Play Visions – Fauna Figures

FigureFocus 314 Play Visions Striped Hyena

Here's one of those figures that I was very excited to get when they first came out, and I still have a lot of them from those days! I am speaking of the Play Visions Striped Hyena figure, one of eight figures in the Wild Dogs bin figures series. And yes, first off--it isn't a dog, wild or otherwise. It's a hyena--and would have been more appropriate with the Civets and Mongoose series but they made their choice. At least…

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August 12, 2022

FigureFocus / FigureTales

FigureFocus 304 Play Visions Ring-Tailed Vontsira

Time to look at a small figure from a great little set, a figure from the Play Visions "Civets & Mongooses" set . I looked at a figure from this set once before, the so-called Binturong that is more likely an Asian palm civet. This is another figure that is very nicely made, but clearly stamped with a less informative name (but at least technically 'right'). The figure is marked as a 'Ring-tailed Mongoose', but better referred to as a…

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May 30, 2022

FigureFrenzy / FigureTales

Vault Tales 270 FigureFrenzy Binturong, Macaw, Beaded lizard, Fire salamander

Quick look at some figures of modern animals, in the usual wide range of types and quality...a few of them are great. A few of them...are definitely figures. Of tetrapods. You'll see. Play Visions Binturong (?) A great figure of...some kind of viverrid. It is roughly 1;11 scale, so close to scale with Finn. Depends on the animal it might actually be. So, first off, a figure that I am so glad to have! A mystery figure of sorts...this is…

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December 9, 2021

FigureFrenzy / FigureTales

Vault Tales 252 FigureFrenzy Japanese AND Grey Wolf, Snow Leopard, Polar bear, Sea Lion

Today we'll look at a number of carnivoran figures, a popular source of inspiration for animal figure companies. Of course, not all companies are equal, and this means the figures range widely in quality...most of these ones are at least decent...most of them. Ausini Grey wolf It's a very tiny wolf, probably meant to represent a Grey wolf. Based on the heavy build it appears to be one of the larger subspecies. It's about a 1:50 scale figure. Yeah. Most…

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October 7, 2021

FigureFrenzy / FigureTales

Vault Tales 224 FigureFrenzy Badger, Gharial, Water bug, Black bear, Snapping turtle

Back to another very random bunch of figures. Not sure if there is any particular way I can connect them...perhaps, all of them are living animals that could theoretically cause some kind of harm to people that aren't paying attention? Whatever connects them (it was random) they're all pretty decent models though! Play Visions American Badger A classic figure from a great series--the American badger from Play Visions. As with most PV figures, it is fairly small, about 1:13, close…

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July 1, 2021

FigureFrenzy / FigureTales

Vault Tales 207 FigureFrenzy Hyena, Dodo, Cynognathus, African wild dog, Arsinoitherium

So here's a random assortment of mostly mammals (and adjacent) figures. And one extinct bird, just to mix it up. Most of them are pretty good too! Schleich Spotted hyena (2015 release) The most recent of Schleich's several versions of a Spotted hyena. And probably their best version, although still heavily stylized. The figure is roughly 1:18 depending on it's gender (which is indeterminate) Let's start with a figure that represents one of my favorite animals (mammal edition), a Spotted…

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May 3, 2021

FigureTales / Run the Set

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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March 18, 2021

Clades & Grades / FigureTales

Vault tales 184 – Clades – Eucynodontia

Time to do another quick clades overview. This time, we're going to head to the base of the mammal family tree! In this instance, I am talking about the Eucynodontia. As a clade, we are looking at the least inclusive group including mammals and Exaeretodon (foreshadow!); in my personal system, this will refer to the Cynognathia as a 'basal' group (plus a few taxa ancestral to that), sister to the Probainognathia (which contains true mammals and their closer ancestors, broken…

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February 11, 2021

Clades & Grades / FigureTales

Vault tales 174 – Clades – Eryopiformes

We're back and with another 'Clades' post. This time, it will be a paraphyletic one, 'Eryopiformes'. This is a crown group of the Temnospondyls, and as the name implies, it consists of the famous big 'amphibian' Eryops, but also the rest of the 'Stereospondyls'--and this group may also include the Gymnophiona, the modern caecillians! As it is, when I revamped my database, I organized using grades, clades and useful (to me) breakdowns...so as a group, the Eryopiformes 'clade' consists of…

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January 7, 2021

FigureTales / ToyTrio

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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November 9, 2020

FigureTales / Run the Set

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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November 5, 2020

Clades & Grades / FigureTales

Vault tales 109 – Clades – “Stegocephalia”

We'll work the photos from furthest back in the fossil record. This is a 3D printed Tiktaalik from Shapeways--sadly no longer available. The file didn't print quite right (there are gaps on the underside). It's about 1:23 scale with the guy there. The rear limbs were not published when the model was made, so they are too weak. But I am still glad to have it. So we're back with another 'clades' post, and this one is a very unique…

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May 18, 2020