Great White Shark, 2004 (Sea Life by Schleich)

Review and images by Cachalot; edited by bmathison1972

Jeff had not eaten for three weeks as he lurked just under the waters off Dana Point California. The great white, Carcharodon carcharias, wandered here looking for food. He had not had a respectable meal in three months. Here was a canyon with squid that drew whales. He scanned the water for prey weak enough for him to handle. He was 11 feet long. He wasn’t the monster in the novel Jaws. Now the ladies of his kind out ranked him in size. They could get upwards to 20 feet. In the waters to the west were the shapes of a pod of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), 7 females intermixed with youthful offspring. The pod was 11 in number. They were arranged like an odd floret around a boat making a chorus of soft clicks as they investigated it. At the edge, seeming by herself, was a young mother with her small female calf that wasn’t much bigger than himself. She looked like easy pickings as she twirled around under her mother with her jaw open. Whales were blubbery beasts. He had even gnawed on the carcasses of assorted large whales that had died of natural causes. Jeff had a preference for fatty foods and unless desperate, turned his nose up at leaner fare. If he was really desperate, he might even eat pop cans or other non-food items. The young mother relaxed under the sun as it twinkled through the rippling water. She glanced at Jeff seeming unconcerned as she made her clicking noises calling another pod member…

She got a reply out of the blue water. Jeff had not had any experience with these large brained creatures while they were living. He had only dealt with dead ones. He made a beeline toward the infant. A dark shape, 36 feet of attitude, appeared out of the blueness. It was already apparent the animal was thick bodied with powerful flukes. This was Mama, the matriarch, with her distinctive square, blocky head and golden eyes that crackled with intelligence. Jeff was a sly hunter, among the most clever of fishes, but he was no match for this big brained leviathan that was a leader of her pod. She had just eaten. There was still a ribbon of pink squid sticking to the corner of her mouth. She immediately turned the barrel of her head toward him, battering him with her sonic clicks. He turned a sharp corner, and angled away to get out of the line of her fire. Mama was now in pursuit with her jaw open as the young mother and the little one retreated to the pod. Jeff turned south to get away from the pod…

He loitered under the waves moving in the more southerly direction as the cacophony clicks faded in the distance. The pod was still intent on that boat of whale watchers. Jeff would avoid the creatures that rasped and clicked from that day forward. Stick to dead ones. Great whites prey primarily on dolphins and smaller whales. They go after the larger whales when they are snared or weakened. His luck wasn’t entirely bad that day. He found a dead white seabass (Atractoscion nobilis) floating with the tide. It would have to stave him over until he found something richer and less feisty.

Now to the figure. Like the character in this little tale, it is male. It was molded with claspers. It is long retired, as subsequent and better models were made after it. The body curves to the right. When placed next to the 2017 mold one can see his head and fins are out of proportion being too big for his body. Even the shape of them isn’t very convincing. The pelvic fins are too pointed and the claspers separate from the pelvic fins on this figure. The rubbery material of this figure is white with a little gray paint sprayed over the top and on the tail to add color. The eyes and mouth look painted by hand. This was probably intended to serve as a tub or pool toy, due to the rubbery material.