoebill and Warthog, Nayab Crocodile and Play Visions Sitatunga.
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Because I didn’t want to let the poor lemur alone, my African and Malagasy Primates tribe: Kaiyodo Black-and-white ruffed lemur and Lowland gorilla, Bandai Chimps.
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Europe: Starlux Otter, Hausser elastolin Alpine ibex, Otter, Pine matter and Brown bears, Schleich Moose.
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South-east Asia: Marx Elephant, Schleich Malayan tapir, Milelire and Safari Ltd Sumatran rhinos, Divartsity Greater mouse deer, Kaiyodo Komodo dragon and Milelire Siamang.
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China: Kaiyodo and Colorata Giant pandas, Bandai Red pandas
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India: Eikoh Black panther, Colorata Asiatic lion,Safari ltd Indian rhino, yujin Indian star tortoise, Schleich Indian rhino calf, Colorata Sloth bear
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Japan: Kaiyodo Ryukyu wild boar, Hokkaido wolf and Yezo sika deer, Ikimon Japanese hares
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South America: Kaiyodo Capybara, Jaguar and Giant anteater, Colorata Spectacled bear.
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Hausser Polar bear (who needs a repaint) and Safari Ltd walrus
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Oceania: Bandai Koalas and Western grey kangaroo pair, Ikimon Red kangaroo, Preiser Dromedary and calf, Takara Tomy Thylacine.
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Above the Pacific ocean: Colorata Sea otter and Kaiyodo Laysan Albatross.
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Below the seas: Kaiyodo Emperor penguin, Long snouted lancetfish and Blacktip reef shark, CollectA Pygmy sperm whale, Short-finned pilot whale and Blainville's beaked whale, Colorata Humphead wrasse and Yujin Loggerhead sea turtle.
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The extinct part of the floor.

The Paleozoic: Kaiyodo Pterygotus and Cladoselache, Safari Ltd Inostrancevia and Shapeways Crassigyrinus.
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The Cretaceous: MiC Deinosuchus, Vitae Zhejiangosaurus, Rebor Utahraptor, PNSO Corythosaurus and Pinacosaurus, Haolonggood and Safari Ltd Nasutoceratops, Kaiyodo Maiasaura and Qualia Deinonychus.
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Early Cenozoic: Kaiyodo Copepteryx, Safari Ltd Uintatherium and CollectA Megacerops coloradensis
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Pleistocene: Safari Ltd Macrauchenia, Papo Megaloceros, Mojo Coelodonta, Kinto and Safari Ltd Wooly mammoths
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The 1/25 lonely hearts club band: alone in this floor...

Kaiyodo lonesome Georges, Safari Ltd Miragaia, Hausser Bactrian camel and Colorata Amur tiger.
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Some comparison pics maybe ?

Camels
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Deers
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Crocs
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Some "giants"
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Horned gang
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Horns and Tuscks
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Bears
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Hunters
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Rhinos
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Thyreophorans
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You know, I'm really into these topics!
It's incredible how small the figures representing animals smaller than wolves are.
For instance, a fox at this scale appears tiny, yet you can still depict martens, meerkats, and so on.
It's interesting that there isn't a single Noah's Pals which is known for working at this scale.
Also no Papo among extant animals but, these figures other major brands make at 1:24 scale, Papo tends to make them larger, namely the moose. Birds always look too big in your picture groups, I don't know if it is the way they are measured in real that promote a wrong perception or more likely it is my perception of their sizes which is adulterated.

Thanks to vintage or Japanese manufacturers, you can find tiny animals for small scales, there are even smaller-scale foxes.
Make no mistake, some Papos are too big for 1/25, but others, like elephants, are too small.
As for birds, the Goliath Heron is the world's largest heron, reaching 1.50 m in height, as is the shoebill, while the Emperor Penguin can reach 1.20 m. The Laysan albatross has a wingspan of 2m. The Copepteryx titan has an estimated length of two meters.
I had quite a few Noah's Pals when I first started out, but I let them all go because I didn't like the style that much. Today, all I have still are platypus, marabou storks and skunks. I'm waiting for a pair of jackals...  
As for the famous 1/25, I don't trust Noah's Pals any more than any other manufacturer. The Maiasaura that Kaiyodo concocted for us in the 90s is reputed to be 1/35, whereas it's actually 1/25 for a 9m animal.
And we all have preconceived ideas about the size of animals. For example, we imagine many dinosaurs to be extravagantly large but, for example, Nasutoceratops are actually smaller than white rhinoceros.

