Blaine's Synoptic Animal Collection

Duck-Anch-Amun wrote:

halichoeres wrote:

The only american marsupial from a greater brand that I know is the virginia opossum by Safari. But I think this one is to big for blaine.

Safari Ltd have a opossum. And the are also other kangaroos by Yowies UK and a another rockwallaby by Marx.

I really want the Safari LTD Virginia opossum (from the North American Wildlife Line), it just wasn't available at the time.

Pardofelis wrote:

Roger wrote:

Pardofelis wrote:

Roger wrote:

I confess I had some troubles also to choose a Tasmanian tiger, so I have the three, Southlands, CollectA and Mojö.

Are all the three of them more or less the same size/scale? I avoided adding any of them to my wishlist because all seems to big for me...

Yes, they are more or less the same scale and they display very well together. You can find a comparison picture in the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
If the angle is not clear, I can take a side view picture showing them .

Great thanks! Crearly, in your pic, the Southlands is the biggest (the head is much bigger than the others's heads). The best one looks like the Joan model, but being hand-made would be difficult to get. The Mojo one is good in size as the Joan model, but it have a strange face, with a sad look... and apparently a very slim body... So I think the CollectA one, despite being slightly bigger, will be my final choice.

Any of them is a good choice and obviously CollectA is a very interesting figure. To help you, CollectA's is slightly smaller than Mojö's. It has a little bonus that it is a female with a joey in her pouch. Southlands is the largest one, not much but especially because it is clearly a bulkier figure. Both Mojö and CollectA are quite slim. CollectA is close in size to the new Papo lynx but a little longer and less robuste than the feline. Go for it, you will enjoy the figure.

You convinced me!

The main focus today are the cartilaginous fish, Chondrichthyes, commonly known as sharks, rays, and skates. I will admit, I focused heavily on Safari LTD here, as sharks are one of the groups they do very well.

I am photographing many of the figures on one of my empty shelves, since that's an easier way to get the larger and/or multiple figures in the pics. I am going to try to get all members of a given order in one image. Displaying sharks is a challenge, because they take up a lot of surface area, but not overall space.

Remember, depth of field might affect the relative scales of the figures to one another.

Order: Carcharhiniformes (ground sharks). This order contains many familiar species including the bull, tiger, reef, and hammerhead sharks.
1. gray reef shark, Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos (Safari LTD, 2018)
2. bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas (Safari LTD, 2010)
3. oceanic white-tip shark, Carcharhinus longimanus (Safari LTD, 2019)
4. black-tipped reef shark, Carcharhinus melanopterus (Safari LTD, 2012)
5. tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier (Safari LTD, 2015)
There has been discussion on whether this figure has the correct number of gill slits (5). The way the gills are sculpted it is hard to tell if their are 5 slits or 4 slits and a slight indentation. Now that I have the figure in-hand, I think there are only 4 slits... The Monterey Bay Aquarium figure is better, but a little big compared to other shark figures displayed here. Likewise, the Kaiyodo Capsule Q figure is superb, but a little small.
6. lemon shark, Negaprion brevirostris (Safari LTD, 2018)
7. blue shark, Prionace glauca (Safari LTD - Monterey Bay Aquarium, 1993)
8. whitetip reef shark, Triaenodon obesus (Safari LTD, 2018)
9. leopard shark, Triakis semifasciata (Safari LTD, 2007)
10. scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphryna lewini (CollectA, 2008)
11. bonnethead shark, Sphryna tiburo (Safari LTD, 2016)
12. great hammerhead shark, Sphryna mokkaran (Safari LTD, 1996)

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Order Lamniformes (mackerel sharks). This order contains the most familiar shark of all, the great white.
1. pelagic thresher shark, Alopias pelagicus (Safari LTD, 2014)
2. basking shark, Cetorhinus maximus (Safari LTD, 2007)
3. great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias (Safari LTD, 2016)
This 2016 version by Safari LTD is generally regarded as the best great white by modern western companies.
4. shortfin mako shark, Isurus oxyrinchus (CollectA, 2014)
Reviews on the ATF indicated this figure is a little more accurate than the Safari LTD remake.
5. megamouth shark, Megachasma pelagios (Safari LTD, 2016)
6. Megalodon, †Carcharocles megalodon (Safari LTD - Prehistoric World, 2013)

