1/32 scale animals

Thanks, the manta ray looks especially good.

rogerpgvg wrote:

Thanks, the manta ray looks especially good.

I am working on my shelves and, because of you and your 1/32 idea, I am doing it with a tape measure

Sorry to infect you with my measuring obsession. But it can be very interesting finding out about animal sizes.

It's not a so bad infection indeed

rogerpgvg wrote:

Wild Rush II does not have any 1:32 scale figures (as far as I can tell; perhaps the alligator is?)

The Wild Rush alligator is actually a 9 cm spectacled caiman... Which is too big to be 1/32. Sorry

Some Starlux, The Greater kudu is not the biggest of the species, The esat african oryx is 1mm too big and the Addax is at the top of the species.

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Wow, very nice. Do you know until when Starlux animal figures were produced? I'd love to have them, but they must be quite rare and are therefore usually a bit too expensive for me. And thanks for identifying the alligator species; I wasn't quite sure what it was.

Starlux zoo series were produced until the 1990's like Britains. They aren't so rare in France, far less than Britains
Starlux zoo series wasn't "exactly" in scale, even if they were supposed to fit with the 1/32 soldiers lines. The + of the Starlux at that time was the paintings and the incredible range of animals (extant or extinct). Seeing a Starlux display in a shop was a really impressive experience. This is probably the reason why I'm still loving animal figures and displays now.

For the alligator, I have no merit, Kaiyodo helped me to identify the species and he said it isn't an alligator

Kikimalou wrote:

For the alligator, I have no merit, Kaiyodo helped me to identify the species and he said it isn't an alligator

Yes, caiman. Caiman! Obviously, I wasn't thinking when I was writing alligator, but I just found out that caimans are part of the family of alligatoridae, so unknowingly, I wasn't completely wrong . The painting of the Starlux is indeed very beautiful. Even more amazing, I suppose they were handpainted? If you say they are not so rare, that gives me some hope I'll be able to collect them in future. For now, my main focus is on modern 1:32 scale animals, because they are quite easy to find. I feel that I am beginning to get most of them.

I just started Collection 1/35 figures. Mostly Dinosaurus and Prehistoric mammals. But i want to have also modern animals. I love this thread cause I can use most of the 1/32 animals. Thank you so much for all your measurings.

Good to hear that the measurements are useful for you. I'll mention it when I find a figure that just misses 1:32 scale, but is 1:35. Please feel free to show extinct animals in this topic or (if you prefer) in a new one. I don't collect extinct animals, but I'd love to see size comparisons of figures in the same scale.

I think the best is to show animals (both extant or extinct) in the same topic

A few figures that are 1:35 scale but don't quite make 1:32:
- Colorata tiger from the Oriental region box (shoulder height 2.6 cm)
- Kitan lion (2.8 cm): https://toyanimalwiki.mywikis.net/wiki/Nature_Technicolor_Lion
- Old Kaiyodo Malayan tapir (I don't have it, but I have quite accurate measures from a photo and TAI says it's 1:35: https://toyanimal.info/wiki/Furuta_Chocoegg_6_Malayan_Tapir
I'll let you know when I find more.

The old Kaiyodo Malayan tapir can reach the 1:35 scale but it represents then a very small tapir, it fits perfectly for a 1/40 scale collection.

In contrast, the Kaiyodo Yotsuba Malayan Tapir (65mm x 35mm) could be a true gem on a 1/32 shelf.

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A few more Japanese 1/32 laureates

Colorata spotted seal
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Colorata Grevy's zebra
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Colorata zoo Giant panda
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Colorata Okapi
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Yujin Komodo dragon
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Kaiyodo Amazing Animals King Cheetah
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Takara Walrus
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Thanks for the information and photos, Christophe. I managed to find a few of them already (but hadn’t had time to show them here), but others are new to me. I need to look out for the tapir and Komodo dragon, both look very good. I had noticed the walrus before, but couldn’t find out whether it was the right size.
 
