CollectA, MOJÖ and SAFRI Ltd Sable Antelopes (Male) - Compare and Contrast

I was going to just tack this on to my collectA collection thread, but thought it might be worth keeping it separate (in order to reduce messiness).

I've been wanting to do this for a while (or honestly, hoping someone else would do it). Then today, while I was trying an alternative set up for taking pictures of models (something more like how Christophe and Harriet sometimes shoot), I used the three Male Sables to experiment and decided to use the pictures as an opportunity to discuss some of the relative merits and flaws of these models.

This year, 2012, we saw Safari, Mojo Fun, and CollectA all release a male Sable Antelope. To me at least, that's very exciting. I should say right off the bat my aim isn't to give an overall ranking of these models. I confess, I do prefer the Mojo and CollectA to the Safari. But I admire all three, and I can't pick a favorite between the CollectA and the Mojo. But fortunately I don't have to rank them overall in order to discuss some of their relative merits and flaws, which is what I plan to do.

I'll start with the pictures. Then I'll identify some categories for comparison and give my own views about how each model fares. (The categories will be: Overall Accuracy of Shape, Accuracy of Relative Proportions, Accuracy of Paintwork, Quality of Paintwork, and Pose. If I can think of more, I'll add them.)

Here are the three individual models to start.

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(sorry, the pictures of the Safari model against the blue background turned out funny, color-wise.)

Now before some comparison shots and shots of the heads, let me throw in some pictures of real male sables, pictures that give us a good model for how they appear.
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Now some comparisons shots.

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Finally, some close-up shots of their heads (for fun) (CollectA, Mojo, then Safari):

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Okay, now for my thoughts. I begin with a reminder that I don't pretend to be an expert in Zoology, Biology, or Animals. Take my views with a grain of salt.

Remember also I'm not interesting in ranking these figures in overall quality, but merely in comparing them with respect to several specific categories. They are: (1) Overall Accuracy of Shape, (2) Accuracy of Relative Proportions, (3) Accuracy of Paintwork, (4) Quality of Paintwork, and (5) Pose.

1. Overall Accuracy of Shape. Here I'm interested in which figure renders, overall, the shape of the Sable most accurately. I think the CollectA is probably strongest here. The Sable has compact, triangular shape: Its back slopes down, but the vertical line one might use to trace its chest forms a right angle with the line tracing its stomach. This is what I mean:
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I think all the figures get this to some degree or another, but CollectA gets it best and it is Mojo's biggest flaw. The trunk of the Mojo figure is too long. If you could bring the bum and the chest of the figure closer together without changing anything else, the Mojo figure would fit that Sable-Triangle shape just perfect.

2. Accuracy of Relative Proportions. But here is where the CollectA figures encounters its biggest flaw: The head is too big relative to the rest of the body. And what I'm hoping is that if you had been thinking that I was wrong about (1) above, it's actually because you were noticing that the overall shape didn't quite seem to match the pictures of the real Sables only because the head of the CollectA model is too large relative to the rest of the body. If that head were a little smaller, I think the CollectA might have been perfect.

3. Accuracy of Paintwork. This is another flaw of the Mojo. The white underbelly, and the complete set of white markings on the face are done fairly well by both Safari and CollectA. (This might be where Safari excels.) But the Mojo belly (mine at least) has only the slightest hint of white. And some of the characteristic white markings on the face are missing.

4. But the Quality of Paintwork is a different matter. Here's one reason why: even though the Safari figure may be tops in category (3), the quality of the paintwork is, as usual, pretty poor. It's too glossy and the color scheme is way too simple (pretty much just pitch black and bright white). But both the CollectA and the Mojo are strong here. I personally think the Mojo is even better than the CollectA. I love the way the Mojo horns are painted, even though it may not be as accurate as the CollectA.

5. Pose. Honestly, I don't know which pose I like best. What I discovered is that there are two other Sable models, the poses of which I prefer over all three of the models I've been discussing here. There is the Lineol (picture here) that was discussed by [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. (Notice also the accuracy of paintwork and the overall shape of the body. Wow.)* And then there is Harriet's Sable which you can see here. The poses of each are wonderful. Very arresting and lovely.

That's basically it. I know there are other categories. These are just the ones that interested me. And I know this is really just way too much text (hopefully not too many pictures though). The worst part is, I'm probably wrong about it all. But I hope there was something worth thinking about here. Regardless, thank you for reading.

*Note: I just noticed, in Willy's picture, that his Mojo Sable has both a whiter belly and a whiter snout than mine. So obviously my complaints about the Mojo in point (3) above appear to be complaints about my particular Mojo model.

