Safari Ltd. - New for 2023

[Shane]

The orca and the Arctic fox are pretty disappointing, but I knew for certain I wouldn't be getting the fox. Realistically Safari LTD would have been better off just repainting current Orca models to represent the type A, type B, type c, type d variants if they're looking to increase profit margins. Would be cool if you really loved orcas specifically, but that's not me. Still better than the owl.
However, Shane did say nobody had guessed it *exactly* right but c'mon now — it's still an orca.

Now we'll see about the emerald boa, but I do not have the highest expectations for that one all things considered.

Well I never thought I'd see someone who would rather have seen a repaint than an entirely new sculpt, but to each their own. Not sure why you'd be concerned with our profit margins, but while a repainted orca might cost less to produce, there's also less potential appeal to customers than there is for an all-new sculpted figure.

Yes, it's an orca, but it's not "just another orca" as people guessed. It's a distinct orca that has not been produced in figure form before. But hey if it's not for you, it's not for you. Nobody guessed that it would be a new ecotype at all, let alone the Type D.

They've done repaints before. Dinosaur repaints, the one Gwangi mentioned, and the Koi fish repaint.

But I did catch how Shane said there will be more releases in 3-4 months.

Correct, we've done repaints. And will continue to do so as it makes sense to. I've painted a few of the paint guides myself (I'm quite proud of the koi).

And yes, there will be lots more reveals to come. But I said 3-4 weeks, not months. So you won't be waiting THAT long.

[Shane]

https://www.safariltd.com/collections/new-releases/products/emerald-tree-boa

[SerAndrew]

Dont think it Will happen, but I hope Safari releases these species also in normal scale.

Or good quality toob like the backyard birds one.

[callmejoe3]

I'm glad the type D orca is not a repaint. I wouldn't want it if it was. But I am somewhat surprised they didn't do that considering they painted a bearded dragon to look like a rock agama. I still consider that a bogus move from Safari.

I think part of the reason it wasn't a repaint was because Type D's have bulbous heads more akin to belugas or pilot whales when compared to other killer whale ecotypes. The existing sculpt of the generic killer whale wouldn't have been good enough.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

That is a gorgeous snake. Thanks Shane!I am 100% down for their IC snake theme the last few years.

[Shane]

Just a heads up,

Some new items are in stock at the Safari Ltd website:

https://www.safariltd.com/collections/new-releases

Robot Dragon, Leopard Gecko, Great Grey Owl, European TOOB, Aus/NZ TOOB, and Party Animals TOOB.

[Gwangi]

I'm glad the type D orca is not a repaint. I wouldn't want it if it was. But I am somewhat surprised they didn't do that considering they painted a bearded dragon to look like a rock agama. I still consider that a bogus move from Safari.

I think part of the reason it wasn't a repaint was because Type D's have bulbous heads more akin to belugas or pilot whales when compared to other killer whale ecotypes. The existing sculpt of the generic killer whale wouldn't have been good enough.

I know that. But my point is that anatomical differences have not stopped Safari in the past. Case in point, the bearded dragon painted to look like a rock agama. A far more egregious decision than repainting an orca to look like a different orca would have been.

[bmathison1972]

Nice snake but too big for me!

[yourbeckquin]

Just a heads up,

Some new items are in stock at the Safari Ltd website:

https://www.safariltd.com/collections/new-releases

Robot Dragon, Leopard Gecko, Great Grey Owl, European TOOB, Aus/NZ TOOB, and Party Animals TOOB.

I'm really interested in purchasing some of these, but I have a doubt about the packaging. Could you please share your experience with how Safari Ltd packages their items? I'm particularly curious about how they ensure the safety of the figures during shipping. Any insights you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

[EpicRaptorMan]

The orca and the Arctic fox are pretty disappointing, but I knew for certain I wouldn't be getting the fox. Realistically Safari LTD would have been better off just repainting current Orca models to represent the type A, type B, type c, type d variants if they're looking to increase profit margins. Would be cool if you really loved orcas specifically, but that's not me. Still better than the owl.
However, Shane did say nobody had guessed it *exactly* right but c'mon now — it's still an orca.

