White Bullhead Catfish (unreleased 3″ figure by Replica Toy Fish)

Here we are, the end of the line, in every sense of the phrase. I have been reviewing the fish from Replica Toy Fish for what seems like forever (but has only been about 8 months), all from my personal collection. The very first post was the 6″ channel catfish, possibly the most popular figure and the first to go out of production, well before the line closed up for good. Today we have what is among the rarest and most unusual, a species that was supposed to be released in 2011 (alongside 36 others no less) but never really saw the light of day. This is the white bullhead catfish, Ameiurus catus, a species that, based on the channel catfish figures, would have been incredibly popular, possibly more so as part of a catfish set.

I should mention that there are other unreleased models out there–I know of someone that has a few sunfish and several catfish, and I think maybe someone has a different gar. But like my white bullhead, they are it, and nobody is sharing, so they’ll likely never make the blog unfortunately. But I at least have this one. And as the sculpts are very similar, and the paint is incomplete, I do want to mention that I confirmed the species with the Replica Toy Fish owner, and it is a species on the 2010 ‘upcoming figures’ list…most of which never upcame. Also, to see the whole lot of them, they are shown here at the Toy Animal Wiki. Except I didn’t see the white bullhead catfish. Because I didn’t realize it isn’t there, so I’ve provided a photo (TAI is also missing the unreleased brook trout).

Anyway, it is great to see a different species of catfish produced–given how familiar catfish are, and how widely distributed, they’re not especially common. Most likely the most familiar and available is the Safari Incredible Creatures catfish (apparently not yet on the blog!) but there are a few others. White bullhead catfish, also called white catfish, are naturally found in the eastern coastal states of the US, from New York south to Florida. They have also been introduced, intentionally or not, in other areas like California, the Columbia river, and Puerto Rico. White bullheads have also began spreading into Connecticut via estuaries, as they can tolerate some higher salinity.

Preferred habitat is slower waters like muddy pools, lakes, ponds and stream backwaters. The muddy bottoms are their favored habitat for hunting, primarily at dusk and at night. As with many catfish with big, forward-facing mouths, white bullheads are active predators, using their sensory barbels and keen sense of smell to hunt. Preferred prey are benthic hunters, taking fish, worms, and arthropods–pretty much anything that fits their mouths! White bullheads can get reasonably large, up to 95cm (37 inches) but more commonly around 30cm (12 inches).

The sculpt of the figure is very similar to the 3″ channel catfish, but I don’t think it’s exactly the same. It is about 7.4cm (2.9 inches), giving a scale of 1:13 for a big individual, or 1:4 for a more common 30cm specimen. The overall body is long and fusiform, wider in the centre of the body and slopes back down to the tail. The head slopes more sharply to a point, with a slightly agape mouth. In the real animal the head tapers more gently, giving a more gentle curve along the back of the fish. The mouth itself is slightly underslung, as appropriate for the species. It is surrounded by 8 thick barbels, which is the correct number, and arranged correctly–two on the snout, two on the sides, and four on the chin. They are a bit thick for the scale, but any thinner probably wouldn’t hold up well. The face is also quite wide, demonstrating the broad mouth of the species. The fins appear to be roughly correct in placement and size, although it’s not possible to be sure how many rays are present. The anal fin could be more squared at the posterior edge.

The colouring on the figure is…a unique take. The fish is called a white bullhead, but doesn’t really reflect the expected colouration of the real animal, which is often a plain grey on the back with a white belly, and the fins are mostly grey. The back has a light olive that extends over the top of the head. The figure is overall a yellow body overall, including the barbels and most of the fins. The tail, adipose, and anal fins have a brown wash over them. The body also has a number of random black spots around the body. The eyes are a distinct orange with black pupils. Honestly, the general colour is not very ‘white bullhead’ overall, even if that’s what I was told it is supposed to be by the company owner. Maybe a white catfish in muddy water? I’m never sure where the painters were getting their paint schemes. That said, not sure what other catfish species it would have been based on…there is a yellow bullhead catfish, but the shape is very wrong. One other thing that is really obvious–this is clearly not a saleable figure–the face has a large black blotch on it, clearly a factory error. At least one side is clear, so that’s displayable!

So with that, I am finally done with the whole series of Replica Toy Fish models that I have in my collection. I can’t say it enough, there has never been another series like this, and I just can’t see one happening again any time soon (despite an attempt to reinvent it by the same person). There were certainly some less-than-stellar models, especially in the paint schemes, but in terms of species presented and the value to education, they are great. I’m happy to have been able to get the entire released series when it was available, plus a few others since I knew the owner from the beginning of RTF. I definitely recommend getting them if you can. They aren’t easy to find though. I still hold out hope some other company will take this up eventually…