2022 STS Figure of the Year - Papo Great Tit!!!

It is now my privilege to present the final stage of the Figure of the Year contest... Thank you friends for your participation in this year's STS Figure of the Year contest! It was exciting these last few weeks to see how each model was appreciated by members here, whether they collected that type of figure or not. As always, we have a superb line up and I am very curious to see how our village reflects their favorite this year... Happy voting my friends! 

Wow, it was a tough choice for me between the iguana and great tit, with Konobelodon as a third.

I picked the iguana; having recently analyzed this figure for my daily Museum thread, it's my top choice of what's available.

Great tit. Papo's birds are superb and I sincerely hope they continue the trend of small birds and songbirds because it is bringing some much needed diversity to our hobby!

What an exciting final line-up we have! All very worthy category winners and I can't wait to see how this poll unfolds!
My vote of course goes to the Shiba Inu, a lovely representative for the dogs! :)

I was going to post a group photo of the finalists but then I realized I don't have the bull, horse, or Shiba Inu

This is a very strong lineup and I'm honestly so torn between the Konobeladon, tit, & green iguana. My favorite for the year was probably Papo's magpie.

The konobeladon was so beautifully made and I loved all the details, it might be my favorite Eofuana model. The green iguana was very nicely made and the details were really incredible. The tit was another amazing bird by Papo and I loved it even more than my favorite from last year- the European robin.

I might vote for the tit but I'll probably change my mind a few times afterwards

I voted for the anglerfish in the end. It is an amazing creature, and CollectA have done a good job in portraying it. Good luck to whoever wins the competition.

Does anyone know how the Vincenzo horse scales with the CollectA? In particular, with the CollectA andalusian stallion? (The regular, not the 1:20)

Another useful comparison would be with CollectA equids (african ass, donkey, Grevy, ...)

Thanks

Virtem wrote:

Does anyone know how the Vincenzo horse scales with the CollectA? In particular, with the CollectA andalusian stallion? (The regular, not the 1:20)

Another useful comparison would be with CollectA equids (african ass, donkey, Grevy, ...)

Thanks

Hi, take a look at my (Saien´s) collection in the Collections section. I have group shots of some Wia horses with other brands, including Collecta. On page 2 is a photo of Wia Criollo stallion with Collecta Black forest stallion. I hope it will help you.

Already 54 votes and a big surprise for me  I hesitated between the Great tit, Green iguana and Konobelodon but it seems it doesn't matter now, a horse is running faster

Saien wrote:

Virtem wrote:

Does anyone know how the Vincenzo horse scales with the CollectA? In particular, with the CollectA andalusian stallion? (The regular, not the 1:20)

Another useful comparison would be with CollectA equids (african ass, donkey, Grevy, ...)

Thanks

Hi, take a look at my (Saien´s) collection in the Collections section. I have group shots of some Wia horses with other brands, including Collecta. On page 2 is a photo of Wia Criollo stallion with Collecta Black forest stallion. I hope it will help you.

Here a poor picture with CollectA's Grevy's and plains zebras, Mojo quagga, CollectA wild ass, Schleich wild horse and sorraia.

I haven't cast my vote yet but I am yet again surprised by current lead of the WIA! Not surprised by the quality of course, its a superb figure, but this community usually leans more towards wildlife usually (as there are forums specific for extinct wildlife and horse niches...).

Thanks @Roger @Saien
I think I'll get it

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

I haven't cast my vote yet but I am yet again surprised by current lead of the WIA! Not surprised by the quality of course, its a superb figure, but this community usually leans more towards wildlife usually (as there are forums specific for extinct wildlife and horse niches...).

STS is always full of surprise and I like that

Kikimalou wrote:

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

I haven't cast my vote yet but I am yet again surprised by current lead of the WIA! Not surprised by the quality of course, its a superb figure, but this community usually leans more towards wildlife usually (as there are forums specific for extinct wildlife and horse niches...).

STS is always full of surprise and I like that

Indeed! And agreed.

