Collection Review: CollectA Sheep, Gazelle and Goat Species

Figure Brand: CollectA

Figure Name(s): Chiru 88721
Markhor 88641
European Mouflon 88682

Sex: All Male

Name: Chiru- Elbio (Celtic- He who comes from the mountain)
Markhor- Orosco (Greek- ‘he who lives in the mountain’)
European Mouflon - Aldred (English- Wise/red haired)

Year Made: Chiru - 2015
Markhor - 2013
European Mouflon - 2014

Observations/Thoughts:
These little mountain dwellers from CollectA are great. I do think as goat species go, CollectA are probably the best out there at making them, all of these guys here are so detailed and very realistic.

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Elbio the Chiru is my second favourite of the trio, prior to spotting him online I had no idea these animals existed. He’s very lithe and nimble looking and his horns standing up straight like they do are cool to look at. The animal itself seems to be a small and sleek little goat which I think CollectA has really captured. He stands flat, looking as if he’s very interested with something across on another ledge, though my particular model has horns that actually curve in and touch together- maybe it’s normal for these models?

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Orosco the Markhor is my favorite of the trio and my favorite goat species I have. So far, I don’t think I’ve seen another brand with as nice a markhor as him? What I love is the long curling horns, the mane and the overall lovely tone of light grey to yellow cream which his mane blends into. He’s also got darker shadows down his back and a lot of dark shadowing from mane to chin.  An overall nice looking little figure of this animal.

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Aldred the European Mouflon is a nice little figure too, he’s a typical goat/sheep type figure, with the head down in a grazing pose. His horns are the typical thick curling inwards type and his coat is a really nice mix of russet brown, to black to white grey- particularly on his middle, he’s also got a slight little neck mane too and really bright yellow eyes!

Rating: Chiru – 5/5
Markhor – 5/5
European Mouflon – 4/5

Those are among the many jewels CollectA released during that period. We witnessed the best era for collectors of ungulates with so many unusual species and almost always very well replicated.
CollectA tries to sculpt the animals as delicate as possible to turn them into faithful renditions of the real thing. There's a minus, it means that some figures have very thin parts and to avoid them from breaking easiily, they're made of a material that easily bends. However, it can be fixed with hot water which will soften it and allow you to restore back its original shape. You can find some topics on forum about the technic.

I do wonder Roger if it's my figure only or all of them, do all Chiru horns slightly tip together like this? If so, it's very similar to the real thing. But your right, CollectA definitely have the most realistic hoofed species like this in my opinion.

You can compare your model with the official photo below and the one photographed for Toy Animal Wiki. Since the horns bend easily, there's always little differences. As long as it is not far from the real thing, it is OK. Your model horns seem to curve inwards slightly more than the average but it looks fine to me, I wouldn't change it.

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They DO look a good bit different alright, maybe they just got pressed in in delivery/storage etc?
No worries about them anyway....

Brandubh94 wrote:

They DO look a good bit different alright, maybe they just got pressed in in delivery/storage etc?
No worries about them anyway....

Right, the way they are stored is decisive, especially if they are exposed to contrasting temperatures which will reshape the delicate parts according to the way it is beingg pessed. Apparently, the left horn is in its correct shape, the problem is the right horn. It won't be that easy to give the correct shape to it. Some of my antelope figures have their horns slightly deformed since I moved a few times and needed to get them boxed for a long time. It is not exclusive to CollectA, my Safari Arabian oryx have its horns completely clipped together and since they're made of a harder material, I risk to break them if I try to fix it. It rarely happened with Schleich because they used to sculpt much thicker horns to avoid it from breaking or bending. Though, I suspect the newer Schleich models, like the gazelle, will bend easily if we're not careful enough.

Some very nice models!

All three of them are on my wishlist. I think my favourite is the Markhor too. His horns are so impressive! CollectA is just one of the best in this sphere, you always remind me that I need to get more of their figures. I just wish that they would also make more females and calves and not only males.
And I love the names you have given them!

Thank you Katy and I think the reason the ladies of the species don't be made much is maybe as with a lot of females of certain species, they haven't got the horns, and lots of people might not find them exciting?

That's kind of what I was thinking about either. The same happens with birds for example no one makes female turkeys or peafowls because they are just not as colourful as their male counterparts. For me as a family collector that is really a nightmare and just for people that love these animals whose females we're probably never going to see. I think that especially in a "set" with their males the females would make a nice contrast to them.

And they do the males and females of horses and a lot of cows, so it would be nice to see the girls of these species too, and they don't have to be boring, they can be in different poses too.