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Vault Tales 203 FigureFrenzy Wrasse, Moorish idol, Acanthodiian, Nurse shark, Mammalodon

Going with an aquatic theme today! Mostly a variety of fish, and then one prehistoric mammal as well! Bunch of interesting animals though. Let's take a look! Colorata Coral Reef Fish Humphead Wrasse & Moorish Idol Two excellent fish figures from Colorata. On the left, a Humphead Wrasse. In the centre, a Moorish Idol. Although not always true, in this instance the two figures from the same box are about the same scale, 1:6,. The diver is actually a bit…

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Vault tales 202 – Clades – Pilosa

It's another Clades post! This time a more stem-group clade, looking at one group within the mammal group Xenarthra. The name of the group Xenarthra refers to the unusual joints in their vertebrae. They generally have reduced dentition, and likely evolved as digging or burrowing instect eaters. As a group, xenarthrans are a group found entirely in the Americas, first appearing in the Palaeocene in South America and spreading northward, even into North America during the Pliocene's Great American Interchange.…

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Vault Tales 201 FigureFrenzy Apatosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, Saurosuchus, Concavenator, Belemnites

Another bunch of figures today, all prehistoric ones! And a wide range of them...the funny part is that the largest figure is the smallest (and the only not-reptile!) And a strange assortment of brands and styles! CollectA MiniBox A1102 Apatosaurus One of those classic dinosaur figures, this was the first Apatosaurus made by CollectA for their mini box sets. It's about 1:192, so that man is way too large (it's all I have!). First up we have one of the…

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Vault tales 200 – Clades – Pancarnivora

So here I am, with post number 200! That seems crazy! And for this one, I get to look at a clade that I find pretty interesting, and which until recently didn't have a whole lot of representative figures! I am referring to the stem group of the clade Pancarnivora, a group that includes all of our modern Carnivora (cats, hyenas, mongoose, dogs, bears, etc) plus their sister group, often referred to collectively as Creodonta. I think this is still…

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Vault Tales 199 Run the Set FameMaster 4D Puzzles Animals

I have visited with a few FameMaster 4D puzzles in past posts, but never a 'set' of them. There are various incarnations and releases of them, as well as different modes of selling them. Sometimes it's in plastic eggs, sometimes in little boxes. Although the lines are kind of broad, they were usually out in groups of four; this is one such example, a group of four wild animals, collected under the series number 20124. Possibly not the most exciting…

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Vault Tales 198 Run the Set Kaiyodo Takara ChocoQ Amazing Animals

It's a Run the Set today, a few figures from one of the last Kaiyodo Choco animal series. In this case, it was a set called Amazing Animals, released with Takara in the rebranded 'ChocoQ' line. This occurred after Kaiyodo parted ways with Furuta in about 2003 (I think); from what I recall, Kaiyodo had insisted to Furuta that only their ChocoEgg Kaiyodo figures would be part of the Furuta offerings...then Furuta didn't do that. So Kaiyodo went over with…

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Vault Tales 197 FigureFrenzy Japanese weasel, Sidneyia, Marine iguana, Fukuiraptor

Today's newest Figure Frenzy is a bunch of random figures again! So much fun! This time, though, we have two from Safari, and two from Kaiyodo--demonstrating some variety in on what those companies can do. Kaiyodo ChocoEgg Animatales Japanese Weasel It's a weasel figure, a Japanese Weasel which is of course a less common figure (outside of Japan anyway). It's about 1:6 scale, so pretty in line with The Doctor. First we have a figure from the Kaiyodo ChocoEgg Animatales…

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Vault tales 196 – Clades – Haplorhini

Well, here again with another 'Clades' post which...is another one that can get tricky. I think the name clade has become tricky because of how I broke everything down...but I know what I mean! Anyway, this one will touch upon the 'Haplorhini' which in my database, refers to the basal members of the group of primates that includes the modern Tarsiers, Monkeys, Apes, and Humans (all of which are divided into higher groups of course). At the base of this…

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Vault Tales 195 FigureFrenzy Barylambda, Glyptodon, Cassowary, Quetzal, Baobab

Well here's a range of figures from all kinds of companies featuring all kinds of species...even a tree! Who would have thought!? Lido Nabisco Barylambda This is an old figure, but I don't think there are even other Pantodont figures! So it's great to have this Barylambda, about 1:62 scale so the explorer is a bit short. First up, a figure from the 60s, back when cereal came with awesome toys! Possibly more famous for their dinosaurs series, Lido was…

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Vault Tales 194 Run the Set Play Visions Sharks

Another Run the Set, but one that I have part of now. These are the figures I have from the Play Visions bulk bin Shark series. This was one of the many series that came out in the later 90s from Play Visions featuring some kind of unifying theme, often (more or less) taxonomic or location based. They were notable for being relatively well done small figures, and often featuring unique and interesting animals. The sharks series came out in…

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Vault Tales 193 Obscurus/FaunaFiguresFishes Protosphyraena

So this one is a bitter of a bittersweet one for me. I think it's a fantastic model, but it does remind me that it is the last model made with Brandon Demoss for the FaunaFiguresFishes series, this one specifically as a joint with Brandon's Obscurus line. And was done in my last year of running the online store. But to go out on such a dynamic and fantastic model? This Protosphyraena is a great way to do it. Pictured…

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Vault Tales 192 FigureFrenzy Bawitius, Therizinosaurus, Rhomalaeosaurus, Coelodonta

Prehistoric Figure Frenzy! A whole bunch of different species...three from some of my . Plus, one really unique one, a plush prehistoric polypterid! Let's take a look. Spirellity Bawitius plush key chain The only Bawitius model that was available for general sale. As a key ring (the ring has since been removed). It's about 1:23 scale, so pretty close to Freddy there. That's a big bichir! So I'm just going to start with this one! It's a small plush printed…

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