We recently shared a blog comparing all of our model animal brands so you can see for yourselves the size differences and scale variations here at MiniZoo. We also really love our wooden animal toy brands and so we wanted to showcase those for you as well so you can see the differences between them. While they are all made predominantly from wood, each wooden brand have their own style, so you’re sure to find something that suits your preferences, whether you’re after more natural, softly coloured wooden animals like what NOM Handcrafted offers, the large, vibrantly coloured Holztiger creations, the smaller, but super sweet Tender Leaf Toys animals, or the rope and wood, bendable and posable creatures from Anamalz.

NOM Handcrafted

NOM Handcrafted is one of our newest brands and we truly love it. Like us, NOM is an Australian family-run business, so you know that every single one your purchases are truly valued and celebrated. Their high quality wooden animals are made from sustainably and ethically sourced hard maple wood and hand painted with child-safe water colour paints and sealed with an oil based sealant. Their growing collection includes Australiana, Wild Animals (with several different Big Cats), Farm, Ocean, Birds (including heaps of Water Birds), Prehistoric Dinos, and Mythical Creatures (including Unicorns and Dragons available in a rainbow of colours). They also have a bunch of Landscape items with several different Trees, a sweet Bunny Burrow, some grass and a Red Rock Stacker of Uluru.

NOM Handcrafted also offers all of its model animals as blank, unpainted models (at a lower price) allowing you to try your hand at painting the animals however you like. This is a really cool activity for kids and collectors alike, and we would really LOVE to see what you come up with, so please take a pic and share them with us!

Holztiger

Holztiger is also made from solid maple wood and painted in watercolour, but they are, on-average, larger and quite vibrant and solid in colour. They are also sealed with a nontoxic water lacquer giving it a smooth glossiness and making the figure resistant to perspiration and saliva, which is great for little ones.

Made in Europe, Holztiger offers Aquatic creatures, Farm animals, Horses, Mythical creatures, Wild animals, Dinosaurs as well as People and Accessories including trees. The wooden people figurines can help you to play out biblical, medieval, farm scenes and more.

Tender Leaf Toys

Tender Leaf Toys are designed in England and then made in a family run factory in Indonesia, where the two parties work together quite closely. Their sweet wooden toys are crafted from sustainable rubber wood, as they pride themselves in planting a new tree for every tree they use, replacing natural resources in partnership with the Indonesian government.

While most of their animals can be purchased individually, you can easily purchase them as sets, grouped by theme or environment (Coastal, Dinos, Farm, Wild, Woodland and Polar) and you can also get a sweet wooden display case which fits them all perfectly.

Tender Leaf also have several wild themed play sets which pair well with your model animal play, including train sets, tunnels, Noah’s Ark, stackable activities and plenty more.

Anamalz

Anamalz is another option for wooden animal toys, but these adorable creatures are quite different to the other brands I’ve listed, as these ones also feature fabric and rope which make them bendable and, in some cases, posable. Thoughtfully owned and designed in Australia and made in Vietnam from sustainable plantation beech wood, these cheeky creatures can have their legs (and some necks and tails) moved and repositioned to enhance their big personalities.

Their collection includes farmyard animals from the Barn Fields, sea creatures from Coral Bay, dinos from the Hidden Valley, arctic animals from the Icebergs, native Aussie and Kiwi creatures from the Outback, and wild animals from the Roaming Mountains. They also have a couple of trees which play well with their animals.

If you love wooden toys for play due to their natural and sustainable quality, be sure to check out these other MiniZoo brands for some beautiful wooden products which can be used in your animal themed play.

Papoose Toys is an Australian business who are focused on fair trade, and work with talented Nepalese artisans to help create their beautiful products. Their wooden play boards are made from slices of wood, and their mushrooms feature vibrantly painted tops with unpainted wooden stalks. The Papoose trees feature wooden trunks, often incredibly twisted and shaped, just as they naturally are, with round, felt coloured tops for the bushy leaves. Their barns, houses and bridges are also incredible, showcasing beautiful wood grain, and creating lovely homes for your animals to live in. Shop Papoose wooden play accessories here.

Let Them Play is another small Australian family business who make play boards in various shapes, size and colours to build your small world. You can use their boards to make bases for animal habitats, whether you’re creating an outback plain, green grassy field, arctic glacier, sandy beach, trickling stream, muddy sty, and heaps more. Shop Let Them Play here.

As with any natural wooden product, some differences can be seen between products including variation of wood grain, shape, size and colour. This is to be expected in products made from natural materials, but in all honesty, adds to their beauty and makes them unique. In some climates, particularly when exposed to water, wood may develop cracks over time, as it is a living material which can ‘move’, so I wouldn’t recommend exposing your wooden toys to water for extended periods of time. If they do get a little wet, simply wipe them down and allow to dry.

We all love the realism and accuracy provided by PVC MiniZoo model animals, but these wooden animals are beautiful in their own way and provide a natural option for your small world animal play. So please share your wooden animal collection with us, and if you can get a decent animal stack, take a pic and share it with us on Instagram or Facebook, or in our VIP group - we’d love to see it!

Jenna @ MiniZoo