Rtas' additions - Birthday gift from El Desperado

Yes it is !

Don't worry, it's a complex brand for me too since it's by far the one that released the biggest number of figures, the quality is highly variable from one series to the other, and I don't take as much interest in it as my favoured brands Kitan, Yujin and Colorata.

RtasVadumee wrote:

Yes it is !

Don't worry, it's a complex brand for me too since it's by far the one that released the biggest number of figures, the quality is highly variable from one series to the other, and I don't take as much interest in it as my favoured brands Kitan, Yujin and Colorata.

OK, thanks I added the list and now I will open a page for your stingray and for the species. I also am not an enthusiast of the brand but in this particular set the species are very interesting but the salamanders.

Congrats for the new stingray from the very famous and widely announced set of venomous creatures from Kaiyodo. It's a figure I have been looking around, trying to decide if I would get it ot not.

Well... not exactly 6 millions but surely several dozens of thousands !

Hi everyone ! This week, I will indeed be presenting my acquisitions from June and honestly, I don't think I have ever had so many to show you !

I got them from the same "secret source" as usual which is quite an exciting but also addictive system which does not really make you realize that you are spending so much until you actually do the sums. But every single euro spent now won't be in the future as this humongous parcel is a significant step forward in the completion of my collection.

As I announced at the beginning of my Japanese adventures, I was mainly expecting the Empire of the Gashapon Rising Sun to help me expand my species' range in four taxa neglected by major brands :
- Fishes
- Reptiles
- Crustaceans
- Mollusks
Fishes are so numerous that they remain a constant focus in my Japanese purchases, while reptiles are, generally speaking, so poorly represented that I kind of gave up on them. Crustaceans were my first obsession and I kept on completing the family in a glorious way with that last order. But my decapoda collection is overall already almost finished so I had to find a "new frontier". Considering their average size, I was not going to start a huge mollusk collection requiring a separate scale, supposing that there is such a thing as a scale in my collection Actually, my plans are to get only one representative of each of the two big classes, Gastropoda and Bivalvia. I already have the great scallop for bivalvia and am still working on the gastropod. So, considering the standard size of my collection and my personal affinities, my main focus for mollusks had to be the third main class : Cephalopoda.

It was precisely that of my parcel too and, since it would be too indigestible to present 22 figures at once and more than half of them are cephalopods, I decided to divide my update in two parts : cephalopods and non-cephalopods. We'll start with the formers.

Part 1 : Cephalopod figures

I had quite a precise idea of what I wished for my cephalopod collection. Being no squid specialist, I didn't really care about species but more about orders. I wanted every living order to be represented, so I checked wikipedia to have an idea of what I needed.

Excluding the fossil ammonites, there are 8 orders of cephalopods :
- Spirulida, including only one species of deep sea tiny shelled squid
- Myopsida, an order of squids
- Oegopsida, an other order of squids
- Sepiida, the order of cuttlefishes
- Sepiolida, the order of bobtail squids, closely related to cuttlefishes
- Octopoda, the order of octopuses
- Vampiromorpha, the order of the vampire squid, a weird deep sea kind of octopus
- Nautilida, the order of the nautilus

Soon, after further research, it became obvious that Takara was, once more, the company for the job. Indeed, they released a set including ten figures from five orders out of eight that I could use as the core of my cephalopod collection. Since it was very unlikely to find a Spirula figure that would have been too big anyway, I only had to find a vampire squid and a nautilus from other brands to complete the family. Which I did ! So, just as it happened with the crabs, my figure chase was already almost over before even starting !

Yet, that was not an easy catch, believe me. I am keeping a close watch on many sets and this one is certainly one of the most, if not THE most requested from Yujin/Takara. Twice, I had to fight mercilessly before being forced to go down while the price was rising crazy So, I decided to rely on a wise strategy of mine I had already used for the crabs : finding an auction with a starting price high enough to discourage the other bidders. Actually, some of them are morons who will bid endlessly on a cheap auction until driving the price wayyy more expensive than it would have been if they had been the only bidder on an already expensive auction ! So, I have to say that 130€ is a little fortune to spend on some silly squids, but it's still less than the price my previous competitors paid for the same thing

So let's discover these little jewels without further delay. They may be not as exciting as the crabs but still very mesmerizing with their etheral look making them appear as the ghosts and wraiths of the sea

As a comparison, I included the two only cephalopods I already had from major brands, when it's relevant : the Schleich giant Pacific octopus and the Safari giant squid. We'll start with the relatives of the first one.
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Octopuses were definitely not a priority for me in this set. I kind of thought they were "all the same" and with my Schleich model used as a giant Pacific one, I was more in need of a cuttlefish and some extra squids. Yet, best surprises often come from the unexpected and that's exactly what happened here.

First, besides my Schleich behemoth, a smaller, modestly sized species would have been appreciated. And that part is now perfectly played by the ornate octopus.
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Its smaller size (two metres wingspan in real) and classic pose make it perfect as a vanilla octopus figure. The model is furthermore very good, nicely detailed, and I think that, once won't hurt, a close-up does it more justice than a wide shot, unlike many figures that look good overall but are not so finely painted from closer.

However, a common octopus would have been enjoyed too as it is the best known and most widely spread species in aquariums, as well as a formidably clever critter. For that species, I was considering Kitan's "run-of-the-mill" model from the Nature of Japan 100% masterpiece-insured line, as I'm a boring Schleich guy who does not like too much dynamic poses. One of the Takara renditions included in that set (there are two) is, however, the exception that proves the rule and I don't need a gorgeous but boring Kitan anymore !
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Seriously, the octopus is beautiful, but the true star of that figure is the ink cloud, look at how brilliantly the movement is captured ! This is, aesthetically speaking, certainly the best model from the whole set and the tiny seam is the only thing that prevents me from calling it a masterpiece. The other one hidden in its jar is nice too. Although not as spectacular, its hunched up pose makes for an interesting and complex enough sculpt too and, as a pair collector, I am happy to have two of them. I don't know about your opinion, but I would say that Mr is the one in the jar, by pure anthropomorphism

The gender of the following newcomer is, to the contrary, definitely not subtect to interpretation. This a much more exciting figure species-wise since it represents a very unusual form of life : the greater argonaut, an octopus which lives in a shell !
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That shell is actually meant to host the eggs so that model has to represent a female. The size is also a good indicator as males do not exceed 2 cm in lenght ! However, even as a female, that figure is big as the shell cannot reach more than 30 cm normally. I don't care about that because it's way too amazing to be missed with its weird eyes, "beak" looking like a third one, and tentacles folded back on the "face" that really make it look like an alien creature ! However, there are two things I don't understand about it. First, that it is by far the cheapest model individually, despite it's actually the "secret figure", an absolutely gorgeous model and a fascinating animal. Second, that it bears the name of Jason's followers If I was fond of national stereotypes, I would say that our friend Kostas is the man to explain us why

Then comes one of my two side-acquisitions to complete the set : the vampire squid from Colorata.
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This one is from another set actually, the retired deep sea creatures from Colorata. I actually found it before buying the Takara set as I knew I would need one later, since it represents a related but separate order from Octopoda. It's only called "vampire squid" because of its weird and quite frightening appearance, particularly impressive when it pops up in the deep and dark waters it inhabits. Talking about that appearance, it's way more iconic with its tentacles and mantle spread, looking like the cape of Dracula. I chose a swimming, more random pose because I didn't really knew there were other available renditions. Andrés got the Kaiyodo alternative just after me, which is significantly smaller. Mine is big, too large to fit with the Takara set since vampire squids do not exceed 30 cm in lenght. So, I don't regret my choice too painfully as it's still good and only costed me 12€, but I would likely choose the other one if I had to decide today. However, I know that I will now feel too lazy to ever replace it and that it will remain my model for this species.

