Lots of reptiles today, and a single tiny mammal! Some prehistoric, some modern. A few are collectable…some are just kind of there…! Lots of ‘mini’ figures!
Ausini Bactrian Camel
We’re going to start with a little figure from the Ausini set again! Once again, a fairly recognizable animal that gets made fairly frequently, a Bactrian Camel. As far as the species goes it’s probably one of those ones that every brand will include, although of course quality will vary. The distinct look must make it very attractive to companies, as I believe that I have several others in the same tiny size as the Ausini one–it might be tricky to differentiate different horses or deer with limited paint and small size, but there is no other animal with the crazy double hump! As far as this one goes, it is serviceable, definitely not the best, even among mini figures. But assuming the set is still available, it would still be included and wouldn’t be a bad addition. Good for very small scale scene work if nothing else!
Safari Ltd Good Luck Minis Alligator
Next another tiny mini, this time the Safari Ltd American Alligator from their Good Luck Minis series, number 341122. This is a series that I’ve looked at a few times before, but not often given how many I have (and how many there are overall). Again, it’s always fun to have these tiny little figures in a collection, or for scenery work, and the 1:100 scale would probably be great for train set ups! The Alligator is also a great figure as Safari has always been represented by a logo featuring the animal, but a separate, slightly different one is now officially referred to as Bernie, their mascot. These figures are easily available, and often show up in stores as impulse items, even if the store doesn’t otherwise carry animal figures. And of course online shops; Safari also sells them on their website but it’s crazy because they sell them in lots of like 200…for individual customers! I don’t know who would need that but, you know…!
Safari Ltd Prehistoric Crocodiles toob Sarcosuchus
Sticking with small Safari figures, but this time from the Safari Toob collections, the Sarcosuchus from the Prehistoric Crocodile toob, number 679804. A small figure, and even more fun, it appears to be to scale with the above Good Luck Mini alligator. It’s a great little figure, and when it came out was one of very few representations of the animal (there are several out there now, which is great, although it would be nice to see some of the other giant crocodile relatives). I’ve mentioned before that I has some involvement with planning this toob, and Sarcosuchus was probably one of the first names given! It pretty much goes without saying that the set is very much worth getting…but of course was discontinued in 2017, so that will make it far more difficult (makes me glad I have a few doubles).
Kaiyodo CapsuleQ Dinosaur Discovery 7 Carnotaurus
Now another Cretaceous prehistoric animal, a Carnotaurus from Kaiyodo! Kaiyodo had originally released this dinosaur in two colours with Dinotales Series 5, but this one was actually a modified and repainted version with a CapsuleQ series released, I believe, with an expo of some kind. I have mentioned before that I usually don’t get reissues, but this one is a bit of an improvement in many ways; better colours, and the one-footed running pose is far more stable. It is definitely a great figure, and Carnotaurus is a pretty popular dinosaur, but these are overall pretty tough to find. Worth the search but it could get frustrating!
Mattel Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom Mini Mosasaurus
Finally, one more Cretaceous prehistoric beast, a big mini! This one comes from a set that, at least where I am, was part of a Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom set of several dinosaurs (I looked at the Stegosaurus quite a while ago). In this instance, it is the largest figure in the set, the Mosasaurus. Like the rest of the set, it is kind of a shaded monochrome figure, with a jointed jaw. It’s larger size gives it quite a presence as a toy or display model. It is of course not all that accurate based on what we know now…it is kind of a classic design. As a set of dinosaurs it is fine; they are very Jurassic Park/Jurassic World, with kind of a weird crossover of slightly outdated and highly stylized. I am a fan of these weird sets of mini figures, so it appeals to me. For collectors that strive for more accurate or modern representations in small figures, though, there are probably better ones; for example, tracking down as many Kaiyodo and Colorata figures as possible, and of course the CollectA mini boxes and some of the Safari prehistoric toobs (although most of the best ones are discontinued…for example, the Prehistoric Crocodiles toob reference a couple entries above!)
