Since you’re here, you already know my interest in LEGO animals. Still, if someone told me I’d be reviewing a DUPLO set here a few months ago, I wouldn’t have believed it myself. After writing 15 animal articles and seeing countless DUPLO figures, my love towards them increased significantly. When I had the chance, I got the LEGO 10975 Wild Animals of the World set. Along with it I got two more, Wild Animals of Africa (10971) and Elsa & Bruni in the Enchanted Forest (10418).
I’ll be talking briefly about all three today. After all, it’s a blog for adult fans of LEGO, and DUPLO sets may not hold a lot of interest. However, my main focus will be comparing the old and new DUPLO figures with their System counterparts. Rather than splitting them up, I decided it would be better to keep them together in one article.
Shall we begin?
LEGO 10975 Wild Animals of the World
I gotta say, this is my biggest DUPLO set yet. I’ve bought a few small ones, either for the figures or the animals, and got a few off of Bricklink. But this is the first time I’m attempting something so crazy :)
After the set arrived, two things caught my eye. On the box it says “Playmat included” and “Sound brick”. These were a bonus for me, I never even noticed them before I bought the set.
The play mat turned out to be a giant world map! With a size of 50 cm x 100 cm, the map shows where the animals included with the set live, along with some others that are included with other sets in the series. Therefore, when you get all six, every animal has a place on the map.
The other sets in the series are Wild Animals of Africa (10971), Wild Animals of the Ocean (10972), Wild Animals of South America (10973), Wild Animals of Asia (10974) and Wild Animals of Europe (10979).
The sound brick is a medium nougat, 2×2 DUPLO brick. There’s a button on the side, you hear animal sounds when you press it. There are a few different sounds in it, so you hear something else every time you press it.
What’s in the box?
21 different animals! There are two penguins, so a total of 22. Some of the animals are adult and baby of the same species.
My dad joined me when I built the set, since we both love animals and DUPLO figures. As I was building, he said “You wouldn’t be enjoying yourself this much if you were in a fancy restaurant right now.” He was right, I wouldn’t. Playing with LEGO gives me more joy than anything else.
The set comes with habitats of these animals as well. You build a total of 9 habitats.
At the end of the instruction booklet, there’s another world map showing where each animal lives. Unlike the play mat map, the animals from the other sets aren’t included here.
And you get a fantastic scene when you put all of them together!
Who would enjoy 10975 Wild Animals of the World?
If you have a kid or a friend’s kid who loves animals, this set is perfect. I’d definitely recommend it, they would love it and learn so much from it. But that’s no surprise, after all, children are the intended audience. That’s not it, though. It’s also perfect for those who have a zoo in their city, or thinking about having one. Of course, there are disadvantages for AFOLs. Some of the animals are way too big next to minifigures, as you’ll see in the comparison images. However, some look really good, and some don’t even have System counterparts, so they’re kinda like the only choice. If you have such a project, you should consider getting this set.
Wild Animals of Africa and Elsa & Bruni in the Enchanted Forest
Wild Animals of Africa is the smallest set of the series. It also includes a play mat. Well, not really a mat, but a small cardboard model, a habitat for the baby elephant and giraffe.
Nokk accompanies Elsa and Bruni. The set also includes an Earth Giant and a tree.
Honestly, there aren’t much I can say about these two. I only got them for the extra animals.
Before I move on to the comparison images… While preparing them, I realized I missed college life. Not as a student, but as an academician when I worked as a teaching assistant while doing my masters. Reading and writing for my thesis on one hand, researching questions from the students on the other… I mean, it’s “just a toy”, right? I find myself visiting unrelated pages, reading stuff I never imagined. I learn something new every day, both about LEGO in general and other things. Even though I don’t always write articles that require a deep level of research, my soul feels good when I do :)
Right, pictures then!
Comparison of old and new DUPLO animals with System animals
First, we have elephants. Two old, two new DUPLO ones, mothers and calves. And of course, my new level of insanity.
System elephant calves are more realistic in terms of size, but both adults can be used in a zoo. The DUPLO calf can be used as a teenage elephant, not fully grown yet. The ones in the first image are the old elephants.
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All the giraffes can be used for different species or ages. The adult on the far right is from LEGO 10975 Wild Animals of the World, the calf in the middle is from 10971 Wild Animals of Africa, and the shorter one is the old DUPLO calf.
Honestly I still don’t like the foal mould being used as a zebra. Also, the DUPLO zebra’s proportions look better to me. One can be used as an adult, the other as a foal. The zebra doesn’t come with any of the sets mentioned here, I purchased it separately. There are two different zebra moulds, this is the old one.
Both the lion and the lion cub are a little too big. Let them stay as mythological creatures for the moment :)
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The DUPLO polar bear is also too big, so I’m putting it in the mythology section as well. I also have an older polar bear, it’s smaller and can move its head. The black bear looks like a cub and can be used as an adult. There’s also a reddish brown version of it, coming with another set, and can be used as a grizzly.
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The System panda looks like a cub, the adult DUPLO is gigantic. But the DUPLO panda cub looks pretty good next to a minifigure.
While they are really cute, the DUPLO deer have to be eliminated, they’re way too big.
Neither DUPLO nor System versions of llamas (or alpacas) get any points from me. Yes, we have them, but we wouldn’t say no to a better-scaled one, right?
DUPLO monkey fails the test as well.
I gotta be honest, I love the DUPLO crocodile so much that I would definitely find a place for it in my zoo. Maybe there’s a new species, chubbier with a shorter tail. Why not?
Nokk from the Frozen set is larger even than old DUPLO horses. It also goes to the mythology section. Besides, it’s not very suitable color-wise.
We only have one tortoise, and it’s a DUPLO figure. I think it can be used as a Galapagos Giant Tortoise, even though the color is off. It’s another one of the animals that doesn’t come with the LEGO 10975 Wild Animals of the World. As for turtles, I’d prefer the System ones.
As the size of the animals get smaller, their DUPLO versions go really out of scale. It’s not very possible to use the raccoon, the squirrel, the salamander and the birds in a realistic zoo. Can’t argue with their cuteness, though! PS: The adult penguin in the last image doesn’t come with any of the sets mentioned here.
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Bonus: Dinosaurs
I really loved the very first DUPLO dinosaurs and got a baby Triceratops (my favorite of all time) when I had the chance. I stumbled upon its mother and a baby Pteranodon recently, and added them to the collection as well. While the adult Triceratops doesn’t look as good as its System sibling, it’s still usable, size-wise at least. However, the Pteranodon baby fails but keeps its place among the cute animals section.
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That’s it for today. I’d love to hear your thoughts about DUPLO animals. Once again, I highly recommend getting the LEGO 10975 Wild Animals of the World set – at least for your kid if not for yourself. They will enjoy it so much.
See you in the next article!
Image sources
The images showing the animal dimensions are from Wikimedia and Dimensions. Set images showing all the wild animal sets are from Brickset, image showing the System Triceratops with a minifigure is from Bricksfanz. The rest are mine.
Some girls play with Barbie dolls, while others create small worlds with LEGO minifigures and continue to do so when they grow up. You can probably guess which group I belong to :)
