Review and images by Kikimalou; edited by bmathison1972
The honey badger, or ratel, (Mellivora capensis) is a Mustelidae widely distributed in Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. The animal has a fairly long but strong body, with short, sturdy legs equipped with impressive claws. It is perfectly equipped to resist fights with its fellow creatures and predators alike. Its thick, loose skin allows the animal to twist and turn freely, while its small, flat head, short muzzle and tiny ears make it uneasy to bite. Renowned for its bravery and ferocity, it is ready to fight almost any other species, including lions, hyenas, and Cape buffaloes. Omnivorous, it feeds on roots, bulbs, bee larvae and honey, insects, frogs, turtles, lizards, rodents, snakes, birds, and eggs. It also attacks cobras and even black mambas. For all these reasons I find this animal completely irresistible.
The ratel is not a common animal in the world of toys, no comparison with its cousin the European badger or even the wolverine. For a very long time, from 1993 to 2013, there was only one toy available: the Play Visions. And then Anna Dobrowolska-Oczko sculpted two honey badgers for Mojö Fun, a male and a female carrying a youngster in her mouth, enough to satisfy collectors and children alike. It took 6 years for another established manufacturer to take up the torch, and in 2019 Safari Ltd. did just that.
After the 2 Mojö, was a new Ratel necessary for a collector? Of course it was! Undoubtedly! Absolutely! Our model is probably a Cape ratel, recognisable by the distinct white lateral stripe separating the upper and lower black parts of the body.
What about the posture? At first, the left front paw bothered me a bit, but after a little surfing on the Web, I discovered that it’s a very common attitude among ratels, at least in front of photographers!
For the head, as for the rest, the sculptor has done a very fine job.
Our friend is Africa’s largest terrestrial mustelid. Adults measure 23 to 28 cm in shoulder height and 55 to 77 cm in body length. The Safari Ltd has a scale ranging from 1:7.8-1:10.1.
With the two Mojö figures and a few animals from the African savannah in 1:10 scale:
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Wonderful review. When I started the synoptic non-arthropod part of my collection, I bought this figure. Then I started wondering if it was too big, so I replaced it with the Mojo pair. While preparing this post, I pulled the Safari version out of my trade/donation bin and re-evaluated it. Now that the non-arthropod part of my collection is substantially bigger (this honey badger was an early purchase), I feel it is not too big overall. So, to make a long story short, this Safari version is back on the shelves and the Mojo pair is in the trade/donation bin.
Honestly I probably wouldn’t have swapped them back if not for the fact my Mojo figures have their traditional lazy paint application. The female should have a grey dorsal stripe bordered in white (as shown above) but mine are both (male and female) bright white only! In general with animal figures, paint jobs tend to get worse over time, regardless of the brand, and I hadn’t started collecting mammals until 5 years after the Mojo were released. That being said, the Mojo pair are fantastically sculpted, and, as Kiki mentioned above, sculpted by STS/ATF forum member Ana!