Chick Yuet - Prehistoric Mammals (the 7 figure 6 figure Set Mystery).

[Blackdanter]

A little something for those who collect prehistoric mammals and .................. if it wasn't for those darned kids they might have gotten away with it!

Chick Yuet is a mysterious Chinese company. Little, well nothing, seems to be known about them and they may or may not continue be in business. They certainly have a business registered on the web but whether or not they still function as a toy producing entity is any ones guess. Around 2001 they produced what would have been deemed a 'chinasaur' type set of prehistoric mammal figures which had limited distribution in the West but were sold in bagged sets of 6 figures. These figures seem to have been inspired by the BBC Series Walking With Beasts. The set would probably have gone unnoticed had it not been for the inclusion of Synthetoceras. This set and, in particular the Synthetoceras figure, is now quite highly sought after by collectors. Most collectors aware of these figures believe that the set consists of 6 figures however it has long been rumoured that there were actually 7 figures associated with this set. Whether or not you were aware of that rumour will I suppose decide whether the following comes as any surprise! The basic bagged sets usually consisted of the following figures:

Number 1 - Synthetoceras
Number 2 - Woolly Rhinoceros
Number 3 - Sabre Toothed Tiger
Number 4 - Entelodont
Number 5 - Woolly Mammoth
Number 6 - Hyaenodon

The twist in the tale is this. Every now and then one of those bagged sets would include only five of the above figures and have a different figure in it. The missing figure was usually Number 2, the Woolly Rhino. Instead, the set would include a figure labelled as Number 2 but which appeared to be ............. not one of the above! 

This kind of ties in with my experience of these figures. I was able to buy these in bulk a few years back from a clearance source and have handled quite a few whilst supplying collectors around the globe. The Woolly Rhino figure was very prone to molding faults, I reckon that 5 in every 10 of the figures I had would have molding faults so bad that they were unsaleable. My thinking is that the mystery figure replaced this at some point during the production run. That said, although all of the figures are rare and the Wooly Rhino is the toughest to actually find, the Sabre Tooth is equally as difficult to find. Ironically, the Synthetoceras seems to be the commonest of these rare figures. I was lucky enough to get a few of the mystery figures in with the others which had me a little confused until I'd had time to ask around and sort the thing out.

I don't suppose we'll ever know whether this figure was ever actually intended as part of the set or whether or not it just ended up as a stand in. In terms of style and numbering it certainly fits right in and I've not seen it included in any of the other animal sets that the company produced at the time (Australian animals, African animals etc).

The Entelodont and Hyaenodon appear to be direct copies (not exact) of AAA figures. At least, that's the usual assumption. The others look more or less like unique sculpts.

Here are the images of the basic set and that elusive alternative figure (do you get the feeling I'm forcing you to scroll down the whole thread?). The AAA battery is included for size comparison.

Number 1 - Synthetoceras



Number 2 - Woolly Rhinoceros



Number 3 - Sabre Toothed Tiger



Number 4 - Entelodont



Number 5 - Woolly Mammoth



Number 6 - Hyaenodon



And here's the mystery figure that sometimes turned up in sets, Musk Ox (also numbered 2)

[SBell]

I know you need a new home for a musk ox! 

I remember the Chick Yuets--I came across bulk boxes twice, in different cities in Canada. I bought everything.

And sold/traded most of it. I don't even have a single mammoth or smilodon anymore after trades (I have lots of representatives of those).

Interestingly, the one I do have lots of is the rhinos. Didn't see any particular flaws in them though.

And when it comes to near-copies, mammoth and rhino are both quite reminiscent of the small AAA woolly rhino and small mammoth.

[Ikessauro]

DARN!!!!  ANOTHER ONE TO CHASE!
Do I need to say I MUST have one of those???
Then, Let the hunt begin! 

[SBell]

DARN!!!!  ANOTHER ONE TO CHASE!
Do I need to say I MUST have one of those???
Then, Let the hunt begin! 

If I'm not mistaken, I think I set my last full set to you! Now we all need a musk ox (admittedly, my Schleich one is bound to be superior...)

[Roselaar]

Hadn't heard of these, very informative! I can take it not to have these in my collection though. I already have the AAA Hyaenodon and Entelodon and the others are not that great. The Synthetoceras is the only one I'd be really interested in, for obvious reasons.

[Paleogene Pals]

Better quality than most prehistoric toys of its ilk.

[SBell]

Better quality than most prehistoric toys of its ilk.

It is, but the Starlux Synthetoceros is still the best one.

And as for hyaenodon and enteldon, the Mojo ones are currently the best ones around.

Still, it's nice to have all 3 of both!

BUT--there was also a large-size CHick Yuet set. Same 6 (7?) and they looked somewhat different--I saw a picture once, but it was right when Chick Yuet, along with many Chinese production companies, went out of business. I've never seen them in the real world, in anyone's collection.

[sauroid]

i want them all...  (i already have the original large AAA Entelodont but i still want these Chick Yuets)

[Ikessauro]

DARN!!!!  ANOTHER ONE TO CHASE!
Do I need to say I MUST have one of those???
Then, Let the hunt begin! 

If I'm not mistaken, I think I set my last full set to you! Now we all need a musk ox (admittedly, my Schleich one is bound to be superior...)

Yep, that's right, I'm taking very good care of them.

[thelordsgym]

These figures are both obscure, and OOP as far as I know. I found a couple sets a few months back and they dissapeared quickly. Finding that Musk Ox is quite the admirable challenge...I'll accept that challenge....