My comments about the finalists:
- EoFauna Konobeldon, a 5 stars figure, perfectly sculpted with a lot of scientific research. A museum piece in pvc, relatively affordable and at the same scale as other models of the same line. One of my two favorite figures here.

- CollectA Green Iguana
The excellence of the CollectA manufacturing working perfectly to allow a very realistic sculpt. This figure does not have the round unrealistic design of many other green iguanas being probably the best representative of the species.Size is big for a standard figure but size is just size.

- Papo Great Tit
Papo birds are already a symbol of these last years, the brand was initially famous for his feline figures but with this new generation of birds, they gained a special place next to the collecting community. They're rather simple sculpts and that's the reason they do not get my votes but they are very well painted and they match perfectly our taste.

- CollectA Anglerfish
The sculpt, species choice and the detail of the parasitic male are really exciting, ironically it seems the species chosen does not adopt the parasitic behaviour. It does not remove the whole quality of the figure as a very well sculpted and painted piece but we can't avoid it as a negative point.

- Safari Shiba Inu
It is a decent dog figure, but it is not on par with the other finalists in this category. Although we have seen better dog figures in previous years, it is still a nice model and a decent representative of the category.

- WIA Andalusian
Pure poetry, this figure gives us much more than a perfect sculpt. It is that kind of figures that have a special aura and represent something completely new and remarkable. One of my two favorite figures.

Papo Spanish bull tricolor
A serious sculpt with an animated pose and an attractive color. Papo doing good with their farm models too.

My choice is between the museum piece by Eofauna or the piece of Art by WIA.

Roger, that is a very astute observation about the angler fish, especially regarding the parasitic male. Out of interest, do you happen to know which species is represented by this model?

Hanno wrote:

Roger, that is a very astute observation about the angler fish, especially regarding the parasitic male. Out of interest, do you happen to know which species is represented by this model?

thanks but it is only a good observation if the identification happens to be correct.
Honestly, it matches nicely a Himantolophus (Footballfish) and it is on TAW as an Atlantic footballfish but I see subtle differences to the other figures representing this species. This parasitism is absent in the whole family. However, if you think it is supposed to represent a different family, it could be a good news, especially if it is one showing this behaviour.

I was a little sceptical about this one but ...wow!!! This spanish bull by Papo is AWESOME!!!

Im %90 sure the bird was the most voted because of it's name

I'm 90% sure we're all a bit too old and sensible to find tits funny

It's still looking odd so its natural to pick it

Thank you for the extra info, Roger. I expect you are correct, so maybe the manufacturer did not worry too much about taking a little bit of "artistic licence", in order to make the model more interesting and spectacular for the average, less discerning customer.

Hanno wrote:

Thank you for the extra info, Roger. I expect you are correct, so maybe the manufacturer did not worry  too much about taking a little bit of "artistic licence", in order to make the model more interesting and spectacular for the average, less discerning customer.  

I don't think so, they could easily have chosen a different anglerfish species and the spectacularity would be the same.
However, I'm not 100% confortable about the species identification and even if it is much likely a footballfish, and if it is a fact those do not show sexual parasitism, I think the male temporarily attaches onto the larger female before releasing the sperm.
I don't know if the figure intends to represent this short time, I don't think so, because it is just a temporary thing and after the sperm release, the male detaches. While in other species the male gets completely fused to the female for the whole live and it seems what this figure wants to show.
So, I believe they wanted to represent an anglerfish showing this behaviour but as an unfortunate coincidence, the species they based the figure is one of those which do not show this behaviour.
Sorry for being so repetitive.

Not at all repetitive, Roger: you are explaining the most probable scenario very well. Ultimately, one would have to ask the makers themselves exactly what they intended. It would be interesting to know just how much preliminary research they carry out on the subjects for their various models; I expect some manufacturers are less bothered about scientific accuracy than others (Eofauna is an obvious example of a manufacturer that base their models on the most thorough and up-to-date research available). Thank you for taking the time to answer my posts!

I am a little disappointed to see the bull perform poorly... The woodlands, horses, and prehistorics categories are all still in the lead. All 3 are superb models. I am not sure who to vote for myself still...