Now we'll see about the emerald boa, but I do not have the highest expectations for that one all things considered.

Well I never thought I'd see someone who would rather have seen a repaint than an entirely new sculpt, but to each their own. Not sure why you'd be concerned with our profit margins, but while a repainted orca might cost less to produce, there's also less potential appeal to customers than there is for an all-new sculpted figure.

I mean if we could've gotten a Southern Right Whale Dolphin or Commerson's Dolphin in place of this and SafariLtd just did a TypeD repaint I think more people would have been happy. As mentioned in this thread SafariLTD has done repaints before...The bearded dragon repaint being completely ludicrous. And if that sells then why wouldn't a TypeD repaint? Afterall most children likely won't know the difference.

Yes, it's an orca, but it's not "just another orca" as people guessed. It's a distinct orca that has not been produced in figure form before.

I'm sure 95% of the consumers excluding niche places like forums where zoologist collectors come weren't aware of multiple ecotypes. Again, a child inside a store will look and see that it's just a peculiar looking orca, but who knows, maybe it might spark something in them.

[EpicRaptorMan]

Now I want to talk about the snake...

I figured it was going to be a part of the I.C. line and bearing that fact in mind I will not be getting it. Although it does have the same vibe as the anaconda that SafariLTD recently released and that is due to the pose. I think I would have preferred a more coiled pose as if the snake was wrapped around a tree branch.

Just a heads up,

Some new items are in stock at the Safari Ltd website:

https://www.safariltd.com/collections/new-releases

Robot Dragon, Leopard Gecko, Great Grey Owl, European TOOB, Aus/NZ TOOB, and Party Animals TOOB.

I'm really interested in purchasing some of these, but I have a doubt about the packaging. Could you please share your experience with how Safari Ltd packages their items? I'm particularly curious about how they ensure the safety of the figures during shipping. Any insights you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

I've only bought directly from them a few times. They use the same size boxes for all their orders. So don't be surprised if you buy one or two toys and you end up with a 2ft box in the mail. I have never had a figure get damaged during shipment but the toys are kind of set loose in this large box with packing material tossed in.

[Shane]

I'm sure 95% of the consumers excluding niche places like forums where zoologist collectors come weren't aware of multiple ecotypes. Again, a child inside a store will look and see that it's just a peculiar looking orca, but who knows, maybe it might spark something in them.

Educating children is pretty much the stated goal of Safari Ltd, so why wouldn't they want to make children aware of something they previously didn't know about?

If you can draw someone in with a "popular" animal, like an orca, and then teach them new things about it they previously didn't know (ie. hey, there are different KINDS of orca?), wouldn't that be a positive thing?

[Gwangi]

I mean if we could've gotten a Southern Right Whale Dolphin or Commerson's Dolphin in place of this and SafariLtd just did a TypeD repaint I think more people would have been happy. As mentioned in this thread SafariLTD has done repaints before...The bearded dragon repaint being completely ludicrous. And if that sells then why wouldn't a TypeD repaint? Afterall most children likely won't know the difference.

I would have preferred a southern right whale or Commerson's dolphin, among other species, but if Safari wants to do orca types then I prefer it NOT be a repaint. Repaints almost always strike me as lazy when there are distinct anatomical differences between species. The Type D orca has a unique look that should not just be slapped onto a generic orca figure. If they're going to do it they should do it right, and they did. I would be disappointed if they went with the rock agama route.

I'm really interested in purchasing some of these, but I have a doubt about the packaging. Could you please share your experience with how Safari Ltd packages their items? I'm particularly curious about how they ensure the safety of the figures during shipping. Any insights you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

They typically come loose in a box @yourbeckquin with no packing material, and it's usually a standard size box like Epicraptorman stated, so they have plenty of room for them to slide and bump around. Each figure will have a plastic baggie around it and the plastic shell/stand to prevent legs from bending and such but that's it. I'm not a fan but it doesn't stop be from ordering from them.

