Minke Whale (Sealife by CollectA)

Review and images by callmejoe3; edited by bmathison1972

The common minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) is the smallest species of rorqual and the second smallest baleen whale after the pygmy right whale (Caperea marginata). They range from 6.0-9.5 meters in length and weigh 4-8 tons. Pronounced ‘min-kee’, these whales were named after a German laborer called Meincke, who often confused them with blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus). This species is distributed across the world with three recognized subspecies: North Atlantic (B. a. acutostrata), North Pacific (B. a. scammoni) minke whales, and the scientifically-unnamed dwarf minke that lives in the southern hemisphere. A second species was described in 1998, dubbed the Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis). Due to their small size, whalers ignored minke whales until the 1930’s, when stocks of larger rorquals were depleted. 166,342 individuals from the Northern Hemisphere were caught between 1930-1999. Commercial hunting persists for these animals with an average of 970 individuals killed per year between Norway, Iceland, and Japan. Their IUCN status as of 2018 is ‘Least Concern’. There are no precise global population estimates, but sums of regional data support the existence of at least 200,000 individuals. Northern hemisphere minke whales feed on a variety of schooling fish; dwarf minkes prefer lanternfish.

In 2018, CollectA released their minke whale figure and, in my opinion, it is a very meticulous representation of this small rorqual. First off, the item measures in at 190 mm/7.48 inches. Within my ‘’alpha collection’’ of whales I collect to represent the 1:40 scale, this whale reflects a 7.6 meter/25 foot individual. The minke will scale nicely with some of the largest model whales such as the sperm whales, humpbacks, and gray whales from Maia & Borges or Monterey Bay Aquarium. Same goes for owners of the many killer whales at around 5.5-7.0 inches.

Even though the label only describes this whale as ‘’minke’’, the presence of ivory white bands on both pectoral flippers makes it clear that the figure is molded after the common minke whale rather than the Antarctic minke whale. Furthermore, the paintjob retains plenty of the other idiosyncracies that makes further taxanomic indentification viable. The pectoral white bands are very broad, forming shoulder patches. Alongside that, the dorsal body also exhibits dark gray fields while the lateral and ventral body possesses various gray and ivory white streaks, patches, and blazes. These features are all charactersitic of the dwarf minke whale. Dwarf minke whales are recognized as having the most complex coloration of
all the mysticetes, which is highly variable across individuals. It reflects well on CollectA that the paintjob allowed the precise taxon to be immediately recognizable when using the comparison diagrams from Mark Cawardine’s Handbook of Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the World. Usually there’s a great deal of ambiguity for figures other polytpic cetacean genera/species, such as bottlenose dolphins, humpback whales, right whales, or pilot whales.

The sculpt of this figure is no less impressive. With respect to external anatomical features, CollectA’s minke whale is probably among the most detailed cetacean figures I own, if not the most. First off, like the Monterey Bay Aquarium cetaceans, this whale possesses genital slits, along with the anus and umbilical scar. The lack of mammary slits makes it clear that this is a male individual. However, an even rarer detail that even the MBA figures lack, are little sculpts of the ear slits! These features are practically invisible on most whales and a lot of figures do not have them. Even the Kaiyodo Mega Sofubi blue whale lacks ears. The only other figure I own that depicts the external ear slits is the CollectA pilot whale. And in addition to the ears, this figure even pays attention to the deflated throat skin by showing two little protrusions that are also visible on actual minke whales. Now I initially thought these were supposed to be the angular processes of the mandible, but I somewhat doubt that now. These may be sagging skin, muscles, or blubber deposits. Either way, these are visible structures that this figure managed to capture.

It is obvious to me now that CollectA placed a good deal of effort in reproducing the common minke whale. I ought to consider this release to be one of the most scientifically accurate cetacean figures I own. The only minor nitpick I have towards this figure is that the shape of the rostrum is a bit too curved, like other rorquals. Minke whales are known for having a relatively sharp head shape, hence the species name ‘’acutorostrata’’. Although, that was only a detail I noticed when trying to find anything potentially wrong about this figure. All in all, it gets my highest recommendation for those interested in a minke whale figure of this size. This figure seems to be available for new on eBay for U.S. sellers, Amazon for UK consumers, and on Minizoo and animalkingdoms for those living in Australia or New Zealand. I would advise getting one before it is retired.