Marabou Stork (Wild Animals by Papo)

Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972

While a lot of people would describe a lot of animals as “ugly” or “disgusting”, those words are rarely attributed to the large group of birds. When applied, those terms most often hit the varied group of carrion-feeding birds like vultures. But also these have a somewhat majestic appearance, at least when gliding through their aerial kingdom. Not less majestic, as well as not less in wingspan to those, is the marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer), but its ground appearance does not raise sympathies in western cultures. The barely-feathered head with the unhealthy looking, blotchy skin and colors, the strong beak and the big dangling gular sac, really do not make it a beauty within its family. However, it has an important role in the ecosystem as a scavenger and remover of carrion, and is honored in several African cultures. Also, despite its somewhat ungainly appearance, its feathers, especially the down, are highly valued in the fashion industry, used as fishing lures, and in the criminalistic.

The marabou is rarely made as a toy; toyanimal.info only lists four releases, two of which have long been discontinued. Of the ones in production, let us have a look at Papo’s version. The figure stands 9 cm tall (about 1:17 for a large specimen) and as usual for most bird figures, is mounted on a base. The sculpt is overall good and accurate enough, although a far cry from what I am accustomed to by Papo in terms of detailing and intricacies.

My main complaint in terms of sculpting goes to the feet of the bird, where the toes are too thin and short. This impression is even enhanced by the lazy paint job. Unfortunately, the paint job quality does not much increase when you go higher; the upper part of wings and back are not black as they should be, the white linings do not follow the sculpted feathers but are just painted where felt fit and, one eye in my figure is misplaced. Also, while the legs are a bit thicker than they should, which is often a concession to stability in bird figures, they cannot support the figure in my case. The hot water method did not bring a permanent remedy and so my figure leans forward in an unnatural way, though it does not topple over (yet). This is even more severe as the bottom of the base is not perfectly flat, but uneven and with raised lettering.

I have to rate this a missed opportunity by Papo. I will customize mine with wire legs and an alternate paint job, and for those who dare to do same, I recommend the figure. For all others, well, there is not a lot to choose from, but I cannot wholeheartedly recommend this marabou stork the way it is.