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Order: Orectolobiformes (carpet sharks). The group includes several bottom-dwelling sharks and the largest extant fish, the whale shark!
1. nurse shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum (Safari LTD, 2015)
2. brown-banded bamboo shark, Chiloscyllium punctatum (Safari LTD, 2019)
3. spotted wobbegong, Orectolobus maculatus (Schleich, 2006)
My figure was purchased as part of the Coral Reef Diver set. The figure is marked as a 2006 release but the complete set was released 2015 or later.
4. whale shark, Rhincodon typus (Papo, 2018)
5. zebra shark, Stegosoma fasciatum (Safari LTD, 2007)
It has been pointed out that the color on this Safari figure resembles a juvenile shark. The CollectA figure better resembles a mature adult.

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Order Myliobatoformes (sting, manta, eagle rays, others). I am not collecting Safari LTD Incredible Creatures models which are represented by some nice rays and skates, because they are too big for my synoptic collection.
1. spotted eagle ray, Aetobatus narinari (Mojo Fun, 2018)
This figure is a bit bigger than I had expected, but it was the best of those readily available.
2. giant oceanic manta ray, Manti birostris (Safari LTD, 2018)
Based on color pattern, one could argue the older Safari manta represents the other species, M. alfredi, but I am staring with just this one.
3. cownose ray, Rhinoptera bonasus (Safari LTD, 2010)

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Order Pristifomres (sawfish).
One for starters, the largetooth sawfish, Pristis pristis (CollectA, 2014).

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Order Rajiformes (skates and guitarfishes)
One for starters, the bowmouth guitarfish (shark ray), Rhina ancylostoma (Safari LTD, 2007)
Like with the zebra shark (above), it has been suggested the color on this figure more resembles a juvenile specimen.

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Orders Hexanchiformes (frilled sharks and cow sharks), Squaliformes (dogfish), Chimaeriformes (chimaeras), and Heterodontiformes (bullhead sharks). These four orders are not closely related, and were combined for imaging purposes only.

1. Japanese bullhead shark, Heterodontus japonicus (Epoch)
2. silver chimaera, Chimaera phantasma (Colorata - Deep Sea Fish, 2015)
3. cookiecutter shark, Isistius brasiliensis (Neko Works)
This figure came unpainted, so I painted it myself.
4. frilled shark, Chlamydoselachus anguineus (Epoch - Living Fossils)

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And while technically not a member of Chondrichthyes, I thought this would be a good chance to highlight the Dunkleosteus, †Dunkleosteus terrelli (Safari LTD - Prehistoric World, 2006)

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Nice assortment! How long did it take you to assemble these?

Phantastic :)

wonderful cartiginous fishes collection!

..I am jus beginning one with some Schleich and Papo pieces!.. :)

Wonderful!

Thanks for your pictures :) Nice sharks that show me one more time, that I have a lot to add in my collection when it comes to fish^^
For me as an unexpert, it would have been easier if the images would have had numbers or you followed with your description the way they were presented. So I had a lot to compare with TAI or google ^^

Duck-Anch-Amun wrote:

Thanks for your pictures :) Nice sharks that show me one more time, that I have a lot to add in my collection when it comes to fish^^
For me as an unexpert, it would have been easier if the images would have had numbers or you followed with your description the way they were presented. So I had a lot to compare with TAI or google ^^

You can always check the SUY's (Show Us Yours....threads). There you can find brand names most of the time. It's not hard work.
For example: there is a shark thread there.  
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This particular group is misrepresented in my collection and the few ones I own are a kind of non criterion ensemble. You have put a lot of thought on it and I really enjoy your choices. A good reference to those who want to enrich their collections with this kind of creatures. I agree that Safari has an excellent groupf of sharks and relatives to be complemented with other brand figures.

With the addition of the 2019 Papo manatee, might as well post the Sirenia (even though it was not a planned focus group).

1. dugong, Dugong dugon (CollectA, 2016)
2. West Indian manatee, Trichechus manatus (Papo, 2019)

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The next focus groups are small mammals, the orders Rodentia (rodents), Lagomorpha (rabbits, hares, pikas), Eulipotyphia (hedgehogs, shrews, moles), and Chiroptera (bats). These groups do not form a monophyletic lineage but are grouped for convenience. When I was a generalist years ago, and admitedly before I was aware of the Japanese companies, I always felt these small mammals were neglected among toy manufacturers. How times have changed!

