Another very random foursome. Really, really random–mostly reptiles though, by accident. But a good assortment!
Safari Ltd South American Animals toob Amazon River Dolphin
First up, an Amazon River Dolphin figure from the 2021 Amazon River animals toob from Safari. This toob, number 100684, is a great set, a most recent one from Safari’s recent regional animal sets. This set is pretty great, with a decent diversity of animal models. One of the most notable is this figure of a river dolphin (also called a Boto), a great representation of a less familiar cetacean–every dolphin figure doesn’t need to be a Bottlenose! This model is a pretty decent representation, maybe a little shortened. Paint-wise it might be a little too on-the-nose pink, where most photos seem to be more pinkish and grey as opposed to just a bright pink. But hey, it keeps this distinctive animal in memory. A great toob (there are a number of great animals) and I definitely recommend it–but hurry, you’ll want a first run for the best paint jobs!
Yowies Lost Kingdoms Ridge-Headed Mekosuchine (Trilophosuchus)
Next up a weird crocodilian from the Yowies Lost Kingdom series A. Labelled as a Ridge-headed Mekosuchine, it’s always kind of fun how Yowies will give a common name to what are overall obscure prehistoric animals. More properly known as Trilophosaurus, this is of course the only toy or figure representative of this odd crocodilian, and other than the Quinkana also from Yowies, this group of crocs called ‘mekosuchines’. The figure itself is pretty decent–the usual slightly cartoonish Yowies style, and the multiple pieces do leave some awkward visible seams. But the design is very nice, and gives a very upright, active look to the figure, fitting for a species that was probably an active hunter. Definitely a good one to get, but of course these series of Yowies are long unavailable–but there’s probably someone in Australia that can help you!
Colorata Endangered Species Reptile Box Komodo Dragon
Speaking of terrestrial, carnivorous reptiles, we next have the Komodo Dragon from Colorata, part of their Endangered Species Reptile 3D picture book (a common name for a collection in many Japanese sets–but it does include a booklet!) This is one of the larger figures in the box, almost on par with similar models from more conventional companies like Mojo or Safari standard-size figures (or honestly every company at least once…it’s pretty iconic). It does, of course, stand out as one of the better ones, although given how many are out there a lot will come down to personal choice and availability. Being a Colorata model, the paint and sculpt is of course at the top of the quality standard among them–but availability (or associated cost) might make it less appealing to someone that needs a Komodo Dragon figure. But, if you have the opportunity, or are a big fan of reptile figures, it’s highly recommendable; this is true of the whole set of course.
Safari Ltd Incredible Creatures baby Coral Snake
Our ending figure is one of two Coral Snake figures made by Safari Ltd for their Incredible Creatures line. In particular, this one is the ‘baby’ Coral snake, item 263329. It’s not all that different from the ‘adult’ one other than being far smaller…and being more squiggly. Safari of course did a great job of replicating a coral snake, complete with the aposematic black-on-yellow indicating that this is the venomous snake (as opposed to a king or milk snake Batesian mimicry of that pattern–Safari should make one of those as a compare and contrast!) As it is, this is a great, larger figure, doing a great job of replicating the real animal, as is kind of the overall style of Incredible Creatures. Being a baby specimen make is even easier, as it is smaller than an adult, but it’s still realistic. A nice figure that is honestly in the collection by random chance, but for a reptile collector, it would be a good model. And excellent for a toy box, Incredible Creatures are great for kids.
