The mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) is an iconic animal in the American West. Currently living in the Salt Lake region of Utah, I myself can barely go a couple days without seeing them, whether in my neighborhood, while running or birding up City Creek Canyon, commuting through the University of Utah Campus, our outside my office and lab at the University’s Research Park. The mule deer is sometimes referred to as the black-tailed deer, but technically that name applies to only two subspecies, the Columbian black-tailed deer (O. h. columbianus) and the Sitka deer (O. h. sitkensis). Broadly the species occurs throughout western North America, from southern Alaska south to Baja California and mainland central Mexico. It can occupy a variety of habitats throughout its range, from boreal forests to plains to deserts and chaparral, not to mention urban and suburban areas, including neighborhoods, schools, and cemeteries. It is a popular game animal and is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN. For such a well-known animal it is surprisingly scarce in the toy/figure market but today we’ll be looking at a rendition by Big Country Farm Toys. The year of production is currently unknown to me.
Big Country Farm Toys produces a variety of toys related to farming, rodeo, hunting, and fishing. Several of their animal figures are clearly borrowed from other well-known brands; for example their border collie is a Papo sculpt and their elk is a Safari Ltd. sculpt. Whether these represent bootlegging or a formal relationship between the companies, I am not sure (but I assume the latter). The mule deer however, appears to be an original sculpt, and is marked with ‘Big Country Farm Toys LLC’ on the underside.
The figure stands approximately 6.0 cm at the shoulders for a scale of 1:13.3-1:17.7 depending on the subspecies.
The sculpt is very nice, and the fur is nicely textured. The form of the antlers appears accurate and the ears are nicely large. There is some slight warping of the legs in my figure (I’ve corrected it a bit) but it doesn’t affect its ability to stand properly.
Most of the body is grey with cream around the face, the chin, and on the underside of the belly and tail. The nose is appropriately dark, but the forehead should be darker and not the same tone as the rest of the body. The tail isn’t correct either; at the very least the tip should be black, even if not one of the blacktail varieties. The eyes are a solid jet black, which is probably the weakest aspect of the paint; it would have been nice to have some demarcation between the pupil and iris. Also, there is some off printing (probably a serial or lot number) on the back of the antlers; luckily it’s hidden from the front.
Overall, this isn’t a bad rendition of this species, considering how limited our options are. The only major shortcomings are in the paint application of the forehead, eyes, and tail. If this species was ever to be made by another company, especially Safari Ltd. or CollectA, I am sure to replace it, but for now it’s a good stand-in for this species. Speaking of Safari Ltd., and I know we’ve discussed this on the forums but it bears repeating, it’s astonishing they have not produced a mule deer given they have a line specifically devoted to North American wildlife. This Big Country mule deer is readily available on Amazon and Big Country’s website.
Comparison with other North American cervids, the CollectA white-tailed deer and Safari Ltd. NAW elk:
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Nice to see a mammal review from you, I wasn’t expecting that! It is remarkable that Safari has not made a mule deer yet. There are a few common North American animals they still need to cover.
yup, my other North American wishes are grey fox, cottontail (eastern or desert, but not IC sized), Dall sheep, and coati 🙂
The gray fox is on my list too, along with a muskrat, new mountain goat, and pronghorn. Certainly wouldn’t mind those you listed too. You mentioning the coati makes me also want a ringtail.