Rtas' new brands review n°3 : BULLYLAND !!! :cheers:

Hi friends,

My collecting hobby is knowning a new active phase thanks to holy because of bloody Coronavirus

Spoiler:

If I wanted to start a new brand and publish a detailed topic to review it as I am used to, it was now or never. So I took the plunge.

When I joined this forum I quickly decided to show you my collection (I ended my topic recently). It was back then mostly a Schleich-based collection but I already had the full array of CollectA ungulates and a few Papo to fill the gaps. Since then, no CollectA was added but I started collecting other brands. The forum made me discover them but did not convince me about most of them since I was already convinced before joining.

I have always had a love/hate relationship towards Papo which represents a design philosophy very different from golden age's Schleich I am used to, you know that. Since my arrival here, I have learnt to open my heart to Papo even if I still can't understand why certain models are so appreciated when I find them pretty ugly. However, CollectA and Mojo convinced me as soon as I saw the first figures. Their conscientious finish is close to golden age Schleich's and even surpasses it in the case of CollectA. Southlands was the last I discovered, after joining. I had to be convinced about it but it was not very difficult as the finish is also very good.

However, there remained a brand I did not dare to order. It took me a long time to "open my collector's mind" to it as you say and get used to its design. I'm of course talking about Bullyland !
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No, I'm kidding, that forum made me a more open-minded collector but there are limits ! As you already understood, we're going to deal with Safari Ltd here. And, as usual, we'll talk about size. A lot

Safari is indeed, as Roger once pointed out, the most distant brand from Schleich as far as painting is concerned. It's also probably the one which least gives a shit about scale (I mean, even less than the others). However, that's also a brand with a huge diversity of species, maybe more than any other western brand. And although very few of their models fit absolutely perfectly with Schleich/CollectA/Papo figures (there is a slight oversizing tendency in Safari figures) sizewise, a lot of them are very acceptable. And that's what will be at issue here : acceptability. Indeed, since Roger opened my eyes on the illusion of scale within major brands, I have been lost in my life and inner self, feeling a deep loss of my bearings and of my own identity and... well nothing so extreme of course, but I have decided to change my collecting rules and, for each figure and each species, do a cost-benefit analysis in my mind taking into account the quality of the model, my interest in the species and the size discrepancy, in order to decide wether or not it's acceptable from my very personal point of view.

I have to admit it, I am way more picky about Safari, Mojo or CollectA than Schleich and even Papo. Because, as I often explain, ordering online is a step in itself while going to the shop is just my main excuse to have a walk to the towncentre. I was even more picky about Safari as this brand convinced me less than the two others, CollectA and Mojo. I have been thinking about starting Safari since the first confinement I spent 9 hours per day with you so it has been almost one year ago now ! As a consequence, that selection is the result of a long, well thought out consideration. At first, I wanted dozens of figures as Safari is very wealthy of new and unusual species but then, I studied carefully each of them and kept only those which would have fitted best in my collection. I also selected based on species. Unlike other collectors here, I'm a quite "mainstream" guy in my choices as my first priority is to fill the gaps of the "ABC" category, as Isidro calls it. So, the species we are going to talk about here are mostly common, well-known ones but which are little popular as toys.

That introduction already being long enough, let's begin and review these little treasures one by one and of course, compare them to other brands' figures, you are starting to know the formula. We'll begin with the Asian species which are also the only big mammals I selected to be part of that first order.
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Rhinos are spectacular and popular animals in toy form, we are spoiled as collectors as far as they are concerned. The Sumatran species however, is a Safari exclusivity as it is, by far, the most "alien-looking" species out there. That's aslo the most fascinating one as it is more or less the last living wooly rhino Critically endangered, it still may be saved, with a lot of means and luck, at least in captivity (even though the breeding program is mostly a failure), unlike the Javan species which is definitely lost IMO. I have to admit I am rather relieved their places are not inverted : it would be even more dramatic to lose the Sumantran species because of its very unique look, even though it's much likely to happen sooner or later too...

However, one has to get used to that peculiar look. The Sumatran rhino is a species few of us are likely to have seen in real and it may not look very "pretty" at first sight. A secret friend of mine told me he found this figure awful. But then, I managed to convince him that what he did not like was not the figure itself, he was just not used to the unusual look of that rhino.

