The Carnegie Collection Australopithecus Male (1988)
Prototype
Name: Australopithecus MaleSpecies: Australopithecus afarensis
First release: 1988
Retired: c. 1995
Model number: 408-01
Schleich number: 15489
Size: 11cm
Advertised scale: 1:15
Actual scale: 1:15
Sculptor: Forest Rogers
Though forming a set, the male and female Australopithecus (with baby) were sold separately. Like Smilodon, these were made to a much larger scale (1:15) compared to the Carnegie dinosaur figures. Despite this, they were intended to be displayed together as a single collection. In fact, the central alcove of the Carnegie store display mountain was designed to perfectly fit this hominid pair.
Interestingly, when Schleich released these models under their own brand overseas, they were labelled "Homo neanderthalensis" on their Schleich variant info tags. However, they are clearly meant to depict Australopithecus, not Neanderthals. Some sources have them labelled simply as "prehistoric humans". Unlike Safari, Schleich sold the two as a pair, resulting in the hybrid model number 15489, combining the male's number (15408) and the female's (15409).
Note that while many online sources list the Carnegie Australopithecus pair as retired as of 1997 like the Smilodon, they are not listed in the retirement program section of the 1997 or 1998 collector guide and catalog. Nor are they shown in the display featured in the 1993 Safari Ltd. promotional video. Both Australopithecus figures seem to have been unceremoniously retired around the same time as the original Maiasaura model, around 1995 (though they did appear in the 1996 collectors' guide alongside Protoceratops and the new Maiasaura). They are not included in any of Safari's official "Retirement Program" lists, which begin in 1998. The figures simply vanished from catalogs and, later, even from collectors' guides. By the mid-1990s Safari had positioned the Carnegie Collection solidly as a line of children's educational toys rather than the initial marketing as a more adult collector line, which may explain why they'd want to distance themselves from these not-so-kid-friendly figures.
Model number: 408-01
Schleich number: 15489
Size: 11cm
Advertised scale: 1:15
Actual scale: 1:15
Sculptor: Forest Rogers
Though forming a set, the male and female Australopithecus (with baby) were sold separately. Like Smilodon, these were made to a much larger scale (1:15) compared to the Carnegie dinosaur figures. Despite this, they were intended to be displayed together as a single collection. In fact, the central alcove of the Carnegie store display mountain was designed to perfectly fit this hominid pair.
Interestingly, when Schleich released these models under their own brand overseas, they were labelled "Homo neanderthalensis" on their Schleich variant info tags. However, they are clearly meant to depict Australopithecus, not Neanderthals. Some sources have them labelled simply as "prehistoric humans". Unlike Safari, Schleich sold the two as a pair, resulting in the hybrid model number 15489, combining the male's number (15408) and the female's (15409).
Note that while many online sources list the Carnegie Australopithecus pair as retired as of 1997 like the Smilodon, they are not listed in the retirement program section of the 1997 or 1998 collector guide and catalog. Nor are they shown in the display featured in the 1993 Safari Ltd. promotional video. Both Australopithecus figures seem to have been unceremoniously retired around the same time as the original Maiasaura model, around 1995 (though they did appear in the 1996 collectors' guide alongside Protoceratops and the new Maiasaura). They are not included in any of Safari's official "Retirement Program" lists, which begin in 1998. The figures simply vanished from catalogs and, later, even from collectors' guides. By the mid-1990s Safari had positioned the Carnegie Collection solidly as a line of children's educational toys rather than the initial marketing as a more adult collector line, which may explain why they'd want to distance themselves from these not-so-kid-friendly figures.
Version: 1
Release: 1988
Status: Original
Variant type: Dull wash
Material: Soft beige rubber
Paint: Matte. Black (hair), eyes, mouth); dark brown (skin); gray (rock, base, wash).
Stamp text: Center-aligned: (C)1988 THE CARNEGIE / SAFARI LTD., MIAMI, FL / AUSTRALOPITHECUS MALE / 1.8 METERS / MADE IN CHINA
CE mark: None.
TDR rating: 9/10
Material: Soft beige rubber
Paint: Matte. Black (hair), eyes, mouth); dark brown (skin); gray (rock, base, wash).
Stamp text: Center-aligned: (C)1988 THE CARNEGIE / SAFARI LTD., MIAMI, FL / AUSTRALOPITHECUS MALE / 1.8 METERS / MADE IN CHINA
CE mark: None.