I personally think over all mojo is the best safari is second and collecta is last. The collecta's does not have good mucle tone especially in the neck and back legs while mojo and safari excell in this area. Though I am not a fan of the horn paint job of safari and collecta. safari also has too short and stubby legs. safari has the most accurate facial markings and over all the most beautyful face. Safari also has a very nice and unique mane. collecta has a nice face but it is much too large. Safari's pose is the most active looking so that is my favorite. though as I said over all acuracy goes to mojo.

Scott, I'm sorry, I will leave the web and STS for a few days in a few hours. So I'm unable to find enough light and time to make some pics.

First, your pics with blue background are really beautiful, congratulation .

Second, this is the topic I wanted to do as soon as I would catch the COLLECTA sable...

Third... I don't agree with you

1 - Overall Accuracy of Shape

Again I don't have the COLLECTA, I judge only with pics and I don't feel comfortable to do so.

Some pics...

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I chose these one because they have something to do with the MOJO sable  

One more for fun  
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Then your pic, I also know very well this pic   . IMHO, it is useless because the sable is at an angle so the shape seems more bulky than it is. I can't make now a pic at the same angle but I have already one who will explain my point.  

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For me, the BIG point of the MOJO sable is the "Overall Accuracy of Shape" !

2. Accuracy of Relative Proportions.
I will need to have the COLLECTA in hand to have a real arbitration   .
But I suspect a smaller head will not be enough to make it perfect. Because of the point n° 1.

3 & 4. Accuracy and quality of Paintwork.

I can agree the Mojo belly could be more white than it is... But at least it is white  

The head now : I am showing your COLLECTA pic and my MOJO and SAFARI Ltd.


The other side... No COLLECTA, sorry.

The front view... Still no COLLECTA  

My point for the face and horns at least, my MOJO is the winner  

3 & 4. Accuracy and quality of Paintwork.

 I forget about the face markings, many different sables... Many different markings  
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Interesting topic Scott and thank you for all the photos

I'm inclined to agree with Christophe here, although I do agree on some of your points too like the paintwork on the Mojo sable. I repainted mine slightly, enhanced the colour of the tummy and added the pattern on the face.
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Argh, my old adult sable sculpture is embarressing but if it's only for the pose then it's ok

Christophe, it is wonderful to read your comments! Thank you; it is really a lot of fun to look at the pictures you've provided, to think about this more, and to get additional perspectives. I am generally not opinionated because my opinions always change when I am exposed to more information, including new points of view.

A couple points. First, your photos of the actual Sables definitely do make the Mojo Sable look less "stretched" than I had originally thought. On the one hand, it seems clear that we face the complication of both being able to find pictures that make the points we want to make. Nevertheless, on the other hand, I agree with you that the Mojo is not as flawed in this respect as I first thought.

For me, the "classic" Sable shape is characterized by the photo below. (I use the word 'classic' very cautiously because of course I know there isn't a single "correct" Sable shape. By 'classic' I mean instead that the shape that fits my own personal preferred stereotype.) Here is the picture (it's from above, but inverted):

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Now compare it with Willy's photo of the Lineol Sable (next to the Mojo). To my eyes, the Lineol is perfectly shaped, with the Mojo being a tad too long and not sufficiently sloped (but, let me make clear, only too long, for my taste, and only for my taste).

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Photo property of WILLYBACOMAN

Second, I hope no one thinks I've chosen a favorite in my original post. I originally planned on revealing that if I could keep only one Sable from among the three I discussed (the CollectA, the Mojo, and the Safari), it would be the Mojo. I love all three. I like the Mojo and the CollectA slightly more than the Safari, but I think the Safari is fantastic (and it's mainly the paintwork and perhaps a little bit of the sculpting in the legs that diminishes the Safari to my eyes). The reasons that kudu11 gives above for liking the Safari correspond very closely with my own reasons: I like the dynamic pose and I think the sculpting of the musculature is very nice. I'm not as keen on the face as kudu11 seems to be. I guess I prefer the Mojo face most, but still wish it was painted more carefully with the white marking we see in so many of the photos. (That is, I wish it were painted like the CollectA face.)

I confess, I do prefer the Lineol over the three I discussed above. I would love to own the Lineol pictured above, as well as a copy of Harriet's model, which I also think is fantastic. (I don't know if Harriet's is a one-off or a limited set, but either way, I know there are none to be had. So that is an idle dream)

Once again, I hope it is clear that I am not trying to rank these models, but to compare and appreciate all of them. As collectors, we have an embarrassment of riches this year in the area of antelopes in general and Sables in particular.

