CollectA 2018: WILD LIFE - Pére Davids Deer (88829)

So here it is, my most favourite member of the deer family and the first of all deer species I have wanted to see in sculpt form.  This animal was first suggested two years and accepted but in the end it never made it so CollectA stuck to their word for 2018 and finally made it!  This is such an unusual looking deer and another animal I was always fascinated with as a child along with the Okapi both of which I used to write about in school projects.

The brands keep recreating the red deer over and over again and apart from North American Deers we do not really see much diversity in deer types.....brands seem to have forgotten about the Musk Deer, Chevrotain, Chital, Sambar Deer, Sika Deer, Spotted Deer etc etc...the list can go on.  CollectA have already diversified their range of antelopes and ventured into new territory with unusual species so perhaps now is the time for them to explore the deer world?  Is this a trend? Who knows but one thing is for sure - I will ensure deers remain high on the agenda in future

This is not only an unusual animal but one which is severely endangered and so a good and interesting choice from an child's educational perspective in my opinion.

The photo you see is that of the sculpt - the angle of the image is not great and so you cannot see the side of the face. The face is sculpted really well but in this photo it looks shorter than it should be so you just have to wait for more photos before you make any judgements  Also remember this is the sculpt and so the final plastic version may look slightly different considering the different material.  Sculpting took a very long time because perfecting the antlers was a challenge. In the original sculpt the sculptor place the antlers the other way around, can you believe it? Its an honest mistake to make because the antlers are really, REALLY weird in comparison to other deers but I am glad they got it right in the end. After the caribou, this has got to be the second most difficult hoofed animal sculpted to date.

With regards to painting this deer can either be found in a bright orangey red shade or in a darker chocolate coat.  The brighter version was chosen because it is unusual and will also make the model stand out in comparison to the darker coloured deer already on the market.  One final important point - I am pressing for changes to the paint but as this was the final wildlife model to be finalised relatively recently there was no time to perfect it but I will press for some of the marking and shadings to be rectified as soon as possible so before anyone gasps, I am working on it!

Official text:

Père David's Deer is a very interesting species, unfortunately extinct in the wild. Only a few species are surviving in captivity. Père David's deer is closely related to the deer. Its native origin are the subtropics of China. This animal was made known to the Western world by a missionary (Père David) working in China. He was told that the animal's (informal) name was sibuxiang, literally meaning „four not alike“. This expression referred to the strange outlook of the animal: the neck of a camel, the hoofs of a cow, the tail of a donkey, the antlers of a deer.

Size: L 10.5cm x H 10.3cm

Release: Mid-2018

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Wow, what a special model. I really am speechless... Great job collectA!

I love it. The highlight of 2018! Thank you very much CollectA!

I'm absolutely speachless too! Can't wait to see more pictures!

Absolutely stunning! When I first saw it my jaw literally dropped in amazement. Fantastic job CollectA!

Never heard of it before.
Never seen it before.
And it does indeed look like some mythological creature.

But CollectA makes it real!

A funny looking creature indeed.....a mix of a horse, camel, cow, donkey and what else? :-)

Numaan, what a big surprise! It is amazing that CollectA is still able of surprising us. The species choice. It is surely one of the most beautiful deer species and I hope CollectA do not reads my comment... it will have poor sales any other deer figure. Though, I really hope the company keeps releasing deer species. The caribou was widely appreciated among collectors, it is a superb figure and this one goes through the same way. It looks already fantastic to me, before reading your post I was missing some dark markings but I see it is already being studied to be improved. I love the tail. It was very important to highlight it in this species and you did it in a very smart way. To me it is as good as the best Lineol 4th generation figures and I am only seeing a pre-production picture. I am surprised with my longevity as a collector of toy animal figures despite several storms in my personal life but I really have to thank it to some friends on forum and also to brands like CollectA that have the ability of keeping this hobby quite interesting!

What a wonderful deer!

