Itoy Studio - Paraceratherium (walkaround with photos)

Hi fellow collectors,

I guess after an admittedly long silence from my side it's time to make another post in this forum! After all, despite being rather quiet in the forum, I didn't stop collecting and step by step got some nice new figures for my collection in the last years, exploring some less common but really nice quality brands, too As I didn't find any other thread dealing with my latest addition or even the brand it comes from, I thougt it could be worth opening this new thread.

The definitely biggest - and also most costly - addition to my collection so far came to me a few weeks ago and is a product of Itoy Studio! Despite having a little focus on bird figures in my collection, I couldn't resist this beatuiful figure of an animal, that was also featured in the 2001 TV-documentary series "Walking with Beasts" by the BBC, which I really loved as a kid and which most of you will probably know as well! It is in fact the mightiest mammal that probably ever walked on this planet, so it is no exaggeration to speak of the biggest figure in my collection as well!  As you will have guessed from the title of the thead by now, the figure I am talking about is:


This mighty beast from the Oligocene epoch of Eurasia is available in two configurations:
Elite version: the figure itself, being deliverd in a nice printed cardboard box
Deluxe version: the figure itself again, plus a naturalistic baseplate to stand on, being deliverd in the same printed cardboard box

The figure of this prehistoric relative of today's rhinoceroses is desinged quite closely to the Paraceratherium-family featured in the Walking with Beasts-series (where these beasts were referred to as Indricotherium, following an older zoological nomenclature) as it shows thick pachyderm-like skin with a lot of wrinkles, no fur, a prehensile upper lip rather than a more proboscis-like organ (as depicted in the new CollectA Paraceratherium figure to be released in 2022), an elongated neck and rather long column-like legs. For my collection I got the Elite version of this figure, so I can't say much about the baseplate from first hand. Interestingly, the figure itself is hollow from the inside, as I can hear from a tiny thing rattling inside when I shake the Paraceratherium (what probably never ever happened to the real living animal ), but still it is very robust and has a good stand on a flat surface. A figure of this size made from solid material would probably be too heavy and costly anyway. Speaking of size, the measurements of this figure are:
    length (snout to tail): 39 cm
    width (mid-body): 10 cm
    height (ground to ear-tips): 23 cm

So for a mammal, this is an extraordinary big figure, only comparable to sauropod dinosaurs in its toy dimensions! Some other aspects that I discoverd about this figure are: There is no brand or any lettering printed or engraved on the figure itself! This could make it difficult for future collectors to attribute this model to a specific brand maybye, also because Itoy Studio (which is a Chinese brand as it seems) has not released many other figures yet (some dinosaurs as far as I know). Another aspect about my figure is a small mistake in painting at the models chin, where there is a black stain that probably should not be there. You can see it in my photos as well. However, this isn't really visible from a bit of a distance, as the position below the head hides this miskake sufficiently.

I tried to take some neutral photos of the figure too, of course! So here comes a short walkaround of the figure and the cardboard box it is shipped in!

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All in all, I'm really happy about this figure and can't wait to show you a photo of it in midst of my collection soon, where it will definitely stick out as an immediate eyecatcher!  I'm curious for your comments and remarks on this figure and the Itoy Studio brand as well!

Best wishes,
Frederik  


PS: A litte review from a retailer on this figure can be found on YouTube as well. It again shows you the impressive dimensions of this awesome model! You can find the video here:

Nice to see you back Frederik!
I think you couldn't have found a better figure to your return.
This model is absolutely epic and despite being much older than you, I also love the Walking with Beast and the Paraceratherium episode is unforgetable. I loved to watch the animations with those beast wagging their tails and the ears moving like in rhinos. The rest was too much giraffe like but always fantastic. The calf meeting a bear dog or a dog bear was also very funny.
I think it is the most exciting figure on market from all brands and series, at least for me, unfortunately it is out of my budget range.
It is curious it is marketed as 1:35 as the eoFauna models but it is surely larger. I will watch the video, I don't know if there is a comparison with an eoFauna figure.
Thanks for bringing this collossal member to our village!

Hello Frederik 

Thank you for showing us this Paraceratherium, it is huge and impressive and far more rhinoceros like than the new CollectA. It is a bit pricey but it's clear one have for his banknotes.

It is also clear this guy isn't at 1/35 scale but more around 1/20.

I like it despite I would prefer stronger massive legs. 

A very very special figure

And surely hard to find and very expensive.

Thank you for your replies!

The scale of this model, with a lentgth of ~ 0,4 m in relation to a length of the real animal of max. 9,0 m, is close to 1:20. As animal figures are not really consistent in their scale anyway, it is okay for me to add the Paraceratherium to my collection. It will still dwarf my elephants and mammoths

The topic of the price of this model is really a thing for many collectors I can imagine. For the same price, you could get a whole set of other smaller figures. But either way, collecting animal figures is always a bit of a financial question too. In my eyes, this Paraceratherium model has already moved away from the range of toy figures to the range of more realistic and elaborated models for collectors. Comparable to hand-painted dinosaur models for example, which move in even higher price ranges (e.g. other models by Itoy Studio, maybe PNSO, EoFauna dinosaur skulls, replicas from individual sculptors). So this model might be in an overlap range where toy figures transition into high-priced replicas.

Still I am happy about this model and looking forward to adding it to my displayed collection! (Which actually is still in my parents house and not at my home, so I don't get to see my collection myself that much  But I plan to get it to my appartement in the future, once I have a bit more space for that!)

Thank you for sharing this so impressive model!!

It's a magnificient piece!