The model, actually, is a very good portrayal. One may be thrown by that bright reddish colour but some individuals are as red as that so it's in no way exaggerated.
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The hairs are subtly and finely placed on the body. The technique of Safari to represent them consists in making the sculpt's texture rougher and the painting just slightly darker where they are supposed to be. The hairs are incorporated to the sculpt and that's a clear success because I'm 100% sure it would have looked absolutely artificial and unnatural if they had been added afterwards. The hairs were the most difficult feature to represent and Safari did it great. So that's an absolute must-have model. As a comparison, the only alternative available on the market is Joan's homemade model. It's handmade, it's 60€ but it's IMO no way better, which shows how successful Safari is with this rendition.
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However Joan's model is a girl. And mine is a boy. And that's a much endangered species... But man, 60€ for a toyish breeding program which is likely to be as successful as the real one, I know how lonely you feel and I like you buddy but not that much !

So you'll have to make do with the company of your giant cousins, I'm sorry. "Giant" because the Sumatran rhino is indeed the smallest rhino species, hardly reaching one ton while the Indian neighbour weigh twice as much minimum and up to three times. So it's perfectly sized to go with the Schleich's masterpiece...
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... and it does not even clash with the best rhino figure of all time, the CollectA big white, which shows again how decent that Safari model is :
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The rhino is great but there is a figure I was even more pleasantly surprised by...

In my goal to fill the gaps, there was two ABC species whose lack was unacceptable The African wild dog and the clouded leopard. I got the African wild dog from Mojo, maybe I shouldn't have, but now it's done and I am not likely to get the Safari counterpart anytime soon even if it's better (but it's also higher at the shoulder). However, there was no way I was going to choose the horribly painted Mojo clouded leopard. The Safari figure may be larger, fatter, and not catching as well the slender and agile silhouette of that mysterious jungle dweller but it's 50 times better painted and the fur pattern is actually that of a real clouded leopard.

The model, however, is far to be perfect. As I just said, it's chubby and big-headed, two characteristics that would be hardly and mercilessly criticized if it was branded Schleich instead of Safari. Actually, that clouded leopard strongly reminds me of a certain Schleich figure, the leopard mother from 2007 (that I still prefer than the newer rendition) :
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Of course the clouded leopard is better but you cannot deny they both share two similarities : proportions are the same BUT... both have very well painted faces and beautiful eyes.

That is even more striking when you compare it with a model from Papo, a brand known to respect proportions religiously. Here it is with Alain's first batch snow leopard wonder :
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I did not talk about that yet but you can tell from both pics that the model is also bit too big for standard-sized panthers since it's exactly the same size as both Schleich and Papo's figures while the real animal is supposed to be smaller. But that's something I can totally accept.

And you know what ? I DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THOSE "SCHLEICHY" (I'm using it but you know how much I HATE that adjective ) BAD PROPORTIONS, THAT BIG KITTY IS BY FAR MY FAVOURITE OF THE LOT OMG IT'S AWESOME !!!

And that for one reason. Something NO OTHER MAJOR BRAND FIGURE EVER MANAGED TO CATCH IMO.

I am a collector much focused on paintjob while others give more importance about the sculpt. And I think, the paintjob quality should absolutely be taken into account when felidae species are concerned. Because those beautiful predators have the most captivating eyes among mammals. And this clouded leopard is the very first figure that satisfies me in this regard.

I'm sorry but the eyes of a cat are definitely part of its visual identity. You can succeed in creating the most amazing mould ever, your cat won't look a real one if you fail the eyes. And between those two for instance, I prefer 100 times the clouded leopard...
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... even though it's quite obvious the puma has a better sculpt :
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As a conclusion, I am not afraid to say that this clouded leopard is one of the best felids in my collection. Maybe my first favourite, maybe my second one, anyway that's not the STS figure of the year contest here so no need to choose and thus, let's end on my best fitting comparison pic showing the two contenders which are also close neighbours in the jungles of South-East Asia :
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Once in a while does not harm, I did not keep the best for last that time. But no worries, there are still nice ones to come. After the mysteries of Asia, let's continue with two lovely Australian critters.
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My friend who did not like the rhino told me the Safari cockatoo's pose was ridiculous in his opinion. But he owns it anyway and I do now too because, I mean, it's a sulphur-crested cockatoo, an absolute ABC species everyone needs and the figure actually looks like a real cockatoo very much, never mind if it's clownish or not. Of course, I could spend hours describing how that gorgeous yellow crest is as bright as the sun at its zenith or how that white plumage is as immaculate as a maiden's virtue or... well, I mean, it's a cockatoo, it's good, you can all see it, I have to admit I am not as inflamed and inspired as I was by the two previous ones, the species is not as exciting neither

So I am just going to say that I actually like it, even if it's way too big for my Schleich macaws but Safari seems to do better parrots than Schleich so I may replace the macaws in the future.
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Anyway, it seems that I have long given up any sense of scale as far as parrots are concerned (please Pardo, don't laugh at me)...
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The next figure is more interesting. That's again, a species I could not miss. Wallabies are so common in zoos and so friendly, they are always the ones you are able to enter the enclosure of when they are not completely free inside the park ! Still, no other major brand has ever done one, always preferring the more famous red kangaroo cousin who is nevertheless not as widespread in captivity. That's a cute and friendly animal and it's hard to understand why it's so rare in toy form.

