Go Jump in a Lake! Freshwater Fish!

[sbell]

For all of your consideration--an unknown Safari Ltd figure date stamped 2009, a Desert Pupfish Cyprinodon macularis. Item number 251429 according to a recently found test report. This figure has not been seen in any catalogs so was likely produced as a special, custom or limited edition figure (which are not seen often from Safari). According to the report, an endangered Razorback Sucker Xyrauchen texanus was also tested, but nobody has seen that one (yet!). It is also marked Tempe AZ, which is unusual for Safari, which are often marked Miami FL.

It's clearly a male, given it's colour. The larger males are about 7.6 cm long, but the figure is probably about 6 inches (as seen in the photo with the ruler). So it would be roughly 3:1 scale. The real fish is a pretty neat little one (for a cyprinid  ), being able to survive extreme environments. Sadly, they are less able to survive human-affected environments, taxonomic changes (the species was divided up over time, so that means they are found in fewer places) and introduced predators and are extirpated from much of their former range. Hopefully the figure continues to represent a living animal into the foreseeable future.

Pictures!











And with some people, who are incredibly undersized, even the New Ray fishermen)



And yes, I am trying to find out whatever else I can from the seller. If only to find out where he got it!

[Jetoar]

Cool and obscure uknown figure of this specie  . Its really nice to know figure for you friends  .

[brontodocus]

Wow, brilliant! So it's apparently even bigger than most of the Incredible Creatures fishies, then.

[sbell]

Wow, brilliant! So it's apparently even bigger than most of the Incredible Creatures fishies, then.

It is, much bigger. I tried to find the IC goldfish for comparison, but the kids have it 'somewhere'. Makes me think that, if the Razorback Sucker were also made, it would be enormous (of the two, I'm glad I got the pupfish. Much nicer fish).

[sbell]

So I contacted Safari Ltd about this figure, and it turns out that it is, indeed, a commissioned figure. In this case, it was for the Arizona State Government as part of a promotion of their endangered animals (so I do expect that the sucker is out there somewhere too).

They couldn't tell me how many were made, or for how long, but they did confirm that they are not available anywhere else, and that any other details would be with the state government. So likely not many, and they were probably part of education packs or something.

Glad I went for it!

[AnimalToyForum]

Wow, sounds like a real rarity! Good catch

[bmathison1972]

So I contacted Safari Ltd about this figure, and it turns out that it is, indeed, a commissioned figure. In this case, it was for the Arizona State Government as part of a promotion of their endangered animals (so I do expect that the sucker is out there somewhere too).

I used to work for the AZ State Government (as a microbiologist); looks like a moved on a couple years too early! Darn! Hahahahahaha.

[widukind]

I newer saw this figurine before 

[sbell]

I newer saw this figurine before 

Apparently you never will--I stumbled upon it by accident. It was produced for the Arizona Government as a special figure, and not released for sale anywhere else.

[widukind]

I newer saw this figurine before 

Apparently you never will--I stumbled upon it by accident. It was produced for the Arizona Government as a special figure, and not released for sale anywhere else.

Than special congratulations for this raritie

[brontodocus]

The largest of Japan's salmonids featured by the new Aquatales resin line, this is the Kaiyodo Aquatales Polyresin Aquatic animal figure collection Series 2 No. 006 Japanese Huchen, Ito, or Sakhalin Taimen, Parahucho (or Hucho) perryi (Brevoort, 1856). The figure has a total length of 107 mm, so the scale is between approx. 1:5 and 1:18. One of the largest salmonids in the world, the Ito can grow to 2 m total length (TL, i.e. including caudal fin). Today, the geographical range of the species is restricted to Sakhalin Island, a small part of Khabarovsk Krai, and the Kuril Islands (Russia), as well as Hokkaidō (Japan), while it is already extinct on Japan's main island Honshū. Overfishing (as bycatch but also poaching) as well as habitat loss has lead to a dramatic decline of the population and IUCN classifies the species as "Critically Endangered".

















Edit 2017-02-05: Fixed broken image urls.

[Jetoar]

Amazing replica as other Kaiyodo polyresin figures  .

