Spacelab's Collection FINAL PART.

The truth is I was never intended to show my animal models Collection, either because I think it has nothing special to add to the wonderful collections I've seen here or because it's not much intriguing for me to shoot photos. I don't even have a proper camera nor do I consider myself a "serious collector" of these toys. I just love animals too much and the birth of my daughter some years ago gave me an alibi to bring home miniatures of the available animal species in this form. So I ended up with a synoptic, still not complete, one.
Still, I wasn't too keen of presenting it for the reasons above. Then I had this idea of making it more interesting for me. I thought that my whole life was always around music, an art I equally love with animals. It would be much more enjoyable for me to find a way to link my animal photos with music, searching through my records collection. A song, a video, a band, a record or something that matches literally or metaphorically the animal species presented. This motivates me more, knowing of course that it might be too boring for some, but then again this is me and this is my collection topic. It's my life.  

So, this is just the intro, no photos yet, just a music video to sum-up things.

The song is called "It's My Life" by the wonderful English band Talk Talk, released in 1984. A mediocre synthpop hit at its time, I think it became much more popular some decades later from the No Doubt cover version. Anyway, the video is very sweet, directed by Tim Pope (known for his work with The Cure) and consisting partly of footage from wildlife documentaries but also from shots of the singer in various places at the London Zoo. A chance for some to compare if this iconic Zoo has changed at all the last 35 years... A video that ends with a kangaroo enjoying the sunset can't be that bad, right?

First part of photos very soon!

A wonderful song.

Can not await to see your collection

Excellent idea and I cant wait to see your collection! Great song to start off with.

You're probably the most charismatic, frequent poster and long time registered member, whose collection we never saw. And I sometimes divagates about how your collection would be. Finally this moment is very soon to arrive! :)

One more epic topic is starting on forum. I also antecipated a lot this day. You couldn't choose a better video for a start. Bravo!

Perfect start, I cannot wait to see your photos!

What the... You told me you were going to do it but I didn't expect it so soon !

The concept is very original, very personal too and is going to make that collection topic one of the most interesting ones, no doubt about it.

If I can suggest you something, it would be to include pictures of the physical records your are posting and the stories behind them. The story behind the figure AND the story behind the record. That's what I want to read. I don't really care about seeing the same exact models over and over again, what I want is to read is the personal stories behind each particular sample because I do believe a collection tells a story.

So I think that, beyond our common aesthetic preferences, we also share a quite similar conception of the collecting hobby, as I can't think of a song with a better title than this one to sum up what your are  going to tell us in this thread.

Part 1 : Oxygène - Penguins have landed

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L to R
Emperor Penguin (Schleich 2011)
King Penguin (Happy Kin)
Adélie Penguin (Happy Kin)
Gentoo Penguin (CollectA 2012)
Rockhopper Penguin (CollectA 2012)
African Penguin (Collecta 2015)

I thought I start with these birds, since there is already some discussion in other threads. Not much to say really, I think all 6 are good renditions of the real creatures. The Schleich Emperor could be a little bigger to fit the other's scale, but then he would not fit to the seals scale, so I'm OK with him since he is still bigger than the rest. Also I love this model. The Happy Kin penguins were a pleasant surprise, they fit well and they are quite accurate.

There are many songs related with penguins, but nothing matches the one I post here, though it's not really about Penguins. But whenever I listen to it I think of Penguins and whenever I see Penguins I think of this piece of music.
It was the end of 1976 when young Jean-Michel Jarre released his ground-breaking album Oxygène and actually made electronic music and synthesizers accessible to the masses. For some strange reason the video made a couple of years later (and reworked many times through the years) had penguins, many penguins.. It was on TV regularly, I'm not really sure if we had colour TV by then.. But I remember very well my reaction when I heard it: "What the **** is this sound?"  I was about 8, it was maybe the first time I heard pure electronic music, stripped-down Synthesizers, no recordings of other conventional instruments and this white noise effect.. Well, my father did not agree to sell an old cheap Piano to buy me a real Synthesizer then, but after some years when I was 15 he brought me my first analogue Roland synth from a trip he was in Paris, the same city Oxygene was recorded. Life changing gift...

