Review and images by Sam; edited by bmathison1972
The bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is arguably the most iconic marine mammal. Known for their playful, friendly personalities and their amazing intelligence, they have appeared in many TV shows and movies, and are a popular attraction at aquariums and marine parks, so it is no surprise that there are quite a few toys based on them, and today’s review covers just one of these toys. What we’re looking at here is CollectA’s representation of the bottlenose dolphin. I purchased her from Happy Hen Toys, which carries a wide variety of animals from both the sea and the land. I named my dolphin “Starbuck,” and she will be referred to as such throughout the review.
Starbuck is a very beautiful dolphin figure, probably one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. She is sculpted in a slightly neutral position with her tail slightly turned to the right. She has a sleek, fusiform-shaped body and accurate proportions. She is painted a shiny grey, with a white underside, and the material she is made out of feels like hard rubber, almost soft to the touch. She is also very well-made, and is slightly heavy, which allows for her to hold up through hours of play. I plan on bringing Starbuck places, so this durability of hers would help her stand the test of time as my travel companion. She is also a decent size for both display and portability, at 6” long, 2” wide, and 1.7” in height.
Starbuck has an accurately-sculpted rostrum and melon, and her mouthline is sculpted just right, something I don’t often see on dolphin toy figures. Her eyes are painted a shiny black to give them a more lifelike appearance. There is a blowhole etched into the top of her head, just behind her melon.
Starbuck’s fins and flippers are sculpted accurately, and her tail is sculpted with that iconic dolphin tail appearance. There is a prominent peduncle just before her tail.
On her underside, Starbuck surprisingly lacks genital slits or mammary glands, making her sex-neutral and up to the owner to decide. I have decided that this individual is a female.
Overall, Starbuck is an absolutely gorgeous replica and I highly recommend her to any collector or dolphin lover. She would also look amazing in a diorama, as she does in the diorama I built to display her. Despite being one of CollectA’s oldest models, she is still currently in production and is available at Happy Hen Toys. Add this beauty to your collection today!
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One of collectA’s best, if not best old models