Brook Trout, prototype (3″ figure by Replica Toy Fish) + custom Bull Trout

It’s Canada Day! And it just so happens that we’ll be seeing two variations of a figure that stretch from one coast to another!

Now we’re into the weeds of Replica Toy Fish figures–last time I looked at the last figure from the October 2015 trout and salmon figures, the coho salmon. I had mentioned that these were the last of the commercially released figures, and they were. But in October of 2017, when the company decided to fold up and start over, their owner sent out packages to a few people, including myself. It included a lot of extra main-line figures, quite a few less-than-perfect models, some repainted or test models (such as the pike ones seen here and here), and most excitingly, a few prototype models and species that were not released for sale!

The one today will be following the theme of the last several posts–more trout! It is a familiar model and a familiar species, a brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis, specifically the same model as the brook trout from the Northwoods set. But a very different paint scheme, and not all that good of one. From what I could tell, this was the initial paint scheme and…it’s unique. Certainly not reminiscent of any brook trout…or any other charr either. Being all white spots, that would be more like a lake trout Salvelinus namaycush but the tail is not forked enough (for just one reason). The only other Salvelinus with light spots is the bull trout S. confluentus, but the colour is otherwise wrong (see the end of the post for more on that!) I’ve listed it in my system as a ‘splake’ which is a hybrid between brook trout and lake trout (S. fontinalis x S. namycush) but that was more because it didn’t fit any real species very well…which hybrids commonly do (but I don’t think that was the intent).

There is no need to describe the sculpt–it’s the exact same as the Northwoods brook trout. Right down to the weirdly rounded tail fin and and extended dorsal fin. Obviously, as a test colour, they wouldn’t have modified the sculpt, but it’s good that the colour was at least changed.

The overall colour is just brown, across the back and down the sides and head. The rest of the body, down along the belly and into the tail, is a dark pink. There is some brown up into the upper lobe of the tail fin on one side. The very centre of the belly is unpainted. The ventral fins are incidentally painted, with varying amounts of pink or just left unpainted. The face has no additional highlights except the eyes, which are painted bright yellow with a small black pupil. Overall, the paint is applied well, maybe some small scratches, but generally covers well, and is fairly even. It just doesn’t reflect a real species all that well, although many male charr do develop red bellies.

The markings are another story. Unlike the Northwoods version, or the much-improved late release brook trout, the markings are very simple and not very brook trout-like. As mentioned, the only markings are white, mostly as irregular white blobs of varying sizes. The spots are also found pretty much along the sides and caudal peduncle, slightly into the base of the tail and dorsal fin. The spots do not cross the back, and there are no vermiculations. This is really not lining up with a brook trout, which should see red and blue spots with halos, as well as squiggly marks across the entire back.

So this is the first Replica Toy Fish figure that was not released for sale…unless you visited my online store at just the right time (early 2018) where I had very few listed. Of course they went right away! Other than the ones in my collection…and one that I chose to modify that Fall, inspired to make a version of the Alberta provincial fish, the bull trout!

Bonus figure Bull Trout

At the time that I received the brown I had a seemingly large number. Many were given as gifts randomly to kids at a science fair (audible collectors’ gasps, I know, sorry) and to friends. But after an experience helping Trout Unlimited Canada (now Freshwater Conservation Canada) with an irrigation canal rescue (pulling fish out of the reduced streams in the canals before lethal winter freezes) I was inspired to take one of the aberrant brook trout and turn it into a more meaningful (to me) charr–a bull trout Salvelinus confluentus (mentioned above). There are issues with the sculpt that, had I been paying attention, maybe I could have fixed, but I forgot and probably didn’t trust myself with my only spare! The dorsal fin should be more triangular, and the tail should have more of a fork. As well, the head of a bull trout is relatively large, but fortunately the original figure is sculpted such that the head, while a bit tapered, is probably big enough.

Ecologically, bull trout are similar to brook trout. They prefer cool, moving streams with gravel beds for spawning; bulls like deep lakes and rivers, and may move through coastal areas to reach other streams, but the preference for cold water can find them in higher elevations. Geographically bull trout are found as far north as the Yukon, through the Pacific northwest US and inland through the eastern Rockies and some of the prairies, as far south as northern California. At one point bull trout were synonymous with Dolly Varden Salvelinus malma but were later separated as a distinct species.

Like most charr, bull trout are active predators, preying on invertebrates when young but moving to fish as they grow, as well as fish eggs. And they can grow large–big individuals can reach 103cm (40 inches) long, although they are most common around 65cm (26 inches). Undisturbed, they are among the larger aquatic predators in their waterways, but of course any time there are trout, there are trout introductions–the IUCN lists them as Vulnerable, for both habitat impact and issues with introductions of non-native trout like rainbow and, yes, brook trout (ironically, brown trout introductions have the same effect on brooks out east). As the Provincial Fish of Alberta, and also because the populations are especially vulnerable, they are heavily protected and strictly catch-and-release here. Which is why it’s very important that anglers here know how to tell them from rainbows, brooks, and browns (also cutthroats, but those are protected too).

The key way is that there are no black spots on the dorsal fins, while the body silvery-green or silvery-blue with a variety of white, pink, and blue spots. I tried to capture this on the figure, covering it in small pink and white spots. Otherwise, the body and fins are a greenish/bluish colour, with the head a bit darker. The margins of the ventral fins have also been marked strongly with white, a key feature in all charr. The belly was painted white, blended up the side–in larger adults, this can also be pinkish or reddish, often during spawning. The eyes were painted a bright gold with black pupil. Since the figure length didn’t change, at 8cm long, this model would scale to 1:13 for a big monster, or 1:9 for a more average fish.

With that, we’ve reached the end of the trout with Replica Toy Fish. They were definitely among the most popular individual figures from RTF, and I was surprised that not one species came out with the first Toy Fish Factory sets. I was especially disappointed since a Western Trout set was among the many planned, and I (and probably many others) would have been pleased to have an official model of this and many others. Maybe someday–although to this point, no other company has made an official brook trout, and I’m not sure who would. Next time, another sculpt that was repurposed into other species, but this time officially by RTF!