The Safari model represents a red-necked wallaby whose smaller subspecies, Bennett's wallaby, is the one you find in every zoo. I have also seen Parma wallabies in captivity and I would have been satisfied with both species but I am more happy with the red-necked because it's the one I hand-fed so many times when I was a child (and still do today from time to time !).

The figure is nice, and maybe even more appealing than the real animal since it's more finely-shaded than the indistinctly brownish/greyish critter I am used to. However, when you look carefully at pics and especially close-ups, you can see the details portrayed on the model actually exist on the real animal, even though they are not so obvious. The vertical line on the forehead I had never noticed despite dozens of individuals seen in real and the white strip above the mouth for example :
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However, I still believe it is supposed to represent the regular red-necked wallaby and not the Bennett's subspecies I'm familiar with. Bennett's wallabies are darker and have a more uniform coat in my mind.

Overall, if I had to sum up, I would say that it's not a spectacular figure, but the species it represents is not either, it's a simple but subtle and efficient model, three adjectives I used to describe Southlands' work. Indeed, I would not be surprised to see that wallaby branded Southlands Replicas and coming from me, it's definitely a compliment.

In any case, it fits amazingly well with kangaroos from other brands and other species. I already knew that, I had seen the comparison pics, that's why it was maybe the very first Safari that forum convinced me to get.
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However, it does not fit so well with its giant quokka friend although the two get along well with each other :
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That second comparison is interesting because it shows that unlike the quokka, this wallaby is not particularly cute, it's even slightly less cute than the real animal. I'm ok with that, it's better than the opposite way, but it is still surprising to see such a big opportunity to make a cute lucrative figure not taken

Let's cross the Pacific ocean to get to the Amazonian jungle of South America now ! This is always quite funny to notice that all my first purchases from a new brand lack any African species while those three continents are always overly represented : Asia, Oceania, South America. That's because they are wealthy of as many and often even many more iconic species but which are not as popular as the African fauna and are thus poorly represented within Schleich's and even Papo's ranges. Safari gives me the opportunity to expand my collection of many new South American species and I decided to start with two raptors I greatly wished, especially one of them.
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I never talked about it here but the harpy eagle is a species I almost worship. The bird bears the name of a flying monster of Greek mythology (for any further information, please contact Spacelab) how classy is that ?! And if this were not enough, it's actually a true, real monster ! I have to say I'm am that kind of zoology redneck who gets excited by the gaur because it's the heaviest cattle in the world, the taipan because it's the most venomous snake in the world and I do get excited by the harpy because it is the most powerful eagle and fiercest raptor in the world. Beauval, the largest zoo in France, received a lot of new species I have never seen since my last visit. The thing is... the harpy eagle is capable of making me forget all the others, even including the Tasmanian devil : ALL I WANT TO SEE IS THE HARPY !

So, no need to say my expectations were high for that species... and I knew the Safari model would not meet them exactly. The model is nice, the harpy is clearly recognizable but the paintjob is typical of the general idea I had about Safari (and which was a generalisation but still true in a few cases like this one). That secret friend of mine I already mentioned told me that Safari's painting sometimes made him think about comic books (even though he really likes Safari and helped me get these figures) and that's exactly my opinion about that harpy. It's a bit too bland and not shaded enough especially the talons. I am no painter so I don't know how to explain that but it's like if a layer was missing. The dividing line is also a bit abrupt between the different parts of the body : talons, legs, body, head. But that's no big issue.

The comparison with other raptors is a good surprise. I was pretty sure it would be a bit small compared with them (however, the eagles from the Schleich's birds of prey series are the oversized ones, they are big even for raptors' standards) and it is indeed, but at least, the difference in proportions is respected. Here it is with my eagle reference, the golden eagle from Schleich :
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Even if it's roughly the same size while it should be larger, the harpy appears bulkier and stockier, with a bigger head and talons than the frailer golden eagle and it's a good thing since a harpy has to look massive and powerful. So, a worthy addition to my collection, maybe not the masterpiece I was waiting for but still a pretty solid rendition of a species I definitely needed.

The second raptor was not as indispensable to me but ends up being a much much more enjoyable addition. When thinking about vultures, "pretty" may not be the first qualifying coming to your mind. The bearded vulture is an exception, the king is another one. With its very colourful head, it's one of the most charismatic vulture species. That head is tiny and not so easy to paint without making a mess but Safari did it very well. I had seen pictures on my regular British seller's Ebay page and it was not so clean that the sample I received so maybe I have been lucky.

