Yujin Freshwater Fishes (Mostly second releases)--walkarounds

Kikimalou wrote:

Yes, ten years ago we were far less hunters for that kind of preys.

Honestly, I've never even see a lot again. Except on YAJ, where the sets are still insanely expensive (to say nothing of the full box set).

And it has occurred to me--I should put up pictures of the papers, to show what they say. And how the two Series are different.

Beautieful figurines :)

You keep showing these fantastic fish figures and that is really great!
Someone from Safari is a member here but I don't believe this person has time to track the forum. We are not very active but an average over 100 posts per day are enough to keep someone busy. Though, we never know if the suggestion of the salmon lifecycle goes towards Safari design center.
I hope you can find #18 and #20 and we, on forum, love comparison pictures, thanks for these exclusives!

Roger wrote:

You keep showing these fantastic fish figures and that is really great!
Someone from Safari is a member here but I don't believe this person has time to track the forum. We are not very active but an average over 100 posts per day are enough to keep someone busy. Though, we never know if the suggestion of the salmon lifecycle goes towards Safari design center.
I hope you can find #18 and #20 and we, on forum, love comparison pictures, thanks for these exclusives!

I know someone pretty high up at Safari Ltd, maybe I could suggest it to him? Although I've been involved with this stuff before, so it can take years to show up. But here's hoping that Safari Ltd gets around to it before I mention it!

I'm enjoying doing the walkarounds--I actually have everything photographed, the time is in the write ups and formatting! I am hopeful I can get at least one version of each of the missing species; it would be great to get some of the interesting specials/secrets, but $100+ for an albino eel (spoiler--there's a Japanese freshwater eel!) seems too high.

This figure is the Japanese Spined Loach (Shimadojou in Japan), Cobitis biwae , number 22 from the second series. This is a small, long-bodied loach endemic to Japan, there are numerous potential subspecies but no distinction was made with the model. They prefer river environments, living primarily along the gravel bottoms. They are predators in the substrate, looking for worms and other invertebrates. The Japanese Spined Loach is exported for keeping in aquaria, and apparently they are also eaten in some places. I remember having ‘dojo loaches’ and the name may come from this (although the species was likely related but different). The Yujin model gives a length of 14cm, other sources differed but were close.

This model is about 5.5cm long, making the figure roughly 1:3 scale. The sculpting of the fish is excellent, capturing even the barbels around the mouth and subtle variations in the mass of the body (the dorsal muscle of the body is wider than the ventral and lateral surfaces) giving the fish a life-like shape. The fins are well defined, with each fin ray clearly present in the yellowish, translucent fins. The colouring of the figure, in my opinion, tends to be less impressive. The fish has a pale cream base colour, with three series of dark blotches, one along each side and one down the dorsal margin. Between these rows of blotches is a number of irregular dots, dashes and squiggles. Some of the anterior squiggles are highlighted in black. One the base of the caudal fin is a single, darker blotch. In the real fish, these blotches and squiggles exist but are less defined than the solid colouring in the figure, giving it a more cartoonish appearance (when it comes to loaches, they are generally cartoonish enough!). The base is the brown small gravel, with a plastic plant. There are definitely other models of this fish made, of course by Japanese companies—I own both a Kaiyodo Animatales and Colorata model (both of which are labelled as C. biwae and so are not related species, and there are likely others.

Pictures:
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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).
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Thanks sbell!

This figure is the Japanese Eel (Nihon Unagi in Japan), Anguilla japonica , number 23 from the second series. This is the only freshwater eel found in Japan, although it is found throughout Eastern Asia as far south as Vietnam. Like many other freshwater eels, the Japanese Eel is catadromous, spawning and hatching at sea but living much of their life in freshwater habitats and brackish estuaries. The eels can change morphology considerably depending where they are in their life cycle; some never enter freshwater, which results in a different colouring. They are important food fish in their native region, but are unfortunately considered endangered (like all anguillids, AKA freshwater eels) due to fishery pressure and habitat loss. Some farm-raising is done, but they are not bred in captivity; instead juveniles are captured at sea and raised in farms, which does nothing to reduce natural population pressure. The Yujin model gives a length of 100cm, but several other online sources gave a length of 150cm.