I love these topics so much! I feel like as an animal collector, I sometimes forget how big or small some of these animals actually are. It’s really neat to see them next to each other in the same scale. I also love the large variety of brands. It’s very cool to see the different styles and eras

Thank you for these so beautiful and useful pictures even if they are sometimes surprising. For exemple I though Miragaia far bigger and Inostrancevia smaller! A very clever geographic and by scale display!

Wow, I looooovve looking at scale pics, even though I myself am not scale-consious.

It's the same for me Jolie, I sometimes forget how big or small are these animals actually are. Thats' why I like very much that exercise.

Alain, Miragaia are not longer than 6m long with a lot of neck and tail in these 6m. It's not a big dino, just like the Nasutoceratops, Zhejiangosaurus and Pinacosaurus. For a long time, we were led to believe that all dinosaurs were gigantic beasts, with a few exceptions. Even though we now know that there were many small dinosaurs, we can't help imagining the Tanks and other ceratopsians to be bigger than they actually are.
Sometimes it's even the manufacturers who mislead us. For example, Kaiyodo claims that its Maiasaura is at 1/35 scale, when in fact it's at 1/25 scale for a beautiful 9m animal. At 1/35 it would measure over 12m, which was not the case.
Inostrancevia was the biggest gorgonopsian known with a total lenght between 3m and 3.5m, it dwarves even a 2.5m long Polar bear

Blaine, even though you're not sensitive to scale, you go to great efforts to inform us in your Museum

I put scale in my Museum posts solely for the benefit of my readers; I personally don't care LOL

Many treasures of different brands, I like the prehistorics figures and theStarlux Goliath heron .

Big congratulations

Wow, I thought at first these were much larger figures than they are (because scale means nothing to my brain ) until I got to the Play Visions. What a beautiful range of creatures together. The pv hyena and sitatunga are but also that Nayab crocodile, I was so surprised to see it as Nayab since in general they are not known for particularly well detailed figures? In any case, beautiful selection and wonderful photography to show case them!

Blaine, it's very kind of you to go out of your way for us    Keep up the good work  

Thank you Fernando, if I find a Starlux Goliath heron, I will think about you  

Jill, as you and Blaine, scale means nothing to my brain that's why I follow that therapy    
I don't own a lot of Nayab now but some are really awesome, I can't say goodbye !

Absolutly amazing

Yes, regarding the Papo figures, I was exclusively referring to models that other brands usually place near this scale, and Papo's counterparts are usually larger. But it's not a rule, as nothing is a rule when it comes to scales and major brands.
About birds, I tend to perceive them as always smaller. I remember my shock when I saw a simple white stork near me, not to mention an ostrich that escaped from the circus and stopped quite close to me. Also, during demonstrations with birds of prey, I'm always surprised to see that the wingspan of the birds clearly exceeds the size of the humans handling them. All of this makes presentations with figures at the same scale even more interesting.

Kikimalou wrote:

Hunters
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Rhinos
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so many wonderful photos to study Christophe! I bet it took you a long time to lay them all out and get the angles just right for photographing?? But I bet it was fun though?
I really love your scale topic as well. I always learn so much and I am amazed at all the figures that are 1/25. I have quite a few of them as well so was surprised and delighted to see them here at this scale.
Ofcourse it's always an interesting journey to work out what will and won't fit into my scale collection and sometimes I have models that are bigger, or smaller than normal.