(Sadly, however, my mind has already wandered far from these models. Late today I received the Starlux models I won on eBay and I am utterly smitten. The Babirusa and Impala in particular now own my heart. It's too bad I used up all my posting energy today on this thread. )

I look forward to hearing other people's view and learning more!

HKHollinstone wrote:

Interesting topic Scott and thank you for all the photos

I'm inclined to agree with Christophe here, although I do agree on some of your points too like the paintwork on the Mojo sable. I repainted mine slightly, enhanced the colour of the tummy and added the pattern on the face.

Argh, my old adult sable sculpture is embarressing but if it's only for the pose then it's ok

Harriet, I love the repainting of your Mojo! It is a real improvement on the original paintwork. Fantastic.

I do not think your old sable sculpture is in any way an embarrassment (although, I'll remove the link if you'd prefer; really). I stumbled across it the other day and was really impressed. It is awesome!

Scott, maybe it is my English which could be rude. I can easily find a word I guess but the exact sentence to say my exact feeling... It's another matter ! I think it is the most difficult thing when you are using a foreign language   .

Indeed, I like a lot your topic and I read it carefully. I don't think you are more opinionated than me and a good demonstration can change my ideas too.

About the gobal shape, the classic for me is more this one    

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About the face, my point is not only the white markings, I think the ears are better on Mojo, at least better than the SAFARI Ltd which are a bit crude.

About which one I would love to have ? All of them without a doubt   And I'm not a "I want them all" collector.

The pose ? I like them all because they are all naturalistic.

The LINEOL sable   . It is another matter ! IMHO LINEOL models, not only the sable, are often the step to reach for modern companies... I'm happy to see the models are more realistic the last years but LINEOL are... LINEOL !

Congratulation for your STARLUX Scott  

I think you could love this one too  
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Thanks for the pics Scott, I'm really happy Mojo's Sable is the first sable I acquired because I still think it's the best modern MALE Sable. CollectA female is fantastic...

Wow... this topic is great :) I have to say, for me, no. 1 is Collecta. Collecta´s sable is having the best horns ever! I also like the head (ears, eyes, coloring), hooves nad tail. And walking female too ofcourse.
Second is Safari Ltd. and third is Mojo.

Thanks for a fantastic topic! I am educated.

I don't know a lot about sables, but I always assumed them to be somewhat dainty, like a deer. I thought the Mojo figure was kind of too stout, but now I see he is near perfect!

Safari looked SOOO nice in online prototype photos, but as usual, the real actual figure somewhat disappoints. His paintwork is boring and his legs are too thick (and is it just me or are they kind of splayed as well?).

Collecta is nice as well. But Mojo is my favorite!

-Kristie

scot(t) wrote:

HKHollinstone wrote:

Interesting topic Scott and thank you for all the photos

I'm inclined to agree with Christophe here, although I do agree on some of your points too like the paintwork on the Mojo sable. I repainted mine slightly, enhanced the colour of the tummy and added the pattern on the face.

Argh, my old adult sable sculpture is embarressing but if it's only for the pose then it's ok

Harriet, I love the repainting of your Mojo! It is a real improvement on the original paintwork. Fantastic.

I do not think your old sable sculpture is in any way an embarrassment (although, I'll remove the link if you'd prefer; really). I stumbled across it the other day and was really impressed. It is awesome!

No you don't have to remove it from your post, I'm glad you like it - I'd like to try making another one now though

I love all these photos you and Christophe are posting of real Sables and I'm enjoying reading your comments.

Lineol and Starlux are probably by far the best Sable antelopes made, I wish I owned them

Scott, before my opinion about the sables I must say that it is a pleasure to watch topics like this one, very interesting of reading, with beautiful pictures and a lot of dedication. I'm glad you are taking your precious time to give us such a pleasant subject.
I want also to say that our forum is a little more free than it is usual in other foruns and there's nothing wrong if Christophe or other member open this discussion later in the year once it is a kind of 1st round when many members don't own the 3 figures and maybe later we can judge better with all figures in our hands.
Another point that makes me feel proud it that this sable wave is clearly a result from our forum influence, that's obvious in Mojo's figure once the brand gave us the honour of choosing the species and literally design the figure. Also in CollectA once Numaan had a huge influence in the pleasing final result and surely Safari's figure is a commercial decision precipitated for the previous reasons.
Another point that we should feel happy is that 1 year ago, excepting the vintage and rare figures, there was not large sized sables at all. Now we have 4 and we cannot complain. All of them are very decent figures!
They also symbolize a general improvement in quality of these kind of brands. I'm not only talking about the unusual species we are receiving this year but even common specis. Have you noticed how nice are Mojo 2012 hippo and CollectA 2012 male giraffe? They are excelent, as good as Lineol or even better.
And a point absolutly fulcral in this kind of board discussions is not only to know who did the best work as a fight but to make us, collectors, mature our knowledge about the animals, understand how they are produced and make our contribution with the brands being more useful. We are the most exigent of the customers so we win a lot with the increasing of quality of the replicas. Sorry for long comment and thanks to all contributions to this discussion.