This is a quite obcure species I'm happy to have for the sake of completism but, initially, when my plans were not to build such a large and representative cephalopod collection, I only needed two ABC extra figures besides my Schleich giant Pacific octopus and Safari giant squid : a nautilus and, of course, a cuttlefish. I got three of them with this set or, more accurately, two and a half
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Indeed, I lacked any cuttlefish and that broadclub was the very one figure that made me discover the whole set and, as a result, the very main reason behind a 130€ worth investment, such as the spider crab was for the crustaceans set.
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Why ? Because it just matches perfectly well the idea I had about what a vanilla cuttlefish looks like. I'm not familiar with that particular species, but when I look at the model, I just see the regular cuttlefish I'm used to seeing in aquariums, with no striking feature nor special criteria. It's actually larger since I read on wikipedia that it can reach 50 cm, and the figure is quite big, one of the bulkiest from the set. I'm very familiar to "cuttlebone" as I used it to enrich the food of lizards when I was part of a club of reptile freaks and I think that the paintjob of the belly, despite being plain white, perfectly renders the texture of cuttlebone. Apart from that, the typical kind and sweet eyes of cuttlefishes, as opposed to the stupid-looking squid's, are great too and the undulating movement of the fins is among the nicest of the set.

I'm not so fond of the following one which is my least favourite, while often the most expensive when found separately. It's the painpot cuttlefish which, as its name suggests, is a very colourful species.
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However, although I am aware of the highly fickle colouration of cuttlefishes, mine is really not so "flamboyant" and it's a bit too smoothly textured for my taste... But maybe I don't enjoy it too much because I know that Andrés got a better one from Kaiyodo which I was not aware of, and I'm a bit jealous However, just as with the vampire squid, I will surely lack the motivation to ever replace it.

Then comes the bobtail squid, which is more closely related to cuttlefishes as it's basically like a very short-bodied one.
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It's pretty adorable actually, looks like a Pokemon and portrays well the cutish look of its family. It is kind of the cuttlefish version of the umbrella octopuses and I especially enjoy it compared with monsters like the giant squid : it shows how diverse the cephalopod class is and adds to the "cartoon characters" effect of the family picture The only thing I would reproach is that the "seam" between the head and the body is more obvious here than on any other figure from the set.

With the Safari giant which was, in my mind, the most iconic and representative species to feature the squids, I was initially not willing to add any other until I decided to build a larger cephalopod collection and discovered the set from Takara. With three figures included, I enjoy that it shows, again, the diversity within the squid order. Or rather "orders" as I learnt while doing my research that squids were divided in two : Myopsida and Oegopsida.

The giant squid belongs to Oegopsida and in this set, there is one other oegopsid and two myopsids, which makes two for each order : just perfect !
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One of the myopsids is a reef squid, characterized by its large rounded fins that extend along almost the entire length of its mantle, giving it a superficial resemblance to cuttlefish.
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I actually like that it indeed misleaded me into thinking it was a cuttlefish while being an actual squid. Apart from that, I don't have anything particular to say about it, it's nice but not spectacular, and quite monochromic. Actually, Takara decided to show most species in their natural, "relaxed" colouration for a more neutral but also duller approach.

The spear squid (the other myopsid) is an exception, with two individuals of different colours.
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I looked for the explanation of this divergence and found nothing except Isidro's assumption according to which the male would turn red for mating like it happens within several other species. Sounds coherent to me, especially as the red one is larger. As a pair collector I do enjoy that they are male and female and I have to say they look cute together. They are not fan-favourites of mine though, even if the elongated body they draw their name from makes them quite unique in the family picture.

The last one however, is. It doesn't have a common name so we'll just call it Chiroteuthis picteti.
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This is the most mesmerizing model in my opinion and what I was expecting from a "vanilla squid" figure. Unlike the reef squid, it's clearly distinguishable from a cuttlefish and way more "typical looking" than the spear squid with its very short tentacles. There is an indescribable chaotic beauty in the curve of its long arms, highlighted by its translucent, almost transparent body which makes it look like a true wraith of the abyss. The eyes are also my favourite. I know that squids usually have a stupid look with their large round black pupil but this one precisely doesn't. Moreover, it's an oegopsid to keep company to my giant squid. So maybe my favourite figure of all, as I love it both aesthetically and species-wise.

Finally, last but not least, I definitely needed a nautilus to complete the family meeting, certainly my most beloved cephalopod as it's a quite special critter, even among other tentacled freaks.
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I bought it without much preliminary investigation. I had seen the Kaiyodo rendition in Andrés' collection, liked it enough and was happy with the size, so when I found one for less than 1$, I didn't think twice. I don't know if the Colorata would have been better, certainly bigger that's for sure and likely harder to find and way more expensive as it is part of the same retired set than my vampire. I'm happy with mine anyway and despite a brighter paintjob and more textured shell, I'm not sure the Colorata model got the eyes' pattern so right as this one.

So, that's it, that's my cephalopod collection ! I don't think it will turn as addictive as my crabs' or owls', because I kind of don't find it as funny and despite a certain diversity I just showed in that post, the "band of brothers" or "cartoon characters" effect is not as present. Nevertheless, I'm still considering a few more additions before being done with these mollusks :
- An umbrella octopus, for which I chose the Colorata flapjack that renders best the typical cutish look of this family.
- A glowing sucker octopus, whose only rendition is from Takara.
- The upcoming blue-ringed octopus from Bullyland which, despite the tiny size of the real animal, is a species I cannot miss due to its venom and ability to kill a human being !
- A nice and glorious "final boss" would be the colossal squid from Kitan but I think from Isidro's pics that it's small, so I'm waiting for more comparisons to decide (please post one if you both have it and the Safari giant squid).

Cephalopods were the core of my June additions but, despite being all wonderful figures, they are definitely not my proudest spoil of war ! So stay tuned, the best is still to come

But in the meantime, let's enjoy a little family picture
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Stunning Japanese models again and some interesting detailed analysis as always!

Very interesting batch of figures with interesting reading and great pictures. Those are not the most popular animal figures, relatively ignored among western brands but as often, Japanese tribute these creatures in its best. About the investment, my old aunt uses to say, when you pay for food, you're not wasting money.
Cephalopods is a kind of magical world, with Argonauts playing the Game of Thrones using spears and even umbrellas against giants in collossal battles.
These figures look all extraordinary to me, they have a irreproachable level of detail and beautiful poses, if those are not the best choices, you're surely close.

Incredible, so many figures that are just perfect. I find especially breathtaking the eyes of the broadclub cuttlefish, the makers did an incredible job!

These are beautiful! I love the bobtail squid and Chiroteuthis picteti. Many of them really capture the weird transparency and the sort of gelatinous textures.