Concerning the sculpt, it was hard to imagine a relaxed pose for the king. However, I am surprised they did not choose the typical full spread-wings pose, that one seems rather taking flight.

My friend warned me about its size, it would have been too big in my collection according to him. Well, it isn't. That's actually one of the best fitting additions of that lot. However, my friend is using the Papo griffon which is indeed slightly thinner than the Safari king while griffons are supposed to be twice heavier in real.
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That's a much better match for the Schleich pair however :
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But the most relevant is to compare it to its closest relative and South American neighbour. In French, the king vulture was known as the "pope condor" in my childhood. Since then, it has been renamed "Sarcoramphe" after its latin name but I will always remember the small colourful condor of my childhood. That's why I could not wait for the following comparison pic : two great species, two glorious models, working perfectly together :
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I wanted my order to be as diversified as possible so I also included three sealife species :
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I enjoy cetacean figures and I was missing a porpoise representative. Despite that, the porpoise was not included in my initial list. Matschie's tree kangaroo was in its place. But I was already doubting about it. Isidro first confirmed those doubdts and my friend's opinion about it was what I was waiting for to finally decide against it. Even though that's not the species I was expecting, Lumholtz's tree kangaroo from Southlands is better and made Matschie's dispensable. So, why not a member of a family not represented yet in my collection to replace it : the porpoises ?

I am not so familiar with those small dolphins so I may not be the most legitimate to judge the quality of this rendition. I was afraid it would be too big since I knew it was supposed to represent the smallest porpoise species, measuring only 150 cm. My friend told me Isidro had it and he was quite a reference about size (except for monkeys of course hehe) but I knew it would still be too small. Never mind, that's the only porpoise available in major brands' catalogues and at least, the size hierarchy is respected. It could even fit if you consider the Papo model as a very small two metres long bottlenose dolphin...
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... or white-sided Pacific dolphin :
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Oversized or not, it does not change anything, that orca does not care about conservation and will make a short work of its small endangered cousin :
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One of my main interests since I have discovered Safari has been their sharks. As some of you know from my collection topic, sharks are something I especially love collecting : the species are various, numerous, very different from each other, and very popular in toy form which gives a lot of choice. I knew sharks were one of Safari's strenght and I could not conceive my first purchase without at least one of them. The choice was obvious to me, I wanted no other than the one I was most familiar with as my first Safari shark. The most common shark in aquariums : the sand tiger shark.

With its ostentations teeth, that big fish looks nasty and dangerous and I think that's why it is so often kept in aquariums : it matches the general idea we have about what a shark is supposed to look like. That's a kind of poor man's great white in a way.

The Safari model is, perhaps, the only slight disappointment of this order. But it often happens when you are too familiar with a species. Sand tiger sharks really have a particular and typical facial expression with their big teeth and tiny eyes and the figure did not really managed to catch that IMO. Maybe the eyes are too big. As far as the sculpt is concerned, the body may be a bit too long and slender, not fat enough nor stocky enough.
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It results in a quite generic shark's body shape.

The paintjob however, shows a higher quality finish than Schleich's and Papo's sharks. As you'll see on the following pictures, a glossy layer was applied with the most beautiful effect. As a result, the figure looks not as "cheap" as other brands' sharks.

Sizewise, there is no real scale as far as sharks are concerned. Major brands tend to make all species roughly the same size. But there are huge size differences within a species, even sometimes more than between species, so that's something which has never bothered me that much.

Compared with the Schleich "true" tiger shark, the sand one appears too large since it is exactly the same size while it is supposed to be smaller (2-3m/160kg max vs 3-4m/600kg max). But I actually suspect the Schleich tiger to be the undersized one.
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Same size as the Papo bull shark too and that time, it matches reality perfectly. Fun fact : in French, the sand tiger shark is named "bull shark" while the bull shark is named "bulldog shark"
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As I pointed out, the higher quality finish of the Safari model is obvious on these pictures. However, I consider that both Schleich's tiger and Papo's bull catch better the typical expression of the species they portray and thus, are better representations than Safari's sand tiger.

I am much less reserved about the nurse shark which is IMO a true masterpiece. It was, however, my last choice as I could still add one figure to my cart before shipping increases. That's a common species in zoos too and thus, one I'm much familiar with too so it felt natural to me to buy it.

The glossy effect is even more pronounced on this one and it feels like we are looking at and touching a real shark's skin, that's awesome. Maybe the eyes are not so accurate neither, they should be smaller and not so open but I don't care since everything else is perfect.