What a great topic to begin, Scott. It has created quite a banter which is interesting. I do not have the CollectA male yet but would say I like his face and horns the best. I like the Safari Sable's pose. And the Mojo sable has a powerful dominent bull stance. But how about the CollectA lady!?? Queen of the sables ..she is gorgeous. I know the thread compares the males but I love the female's pose and coloring. And Harriet, kudos to painting the mojo--a great improvement on its markings. And your customed sables are great--infact I want your reclyning female!! and then there is my custom made calf, which is my favorite sable!

Here is a pic of the Female form Numaan's post:

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Kikimalou wrote:

maybe it is my English which could be rude. I can easily find a word I guess but the exact sentence to say my exact feeling... It's another matter ! I think it is the most difficult thing when you are using a foreign language .

Indeed, I like a lot your topic and I read it carefully. I don't think you are more opinionated than me and a good demonstration can change my ideas too.

Christophe, I'm so sorry if, in my last comments, I made it sound like I thought you were being rude! I didn't think that at all! Truly. I really enjoyed your comments and I didn't think you were being rude or opinionated. When I wrote that I was not opinionated on the matter, I did not mean to express that I thought you were being opinionated. Instead, I meant to express that you had changed my mind about the length of the Mojo model and that I change my mind easily.

I've been really enjoying everybody's comments and I've been wanting to hear everybody's thoughts on these three Sables. I hope no one feels like it makes me uncomfortable if they disagree with me. If I came across that way, then it was most definitely my mistake.

very best regards!
Scott

Kikimalou wrote:

Congratulation for your STARLUX Scott  

I think you could love this one too  

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Aggh, that is lovely! Now there are at least three more Sables on my wish list. Thank you for posting this picture Christophe.

It sounds like you will be away from you computer for a few days, but when you get back, I had a question for you (or for anyone) about the Starlux brand. Did they make different series of models? And in particular, if so, were the scales of the different series different (smaller and larger)? The kangaroo I got is quite large compared to the the rhino and tiger and I'm wondering if they are from different eras.

skysthelimit wrote:

Thanks for the pics Scott, I'm really happy Mojo's Sable is the first sable I acquired because I still think it's the best modern MALE Sable. CollectA female is fantastic...

Thanks Robert! I love the female too and regret not taking some pictures of her yesterday as well.

MartinH wrote:

Wow... this topic is great :) I have to say, for me, no. 1 is Collecta. Collecta´s sable is having the best horns ever! I also like the head (ears, eyes, coloring), hooves nad tail. And walking female too ofcourse.
Second is Safari Ltd. and third is Mojo.

Thanks Martin! Looking back at my comments, Kudu11's, Christophe's, Harriet's, and now Robert and Martin's, what is amazing to me is that there is so much variety in how people rank these models. As I said above, we have an "embarrassment of riches" this year with the Male Sable. I am very happy to have all three.

Kristie wrote:

I don't know a lot about sables, but I always assumed them to be somewhat dainty, like a deer. I thought the Mojo figure was kind of too stout, but now I see he is near perfect!

Safari looked SOOO nice in online prototype photos, but as usual, the real actual figure somewhat disappoints. His paintwork is boring and his legs are too thick (and is it just me or are they kind of splayed as well?).

-Kristie

I had the same thought Kristie! (I had originally thought they were dainty too.) I also thought that the models had put the eyes in a really weird place, too high up on the skull. But of course, it turns out, that's really where the eyes are.

HKHollinstone wrote:

No you don't have to remove it from your post, I'm glad you like it - I'd like to try making another one now though

Thank you Harriet. I should have asked first and I'll do that next time. But I really did see that model and think 'wow'. I know that you can see defects in it and probably can see lots of ways that your work has improved. But despite whatever defects there may be, it is a lovely sable, an impressive sculpt, and you chose an excellent pose.

HKHollinstone wrote:

Lineol and Starlux are probably by far the best Sable antelopes made, I wish I owned them

I feel exactly the same.