TDR rating: 9/10
The first version of Australopithecus was made of very rubbery plastic material and painted with a mottled blend of black and dark brown colors. The base and stone the replica holds are painted light gray, and the underlying rubber substrate is light beige in color.
Oddly, both this and what I assume to be the original female model are covered in a light gray wash that give the model an extremely dirty or muddy appearance. This is especially visible on the face of my sample, but seems to have been applied with various degrees of thickness and rather haphazardly, as no two samples of this Australopithecus replica look alike (the way the wash settles on the face, in particular, has a dramatic effect on the "character" of the figure). There seems to be some confusion about this among collectors, and I have even seen eBay sellers describe these as literally dirt-covered and in need of cleaning up. But close examination shows the "dirt" is the same gray paint applied to the base, just used as a wash or a layer of "antiqued" patina that has been deliberately applied. The result is very strange-looking and probably did not turn out looking like the artist originally intended, as it was quickly dropped in the next First Generation production run.
Oddly, both this and what I assume to be the original female model are covered in a light gray wash that give the model an extremely dirty or muddy appearance. This is especially visible on the face of my sample, but seems to have been applied with various degrees of thickness and rather haphazardly, as no two samples of this Australopithecus replica look alike (the way the wash settles on the face, in particular, has a dramatic effect on the "character" of the figure). There seems to be some confusion about this among collectors, and I have even seen eBay sellers describe these as literally dirt-covered and in need of cleaning up. But close examination shows the "dirt" is the same gray paint applied to the base, just used as a wash or a layer of "antiqued" patina that has been deliberately applied. The result is very strange-looking and probably did not turn out looking like the artist originally intended, as it was quickly dropped in the next First Generation production run.
Version: 2
Release: 1988
Status: Minor repaint
Variant type: Dull wash
Material: Soft yellow rubber
Paint: Glossy, 3 colors: Black (hair, eyes, mouth); light brown (body); gray (base, rock), yellow (wash).
Stamp text: Center-aligned: (C)1988 THE CARNEGIE / SAFARI LTD., MIAMI, FL / AUSTRALOPITHECUS MALE / 1.8 METERS / MADE IN CHINA
CE mark: None.
TDR rating: 9/10
Material: Soft yellow rubber
Paint: Glossy, 3 colors: Black (hair, eyes, mouth); light brown (body); gray (base, rock), yellow (wash).
Stamp text: Center-aligned: (C)1988 THE CARNEGIE / SAFARI LTD., MIAMI, FL / AUSTRALOPITHECUS MALE / 1.8 METERS / MADE IN CHINA
CE mark: None.
TDR rating: 9/10
The second version of Australopithecus had a much lighter overall color with prominent black detailing to simulate black hair over beige skin. The chest of the male was painted with a prominent V of black hair. The base was gray rather than dark brown as in all later releases, and the plastic underneath was soft beige vinyl. Also unlike all later releases, the teeth were still not painted, instead, the mouth was indicated by a black line. The underlying plastic is very soft and a more yellowish color than the previous version. There also seems to be a darker yellow/orange wash applied over the base plastic but under the brown details, most noticeable on the bottom of the base, probably intended to accentuate the yellow color of the skin and add more contrast with the black hair. The muddy gray wash is absent from this version.
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| First two versions compared. |
Version: 3
Release: 1989
Status: Minor repaint
Variant type: Gloss Wash
Material: Hard dark gray vinyl
Paint: 6 colors. Burnt yellow (base coat); dark brown (hair, highlights); light gray (rock); black (eyes, nails, eyebrows, nostrils), chocolate brown (base); pink (mouth).
Stamp text: Center-aligned: (C)1988 THE CARNEGIE / SAFARI LTD., MIAMI, FL / AUSTRALOPITHECUS MALE / 1.4 METERS / MADE IN CHINA
CE mark: None.
TDR rating: 9/10
Material: Hard dark gray vinyl
Paint: 6 colors. Burnt yellow (base coat); dark brown (hair, highlights); light gray (rock); black (eyes, nails, eyebrows, nostrils), chocolate brown (base); pink (mouth).
Stamp text: Center-aligned: (C)1988 THE CARNEGIE / SAFARI LTD., MIAMI, FL / AUSTRALOPITHECUS MALE / 1.4 METERS / MADE IN CHINA
CE mark: None.
