Another day, another very random bunch of figures. Again, a pretty broad range of animals and companies.
Kaiyodo Takara ChocoQ Animatales Pets Axolotl
Here we have another excellent figure from the Kaiyodo Takara ChocoQ Animatales Pets series. This one is from series 4, so it was after the split between Kaiyodo and the original Furuta series. It is an Axolotl figure, number 098 in the series (also P44C, because why not have two numbering systems). One thing about these pets series, there were a lot of figures, but many were the same sculpt in multiple paint schemes (seen here, for example, with their Saddled Bichir figures). In the case of the axolotl, there are actually three different colour schemes, the other being an albino and gold variety. I only have the natural colour scheme though. The figure is great, and despite being made of several small pieces, the seams are completely invisible. It’s a great figure and would be great in a collection, but is of course out of production. Fortunately, there are other axolotl figures out there (although many are not especially easy to find either).
Unknown maker Barracuda
Next, from the quality of Kaiyodo to a basic plastic fish figure, we have here a Barracuda figure from an unknown maker…and set. I think I got it with a bunch of other figures but don’t remember. At first I thought it might be a Marx or MPC figure, or a knock off from one of those companies (they had made marine animal sets). But, instead, it appears to just be in a similar vein as those, with the monochromatic colour and simple styling. It could be a Prior/Azur, maybe? Or wherever this Climatius figure came from (as a kid, I got some of those with a bunch of Prior recasts). It’s a bit of a mystery. But, in short–it’s a decent little toy figure of a fish that honestly doesn’t get made often enough.
Yowies Series 4 Ring-tailed Lemur
And then there’s this Yowies figure of a Ring-Tailed Lemur. It is from series 4, which was clearly a Yowies set that was less exclusively Oceania-focused. Which is kind of nice; at the time there weren’t as many lemur figures around, although of course even then most were ringtail lemurs. It’s a very stylized figure, and almost looks a bit like a juvenile; given the size, it might work well with one of the many larger figures also available from many of the current figure companies. But, as always…it’s out of production, so that means it’s a little tougher to track down (not impossible though–just need to find someone in Australia).
Acheson Creations ‘Primaeval Designs’ Diplocaulus x 2
Now we have a pair of metal figures from the Primaeval Designs collection from Acheson Creations. They are part of the 28mm series, number PD0013, which kind of gives a decent sense of their supposed scale. They more or less come close (1:56 is apparently the normal 28mm scale), and of course they are difficult to measure. They are of course unpainted metal, so some of their detail is really difficult to capture in the photos I took. I suppose I could try to paint them…as it is, when they are purchased, there are actually 3 of each model. So I guess I have some spares if I really don’t do a great job. Maybe a wash, just to highlight the details? Despite my questionable photos, they are actually very nice, and for people that want late Palaeozoic displays, these would be great for adding on. At least they are still readily available from the Acheson Creations website!
Nayab Torpedo Ray
Finally, we have a wonderful little figure from Nayab (or…Lontic?…or several other companies). It’s an unusual Torpedo Ray figure, I think a Spotted Torpedo Ray, but it can be tricky to be sure. It’s definitely great to have a few figures of these very interesting rays in the collection, definitely a change from the more common mantas, eagle rays, and stingrays. And Nayab also did a great job of giving this figure a lot of life; instead of the easier flat to the ground pose common in ray models, they have given it a bit of a raised body and some curves. Given the way the head is lifted, it could be representing a ray using its powerful electric shock on some kind of prey. And given the size, it would be easy to find an appropriate prey-animal to pose with it! I wish I could say it’s easy to find…but I was only able to get my hands on one through a trade with…someone? It will probably show up in a set from Nayab again, if it isn’t already. Although I’m never sure how readily available those are either.
