Flocked Animal Toys - Items tagged as "Maple town"
Poseable flocked animal toys first became popular in the 1980s. They were sold all over the world and are still popular today. There are lots of similarities between brands and some of the toy lines have very similar names.
In some cases, the same toys were made by different companies as toy companies merged or acquired the rights to a specific toy line. And lines with the same name may have been distributed by different companies in different countries. For these reasons, it can be difficult to accurately identify flocked animal toys without their original packaging.
Most of the flocked animal toys originally wore clothes, though their clothes were easily lost over the years. Some characters may have come with different clothes in different releases or in different countries, or the same clothes or fabric may have been used by multiple companies.
For play purposes, most of the toys are roughly the same size, so they can use the same dollhouses and some of the same furniture. Some may even be able to share the same clothes. It can be fun to mix and match figures and accessories from various lines as each line offers something unique.
For collecting purposes, no brand is necessarily "better" than any other, though collectors usually have a preference about which toy line they like best. Some collectors prefer to collect toys only from a certain line, usually whichever line they remember playing with as a child.
The information provided here is based on our own observations and research, but may not be 100% accurate. We've tried to verify information by looking at actual product packaging whenever possible, but original boxes and packaging can be hard to find for toys made almost 40 years ago. We're located in the US, so the information provided here may not be accurate for products sold in other countries.
This category of our website includes all of the flocked animal toys we have available, regardless of brand/line. The list below includes names of some of the flocked animal toy lines and their manufacturers:
Sylvanian Families - Epoch / Tomy This toy line started in 1985 and is still going strong today. In the US, the toys have been called Calico Critters since 1993 but are still the same toys.
Calico Critters of Cloverleaf Corners / Calico Critters - Tomy / Epoch The same toys as Sylvanian Families. In 1993, Tomy lost the rights to use the name Sylvanian Families in the US, so the toy line was renamed Calico Critters in the US.
Spielfreunde aus der Tierwelt - Manufacturer unknown Made in Germany, the figures in this line are smiling and have more cheerful faces than some of the other lines. The name translates to "Playmates of the Animal World."
Teddy Bear Story - Applause / Sekiguchi Made by Sekiguchi Co. Ltd. in Japan and distributed in the US by Applause, these toys look similar to other toys made by Sekiguchi.
Teddy 'N Me - Mattel / Sekiguchi Made by Sekiguchi Co. Ltd. in Japan and distributed in the US by Mattel, these toys look similar to other toys made by Sekiguchi.
The Bear Story - Applause / Sekiguchi Made by Sekiguchi Co. Ltd. in Japan and distributed in the US by Applause, these toys look similar to other toys made by Sekiguchi.
Woodzzies by Blue-Box These flocked toys were sold individually and in families. Not to be confused with the Woodseys plush toys by Fisher-Price or the modern line of flocked toys called L'il Woodzeez.