Anyway, I've seen monsieur Jarre in zoos and in the wild, I mean concerts and real life.. Very cool guy,  a gentleman really, I made a terrible mistake missing an offer to interview him because it had to be done for a mass media and not my own alternative one. Mistakes of youth. Well, the video:




I also searched through my record collection to see if I find any record's artwork with Penguins I like. Well, I have this 7" single from 1989 that I love, an obscure alternative guitar-pop song from a London band, The Field Mice. The main song is called "Sensitive" ( [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ) and it has become very rare and much wanted in the Record Collector's market, selling for more than 120 euros in good condition. The single's cover:

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thanks for your feedback, Part 2 soon!

Great first post, that's exactly what I wished to hear... I mean read... and hear too actually !

Thanks for making me discover the happy kin penguins. The king pleasantly surprises me, it's really, really convincing, maybe even more than my new Schleich actually. Like my recur whale which I love even if it's not 100% accurate, that penguin is a proof that second-class brands are also able to produce very good figures despite an average lower quality. I'm not as much convinced by the Adelie penguin which seems a bit tall and slim to me, and may have a proportionally too small head and bill compared to the rest of the body. But maybe it's also because I have the Colorata model strongly in mind.

The other choices are the same as mine, except the African penguin I'm going to receive next week and the emperor I replaced by Papo.

I love the song you chose, even if I was absolutely unaware that its official video showed emperor penguins ! To be honest, I discovered that song on radio but... not in real life !!! It was in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV in which you can listen to the radio while driving a car. Generally speaking, I enjoy electronic stuff of that kind, like Air, but we already talked about that a while ago.

Why did you refuse the interview ? You were a young rebel who didn't want to be a mercenary for mainstream mass media ?

Your post motivated me to show my new custom king penguin from Andrés, I wanted to wait a bit more before presenting it or even use it for the painting contest but I read the rules and we are not supposed to start painting before May while it's already done. So I guess your choice to show your penguins today is a sign of destiny

Great first group! I like that one emperor, it looks like its about to cuff its neighbor. 

RtasVadumee wrote:

Why did you refuse the interview ? You were a young rebel who didn't want to be a mercenary for mainstream mass media ?

A bit more complicated than this, I just felt it was an unfair deal at that point. Details are boring, but now I regret it. Ethical egoism can lead to bad decisions.

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Great first group! I like that one emperor, it looks like its about to cuff its neighbor.  Laughing

Oh yes, someone's not behaving here..

Thank you all!

What a wonderful group and wonderful song, it's so interesting to read all your views about them!

I am really enjoying it and I even think I remember watching this video with penguins. I think it is no difference if we watched it on a color tv or not. It is also nice to remember these known songs and their identity. From my ignorance, I would easily think it was from Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou instead. Papathanassiou? ... what a nice name for a penguin. I love the Happy Kin penguins, the king has a very expressive pose. It is also very characteristic the Adélie penguin with the pair of eggs. I really love penguins, not like a kid, much more.

This is a really interesting and personalized way to see a collection presented, looking forward to seeing more! The models themselves are so neat. That king penguin is indeed awfully expressive and fun.

part 2: The Pigs

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Photo 1, L to R
Warthog Piglet (Schleich 2010)
Warthog Boar (Schleich 2010)
Red River Hog (Collecta 2012)
Giant Forest Hog (Nayab)
Sulawesi Babirusa (Collecta 2015)
Asian -Ussuri?- Wild Piglet (Collecta 2010)
Asian -Ussuri?- Wild Boar (Collecta 2010)
European Wild Boar (Schleich 2017)

Photo 2, L to R
Domestic Boar (Collecta 2019)
Swabian-Hall Boar (Schleich 2009)

Photo 3, L to R
Hungarian Boar (Collecta 2014)
Vietnamese Pot-bellied Sow (Schleich 2014)