Being a carpet shark, its relatives are the Schleich wobbegong and CollectA's zebra which it fits perfectly with :
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Many sharks will follow these two, actually all of them, except of course, the basking shark I will get from CollectA. My goal is to be the very first one to buy it and present it on forum by the way

Finally, last but not least, let's talk about the most controversial choice of this purchase but also my most unexpected surprise as a collector. Unusually, I did not keep the best for last (rhino and leopard) because I absolutely wanted to conclude with this one : the albatross.
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That's an ok model but it just cannot stand comparison with the wonderful 2016 STS Ocean Figure of the Year. Moreover, the beak's and feet's colour is not right for a wandering albatross. Finally, I already have the CollectA masterpiece. So why buy this one ? The answer is simple and predictable : size.

Indeed, I remember being truly horrified when I opened the package and discovered the CollectA albatross' real size. So disappointed. It was even more horrible that the model was gorgeous but I couldn't include it in my collection. So, I started to think about Safari's alternative as a replacement, asked Paige a comparison pic with a penguin and it seemed all right.
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As expected than, I was fully satisfied by my new albatross' dimensions when I got it out of the box one week ago, thinking with a lot of relief "Ah ! At last a reasonably sized albatross" Indeed, the beak's and feet's colour is something that can easily be fixed, even by me, while the size is not. So, I was happy with my new inaccurate hybrid

When I came back to my parents' house on thursday, I got confirmation of my assumption : that albatross was exactly the size I needed. My reference bird for comparison is the white pelican. Both are massive water birds and both are roughly the same size. A white pelican weighs 9 to 15 kg, a wandering albatross 6 to 12. So, with Schleich models, the Safari albatross is a perfect match :
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Now, let's have a good laugh together and use the CollectA albatross instead, in order to see how ridiculous the size discrepancy between these too is
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Wait... what ?! Is it me or there is not such a big difference I mean, the CollectA model is way more massive and obviously heavier than the pelican but... that's actually less shocking that what I remembered

Then, let's try an albatrosses comparison just to see...
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What the... ?!! They are the same size !!!

I mean, Paige told me that but I could not believe her from her penguin/albatross pic

Worse (or better) than that, they both fit pretty well together ! I mean, of course the Safari is not as detailed and their beak and feet are not the same coulour but with a few brushstroke, won't they form the most perfect pair to raise chicks ?

Wait wait wait, I DO have a chick !!! It means the family is complete, how wonderful is that !!!
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Ok, it does not work but at least I tried By the way, even if it's another species, that black-browed albatross REALLY does not fit at all. I got it in a hurry because it was retiring so if anyone wants it and has something interesting enough to offer me in exchange, just PM me.

That example shows us how subjective our perception of size in this hobby is. I ordered that Safari albatross as a replacement but it ended up making me fully accept the one it was supposed to accept. All's well that ends well, they lived happily ever after and had many chicks together turned out to be infertile and adopted an adult black-browed albatross suffering from primordial dwarfism to save their relationship after numerous failed attempts. Anyway, when you know how faithful those birds are it was way too sad to have only one.

As a conclusion, if I had to sum up, I would say that Safari is probably the major brand I had underestimated the most. None of the figures of that first order really disappointed me but don't forget that these choices are the result of a long and unforgiving one year long selection. Some models from Safari still don't convince me because of that typical "comic book" paintjob which is visible on the harpy eagle for example. However, I am happy to be able to make this topic at last, I was definitely drawing my feet to start collecting Safari and was missing a lot. Many new additions from that brand are likely to follow. All the sharks to begin with. Then, I am willing to correct some of my figure choices, especially the cassowary (however, there will be no replacement here, the Safari model will join as my CollectA's mate). I also would like to find mates for some of my lonely animals such as the CollectA white rhino. But most of all, even if size compatibility remains important to me, the albatross example opened my mind a bit more about that issue and I am now ready to accept three new slightly oversized models in my collection : the North American porcupine, the black howler monkey and the American badger. Still not the Aardvaark though And, one day, perhaps will I be ready to welcome the wonderful right whale and its CollectA bowhead cousin. But before that, my gut tells me that a little is currently crossing the Alps to meet me

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope next time we'll finally deal with some Japanese stuff !

Wooooow, what a dissertation! It's so long that I don't know where start to reply
I really believed that you bought some Bullyland. Yes they have a very different style but some figures can match into your collection despite that. I have the Asiatic black bear and the European bison (probably for the latter I would have chosen Schleich's instead, but is a matter of availability), and would like to have the capercaillie. But the style is sooo different that maybe you don't want at all. Probably don't, as it costed a lot to you to accept Safari and Mojo while I accepted a diverse array of brands since the begin of my collection.