I am happy that you agree that the ones I already have are indeed 1:32 size (always good to have an expert opinion). I particularly like the Cheetah: the sense of movement it conveys is very convincing. Actually, I assumed that the Colorata Grévy’s zebra was too small, but I just found an article by Churcher (1993) in Mammalian Species which refers to a paper by Ledger (1963), who appears to have measured the weight and size of Grévy’s zebras. It reports the height as 125-150 cm with an average of 135 cm (same as Animal Diversity Web, which I generally find very reliable). From another article by Ansell (1965) in Zoologica Africana, I found out that Ledger took measurements from the tip of the hoof to the withers, so I guess Ledger’s measurements are a slight overestimation of the shoulder height. Because it’s running, it’s hard to determine the exact shoulder height of the Colorata, but it is very similar in size to the Kaiyodo Red Data Grévy’s, which is 4.0/128 cm, so yes, I think both are probably just 1:32 scale.
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My 1:32 wildlife reserve didn’t have many sea animals, but this is quickly changing. When I got the Colorata Endangered Animals boxes, I also got the Marine Mammals box. It contains 13 figures, 7 of which are in 1:32 scale. Here we have all seven:
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First up, the bottlenose dolphin. Its length is 6.8/218 cm and with that, it may just be 1:32 scale: Wikipedia says they are 200–400 cm and Animal Diversity Web says 228–381 cm. I have put it next to the current Schleich bottlenose dolphin, which at 10.7/342 cm is also 1:32. There seems to be more variation in the size of sea animals than land animals, so it’s often a bit easier to find them in the right scale. Colorata has made the colours more interesting than Schleich; whether this is more realistic, I am not so sure.
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The Commerson’s dolphin (left in photo below) is one of the smallest dolphins. Seaworld.org says 1.2–1.7 m and Wikipedia says about 1.5 m. The Colorata is 4.5/144 cm. The Pacific white-sided dolphin (on the right) has a length of 6.0/192 cm. Animal Diversity Web says it is 1.7-2.5 m long, with an average of 2 m.
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Here we have the two sea lions:
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The Steller’s sea lion (on the right) is about 7.5 cm/240 cm when measured over the tummy (probably about 7/224 cm if stretched out in a straight line). I found some very good information about the size of these sea lions in an article by Winship and colleagues (2001), who measured 203 male Steller’s sea lions (over their tummy). They reach sexual maturity between 5–7 years of age and these researchers found that their length from 5 years onwards was 2–3.4 m. They stopped growing at about 10 years of age, when they were 2.5–3.4 m (about 3 m on average). So the Colorata Steller’s could be a fairly young, but already mature animal.
 
The Californian sea lion (on the left) is about 6.5/208 cm measured over the tummy (about 6/192 cm in a straight line). The best information probably comes from Animal Diversity Web which says that adult males average 2.2 meters in length but can reach lengths of 2.4 meters, while females are smaller, averaging 1.8 meters in length but can reach lengths of 2 meters.
 
The spotted seal has already been introduced by Kikimalou. For comparison, I have put it between the Britains seals here:
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The Colorata is 4.9/157 cm (not measuring the rear flippers, I assume they shouldn’t be included?). Again, the best information may come from Animal Diversity Web, which says females are 151–169 cm and males 161–176 cm.
 
I don’t really know what kind of seal the Britains represent. Perhaps the early version is meant to be a common (or harbour) seal, as it can be found in British waters and it has the right size for it (4.9/157 cm), although they aren’t normally so dark. The later seal is too high on its flippers to be a common seal (or grey seal, which also exists in British waters). I used to think that it was a Californian sea lion (notice the similarity with the Colorata above), but it is too small for that at 4.7/150 cm. Perhaps it can be considered a subspecies of the Southern fur seal. They have longer, forward pointing flippers and can be around 150 cm.
 
Finally, the Colorata walrus, which I particularly like. Here it is next to the Britains (later version) walrus:
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The two walruses are similar in size. A bit difficult to measure the Colorata because it is curled up, but if it was lying in a straight line, I think its length measured over its tummy would be about 9/288 cm. Wikipedia says walruses are 2.2 – 3.6 m (this probably includes smaller females) and Seaworld.org says 2.7 – 3.6 m for males.
 
I like both the Colorata and Britains, but the question is: Which has the right colour? Well, I found out that walruses have a different colour depending on whether they are hot or cold. When they are hot, like when they are sunbathing, they have a brown/reddish colour, but when they are cold, like when they are in the freezing sea, they turn grey. Good to have both a hot and a cold walrus!

About the walrus, I made a comparison topic. maybe it can be helpful. It is [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

About the Colorata Steller’s sea lion, I'm still thinking it is a bit small for 1/32.

For me the Britains are sea lions, not seal.

The Colorata Bottlenose dolphin colours are more beautiful and realistic too.

Thanks for pointing to the walrus topic. I thought the Eikoh wasn't the right scale, but seeing it in your pictures, it looks like it is similar in size to the Britains and Colorata.

I have satisfied myself that the Steller's seal can be a young adult male. But you are right, it isn't a typically sized fully grown male: https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/82/2/500/2373087

I also thought the Britains were sea lions (or at least the later version), but their size isn't right for that. So I thought fur seals, which are in fact more closely related to sea lions than seals. It might also explain why Britains called them seals.