Still, I was surprised - is the hyena actually bigger than a wolf? I always thought wolves were massive animals! haha, maybe I've seen too many wilderness movies

And I just LOVE the photo with the 2 baby rhinos side by side! These models are really beautiful.
I think they will fit into my rhino creche as well.

sunny wrote:

Still, I was surprised - is the hyena actually bigger than a wolf? I always thought wolves were massive animals! haha, maybe I've seen too many wilderness movies

This is someone's mock-up I randomly found online but I think it's pretty accurate, having seen both of these animals up close. Hyenas outweight a gray wolf and are similar height, but very different shape, so that might make it look smaller since they are never beside each other to compare!
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thanks Jill, I just googled their height and it seems wolves are about 10cm smaller. (give or take)
I've been under the impression that wolves in general are Big dogs! but I've been mistaken all along.
And I see wild hyenas every day (night), and I sort of calculate their size with the antelopes around them.
I wonder why I thought wolves were so enormous?
I've been spending too much time on instagram reverse camera posts.

Yes Annette, it takes along time to produce pics for such a topic, that's why I can't do one every week. Work, the necessities of life and family life obviously come before photo shoots.
I can only do it when I have enough free time. This week I was off work, I had planned to take care of the garden, but it rained like a cow is pissing almost every day... What luck, I was able to devote myself to this topic !

Getting the angles just right for photographing is a big part of the sport. To be able to compare the size of animals as big as or bigger than us most effectively, the camera should ideally be placed at human eye level. At 1/25 this means that the center of the lens is between 6.5 and 7cm from the ground. For smaller animals, try to position the camera at their average eye level.
The problem is that when there are a lot of animals to compare, or when they're roughly the same size, the advice I've just given no longer works, because you can't distinguish one animal from another. In this case, you need to raise the camera above the mix.
Choosing the right angle is always a compromise between these two rules.
This means that for each photo, I must try to arrange the animals as harmoniously as possible, and also try to respect rule n°1 as best I can. Sometimes I have to make several attempts.  It also means that for each photo I have to adjust the height of my photographic tripod.
That's the most physical part of the job, after which all that's left for me to do is spend my time doing lab work on my computer, drinking too much coffee or tea. But I suppose, Annette, you know all that too.

About wolves and hyenas, Hokkaido wolves stood 70 to 80 cm at the withers, Spotted hyena stood 70 to 91.5 cm. What's more, the PV Hyena stands erect on its paws, while the Kaiyodo wolf bends down slightly as if on the hunt.

sunny wrote:

t
And I see wild hyenas every day (night), and I sort of calculate their size with the antelopes around them.

That's so cool and I am so jealous! I have only ever encountered hyenas in a captive setting, but they are one of my favorites.

MAGNIFIQUES PICS KIkI

What a pleasure to see those amazing group photos! Just as I like them the most
Beautiful collection, Christophe! So many treasures found over the years!
The rhino family looks especially fabulous!
And bears! I love that spectacled bear! It's such a rare species in the toy world! Interesting to see the sloth bear is somewhat larger than the giant panda, I didn't know that's the case.
I see beauties I wouldn't have noticed otherwise: Kaiyodo Lonesome George, Eikoh black leopard and many others :)

Thank you Jean-Luc and Anna

Well, Sloth bears and Giant panda have similar sizes in real life. The thing is, I can't have an infinite number of scales to develop. Both could be at 1/22 and are close to 1/30. In the middle is 1/25, where a giant Panda meets a Sloth bear slightly larger than itself, even though both are within the limits of the species. The reverse could just as easily have happened.

Wonderful models and comparisons again. I am curious how you collect, Christophe. Do you just collect the models that you like best and then see what scale they are? Or do you sometimes feel that you need a particular species at a particular scale and then collect a model because it is the right species for that scale?

As you already suggest, bears have a wide size range, and males are usually substantially larger than females, so some sloth bears may be larger than giant pandas and some smaller. It's quite surprising though how little we know little about their size. As far as I can tell, our knowledge of the size of sloth bears is based on 6 individuals. Of those, the measurements of 1 individual are almost certainly wrong and the measurements of another come from the same unreliable source. I haven't found first-hand measurements of giant pandas at all and the reported numbers differ wildly. In the scientific literature, Reid and Gong (1999) say that pandas’ body length is 160-190 cm, whereas Chorn and Hoffman say that their head-body length is 120-150 cm. Wikipedia takes these two ranges together and says 120-190 cm. I have no idea what is right.