Sbell's recent finds!

A magnificent flock, - that picture is SO wonderful
How great that your daughter gets a fish tank in her Playmobil house

What brand is the Obscurus Mystriosuchus ? It is a gorgeous model, as far as I can see

I thought that "Dolly Varden" was a joke , - and then it is a trout !!!

SUSANNE wrote:

A magnificent flock, - that picture is SO wonderful
How great that your daughter gets a fish tank in her Playmobil house

What brand is the Obscurus Mystriosuchus ? It is a gorgeous model, as far as I can see

I thought that "Dolly Varden" was a joke , - and then it is a trout !!!

Obscurus is a line made by Brandon (the sculptor of my fish models) for prehistoric animals that strike his fancy, generally to scale (right now the only other is an animal called Balaur). At some point, we are hoping to kind of cross-over between our lines--so, prehistoric fish that might not be to scale, but are cool nontheless!

Kikimalou wrote:

A very nice bunch  Congratulation

The Yujin Dolly Varden Pop up at my eyes, I'm a bit nostalgic of this brand. I can't wait to see the walkaround.

I thought the Mystriosuchus was smaller, one more reason to buy one... Despite the shipping fees from Canada

What about the spinosaurus? Could you show a comparison pic with the Deluxe one?

And now the Walkaround and comparison of the Dolly Varden is up too!

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It shoudl be the last post there...!

Well, I rarely have new figures anymore...curse of a limited wants list!

But with Replica Toy Fish shutting down operations Simeon was kind enough to send me a bunch spares, seconds and sellable models.

I mentioned that I received a few chain pickerel from him, with a few extra to sell. But I also received some really interesting repaints, and one other never-released-for-real figure

The notable models are pictured here:
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From the top,

A really fancy-painted 6" Northern Pike (compare here with an original):
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A 3" Northern Pike figure, painted to look much more like a redfin pickerel (compared to the original)--note the black eye bar:
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A 3" walleye figure painted to look more like a Sauger...although they normally look pretty similar anyway:
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Two different repaints of the 3" Muskellunge, with more greens and distinct striping:
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Several of the original Brook trout (a version 2 was released, with better ventral colouring). Not sure what the intent of the paint job was (I received several) but I found images of Splake trout (a Lake Trout x Brook Trout hybrid) that looks pretty similar. They are both Char, so it makes sense. Compared with the original Brook Trout V1
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skipping over one...

The 3" Chain pickerel...they were a distinct repaint of the 3" Northern Pike. These are the ones I am keeping, so I painted in the black bar below the eyes. Nothing to compare with really!
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And coming back to the real rarity--a different 3" Catfish! On the Toy Animal Info Wiki there are several unreleased catfish pictured, species that were developed but not released for sale  (I've heard rumours of spotted gars...but never saw any). From what I can tell, the one I received is listed on TAI as a Gray Catfish but there is no such thing in North America. My best guess is the Headwater Catfish Ictalurus lupus.
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And yes, the differences are subtle, almost as in the real animals. In the figures, it's in the ventral arrangement and the barbel placement, plus other detail around the head. I had to look several times to be sure I had a different figure!

Phantastic new fishes !!!

Some of these versions around known moulds are just fantastic! That's a remarkable collection and you surely deserve to own some specials. You are the real fishman around.
The gray catfish was always a problem on TAI, I never had a pale idea of what it was, thus, the question mark and no species linked to it. Should I use your suggestion? Simeon never told you what it was supposed to be?

Roger wrote:

Some of these versions around known moulds are just fantastic! That's a remarkable collection and you surely deserve to own some specials. You are the real fishman around.
The gray catfish was always a problem on TAI, I never had a pale idea of what it was, thus, the question mark and no species linked to it. Should I use your suggestion? Simeon never told you what it was supposed to be?

He didn't tell me. I know at one point he had a huge list so it wouldn't surprise me. Given that there are not that many Ictalurus species in the US--and two of them exist as figures already (Channel was released, Blue was not) I based the ID on the barbel placement.

Really, he just dropped a bunch of figures in a box for me, with some for sale and some 'others' like the ones pictured. I had asked for any unreleased species, so that was okay!

What you don't see is the other side of the catfish's head--it's got a big black paint blotch on it...

Check it out--more new fish! A super rare one!

It took me 3 months (thanks to poor postal service...) but I just received a most holy grail--the partner to the Safari Desert pupfish--the Razorback Sucker!

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It's a terrible photo, but a cool figure! I'll do a walkaround at some point!

Great addition :)

WOW !!!! One of the two most rare Safari models AT ALL !!!

And what a beautyful model it is

This fish is very rare.

I like one in my acuatic animals. is one treasure.

Big congrats.

Thanks all! Perhaps the only thing more rare than the real fish is the toy version...I think knock-offs/bootlegs are available occasionally from Chinese sites (along with a few other fish) but this figure appears to be a legit one. Even then, there are only a handful of them out there! I was pretty happy to have an opportunity to get one.

