So today is going to be…brief. Not a whole lot to say about most of these so it’s going to be brief. Not everything in the collection is gold…Two different trilobites so that’s unexpected!
Safari Ltd Mythical Realms Chimaera
First up, one of the fantasy or mythical figures in the collection (although not displays). It is the Chimaera from the Mythical Realms series, item number 801429. Safari has had a pretty good run of dragons and other fantasy/mythology figures. I remember seeing this one when it came out in 2009. There are a tonne of details on it, and it’s a pretty extreme interpretation of the Chimaera. The more traditional version has at minimum a lion and goat head, and a serpent tail. But taking the idea of a chimaera to mean a combination of a bunch of animals…why not add dragon wings and a dragon head. It’s a pretty cool figure though, great for displays (if that’s your thing) or even gaming, and is still available.
Favorite Co. Cambrian Creatures Olenoides
Next, we have a more expected figure for my collection. This is the trilobite Olenoides, number FP-206, produced as part of their Cambrian Creatures mini-model set. The figures were released in two forms; individually in sealed bags (labelled, no blind-bag nonsense) and in a box set that contained the seven figures, plus a second version of the Anomolacaris. I got the series in their separate forms (the box wasn’t available at the same time–and I didn’t need two of the same figure). Anyway, this is a superb model of a living trilobite, probably the best one at the time (a recent figure from CollectA is on par). They’ve captured many of the notable figures, not just the expected but even the biramous legs+gills on the underside. And the antennae are nicely thin, about as thin as this kind of material can be. I definitely recommend getting this figure, and the rest of the series, as well. But they’re most easily found in Japan. Of course. Although there are some companies outside of Japan that bring them in. Definitely try to find them!
Toyops Trilobite fossil cast
Next, another trilobite. Suffice to say nowhere near the quality of the Olenoides. It came with a Triops growing kit, one that was popular at the dinosaur museum I managed (we had those little guys swimming around all the time). It was listed as a ‘fossil Triops toy’ but was clearly a trilobite (the materials with the kit made a lot of connection between Triops and trilobites). The figure itself is of course meant to represent an in situ fossil, and it’s kind of misshapen. There are some distinct features on it, like the genal spines, but otherwise it’s pretty generic. Not a figure that would really be exciting for a collection, and not even sure if they’re still made (those sets change all of the time).
FUL (Nayab) Marine iguana (?)
Finally, we have another FUL/Nayab figure from their lizard series. I’ve considered it the toughest to identify of the lot, as it has probably the most outrageous colour scheme of the whole series. From what anyone can tell, it is probably a marine iguana (fair number of iguanids in the set). If that’s the case, there are far better ones. But hey, it’s kind of weird and indeterminate, so it can also stand in nicely for other lizard-ish reptiles. For reasons I don’t remember, I had it as a stand in for Trilophosaurus for example, but there are a lot of other prehistoric reptiles it might work for as well. It’s not exactly a collectable, so it isn’t like it’s going to adorn the shelves or anything! But it is widely available from multiple sources.