This model is difficult to measure, given its various curves, but measures 16cm long, giving a scale of 1:6; using the longer length of some sources of 150cm, the scale would be more like 1:9. This is definitely one of the most interesting models in terms of sculpt—instead of the normal more-or-less straight body, this sculpt has given the eel its full range of curves and bends, reflecting the snake-like appearance of the fish. The details are equally excellent—the fins are all a translucent yellowish colour, finely detailed with the fin rays; the single dorsal-caudal-anal wraps completely around the body as it should, following the edges of the body as it curves. The ventral fin flattens out against the body part way, reflecting the body’s weight as the fish swims around the river bottom. The main body of the fish is very dark brown on the dorsal surface, changing abruptly to silver on the ventral surface. The head is well-sculpted, and the eyes are painted well, with the light eyeball and dark pupil giving a sense of life to the fish. The base that this one is on is the same as the arowana one, essentially a mound of river bottom with branches, although painted with fewer colours. There are definitely other models of freshwater eels, but possibly only a couple others are A. japonica. Most are Japanese, but Bullyland has made a European freshwater eel. There is a ‘secret’ version of the Yujin, a completely yellow or gold model, but I haven’t ever seen it available for a reasonable price.

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

Nice again :)

widukind wrote:

Nice again :)

It's definitely one of my favorites--until recently, I didn't even display it on a base, it doesn't really need one. But it is better that way.

sbell wrote:

widukind wrote:

Nice again :)

It's definitely one of my favorites--until recently, I didn't even display it on a base, it doesn't really need one. But it is better that way.

Its right, sometimes its better without a base :)

widukind wrote:

sbell wrote:

widukind wrote:

Nice again :)

It's definitely one of my favorites--until recently, I didn't even display it on a base, it doesn't really need one. But it is better that way.

Its right, sometimes its better without a base :)

it's also one of the few that can stay upright properly--so many of them kind of tip. Unless they were never meant to be on a base (those will show up toward the end of this!).

It continues being a pleasure to read your posts. I am quite bored with newspapers, I don't like their news and I also don't like paper.
So it is great to have something interesting to read all days.
If you feel confortable with that important person on Safari, I think you should make that suggestion. I suggested once, at their FB, a tube of river giants, obviously featuring huge freshwater fishes.

Roger wrote:

It continues being a pleasure to read your posts. I am quite bored with newspapers, I don't like their news and I also don't like paper.
So it is great to have something interesting to read all days.
If you feel confortable with that important person on Safari, I think you should make that suggestion. I suggested once, at their FB, a tube of river giants, obviously featuring huge freshwater fishes.

Thanks, I've been enjoying putting them together; I have a few other fishy sets I may follow up with that are smaller. There's a lot to learn with several of these; my favorite one is coming up, so I've got some work to do!

I've worked with Safari product development before; it doesn't always go how you want, but it's still kind of fun!

And I would echo your river giants toob! Really, they need to build that aspect anyway--if nothing else, they're in Florida, how are there no Safari gar models (I did try in the Prehistoric Crocs toob, but no go; the Champsossaur was enough of a push!)?

This figure is the Northern Snakehead, Channa argus , number 24 from the second series. These large, strictly freshwater predators are naturally found in the Korean Peninsula, China and Russia. Given the northern range, it is not surprising that they are cold tolerant, and have since been introduced to several other places including the US, Japan and parts of Europe (so far Canada has kept them out, but they are heading to the Great Lakes, so we’ll see how that goes). They are considered a food source, which explains their widespread occurrence; their large size, adaptability and voracious appetites, however, can be disastrous for local ecosystems, especially ones where the original top predators (like gars) have been removed or reduced, letting the northern snakehead become the top fish wherever it is found. They are also obligate air breathers, able to survive for short times out of water and possibly find new bodies of water, which makes them even harder to contain. The Yujin model gives a length of 90cm, but several other online sources gave a largest-known length of 150cm!