Marvellous figures with nice details.

Thanks for sharing

Once again, splendid selection and pieces! Each one is a treasure.

Wonderful figurines and beautiful photos as usual

Many nice additions

I think they all look pretty cool, I cannot judge their prototype loyalty but I guess they have to be very realistic. The small octopus is my favourite model and the vampire squid my favourite species...obviously.

About Argonauts, I have no idea, but I think it must be a silly tradition that comes out of hipness and lack of imagination:
"What are these things? - Sea creatures. / What are they doing? - Moving around in oceans. / Who's doing that? - Sailors / How do we call sailors in ancient Greek? - Nautilos / Shit, we have already named a creature Nautilus..hmm... we need some flashy sailors for these...any known ancient Greek sailors? - What about Argonauts? / Yes, great, that's it!"

I always look forward to opening your introductions topics when I see a new one posted, cos I know everything will be great quality, well photographed, and given good detailed reviews with an interesting personal touch! I find it fascinating learning why people like and choose various figures, and that's one of the most satisfying things about the forum- not only the chance to see more of the models in-hand, but reading people's opinions on them.

These are all wonderful, from the translucent plastics used to the well painted solid colours, and everything so detailed. 1my favourite is the cuttlefish, the way his colour and transparency is done gives a real dense of depth, I never would've thought a model could so perfectly recreate that see-through skin. I'm not all that in-the-know about cephalopod species to tell at a glance hpow accurate they are, but they look believable realistic and very beautiful.

Truely amazing !!! WOW ! A wonderful and unusual herd of creatures

Thanks for sharing...pictures as well as text

Thanks everyone for your kind comments !

I'm glad to know that you appreciate my choice of figures and the effort I put in reviewing every ones of them.

I also do enjoy that you tell me which ones are your favourites and why. Actually, the most quoted ones are also those I love best : the cuttlefish, the unnamed squid and the octopus.

Let's see if we share the same tastes again with the second part of my June additions.

Part 2 : Non-cephalopod figures

Actually, June 2021 was supposed to be a quiet month as far as collecting is concerned. It all began with those little separate acquisitions I am going to show you, before I literally blowed the budget with the cephalopods. I was in fact looking for some travel buddies for a purchase I made in late May, just after I asked for shipping of the crabs It would be logical to begin with it since it's the starting point but... it's also the MOST AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL JEWEL ON EARTH so I HAVE TO keep the best for last, even if you will easily spot it on the group shot
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So let's rather start with the second figure I got, which is to the contrary, one of the weakest in my opinion.
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At least, it has the merit of introducing a new brand in my collection. Indeed, this Egyptian vulture is made by Epoch, a company whose raptors my buddy Andrés is particularly fond of. I had to give a try to at least one of them, so I chose this one I had spotted in his collection a long time ago and been particularly convinced by. The lack of seams (or their extreme discreetness), the perfect size to go with major brands' relatives, the species itself (one of the four species of European vultures !) and the general aspect from afar foreshadowed nothing else than a great catch !

Where expectations are high, disappointment is likely and this time is no exception. I won't say it's a duckling, we're far from that, but I think it's a quite "meh" figure overall, the kind that you get without thinking twice when you find it in your local shop because it's good enough, but you wouldn't necessarily make the effort to order from the opposite side of the earth I'm obviously very familiar with this species and what I would reproach to this replica is the general dull aspect of the plumage and feathers, especially on the backhead where they are supposed to be way more fluffy. The beak, even if it's difficult to judge it open, looks also a bit thick, long and not sharp enough to me. The eyes also do not quite get the right expression of this scavenger in my opinion.

Don't misquote me though, it's in no way a bad figure. It's just not going to convert the try with diurnal raptors as the spectacled owl did with nocturnal ones. Despite Andrés' enthusiasm, I indeed do think that the Japanese design suits better owls with their rounded, kawaï and simplistic look than the more complexly built eagles, falcons, hawks and vultures. I may still get the kestrel pair from Kaiyodo though, because they're kestrels for God's sake, the most ABC of ABC raptors in Europe !

What I do like very much about this vulture however, is the egg it's holding in its beak and the base representing an ostrich nest. Indeed, the Egyptian vulture is known to feed on eggs of the largest of its feathered cousin, and that scenery adds to the character of the model. Moreover, it fits just greatly with my Schleich griffon pair, and not only sizewise.
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Now I only need a Bullyland cinerous vulture to complete the European trio as, unfortunately, I venerate the bearded vulture too fanatically to accept anything else than a masterpiece (which only CollectA is able to grant us of course).

This vulture was followed by a fellow Epoch which I'm much more enthusiast about this time. This is the Gila monster.
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I'm getting from Takara the few only decent Japanese-branded snakes available but I'm also willing to work on my lizards despite the lack of choice and average low quality of models. The Gila monster is certainly, along with the moloch, frilled lizard or leopard gecko, one of the most ABC and iconic species of saurians and thus, a must-have. I had considered the Safari rendition which looked more of less conveniently sized for my collection, but just lacked the opportunity to get it. I am happy that I didn't because this Japanese alternative is surely better.

I would say that the pearled texture of the skin is the most successfully rendered feature in that model but the paintjob is also perfect. Even the tiny black eyes and general facial expression are amazingly faithful. The pose is that of a boring Schleich but I like it, obviously !

What I especially appreciate about this figure overall, is how Western it looks and thus, how well it fits with my other reptiles. I already said that the Japanese design suited better with certain kinds of animals than others and the highly visible seams and smooth texture of Gashapon figures aren't usually a good match with reptiles. But look at that Arizonian venomous critter next to its Australian harmless cousin from Schleich and dare to tell me they could not be from the same brand !
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A few more lizards may be considered from the Empire of the Gashapon, I definitely need a gecko and I know Kaiyodo and Kitan made several quite good candidates. There is also a chameleon from Kaiyodo that would be a good replacement for my Schleich which does not represent any particular species. But overall, I do not enjoy Japanese reptiles so much (especially Yujin's, a brand I usually fancy however) and that Gila monster is definitely the exception that proves the rule.

Another side, and this time long-planned purchase, was a Kaiyodo "blue bottle cap" figure to complete the Colorata saltwater set with a species I was much disappointed not to find in : the barracuda.
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I said to Isidro that a barracuda was the only thing missing in the Colorata saltwater set to make it perfect. He answered me that there were dozens of thousands of marine fish species, so the lack of one in a set could not be disappointing, but he understood what I meant, a barracuda being as iconic as a moray, a turbot or a swordfish. Luckily, Kaiyodo offers one which I found at a very cheap price.

However, I won't beat around the bush, I don't like it now I see it in real. Unlike the Egyptian vulture which I'm a bit disappointed by but still enjoy quite a lot. To begin with, barracudas are very long torpedo-shaped sea predators and this one is ridiculously short. Looks like more a pike than a barracuda, and a short one with that. Then it's tiny, so tiny. Isidro ordered it too, maybe he already has received it by the time I write those lines, and I have no doubt it has the size he wishes for his collection, but it will definitely not fit with his whitebait species, being smaller than the Pacific saury from Colorata ! Here is a comparison with a fellow tropical predator, the dolphin fish, which it could possibly fit with providing some imagination (a small individual with a big dorado) :
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Apart from that, the menacing face and teeth look quite good but honestly, this is not what I was expecting from a barracuda figure. Yet, I needed this ABC and this is the only option so I'm still happy to have it.