Really very interesting and wisely chosen choices, as one would expect after so long meditation about which ones to buy. Sumatran rhino was of course one of the earlier figures of my collection. Clouded leopard is still in my wishlist. Yes it was a bit too big compared with my panthers but it's spectacular. I don't mind about the big belly, I already have a pregnant genet so why not a pregnant clouded leopard? But the thick legs are what I find less pleasant. Still in my wishlist after all, it's just the most beautiful feline in the world and I need one.

I will let the wallaby for you. I have nothing against it, it have good size, good proportions, good paintjob... but it's just a red-necked wallaby and that makes it pretty unexciting to me, contrarily to you. I prefair a red kangaroo just because they're more colorful. And if I had to choose a wallaby species, red-necked would be the last one to choose. They're just common as dirt in zoos

I would had buy the king vulture if was not by the size. It's a lot bigger than a diana monkey! No, seriously, it's much bigger than my California condor and all my other raptors. Otherwise, sculpt, pose and paintjob are perfect. As for harpy, I chosen the Colorata one, much better in terms of pose and general looking for me (and overall, much smaller, fitting sizewise in my collection), but it have the disadvantage of being an assembly figure.

Vaquita is a must have, and the spread of Safari's figure helpes a lot in taking concience about their extremely critical situation for general people. No wonder why it was one of my earliest figures. The only thing I dislike are the neat white rings around eyes - real vaquitas have a sharp dark circle around eyes, but not surrounded by a white ring around. In consequence I diluted a but the colours around the white circle adding a bit of whitish. Not sure if orcas are used to enter into California Gulf?? Probably if the do, vaquita would be extinct since many centuries ago...

Curiosuly we have the same case with common names of the sand tiger shark in Spanish, that is also called bull shark. Obviously is derived directly from the scientific name (Carcharias taurus), as in French. The bull shark instead is in Spanish called "tiburón sarda", I think that "sarda" is an old name for the Atlantic bonito, so it roughly wold translate as "bonito shark". But in Spanish, "bonito" means both the tuna species, as "beautiful". Resuming, what a linguistic nightmare!

I don't care about missing the Safari sand tiger shark, it's just too common in aquariums and I don't feel excited about the species. However I could accept it, the model is good. The mischievous looking and protruding teeth of this species certainly contributed to its frequency in captivity, but the main reason I think that is one of the very few big sharks that are very tame and easy to keep, and even to breed, in captivity, with little to no stress for the animals.

And... I want that wobbegong

And last but not least, the most important thing and what made me urgent to reply here: please DON'T repaint bill and feet of the albatross!!! They have the most accurate colour possible, and the incredible well done shape of the head, shape and size and proportions of the eyes are sublime. The only thing that can disappoint you is the size: is the same size than your wandering albatross, and it should be smaller. You get the point, not? That Galapagos albatross is in no way a wandering albatross! It would be like to say a Schleich tiger is inaccurate because is too orangish instead tan, and it have stripes and lack a mane and also lack a tuft of hairs at the end of the tail

By the way, the Papo black-browed albatross is the only one of my wishlist, the others are just ostrich-sized For wandering albatross there is a much smaller (and more realistic) Kaiyodo rendition, but the seams discourage me a bit.

I hope this is the first of many incoming batches! I still miss a lot of Safaris in my collection (including the cassowary and right whale you mention).

What a unbelievable phantastic presentation :)

Ben, my identity as a collector is completely influenced for 10 years of a very enjoyable array of friendly discussions about these models and for hundreds of other collectors that brought to my atention a myriad of figures I would never know they existed. When our identity is devoted exclusively to our tastes and personal experiences, it doesn't mean we have a stronger identity, it means we are narrowing it to our limitations. When we are able opening our minds to other's experiences, we are not copying anyone's identity, we are expanding it and giving to it another dymension.
I think the most enjoyable acqisition of my last years was the Lineol sable antelope and that joy would not be possible if I was not here with all our friends conspiring and opening my eyes to it.
Like Isidro, I thought you were also getting some Bullyland, I started thinking about the European bison, red panda and a few more that deserve some atention but it was a good joke and I am happy it is Safari instead.
The brand is not having its best days and this is a very oportune time to start collecting them.
I love most of your choices and I know I insisted with a few of them, namely the rhino and clouded leopard. It was a good reading for today and your final episode with the albatrosses is hilarious! ... but I think it illustrates perfectly what I mean about sizes. It is a lost fight unless we do as Roger, the 1:32 scale man.

Probably a great topic,

but alas, my *beep* old server connection keeps crashing, because the first entrance is too large.

Now I have written in a text document and hope it is possible to paste this before it crashes again

Wonderful new Safari models! Your analysis of them was fun to read. If you ever need more comparison pictures I am happy to assist as I have all the Safari models you mention, just say the word. Congrats!

