Collection Review: CollectA and Papo Antelopes

Figure Brand: CollectA and Papo

Figure Name(s): Mountain Nyala (88688)
kudu (50104)
Bongo (88809)

Sex: All Males

Name: Mountain Nyala- Kiran- Hindi, ray of light
Kudu- Ciarán- Irish, dark/black
Bongo- Neo

Year Made: Mountain Nyala- 2014
Kudu- 2009
Bongo- 2017

Observations/Thoughts: I like these unusual antelope species and I love when a figurine company comes out with them. I know bongos can be well known enough but I’m really not sure about kudus and nyalas? I’d safely say they would classify as rare and unusual animals. The Kudu and the nyala also look really similar, as in real life the animals do resemble one another, but one is from Papo, the other CollectA, its curious that they have a nearly identical colour brown and cream/grey markings.

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If I had a least favourite it would probably be Kiran the Mountain Nyala. I don’t know why but I’m not a fan of his pose, I know it’s made to look like he might possibly be trudging up a mountain, or quietly pacing through a quieter forest, but it’s the fact his head is nearly on the same level as his body…I dunno. Another thing I’m not sure about is the scratchy feeling of him, sounds weird but he isn’t a smooth model, he feels strangely scratchy?

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Confusingly enough I also named the Kudu a really similar sounding name of Ciarán, and though I do really like the animal figurine itself, I’m not sure the colour is quiet right? I find in looking them up the animal themselves seem to have a light grey to tan brown coat, not the brown used in the model. It would be nice to see a Kudu model from Papo maybe redone in a grey brown? Other than that there’s nothing really wrong or incorrect with the model. He stands upright with all four hooves on the ground, one hoof slightly forward and in a somewhat neutral pose. He’s also got a very thick neck mane/ruff and a very pronounced shoulder hump which I like.

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My favourite of the trio is Neo the Bongo, probably because he’s modelled so nicely, he’s a really rich brown and I don’t think there’s a lot of bongos about as figurines. He’s a really lovely rich russet brown and he too stands in a neutral standing pose, but that’s fine for what he is, his markings and thick but long horns add nice interest to the model instead. His stripes are really narrow but plentiful, his markings and horns do seem realistic and the overall feel of the figurine is chunky and strong with a certain amount of weight to him and very smooth to touch.

Rating: Mountain Nyala- 3/5
Kudu- 4/5
Bongo- 4/5

I like very much these three figures and I miss the antelope fever of those years. This hobby was relatively poor in terms of antelopes when suddenly CollectA changed the rrules and invaded the market with lots of antelope figures. For an antelope, the greater kudu is a relatively common in toy shape, it already existed in Schleich and Papo ranges even before the CollectA invasion. That's the reason why CollectA decided to release a Mountain Nyala. That model was originally projected to be a greater kudu but a forum member [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], who was cooperating with the company, suggested it to be a mountain nyala since it was very similar but new to the market. Contrarily to you, the mountain nyala is may favorite and I like antelopes with that pose, I even like when they have the head more lowered as Lineol did with their oryx.
It gives a very natural motion pose to the animal figure.
I ended replacing my Papo greater kudu by the 2nd generation of the Schleich kudu but I remember my excitment when I acquired it.
Greater kudus are slightly variable in color, from greyish brown to reddish brown. I like the choice for a darker tone because a lighter hue is typical for another species called lesser kudu which Safari released some time ago.
The bongo model is quite impressive, and it was a much-needed addition. CollectA executed it well, but my only gripe with the figure is its static tabletop pose, with its legs splayed out. This design choice was necessitated by the bongo's barrel-shaped body, and CollectA had to position the legs that way to maintain the figure's balance.

Yes, that's an interesting sort of view on the whole history of antelope figures over the last few years. Looking at them, I'm hopeful some new ones might come out too. Maybe a lesser kudu?

Brandubh94 wrote:

Yes, that's an interesting sort of view on the whole history of antelope figures over the last few years. Looking at them, I'm hopeful some new ones might come out too. Maybe a lesser kudu?

Well, Safari Ltd released in 2011 a very nice Lesser kudu as you can see here. This model works nicely with these from CollectA and Papo. I doubt another lesser kudu will be released but I hope for a different kind of antelope like a roan antelope, for instance.

That's a lovely antelope actually. I'll have to look up a roan antelope

Thanks Widukind!

Some very lovely and rare animal models!
I like all three of them as they represent species that are rarely executed in model form. Especially the Bongo and Mountain Nyala are the only ones that are currently available on the market. I'm so happy that CollectA even made a little Bongo calf for their male!
I really like how they were made and especially the colouring of the Nyala pleases me. They are just nice models and all three are on my wishlist.
I also really like the names you gave them.
Hopefully there will be more wonderful antelopes in the future.

Thanks Katy for the appreciation of them all! :)