Author: bmathison1972

I am Blaine, known by bmathison1972 on the forums and blogs. I am a professional parasitologist specializing in agents of human disease, including medically-important arthropods. I am also an amateur entomologist and study Nearctic click beetles (family Elateridae). Historically, much of my collection was devoted to insects and other arthropods, but in late 2018 I started building a Synoptic Collection of other species, to have one good exemplar of any animal species (my personal ‘Natural History Museum’). Other hobbies include hiking, bird-watching, running, and lifting weights, but my other ‘big’ hobby is visiting sports arenas, especially baseball stadiums. Whenever I travel for work (which I do with some frequency), I always check to see if there is a local college, independent, minor, or major league team to see.

All reviews by this author

Cute Silkworm (Tarlin)

5 (2 votes)

Bombyx mori, the domestic silkworm moth, is a wholly domesticated species of insect. The origin of B. mori is unknown, but is believed to be descended from an extinct moth that shares a common ancestor with the wild silk moth, B. mandarina. Domestication is thought to have originated in China over 5,000 years ago.

Border Collie (Farm Time by CollectA)

5 (3 votes)

The Border Collie is a British breed of herding dog. It is believed to have originated along the border between England and Scotland (hence the term ‘border’ collie). It was originally bred to herd sheep, and today is most common in regions of the world with communities that herd livestock. In addition to sheep, they are also used nowadays to herd cattle, poultry, pigs, and even ostriches!

Mini Garden Birds (Archie McPhee)

4.7 (3 votes)

Archie McPhee is a store based out of Seattle, Washington known for quirky and unusual novelty toys and kitsch gifts. They also have an online store. Among many of the products sold by Archie McPhee, which can include anything from rubber chickens to bacon-scented air freshener, to finger puppets, are a decent selection of toy animals.

Domestic Muscovy Duck (Farm Life by Papo)

4.8 (6 votes)

The Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) is a species of duck endemic to the American tropics, from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Mexico south to Argentina and Uruguay. The Muscovy duck was first domesticated in Brazil, prior to European discovery in the late 1490s. It was bred primarily for meat and today it is often referred to as a Barbary duck in a culinary context.

Common Wall Lizard (Garden Animals by Papo)

5 (6 votes)

The common wall lizard, Podarcis muralis, is familiar lacertid that occurs in Central and Southern Europe, from northwestern Spain to the Black Sea of Turkey. They can be found in a wide variety of habitats, from coastal plains to high-altitude mountains, with a preference for rocky microhabitats. Because of this, they have become well adapted to urban and suburban settings, where they live among rocky structures, rubble, and debris.

Southern Pygmy Spiny-tailed Skink (Animal Kingdom by Shantou Yixinsheng Toys Co., Ltd.)

5 (4 votes)

Every now and then an interesting figure comes along of seemingly unknown origin. This is often the case with figures from China and Japan, the former of which are often referred to as ‘Chinamals’. Such appeared to be the case recently when forum member Kikimalou posted an interesting figure of a pygmy spiny-tailed skink on the STS forum.

Scarlet Macaw (Wild Life America by Schleich)

4.9 (10 votes)

When Papo announced their 2024 line-up, I decided I would get the capuchin to replace my National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA) version, since the latter is an articulated accessory to an Ace Ventura action figure. It got me thinking, I should probably go ahead then and replace the NECA scarlet macaw as well, as I would much rather have representatives of these animals from ‘traditional’ toy animal manufacturers rather than action figure accessories (besides, while the NECA figure morphologically looks like a scarlet macaw, the animal in the film the toy was based on is actually a green-winged macaw).

Salers Cattle, Cow (Farm Life by Papo)

4 (2 votes)

Yesterday, the Blog showcased the 2023 Papo Salers bull. Today we will look at his counterpart, the cow. This cow was originally released in 2005 and retired in 2014, only to be released again in 2019. Today we will be looking at the 2019 release (although it is still stamped with the original production year of 2004).

Vietnamese Pot-bellied Pig (Farm Time by Papo)

4.8 (6 votes)

The Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, known locally as the Lon I, or simply I, pig, is a traditional Vietnamese breed of domestic pic. It originates from the southern Red River Delta in the Nam Định Provence of northern Vietnam. It was originally bred for meat.

Mule Deer (Hunting Toys by Big Country Farm Toys, LLC)

4.5 (4 votes)

The mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) is an iconic animal in the American West. Currently living in the Salt Lake region of Utah, I myself can barely go a couple days without seeing them, whether in my neighborhood, while running or birding up City Creek Canyon, commuting through the University of Utah Campus, our outside my office and lab at the University’s Research Park.

Executioner Wasp (Brave Wilderness by Curatorial LLC)

4.3 (6 votes)

For my last ‘spooky’ review for October 2023, I will be reviewing a figure of the executioner wasp (Polistes carnifex), which was produced by Curatorial LLC for Brave Wilderness, a YouTube about animals and nature. I was first alerted to this figure by an STS forum member, and to be honest, before I was made aware of this figure, I had never heard of Brave Wilderness (then again, I don’t use YouTube for watching programs).

Black Widow (Hidden Kingdom Insects by Safari Ltd.)

4.3 (3 votes)

In what seems to have become an annual trend, I am reviewing a southern black widow spider (Latrodectus mactans) as part of the ‘spooky’ October reviews. In 2021, I reviewed one by Eastern Unlimited that was specifically sold as Halloween decor. Last year I reviewed Safari’s 1998 figure that was released for the Smithsonian Insects line.

3D Dangerous Sea Creatures Pictorial Book (The Access)

4.4 (7 votes)

For my next October review I will be giving a brief overview of the entire 3D Dangerous Sea Creatures Pictorial Book collection by The Access (also known as Access Toys), which was released just a couple months ago this past August 2023. I was originally going to just review the jellyfish, but was convinced to review the whole set by forum member JimoAi.

Giant Devil’s Flower Mantis (Bandai and Bandai Spirits)

5 (4 votes)

I have decided to start my ‘spooky’ October blogposts with a trio of ‘diabolical’ insects! I am talking specifically about Idolomantis diabolica, commonly known as the Devil’s flower mantis or giant Devil’s flower mantis, one of the world’s largest mantids. It is native to the rainforests of East Central Africa, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Somalia, Tanzania, South Sudan, and Uganda.

Small Tortoiseshell (Little Wonders by CollectA)

5 (5 votes)

Having recently showcased CollectA’s small tortoiseshell butterfly (Aglais urticae) in my daily ‘Museum’ posts on the ATF, I thought it would be a good opportunity to review it for the Blog! I was contemplating just migrating over my forum walk-around, but I am not happy with those images, so I took new ones for a fresh review.

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