I love pigs, they are smart, funny and playful. Also they can be dangerous. I still like very much this old Schleich Warthog, so I don't intend to replace it. Some months ago I spend all my morning trying to identify the CollectA Wild Boar. The good thing is that CollectA gives a clue, presenting it as an Asian subspecies, so the possible choices are less. My best guess is the Ussuri Boar, considering the fact that CollectA sometimes exaggerates a bit (the Rhino horn for example) and this beast's ears belong to this category. The sow though fits even better for this subspecies. If you have another clue, I'd be glad to discuss it.
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The Domestic Pig is just fantastic, the best paintjob I've seen in this species, very realistic and a heavy quality model. Recommended 100%. The Swabian has a doggy pose somehow, but they do act and look like dogs sometimes, in my eyes at least.

I have one more model that doesn't fit in my collection size-wise, so I'm not sure yet what to do with it. Maybe I'll sell or trade it at some point. The small and beautiful Play Visions Warthog.  
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For my music video I had many options, pigs are more popular than you might think in the pop and rock culture. So here is "We are the Pigs" by Suede, released back in 1994. This video was banned from MTV for scenes of violence, we all know how much conservative MTV was. Still, better than the reality garbage channel it has become nowadays. Suede is a band I admire more and more through the years, I've seen them perform live several times and I assure you they worth every cent you pay for their shows. Pure energy and soul-stirring drama. I actually met my wife in one of their concerts, so this maybe makes them the most important band in my life.



I should choose an album cover too. Well, my favourite "pig" artwork is still a 1982 album by The Damned called Strawberries. A Pig photo with a strawberry on the head on the front-cover, the same pig happy among many strawberries on the back. You can see pics below, but what's more interesting is that the lyrics insert of the original UK issue was smelling of strawberries when it was released. I took out the record after many many years yesterday and you know what? After almost 40 years, the scent of strawberry is still there..

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I hope I'll get back sooner next time! thanks for your comments.

Your selection of pigs is not very different from mine and I really like the use you give to that CollectA wild boar that is a figure many of us ignored.
I always suggest the Safari Peccary, a very interesting species and the size is what we can expect for a standard sized collection.
I think I don't have domestic pigs.
Interesting all the story around the Suede. In 1994 I was still in high fever about music and many of my favorite albuns are from that year but I confess I don't remember Suede. Maybe it worth to take a look or to give a ear. It is easy to understand why this band is so important for you.

I didn't know that band and song either but I have to confess my musical knowledge is very low

It's nice to listen, not as much my cup of tea than the first one though.

I can understand the link you share with that band, most or even all songs I like and never stop to listen are memories of past events, parts of my life, people, and, well, women I loved most of all even if I was in a relationship with none of them as you know. So I just am merely able to imagine how important that band is to you, when it is so strongly associated with the woman who shares your life and you had a child with.

I guess the "scent of straberry" you managed to keep for 40 years significantly increases its value on Ebay Maybe you should even go to Las Vegas and offer it to Rick Harrison, he will call one of his experts who will tell you the exact price of that "scent of strawberry" [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

About pigs now, thank you for making me discover the swabian, I like its look and may consider it for my farm as I still need an actor to portray the Trotsky pig

About wild boars, I don't see why there would be any need of replacement concerning what you call the "old" warthog. It's not old at all, will never be actually, and until the release of the Mojo, it is IMO the best rendition of this species.

I have always dreamt of a giant forest hog, a monster that has always strongly made me think of your local Erymanthian boar Unfortunately, your Nayab model, despite making the species quite recognizable, is too small for me as I want my forest hog figure to look what it is in real : a true monster

Really great pigs and music again! 

What a beautiful selection of pigs!

