Saarlooswolfhounds New Additions! 8/1

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Thats actually really neat! My lockers were no where near as fun. Too bad you lost some of the figures though- I think a lot of us long time collectors have a story a two like that.

[sbell]

Thats actually really neat! My lockers were no where near as fun. Too bad you lost some of the figures though- I think a lot of us long time collectors have a story a two like that.

They weren't necessarily lost. I sold most in eBay auctions!
But I remember gifting the gecko to a friend

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Ah I see, and you mean the Safari Baltimore Aquarium frogs?

[sbell]

Ah I see, and you mean the Safari Baltimore Aquarium frogs?

Yeah, that's the one. Should have held onto those...!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

A few newbies!






I scored several Japanese models in the first group! Super excited about these as they are mostly new breeds; the Eikoh Hokkaido dog, Kaiyodo Kishu Inu in 3 colors, Kaiyodo Misaki-Uma horse and foal, the Bandai Chinese Sturgeon, and of course another color variant of the Kaiyodo Japanese wolf.

Then, to connect dots from a long time ago: When I was a newer collector I was lucky to receive a few of the Maia & Borges water birds. I have been on the look out for the rest ever since but wasn't having much luck finding them for a decent price. Finally, I was able to strike a deal with someone (a very shrewd salesman) who had all the ones I needed!

And perhaps, a little less exciting, I was struggling to find the new Schleich rough collie and it was one of my more anticipated figures from them this year. Then an unexpected find resulted in these three lovely Marvel wolves off ebay for a very fair price. While they are classically more stylized and not in a favorable sense for wolves, they also present a lot of accurate detailing that many wolf figures get very wrong. So they are welcome additions to the pack!

[bmathison1972]

Congrats on the M&B Water Birds. I have a complete set (got it on eBay a couple years ago). It's a set I want 'complete' so for all these species, it's these M&B versions that I am retaining :-)

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Thank you! They are quite nice aren't they? In that photo, the three in the top row are my favorites.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Couple newbies!




Nothing too exciting- but here are a few novelties I came across these last few weeks (ebay and thrift stores). I've been lucky with dog models lately!

[Sable Antelope]

Couple newbies!




Nothing too exciting- but here are a few novelties I came across these last few weeks (ebay and thrift stores). I've been lucky with dog models lately!

I really like those poodles. Any idea what brand those baboons are?

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Thank you! The poodles are Imperial (large rubber models) and the Hamadryas baboons have been used for a few different brands- they were sold to me as Marx/Elastolin, but you could find them under Lineol, Marolin, and VEB Plaho too.
https://toyanimalwiki.mywikis.wiki/wiki/Hamadryas_baboon

[Saarlooswolfhound]

I was perusing ebay a few weeks ago and stumbled across a fellow STS member's listings I just had to pull the trigger on. The Bullyland Dire Wolf! Of course it is not truly a good representative of the species but its been a low key grail for sometime and I was desperately looking for a reasonably priced one. I was kicking myself on missing out on one for double the cost of this a few weeks earlier.

[sbell]

I was perusing ebay a few weeks ago and stumbled across a fellow STS member's listings I just had to pull the trigger on. The Bullyland Dire Wolf! Of course it is not truly a good representative of the species but its been a low key grail for sometime and I was desperately looking for a reasonably priced one. I was kicking myself on missing out on one for double the cost of this a few weeks earlier.

Interestingly, mine is an original issue, and it's brown with black legs.

They later painted it grey like yours, and called it an Alaskan wolf https://toyanimalwiki.mywikis.wiki/wiki/Bullyland_64403_Alaskan_Wolf.

I never got it, so I don't know if they relabeled it on the figure.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

I understand the marketing and variations of the model, but as a wolf enthusiast I can say none of these are arctic wolves for certain, and while they could generally pass as generic gray wolves, I will be classifying it as a dire wolf as that was the original marketing name for the mould. (Though I agree- it doesn't look like a dire wolf either with our current understanding). Its one of those neither here nor there situations so I am choosing what works for me.

[sbell]

I understand the marketing and variations of the model, but as a wolf enthusiast I can say none of these are arctic wolves for certain, and while they could generally pass as generic gray wolves, I will be classifying it as a dire wolf as that was the original marketing name for the mould. (Though I agree- it doesn't look like a dire wolf either with our current understanding). Its one of those neither here nor there situations so I am choosing what works for me.

Yeah, it was just a rebrand. Didn't hold up well even at the time, but there weren't a lot of dire wolf figures.
The only Bully figure in that set that's sadder is the cave bear... it's the size of the dire wolf! With none of the bulky mass we'd expect. Schleich soon came out with a better one.



Given the size, might make a better Ursus minimus or something small like that

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Yeah, the series was good a stab in the dark that missed the mark by a good mile. I like and own a handful from this series, but they are more of a nostalgic/rarity sort of purchase rather than owning a good example of X species.

[sbell]

Yeah, the series was good a stab in the dark that missed the mark by a good mile. I like and own a handful from this series, but they are more of a nostalgic/rarity sort of purchase rather than owning a good example of X species.

I have the whole run from 2000 or so when they first came out and Bullyland was going some excellent work.

At that time, to collect prehistoric mammals, they were about it. It wasn't until the early mid 2000s that other companies stepped in, and only recently that we're seeing a big wave from different companies

[Saarlooswolfhound]

This is very true! They at least tried to produce something new at the time.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

And another grail was finally found! After roughly 15 years of looking, my heart skipped a beat when my eyes saw this model on ebay (I had never seen it listed even once in that time!). It was a bidding auction so I stalked every day, keeping track of the bids and watchers until... I was able to snag it. I probably paid more than its "worth" but it sold for well under my high bid, and like I said, this one was difficult to track down and it came with a few other old safari models to boot which I can trade off. But I am so thrilled to be able to say this old rattler is now in my collection!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Here is a small comparison photo so you can gauge the size of it- its bigger than expected.



And then this purchase arrived. I was quite excited for a wolf I have never seen before! And the others would be bonuses (the antelope and musk ox for keeps, the bear and moose for customization maybe).



And then they came in the mail and they're enormous!!!

I was *expecting* maybe a WR polybag size like the dingo shown here- but nope! The safari wolf and dingo are for scale.



Still thrilled to have them, and they aren't as big Babe my Jasman gnu that turned to be gigantic, but dang! It was very unexpected

[Saarlooswolfhound]

These are random items I have come across of late. A new color for the little buster longhorn, a color variation of the Safari arctic wold was bycatch with that rattler, a bootleg(?) dino, two Jasman equids, and a K&M tapir.





And I got the Recur farm super egg. It has some really nice models in it! The only grievance I really have is their "yellow cow" has no neck. It does have a duroch pig! The first of its kind that I am aware of and one of my favorite domestic breeds.