Then come two more interesting fish catches in my opinion.

After I got the fossil fish set from Colorata and was astonished by the gorgeousness of its models, I quickly learnt that the saddled bichir was a recent replacement to another even more wished critter included in previous releases : a giant catfish ! And more precisely the giant Mekong catfish, a Vietnamese compatriot of mine who once held the Guinness World Records' position for the world's largest freshwater fish in 2005. This, added to my natural penchant for completism, was enough to make it hold the position of officially chosen (and non-negociable) representative for catfish in my collection too !

But this gentle giant is herbivorous and, as the good zoology redneck I am, I needed to pay tribute to the infamous dog-eating reputation of true silurus, and especially the abominable European Wels catfish. So, I also got the closest species available in toy form with this giant Lake Biwa catfish from the Kitan Nature of Japan line, a token of quality.
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Now I can see them both in real, I have to say that, once won't hurt, I do prefer the Colorata over the Kitan. That Mekong catfish is indeed a jewel of sculpt which faithfully reproduces the stocky humpbacked look of Pangasianodon, and its subtle paintjob manages to provide it with quite a refined beauty despite the rather dull colouration of the real animal. The slightly transluscent fins demonstrate once more that this is definitely a strenght of Colorata, and the overall realism of this model that their fossil set is absolutely flawless.

The Biwa buddy is wonderful too but I don't love it as much, it's just a matter of personal preference though, there is no objective superiority of one over the other here. Its purple and slightly glossy colour is actually beautiful and both models are particularly interesting to compare to each other. On the one hand, the Mekong is massive, with a stocky body and a proportionally narrower head and tail ending in a large triangular caudal fin. On the other hand, the Biwa has a much more slender body with a thin and long anal fin highlighting its torpedo shape and of course, the iconic moustache of its family. Two strikingly different versions of what a catfish is then, and a great illustration of the diversity of siluriforms that makes them very enjoyable to display together.

Both are actually quite modest in size but one thing is for sure : it is usually less inconvenient that a figure is slightly undersized than slightly oversized and this case is no exception. Here is a comparison with the Colorata arapaïma that shows at the same time that despite belonging to an older release, the Mekong catfish has not to feel ashamed next to the recently updated rendition of the pirarucu.
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Although they were a bit stolen the show by the cephalopods, my old obsession was also well reprensented among my June purchases.
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I had indeed still some gaps to fill within the crab regiment, especially since I chose the Takara set to be the core of my crustacean collection and it lacks a few figures from the original Yujin release. The mantis shrimp to begin with.
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That's certainly an oversized figure but all my smaller crustaceans are too big anyway and it was a too fascinating form of life to be passed on. Despite their size (20 cm max), they are indeed formidable predators using their claws to clap so strongly and so quickly that they generate a shock wave powerful enough to stun, kill or even break the shell of their preys ! Despite their name, these claws are kind of upside down compared to a mantis' and thus, I first thought that I had wrongly assembled my figure !

This model represents Squilla mantis, a species found in the Mediterranean sea which is quite monochromic and dull-coloured. It's nonetheless a brilliant replica at the level of the other Yujin/Takara masterpieces. But it's quite difficult to photograph from the perfect angle to make it justice so don't rely on that pic to judge its quality. At least, I managed to capture the vibrant green eyes which, added to the strange structure of the body, give it quite a science-fiction look !

After that comes another spoil of war from the fan-favourite Nature of Japan line from Kitan. A crab which enters my collection thanks exclusively to the astonishing beauty of its replica, as it was not especially an exciting species to me.
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There is indeed nothing special about the Japanese freshwater crab, it has no particular iconic feature to distinguish from the others and looks absolutely vanilla. But, sometimes, the true skill is to draw the spectacular out of the ordinary, what seems to be the hallmark of the king of Japanese companies. They already did it with the ibis, they strike again with that Sagawani. The details of the face and mandibles are incredible, the pose is really photogenic but the most breathtaking feature of this lady are those eggs it is bearing, with visible black dots showing the embryos ! This is the kind of figure which proves that even on crabs, Kitan's renditions are on average a tiny notch above the Yujin/Takara masterpieces, if only that's possible.

The two next newcomers are what most people would consider as horrendous and disgusting bugs.

I have to admit I have myself never appreciated the annoyance of woodlouses in the house when you have a garden, even if I don't hate them and am not disgusted by them in my deepest guts like silverfishes. But the giant isopod, the largest of all woodlouses, is big and beautiful. I think that its size enables us to see all the details of its anatomy and the unusual beauty behind it, unlike tiny woodlouses that just appear to us as crawling annoying bugs. Reaching a maximum lenght of 50 cm, it was moreover big enough to enter my collection and complete the family picture.

This is quite a popular critter in toy form so I had a lot of available choices. But the Kaiyodo Aquatales rendition was the only small enough to fit with my other large crustaceans and it was also the most nicely detailed.
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As a boring Schleich fan, I was not so fond of that swimming pose at first and would have preferred a more traditional crawling one. But now I see that it has the merit of fully exhibiting the beast, both from top and bottom. Both sides are stunning actually, exceptionally detailed, from the propulsing "fins" to the legs joined in an hydrodynamic way, through the segmented shell. This is also, in my opinion, the only model that catches the almost robotic expression of these large oval-shaped eyes looking like some cyberpunk sunglasses

Its partner in "beautiful uglyness" is quite the opposite and more prehistoric-looking though ! And for good reason as these critters never strikingly evolved and can thus be considered as living fossils.
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Despite its name, the horseshoe crab is not a crustacean but more closely related to spiders and scorpions. However, its coastal environment provides it with a good excuse to gatecrash the family meeting. Horseshoe crabs are kept in the closest aquarium to my city and they have always captured my attention, along with the mudskippers, both being the most exciting attractions to me. That's why I had to get one at some point.

This Kaiyodo model is certainly the best, we carefully studied that matter with Andrés (even if he owns a weaker Epoch he got before having a deeper look at the various alternatives), and despite it's too big, I'm pretty sure it's still one of the smallest available. It's certainly gorgeous, and even though it's an anatomically simplistic critter, the makers were not lazy and really put a lot of effort into creating a highly contrasted figure, with a very delicate sculpt capturing every tiny bumps and hollows on the shell, and a nuanced paintjob full of shades.

Not to be outdone, the underside is superb too.
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And finally, you've long waited for it so there it is : THE ABSOLUTE JEWEL OF THAT PARCEL WHICH IS WORTH ALL THE OTHER ONES TOGETHER, THE GLORIOUS KITAN SPINY LOBSTER FROM THE NATURE OF JAPAN SERIES !!!    
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I have to confess I was not very reasonable with this one Indeed, it costed me alone almost ONE FOURTH of the total price ! But the choice of my spiny lobster was a NO-BRAINER : it HAD to be this one and NO OTHER !!!

But let me explain you the path that led to this purchase because that crazy whim was driven by nothing else than a reasoning of pure logic, I assure you !