This was actually one of my first two Yujin freshwater fish figures, because despite the terrible havoc they can play when introduced, they are such cool fish—I’ve only kept a much smaller, more docile species but I have seen these ones in aquaria, and they can be very impressive. This is also one of my favorite Yujin fish models, and one of the few where I have more than one.

This model measures 7cm long, giving a scale of 1:13 with the Yujin value; using the longest length of 150cm, the scale would be more like 1:21. The model is sculpted in a cruising pose, with pectoral fins pressed tight to the body, slightly curved with big bright eyes. This version of the figure does a great job capturing the light brown base-colouring with dark brown blotches forming bands along the sides. The figure does a great job illustrating a key colouring feature, two thick brown bands at the base of the tail, the posterior-most of which does not have any light markings behind it. The rest of the body has variable brown washes over it, giving the fish a life-like colouring. (From pictures, the First Release of this figure from Yujin looks more like a different species like C. maculatus even if it is not supposed to be). The fins are all translucent yellow or brown. The base that this one is on is the same as the arowana one, essentially a mound of river bottom with branches, but completely grey. This is, as far as I have found so far, the only snakehead model that has been made, although I would like to be proven wrong.  I already mentioned the Yujin First Release version, which maybe I’ll pick up some day, but otherwise these fish are mostly ignored as toys.

The Northern Snakehead is also the first of the Series II fishes two come in two pieces, with the head coming off at the opercula.

Pictures:
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The two pieces:
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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). In this instance, it’s fortunate that I have two, because I couldn’t get the rod out of the fish on the base (the other is not displayed on a base). It’s also the one I used for the two-piece picture.
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Beautieful model too!

This figure is the Largemouth Bass, Micropterus salmoides , number 25 from the second series. These are large freshwater bass naturally found in the Mississippi River system of North America. However, they are popular sport fish and have been released in many parts of the world, including, of course, Japan. Like the Northern Snakehead, Largemouth Bass are large, voracious predators, and if conditions are suitable, can become established and spread quickly. Once this happens, the effect on natural populations is intense. Interestingly, a related species, Micropterus dolomieu , the Smallmouth Bass, is also invasive in Japan, but Yujin didn’t make a model of this one (Kaiyodo recently did though!); it is not, however, the only Yujin centrarchid as we'll see! The Yujin model gives a length of 60cm, but several other online sources gave larger total lengths, including one (Fishbase) stating of 97cm (which seems insanely large)!

This model measures 6.5cm long, giving a scale of 1:9 with the Yujin value; using the longest length of 97cm, the scale would be more like 1:15. The colouring of the model I very complex, with a lighter crème base colour and a range of darker and lighter brown and olive green washes darkening from the dorsal surface to the belly. This is punctuated with several dark black bands down each side and lighter brown horizontal stripes across each cheek. The fins are a translucent dark olive colour. The most notable feature is the large, open mouth—a big cavern with white lips and painted pink inside. There is some sculpting of the roof of the mouth, but not much. Between the mouth and the big gold eye, this model is a small reminder of a powerful predator. The base that this one is on is the vertical rock face, except in light brown. Largemouth Bass have shown up a few times as models, not only from other Japanese makers like Kaiyodo and  Kinto-Favorite, but also ones with American connections (of course, given the natural range). These include Replica Toy Fish Company, New Ray, and a recent large figure from Safari Ltd, plus I’m certain of a few more generic bass-like fish from cheaper companies.