[widukind]

A really nice and interesting figurine 

[stargatedalek]

totally didn't mistake it for Oncorhynchus mykiss 

very nice, and a very underrepresented species

[brontodocus]

Walk-around of the Safari Ltd Incredible Creatures 2015 Largemouth Bass, Micropterus salmoides (Lacépède, 1802). A typical Incredible Creatures figure, this one is quite large at 150 mm total length (TL, i.e. including caudal fin) so the scale falls between approx. 1:3 and 1:6. It is sculpted in a dramatic looking preying pose with open mouth and is nicely detailed with well-defined scales (although they are a bit too large so there are fewer of them along the position of the lateral line than typical for the species). The head looks especially good with its detailed mouth interior and operculum with branchiostegal rays. The number of spines and soft rays in the dorsal and anal fins (which are key characters in identifying bony fish species) does not match the ray count in real specimens but this is admittedly rarely ever the case in a fish figure. Usually, the Largemouth Bass has a dark lateral band along its body which is merely adumbrated by one of the rows of dark spots on the figure.
This North American species is very popular in sports fishing and has been introduced in many other parts of the world where it can sometimes be an invasive species. Since it is so widespread and common (and even a pest in some countries where it has been introduced), IUCN considers it "Least Concern".
Here is a link to the figure at Safari Ltd: https://safariltd.com/products/view/incredible-creatures-large-mouth-bass-figurines-265629






















Edit 2017-02-05: Fixed broken image urls.

[Jetoar]

Details of its scales are awesome  .

[brontodocus]

Many thanks, Jetoar! 

[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 TL from Fishbase.org for consistency. Some of them seemed high, but I'll assume Fishbase knows what they are doing. And the scales will be rounded and approximate!

EDIT--Or not. Fishbase has had some strange, unrepeatable numbers, so I will be using the length given on the figure's paper for consistency. Unless the FB one is more interesting. When there are more than one, I will use the higher values.

So now, the fish!

This figure is the Ayu, apparently also called the Sweetfish, Pleccoglossus altivelus, number 01 from the first series. This is a fish found in East Asia, in Japan, Korea and eastern China. They are seasonally anadromous, heading to sea upon hatching, wintering there, and then heading back up stream. Given the name 'sweetfish' it's probably not surprising that they are a food fish, with a sweet aroma to their meat. TL of the Ayu is 30cm.

This model is about 5.5cm long, making the figure roughly 1:5 (EDITED). It is in a straight-but-curving pose, as expected from a quick-swimming species. On the base, the rod goes in at a slight angle, giving a bit of rise to the fish (although it could just as easily be descending if it were turned). I have the figure on the tree-stump base.

The figure is a pretty lively one, with fairly bright eyes and distinct colours. Ayu have shown up from several Japanese makers including Kaiyodo and Colorata. Unlike some, this figure is a single piece model.

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.

[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 TL from Fishbase.org for consistency. Some of them seemed high, but I'll assume Fishbase knows what they are doing. And the scales will be rounded and approximate!

So now, the fish!

This figure is the White-spotted Char (also known as iwana in Japan), Salvelinus leucomaensis, number 02 from the first series. This salmon and trout relative is a fish found in East Asia, and can be landlocked or ocean-running. As with many Japanese fish models (though not all) it is widely fished for. TL of the White-spotted char is 120cm according to Fishbase, but everything else I found said 80cm. I may rethink the use of Fishbase.

EDIT--okay, I looked on the same Fishbase entry, and after the SWA entry, there is a different paragraph that says 35cm for landlocked, 70cm for sea-going. I will need to be more careful. I'll have to see if I can determine which version this should be.

This model is about 7 cm long, making the figure roughly (EDITED) 1:5 or 1:10, depending on what TL size you use. It is in a basic swim pose, and has the very characteristic salmonid look. The colouring is very detailed, with the distinct-but-graded coloring, spots and faint bars present, plus the noticeably red tail. This one is on the light brown river rock base. Overall the figure has a somewhat calm demeanor compared to some of the Yujin fish. As will be a running theme with many of the Japanese fish in the Yujin series, this species has shown up in other Japanese lines.

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.

[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 Cherry Salmon (also known as masu in Japan), Oncorhynchus masou masou, number 03 from the first series. This salmon is a widespread, anadromous subspecies found along the Pacific Coast in Japan and Korea. Not surprisingly, Cherry Salmon are fished commercially and as game fish. TL of the Cherry salmon is 35cm.

This model is about 6 cm long, making the figure roughly 1:6. It is in a basic swim pose, and has the very characteristic salmonid look—complete with open mouth, probably looking for food. The colouring is detailed, and if we are being picky, lacks the darkened back and redder splotches of a fully mature individual. This one is on the grey river rock-with-plant base. Overall the figure has a somewhat calm demeanor compared to some of the Yujin fish. As will be a running theme with many of the Japanese fish in the Yujin series, this species has shown up in other Japanese lines, although I am not 100% certain of this particular subspecies (I know that the biwa trout, Oncorhynchus masou rhodurus, has shown up in other sets, for example).

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.