My Ice Age Collection (Update: 3/1/2019... Customized Wild Republic figures)

Hi everyone! It's been a while! Labour Day brought me around to checking out some forums I haven't in a while, and I thought I would post an update on my collection.

For some background, I'm an educator here in Calgary, Canada and use animal figures to teach about the Ice Age in this part of the world. I've also been writing a book about the Ice Age here as well. So I've been collecting figures reflecting as complete an Ice Age ecosystem here as I can. I started with species in Alberta, on the Canadian prairies at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, and have started on British Columbia as the scope of my book expanded to all Western Canada. These figures are from all different companies, and some have been painted or otherwise altered. A few stand in for creatures that there are no specific figures of yet (like dire wolves or giant beavers).

On land (don't mind the park ranger, furry trout, or jackalope)...
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

On the Pacific coast (don't mind the mermaid)...
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

These ones are some 1:40 scale figures I sometimes use for size comparison. The mastodon was 3D printed via Shapeways...
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Nice collection :)

This is wonderful
I can't stop looking
Gorgeous models all sorted by their ecosystems

...even a bigfoot chatting with the mammoth and a mermaid stroking the orca

Very interesting collecting subject! It is not easy to chew them all at once. There are so many interesting figures to contemplate.
It is wonderful that you decided to be back here and show how your collection is now. I'd love to see and know more about it.

Maybe you don't have jackalopes in Calgary, but down here in Lethbridge...

Seriously, though, cool concept. Do you try to keep things to a similar scale?

If the rumors turn out to be true, you should have a Sfari Mastodon soon as well! It looks like you may also need the Safari Peccary though (good stand in for Platygonius). Of course, I don't even have one in my own collection anymore but I could bring them in again.

Plus, I notice a real lack of actual appropriate prairie fish in the collection...(we need a fishy emoticon, just sayin'). There are still pike, walleye and trout from RTF for example. For now...since that whole series is ended.

What organization do you educate with?

Thanks for the kind words everyone! Roger, I'll see about posting more detail on my collection in the future :)

sbell wrote:

Maybe you don't have jackalopes in Calgary, but down here in Lethbridge...

I tried talking my wife into letting me get one when we went down through Montana to Yellowstone, but no dice

Quote :

Seriously, though, cool concept. Do you try to keep things to a similar scale?

If the rumors turn out to be true, you should have a Sfari Mastodon soon as well! It looks like you may also need the Safari Peccary though (good stand in for Platygonius). Of course, I don't even have one in my own collection anymore    but I could bring them in again.

I try to keep everything about the same scale... the 1:24ish that the Carnegie woolly mammoth and sabretooth came in is about right relative to the animals commonly made by Schleich and Safari. I'm waiting on bated breath to see if that Safari mastodon is 1:24ish or 1:40ish. I'll probably buy it either way, but I'd prefer the larger size so it looks good with the rest of my collection (I'm also a little disappointed that Eofauna is 1:40, but if they make a Columbian mammoth, then damn, I'll buy it). I've been keeping an eye out for the Safari peccary (right now a boar is standing in), but so few places around Calgary sell Safari that it's not exactly forthcoming... I'm nervous to order online as well, since the time I bought a Safari pronghorn and racoon and they turned out to be gigantic compared to everything else :)

Quote :

Plus, I notice a real lack of actual appropriate prairie fish in the collection...(we need a fishy emoticon, just sayin'). There are still pike, walleye and trout from RTF for example. For now...since that whole series is ended.

I don't really give fish much thought, but I probably should... That might add a whole 'nother chapter to my book too...

Quote :

What organization do you educate with?

I actually have my own company I do freelancing through, and I'm the public outreach coordinator (and current president) of the Alberta Palaeontological Society.

Interesting. I kind of forgot abut the APS (I'm further south, where we don't hear much from them. Plus, all of my paleo work was in southern Sasaktchewan).

It is true that prognhorn figures, like the Safari (and even Mojo) are a little big. The MOJO brand one is a bit smaller, and I would say better made. There are also a couple of very small New Ray ones. The Safari pecarry is a little large too...but there aren't many of those made!

It seems unfair that the small critters always get left out of discussions--when it comes to stratigraphy and ecology, the little amphibians, reptiles, fish, sand smaller birds & mammals (to say nothing of inverts) are often more useful than the big but obvious megafauna.

If nothing else, like I said, small pike, walleye, sturgeon and trout are still available as models. I don't think they'd be to 1:20 scale though (same with most reptile and amphibian models)! Still something to consider.