Well, what a surprise!!! It was not a caprine, as I suspected with the clues Numaan gave us some hours ago, but a cervid! And what a cervid!!! I totally agree with Numaan: Cervids are underrepresented in our hobby, and it is time to have some other not so usual species. I encourage you, Numaan, to keep pushing CollectA in offering over the next years other unusual species such as musk deers, chevrotains, south-american deer (Marsh Deer, Pampas Deer, Pudu, Huemul...), elaphodus, and asian deer (Sika, Chital, Sambar, Eld's, Thorold's, Hog Deer...).

This Pére David's looks good, though there's something rare with its head. I'll wait to see other pics, as Numaan already tells us that perspective is not the best one to appreciate its right proportions. And maybe colouring can also be improved. But anyway, the rest is gorgeous, especially those incredible antlers. Can't wait to get it!!!! Keep doing so well, CollectA!!! Bravo!!!

Amazing new guy !

This is beyond words...

I expected that, I expected but I wasn't sure... I thought about how many unseen antelopes CollectA made, how many nice caprines and I was thinking, there will be a deer, an unusual one: A Père david one would be great!

And CollectA did it A wonderful rare and incredible deer. Thank you so much for this

I saw some Père David deer in a zoo in Bretagne and I can't see it weird, only beautiful.

Saola, Chiru, Hirola, Saiga and now a Père david's deer, every year have its special must have.

Here's a story about this amazing creature:

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Oh what a wonderful start to the day.
A amazing Deer ... I was waiting for something like that.
Thank you for the Photo and thank you CollectA for this nice figure.

In my early-teen years, me and my "best-friend-forever" were Indian chiefs, and terrorized the local forest.  
My friend's totem animal was the Pére David deer
We were stupid enough to let my father know, and he said that the Pére David was Asian, and Indians would never have heard of it  
It was like a bucket of cold water in the face !  So, children remember : NEVER confide in adults

But he also told us the dramatic story, how Pére David succeeded to smuggle some of these fantastic deer out of the Chinese Emperors wlled garden, and thus saving the species, before the starving people killed and ate them all during the Boxer rebellion in 1900

AND now CollectA bring all these wonderful memories back, and reminds us that it is possible to save critically endangered species

HURRAAAAY, CollectA !!!
You did it again !! There is NO end to your glory
And what a fantastic job you did with this awesome model  

Thankyou, thankyou, very, very much  

Beautiful deer! I love it!

Wonderful deer and thanks for the specie! The next must have for next year :)

SUSANNE wrote:

In my early-teen years, me and my "best-friend-forever" were Indian chiefs, and terrorized the local forest.  
My friend's totem animal was the Pére David deer
We were stupid enough to let my father know, and he said that the Pére David was Asian, and Indians would never have heard of it  
It was like a bucket of cold water in the face !  So, children remember : NEVER confide in adults

But he also told us the dramatic story, how Pére David succeeded to smuggle some of these fantastic deer out of the Chinese Emperors wlled garden, and thus saving the species, before the starving people killed and ate them all during the Boxer rebellion in 1900

AND now CollectA bring all these wonderful memories back, and reminds us that it is possible to save critically endangered species

HURRAAAAY, CollectA !!!
You did it again !! There is NO end to your glory
And what a fantastic job you did with this awesome model  

Thankyou, thankyou, very, very much  

Beautiful memories is on best way to congratulate CollectA on another landmark species figure !!
Bravo CollectA and thanks again , this is an Encore after the Saiga !!

Yes!! Must have for me!!
I really hope it will fit between my two shelves XD
Keep making amazing deer CollectA! The world needs to see them :3

Wonderful model!

Oooh,he's beautiful! I'm definitely looking forward to getting this guy someday. <3

I am going to share a couple of more photos of the prototype for your reference.  It shows the model from different angles:

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Thank you for the additional photos!

If it's even possible, I'm falling more in love with this model

Brilliant , I always keep two or more of such figures , will this figure also be like the Chiru and Saola supporting its conservation??