It is an impressive pair of rarities! Many congratulations. I am looking forward to see the walk around. About Toy Animal Wiki, I don't know if these are supposed to be there and how to show them.

Roger wrote:

It is an impressive pair of rarities! Many congratulations. I am looking forward to see the walk around. About Toy Animal Wiki, I don't know if these are supposed to be there and how to show them.

They would be a Safari special production, kind of like the red-cheek salamander (except, the salamander was offered for sale in a store).

But it would be interesting to see what else Safari might have come up with for paying customers!

Wonderful new fish and great catches! I actually got your safari model at a thrift store in a big bag of toys, it's stamped as a bonytail I think but it is a great looking model. It's nice to get some more info on it though because I couldn't find anything, glad I kept it. Anyways, big congrats again on some wonderful fishy models!

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Wonderful new fish and great catches! I actually got your safari model at a thrift store in a big bag of toys, it's stamped as a bonytail I think but it is a great looking model. It's nice to get some more info on it though because I couldn't find anything, glad I kept it. Anyways, big congrats again on some wonderful fishy models!

Yeah, not sure about the stamp. Mine also says Bonytail, and that might actually be what it is...

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So now, it turns out that there is a mystery Bonytail Chub! Which we have.

But I can prove that Safari made a Razorback as well:

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That link has the safety test reports for two Arizona figures--the Pupfish and the Razorback.

I was fortunate the Philter was on facebook and mentioned that he had one, and would sell it. I didn't even hesitate, and was so glad I was first!

Now, I just need to figure out where to get the Pike Minnow figure that I saw. Once. In a Twitter post. I don't even know if it was Safari.

But I found the photo...and it appears that it is one...

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Pictured with the actual razorback...

I guess I now have a few more fish on the list...I don't foresee coming across these...ever!

Oh, and to update what custom figures there are...as well as the Bonytail chub and Desert Pupfish:

Razorback Sucker
Colorado Pikeminnow
(I think) Gila trout
Loach Minnow

All of which are endangered or critically endangered Arizona/Colorado River fishes.

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(A picture of 5 of the 6 on Alibaba. I don't think the models are sanctioned by Safari! But if I were to ever order from Alibaba...)

Wow great information on the fish! I doubt I'll ever come across anymore but then again I came across the bonytail in the weirdest of places. It's crazy to hear about other projects a brand did that wasn't in mass production.

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Wow great information on the fish! I doubt I'll ever come across anymore but then again I came across the bonytail in the weirdest of places. It's crazy to hear about other projects a brand did that wasn't in mass production.

The Pupfish was a huge surprise for me--finding out there was a Razorback was cool.

Finding out that there are 6 different ones from the same run (presumably) is crazy! And yeah, I don't foresee getting my hands on more of them...but I would especially like to find that Pike Minnow!

WOW !!!!

So they are 6 now and you got a bonytail instead?
I created a page to these special production models on TAI.
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I have a picture of your pupfish that I hope you allow me to use it, now I need an inidividual picture of the other fish and please hurry up and get all of them!

Roger wrote:

So they are 6 now and you got a bonytail instead?
I created a page to these special production models on TAI.
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I have a picture of your pupfish that I hope you allow me to use it, now I need an inidividual picture of the other fish and please hurry up and get all of them!

That is correct. Like I said, 5 of them are sometimes available through Alibaba...but I'm not sure about how that works.

And the Pikeminnow...well, that was a first outright to see that! but maybe someday--i did manage to get 2 after all!

As for photos, please feel free to use this one:

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Someday I will get a walkaround together but I won't be able to for at least a week!

Great to know! Your specials are here now.

Okay, I'm back from Atlanta! The Zoo and the Aquarium are fantastic. As far as toy animals go it was...not great. The Aquarium had 4 figures--two Safari (Moray eel and hanmerhead shark) and two mystery ones--knock offs of Safari Great White and Whale shark (I didn't pick up any). The zoo wasn't too bad, mostly Safari and some Schleich.

And K&M salamanders!

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There were 3 of each size (the Red is a 'medium, the red eft/orange and blue-spotted are 'small')

They are marked K&M INT 1999. So they might actually be from that era! We didn't pick up the others because...they are all the same mold, and I didn't notice the details until we'd left. The other two mediums were fire and green marbled salamanders; the other small was a dark brown wtih a red longitudinal stripe down the back (like a Yonahlosee). My son picked up the red and orange because of course he did. I grabbed the blue-spotted because I'd never seen a toy of one.

They came with info tags wtih photos of their intended species and everything! And even an ID#!

The Red is 20757
The Red Eft (referred to as 'orange salamander' on the tag) is 20762
The Blue-spotted is 20761

As for the trip--it was amazing. I will get photos up, but it will take a while to sort them out!

Are they soft rubber and large? I have 2 lizards in that kind.