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Vault Tales 167 CollectA Smilodon

Here we have today's VaultTale, just a single figure--the standard-collection Smilodon figure from CollectA. This figure was the second Smilodon released by CollectA for their standard collection, in 2015 as item number 88715. The previous model, available from 2009-2016, was...a much weaker figure (I had it once, but no longer). As far as prehistoric mammals go, Smilodon is a near given, alongside mammoths and...okay, that's about it. CollectA has actually been pretty consistent about giving us a range of Cenozoic…

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Vault Tales 166 ToyTrio Huayangosaurus, Cave Bear, Thylacine

Today we will look at three very different figures, all of extinct animals. After that...they're all completely different from each other. Even a variety of materials! Kaiyodo Lawson Dinotales Series 7 Huayangosaurus It's always great to see a less traditional stegosaur figure, and Huayangosaurus is definitely an unusual figure! Our first figure today is from the last Kaiyodo Dinotales series, series 7, released as a Lawson series. As with the fifth and sixth series, there were two versions of each…

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Vault Tales 165 Run the Set Yowies UK series 2

Here we are with another Run the Set, and again it's one where I don't have the whole set...not even close. But I have a number of them, and I think entirely from one trade with someone! The UK Yowies were distributed by Cadbury, just like the Australian ones, and probably around the same time, latest 90s/earliest 2000s. Unlike the Australian ones, the UK ones were single PVC figures and did not require assembly. This obviously makes them better able…

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Vault Tales 164 ToyTrio Snail, Amur catfish, Trilobite

So here we have yet another varied bunch of figures...from a varied bunch of companies. But they're all aquatic, so that's a connection!? FUL Snail (Periwinkle) large and small marine sets They are very small figures, and despite being different sizes they are very similar in appearance. Maybe 1:2 scale or smaller if the species were identifiable. Probably too big to be to scale with The Doctor. First up, a quick look at a pair of FUL marine set figures.…

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Vault Tales 163 ToyTrio Ornithomimus, Giganotosaurus, Anomalocaris

All prehistoric Trio today! Wide range of odd animals... GeoWorld Jurassic Hunters Ornithomimus It's a very traditional Ornithomimus figure...in so far as there are many other Ornithomimus figures. There aren't many. First up we have another Jurassic Hunters from GeoWorld. This time we are looking at a figure from Series 1 (the previous Thescelosaurus was Series 2), part of the original dinosaurs release, item number CL353K. It's an interesting figure, to say the least, and a welcome one. There aren't…

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Vault tales 162 Run the Set Agatsuma Strange Predators

Well here we have another Run the Set and as the name suggests, it is strange. From a Japanese company (of course) called Agatsuma Entertainment, they apparently are mostly a company that makes character merchandise. But for whatever reason, in 2011 or so they decided to create a set of (almost) entirely aquatic predators. But not like we would normally see--your sharks, your orcas, your seals and rays and whales. No, they went with 'Strange' Predators and wow, did they…

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Vault Tales 161 Safari Ltd Shringasaurus

And here we are, with another single figure post. And again, it's because the figure is very notable. This time, because the figure is brand new this year, and features an animal so unusual, I'm surprised it got made by one of the major companies. I am speaking about the Safari Ltd Shringasaurus released in 2020 for their Prehistoric World series, item number 100357. Being so new, it frees up a bit of backstory, since there of course isn't much!…

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Vault Tales 160 Bullyland Deinotherium

So for once, we are going to just look at one figure--something I usually reserve for larger or more notable figures. In this instance, it's a figure from one of the best lines released in the late 90s until the early 2000s, from a company that seemed ready to make a huge impact. Which they kind of did. For a while. I am of course talking about the Bullyland Prehistoric Animals & Humans line made in conjunction with the Stutgaart…

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Vault Tales 159 ToyTrio Achaeon, Ladybug, Placerias

We've got a wide assortment of figures here--representing 'tiny' in different ways! Some figures are tiny, some figures represent the super tiny, and some figures represent tiny animals fairly closely. It also mean tiny sections...not much to say about little figures sometimes! Yujin NHK Miracle Planet Archaeon It's an Archaeon! Not your normal figure. Getting the scale on something like this is pretty much not going to happen...so why wouldn't The Doctor somehow find a way to get close!? First…

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Vault Tales 158 ToyTrio Opabinia, Pterygotus, Quetzalcoatlus

Got another Trio today--a trio of entirely Kaiyodo Dinotales! And funny enough, all of them have been produced in at least two variations (although I may not have every version). At least here I can save some time--all of these are of course long out of production, and can only be found through auctions or trading. And they are all the traditional Dinotales material of easily-breakable plastics--these are not toys! Kaiyodo UHA Dinotales Series 1 version 2 Opabinia Here we…

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Vault Tales 157 ToyTrio Glyphoderma, Nothosaurus, more Nothosaurs!

So today will be all Triassic marine reptiles! And all are relatively small figures, in the tube-size range or so. Some great ones, some...not really. But it's not a common type of figure, so still great to have! Bin Figure Nothosaurs Normally I would do just one figure, but they're pretty much the same. Just different colours. Scale is difficult to gauge--somewhere between 1:60 to 1:70, depending on what species of nothosaur you decide these are! I'll start with what…

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Vault tales 156 Run the Set Play Visions Prehistoric Reptiles

Okay, so here's a Run the Set for one of those sets that lots of collectors know about, and everybody wants...but can prove difficult to actually get anymore. It's the Play Visions Prehistoric Marine Reptiles (aka Marine Dinosaurs...ugh) set, from 1998 and discontinued soon after. Play Visions was noteworthy at the time...and notorious now...for their wide range of bulk animal sets that featured a range of animals and themes unlike anything we've still ever seen. This included modern and prehistoric…

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