The Yujin/Takara set is the core of my crustacean collection and its models show an incredible level of quality and realism, right ? So, they deserved a magnificent ruler and it would have been the vilest offense to crown any weaker figure at the head of my crab Empire, agree ? And despite the blasphematory common name of the king crab usurper, which is the true legitimate monarch of crabs ? Every chef will tell you, it is the spiny lobster !

As a true delicacy, it is a quite popular figure in toy form so the choice was wide enough. But there was NO WAY I would accept anything else than that Kitan masterpiece, perhaps the greatest of the whole Nature of Japan line. But, unfortunately, it was also the rarest and among the most expensive too, for good reason. However, I do feel like that its rarity and price add to its flavour. Indeed, starting to collect a new group of animals is definitely enjoyable but there is nothing as exciting as having already quite a wealthy array of figures and species and finally finding the ones you miss while feeling the orgasmic thrill of completism ! And triumph without overdraft peril brings no glory. This time, every gourmet will tell you : it cannot be a true spiny lobster if it's cheap !

Unfortunately, my pics do no justice to this beauty as they don't render its most impressive feature : the antlers. They are humongous, significantly longer than the whole body and divert so widely from each other that the total “antlerspan” is no less than 11 cm.

Considering their extreme breakability, I had every reason to worry about shipping from the opposite side of the world Then, it arrived unharmed but in several pieces I had to assemble in the holy gashapon tradition. So I still had to sweat like a pig while trying to put them together in the middle of the night, risking to spoil the price of a homemade model at any wrong move. But in the end, the pain was worth the gain as it's almost absurd how amazingly well that lobster fits with the Yujin/Takara masterpieces. But I let you judge by yourself, here is the (almost) final family picture :
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I say “final” because that spiny lobster has everything of a “final boss”. It is beautiful beyond imagination, expensive beyond reason and representing an absolutely unmissable must-have. Now I have it, I can rightfully consider that I have beaten the main crustacean game, even if I will continue to play after the credits to complete some remaining side-quests. There are currently two of them :
- The red-clawed crab from the Yujin set which is missing in the Takara release.
- A “true” lobster which, depending on size, may be the upcoming European Papo or the American Kaiyodo from the Japan Aquarium line.
I have kind of gave up on most other Kaiyodo crabs for size compatibility but also quality issues. I already have the Takara fiddler crab which is humongous even compared with my other smaller species but I want it to remain an exception and the heikegani and soldier crabs I was considering are finally not good enough to match the “premium” standards of my crab collection.

But, don't worry, there are still other taxa to explore and August will be even more opulent than July as far as collecting is concerned since I will be presenting here NO LESS THAN 50 YUJIN FISHES [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

So we are DEFINITELY NOT done yet with Japanese figures on this thread

Holy moly, SO many amazing things here! Several of my favorite species, and these are just masterful pieces. Congrats!

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Holy moly, SO many amazing things here! Several of my favorite species, and these are just masterful pieces. Congrats!

Which are those favourite species ?

Great additions

The gila monster, mahi mahi, mantis shrimp, both catfish, arapaima, the horseshoe crab... great choices!

Benjamin, I think it is not easy to choose a favorite. I made a little league to decide it. So many masterpieces and interesting species. Some are extremely realistic too. It easily would result in a draw among many of the figures you're presenting. The most satisfying for me are the crustaceans and there is one that gives me something more than all others, thus, I'll nominate it as my favorite. It is the Japanese freshwater crab. On the other hand, the Egyptian vulture, among all these masterpieces, surely does not look impressive, but when it was released, most of us only had a few birds from Bullyland, Safari Wings of the World and a few Schleich besides the older tube sized figures or a few illusive Japanese models. When comparing with those, I warrant you the Epoch Egyptian vulture was one of the best and those who could get it were surely as proud as you are with a few of the best models in your collection. It was and still is a species rarely represented and I am glad I have one myself.

Yes Roger, the vulture surely isn't bad, certainly the best Japanese diurnal raptor, and clearly better than many of my birds of prey, especially the vintage ones that were never replaced. I think it just suffers the comparison with the other figures : fishes, crustaceans and cephalopods which Japanese companies are much better in representing IMO.

Just for the sake of "official inventory", I post my two newest Papo already presented on the 2021 releases topic.
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Hi there !

Today is my birthday and what better way to celebrate it than posting the MOST HUMONGOUS update I have ever written for that forum ?

It has now been almost four months since I started collecting Japanese models to fill the taxonomic gaps in my collection and each one of them has always been more opulent and powerful than the previous one.

But with this last parcel, I think that we truly have reached the epidemic peak of my Japanese fever, and that the curve will now be falling down or at least flattening. I seriously hope it as my financial situation is getting catastrophic

Bony fishes were my main focus when I decided to start ordering from the Empire of the Rising Sun. I first began with Colorata sets before finding out that Yujin was the brand for the job. Unfortunately, Yujin sets are retired and way rarer and more expensive than Colorata's. But I now know a very good address where absolutely anything can be found

I had spotted these fishes for ages, I was just waiting to be done with crustaceans and cephalopods (two sets even more difficult to get) to dedicate all my purchasing power to them. I was not interested in all figures, I even sent a few of them to Andrés, but my strategy in the Japanese game is to always buy lots, it's systematically more profitable and you can be pleasantly surprised by figures you were not after and learn about species you didn't know in that way.

So, I didn't think twice and bought all the Yujin fish sets that were available, except for the reef one whose scale is quite problematic, and which I may replace by the Colorata. I completed the menu with a few spare figures from Takara whose species were not represented in the original Yujin release. All told, I will thus be presenting today :

52 fish models !!! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Since I traded/gave three to Andrés, the number of my additions stands at 49, an absolute record. I could even have reached the symbolic number of 50 but didn't because I'm an absolute fool ! Indeed, I did a terrible mistake and bought a freshwater set missing the carp while another one had it for the same price So, I lost money because I had to find the carp separately, in China, and now I'm having trouble to make it come to France

The figures I am going to show you are divided into three sets, one saltwater and two freshwater, but since a significant number of species can and do live in both depending on their life stage, I preferred not to split families and present them all at once. However, if you are interested in getting those sets for yourself, here are their respective compositions :
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My additions are too numerous to be photographed all together so we will start without the usual group shot. However, you'll have a little surprise as a conclusion so keep reading to the end (or just scroll like a slob )

Having already the Colorata alternative, the salwater set from Yujin was the least interesting one to me, especially as it included several doubles such as the red seabream.
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Nevertheless, there is no debate about which of the two brands is the best. Generally speaking, Yujin's realism literally blows Colorata's smooth texture and cartoonish paintjob and the red seabream is the perfect example to picture that !
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Remember what I said about the Colorata model when I reviewed it back in May :

RtasVadumee wrote:

Yet, the figure, despite being a very decent replica, is not a perfect one as it is too smooth and lacks the very scally-looking skin of true sea breams.

That new Yujin precisely corrects that very flaw I was reproaching to its competitor : the scales are here perfectly visible and the paintjob is also much more subtle !

Yet, there will be no replacement nor any wedding here. Indeed, I kind of don't mind keeping the Colorata model as my seabream representative, while the Yujin fellow has been a very wished figure of Andrés for a while. That's why I sent it to him as his birthday gift, with a little delay.

