Who makes it? This is from the last series of original Yowies figures from Australia, the Series 9, Forgotten Friends B. The Aurochs is number 29 in the set.
When did it come out? I can’t find the exact year, but I think it was about 2002 or so. It wasn’t out for very long.
Still available? Only from other collectors and auctions. And since the series was only available in Australia, it’s more likely to be found from sources there.
Where can it be found in my displays? I have a lot of Yowies. They take up a whole shelf. It is mostly fish and other prehistoric and extinct animals.
How does it fit in the collection? I do like my smaller figures, and interesting extinct animals are always welcome in the collection. This was the first Aurochs I was able to get. There are a few others since, but not many.
Any story behind it? Mostly that it took a bit of time to track this one down. The Forgotten Friends B series was not available for long, and as mentioned, was restricted to Australia. I can’t recall how I eventually got it to be honest, but most likely through one of my collector friends in Australia..
Notable remarks about this figure (a review that isn’t really a review): First off as is usual with Yowies, this figure is made from pieces. And like most of them, the seams are not well-hidden, they are clearly visible. It gives the figure a fairly loose feel–the legs, horns and tails all have a bit of wiggle. The sculpt itself is a pretty good representation of a wild cow. It has a heavy chest and long horns (although it still seems a little lightly built). Unlike many Yowies, this one is obviously meant to be a bull, so it should probably be even heavier set. I don’t know how it matches up with a real Aurochs though. The overall colour is a basic brown with a bit of darker shading along the back. It’s hard to comment on Yowies, since they are quite stylized and a little cartoon-like. But they overall do a good But as a line, and especially with unusual animals like this, it’s a great way to expand a collection into some less familiar animals.
Would I recommend it? It’s a tough one. Like the Atlas bear I discussed before, it would make an interesting addition to a collection or display. Given the history of the species, it would make an unexpected part of ice age or even medieval dioramas too (right up to 17th century Poland…). Also like most Yowies, they aren’t great toys due to the tendency to fall apart, and the pieces can be brittle. But given that, there aren’t a lot of options for Aurochs figures–the only two I know of are also small figures, both of which are also out of production. So it’s might be worth looking for it.
