Missing Links Prehistoric Mammal Collection by Safari Ltd.

[Ikessauro]

Hey guys, just tought of start this topic since there wasn't one for this particular collection. You guys know them I guess, but for those who do not I can give a short version of this collection background. As far as I know this set is composed by 7 models, all mammals.

They Include Neanderthal Male, Neanderthal Female, Neanderthal kid, Adult Wooly Mammoth, Wooly Mammoth Calf, Wooly Rhino and Smilodon. I've heard a rumor that there was a color variation of the Smilodon, with stripes, but never saw pictures or other people saying anything about it, thus I consider it as a myth, untill someone can prove it existed.

They were released around 1997 (correct if I'm wrong) and retired when Carnegie released the Mammoth. As the time passed they became rare and highly collectable, some selling for high prices on Ebay.

I do have the Smilodon, Wooly Rhino, both Mammoths and Neanderthal Female as pictured below(pics taken by me, so sorry about the quality). The other two I'll leave up to you folks, who have them to post decent photos.

Adult Mammoth

Calf Mammoth

Smilodon

Wooly Rhino (Coelodonta)

Neanderthal Female

[therizinosaurus]

Bumping this eight year old thread because I feel like these figures deserve a bit more discussion and appreciation (I'll have my set of seven in hand soon and will post some photos when I do). I think this is a particularly fascinating line--they were released in 1997, but don't appear on the Safari Ltd. website as of about 1999, so I feel like they must have had a very short shelflife (similar to the DoC figures at around the same time?). I find the name to be a bit odd since none of the figures are "missing links" per se (I assume they were playing up superficial similarities to humans, rhinos, elephants, and lions, respectively). The style seems intentionally cartoonish, especially when compared to Carnegie/Vanishing Wild/Monterey Bay Aquarium/Hidden Kingdoms figures although I think the Woolly Rhino has an undeniable appeal. I'm also blown away by the HEFT of these figures--they're huge chunks of plastic. The only figure I remember "in the wild" was the Rhino, which I got at Zany Brainy--they went under in 2001, so it must have been around 1999-2000, again suggesting a very short shelf life. I was fortunate enough to complete the set by picking up six figures on DTFv1.

From the looks of eBay these are scarce figures, and sell for decent amounts. The Rhino and Sabre Tooth have sold for about $45-55, while there's a Mammoth and calf listed for $60 right now. The Neanderthal family seems to be the scarced to me (even though they're certainly the weakest part of the set).

In short, I think these are a fascinating part of Safari Ltd.'s history--in 1997, it was quite bold in my opinion to release a line exclusively of prehistoric mammals. Does anyone know when Bullyland's mammal line was released? It may have been around the same time. The Missing Links figures have certainly been outdone in terms of accuracy, but I have a soft spot for their cartoonish styling.

[John]

Bumping this eight year old thread because I feel like these figures deserve a bit more discussion and appreciation (I'll have my set of seven in hand soon and will post some photos when I do). I think this is a particularly fascinating line--they were released in 1997, but don't appear on the Safari Ltd. website as of about 1999, so I feel like they must have had a very short shelflife (similar to the DoC figures at around the same time?). I find the name to be a bit odd since none of the figures are "missing links" per se (I assume they were playing up superficial similarities to humans, rhinos, elephants, and lions, respectively). The style seems intentionally cartoonish, especially when compared to Carnegie/Vanishing Wild/Monterey Bay Aquarium/Hidden Kingdoms figures although I think the Woolly Rhino has an undeniable appeal. I'm also blown away by the HEFT of these figures--they're huge chunks of plastic. The only figure I remember "in the wild" was the Rhino, which I got at Zany Brainy--they went under in 2001, so it must have been around 1999-2000, again suggesting a very short shelf life. I was fortunate enough to complete the set by picking up six figures on DTFv1.

From the looks of eBay these are scarce figures, and sell for decent amounts. The Rhino and Sabre Tooth have sold for about $45-55, while there's a Mammoth and calf listed for $60 right now. The Neanderthal family seems to be the scarced to me (even though they're certainly the weakest part of the set).

In short, I think these are a fascinating part of Safari Ltd.'s history--in 1997, it was quite bold in my opinion to release a line exclusively of prehistoric mammals. Does anyone know when Bullyland's mammal line was released? It may have been around the same time. The Missing Links figures have certainly been outdone in terms of accuracy, but I have a soft spot for their cartoonish styling.

In the U.S.,the Bullyland prehistoric mammal series first turned up about a year after Safari's Missing Links line came out.But both lines were short lived.

[SidB]

The "heft" of the Missing Links Wooly Rhino amazed me when I got one as part of a $3.99 grab bag in a local thrift store, a few years ago. Having read the DTB review, I immediately was aware that I was on to something special. Around that time, they would occasionally go for about $70 on eBay, but I do remember one selling for $299.00! The new Safari sculpt by Doug Watson is superior and more accurate, certainly, but the Missing Links one still possesses a definite flair and dynamism that makes it a worthy collectible.

[Shonisaurus]

I feel fortunate in my case to have the entire collection. The figures that I like the most from this disappeared series are the smilodon and the coelodonta antiquitatis (woolly rhino) and I can assure for those who do not know this series of figures from the Safari brand that they are quite large figures although the mammoth primigenius (adult mammoth and calf) are small compared to the Neanderthal family and the aforementioned smilodon and woolly rhino.

I didn't know they were so rare in the toy market today.

[Faelrin]

I acquired the rhino in a mixed ebay lot last year that I split with some folks on instagram (it also had the Smilodon), to mainly get my hands on a WWD Allosaurus. It definitely is a hefty figure and easily towers over the newer Safari Ltd one, and certainly has its charm as it bellows out. I was not aware these were as short lived and hard to come by as they are though. I guess I'm lucky I was able to get this one then, and of the options with these it easily is the best one for me too as the Woolly Rhino is certainly one of my favorite prehistoric mammals, if not my top one.

[Shonisaurus]

For me one of the best smilodon I have in my collection is without a doubt the Missing Links smilodon along with the Collecta smilodon (second version of course), it is the best figure of this species I have in my collection.