I also sold the pilchard to him.
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This is a nice model, certainly more textured and detailed than the Colorata I already had. That's why they don't fit with each other and don't even look to represent the same species.
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Strangely enough though, I kind of prefer the Colorata rendition. The skin may be much smoother but the closed mouth and overall "insignificant aspect" of the figure matches better the general idea I have about what a pilchard, which is the whitebait species par excellence, should look like. It also has something to do with size as, despite it's not obvious on my picture, the Yujin model is significantly bigger than the Colorata and thus, is not small enough compared to the rest of the whitebait, like the mackerel for example.

Speak of the Devil, that one is another double I already had from Colorata.
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This time however, I'm not open to sales or trades. First, because this mackerel from Yujin is the subject of a private joke with my favourite Spanish crook. Then, because mackerels are gregarious fishes and that time, both figures are aesthetically perfectly compatible.
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It's even difficult to choose a favourite, both are very satisfactory in my opinion.

Carrying on with doubles, the saury found a mate too !
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Again, the refined paintjob of Yujin allows this model to surpass its competitor, but the difference is not spectacular (the translucent effect on the fins is even better on the Colorata rendition) and both still fit very nicely together.
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My net also catched hitherto unseen species, some of which were wished must-have while others are more anecdotal.

The grey mullet for example, is a fish I didn't know and whose replica leave me quite indifferent, although I have no doubt it is very faithful to the real animal.
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The Japanese amberjack is another species I was unfamiliar to but whose model I enjoy very much this time.
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To the contrary, the whiting is a fish I absolutely needed despite not even knowing what it looked like in real The reason for that is simple : in French language, the expression "gawk like an idiot" is translated by "having fried whiting's eyes" ! Well, almost all fishes have the same silly and empty eyes so it's quite unfair that the poor whiting takes all the mocking on itself. Be that as it may, the figure is superb, and quite faithful to how I imagined the real animal.
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The Japanese seabass is another must-have, perhaps one of the most prominent of the set.
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Seabasses are fishes I'm familiar with from aquariums, they are bigger edible species which deserve to be considered more seriously than the previous whitebait... Something Yujin definitely did by releasing this absolute masterpiece. Everything, from the sculpt of the open mouth and fins to the paintjob of the body and eyes, is great.

I have to admit I was quite ashamed to ignore what an Alaska pollock looked like before Takara (this one is a Takara model I got separately) showed it to me Indeed, my visualization of this fish used to be limited to :
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or :
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or even :
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Indeed, the pollock is the typical junk food fish, the only one I was fed with by mommy and daddy as far back as I can remember I'm glad to finally know where my breaded fish came from, this is actually an unexpectedly colourful and beautiful critter !
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If they read that, my parents would call me a slanderer. Indeed, there is a urban legend among the Nguyen family, according to which my mother used to cook a lot for me when I was an infant and that she asked my father to go to the market in order to find beltfish for me, a groundfish quite difficult to catch, quite expensive, and definitely refined. This is supposed to have occured before I was weaned and Mr Croustibat took the helm with his friend Ronald McDonald the clown. Of course, I have no memory of this but as a tribute to this semi-legendary genesis of my life, I had to add this delicacy to the menu of my collection.
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I'm actually quite surprised by the critter I discover thanks to that Takara model : it absolutely looks like a moray eel to me, even if it's in no way related to it. Anyway, this is a figure I especially appreciate : a quick look at google pics shows that the Japanese company perfectly captured the general aspect of the fish, and especially its unfriendly and even menacing facial expression.

The splendid alfonsino completes the triumvirat of Takara models I bought separately.
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This is not a species I was particularly after and I got it for the only sake of completism. I even have to confess that I quite didn't like the figure so much when I took it out of the package. But it's very faitful to the real fish so I have no reason to dislike it. I think the lack of base was also a good reason for me to consider it as a pain in the ass : I hate the Takara bases and while I used the pilchard's base to display the pollock and didn't use any for the beltfish, I lacked one for the alfonsino. But finally, I will use the Colorata halibut's, which I dont need to display the flatfish (the base that appears on the pic is another, randomly chosen one).

Talking about flatfishes, I got a new one with the Yujin set.
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That halibut demonstrates once more the overwhelming superiority of Yujin over Colorata, especially as far as paintjob is concerned.
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Luckily for me though, the models represent two different species : the Colorata is an olive flounder while the Yujin is a starry one. So I will keep both, even if they are not a perfect aesthetic match.

A similar divergence can be watched on the puffers. Although I already liked the Colorata model, the new one I got from Yujin is definitely the fugu figure my collection deserved.
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Once more, these are two different species : Yujin is a grass puffer while Colorata is a tiger puffer. Colorata's paintjob is again more cartoonish...
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... but, considering that the tiger puffer is a more complexly patterned fugu, I feel like both fit nicely together.
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They still miss a Diodon cousin which I failed to win in an "arm wrestling" with Andrés on Yahoo Auctions Japan. But I'm confident that another one will pop up sooner or later.

The salwater set also included a pair of striped beakfishes. Two gorgeous models again, one of them being less striped than the other.
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I didn't find any explanation to this difference of pattern, so I concluded that they were not especially supposed to represent a male and a female or an adult and a juvenile. I thus didn't need both, even if I wouldn't have mind keeping them, and offered the least striped one to Andrés which he accepted.

The next newcomer looked quite familiar to me because I first thought it was a triggerfish. This is actually a black scraper from the close filefish family. The spine on the forehead is the main distinctive feature of these fishes and it's clearly visible on that wonderful model.
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It's not venomous though, the exact opposite of the lionfish.
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This one is an absolue ABC must-have, perhaps THE saltwater fish I wished the most when I started collecting Japanese figures. It's part of the reef set and that's one of its only decently sized figures, along with the coral grouper and clown triggerfish I'm still after. It's beautiful, the curve of the fins is especially magnificent and gives a graceful dynamism to the figure. However, I can't help but feeling a bit disappointed with the dorsal fins which are not so finely sculpted in my humble opinion. It still remains the best price-quality ratio for this species, as the Kitan rendition may be even better but insanely expensive, while the Kaiyodo is not as good.

Here are a few comparisons with it's closest relative in my collection, the Colorata false kelpfish...
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... and some coral reef neighbours from Schleich.
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I also got a new tuna with the saltwater set.
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It's good and fortunately not the same species as the two others I already had from Colorata. This is a bigeye tuna and it quite has an appropriate name compared with the two others

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Getting to bigger fishes, let's talk about what may be the most fantastic jewel of this set...
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You all know that I am very happy with my Safari goliath, and I was not looking for any other grouper. But this kelp grouper is certainly a delicacy that it is difficult to resist to ! It has the charisma of the best Kitan in my opinion, and knowing that Andrés is craving for it makes it even more delicious [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Talking about size now, it's much smaller than my Safari goliath but the maximum recorded weight for this species is only 33 kg while the largest goliath ever was 455 ! So I still maintain against the opinion of the whole forum that my Safari grouper is nicely sized for my collection !
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Whatever their size, groupers are rarely tiny and almost always quite impressive, but there is another marine monster that has always stolen the show in every aquarium I have visited. A fan favourite of mine which, unfortunately, Yujin didn't manage to do justice to. I'm talking about the conger.
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Everytime I see them, wether they are alive or dead in fisheries, congers are invariably monstruous and almost terrific behemoths that instantly turn the zoology redneck I am on.

