The Goliath beetle, Goliathus goliatus, is often regarded as the largest insect, at least in terms of weight (and if not this species, then one of its congeners). Goliath beetles have been reported as weighing upwards to 100 grams. The genus is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, and G. goliatus is known from equatorial Africa from Nigeria to Kenya and Tanzania. It occurs mostly in tropical forests and savanna. Larvae feed in the trunks of trees in the families Fabaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Combretaceae, and others. Adults feed on sap, fruit, and bark of Monosis conferta. Today we will be looking at Bandai’s rendition of this species from their Diversity of Life on Earth Line.
Like other figures in the Diversity of Life on Earth (DoLoE) line, this one is large, requires assembly, is articulated, and may be expensive as it comes from Japan. As I have stressed in other reviews of DoLoE figures, they are not toys and designed for serious collectors. Today’s figure comes in 15 pieces: 1) head + prothorax, 2) rest of the body, 3) six legs, 4) two antennae and 5) four pieces for the wings (each wing comes in two pieces). While this figure can be displayed in flight (more on that below), it did not come with a base.
The final assembled beetle has a body length (including cephalic horns) of 9.5, which puts it within scale 1:1.
The paint job on the head, prothorax, and elytra is spot on for what G. goliatus looks like, but other parts (such as the legs) are monochromatic (this is actually common with DoLoE figures).
Like most cetoniine scarabs, Goliath beetle fly with their elytra closed. Assembly allows for attachment of the wings (which are accurate themselves) and still have the elytra closed.
In closing, if someone wanted a 1:1 scale Goliath beetle in their collection, this is a great option, as long as one doesn’t mind the assembly. This species is not commonly made. In 2020 Bandai Spirits made a 1:1 G. goliatus figure in their Life with Insect line, but that figure was hard to get and very expensive at the time it was released; it has certainly gotten rarer and more expensive since!