I have an onlne store in Lethbridge (plus a massive collection of my own) so if there's anything you want to know more about, let me know. The Pronghorn link goes to my site.

sbell wrote:

Interesting. I kind of forgot abut the APS (I'm further south, where we don't hear much from them. Plus, all of my paleo work was in southern Sasaktchewan).

Heh, yeah... We have members from all over the place, but most of our activities are based out of Calgary. Once, every couple years, someone broaches the idea of having chapters, but it never seems to go anywhere. It really needs dedicated people in other communities/regions to get it going, since there isn't much we can do from here.

Quote :

It is true that prognhorn figures, like the Safari (and even Mojo) are a little big. The MOJO brand one is a bit smaller, and I would say better made. There are also a couple of very small New Ray ones.

I measured it and it seems that the Mojo one isn't too much bigger than a Schleich whitetail deer, so it might be worth picking up.

Quote :

I have an onlne store in Lethbridge (plus a massive collection of my own) so if there's anything you want to know more about, let me know. The Pronghorn link goes to my site.

Will do! Thanks!

I hope we will watch more (closer) ^pics of your collection and your rapainted models

Just made another addition to the collection recently... A store in town actually stocked the new Papo cave bear! Of course, cave bears were not found in North America, but until someone makes a short-faced bear, this is about as close as it gets!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I'm pretty stoked right now though... I just placed an order for a load of Safari figures (through an Ebay seller and not Safari directly, since they're too good to ship to Canada). A mastodon, caribou, Przewalski's horse, raven, and lynx are forthcoming by the month's end! Woohoo!

I love that bear

WOW ! You are alredy getting the mastodon and Przewalski horse I surely understand that you are stoked

Those are great additions. It is interesting that you use some extant animals to complement your Ice Age collection. Afterall, many of the living creatures already existed during that era. The bear is really nice and I hope some copany made a short-faced bear in near future.

Roger wrote:

Those are great additions. It is interesting that you use some extant animals to complement your Ice Age collection. Afterall, many of the living creatures already existed during that era.

That's one of the things I find so interesting and appealing about the Ice Age... We're still living in an Ice Age, filled with Ice Age animals. The animals we still have today - black bears, gray wolves, mallard ducks, Canada geese, beavers, prairie dogs, badgers, coyotes, eagles, deer, cougar, bighorn sheep - were contemporaries with the megafauna of the Ice Age. That's pretty incredible when you think about it.

Congratulations

My shipment arrived! Let's unbox this thing!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

The Przewalski's horse!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Comparing to CollectA's and Schleich's (which I repainted to represent a different type of horse when it started to get a little too scuffed and worn). I still think Schleich's is the best sculpt and paint job, with Safari's coming in second. Safari's is a bit too chunky and childish in comparison. Still better than CollectA's though (which generally isn't hard).

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Caribou! It's nice, but much more chunky and childish than the previous reindeer figure, kinda' like the Przewalski's horse. I wish the quality of Safari's sculpting was more even. Sometimes the animals are beautiful models and sometimes they're kiddie toys. Nevertheless, they're still my favourite company out there. 

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Lynx!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Raven!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

And the one I've been waiting for... the American Mastodon!!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Comparing the (very angry looking) mastodon with the Carnegie and Wild Safari woolly mammoths. I like this mastodon... It's a fantastically sculpted animal at a really good size. Safari delivered on the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] prehistoric animal I wanted.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

And now the whole gang together! I also added the CollectA river otter and pacific white-sided dolphin to my collection as well.  

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

WOW ! That was a wonderful shipment

And you are so lucky over there !!! The new Safaris already

I adore the wild horse, and the mastodon is absolutely magnificent

PS : That repaint of the Schleich przewalski is great and interesting !!! Of course there can have been some pinto-mutant now and then

Big congratulations :)

Very nice additions and great comparison between wild horses. Safari's Przewalski looks rather simple but I don't find it childish at all. Maybe the way it is painted is the reason that explains your perception. I have the Schleich figure in my collection. Very good one and I also never liked too much the CollectA, maybe the bold pose is not of help and makes it look as it has strange proportions.
It is always a joy when our most wanted animal is released and I am happy for you, the Mastodon looks really great. I want again to praise you for using extant animals in your collection, yes, I've read your post above, without them it won't make sense. Curious to see more about that reindeer.

