Odontoceti (Toothed whales)!

[brontodocus]

The Ziphiidae or Beaked Whales are among the least known of all cetaceans even though they make up about a quarter of all extant whale species. No wonder they are also underrepresented among animal toy figures, the only previous exceptions I'm aware of are Baird's Beaked Whale, Berardius bairdii, by Kaiyodo (Animatales Series 7), Hubbs' Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon carlhubbsi, by Play Visions, and the Strap-toothed Whale, Mesoplodon layardii, by Lontic / Nayab. This is a walk-around of the CollectA Sea Life Blainville's Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon densirostris (Blainville, 1817); item No. 88761, new for 2016. The figure is a male, total length is 168 mm so the scale is between approx. 1:24 and 1:28. "Freddie the Free Diver" by Safari Ltd is approx. 1:22.5 - 1.24 scale man from Safari Ltd "People in Motion" Toob is approx. 1:23 - 1:27 scale. Blainville's Beaked Whale has the widest known geographical distribution within its genus, occurring in the Atlantic as well as the Pacific and Indian Ocean and is known to dive up to 1,200 m deep to catch squid. The skin is often covered with scars from cookiecutter sharks (Isistius sp.) and males are usually covered with scratches from intraspecific combat. Little is known about the global population and whether they are endangered or not. Since the data is insufficient to determine if the species is really threatened and to which extent, IUCN classifies Blainville's Beaked Whale as "Data Deficient".














Edit 2017-02-04: Fixed broken image urls.

[AcroSauroTaurus]

Love this figure, I definitely need it! Now If only CollectA would make my favorite beaked whale, the Strap-toothed... I know theres the Lontic, but a CollectA one would be far superior.

[Jetoar]

Really wonderful sculpture, beaked whales are really strange even in the toy market  .

[AcroSauroTaurus]

Got this guy for Christmas!

[Rossano]

Hi AcroSauroTaurus, I am refreshing the focus on odontoceti (and actually on all cetaceans) just in these days, and realized that ziphiidae are the only family that I completely miss in the collection. The only one I know is this beautiful figure from Collecta, and it is the next on the list.

I always considered it a great achievement for Collecta, but as I see it from your pic, the white spots on the back of the animal look way more neat and flat than in the official pic on the Collecta site. They don't look that much similar to real Blaiville's colour pattern, what do you think?

[stargatedalek]

I always considered it a great achievement for Collecta, but as I see it from your pic, the white spots on the back of the animal look way more neat and flat than in the official pic on the Collecta site. They don't look that much similar to real Blaiville's colour pattern, what do you think?

I don't have ti in hand, but from what I've seen they all seem to have the same spots. I'd recommend a light brushing of grey to blend them better and break up their solid white.

[Rossano]

Yes, it sounds like the right thing to do, but... how do I do such a brushing, without coming up with a horribly ruined model by improper painting?

[Rossano]

Some questions about producers making species:

Is there someone making a Phocoenidae species and a Pigmy Right Whale (Neobalaenidae)?

Someone out of Collecta making a Ziphiidae, Kogiidae, Platanistidae?

Someone out of Safari doing a Right Whale (Balaenidae) and a Grey Whale (Eschrichtidae)?

[AcroSauroTaurus]

Hi AcroSauroTaurus, I am refreshing the focus on odontoceti (and actually on all cetaceans) just in these days, and realized that ziphiidae are the only family that I completely miss in the collection. The only one I know is this beautiful figure from Collecta, and it is the next on the list.

I always considered it a great achievement for Collecta, but as I see it from your pic, the white spots on the back of the animal look way more neat and flat than in the official pic on the Collecta site. They don't look that much similar to real Blaiville's colour pattern, what do you think?

It depends on the individual, but most have the big white spots, example:

Overall, it is a really good figure of a never before made species, a must have for cetacean collectors.

As for other beaked whale figures, theres the Strap-toothed Beaked Whale by Lontic/Nayab.

