The Safari Ltd. wallaby was released in 2016 and sculpted by Doug Watson. Although currently available on Safari’s website it has been perpetually on sale for some time, which likely means it has been retired and is being cleared out. Let’s take a closer look at it and see if it’s worth grabbing before it’s gone.
The first order of the day is identifying it, since Safari only markets it as a wallaby. Luckily, this figure is easy to identify at the species level. With its black paws and nose, and white stripe on the upper lip, this figure clearly represents a red-necked wallaby (Notamacropus rufogriseus). In Tasmania it is known as the Bennett’s wallaby.
The red-necked wallaby is native to Australia, including Tasmania, and can be found along the eastern coast in scrub and sclerophyll forests. This species has also been introduced to New Zealand, England, Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man, France, and Germany. I can’t imagine what it’s like to see wild wallabies in Europe!
Red-necked wallabies can weigh between 30-40 lbs. (13.8-18.4 kg) and have a head-body length of 35” (90 cm). The figure has a head-body length of 2.5” (6.35 cm) which puts it at 1/14 in scale. The total length of the figure is about 4” (10.16 cm) and it stands just under 2” (5.08 cm) tall.
The figure is presented resting on its haunches with the head slightly tilted downward and to the left. The tail mostly stays off the ground except for the tip but my copy might be warped. I imagine that the entire underside of the tail is probably supposed to be resting on the ground.
The figure has all the hallmarks of the species it represents, which made species identification easy. I wonder why Safari doesn’t advertise some of their toys at the species level when it’s clear what they represent. Fine details are well sculpted, and the eye is mostly drawn to the wonderful texturing of the fur, with the coat appearing short and dense.
The paintjob also serves the figure well, with an excellent blending of colors. The figure is mostly dull reddish orange with a white and gray underside and gray along the back. I suppose the fur could have been a bit more grizzled, but it looks good, nonetheless. The ears, nose, hands, and feet are black, and a thin black stripe runs down the forehead and connects to the muzzle. The eyes are shiny brown with black pupils.
The Safari wallaby is a superb little figure that is essential to any collection of macropods and Australian wildlife. It’s also the only figure of its species. In a hobby where the only macropod that gets good representation is the red kangaroo, a figure like this needs to celebrated. For the moment it is still available, but I bet it won’t be for long. Get it while you can!
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If I remember correctly, when this figure was announced, Doug Watson confirmed he based it on Bennett’s wallaby, again, if I remember correctly…
The Bennett’s is a subspecies of the red-necked wallaby. It would be interesting if he based this sculpt on that subspecies. Specific subspecies are rare in this hobby.
I might be mixing up common names; maybe it was the red-necked broadly, but it was this species for sure!