Alligator Gar, juvenile (3″ figure by Replica Toy Fish)

Back with the very last August 2015 releases from Replica Toy Fish, the second of two figures that use the same model, this time the juvenile alligator gar, Atractosteus spathula, seen originally as a six inch figure. Last time I focused on the adult figure, now we can take a more pictorial look at the juvenile version.

The figure was described in depth when looking at the adult 3″ figure. The most important thing to recall is that juveniles tend to demonstrate more markings on a brown or tan base, while large adults tend to be mostly green without much for markings. And after the solid blue of the adult, we are here with the spotted pattern of a juvenile. On a very adult body, since again it’s the same model.

First, the model itself. As before, the figure is 8.8cm (about 3.5″) long; given that the figure is meant to be a juvenile but has a mostly adult body it’s probably represents an individual around 180cm (6 feet) long. That would make the scale would around 1:22, but could range larger or smaller. Definitely a good size for Cenozoic dioramas, given the common 1:20 scale for modern and prehistoric mammal figures. Otherwise the variation for this figure is all in the colouration.

The primary colour is a yellow cream colour over the majority of the sides, face, and caudal peduncle. The back surface and top of the head is a dark, greenish-blue colour. There are two sloppy rows of spots on either side along the posterior back surface, but otherwise no other markings on the body (kind of similar to the organized minimalism seen on the RTF longnose gar). The belly is of course unpainted white.

The fins are overall the same cream colour, with some washes of the blue colour on the dorsal fin and just one pectoral fin. The tail fin has a slight reddish-brown wash as well. There are a few sloppy black spots and lines on the anal, dorsal, and pelvic fins. On the tail, there are a number of lateral, oblong black spots. This is more in keeping with what we would see on younger alligator gars, with lots of markings that probably provide some camouflage.

The face is also fairly plain. The top of the head has the blue, while the side and opercula have the same cream base. The lower jaw is completely unpainted white. The inside of the mouth is also unpainted, which actually makes the sculpted teeth more visible (if a little chunky). The eyes are painted in a yellow ochre, sloppily, with a black pupil that is not centered on either side, and is kind of blobby.

When I reviewed the adult alligator gar figure I mentioned that it was clearly based on artwork from Joe Tomelleri. It turns out that this juvenile gar is also pretty much the same pattern as his art as well (again, it would have been licensed). And as a side note, I just realized that the RTF 3″ longnose gar was also based on his work. Obviously, the work that Tomelleri does is far more nuanced that what we see on the figure, but elements like the fin markings and dorsal spots are unmistakable. I’d imagine that there are model painters out there that could do amazing things with these figures. Not me though.

And with that, we have now looked at all of the figures RTF released in August of 2015 (or so). The juvenile alligator gar is in many ways a more expected pattern than what we usually see for gar figures, but both are nice, and quite distinct. Now that we’ve seen the April and August 2015 releases, there’s just one more bunch–a set that was easily poised to dominate the series (and in a bad choice for Toy Fish Factory, completely unrepresented in that revival. It will take some time, but they’ll come along over time. Hope you like trout!