Because most of these are small species, I am relying heavily on Kaiyodo or other Japanese manfacturers.

Order Lagmorpha (rabbits, hares, pikas).
1. Arctic hare, Lepus arcticus (Safari LTD, 2017)
2. black-tailed jackrabbit (desert hare), Lepus californicus (Safari LTD, 2018)
3. European (brown) hare, Lepus europaeus (Papo, 2016)
4. domestic rabbit, Oryctopagus cuniculus (Kaiyodo - Choco Q Animatales Pet Series 4)
It would be nice to have a good wild-type color morph of the European rabbit as well. The CollectA figure probably represents a wild type, so I may consider that one at some point if something better does not come along.
5. Anami rabbit, Pentalagus furnessi (Kaiyodo - Natural Monuments of Japan, 2002)

I have the northern pika, Ochotoma hyperborea (Kaiyodo - Chocoegg Animatales Series 5), en route from Japan but it's taking longer than I anticipated. I don't want to delay imaging any longer than I have to.

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Order Rodentia, families Castoridae (beavers), Caviidae (cavimorph rodents), Chinchillidae (chinchillas), Erethizontidae (New World porcupines), and Heteromyidae (kangaroo rats). These groups are not necessarily related to one another within the order, but are grouped more for convenience, as they represent the largest rodents. Not shown yet is the Indian crested porcupine (family Hystricidae) which I will get when the 2019 CollectA model becomes available.
1. North American beaver, Castor canadensis (Mojo Fun, 2010)
2. domestic Guinea pig, Cavia porcellus (Kaiyodo - Chocoegg Animatales Pet Series 3)
3. capybara, Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris (CollectA, 2012)
I really wanted the retired Safari LTD figure but it was not readily available. Several nice models of this species have been released recently by Japanese manufacturers, but they are a bit small for my liking.
4. long-tailed chinchilla, Chinchilla lanigera (Kaiyodo - Choco Q Animatales Pet Series 4)
CollectA has a nice figure of this species, but it is a bit big for my Synoptic Collection
5. North American porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum (Safari LTD, 2018)
This figure got a lot of undeserved bad comments when it was first announced. Given the difficulties making an animal with this morphology, I think Safari did a very good job with it!
6. giant kangaroo rat, Dipodomys ingens (Kaiyodo - Red Data Animals)

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Order Rodentia, family Cricetidae (hamsters, voles, lemmings, and New World rats and mice).
1. Chinese hamster, Cricetulus griseus (Kaiyodo - Hamsters Lunch)
2. European hamster, Cricetus crecetus (Kaiyodo - Hamsters Lunch)
3. golden hamster, Mesocricetus auratus (Kaiyodo - Hamsters Lunch)
4. Campbell's dwarf hamster, Phodopus campbelli (Kaiyodo - Hamsters Lunch)
5. winter white dwarf hamster, Phodopus sungorus (Kaiyodo - Hamsters Lunch)
6. Japanese grass vole, Microtus montebelli (Kaiyodo - Chocoegg Animatales Series 4)

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Order Rodentia, family Muridae (Old World rats and mice)
1. large Japanese field mouse, Apodemus speciosus (Kaiyodo - Choco Q Animatales Series 11)
2. Ryukyu long-tailed giant rat, Diplothrix legata (Kaiyodo - Chocoegg Animatales Series 5)
3. Mongolian gerbil, Meriones unguiculatus (Kaiyodo - Choco Q Animatales Pet Series 5)
4. Eurasian harvest mouse, Micromys minutus (Kaiyodo - Capsule Q Animatales - Biwako)
5. house mouse (domestic color morph), Mus musculus (Kaiyodo - Chocoegg Animatales Pet Series 3)
Papo makes a wild-type color morph but I prefer the size of the Kaiyodo figure. If I find a nice wild-type form, it will compliment, not replace, this one.
6. Ryukyu spiny rat, Tokudaia osimensis (Kaiyodo - Natural Monuments of Japan, 2002)

