Disappointed with some of the Safari figurines I received

I hate it when that happens.

My disappointments - The Safari Oviraptor w/ nest. The catalog picture shows it with a really nicely detailed paintjob, but when you see it in person, it looks like just anybody could've painted it.

And more recently, the Papo Nile Crocodile... The painting is nothing like it was shown in pics. There aren't as many colors.

Abu Rai wrote:

Now I will repaint some of them, I suppose, but what to do with the legs? Is it safe to use the dryer to arrange the legs position?

You can do it with really hot and cold water too. Put the legs under the hot water, but take care they won't melt. Then change the position, and when you're ready, just put them under the cold water soo it will stay This worked perfectly fine with a Schleich horse, and their legs are a lot thicker.

Your repaints are wonderfull! The models look so much better now!

Thank you friends for your tips. Finally I use since months ago the hot water-cold water method and it works fine.

Mastiffcat wrote:

Joan, did you finish the bear? i don't recall seeing photos.

Yes Carolynn! here you have a picture:
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Metallisuchus wrote:

And more recently, the Papo Nile Crocodile... The painting is nothing like it was shown in pics. There aren't as many colors.

Totally agreed with that. The papo cocodrile is the best sculpted ever, but its paintwork isn't like the webpage one. It's in my repainting list :)

Glorious teddy

Joan, the Grizzy looks fantastic. Much much better than the way it was when you got it. Nice work.

Great repainting Joan! I hope Carolynn take a look at your bear.
I'd love to see the Papo crocodile repainted. It is indeed the worst point of that excelent sculpt. I think the Safari oviraptor is a fantastic figure. I haven't paid much atention to the painting but I'm usually a little negligent with the paintwork in prehistoric animals.

Roger, the Oviraptor's feathers are my main complaint. The pic shows them looking really vibrant, but it's very misleading in my opinion. For the most part though, I've been lucky. Some of my figures were bought in-person so I had the chance to see for myself.

scot(t) wrote:

Joan, the Grizzy looks fantastic. Much much better than the way it was when you got it. Nice work.

Absolutely

Roger wrote:

Great repainting Joan! I hope Carolynn take a look at your bear.
I'd love to see the Papo crocodile repainted. It is indeed the worst point of that excellent sculpt. I think the Safari oviraptor is a fantastic figure. I haven't paid much atention to the painting but I'm usually a little negligent with the paintwork in prehistoric animals.

About the PAPO paintings, it seems the company changed some... Sometimes it is better like IMHO the hyena and sometimes not. I can remember tree different painting for the white rhino cub... None was really good

Here's my newest complaint...

I just received some money for my birthday, and placed a $60 order at reallygreattoys.com - 2 things I got from Safari had the month/year mark placed in really bad spots - the leg of the Sable Antelope, and the tail of the Giganotosaurus.

If they're going to place date marks on these things, the least they could do is put them in a place you wouldn't normally see them, especially when the pieces are being displayed. I am now forced to place them at certain angles to avoid the date mark being shown... VEERRRYYY disappointed in Safari...

I love the bear's face Joan! Beautiful repaints

A wonderful bear Joan!! Big congratulations!!

Metallisuchus wrote:

Here's my newest complaint...

I just received some money for my birthday, and placed a $60 order at reallygreattoys.com - 2 things I got from Safari had the month/year mark placed in really bad spots - the leg of the Sable Antelope, and the tail of the Giganotosaurus.

If they're going to place date marks on these things, the least they could do is put them in a place you wouldn't normally see them, especially when the pieces are being displayed. I am now forced to place them at certain angles to avoid the date mark being shown... VEERRRYYY disappointed in Safari...

Safari does this a lot. Papo is not as bad as Safari, but they sometimes do it too. I have no idea what the thinking is behind this practice, but it is definitely frustrating; I agree. On the other hand, I'm surprised at how quickly I stop noticing the numbers and am able to enjoy the figures despite them. I really wish they'd relocate them more discreetly, but it hasn't stopped me from buying the models and probably that's why Safari (and other companies) don't seem to care.

And Joan, I think I already posted something to this effect, but if not: the repainting of the Safari Grizzly is fantastic! great work!

thank you friends :)

Congratulations on your newcomers!
As for paintjob- well, it's always been quite poor (unlike to the detailed molds)

Safari Model is not so bad overall. But some of the paint job needs to be more refine.

Hi, I'm new here. I mainly collect Schleich apes, but I bought a few Safari monkeys, as they do more species, and have to agree that the quality doesn't always match up to the catalogue photos. I bought from ebay, and most sellers seem to use the catalogue pictures rather than in-hand photos, which can be very misleading.

Actually most of them weren't too bad, but the one I was most looking forward to was the chimp with baby, and that one fell well short of expectations... the online photo looked very realistic, with a lot of shading in the faces, but the actual figure has a very basic, flat paintjob, plus the baby's eyes look a bit wonky - though they seem to be painted neatly within the lines, so I think it must be a wonky sculpt!

Also, I wish these figures were more in scale with Schleich, but they are all bigger.... not too noticeable with the orangutans, but the spider monkey and lemur are about the same size as my chimps! I also bought the golden lion tamarin, and was surprised how big it is! My own fault for not reading the specs properly, but I didn't realise they made different scaled figures. It's a very nice piece, but doesn't fit at all with my display.

I'm now waiting for a Papo mandrill and a couple of CollectA baboons to arrive, so will be interesting to see how they fit in with my monkey collection!

Welcome sebillba

When you watch a McDonalds commercial bragging about their burgers,notice how appetizing and nicely,slowly,yet carefully they are made? Then walk off to McDonalds to buy a burger.You receive it on a tray.It is all messy,and falling apart,and looks like slop.Thats how some things are saddly.Its a shame,especially in the collecting world.

I personally prefer the hot and cold water treatment for correcting distorted figures. Anything made out of PVC will snap back to it's original molded configuration that way (Colorata figures are easily fixed this way as they're often distorted by being packed in those tiny packing crates the sets come in). Basically, place the figure in a Pyrex bowl sufficient to submerse the figure (or at least the part you want to correct). Boil up a kettle of water. Whilst this is in progress start your cold tap running at moderate speed (not too fast and forceful). If you're using an electric kettle wait until the auto cut out and the open the lid and boil for a little longer. Pour the water into the bowl but not directly onto the figure. Watch to see what happens for a few seconds. As I said, anything which is PVC or high PVC content will move back to it's original molded position quickly so at that point remove the figure (I usually use a fork or salad tongs - DO NOT USE YOUR FINGERS!). Do this gently as excessive force may mark the figure. Then hold the figure under the cold tap for a few minutes or in a bowl of cold water with ice cubes added. As soon as the figure is cold it will hold it's shape permanently unless exposed to high temperatures again. I've used this method on all sorts of figures but with some, such as Safari, you may need to gently hold the parts in place before you submerse in cold water. This method also works on rubberised figures but requires multiple applications before you get the desired effect. Also, do not leave the figure in boiling water especially if it's PVC. The figure will not completely melt but will become completely floppy. It's not a complete disaster as you simply start again when it's cooled down but I've never been daft enough to let one go that far! I used to be a professional model maker in my youth and used this method often as part of the customisation process however, if your making major changes such as repositioning limbs etc, you will need to plan it in advance as you may need to use a knife to remove excessive plastic from some areas before you make the changes. It all depends on how far you want to go.

...The poor painting is a usual problem of Safari models. I am full agree about snow leopard and grizzly!  

Beautiful repainted Bear!

My Nayab Eurasian Cheetah could REALLY use that bend method on his left hind foot because it came VERY bent.