Safari Ltd - New for 2022

[bmathison1972]

https://www.safariltd.com/collections/new-releases/products/asian-animals-toob

Thanks, Shane; I edited the first post!

[EpicRaptorMan]

Hooray another option to get a good looking gharial figure  ...but it's a TOOB figure...

[suspsy]

If only Safari would make big versions of the bull Asian elephant and the gharial.

[NSD Bashe]

Looks like this is only the second toy figure of a saiga ever made?..

[bmathison1972]

Looks like this is only the second toy figure of a saiga ever made?..

Yes, a wonderful opportunity for collectors of TOOB-sized figures!

[Isidro]

If the Philippine eagle have the same size than their TOOB harpy eagle, then I want it

[sbell]

https://www.safariltd.com/collections/new-releases/products/asian-animals-toob

I'm not going to hide my disappointment that 1) Asian primarily means India-China, 2) No fish and 3) Most of the species get made pretty often, with only the Philippine eagle and saiga being truly novel.

I already made my though known on Twitter...and might hopefully inspire an endangered Freshwater fish toob. So that's something

[EpicRaptorMan]

I don't understand why it would be so difficult to make a full scale model from the TOOB versions, I mean, you already the base modeling just make it larger and add more detailing.

[BlueKrono]

Looks like this is only the second toy figure of a saiga ever made?..

And only the third Philippine eagle, and perhaps the best one.

[stargatedalek]

https://www.safariltd.com/collections/new-releases/products/asian-animals-toob

I'm not going to hide my disappointment that 1) Asian primarily means India-China, 2) No fish and 3) Most of the species get made pretty often, with only the Philippine eagle and saiga being truly novel.

I already made my though known on Twitter...and might hopefully inspire an endangered Freshwater fish toob. So that's something

I do get that panda and tiger are essentially mandatory, (well, panda is, since tiger at least has the option of swapping in a leopard to fit its archetype), but it still hurts. What really stings though are the other four. I'm happy we at least got a reptile, but the gharial really feels like a huge missed opportunity to give us something else, maybe a water monitor.

[bmathison1972]

In a TOOB of 8 figures not everyone is going to get what they want.

[Shane]

If the Philippine eagle have the same size than their TOOB harpy eagle, then I want it

It is roughly the same size as the Harpy Eagle from the South American TOOB.

[Shane]

In a TOOB of 8 figures not everyone is going to get what they want.

Pretty much this. With 8 figures your options are limited, and the goal is not to make a TOOB full of novel animals, or osbcure species.

It's meant primarily to introduce children to the fauna of Asia. Obviously this is a huge region that can't be adequately covered by 8 figures, but that's why it's an introduction, for children to *begin* to learn about the fauna found in Asia.

There needs to be a balance of popular and well-known animals that are "emblematic" of the region, while also trying to include some lesser-known, less frequently seen in figure form options. Safari tried to strike a balance for this TOOB.

As a collector myself, it's obviously more fun for us when there are more obscure or unique animal figures created.

But I think we also sometimes need to step back a bit and realize we as adult collectors are not always the primary audience here.

[Isidro]

If the Philippine eagle have the same size than their TOOB harpy eagle, then I want it

It is roughly the same size as the Harpy Eagle from the South American TOOB.

Many thanks Shane! I added it to my wishlist 

[stargatedalek]

In a TOOB of 8 figures not everyone is going to get what they want.

Pretty much this. With 8 figures your options are limited, and the goal is not to make a TOOB full of novel animals, or osbcure species.

It's meant primarily to introduce children to the fauna of Asia. Obviously this is a huge region that can't be adequately covered by 8 figures, but that's why it's an introduction, for children to *begin* to learn about the fauna found in Asia.

There needs to be a balance of popular and well-known animals that are "emblematic" of the region, while also trying to include some lesser-known, less frequently seen in figure form options. Safari tried to strike a balance for this TOOB.

As a collector myself, it's obviously more fun for us when there are more obscure or unique animal figures created.

But I think we also sometimes need to step back a bit and realize we as adult collectors are not always the primary audience here.

While I agree with the balance of popular versus obscure, the "obscureish" options are the ones that I think people are taking issue with. And only one animal from outside of IndoChina is not exactly achieving much of a balance or educating children of Asian animals, to be completely frank. There are plenty of other generically popular or mid-tier recognizable animals that would have made for far more diverse representation without straying from well known examples. Komodo dragons, water monitors, reticulated pythons, brown bears, foxes, Malayan tapirs, binturong, tarsiers, tanuki, great hornbills... all equally as recognizable as gharials, and most as recognizable and popular as Javan rhinos, Asian elephants and orangutans.

[Shane]

While I agree with the balance of popular versus obscure, the "obscureish" options are the ones that I think people are taking issue with. And only one animal from outside of IndoChina is not exactly achieving much of a balance or educating children of Asian animals, to be completely frank. There are plenty of other generically popular or mid-tier recognizable animals that would have made for far more diverse representation without straying from well known examples. Komodo dragons, water monitors, reticulated pythons, brown bears, foxes, Malayan tapirs, binturong, tarsiers, tanuki, great hornbills... all equally as recognizable as gharials, and most as recognizable and popular as Javan rhinos, Asian elephants and orangutans.

That's a great list of animals. I would argue that most of them are not as recognizable or popular as rhinos, elephants or orangutans, but I'm not denying that there are plenty of choices that would make for a great TOOB.

Unfortunately, as mentioned, space is limited when you are attempting to provide an intro to Asian fauna in a single TOOB's worth of figures.

That doesn't mean those animals will never see the light of day in a TOOB or otherwise. There are plenty of more specialized regions or animal groups that can be focused on for future TOOBS.

Feedback is always appreciated.

[sbell]

While I agree with the balance of popular versus obscure, the "obscureish" options are the ones that I think people are taking issue with. And only one animal from outside of IndoChina is not exactly achieving much of a balance or educating children of Asian animals, to be completely frank. There are plenty of other generically popular or mid-tier recognizable animals that would have made for far more diverse representation without straying from well known examples. Komodo dragons, water monitors, reticulated pythons, brown bears, foxes, Malayan tapirs, binturong, tarsiers, tanuki, great hornbills... all equally as recognizable as gharials, and most as recognizable and popular as Javan rhinos, Asian elephants and orangutans.

That's a great list of animals. I would argue that most of them are not as recognizable or popular as rhinos, elephants or orangutans, but I'm not denying that there are plenty of choices that would make for a great TOOB.

Unfortunately, as mentioned, space is limited when you are attempting to provide an intro to Asian fauna in a single TOOB's worth of figures.

That doesn't mean those animals will never see the light of day in a TOOB or otherwise. There are plenty of more specialized regions or animal groups that can be focused on for future TOOBS.

Feedback is always appreciated.

I guess to carry from the point @stargatedalek made, it might have been nice to see a more specific region within the vast continent.
Sort of like with the Amazon, South Africa, and Great Lakes toobs.

[stargatedalek]

Exactly. Only the eagle is from outside of Indo-China, so a "South Asian animals" or "Indo-Chinese animals" might have made for a better title for this set.

[suspsy]

Safari just unveiled a new okapi.

[EpicRaptorMan]

They also said they have 5 more figures left to reveal for 2022. All will be announced within the month of July.

And that Okapi they just revealed...yuck