Review and images by Kikimalou; edited by bmathison1972
The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is the largest carnivorous marsupial still alive. About the length of a Corgi, with a stocky body, a large head full of teeth, and a tail about half the length of its body. The coat is black with, most of the time, white markings on the neck and on the rump at the base of the tail. Its name comes from its impressive cries and reputation for ferocity. This solitary nocturnal hunter has the most powerful jaw relative to body size of any living mammalian carnivore. It can open to 75-80 degrees and is capable of crushing bones and even more through metal wires. The species is endemic to Tasmania and has been reintroduced to southern Australia.
In the world of toys, the first Devil was probably produced in 1997 by Cadbury for its Australian Yowies series, followed the next year by McDonald’s. In the early 2000s, Bandai, Furuta, Safari Ltd., and K&M International also produced their own Devils in tubes and gashapon packs. Then came the two Science & Nature models. It wasn’t until 2014 that CollectA offered a figurine that would become a milestone in the world of collecting. In 2017, Jason from Minizoo will also offer us his interpretation of the animal for his Southlands Replicas brand.
So did we really need another devil in 2019? We do! Safari Ltd. has done a very nice job on this model. The sculpture is fine and even if the pose is now very conventional, head up and mouth open. The overall look is very natural.
The paintwork is simple but brings out details like the fur, vibrissae, and ears very effectively. For the teeth, it’s just a little worse up close.
If I had to sum up this model in one word, it would be “Elegance”, strange as it may seem for such a troublemaker.
There are two downsides though: the belly is like an open book, with more text than fur. The underside of the hands has no relief or detail, unlike the CollectA and Southlands Replicas. Obviously, on a shelf, these flaws don’t show.
The choir, left to right: Southlands Replicas, Safari Ltd., CollectA, Ikimon:
Today’s by Safari Ltd. is the only one without white markings on the rump:
Disclaimer: links to Ebay and Amazon on the AnimalToyBlog are affiliate links, so we make a small commission if you use them. Thanks for supporting us!