TDR rating: 9/10
This version of Australopithecus has a predominantly glossy paint application, with a yellowish base coat and variably dark brown airbrushing to represent fur. The face details on these early gloss versions are much finer and cleaner than in later production runs. The base is glossy dark brown rather than the original gray. The original black line mouth has been replaced with pink.
Version: 4
Release: 1990
Status: Minor repaint
Variant type: Twilight
Material: Soft beige rubber
Paint: 8 colors. Peach (base coat); dark brown (hair, highlights); beige (faces); black (eyes, nails, eyebrows, nostrils), chocolate brown (base), white (eyes); pink (mouths), glossy finish.
Stamp text: Center-aligned: (C)1988 THE CARNEGIE / SAFARI LTD., MIAMI, FL / AUSTRALOPITHECUS MALE / 1.4 METERS / MADE IN CHINA
CE mark: None.
TDR rating: 9/10
This version of the Carnegie Australopithecus had a more blended light brown body color with a warm, peach-toned base coat. It had dark brown/black highlights across the body, mimicking areas of thicker fur. It retained a complete, centered date stamp on its back, and had small, outlined eyes rather than large dots.
Material: Soft beige rubber
Paint: 8 colors. Peach (base coat); dark brown (hair, highlights); beige (faces); black (eyes, nails, eyebrows, nostrils), chocolate brown (base), white (eyes); pink (mouths), glossy finish.
Stamp text: Center-aligned: (C)1988 THE CARNEGIE / SAFARI LTD., MIAMI, FL / AUSTRALOPITHECUS MALE / 1.4 METERS / MADE IN CHINA
CE mark: None.
TDR rating: 9/10
This version of the Carnegie Australopithecus had a more blended light brown body color with a warm, peach-toned base coat. It had dark brown/black highlights across the body, mimicking areas of thicker fur. It retained a complete, centered date stamp on its back, and had small, outlined eyes rather than large dots.
Version: 5
Release: 1992
Status: Minor repaint, minor retool
Variant type: Classic color version
Material: Soft rubber
Paint: Beige undercoat, brown hair, yellow skin, black detailing, dark brown base, white teeth, light gray stone
Stamp text: (C)1988 THE CARNEGIE / SAFARI LTD. / AUSTRALOPITHECUS MALE / 1.8 METERS/ CE
CE mark: Small.
TDR rating: 3/10
The later release of the Australopithecus model has a simplified paint application, with a brown "wash" and fur tone that looks airbrushed on. The skin is more yellow than beige, especially on the face. The eyes consist of a line with a dot, unlike the more defined eyes of the original. These don't seem to have suffered quite as much mold fatigue as other Carnegies, likely due to lower demand and therefore lower numbers produced. But if you look closely, the sculpting on the later versions is slightly softer. It's hard to tell, because the sculpts are fairly soft to begin with, and most noticeable by looking at the clarity and sharpness of the stamp text, which is on the back of each figure rather than the bottom. For the second release, both "Miami, FL" and "Made in China" were tooled out of the mold, leaving visible marks where the deeply stamped text used to be. A small CE mark has also been added, placing this last release c. 1992-1993.
Material: Soft rubber
Paint: Beige undercoat, brown hair, yellow skin, black detailing, dark brown base, white teeth, light gray stone
Stamp text: (C)1988 THE CARNEGIE / SAFARI LTD. / AUSTRALOPITHECUS MALE / 1.8 METERS/ CE
CE mark: Small.
TDR rating: 3/10
The later release of the Australopithecus model has a simplified paint application, with a brown "wash" and fur tone that looks airbrushed on. The skin is more yellow than beige, especially on the face. The eyes consist of a line with a dot, unlike the more defined eyes of the original. These don't seem to have suffered quite as much mold fatigue as other Carnegies, likely due to lower demand and therefore lower numbers produced. But if you look closely, the sculpting on the later versions is slightly softer. It's hard to tell, because the sculpts are fairly soft to begin with, and most noticeable by looking at the clarity and sharpness of the stamp text, which is on the back of each figure rather than the bottom. For the second release, both "Miami, FL" and "Made in China" were tooled out of the mold, leaving visible marks where the deeply stamped text used to be. A small CE mark has also been added, placing this last release c. 1992-1993.
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