Roger wrote:

Scott, before my opinion about the sables I must say that it is a pleasure to watch topics like this one, very interesting of reading, with beautiful pictures and a lot of dedication. I'm glad you are taking your precious time to give us such a pleasant subject.
I want also to say that our forum is a little more free than it is usual in other foruns and there's nothing wrong if Christophe or other member open this discussion later in the year once it is a kind of 1st round when many members don't own the 3 figures and maybe later we can judge better with all figures in our hands.
Another point that makes me feel proud it that this sable wave is clearly a result from our forum influence, that's obvious in Mojo's figure once the brand gave us the honour of choosing the species and literally design the figure. Also in CollectA once Numaan had a huge influence in the pleasing final result and surely Safari's figure is a commercial decision precipitated for the previous reasons.
Another point that we should feel happy is that 1 year ago, excepting the vintage and rare figures, there was not large sized sables at all. Now we have 4 and we cannot complain. All of them are very decent figures!
They also symbolize a general improvement in quality of these kind of brands. I'm not only talking about the unusual species we are receiving this year but even common specis. Have you noticed how nice are Mojo 2012 hippo and CollectA 2012 male giraffe? They are excelent, as good as Lineol or even better.

Thank you so much Roger! I agree with everything you've written. And I do hope that in the coming months, as more members add these Sables to their collections, people will add similar threads. It will be great to revisit this.

I have to second what you said about the quality of the models. The Mojo Hippo and CollectA Giraffe are perfect examples.

Roger wrote:

And a point absolutly fulcral in this kind of board discussions is not only to know who did the best work as a fight but to make us, collectors, mature our knowledge about the animals, understand how they are produced and make our contribution with the brands being more useful. We are the most exigent of the customers so we win a lot with the increasing of quality of the replicas. Sorry for long comment and thanks to all contributions to this discussion.

This is so well said! The sentiment is spot on and wonderfully expressed! Thank you.

SeanieP wrote:

What a great topic to begin, Scott. It has created quite a banter which is interesting. I do not have the CollectA male yet but would say I like his face and horns the best. I like the Safari Sable's pose. And the Mojo sable has a powerful dominent bull stance.

But how about the CollectA lady!?? Queen of the sables ..she is gorgeous. I know the thread compares the males but I love the female's pose and coloring. And Harriet, kudos to painting the mojo--a great improvement on its markings. And your customed sables are great--infact I want your reclyning female!! and then there is my custom made calf, which is my favorite sable!

Thank you Shawn! The female is indeed marvelous and it was hard for me to exclude her from the discussion. Thank you for posting the picture!

SeanieP wrote:

And Harriet, kudos to painting the mojo--a great improvement on its markings. And your customed sables are great--infact I want your reclyning female!! and then there is my custom made calf, which is my favorite sable!

Thank you Shawn!

scot(t) wrote:

Thank you Harriet. I should have asked first and I'll do that next time. But I really did see that model and think 'wow'. I know that you can see defects in it and probably can see lots of ways that your work has improved. But despite whatever defects there may be, it is a lovely sable, an impressive sculpt, and you chose an excellent pose.

It's fine, I don't mind at all - thanks Scott, glad you like it

scot(t) wrote:

HKHollinstone wrote:

Lineol and Starlux are probably by far the best Sable antelopes made, I wish I owned them

I feel exactly the same.

I love this thread! A few highly subjective additions from me:

I never noticed until I saw them all together, but the Mojo looks like his hind feet are hurting. He's sort of crouching with hocks bent and stifle (knee) extended, and both legs appear parallel (if not, please correct me - I don't own one myself). If the legs had been more tucked, or if one was extended behind him, it wouldn't be an issue.

Meanwhile, the Collecta looks to have very short pasterns. It's a common problem which may stem from a need to avoid thin, easily warped parts of the leg - still, it looks like someone added the hooves as an afterthought directly onto the fetlocks.

I must admit I quite like the Safari, but that may be just as much due to my liking that particular sculptor's style. The legs are thick, but I can't find fault with the anatomy as such, and the croup looks nicely muscled.

(What can I say, I'm a model horse person - we look at legs and butts! )

Odd question : What I would like to know is what color the hooves of a Sable are???

Also, I think we do not give the Safari Sable enough credit with its painting...according to this picture, Safari is right on with shiny black coat and somewhat bright white. And the underbelly white is more in the back than in the chest area--not evenly distributed. But, alas, this debate can go on and on!

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Thanks Scott for opening this thread, it is a real battle of the sables. I don't have any sable yet, but from the pictures I've seen I'd say Collecta is my favourite, then Safari and then Mojo!