My newest additions

I'm so glad these wonderful models eventually arrived! They are beautiful choices, lots of interesting species and an amazing birthday/ Christmas present!

Nice additions, and the Colorata figures are esplendid.

My newest haul, gift for Epiphany :)

1. Safari LTD Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis). I has been hesitating between this model and the Schleich one for the Indian rhino. Safari looked like much more appealing for me in images so I went finally for it. Tough I have to say that the real figure looks less impressive than the photos that leaded me to chose it. A more matt finish would have favoured this figure, and the wrinkles and details are not as fine as in, say, the latest CollectA white rhino. However is still a splendid figure and the last rhino I needed for my collection. So a warm welcome for it :)

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Here compared with rhinos of other brands and other continent (CollectA's white, Papo's black). This guy is as massive as the CollectA white. The Schleich one would have had the advantage of being slightly smaller, so it would fit better with my African rhinos.
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It fits much more nicely with rhinos of same brand and same continent: the absolutely must-have Safari Sumatran rhinoceros.
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And for last comparison pic, with other Indian megafauna.
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2. CollectA's Sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) male. This one was not originally into the list that I gave to the Three Kings, I linked the Safari one instead, that I favour in terms on paintjob. But the online shop where these figures were bought, Alcaceira.com had run off of the Safari sable antelope (that, don't forget, it's a retired figure) despite still having it announced as available), and replaced it by the CollectA one. They warned the Three Kings about this change, but of course they don't warned me as the figure should be a surprise. Well, actually is not a change that I mind very much. The three big brand sable antelopes (CollectA, Safari and Mojo) are all quite good, and while probably the CollectA is the less nice of the three is still a very good figure.

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It only needed to be a bit retouched for making it better:

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I will not pot comparison pics because both Antelopes (and especially CollectA's antelopes) and African Savannah animals, are categories with too many possible figures to put them all in a single shot


3. Safari LTD's Atlantic White-sided Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus). One of the best figures for 2020. This figure is trully magnific. The finish is especially good, this figure have not the glossy finish that make other figures shine too much, but looks like actually more silky/satin. It's very well painted and comparing the pattern with online images of the species I see that it don't need to be repainted.

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The most obvious comparison pal is the CollectA's Pacific white-sided dolphin. The Safari's atlantic have the same size than the CollectA's pacific and they fit very good together. Tough the dorsal fin and the fluke of Safari's are noticeable smaller in proportion than CollectA's and I think more realistic. (And yes, for those of you that are wondering - I repainted slightly the CollectA's dolphin).

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4. The mighty Papo's Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo). Many of you acquired this figure new for 2020, so it don't need much a presentation.

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The promo image don't show the trademarks sculpted under the wings, but it have and they're apparent, if that's something to consider for your purchase:

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The figure is absolutely stunning, but what I love more is the backside. The perfect hue of greenish-golden colour have been added to the wing feathers, and the small feathers of shoulders and scapulars are something for admire so much, what an intrincate tiny work!

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Here the cormorant in good company of other waterbirds:

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5. And finally I left for the end my most favourite figure of the batch and the one that filled me most with joy: the unbeatable Safari LTD's Double-wattled Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius). This figure was in my wishlist since ever and now finally is in my hands. I prefaired it very much over the CollectA one due to lack of base, better leg appareance, better paintjob in head-neck and a better helmet (that is inclined aside, as often happens in the real bird). The eyes and the facial expression is just like the one of a real cassowary, a thing that the CollectA figurine don't reach. I don't mean that CollectA's cassowary is bad, in fact is quite good and the second better of the cassowaries available in the trade, but the Safari one is just one step further up :)

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The New Guinea team...

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and here the Aussie Bird Club.

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With these new acquisitions my shelves got soooooo overcrowded that I'm thinking seriously in resume my collection. I literally have no space left. However you know what this hobby means: when you get completely depleted of space, you still need to buy more figures

Most of those species have very good representatives and choices are not always easy.
I am surprised with your reaction about the Safari Indian rhinoceros, I owned the Papo, I own the Schleich and the Safari and the latter is my favorite. Though, all three are very good models. The same for sables, all three are excellent and I have them all. Surprising again your preference once I believe in a popular poll, the ranking would result the exact oposite of your personal preferences. It is meaningless anyway, when figures are good, we easily tend to different choices. Cassowary is the same, I think CollectA and Safari are so close in quality that there isn't an obvious king. I owned the CollectA, I am quite happy with it but it is surely a species that won't hurt owning both.
Which number is printed on your cormorant, 2005?