RtasVadumee wrote:

About pigs now, thank you for making me discover the swabian, I like its look and may consider it for my farm as I still need an actor to portray the Trotsky pig
About wild boars, I don't see why there would be any need of replacement concerning what you call the "old" warthog. It's not old at all, will never be actually, and until the release of the Mojo, it is IMO the best rendition of this species.
I have always dreamt of a giant forest hog, a monster that has always strongly made me think of your local Erymanthian boar Unfortunately, your Nayab model, despite making the species quite recognizable, is too small for me as I want my forest hog figure to look what it is in real : a true monster

Yes, I'm sure you'll love the Swabian, perfect for your play. I called the warthog "old" just because there is a new one. But it's true, this is the Parthenon of warthogs.  
You are right about the forest hog. It's a bit small. Actually for Nayab's scale it's as big as it should be, but this company uses a smaller scale for its models. I can pretend it's a small or younger individual, at least until CollectA releases a proper sized one!

Roger wrote:

Interesting all the story around the Suede. In 1994 I was still in high fever about music and many of my favorite albuns are from that year but I confess I don't remember Suede

Well, Suede are not huge like U2 in terms of invading the mainstream, but also far from being Britain's best kept secret.. I'm trying not to post too much unknown stuff here. They had 3 of their albums on no.1 of UK's charts in the 90's, also had the fastest selling debut album that decade (it was already Gold from pre-orders) and were on the cover of Melody Maker (one of the most important music magazines) before they even had a record out.  But I know you had your ears turned to the other side of the Atlantic those old times.  
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A piece of history for the music industry this cover.

Thank you all!

part 3: Hares & Rabbits

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L to R
Wild Rabbit (Schleich 2010)
Mountain Hare (Schleich 2013)
European Hare (Schleich 2005)
European Hare (Collecta 2006)
Domestic -Checkered Giant- Rabbit (Schleich 2011)
White Rabbit (Nayab)

I'm not much into religion stuff but I like some traditions and since it's the Greek Easter these days I thought it was time for my bunnies!
My first lagomorph was the Schleich Mountain Hare that I actually bought for an Arctic Hare, then move it to Europe, then some still doubt it, oh these bunnies are always confusing.. Seeing my list now, it seems I'm left without an Arctic Hare, which was the species I wanted more at first place. Papo's arctic does not seem to fit either as an Arctic one and Safari's rather a bit large and far from perfect, so I'll wait.
I think all the others in the photo came (almost) unintentionally in lots or trades, like the beautiful Wild Rabbit that Paige sent me. I still don't know what to do with the Nayab one, it has almost the same sculpt with the Papo Arctic Hare but painted as a Domestic Rabbit, so I just name it White Rabbit..
There are 3 more chocolate rabbits in my home at the moment, I'm not sure they'll make it until Sunday...

--

There are some songs that are too tightly bonded with a theme, like in this case. So, I won't post a favorite of mine, but an oldie even for my generation. It's the ultimate Rabbit song, covered dozen of times by many artists. Here is a recent video of the original version of "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane that came out in 1967, a psychedelic-rock classic inspired by Lewis Carroll novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.
"One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small,
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all..."
Well, it's the late 60's..



For my Records Collection bunny artwork I was not sure which one to choose, so I'll post two. On the left it's an album by German band Deine Lakaien called White Lies from 2002 and on the right the Swans double album White Light From The Mouth Of Infinity from 1991. Interesting coincidence that both records have the word "White" on the title, like the song on the video I posted too..

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A last one, I couldn't end this post without mentioning a favorite film of mine with one of the most iconic rabbit characters, Frank Rabbit. I'm talking about the cult classic Donnie Darko, a science fiction psychological thriller from 2001. Besides being a great movie, the soundtrack is also amazing and you can also have fun with the "Donnie Darko explained" articles or videos after seeing it. I recommend it anyway for various reasons. Here is an updated trailer:

Schleich was coerent this time, the white hare online sources refer to it as a Mountain hare. They introduced a less known species with the exact same potenttial of sales because both species are almost alike. A point for Schleich in this case.
For those interested in wild white hares, we have [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], here a [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
I have the Papo Arctic hare and it is not as faithful to the species as it is the Safari model. Though, the Safari figure may not be appealing to everyone. Your Nayab model is clearly an Easter rabbit.

Roger wrote:

Your Nayab model is clearly an Easter rabbit.

Now it's an Easter Rabbit, next week I will identify it as an American Rabbit. And the future is full of surprises..