But this Yujin model, despite being actually a pretty nice figure, is desperately unspectacular. I'm still very happy to have it as I needed that species more than any, and this is the only rendition available. Moreover, it would work nicely as a young or just average sized individual, I just didn't get my "Steve Backshall urges" fulfilled with it

In my humble opinion, Yujin did a much better job with its close relative the eel.
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This one is from the second freshwater set as eels are migratory fishes that live in the sea but swim upstream to spawn in rivers. By the way, when I was working for a local conservation NGO, I learnt all too well how dams were a threat to the survival of their species.

This is certainly the figure from this set I was the most interested in, along with another one which is coming soon after. Indeed, the eel is what we call in French a "patrimonial species", that is to say a noble, culturally (and gastronomically ) important fish that is endangered and needs to be protected. Translated in collecting language it gives "ABC must-have"

The pose is wonderful and brings the fish's serpentine body out, which is always difficult with elongated animals. The painjob is superb too, especially the glossy finish so faithful to the real animal. A figure I thus recommend to everyone, even if you are not willing to start a big exhaustive fish collection.

Here it is with its cousin the conger. I still need to bring the Schleich moray back from my parents' house to reunite the whole family.
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With the Japanese eel, we have started to move to the intertidal area. Two families of benthic fishes are represented in both saltwater and freshwater sets, and Yujin was wise enough to choose different species for both.

The first one is the Gobiidae family.
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The left one is an Amur gobi and it is included in the second freshwater set. The right one is a spiny gobi and it's part of the saltwater set.

I have a clear preference for the later, more soberly painted and with more harmonious proportions.
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The other one, despite an appealing pose, looks more cartoonish to me, both in paintjob and sculpt. Yet, this is an improvement from the older version. Indeed, the second freshwater set was released twice and that gobi is the perfect exemple why every collector should be aware of those two editions and always favour the revised one. It's usually a bit more expensive but it is worth the price as this gobi was barely displayable before being updated !
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The second family looks very much like gobies and is closely related to them but its members are wayyy more fascinating. In fact, these critters are by far my favourite fishes of all and for good reason : they are capable of breathing out of water where they actually spend most of their time ! You may reply that lungfishes possess the same ability but, as their name suggest, lungfishes are “just” fishes with functional lungs. Those critters rely on a different kind of breathing : cuteanous respiration. It means that they basically breathe from the skin, like frogs ! I'm obviously talking about mudskippers !
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As for gobies, there is one I prefer while I don't like the other as much. However, my opinion is not as clear-cut as precedently.

My favourite is the fat barred mudskipper in a relaxed pose on the left because I think it catches perfectly the typical calm and lazy look of a mudskipper having some rest on the roots of mangroves. The silly facial expression is as funny as realistic (the mouth is particularly well done) !
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I was not so fond of the other one on the right, a great blue-spotted specimen. It was the kind of figure whose pose looked too much like a statue to me, while I make it a point of honour to remain an “toy” collector. I even vaguely offered it to Andrés at some point. But it was before I saw the figure in real and fell in love with it. Now, there is no way I'm gonna trade it. I still prefer the first one but this jumping fellow represents a mudskipper in its typical courtship pose so it's an interesting figure too and a nice complement to the other model.
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The roughskin sculpin is another estuary dweller. This relative of our European bullhead was one more must-have I was after. And God, I'm not disappointed, this is maybe one of the most finely painted models of the bunch.
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Keep in mind that this is a 5 cm figure and look at the preciseness of the face pattern Splendid !

Before frankly moving on to the freshwater fishes, here is one last species capable of living in both rivers and sea.

The barramundi was indeed included in the freshwater set and it absolutely looked like a river monster to me. But then, I did my research and discovered that it was also known as the "Asian sea bass", despite not being related to the Japanese sea bass precedently presented. Moreover, the name "barramundi" means "large-scaled river fish" in Aboriginal language. In fact, the barramundi's life cycle is quite the opposite of salmons' or eels' : they live in rivers but come to estuaries to spawn ! So, definitely an interesting species to own, even more so that the models are impressive.
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I write "models" in plural because two are included in the set. The brownish red-eyed one in the background is a juvenile and it is actually my favourite of the two. These figures are supposed to have a major flaw though : they are among the only three whose seams are highly visible. However, as you can (or rather can't ) see on my pic, I perfectly fixed it with some superglue and they are now absolutely perfect

Carrying on with river monsters, the next one is another ABC must-have.
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The largemouth bass from North America was indeed introduced in various parts of the world, including Europe and Japan, and is now an important and well-known game fish. The figure does honour to the species and is absolutely a masterpiece, certainly one of the best from the freshwater sets. The texture of the skin is absolutely amazing, these are among the most realistic-looking scales I have ever seen on a fish toy. The pose is highly charismatic and I can easily imagine the flying prey (these big guys can eat waterbirds and bats) it is trying to catch.

The largemouth bass is often called "American perch" but this is a malapropism as it is not a genuine perch. Fortunately, a true one is included in the set too, the Japanese perch. Certainly not as impressive as a model but surely as compulsory as a species.
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Then comes a long procession of freshwater fishes I don't know anything about so I will start being less talkative. Some are very beautiful while others are more anecdotal.

The bluegill, a North American neighbour of the black bass, is among the ones I love with its mesmerizing green paintjob.
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The snakehead is, meanwhile, the most charismatic. I didn't knew the species but can easily tell from its shape, face and size (one of the biggest figures of the set) that this is a predatory fish.
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A cortege of aquarium ornamental fishes follow...

The pale chub to begin with, which I was not aware of but really enjoy aesthetically.
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The rosy bitterling then, whose model is visibly more beautiful than the real, quite insignificant fish (at least from pics I have seen on the net).
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And finally, the paradise fish I am very happy to own because it is actually a gourami and I'm quite familiar with this family from my fishkeeping years in my childhood. This is, in my opinion, the prettiest model of the three.
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Others are not so spectacular like the "honmoroko" which is a bit the grey mullet of the freshwater set
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Or the "medaka" which is kind of the vanilla pet of Japanese fishkeepers.
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Carrying on with ornamental fishes, here is one we don't need to be Japanese to be familiar with.
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The goldfish is indeed the most popular aquarium pet in the world and has been kept since ages in the famous fishbowls. Nowadays, fishbowls are widely criticized as they are highly detrimental to the health of goldfishes which are, as my best friend who is a fishkeeper told me, basically carps capable of growing up to 40 cm ! That beautiful pair will have all the space it needs in my vitrine, don't worry about that !

My friend also told me that these goldfishes are already too "golden" to be true wild specimens. Indeed, 300 domestic breeds of that species are currently recognized and the original wild form is just a greyish ugly fish very closely related (and even sometimes assimilated) to the Crucian carp which I also got a figure of :
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The three-spined tittleback is a species I had never heard about but whose Yujin replica instantly joined my wishlist as soon as I saw it on pics for the first time. It's just too much fun with its short spines on its back !
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Loaches are freshwater fishes commonly found in Europe where they feed on the riverbed. The next newcomer is a Siberian species but it's extremely similar to the one we have here in France. That's why I'm glad to have it, despite it may be not the most impressive model I have shown today.
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With its small moustache, the loach reminds me a bit of catfishes and that's a piece of luck because they are going to be our next focus. I indeed got two new species from that last parcel, one in the freshwater set and one in the saltwater one.