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

This figure is the Bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus , number 26 from the second series. These are medium-sized relatives of the largemouth and smallmouth bass (Centrarchidae) that natural occurred in the US in many areas east of the Rocky Mountains. Like their larger-mouth cousins Bluegill are popular with anglers and as food fish, and so have been introduced to almost every continent—they are very adaptable, even capable of surviving brackish salinities. These introductions may have made anglers happy, but they are considered pests in many places that they have been released—and their inclusion in this set of mostly Japanese fish is mainly due to the massive damage they have wreaked in Lake Biwa. They can be adaptable feeders, primarily eating invertebrates and small fish but will not be choosy—another reason they can cause so much misery where they are introduced. The Yujin model gives a length of 40cm, which seems to be the largest size available.

This model measures 5.2cm long, giving a scale of 1:8. Like the Largemouth Bass, the Bluegill has a very complex colouring, in both the figure and the real fish. The overall colours of the fish is a light yellowish-green, fading from darker on the dorsal margin to white at the belly. There are dark vertical bands along the sides which extend about halfway down the body. Interspersed between these bands are thinner light-green bands that extend all the way to the belly. The fins are uniformly dark green; mine has the fins painted quite thick, so that they do not appear translucent like many Yujin fish fins. The head is a flat light green except for the white lower jaw. My model has a strange black mark on the upper lip, but I don’t know if this has any basis in reality. The key colouring of a Bluegill—the blue or black spot on the trailing edge of the operculum—is painted a very bright blue or turquoise, with a black trailing edge; form photos that I have looked up, this seems a bit exaggerated, but does give a nice dash of colour! Overall it is a very bright figure—and a nice break for the dominance of the browns and greys of the Series II models. The base that this one is on is the brown large pebbles. Bluegills and their relatives do not show up much as figures; I am aware of the Replica Toy Fish 3” figure, but that may be it. There may also be other models, such as porcelain or glass figures, but I don’t keep up with those.

Pictures:
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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). This is another one that I couldn’t get the peg out of!
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Amazing how many you haVe, - and such beautyful, interesting species

I will have to look/read through them all again as soon as I have plenty of time

Thanks again for all the good work you do to share

Beautieful pics, thank you :)

This figure is the Roughskin Sculpin (hilariously, the Japanese name apparently translates to “God of the Mountain!”), Trachidermus fasciatus , number 27 from the second series (we’re down to the last 5! Unless I get the ones I am missing…). This is the first and only sculpin (Cottidae) in the Yujin series. They are medium-sized fish, inhabiting river bottoms and preying on fish and invertebrates. They are native to coastal waters and rivers in China, Korea and Japan. Like many of the freshwater fish we’ve seen, the Roughskin Sculpin is catadromous, spawning in river delta mudflats and then swimming upstream to grow into adults; they nest in any structures they can find, including garbage like glass bottles, where males often guard the nests. Apparently, habitat degradation has negatively affected Roughskin Sculpin populations, but I found conflicting info on whether or not they have an official status designation. Apparently, they have been considered a luxury food item, but not commonly eaten. The Yujin model gives a length of 16cm, which is about on average given the range I found of anything from 14cm to 20cm.

This model measures 6.5cm long, giving a scale of 1:2 (the scale factor is close to 2.5, but rounding! does things). The figure is another very complicated pattern. The fish is painted to be very shiny, representing the lack of scales of these fish. It is coloured light brown with dark brown markings across the body in an irregular pattern of spots, blotches and bars. The ventral surface is plain white, with some scattered light brown spots along the lateral margins. The fins are a translucent yellow with thick fin rays. The fins are covered with small, scattered dark and light brown blotches. The pectoral fins are especially large, as is expected in sculpins. The head is sculpted with a lot of detail, featuring the ridges and knobs common to sculpins. This another figure that is made in two pieces, separating the head + pectoral fish from the rest of the body. This is also the first of the Yujin fish to be made without any base at all—perhaps, given the bottom-dwelling habits, they decided not to bother giving it a ‘swimming’ behaviour; most of the last figure in the series do not have bases, and all of these are bottom dwellers.

