It’s another figure from one of the Innovative Kids book+game+figures sets, another animal from the Arctic Chill box set (the polar bear was seen here). As I’ve mentioned before, these are interesting sets (that are of course no longer available) that contained fairly decent books, rudimentary games, and a collection of animal figures that might not have been the very best, but often contained some interesting species. Was the Arctic Chill one of those sets? Kind of. But today’s figure probably wouldn’t necessarily fit that bill. There’s lots of Arctic Fox figures out there, in varying quality and size, and this is definitely one of them.
The figure is not too bad given the source. The face doesn’t seem quite pointed enough, and the legs might be a little long or disproportionate or something. But overall, it is at least serviceable, and distinctly not a wolf. In the set, it is however larger than the wolf figure! (Yes, of course there’s a wolf figure too). The paint scheme is pretty simple, taking advantage of the all white coat–other than an unfortunate paint blotch on the tail. And at least the eyes and nose are black (even though they’re more dots than actually covered). They did their best with the furry texturing at least, and did their best with with giving it the small rounded ears.
These Groovy Tubes sets are definitely intriguing if sadly short-lived. Although other companies have also come up with similar kinds of sets–often activities or books with a few associated toys–none have been this complete. Individually, the figures are not always fantastic, this Arctic Fox being an example, but in association they are a great novelty. It is unfortunate that they are long out of production; even the books are their own have some merit, often being surprisingly comprehensive if simple. The Arctic Chill set might appeal to those especially interested in arctic animals (or fleshing out Ice Age sets with still-living animals), but it appears that some are available (but it’s hard to say for how long).