[EpicRaptorMan]

I'm sure 95% of the consumers excluding niche places like forums where zoologist collectors come weren't aware of multiple ecotypes. Again, a child inside a store will look and see that it's just a peculiar looking orca, but who knows, maybe it might spark something in them.

Educating children is pretty much the stated goal of Safari Ltd, so why wouldn't they want to make children aware of something they previously didn't know about?

If you can draw someone in with a "popular" animal, like an orca, and then teach them new things about it they previously didn't know (ie. hey, there are different KINDS of orca?), wouldn't that be a positive thing?

Yeah it would be. But again most kids and adults would walk by and just think it's a defective toy because they're expecting, without knowing it, a TypeA variant.


This is reminding me of the conversation Hammond and Wu had in the original Jurassic Park novel where consumers are more interested in seeing their expectations [of a dinosaur] than reality.

[EpicRaptorMan]

I mean if we could've gotten a Southern Right Whale Dolphin or Commerson's Dolphin in place of this and SafariLtd just did a TypeD repaint I think more people would have been happy. As mentioned in this thread SafariLTD has done repaints before...The bearded dragon repaint being completely ludicrous. And if that sells then why wouldn't a TypeD repaint? Afterall most children likely won't know the difference.

I would have preferred a southern right whale or Commerson's dolphin, among other species, but if Safari wants to do orca types then I prefer it NOT be a repaint. Repaints almost always strike me as lazy when there are distinct anatomical differences between species. The Type D orca has a unique look that should not just be slapped onto a generic orca figure. If they're going to do it they should do it right, and they did. I would be disappointed if they went with the rock agama route.

Yes yes, we agree that it would be a lazy attempt, but as you mentioned the anatomical differences between types A and types D are minimal in the grand scheme of things. If they were to do a repaint I would opt to bring back a retired figure back in the production and repaint that.

I do believe, however, that this TypeD variant may become valuable in the future once it is retired and go for a significant amount.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

My shipments from safari usually come packed with brown paper. It doesn't prevent the models from moving if the box is shaken or not very full, but I have yet to have any problems with their items this way. As stated previously, models come in their plastic bags with tags and some have the plastic holders to make sure that antlers, legs, etc. don't warp.

In regards to the current discussion... I remember being a kid who just moved from where ONLY Schleich was available (early 2000s). The new area I moved to only had Safari. At the time, I was rather disappointed as the 2 styles were vastly different (as an adult, old Safaris are really nostalgic for me). But when I got to go pick toys as an 8-11 year old... I always wanted whatever was different. I didn't buy the bottlenose dolphins on the shelves, I bought the Pacific white-sided (still my favorite model today). Then I got the spotted bottlenose. I did eventually get a regular bottlenose calf, but for me, I loved to get the info tags and read about the new Thing I just got. I feel there's a tendency to think that children don't appreciate the unique items collectors do, and I admit I am usually an outlier but I think there are plenty of kids like me who WANT the different stuff too. Familiar is good to maintain a baseline sales goal, but unique is what leads to opportunities and increasing customer base. I will be getting this "weird" new giant dolphin for my collection.

But that's just me. I always appreciated the weird, especially in my toys growing up.

[Shane]

I do believe, however, that this TypeD variant may become valuable in the future once it is retired and go for a significant amount.

Better stock up then! Buy a whole lot of 'em.

[bmathison1972]

More hints. A bird, a shark, a snake (rattlesnake?), and something fantasy, I presume

[Saarlooswolfhound]

That looks like a rattlesnake! Excited for another shark! Some sort of smaller reef species perhaps? No idea on the bird. Of course the fantasy model could be anything. Thanks Blaine!

[EpicRaptorMan]

Looks like two fantasies, shark, and a rattlesnake.

Really hope the shark is something unique and appropriately sized but I shouldn't get my hopes up. My first thought was it was a nurse shark but SafariLTD has already produced one.