Most sculpin figures that I am aware of are made in Japan (despite being found around the world), representing a few different Japanese species (I have 3 Japanese sculpin figures, of 3 different species). The companies include Kaiyodo, Colorata and Kitan, plus probably a few others (any fish referred to as a ‘god’ is likely to be made as a few figures!).

Pictures:
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This is the figure in its two pieces—as the figure is not unusually large, and there is no base, the 2 pieces may have been required or preferred to properly capture the detail of the head.

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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).
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[quote="Kikimalou"][quote="sbell"]

SUSANNE wrote:

Showing pics in scale are very interresting and educational for ignorants like me, I didn't imagine how big or small are some of these fishes.

Could you make a comparison topic of your different Arronawas  one day?

It has occurred to me--what would be the most appropriate area on the forum to put comparison photos of something like an arowana group shot? They are all Japanese (except one...) but otherwise, only the subject matter connects them!

That's exciting that you experience working with Safari product development!
Also thanks for more and very interesting reviews, I enjoyed specially reading all the "gymnastic" used to manufacture the God of the Mountain!
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Roger wrote:

That's exciting that you experience working with Safari product development!
Also thanks for more and very interesting reviews, I enjoyed specially reading all the "gymnastic" used to manufacture the God of the Mountain!
We have a section on forum for [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thanks, I couldn't find the definitive Japanese word(s) for the fish, so the translation will have to do!

And I am hoping to have another up later today! Then I can move onto some other project!

This figure is the Amur Goby, Rhinogobius brunneus , number 28 from the second series. This is the only Yujin true goby (Gobiinae, family Gobiidae) in the series. They are quite small fish, generally living on the bottoms of freshwater streams and brackish estuaries, hunting small invertebrates. They are unique in how their pelvic fins are fused to form a suction-cup to allow them to cling to the bottom in fast water. Apparently, the Amur Goby is anadromous, spawning in freshwater, and then traveling as juveniles to marine environments to mature. Amur Goby are naturally found in rivers in Japan and China, but have been introduced to several other Asian regions as well as the Pacific Northwest of the USA; despite their small size the presence of the Amur Goby is apparently having negative impacts on the natural environment. The Yujin model gives a length of 10cm, although are more likely to be close to 5cm.

This model measures 6cm long, giving a scale of roughly 1:2 (1:1 with the smaller, more common length). Once more, we have a very brightly coloured fish. The base colour of the fish is a light green or turquoise with a sporadic series of dark blue blotchy chevrons-like bands along the lateral line, plus a few along the dorsal margin. Interspersed among all of this is a series of small reddish-brown dots in a few rows on either side.  The scales are deeply incised, which is a good representation of the large, obvious scales of these small fish. The fins are a translucent yellow with strong, obvious fin rays; the tail has a white margin on the tail fin, with a dark orange band along the inner edge. Overall, the fish appears to be in some sort of display or fight pose, given that all of the fins are up and prominently displayed, and the mouth is held wide open. The pelvic fins are clearly sculpted to demonstrate the suction morphology seen in gobies. The head is well-sculpted, with the bulbous blue eyes and big round cheeks clearly displayed. Even inside the mouth are a few sculpted ridges, although the entire space is simply coloured pink while the lips are dark grey. The head is coloured like the body, with a base colour of green and a number of reddish dots on the cheeks, reddish vermiculation markings on the top of the head, and a thick horizontal strip on the top of each cheek. Like the Sculpin, the Amur Goby is a two-piece figure, again separating the head and pectoral fins from the body. This is another Yujin fish without any base at all; again, given the given the bottom-dwelling habits a ‘swimming’ pose may not have been deemed necessary.

There are a few other goby figures out there, but I could not find a reference to other Amur Gobies; as expected, the other gobies tend to be marine species made by Japanese companies like Kaiyodo, Colorata and Yujin (marine set).

Pictures:
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This is the figure in its two pieces—as the figure is not unusually large, and there is no base, the 2 pieces may have been required or preferred to properly capture the detail of the head.

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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).
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Beautys again :)