SUSANNE wrote:

And you are so lucky over there !!! The new Safaris already

Not SO lucky... I had to order these off Ebay because nowhere around here sells Safari except for Michael's, who don't trouble themselves to bring in new stock.

Quote :

PS : That repaint of the Schleich przewalski is great and interesting !!! Of course there can have been some pinto-mutant now and then

Thanks :) It's supposed to represent Equus conversidens, one of the two species of horse that lived in Western Canada during the ice age (the other being Equus ferus, which is represented in my collection by the Przewalski's horse). At the time I repainted it, the going consensus was that E. conversidens was related to onagers and kiangs, so I repainted it to look more or less like one. But genetic studies since then have found that they're not, and if they are related to anything, they probably evolved from E. ferus ancestors. I'm kinda' wishing I hadn't painted it, because it turns out to have been the best Przewalski's horse figure yet made... It's so good that it almost looks alive. If Schleich ever brought it out of retirement, I would absolutely buy it again.

Roger wrote:

Very nice additions and great comparison between wild horses. Safari's Przewalski looks rather simple but I don't find it childish at all. Maybe the way it is painted is the reason that explains your perception. I have the Schleich figure in my collection. Very good one and I also never liked too much the CollectA, maybe the bold pose is not of help and makes it look as it has strange proportions.

I have the privilege of working at a zoo that has Przewalski's horses, so I'm pretty accustomed to how they should look. Schleich's is dead on accurate. The Safari one has nice colouring, but the paint job was a little too heavy, like on most of the chunky, older, more toy-like Wild Safari figures. The weirdest part is the head. Besides the odd, Superman-level chiselled jowl, the head profile looks okay. But looking at it from the front, the nose is way too thin, almost tapering to a triangle. It's like they didn't look at any pictures Przewalski's horses from the front. In fact, it's so weird-looking that I'd almost rather have painted IT to be my E. conversidens (and may order another one to do just that). Also, the sculpting for its fur isn't as rich and textured as it could be.

The CollectA one could have been okay with a better paint job. It's too pinkish in real life when it should be a deeper tan colour.

And here is a photo comparing the caribou to the previous reindeer...

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

CWGross wrote:

SUSANNE wrote:

And you are so lucky over there !!! The new Safaris already

Not SO lucky... I had to order these off Ebay because nowhere around here sells Safari except for Michael's, who don't trouble themselves to bring in new stock.

Well, I have an order in for my store in Lethbridge, but it's going to be a few more weeks...

And you are right, none of them are as good as the Schleich horse. Also, being in western Canada, I'm assuming you are talking about the Calgary Zoo!

sbell wrote:

Well, I have an order in for my store in Lethbridge, but it's going to be a few more weeks...

Good to know! I'll keep my eyes peeled :)

Quote :

And you are right, none of them are as good as the Schleich horse. Also, being in western Canada, I'm assuming you are talking about the Calgary Zoo!

Yep, sure am! The Przewalski's horses are on and off display at various times, but we have the herd out at the Devonian Conservation Centre that is contributing to the reintroduction of the species to Mongolia, which is awesome. If I had the luxury, I would love to go to Mongolia and see them in the wild.

New shipment! Woohoo! All are from Safari Ltd.

What's in the bag?

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

A spirit bear for the British Columbia part of my collection!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Yep, exact same mold as the regular black bear. The surgical scar from it's brain operation is more visible on the SPirit Bear though.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Peccary! The indigenous swine of the Americas. I FINALLY got this one!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Safari's newest American buffalo...

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Hanging out with my ever-growing bison herd...

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

The new musk ox...

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Compared to Schleich's previous musk ox, which I had painted a bit...

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

And a walrus! During the heights of the last glacial period, walrus lived as far south along the Pacific coast as San Francisco. A major find, nicknamed "Rosie", came from Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Holy smokes! This thing is huge!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Whoa...

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Seriously?!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Are walrus really that big?!... *looks it up*... Why yes, they can be!

And now the gang all together...

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

This might be my last (major) purchase for a while. My wife and I have to save up for our road trip through British Columbia at the end of June/beginning of July. I need to take photos for my book on the Ice Age and we're turning it into a full on vacation. So yeah, gotta' squirrel away those pennies so I can buy animal toys in Vancouver and Victoria

But I don't see a Safari Mastodon...!

Great figurines :)

I love your collection, and all that it/you tells us !!

For instance that walrusses lived in what is now called San Fransisco. Also that they are so big compared to a mammoth

And you are working on a book of the Ice age in America ? That must be enormously exiting !!!