I need this Safari ltd cassowary! :)

Phantastic newcomers, also your homemade species. Great work

Thanks a lot all for your nice comments :) yes Roger when many models are good is where personal preferences pop up, if we only could choose between a good and a bad figure then everybody would have just the first one!
But don't get confused, the Safari rhino is my favourite too, it's just that in the images it looked better than in real!

And yes the cormorant have 2005 in the foot. I tought it was the item number but if all items have same number then what it means? My Safari California condor have a similar number printed in white in one wing too.

Very nice newcomers Isidro  I own only one of them and yours have a better painting. Mine was from the first batch and I'm happy to see Safari Ltd improved the model quality.
Two of yours are already on my wishlist 
You CollectA sable is far better with your repaint.
And about you lack of place... 

Pardofelis wrote:

Thanks a lot all for your nice comments :) yes Roger when many models are good is where personal preferences pop up, if we only could choose between a good and a bad figure then everybody would have just the first one!
But don't get confused, the Safari rhino is my favourite too, it's just that in the images it looked better than in real!

And yes the cormorant have 2005 in the foot. I tought it was the item number but if all items have same number then what it means? My Safari California condor have a similar number printed in white in one wing too.

No,, the iten number is on tags or barcodes. It is likely related with the production time/batch. Some have numbers, some have clocks. On Papo cormorant, first two digits mean that it was produced in 2020. There are some inconsistencies and it is hard to find the exact meaning of the remaining two numbers. Until now, all cormorants I asked are marked 2005, it is still a recent figure anyway. My California condor is marked 0810, though, on Safari figures the year is represented by the last two numbers what means it was produced in 2010.
OK, I got it now, Safari rhino is your favorite, it is not just as great as you expected.

Great additions! I have all these models and they are great choices. The cassowary is one of my favorites

You choose very nice models Isidro ! Congratulations for having them now
The Safari Indian Rhino is also my favorite as well as the Cassowary.
Your Indian Rhino has the newer paintjob and it looks better than mine. I just love the face of this model.
Is it only me ? ... I think that the Safari LTD's Atlantic White-sided Dolphin , has a bit short body. Especially from the dorsal fin to the tale.
I see the same thing on many Safary marine models, especially sharks.

Haha Kiki, you made me laugh so hard with this image

Hahaha Christophe, I saw that in other part of the forum, and readed the subsequent funny replies such as the one from George that applied totally to me!

Rogério, very interesting info, I guess the 05 maybe is the month then. My California condor have the same number than yours.

Kosta, I don't notice that the Safari's dolphins and sharks tend to be on the short side, the figures never gave me this impression and still they don't. Maybe I don't have those sharks where this issue is more noticeable. The old Safari basking shark looks indeed short in promo images and member photos, but I'm glad I not acquired it as now we have the much better CollectA that some day will join my collection.

Congrats for your phantastic newcomers :) All of them are Must-Haves!

Just a little question: What was your choice for a Tiger figure? Thanks :)

It's Schleich - presented in page 4 of this thread :)

Pardofelis wrote:

Hahaha Christophe, I saw that in other part of the forum, and readed the subsequent funny replies such as the one from George that applied totally to me!

I'm convinced this is true and will never stop believing it After all, look at my signature quote : "There's no such thing as too many models, only not enough shelves"

These are a lovely batch of new arrivals, the sable antelope does look greatly improved with the more accurate markings, but my favourite is the cassowary - what a perfect face!

Pardofelis wrote:

Hahaha Christophe, I saw that in other part of the forum, and readed the subsequent funny replies such as the one from George that applied totally to me!

Rogério, very interesting info, I guess the 05 maybe is the month then. My California condor have the same number than yours.

Kosta, I don't notice that the Safari's dolphins and sharks tend to be on the short side, the figures never gave me this impression and still they don't. Maybe I don't have those sharks where this issue is more noticeable. The old Safari basking shark looks indeed short in promo images and member photos, but I'm glad I not acquired it as now we have the much better CollectA that some day will join my collection.