Pardofelis wrote:

I really believed that you bought some Bullyland. Yes they have a very different style but some figures can match into your collection despite that. I have the Asiatic black bear and the European bison (probably for the latter I would have chosen Schleich's instead, but is a matter of availability), and would like to have the capercaillie. But the style is sooo different that maybe you don't want at all. Probably don't, as it costed a lot to you to accept Safari and Mojo while I accepted a diverse array of brands since the begin of my collection.

The Asiatic black bear is something I can't accept in my collection because if its size. I know it's ridiculous when you look at my budgie for example but as I said, acceptability is something very personal and I can't stand my largest bear to be an Asiatic black bear. Perhaps because that's bears and I know them well, it's always easier to accept oversized or undersized figures when you're not familiar with the species or don't care about the group. And it's a shame because that Bullyland bear is actually quite ok, way better than the Safari too "plastic-looking" rendition which is accurately sized...

I will keep my capercaillie and am not interested in the Bullyland but concerning the wisent... it's absolutely a huge shame I did not know that forum at the time of my figure hunts because first, it would have made great tales to tell here and second, you could have all given me your wishlists so that I do your shopping at the same time. I found several Schleich wisents in a small independant toy shop forgotten by the modern life of the 21st century... but did not buy any because I already had it from my childhood. Now that shop which did not survive competition with big store chains is closed definitely and those wonders are lost forever... I do like the Bullyland wisent, I even may prefer it to my Schleich. But am I ready to trade it with you, I'm not sure about that, just let me a few time to think about it.

It did not cost me anything to accept Mojo. From what I have seen of their 2021 releases, I even think Mojo is the true heir to golden age Schleich (while CollectA is different). But yes, I had to get used to Safari's paintjob.

Pardofelis wrote:

I will let the wallaby for you. I have nothing against it, it have good size, good proportions, good paintjob... but it's just a red-necked wallaby and that makes it pretty unexciting to me, contrarily to you. I prefair a red kangaroo just because they're more colorful. And if I had to choose a wallaby species, red-necked would be the last one to choose. They're just common as dirt in zoos

Still less common than ring-tailed lemurs !

But yes, as I pointed out, I have that goal to get all the ABC species while you don't.

Pardofelis wrote:

I would had buy the king vulture if was not by the size. It's a lot bigger than a diana monkey! No, seriously, it's much bigger than my California condor and all my other raptors. Otherwise, sculpt, pose and paintjob are perfect. As for harpy, I chosen the Colorata one, much better in terms of pose and general looking for me (and overall, much smaller, fitting sizewise in my collection), but it have the disadvantage of being an assembly figure.

My case is exactly the opposite. The core of my raptors collection is the Schleich Birds of Prey series. I did not start my collection as an adult so I got used to that size for raptor figures. So, the exact opposite happened to me : while you refused the king vulture because of your California condor, I refused the California condor I was able to find on the same website than the peccary (which should arrive next week) because of my Andean condor but accepted the king vulture because it is 100% perfectly sized to go with the Andean condor

Pardofelis wrote:

I'm aware about Colorata's harpy. Yeah, it's better but just "not my cup of tea" because of all those seals as you mentioned.

Yes, the vaquita is a wildlife conservation ambassador like the CollectA hirola. As I said, I'm not familiar with the species so I cannot tell for the white ring. About orcas, I just took that picture to match the general idea I have about orcas eating porpoises in general, not especially vaquita

Pardofelis wrote:

And... I want that wobbegong

I know, I always see you complaining about it being sold in a set

Pardofelis wrote:

And last but not least, the most important thing and what made me urgent to reply here: please DON'T repaint bill and feet of the albatross!!! They have the most accurate colour possible, and the incredible well done shape of the head, shape and size and proportions of the eyes are sublime. The only thing that can disappoint you is the size: is the same size than your wandering albatross, and it should be smaller. You get the point, not? That Galapagos albatross is in no way a wandering albatross! It would be like to say a Schleich tiger is inaccurate because is too orangish instead tan, and it have stripes and lack a mane and also lack a tuft of hairs at the end of the tail

Yeah, I know your opinion about that. But the plumage's colour is soooo wrong for Galapagos. I can't do it myself in that case, I need to hire a "merecenary painter"

Pardofelis wrote:

By the way, the Papo black-browed albatross is the only one of my wishlist, the others are just ostrich-sized For wandering albatross there is a much smaller (and more realistic) Kaiyodo rendition, but the seams discourage me a bit.

I don't need that Papo black-browed, if you want it I can trade it in exchange of the bustard or silky anteater

Roger wrote:

Like Isidro, I thought you were also getting some Bullyland, I started thinking about the European bison, red panda and a few more that deserve some atention but it was a good joke and I am happy it is Safari instead.