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Order Rodentia, families Gliridae (dormice) and Sciuridae (squirrels, marmots, prairie dogs, and related). In addition to the species shown here, Safari LTD released some nice North American species, including a prairie dog, eastern chipmunk, northern flying squirrel, and groundhog (American marmot), as part of their Incredible Creatures line. Unfortunately, they are all too big for my Synoptic Collection. Maybe some day they will release smaller versions of them in the North American Wildlife line.
1. Japanese dormouse, Glirulus japonicus (Kaiyodo - Natural Monuments of Japan)
2. Utah prairie dog, Cynomys parvidens (Yowie USA - All Americas Series)
3. Siberian chipmunk, Eutamias sibiricus (Kaiyodo - Choco Q Animatales Series 10)
4. Himalayan marmot, Marmota himalayana (Natural History - Naturally Adorkable)
5. Alpine marmot, Marmota marmota (Papo, 2011)
6. giant Japanese flying squirrel, Petaurista leucogenys (Kaiyodo - Choco Q Animatales Series 9)
7. eastern gray squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis (Safari LTD, 2006)
8. red squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris (CollectA, 2011)

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Order Eulipotyphia (moles, shrews, and hedgehogs)
1. four-toed hedgehog (including the domestic hedgehog), Atelerix aliventris (Kaiyodo - Capsule Q Museum - Hedgehog and Sugar Glider Figure Collection)
2. Amur hedgehog, Erinaceus amurensis (Kaiyodo - Choco Q Animatales Series 10)
This same sculpt was re-released as A. eliventris, as an alternative pose, for the same Capsule Q Museum set as in number 1, above.
3. European hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus (Schleich, 2014)
4. long-eared hedgehog, Hemiechinus auritus (Natural History - Naturally Adorkable)
5. Japanese water shrew, Chimarrogale platycephalus (Kaiyodo - Chocoegg Animatales Series 5)
6. Japanese mountain mole, Euroscaptor mizura (Kaiyodo - Choco Q Animatales Series 7)
7. small Japanese mole, Mogera imaizumii (Kaiyodo - Chocoegg Animatales Series 4)
8. Japanese shrew mole, Urotrichus talpoides (Kaiyodo - Chocoegg Animatales Series 1)

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Order Chiroptera (bats). Most bats made by Western (non-Japanese) companies are too big for my Synoptic Collection. So, for starters they will all be represented by Japanese gashapon manufacturers.
1. Ryukyu flying fox, Pteropus dasymalus (Kaiyodo - Chocoegg Animatales Series 5)
2. Bonin flying fox, Pteropus pselaphon (Kitan Club - Nature of Japan - Ogasawara)
3. greater horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Kaiyodo - Choco Q Animatales Series
4. Hodgson's (copper-winged) bat, Myotis formosus (Kaiyodo - Choco Q Animatales Series 6)
5. Japanese house bat, Pipestrellus abramus (Kaiyodo - Capsule Q Animatales - Tokyo)
6. brown long-eared bat, Plecotus auritus (Kaiyodo - Chocoegg Animatales Series 2)

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Ordered, but not yet arrived is the Kitan Club naked mole rat...

Enjoy! Remember, depth of field might affect the relative scales of the figures.

So very very interesting

The next formal focus group is Proboscidea (elephants and their extinct relatives). But I thought this would be a good chance to highlight Tubulidentata (aarvarks), Pholidota (pangolins), and Pilosa (anteaters and sloths). These groups are not all necessarily phylogenically closely-related, and are grouped more for conveninece. I have had some of these for a while, just waiting for the elephants to come up as a focus group to show them.

Order Proboscidea (elephants, mammoths, mastodons, etc.)

Extant elephants:
1. African bush elephant, Loxodonta africana (Safari LTD, 1996).
I went back and forth among a few options and finally decided to come back to this 1996 sculpt by Safari. An oldie, but a goodie. This is an updated paint job (I don't know what year they released this new paint scheme). When I was a generalist years ago, I had the original and this is a nice improvement.
2. Asian elephant, Elephas maximus (Mojo Fun, 2017)
Ever since this was announced, I knew if I ever became a generalist again, this would be my Asian elephant.

