The tragedy of the Great Auk is a tale that covers much of the globe. These sea birds lived across the Atlantic, catching fish and having large flocks across islands throughout the Atlantic. They were killed for down in pillows, the bills for Native American charms and for fuel and food for sailors. As numbers decreased, museum collectors ordered specimens be killed to add to their own collection. The last pair were killed on Eldey Island, off the coast of Iceland, leaving the Auk extinct, eventually lending it’s scientific name to the similar (but unrelated) penguins. The Great Auk has few models made of it, with this one from the Forgotten Friends line by Yowie.
To the figure! It’s a simple pose, as if standing on a cliff over the sea. There is a little movement to it, as the head moves and the wings can move outwards, so you can talk the Auk and walk the Auk (I am less sorry for that joke than I should be). It stands 1.9″ high and 1″ from foot to tail, with a maximum wingspan of 1.2″. It’s small, but accurately so, as the Auk only reached two and three quarter feet tall. The colouring is a bit off though. The brown works well, as it does feature a bit on the actual animal, but the black has been replaced by a dark blue. I’m not sure if this was meant to be more eye catching, but it is far from accurate.
Accuracy wise isn’t terrible here, but it does have flaws. The neck is too thick and the feet suffer a similar issue. It is too penguin like, whereas the Auk is more like seabirds like the Razorbill. Though the Auk lived like a penguin and inspired their name, they are not related. The rest is pretty good, the body, wings and bill being spot on. Not bad, but could do with work. I do like the feather effects on the chest, wings and tail though, looks quite right.
This isn’t the best Auk out there, that goes to the Kaiyodo figure, but it has a great charm to it. Not accurate, but fun enough. I think it’s worth an eBay search to get it, though a repaint may be needed to improve it. Worth a consideration.
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We need more Great Auk figures.
I love telling people the story of how not only are puffins not penguins, but penguins are actually named after an extinct giant puffin relative.