You know, I may REALLY review Bullyland one day but I think it will be a very raptor-focused topic since the only one I could be interested in are the great grey owl (I can get it for 15€ but I'm still undecided, 15€ is almost 3 Safari figures on the very good website I found) and, possibly, the cinerous vulture. I also saw on their catalogue that they had a kite. The military macaw interests me very much too but someone told me it would be huge. Perhaps the impala even if it's not very good to replace my Papo. I do agree that Bullyland made the best red panda but all those are retired and impossible to find now.

Roger wrote:

The brand is not having its best days and this is a very oportune time to start collecting them.

Financially you mean ? I really thought it was the American giant, the American Schleich. Do we know the market shares of the different major brands ? I would be a very interesting topic.

I'm proud I managed to make Susanne's server crash with my Lord of the Rings-sized novel !

Thank you Paige, your collection has been by far the most useful one to mine on that forum and your topic the only one I really follow

Wow what an amazingly long topic, so much information and all so useful!
This is definitely something to keep revisiting, to see all these fantastic comparisons and excellent pics of all the models!

Ohh no, I never meant to exchange my Bullyland bison by a Schleich one. Actually both look quite good for me. I just meant that if I had both to choose before purchasing, I would probably had chosen the Schleich one. Please keep your childhood bison! :)

Now I vaaaaguely remember a discussion we maybe had about if Safari albatross is wandering or Galapagos. Certainly it have an unmistakable Galapagos head and eyes, I need to see how it's the plumage.... then it's a chimaera?
Thanks for the kind offer of albatross, but I these are readily available at online shops just, like many other figures, it still was not chosen for next purchase
A figure like the great bustard would be very hard to do, but a sikly anteater is easier, and the price would be more affordable for you if you want :)

Galapagos Albatross :
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

But are you sure it cannot fit as a Galapagos sizewise ? It may look the same size on pic but I assure you it's way thinner and lighter than the CollectA wandering.
Wandering = 110/135 cm & 6-12 kg
Galapagos = 80/90 cm & 2.5/4 kg

Oh I see - belly should be smoky and back and wings completely fuscous. Right. But with the unmistakable head (eye size and position, bill shape and colour, head shape, etc) (plus grey feet) it should be regardes as a Galapagos albatross anyway. Like a lion whose mane is not darker than the body, but it's still a lion

Galapagos (waved) albatross:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Safari rendition:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

And now wandering albatross, see the much more tiny and centered eyes, rounder and thicker head, shorter bill, etc (plus bill and feet colour matching with CollectA):

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

Thank you for the discussion about the 2 albatrosses. I bought the CollectA once, and yes, it is very big. Seeing some discussions here, I thought that the Safari could be a Galapatros Albatross. So I bought it, too.
Now, I see that the Safari isn´t a perfect Wandering albatross (with it´s size, it can´t replace the Collecta as it´s nearly the same), but it isn´t a perfect Galapatros albatross, too - since the colours are not perfect.

So I´m happy to see this discussion again. Maybe I could repiant my Safari? Or I will accept that it hasn´t the most perfect colouration, as I´m not a very good painter.

Duck-Anch-Amun, CollectA is big, but not that much in the end... I think none of us having seen a wandering albatross in real makes us think that species is smaller than it really is. Wandering albatrosses are not like slightly big "gulls", they are enormous water birds, roughly the same size as a pelican. Of course it's too large compared to ostriches but those are scaled to fit with mammals. Within the usual major brands birds' scale, the CollectA Albatross fits with :
- The Schleich Andean condor
- The Schleich penguin's mould painted as a king
- Maybe even the Papo emperor
- The Papo Marabu
- Any parrot
- Any see bird

ect...

Not wanting to discuss it in scientific perspective, my opinion is that it is a Galapagos albatross but they avoided the dark feathered areas to turn the painting simpler and the figure more appealing. So they mixed the colorful legs and beak of the Galapagos with the feather colors of the most popular wandering. If I am right, it is not good for the company neither a praise to the figure.

RtasVadumee wrote:

Roger wrote:

The brand is not having its best days and this is a very oportune time to start collecting them.

Financially you mean ? I really thought it was the American giant, the American Schleich. Do we know the market shares of the different major brands ? I would be a very interesting topic.

We don't know numbers but I am sure Schleich is doing better in North American market than Safari in the European. Safari used to be very well positioned in their own market, regarding shops of thematic parks, zoos or similars but they ecently moved to a new cheaper place and there was an assumed risk of of bankruptcy. Their new releases also reflect some difficulties because some iconic series haven't received a new release for 2021. Schleich seems to be working normally but we never know.