Hi everybody!

[Dargoldod]

I've been watching this site for years and decided I should just join up. I really enjoy reading everyone's reactions and critiques of the new models each year. I think my personal favorite categories of models are sea life and Arthropods. Loving the PAPO insects and arachnids!

[bmathison1972]

I've been watching this site for years and decided I should just join up. I really enjoy reading everyone's reactions and critiques of the new models each year. I think my personal favorite categories of models are sea life and Arthropods. Loving the PAPO insects and arachnids!

Oh! Another arthropod fan! Welcome indeed 

[AnimalToyForum]

Welcome to the forum @Dargoldod ! 

[Advicot]

Welcome Friend. 

[Dargoldod]

After reading you folks for so long, I'd be very interested in hearing how you all got started and what originally motivated you to start collecting?

[Advicot]

Well I've been collecting 14 years (my whole life.) I enjoy collecting as I have a passion for the natural world. Currently my my collection is 1012 strong, which includes domestic and wild animals which aren't extinct.  What figures do you collect?

[Dargoldod]

I basically grab anything that I feel is sculpted WELL. As the years go on that range grows ever wider! PAPO's animals and MOST of their dinos are real beauties! The figs I prize the most (and the only one's I have multiple full sets of) are the Kinto Favorite dinos and prehistoric life sets. I'm always on the look-out for the new ones since I'm usually the LAST person alive to get the news of new releases! In any case, the figs I'm the biggest fan of are fish. NOT a large field! I've worked for a company for the last twenty years that creates fish replicas, so I think I've grown to have a reasonably accurate understanding of what these animals truly look like. Since I can't find any sharks or (some)fish that I would deem "accurate" - I sculpt my own. Overall though, I'm just a fan of ALL of the offerings out there whether it be fish, reptiles, dinos, insects, etc... I sincerely enjoy seeing what kinds of models get other collectors fired-up!

[Isidro]

There are tons of perfectly accurate sharks in the market. Safari LTD is for sharks as CollectA is for antelopes: enormous selection of species and perfectly done. For bony fishes this is another matter tough, it's difficult to find enough good fish replicas outside Japanese brands.

BTW welcome to the forum

[bmathison1972]

I basically grab anything that I feel is sculpted WELL. As the years go on that range grows ever wider! PAPO's animals and MOST of their dinos are real beauties! The figs I prize the most (and the only one's I have multiple full sets of) are the Kinto Favorite dinos and prehistoric life sets. I'm always on the look-out for the new ones since I'm usually the LAST person alive to get the news of new releases! In any case, the figs I'm the biggest fan of are fish. NOT a large field! I've worked for a company for the last twenty years that creates fish replicas, so I think I've grown to have a reasonably accurate understanding of what these animals truly look like. Since I can't find any sharks or (some)fish that I would deem "accurate" - I sculpt my own. Overall though, I'm just a fan of ALL of the offerings out there whether it be fish, reptiles, dinos, insects, etc... I sincerely enjoy seeing what kinds of models get other collectors fired-up!

@sbell will be interested to hear about the fish replicas the company you works for makes

[sbell]

I basically grab anything that I feel is sculpted WELL. As the years go on that range grows ever wider! PAPO's animals and MOST of their dinos are real beauties! The figs I prize the most (and the only one's I have multiple full sets of) are the Kinto Favorite dinos and prehistoric life sets. I'm always on the look-out for the new ones since I'm usually the LAST person alive to get the news of new releases! In any case, the figs I'm the biggest fan of are fish. NOT a large field! I've worked for a company for the last twenty years that creates fish replicas, so I think I've grown to have a reasonably accurate understanding of what these animals truly look like. Since I can't find any sharks or (some)fish that I would deem "accurate" - I sculpt my own. Overall though, I'm just a fan of ALL of the offerings out there whether it be fish, reptiles, dinos, insects, etc... I sincerely enjoy seeing what kinds of models get other collectors fired-up!

@Dargoldod as the resident fish fan, I'm going to need more information about the fish you've sculpted, and who this company is.

Speaking of Favorite, I highly recommend the Ancient fishes of theirs. There's only 6, but they're awesome.

Personally, I'm most interested in non-euteleost fish and freshwater fish, but I'm always up for unusual ones too.

[Dargoldod]

I feel that there are SOME sharks that are nice... The old Monterey Bay Aquarium Tiger and Blue sharks were quite well done. The newer Schleich Great White and Blue were pretty good too. I did some work for a short time for Safari a few years back when the Oceanic White Tip was coming up to be assigned. I left just before... Still breaks my heart every time I see it since I already had one made and ready to show the owners. Personally, I feel the best fish Safari ever made was their blue Coelacanth - OUTSTANDING! While the overall contours and proportions of their largemouth bass is off, the scale work on the body is absolutely beautiful...

[Dargoldod]

I work for Gray Taxidermy. The name is misleading since we don't do "real" taxidermy. We make fiberglass replicas of the real fish. They're cast from the real fish and the mold can be used for years. This way, people can release the fish they catch unharmed and still put it on their wall to remember. I do most of the special cases; if it's something that needs to be specifically altered or if we have to create something that we don't or can't have. I've also done a lot of the smaller sculpts used for trophies in tournaments. That's my job. My PASSION is sculpting the kind of miniatures we all here collect! I'd love to put up some photos of my sculpts here (though, I'm not sure if I post them HERE or the CUSTOM WORK page? New at this...). Getting constructive criticism and opinions from you guys would be absolute GOLD to me! Criticism is how we grow and improve!

[stargatedalek]

When you mentioned you worked with replica fish I had a suspicion it may have been taxidermy! You likely have more than a few tips for some of us here, as molding and casting is something many have expressed interest in but have little experience with (myself included).

And I concur about Safari's coelacanth, while most of their fish are nice (especially in their details) that one is in a league of its own.

[Dargoldod]

I work on prototypes and a "one-and-only" system at Gray. I'm not the one who makes the molds. That would be my buddy Roger (also a collector and RABID dino fanatic!!!). While I'm by NO stretch of the imagination an "expert" on anything, I'd be happy to share what I do know and have experienced with anyone interested... I've never met any of the other four or five sculptors that Safari uses (at that time) since they're all scattered. I was the only one living in Florida. Whoever they are, they've all got some SERIOUS skill. That boa constrictor that came out a few years back in their Incredible Creatures line - BREATHTAKING!!! I was shown a few of the resin prototypes for upcoming models (again, at the time) and I think I prefer those to the actual productions pieces. The details seem sharper and Safari has to go in and bob the claws, teeth, beaks, etc. for safety purposes. I understand it but it's still sad to see the original work altered like that.