Somehow I overlooked your post hence the considerable delay in responding. Britains original giant panda model predated "Chi-Chi"; it used exactly the same mould as the brown bear model although, obviously, it was painted black & white instead of brown. I am sure you're correct, though, and the subsequent giant panda model was based on "Chi-Chi".
Yes, the model was introduced in 1961, so it is unlikely to be any other Giant Panda, sculpting was usually 'from life'.
I picked up a small crocodile today at Blackpool zoo.Currently on top of my bearded dragons vivarium.
Actually the brand is known as the Ravensden collection who are known for making figures and plush animals to be sold in zoos and aquariums.
Based on the the few images on their website, the figures seem to be of lesser quality than Schleich, Mojo, Safari Ltd, Papo, Bullyland etc. How do they compare?
I don't own any of the listed companies models at the moment but I will give a description.The model is of a plastic material that is bendy on the tail and legs but does not allow the mouth to close and is not squishy.The main gripe I have is that the left eye has lost some paint.Photo for comparison. IMG_1487 by Komodo99 posted 21 Jun 2017 at 7:58 PM
Thank you for the picture. This crocodile looks quite good actually, I'll check out the figures when I visit Blackpool. As for the eyes, they're easy to repaint if you have some acrylic paint and a fine tipped paintbrush. I end up retouching many figures as the eyes are not always painted to (my level of) perfection and give the animal an odd appearance.
I have a couple of Safari figures. I'd love to work on a collection, but they aren't cheap, ha ha. So I have two Safari orcas, blue whale, apatosaurus, and a Chap Mei tiger shark. (I got the last one for a dollar so why not) I also have a Safari sea dragon, it looks so rad.
Just today I found casually a couple of interesting species for sale and I bought them: an African wild ass and a leopard seal, both very accurate. Now I have 5 animals (the older 3 are gemsbok, giant pangolin and leopard shark).
Got some more animal figures since my last post. Two more orcas, (one Papo, one Mojo) the Safari vaquita, and the Ganges river dolphin, Blainville's beaked whale, and pygmy sperm whale from CollectA. Also I got two more Safari dragons and a Safari adult and cub Bengal tigers.
CollectA has a pretty nice selection of obscure species! I keep an eye on all of the big companies when it comes time for them to announce their new models (Animal Toy Forum makes it easy!) and I really watch CollectA, especially for cetaceans. Safari has also been stepping it up in all areas. For 2017 they released a really cool feathered Velociraptor, I just had to pick one up at the museum gift shop! For 2018 they made a cool Anzu toy that's tempting me as well.
One of the benefits of WdG as a business is that I can order certain items from the companies at a way lower price than at the retailer. My gila monster figurines, for example, are selling like hot cakes...^^
Today I received the first shipping that I bought in internet instead finding them casually in shops. This is what I bought: