Figure Brand: CollectA and Papo
Figure Name(s): Mountain Nyala (88688)
kudu (50104)
Bongo (88809)
Sex: All Males
Name: Mountain Nyala- Kiran- Hindi, ray of light
Kudu- Ciarán- Irish, dark/black
Bongo- Neo
Year Made: Mountain Nyala- 2014
Kudu- 2009
Bongo- 2017
Observations/Thoughts: I like these unusual antelope species and I love when a figurine company comes out with them. I know bongos can be well known enough but I’m really not sure about kudus and nyalas? I’d safely say they would classify as rare and unusual animals. The Kudu and the nyala also look really similar, as in real life the animals do resemble one another, but one is from Papo, the other CollectA, its curious that they have a nearly identical colour brown and cream/grey markings.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]If I had a least favourite it would probably be Kiran the Mountain Nyala. I don’t know why but I’m not a fan of his pose, I know it’s made to look like he might possibly be trudging up a mountain, or quietly pacing through a quieter forest, but it’s the fact his head is nearly on the same level as his body…I dunno. Another thing I’m not sure about is the scratchy feeling of him, sounds weird but he isn’t a smooth model, he feels strangely scratchy?
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Confusingly enough I also named the Kudu a really similar sounding name of Ciarán, and though I do really like the animal figurine itself, I’m not sure the colour is quiet right? I find in looking them up the animal themselves seem to have a light grey to tan brown coat, not the brown used in the model. It would be nice to see a Kudu model from Papo maybe redone in a grey brown? Other than that there’s nothing really wrong or incorrect with the model. He stands upright with all four hooves on the ground, one hoof slightly forward and in a somewhat neutral pose. He’s also got a very thick neck mane/ruff and a very pronounced shoulder hump which I like.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]My favourite of the trio is Neo the Bongo, probably because he’s modelled so nicely, he’s a really rich brown and I don’t think there’s a lot of bongos about as figurines. He’s a really lovely rich russet brown and he too stands in a neutral standing pose, but that’s fine for what he is, his markings and thick but long horns add nice interest to the model instead. His stripes are really narrow but plentiful, his markings and horns do seem realistic and the overall feel of the figurine is chunky and strong with a certain amount of weight to him and very smooth to touch.
Rating: Mountain Nyala- 3/5
Kudu- 4/5
Bongo- 4/5