The freshwater species is an Amur catfish, another Silurus to keep company to my Kitan Biwa.
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I kind of prefer that new brownish specimen, whose facial expression may be even more typical than my more colourful Biwa's. You know how much I wanted a catfish from the Silurus genus but honestly, I may have passed on the Kitan model if I had got this one first. It is thus rather fortunate that it was the opposite, as I now really enjoy having them both.

The marine species that came with the saltwater set is the only reef Siluridae on earth : the striped eel catfish.
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I was not especially familiar with this species but having already three giant catfishes, a small one is highly appreciated. Beyond that, it even ends up figuring among my favourite figures from the set. A model representing a whole shoal of fish is quite new within my collection and each of its members is as nicely detailed as if it was the whole figure itself ! Each of these six friends has a slightly different pose and goes in a slightly different way while still all following the same main direction. It provides the model with a group dynamism both chaotic and very orderly at the same time, for a quite mesmerizing result. Brilliant !

Then come two Japanese delicacies that I have become familiar with only thanks to the collecting hobby. Indeed, these two are very popular in gashapon figure form and have been released at least once by almost every main brands in Japan.

I have even been about to get a Kitan rendition of the first one a long time before I bought the Yujin sets. Indeed, before we discovered our beloved “Aladdin's cave”, Andrés and I were ordering from TaoBao, the main Chinese shopping website. Or rather he ordered for us both and we shared shipping. I remember he once bought two fishes from Kitan and one of them was the redfin dace (the other one is coming later). He asked me if I wanted one for me too and, despite I didn't give a shit about fishes at that time, the model was beautiful and cheap enough to convince me. Then, finally, our agent made a mistake and only one fish was sent to the warehouse. I was broke as usual so this cancellation was kind of a relief as it helped me save some money. Now, I finally have my redfin dace which is definitely not as nice as the Kitan masterpiece I could have got but again, I don't really care about that fish so never mind.
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The second species is certainly the African lion of Japanese fish toys. Indeed, I can't think about any of the “big four” that never released an “ayu” in its range. Kitan even welcomed it in its very selective “Nature of Japan” line. From what I have understood, its very sweet flesh is the reason of its popularity and it may hold a similar reputation in Japan than the seabream in China. So I guess it's interesting to have one in your collection, from the cultural point of view at least.
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The huchen is another fish I discovered during my online scavenging.
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It is actually the longest figure from the freshwater sets, despite not being such a humongous fish in real (one metre max), so I guess they were “forced” to oversize it in order to render properly the elongated look of its body. I remember it was my least favourite Yujin fish when I watched it on pictures or videos, for quite an obvious reason : it has the most visible seam of all, right in the middle of its body However, I think that I did a great job with my superglue again and I'm actually quite proud of myself ! Now, I like it as much as any other.

With the Japanese huchen, we entered the Salmonidae family. And it's perfect timing since I have decided to end that fishing party with the most noble of freshwater dwellers, at least from the point of view of many fishermen and ecologists. Indeed, when I worked for that local conservation NGO I already mentionned, I learnt that salmons were so demanding towards their spawning environment that they were wonderful indicators of the state of health and conservation of rivers.

The second salmonid I am going to show is the other fish Andrés bought from Kitan on TaoBao. I rejected it back then because I didn't find it as pretty as the redfin dace. However, it might be more interesting from a collecting point of view, at least when your main goal is the same as mine, that is to say building the most representative collection possible with all the ABC species.
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Despite being a Japanese species again, the white-spotted char is very close to one of our best-known European game fish : the Arctic char. It's not very spectacular and maybe not as good as its Kitan alternative but that's an ABC and thus, a must-have.

Even more essential is the next fellow, and way more enjoyable from an aesthetic point of view too, in my opinion.
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The rainbow trout is indeed, like the largemouth bass, a North American species that was introduced in many parts of the world as game fish. “Trout” is a synonymous of “salmon”, yet they often remain two distinct fishes in our minds and the rainbow trout is the species most of us think about when we hear the word "trout". So every collector willing to have a "trout" in addition to his/her "salmon" representative should get this model.

It is, like all my Yujin, from the revised edition and it's very differently painted than the original version which is more pinkish. Once won't hurt, both are equally pretty, even if I have a slight preference for mine. Andrés has both of them and we once vaguely considered a deal.

Second picture to last shows an actual salmon named "salmon", yet looking more like a “trout” : the masu. Nice, but definitely not the salmon representative I was waiting for.
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But I kept the best for last as I really wanted to end with an important and meaningful addition. I'm talking about a salmon figure which would still look like a salmon even if it was painted as a zebra I'm talking about the chum salmon, a species of Pacific salmon from the genus Oncorhynchus
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With it's typical "beak", not even a chance to mistake it with a carp or a grouper, even the jumping pose tries to tell us that this figure is a salmon, in case we didn't understand yet. There is no way to believe it is a lady either, that chin is way too masculine

Yet, mister has to be a single father And that's maybe the best part of this picture and definitely a firm favourite of mine

I have always enjoyed the concept behind the salmon life cycle set from Safari. But I didn't like the figures so much so I'm more than delighted that Yujin had the exact same idea. Seriously, this larva rivals the best Schleich cubs and calves in cuteness and I didn't think I would ever drool over how well drawn a blood vessel is And it may not be obvious on my pic but an embryo is clearly visible inside of the egg

Definitely the icing on an already delicious cake... or rather fish pie, although I'm not sure an icing would be suitable on such a meal

Anyway if you're still here and alive after this seafood orgy, I guess you can eat any shit I may serve you !

One thing is for sure, those eleven pages were surely as indigest for me to write than for you to read so I think I gonna have a rest for at least one week before posting anything else now

But the pain is worth the gain as I built a bony fish collection like I would never have dreamt of a few months ago, when I used to tell Andrés that I would never ruin myself on his "silly whitebait and crustaceans". Well, never say never !

I also expect this post to become my most important contribution to TAI as the vast majority of the figures I showed here don't have a picture on our beloved database. So feel free to use mine or show me how to upload them as I am currently on holidays and will have time to do it on my own if you're too busy.

This has been an intensive and costly first half of the year as far as collecting is concerned but as I announced in my introduction, I expect things to calm down in the last months of 2021. The context contributes towards this as you may be aware of the recent change in the EU customs policy : every good coming from outside of the EU is now subject to VAT, whatever the declared value.

Moreover, I still have to decide which reef set I will choose to complete my aquarium but once bought, I will be done with fish. Only a piranha will be cruelly missing and I'm pretty sure the rare Kaiyodo model will become one more Holy Grail for me.
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Apart from reef fishes, September's focus will be reptiles and especially lizards as I already have the Takara turtles and most of the snakes from the same brand. After an initial discouragement, I finally found a couple of models good enough to keep company to my glorious perentie. So stay tunned

Before leaving you for today however, I'd like to share that "small surprise" I teased at the beginning of that endless post. As far as photography is concerned, I'm a true fanatic of sharpness and I knew I would not be able to provide a satisfactory group shot of such a numerous assembly.

So here is plan B, enjoy

The Yujin fishes , for me especially the saltwater fishes, are must haves.