I also think it is the month but I have a few Papo figures with numbers higher than 12 what means that these numbers remain somewhat misterious.
By the way, my Indian rhino, surely from the first batch, is marked 1110. November 2010 or October 2011, the latter seems more appropriate for a 2012 model.
About the dolphin, don't take me wrong but I agree with Kosta, the figure has a short back and it is significatively bulkier than those pictures we see online. Sometimes it looks like they took the proportions from angled pictures, like the head was slightly closer to the camera  what gives a distorted perception of the real proportions.  I haven't checked juveniles, I don't know if their proportions are more like the figure.
However, I see it with lots of dolphin figures and I am not suggesting the model is not good. It is actually very nice with a perfect painting. If cetaceans were an important part of my collecting hobby, I wouldn't hesitate to get one of these.

Pardofelis wrote:

It's Schleich - presented in page 4 of this thread :)

Thanks for the information :) I never realised, that Schleich had such a beautiful tiger in their range :)

magnificent - splendid - marvelous

Bought yesterday this masterpiece that now I can delete from my wishlist. I'm glad that I not bought the Papo manatee, that is good, but this one is even better. And of course both Papo and the new Schleich surpass the CollectA one, and the three surpass very much the old Schleich one that is mad. The new one instead is superb. The texture of the skin is fabulous, and the pale grey hue matches perfectly with the manatees I've seen in aquariums.
These manatees tend to have a bit sloppy paint in the eyes, so ensure you to choose the best available one in the shop.
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The head inclined aside gives the manatee an inquisitive looking and make it much more dynamic when viewed from front. Well done, Schleich! :)
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The attention of the detail is exquisite. Genital slit is included and very well done. Unfortunately a bit of dirt stains the point of the belly where the manatee touches the ground, but after submerging mine in water for the photo session, the dirt vanished without even trying to clean it.
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This will be the second of my more than 200 branded figures that is not "made in China"! The other one is also a Schleich, a giant panda made in Tunisia. This manatee is made in Portugal, to the joy of our fox-collector crocodile
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Time to release it in the water:
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And now the comparison pals:

First thing is of course compare with the other sirenian in my collection, the CollectA dugong. (For those you don't know my collection is synoptic so I can't have another manatee, thus meaning I must chose carefully the best representative of each species!)
I think both fits perfectly, they have the same colour (despite the dugong being glossy), and the manatee is stockier and a bit longer than the dugong as it happens in real animals.
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I know that actually is a Caribbean manatee, that is the species everybody knows and that is displayed in every zoo/aquarium, being the other two species ignored and absent from captivity (except in a couple of Chinese/Japanese zoos). But notice that zoos/aquariums worldwide put the Caribbean manatees in Amazonian themed thanks, mixing it with pirarucus, pacus and motoro stingrays so why do not the same in a diorama? The nails are not visible from avobe the surface so it can pass as a Caribbean when not viewed from aside...
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And still in Amazonian ranfoirest... these two water birds are talking about a bet... which of them will surf the manatee for longer time before he submerges again?
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Yeeeehah! The ibis won the first assault!
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A super-joy to watch these pictures

For instance the picture of those water birds

Really lovely manatee! I personally love the CollectA adult and calves along with the dugong so I never really paid any attention to this Schleich manatee but it’s actually very nice! It’s very detailed and has a nice face.

I also really love your custom scarlet ibis, it’s beautiful

I want this scarlet ibis and this manatee.

Nice models.

Your birds are unbelieveable beautieful. The manatee too

Perfect post for me. That's why a forum is important. I don't pay too much atention to sea cows, I owned the old Schleich (Made in Portugal) but I found a better owner for it. Though, I think I should get at least one manatee and a dugong. I see in my wish list the Schleich manatee replaced the Papo model what means I already had good references about it but your post turns it even more obvious. Let's see if I get a manatee Made in Portugal like yours, it is good Schleich is still releasing great wild animal figures.

Hi collector folks,
I received some weeks ago the Papo albatross, but I delayed a bit posting photos in the forum. I'm getting both a bit busy and a bit vague lately :p

For me, this is the only decent sized albatross from western brands as the others are excessively big for my taste. Being a black-browered albatross, is smaller than the wandering one and perfect for my collection.
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I corrected both the bill lenght (with a lime, tough only slightly) and the eyebrow paint, and also the bill colour.

Before:
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After:
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This albatross is in exchange with my friend [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], I did for him a brittle star and a sea cucumber. You already know the sea cucumber from another thread. Here the brittle star:
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