Who makes it? Once again the Random Number Generator seems…less random. Like the Wild Boar from a weeks ago this is a figure from the Ausini wild animals set. Like the rest of the set, nothing is labelled or identified by the company. My best guess is chevrotain (mouse deer)–it’s a pointy-nosed hoofed animal that appears to represent a small mammal, but no antlers (otherwise mutjac might have been considered).
When did it come out? Again, no real idea. At least over ten years ago. But hard to be certain.
Still available? Not sure, but again who knows.
Where can it be found in my displays? Still in storage with the rest.
How does it fit in the collection? I think there were others in the set that were of interest. I doubt this was one of them. But it turns out that, if I’ve identified it right, it may be the only Chevrotain figure I’m aware of.
Any story behind it? Same as the Wild Boar. It was a set wherein I thought the small figures might have purpose.
Notable remarks about this figure (a review that isn’t really a review): Well, first off, it has an uninspiring colour scheme–orange rubber with green paint. The fur is sculpted in with good detail, as is the face. It does lack canines, so it would likely be a female. Because of the monochromatic colouring, it definitely lacks any correlation with real species, many of which have a variety of markings, and none of which are green. So it’s probably a Tragulus species (if I had to go with species…Greater chevrotain).
Would I recommend it? Well, it’s not an especially good figure. They were never meant to be museum-quality replicas or anything. But given that it may be the only figure representing a (modern) tragulid, well, maybe it would be interesting to dedicated figure collectors. The small size means that it may be easier to fit in at scale (about 1:25 to 1:35) with other models for collectors that find that important. It would be especially useful for dioramas of the appropriate places (mainly southeast Asia)–a small mammal to fit in with larger figures.