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Prehistoric pachyderms:
1. Ambelodon, †Ambelodon fricki (Safari LTD, 2005)
This is the 2016 repaint of the 2005 sculpt.
2. Deinotherium, †Dienotherium giganteum (Mojo Fun, 2013)
3. woolly mammoth, †Mammuthus primigenius (CollectA, 2009)
I went back-and-forth, upside-down, inside-out, and back again and almost decided not to buy this species. I just could not find a figure that I liked and at a size I wanted. The Safari Carnegie figure is iconic, and it was on eBay, but not for less than $70, and I was not about to drop that much money for a mammoth. For a while I was going back-and-forth between Papo and Mojo. I decided to give the CollectA Deluxe figure a try. I was worried it might be too big, and while it is a little big next to its relatives here, it fits my needs just fine!
4. steppe mammoth, †Mammuthus trogontherii (Eofauna, 2017)
5. straight-tusked elephant, †Palaeoloxodon antiquus (Eofauna, 2018)
Wonderful figure, but it does not stand very easily.
6. American mastodon, †Mammut americanum (Safari LTD, 2018)
7. Gomphotherium, †Gomphotherium angustidens (CollectA, 2018)

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Order Tubulidentata (aardvark).
Just one, the aardvark, Orycteropus ater, by Safari LTD (2015 repaint of a 2005 sculpt).

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Order Pilosa (sloths and anteaters)
1. brown-throated three-toed sloth, Bradypus variegatus (Papo, 2017)
2. Linnaeus' two-toed sloth, Choloepus didactylus  (Mojo Fun, 2013)
3. giant ground sloth, †Megatherium americanum (Safari LTD, 2004)
This is a 2016 repaint of the 2004 figure.
4. giant anteater, Myrmecophaga tridactyla (Safari LTD, 2005)
5. southern tamandua, Tamandua tetradactyla (Mojo Fun, 2013)

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Order Pholidota (pangolins)
1. Indian pangolin, Manis crassicaudata (Mojo Fun, 2014)
2. Chinese pangolin, Manis pentidactyla (Natural History - Naturally Adorkable)
3. giant pangolin, Smutsia gigantia (Schleich, 2016)

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Wonderful collection

I don't have the same elephants as you but I intend to get the Mojo Asian elephant too. It is also my favorite. About the African, I am having a hard life to choose one once I don't usually like any of them. I have a few and my favorite is a Britains. Though, I have a big hope that soon, CollectA will release a new African elephant once the company is replacing their most common earlier animal figures.
I also don't have many prehistoric figures, so I have the Bullyland Gompotherium, the British Museum mamoth.
Your Sirenia could be grouped here too.
Aardvark, anteaters, tamanduas are common at home. My favorite giant anteater is also the Safari.
Your Mojö sloth is a Linnaeus' two-toed sloth instead of a Hoffman's. If you want another two-toed sloth, Safari has released a Hoffman's that I still miss too. My ground sloth is the Schleich figure.

Roger wrote:

About the African, I am having a hard life to choose one once I don't usually like any of them. I have a few and my favorite is a Britains. Though, I have a big hope that soon, CollectA will release a new African elephant once the company is replacing their most common earlier animal figures.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] , my exact thoughts about African elephant. None are great and hope CollectA will make one soon (they seem to be updating their African animals)

Thanks for the correction on the sloth; I couldn't tell from the figure. But, was that Mojo's identification specifically or is it community-based?

bmathison1972 wrote:

Roger wrote:

About the African, I am having a hard life to choose one once I don't usually like any of them. I have a few and my favorite is a Britains. Though, I have a big hope that soon, CollectA will release a new African elephant once the company is replacing their most common earlier animal figures.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] , my exact thoughts about African elephant. None are great and hope CollectA will make one soon (they seem to be updating their African animals)

Thanks for the correction on the sloth; I couldn't tell from the figure. But, was that Mojo's identification specifically or is it community-based?

You'e welcome. Species are very hard to tell but that's the official Mojö's identification. Besides that, the figure was developed together with the whole STS community. :)

Roger wrote:

bmathison1972 wrote:

Roger wrote:

About the African, I am having a hard life to choose one once I don't usually like any of them. I have a few and my favorite is a Britains. Though, I have a big hope that soon, CollectA will release a new African elephant once the company is replacing their most common earlier animal figures.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] , my exact thoughts about African elephant. None are great and hope CollectA will make one soon (they seem to be updating their African animals)

Thanks for the correction on the sloth; I couldn't tell from the figure. But, was that Mojo's identification specifically or is it community-based?

You'e welcome. Species are very hard to tell but that's the official Mojö's identification. Besides that, the figure was developed together with the whole STS community. :)

Yes I learned that on your original post of the figure while I was waiting for your reply :-). I have corrected the species and year (2018 was a typo).