Regarding the Yotsuba tapir, with 3.5/112 cm, it would just be slightly too large (shoulder height 110 cm), no? Perhaps I am just nitpicking.

Britains is known to have made accurate models around 1/32 scale, I still think Britains made accurate sea lions but missed the 1/32 scale, they don't look like fur seals, it is the same with the anteater, too small again.

For the Yotsuba tapir, I think you are just nitpicking . The shoulder height is just a bit too large but not the length. I will find a moment this week-end and make a pic with the Britains tapir, you will see.

The Britains are sometimes too large or small, but it’s a bit unusual that they got the animal’s name wrong. I don’t think it’s impossible that they were meant to be fur seals. They don’t look like males, but females are possible.
 
Southern fur seal:
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Antarctic fur seals:[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Just discovered this topic which has some info about 1:32 scale:
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I especially like Susanne's link to these Preiser figures:
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The only species they have is humans, but they look good (as far as humans can do) and may be useful for size comparisons (bit pricey though).

And I have now bought the CollectA (older) white rhino.
Edit: This rhino has a shoulder height of 6.7/214 cm, too large for 1:32 scale.

This topic is getting quite useful and it is great to have Christophe and other experts adding here.
Sea lions were very popular in the past, not because of zoos but mainly because they were used extensively in circus shows. The animals used in these shows were mainly California sea lion females but they were always announced as seals. Even today, when someone sees a sea lion, it is usual to call them seals. The naming is not correct but also not completely wrong. They are otariids or also known as eared seals. It may be not exactly a mistake from Britains but just a marketing decision.

Your explanation about circus animals makes sense, especially because the led version of the early seal was already made before WWII. But I am stubborn and rather hung up about scale, so I am going to pretend they are fur seals 

A lot of the very best 1:32 scale animals are by Japanese companies, but there are also some good ones by other makers. Today, I’ll introduce three figures (a crocodile, rhino and buffalo) produced by PNSO, a Chinese company. The PNSO figures seem to be made of PVC, which gives them a similar feel to the Britains and many of the Kaiyodo figures.
 
First, Naeem the Nile crocodile. I like the fact that PNSO gives their animals names; it is as if it gives them a bit of personality. I think PNSO have done a good job with Naeem. It looks like he is sliding into the water from a river bank: 
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Naeem has a length of about 13/416 cm. According to Wikipedia, sometimes sizes of 4.5-5.5 metres have been reported for Nile crocodiles, but this is only reached by the largest animals. Generally, the average length is around 3.5 metres. Alexander and Marais (2007) say that the typical mature size is 2.8 to 3.5 m and Garrick and Lang (1977) claim from 3.0 to 4.5 m. So Naeem is quite a large croc. But not so enormous as the Britains crocodiles: 
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The Britains adult crocodile is about 19/608 cm and even the “young” croc is 16/512 cm. I remember that, as a child, I was always disappointed by the size of the crocodiles in zoos. I thought they probably didn’t have a chance to grow large in their confined space; it never occurred to me that the scale of my Britains crocodiles might be wrong! Shows how important it is to have figures to scale.
 
I am not completely sure whether the other two figures are real PNSOs, because they weren’t sold as such (and they didn’t have names). But the quality and the plastic seem to be the same. I was going to put the link to the Aliexpress listing here, but it no longer exists. I only bought them a couple of months ago, but it may be quite hard to find them now.
 
Here is the black rhino, together with the Britains African rhino, which is also a black one: 
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There is some discussion about the PNSO rhino here: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Not everyone likes it. For me, the Britains is better (one of their best models, in my opinion), but I don’t think the PNSO is too bad. Its shoulder height is 4.6/147 cm compared to 5.4/173 cm for the Britains. Most websites including Animal Diversity Web and the Wikipedia rhino page say that black rhinos are 140-180 cm (but Wikipedia’s black rhino page says 150-180 cm).
 
Finally, the PNSO figure I am most fond of, the African Buffalo. As one of the “big five” African animals, I always thought it was a shame it was missing from the Britains line-up, so I am very happy that PNSO has produced one that is of the right scale and looks good.
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Its shoulder height is 4.7/150 cm. According to Animal Diversity Web, the largest subspecies of African buffalo, syncerus caffer caffer stands 140 to 160 cm at the shoulder. Here it is with the Britains (domesticated) water buffalo (4.1/131 cm) and Indian Gaur (6.0/192 cm):
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In the photos, the African buffalo perhaps doesn’t look that special. Believe me, he looks better “in the flesh”.

Oh, I found the link to the Aliexpress listing:
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I have got the hippo too, but it's too small (3.9 cm at the shoulder) for 1:32 scale. But it just makes 1:35 scale.

I bought the crocodile from Minizoo.