Common Goldfish (Yujin - Freshwater Fishes Series 2, second release)

[sbell]

This walk around is part of my series of the Yujin Freshwater Fish series. Part of this will be repeating this same introductory and concluding info because copy-and-paste is easy, and it keeps things consistent.  So feel free to only read this once (or never...) as well as the stuff at the end. My main motivation is that Yujin does not have many walk arounds on this site, which is a shame because they make some great models. It is also an attempt to flood (!) the site with some fishes, because there simply have not been enough lately.

One other thing--when I give the lengths of the living species, I will be using the length given on the figure's paper for consistency. Some of them seemed off, but they seem close—often better than my original usage of the Fishbase TL (unless the FB one is more interesting...). When there are more than one, I will use the higher values. And the scales will be rounded and approximate!

So now, the fish!

This figure is the Common Goldfish, Carassius auratus , number 17 from the second series. Unlike the Langsdorf's Goldfish, this one is almost too well-known to bother with describing in much detail! They are the classic fish-bowl fish (even if that is horribly cruel to them). Originally in the wild as a brownish or silvery (but variable) freshwater fish (the Prussian Carp), in China the Common goldfish has been reared for hundreds of years as both a food fish and as an ornamental pet. Their genetic plasticity has led to some very unusual morphologies and colours, and they are a staple of aquaria and ponds everywhere. Unfortunately, their adaptability means that they are also a staple among invasive and introduced species around the world (especially cooler regions)—my home province just put out a public notice requesting/demanding that people stop flushing and otherwise releasing them into wild water ways as they risk becoming established. The Yujin model (and other sources) gives a length is around 20cm, although larger ones are documented (and, of course, many don't live to attain near those lengths due to poor husbandry habits...).

This model is about 5.5 cm long (this is TL, including the long tail), making the figure roughly 1:4 scale. This model is based on the breed referred to as a comet, which features a more-or-less unaltered body, but the two lobes of the tail fin are much longer than normal (see the Langsdorf's Goldfish for an idea of the 'wild' state). These are also the strain most commonly found where I live as feeder goldfish. This model is actually the Secret or Special paint version; the regular is an olive-brown/grey model. This one is the 'classic' bright orange with white highlights typical of pet goldfish—the fins are a darker, translucent orange, giving a very realistic look to the fish. The belly is a distinct white. The base is a special painting of the gravel + plant, with each grain of sand and gravel individually painted in a variety of bright colours—perhaps to mimic the gravel of a fish tank? This would make sense, as that is the only way this fish could survive; even in outdoor ponds in yards I have heard of birds like herons stopping and taking all of the brightly coloured fish. The domestic goldfish is probably the most common fish toy/figure/model out there. Safari makes several in different sizes, Yujin has an entire series devoted to just goldfish strains, and every company has made at least a few, right down to low-quality novelties and dollar-level toys. To say nothing of the vast amount of artwork, sculpture, and other products that exist, which is logical given the long history of the fish as a pet.

Pictures:








I refer to this one as the bowhunting tournament pose--a hole in it, tossed on its back...but it's easy to see the detail that Yujin puts into every side of the models (and can often see the numbers in the photos).


For those not familiar, the Yujin Freshwater fishes were released as two series of fish, for a total of 32 fish figures. This number includes at least 3 secret figures (whose numbers remain in sequence--all figures are marked somewhere with the number) but does not incorporate a number of re-issues and repaints; there was at least one complete reissue (from which mine all come so far). The original releases, from what I can find, had yellow papers; the second release used light blue for the Series I and black for Series II. The entire set, with all variants and secrets, is actually available as a boxed set on YAJ (for around $300!), but individual figures can be found there or even on eBay for a variety of prices (the secrets & specials are of course the most expensive). Myself, there are still two or three species I don't have, but I haven't put a lot of effort into changing that...

Another nice thing about these Yujin fish model is that, like most Yujin releases, almost all of them come with a natural base and acrylic stem to display them (the Series II has a few exceptions). There are 4 or 5 bases used, plus a few unique ones for some specials. When I received mine several years ago, the fish+acrylic stems were not directly associated with the bases, so I just went with whatever worked (so if you have one or two, and the base is different, now you know why--I couldn't find a way to be sure if the bases were specific). All of the bases are based on environment--wood stems, gravel, river rocks, silt+plants, that sort of thing. Most are monochromatic, but a few are painted differently (again, often for the specials). In fact, if I wanted to get really pedantic, the bases themselves are labelled with letters based on the style, but I won't.

[Jetoar]

Really alive figure. If you put it in aqurium, you can do jokes  .

[sbell]

Really alive figure. If you put it in aqurium, you can do jokes  .

I have an aquarium, but the fish might try to eat it. One in particular...