Review and images by stargatedalek; edited by bmathison1972
Some time ago, I purchased this rather strange fish marketed as replica food. There was a risk the material would not lend itself well to the alternative role as a figurine, but pompano depictions are hard to come by so I decided to give it a shot.
The pompano measures 30 cm long at its longest and 4 cm at its widest. While it is unfortunately likely impossible to identify as a particular species, it is recognizable as a pompano (genus Trachinotus), and most likely represents either T. falcatus or T. carolinus (the Permit and Florida pompano, respectively).
The fish is covered in a fine texture, and although it is hard to know if this is deliberate detail or caused by the unusual spongy material, it still looks pleasant. The gill covers, lateral line, and even some of the underlying musculature are present. Sadly the pelvic fins are missing, and the pectoral fins are placed asymmetrically. This strange disconnect between small details I wouldn’t expect to see being included, and large details being handled poorly leads me to assume this is cast from a real fish.
While the detail is overall fine, it did indeed turn out to be very fragile. The material creases very easily which leaves permanent marks on the fish, so even a fall can leave noticeable impacts. Mine even has some suspiciously finger shaped imprints, handle these with caution.
Overall I guess I would say it is a failed experiment, but I am glad I took the risk and found out. I would recommend looking into this and similar products (this one was purchased through AliExpress) for large dioramas or permanent displays, but not as figurines, let alone as toys.
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