Quick look* at a nifty shark figure today–the prehistoric shark Hybodus made by Neko Works for their “Shark Attack” series. These are single piece models available in Japan only (I think) as unpainted white resin figures. This mean lots of great detail, and also lots of pointy bits. And they are certainly not toys as they can be fairly fragile.
I first heard about these models through the Dino Toy Forum in about 2009 or 2010, and was able to find them at Hobby Link Japan. Which, it turns out, is still the primary source for them! I discovered that there were several sharks in the series, but the only prehistoric ones were the Hybodus and a Stethacanthus (seen in this post). I went for it, and I’m glad I did, because while the range contains a few interesting species, the figures don’t seem to always be available. It was years later that I was able to pick up their Starry Smoothhound and Greenland sharks, for example.
The Hybodus is number NKWS-17 in the series, with about 25 figures total made (some were discontinued before I ever knew they existed…oh well). It’s a fairly straight but mostly accurate sculpt, the weird central head spine notwithstanding (but it’s removable). The dorsal spines very prominent, and very pokey–when they are present. The first Hybodus I received was missing part of the first dorsal spine–not broken in package, just broken at some point. HLJ was nice enough to send me another, so I painted the broken one as best as my abilities would allow! Being resin, these figures have a lot of detail packed in given the small size–teeth are even sculpted to some extent, but given the scale they wouldn’t be too obvious.
The figures themselves would fit alongside the Safari prehistoric sharks toob or Colorata sets in terms of size, but of course they are much nicer models…and again, not toys. But for shark collectors, these are definitely worth seeking out. I know that they are very hit and miss with availability; recently, they did have some for sale at HLJ**…but it appears that most of the models are once again out of stock. And restocking can take quite some time (get your preorders in, they don’t last long!) Definitely a good addition for a collection of prehistoric marine life though–despite their prevalence in Mesozoic seas, we don’t see many hybodont shark figures.
*I have realized I’m over 300 posts in! Which is crazy! But time sometimes gets away from me…so I may not be as regular with posts. I am thinking these brief one-figure reviews will probably be my way to go for now; kind of harkens back to the early days, but less structure. Unless the figures don’t warrant much discussion. We’ll see.
**Also, I’m not linking HLJ because…it’s not mine to link. But it’s an easy site to find!
