Humpback Whale, adult and calf (Monterey Bay Aquarium Collection by Safari Ltd.)

The sounds of whales often fill the ambiance of the ocean, and none are more popular than the songs of the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). This species traditionally occupies the sole Balaenopterid genus outside of Balaenoptera, but molecular studies position the humpback as the closest relative of the fin whale (B.phylsaus), rendering Balaenoptera paraphyletic. Humpback whales have a cosmopolitan distribution between 4 subspecies in the North Atlantic (M.n.novaeangliae), North Pacific (M.n.kuzira), Southern Ocean (M.n.australis), and the Arabian Sea (M.n.indica). Adults of this species range from 11-15 meters in length and 20-50 metric tons, with females as the larger sex. While historical records document individuals up to 18 meters long, most evidence suggests a maximum of 16 meters. Humpbacks are recognized for their unique appearance, long migrations, interference with predators, and vocalizations. The most complex sounds, analogous to the mating songs of birds, are produced exclusively by males and are believed to either attract females or facilitate competition with other males. After commercial whaling brought humpbacks to near extinction, massive rebounding in many populations granted this species the ”Least-Concern” status, with a current global population of 140,000 compared to the historical abundance of around 200,000. Still, the Arabian sea population remains critically endangered with a mere 89 individuals. Humpbacks mainly feed on krill, small schooling fish, and other prey such as benthic amphipods. This species is primarily predated by killer whales and large sharks can pose a threat to calves and distressed juveniles.

Today will be dedicated to the most superlative figure of Safari Ltd.’s Monterey Bay Aquarium collection, the humpback whale. This figure was one of the first I’ve ever owned from the collection and is often cited as one of the best humpback whales ever produced. Time to see if this figure is worthy of such a reputation.

The first matter to address is the figure’s size as it’s the largest in the entire MBA collection and one of the largest ever produced by Safari Ltd. The MBA humpback whale is 36.2 cm long when measured from the notch between the flukes to the tip of the snout. At the marketed scale of 1:40, the figure corresponds to a whale that would be 14.48 meters long and weigh around 45 metric tons. This figure is perfectly to scale with other large whale figures such as the CollectA minke whale and is just larger than the Maia and Borges humpback.  As for the sculpt, there’s a plethora of detail to admire.

Right off the bat, the overall attention to the anatomy is spot-on. The contours of the body are accurate, as it’s more rotund than the typical rorqual. The curve of the mouthline and eyes are nicely realistic ( the latter has been an issue for other MBA figures) and the tailstock is properly shaped, sporting the titular ‘humps’ past the dorsal fin. The pectoral fins are quite long at 10.6cm and feature scalloped leading edges.

One can admire the tubercles at the top of the face, with a very organic arrangement compared to the Maia and Borges humpback whale.

Underneath, you can view the genital slit that’s accompanied by two mammaries, making this figure anatomically female. This trait is present on all cetacean adults within this line aside from the narwhal and Pacific white-sided dolphin.

The detail underneath is staggering, with about 22 sculpted ventral pleats. This is accurate to the species, where the number can range from 14-35. The only other feature to note is that the barnacles are not sculpted as they are on the gray whale, rather they are painted.

The humpback’s paintjob has two main colors, an off-black color with patches of white along the underside. As you can see in the photos above, the white is neatly applied, giving the figure a very realistic look. Additional colors include some green and dark yellow for the barnacles. These don’t look very realistic, but their conservative use prevents them from negatively impacting the look of the figure.

The figure shown so far was purchased at some point between 2011 and 2013. Here’s a brief comparison to an earlier version that’s closer to the original release. The sculpt is largely the same but looks slightly leaner than my later figure. The paintjob is a lot simpler. It still looks good for the time, but the application is obviously not as realistic, especially around the flukes. The current version of the MBA humpback whale boasts a different paintjob from either. It looks similar to my newer figure, but with a matte finish.

We now move on to the calf, which measures around 14.5 cm, comparable to the adult orca of the same line. At the same scale as the mother, the calf would be about 5.8 meters. This would represent a calf that is probably a few months to a year old.

The sculpt is pretty accurate, boasting many of the same features as the mother while adjusting for the proportions. As the only humpback whale calf I own, it looks very accurate when compared to the few alternatives at this scale, such as the Papo or retired Schleich calves.

The paintjob is more simplified with a single, continuous white patch for the underside. The ventral sides of the flukes are completely dark. Other than that, there is not much to criticize as the calf still appears quite nice.

Of all of the releases from the Monterey Bay Aquarium collection, the humpback whale is the one that most strongly embodies the slogan that these are museum-quality models rather than mere toys. Especially with the improvements made to later releases, the humpback whale is easily one of, if not the best figure in the MBA collection. It easily outclasses any future humpback from other Western manufacturers. I wouldn’t entertain recommending any alternatives for a humpback whale outside of accommodating for size preferences. Very few animal figures can maintain such a stature after 30 years with such relatively minor alterations to the original release. Any humpback whale model that looks better than this is likely not very accessible or exists at a different scale to this one. I consider it a must-have for those open 1:30-1:40th scale collections. Luckily, the adult is still in production while the calf has been retired since 2008. While all the calves in this line are rare, I’d say the humpback whale calf is among the few you’re more likely to find, especially if you search among international sellers.