Some questions about producers making species:

Is there someone making a Phocoenidae species and a Pigmy Right Whale (Neobalaenidae)?

Someone out of Collecta making a Ziphiidae, Kogiidae, Platanistidae?

Someone out of Safari doing a Right Whale (Balaenidae) and a Grey Whale (Eschrichtidae)?

Schleich has a Northern Right Whale, as do Lontic/Nayab.  the Colorata North Pacific Right Whale, AAA Northern Right Whale, PlayVisions Bowhead Whale, Kaiyodo Red Data Bowhead, Maia and Borges Northern Right Whale, and the CollectA Bowhead. As for Grey Whales, theres the Collorata Grey Whale, the now retired, but beautiful Schleich Grey Whale.

[stargatedalek]

Yes, it sounds like the right thing to do, but... how do I do such a brushing, without coming up with a horribly ruined model by improper painting?

Take either a disposable or easily cleaned surface, and gently touch it with the brush repeatedly until you're barely leaving any paint on it, then apply what's left on your brush to the figure in the same manner.

[widukind]

Some questions about producers making species:

Is there someone making a Phocoenidae species and a Pigmy Right Whale (Neobalaenidae)?

Someone out of Collecta making a Ziphiidae, Kogiidae, Platanistidae?

Someone out of Safari doing a Right Whale (Balaenidae) and a Grey Whale (Eschrichtidae)?

I am so sorry. If i had the time i would send you a bigger answer. So i will share links for you

http://toyanimal.info//index.php?title=Cetacea

http://sts-forum.forumieren.de/t14799p50-show-us-your-dolphins-and-whales

on STS you have to log in but it is also a interesting animal figurine forum

[BlueKrono]

Does anyone know if right whale dolphins have ever been made by any company, either Southern or Northern? The Southerns are my favorite cetacean. That Collecta beaked whale is pretty cool though. Would probably get one if the only sellers weren't from Australia.

[widukind]

Does anyone know if right whale dolphins have ever been made by any company, either Southern or Northern? The Southerns are my favorite cetacean. That Collecta beaked whale is pretty cool though. Would probably get one if the only sellers weren't from Australia.

Happy Kin toy have one in a Deep Sea set - in front of the pic right corner

[CetaceanFan]

Surprisingly those are some neat figures made my Happy Kin toys, considering its a more "cheaper" company, but im not saying the figures are bad.
Also the Happy Kin Sea life sets can actually be found on Aliexpress

[CetaceanFan]

Surprisingly those are some neat figures made my Happy Kin toys, considering its a more "cheaper" company, but im not saying the figures are bad.
Also the Happy Kin Sea life sets can actually be found on Aliexpress

I forgot to say that the sets can also be found in Ebay I think.

[AcroSauroTaurus]

Surprisingly those are some neat figures made my Happy Kin toys, considering its a more "cheaper" company, but im not saying the figures are bad.
Also the Happy Kin Sea life sets can actually be found on Aliexpress

I forgot to say that the sets can also be found in Ebay I think.

I looked because I'm interested in the set as well, but I didn't see it on Ebay...

[CetaceanFan]

Surprisingly those are some neat figures made my Happy Kin toys, considering its a more "cheaper" company, but im not saying the figures are bad.
Also the Happy Kin Sea life sets can actually be found on Aliexpress

I forgot to say that the sets can also be found in Ebay I think.

I looked because I'm interested in the set as well, but I didn't see it on Ebay...

Hmm...Alright did you check Aliexpress cause I know that they definetly have some sets there.
Also let me know if you would want a link to the sets.
Hope that helps     

[BlueKrono]

Widukind - Fantastic! Thanks for the tip. Those two sharks are pretty cool too. I'd like to get at least a couple of these sets - one for a Southern repaint - but I can't find it on eBay or Ali.

[CetaceanFan]

Alright BlueKrono
Sorry I forgot to tell you that for some reason when you search "whale shark toys" the sets appear.

[CetaceanFan]

https://m.ja.aliexpress.com/s/item/32372200401.html
Here's a link in case