Review and photographs by Indohyus, edited by Suspsy
Time and new discoveries are incredible for changing ideas and concepts in every field of science and nature. Such is the way with the genus Homo, of which we humans are now the only living members. Our closest cousins, the Neanderthals, are an example of this change. The old views of them being stumbling brutes, only capable of grunting and violence are gone, with new discoveries showing that they had a form of language, cave paintings, and adornments (although they were still capable of being violent). There aren’t many figures of Neanderthals, however, possibly due to being too close to humans. Of course, the original dino toy line, Starlux, had their own examples.
The figure is a similar size to other Starlux figures, being 3.7” high (from base to club) and 1.8” wide. The colouring is based on the Caucasian skin complexion of certain modern humans, likely because Neanderthals are our evolutionary cousins. The pose is certainly of the time: very dynamic, maybe about to strike down prey. Feels a bit Wacky Races to me, but it’s passable.
Despite the older look, this figure does look pretty accurate for a hominid. The musculature is correct for the skeletal structure, and appears reasonably robust and rounded, at least in comparison to the human figures that Starlux produced. Even the hair seems accurate to modern ideas, though slightly too dark. Not too bad. Though the clothing doesn’t all the way around the crotch, no genitalia is present.
Overall, this isn’t too bad, despite the age. With CollectA and Safari producing Neanderthal figures of higher quality, you can overlook this figure, but this is still worth considering. They pop up on French eBay seller sites fairly frequently, so the choice is yours.
A final (obligatory) warning: the Starlux figures are made with different plastics to modern lines and are much more brittle. Most of the versions of this model have small bumps coming out of the club, but this one’s looks like they were knocked off. Proceed with caution.
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This model is not a Neandertal man even if it has been sold under this appellation after 1980 when Starlux released a “homme de Cro-Magnon”. Until this date, it was just sold as “Homme préhistorique” for there already was a “Homme de Néanderthal” since 1969, a very interesting figure who testifies the knowledges and conceptions by these times since the french paleontologist Marcellin Boule’s bad reconstructions of the “la Chapelle aux Saints man”!
In spite of its inaccurary, this old neandertal figurine shows a more accurate face to compare with the one of this model who is typically Sapiens!
Caracal
Many early animal cave drawings/ engravings have been discovered/found in the ”Lascaux” caves of France using special engraving tools, dead animal blood and ground fruit juice, so, I think the locally discoveries in France may have influenced/led Starlux as a French company to produce this model logically. This model is very proportioned and would be more fun to play with without the base, still a good collector’s piece, though vintage and retired. The face gives the Neanderthal a wet look, and the last image looks like a painting, funnily. The Neanderthals, which many people think are stupid were the most intelligent among the group/line of hominids, showing special skills in cooking and gathering materials/plants.
Very detailed review.