October 10, 2022

In today's Animobil update there are many new product numbers (ETN) added. The instruction sheets for the Wiltopia Amazon sets and some of the new 123 sets are available at Playmobil.de and the ETNs have been added for those. Because of that there were a couple of new additions in variants due to new part numbers and the special plastics used in Wiltopia.

As you can see they are likely color variants, detailed photos will be added when I have the sets in hand.

I did get the largest set, the animal care station 71007

The parrot in that set has a new number and is lighter in tone like many of the recycled content plastic versions.

It is version C seen above in the comparison image

The green butterfly is actually a dark green transparent with black paint detailing. The other is solid pink with black.

There is a turquoise spider in the set of the smaller type 2. It has a new number and is lighter than the previous version.

The ocelot family is the lion cub as the adult, and the kitten pair as the young. These are frequently used molds, but here done with great paint on a nice tan base.

The white detailing on the kittens is a little hard to see in the photo, but noticeable in person.

The exciting new molds for the set are the adult and young tapir. There is a collector card for the Brazilian Tapir in the set as well.

An interesting point about the adult is that it is clearly using a two part mold on the body, with the lines being in the exact places you would see a color change on the black and white Asian tapir.

Clearly they are thinking ahead to a possible future release of the Asian species.

Those are just beautifully designed animals, and very exciting to see such high quality sculpting from the company on an interesting new species.

In general I think this is a strong set at a reasonable price point. it is the most expensive in the Amazon series but the structure is large and useful, and it has many accessories for play. The colors are great, and the figures are really nicely done as well.

The one other animal included is the most recent mold of the herring, with a new part number.

In hand they seem basically identical, though I suspect the new number is made with recycled plastics content. It showed up in one Wiltopia Wave 1 set as well, as did the trout shape also with a new number. This has led to me finally reoganizing the Salmon, Trout and Herring sub category into an organization that makes more sense. I have combined together on one page the two part numbers for the 8 herring on a sprue as I have never found any color difference between them. If you know of one, please let me know. For now there are two salmons - one with the magnet, the other with the pin hole. There are four herrings - the sprue of 8, the individual number for the first type, and the individual numbers for the second type and the Wiltopia version of it. And there are three trout; the first one in regular and the rare blue, and the second number for the Wiltopia version. All seen in this group photo.

I think this organization makes more sense for the category area than the previous. Let me know if you have additions or concerns.

Moving beyond Wiltopia, I received the Ayuma Advent Calendar and have added all the part numbers and animals for it. There are only three reused animals - the blue butterfly clip, baby pelican, and black spider 2. The rest are unique to the set.

Only the second baby stegosaurus so far, in a nice yellow

The skunk with blue stripe

The black rattlesnake with pink dots

Fox kits in pink with painted eyes and nose

Flying lizard in lighter yellow with green paint detail

Dragonfly in yellow with gold paint on the wings

Pelican with the bill and feet the same darker color, older versions had a lighter color bill

The raccon young in nearly identical light blue to the version with the fairy theme a few years ago. The older version is a slightly greener tone of blue and in my examples has a darker paint on the face. Very hard to see in photos, but easier in person

The giant butterfly turns out to be a giant dragonfly, and has been categorized on the site as such. It uses the dragonfly style klicky wings on the giant butterfly body

Lying deer fawn in green that comes with a two part egg it fits inside. The egg is from the baby dragon. It is painted with a leaf pattern on the back

The butterfly in the set is solid purple, and a new variant. Previous purples have been transparent flimmer.

The big final animal of the set is the Ayuma style deer in pink. The antlers are irridescent shiny and it comes with transparent grey stones to put on the antler pins.

Overall a really nice set with lots of interesting colored additions but no new molds.

If you enjoy fantasy and unique colors then this is a great time with all the Ayuma, Novelmore, and 123 sets this year.

If you enjoy realism and interesting new species then this is also a great year with the Wiltopia Amazon theme being the best designed wild animal theme since the African Safari sets of 2009. It's been a decade, but the link to a specific location and the unique animals found there is deeply satisfying and very much in keeping with the company's long standing relationship to everyday realistic pretend play. The company has been all over the place with licensing and deep dives into fantasy, but the Amazon theme is a great direction for them to be going in. Hopefully it will be popular and will result in a continuation of additional locations around the world. Added to that of course is the use of recycled plastics for a more environmentally friendly production concept. Hopefully that trend will continue as well, with further developments in the reuse of plastics and long term sustainability in a changing world.

I will finish up with one final image from this update. The butterfly page with my current collection.

Thanks for reading - Tiermann

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