Brand: Bandai/Bandai Spirits

Asian Swallowtail, larva (Life With Insect Desktop Models by Bandai Spirits)

4.5 (2 votes)

Today I am reviewing another figure from the 2020 Life With Insect collection by Bandai Spirits. This time, we are looking at the larva of the Asian swallowtail, Papilio xuthus, which was part of a set of three immature insects sold together as Desktop Models. The other two in the trio are the larva of the Japanese rhinoceros beetle and the nymphal exuvia of the large brown cicada (which was already highlighted on the Blog here).

Blue Malayan Coral Snake (Animal Kaiser by Bandai)

2.3 (3 votes)

Today, another post, another Bandai Animal Kaiser figure. After talking about the Velez Ray I realized that there were several from the Animal Kaiser series that would be worth looking at. So I went over the ones I have to see what would be interesting. This one really stood out, so I decided to talk about it.

Bullet Ant (Diversity of Life on Earth – Ants by Bandai)

5 (5 votes)

The bullet ant (Paraponera clavata) is a notorious insect from the rainforests of Central and South America. It is often regarded as having one of the most painful stings of any insect, and currently has a rating of 4.0+ (the highest possible) on Schmidt’s Sting Pain Index.

Citrus Long-horned Beetle (Diversity of Life on Earth: Stag Beetles Vol. 4 by Bandai)

5 (2 votes)

The citrus long-horned beetle (Anoplophora chinensis) is a cerambycid beetle native to East Asia. Larvae develop in various hardwoods, and the beetle is considered a pest of several ornamental and commercial food plants, including citrus, pecan, apple, sycamore, willow, pear, mulberry, litchi, kumquat, fig, and many others.

Crested Gecko (Diversity of Life on Earth by Bandai)

4.5 (11 votes)

Review and images by Fembrogon; edited by bmathison1972

There’s a Gashapon for just about everyone, I’d wager. Bandai’s trademarked capsule toy brand (an onomatopoeia name for the “gacha-pon” sound of the machine crank and tumbling capsule) has been running strong for over forty years, covering just about anything that can feasibly be made into a miniature – from company mascots and popular anime characters, to erasers and food items, to even highly realistic insects and lizards.

Electric Ray (Animal Kaiser by Bandai)

4.5 (2 votes)

Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972

The Batoidea are a diverse group of fish classified within the class Chondricthyes, like their shark cousins, although nowhere near as popular, which is a shame as there are many charismatic species of rays including the butterfly ray, banjo ray, giant guitarfish, and the torpedo rays/numbfish.

Figure Pictorial Book of Gakken Insect (Bandai)

5 (1 votes)

Today we will be looking at a rather fun set called Figure Pictorial Book of Gakken Insect (well, at least that’s the translation) by Bandai. The set was produced in 2003 and contains five species of Japanese arthropods. When I initially started focusing on arthropods, this was one of my ‘Holy Grail’ collections; luckily I was able to secure it fairly early on.

Flying Peacock Spider (Diversity of Life on Earth: Peacock Spiders by Bandai)

5 (2 votes)

The genus Maratus, commonly referred to as peacock spiders, consists of over 80 species, all endemic to Australia. One must wonder how a single genus of spiders could speciate to this magnitude on a single geographic land mass (although there are some on Tasmania). The answer lies in their courtship rituals.

Frilled Shark (Diversity of Life on Earth: Mini Ancient Fish by Bandai)

5 (6 votes)

The frilled shark (Chlamydoselachus anguineus) is an enigmatic anguilliform shark in the family Chlamydoselachidae. There is one other extant member of this family, the South African frilled shark (C. africana). They are considered among the most primitive extant sharks. Frilled sharks occur nearly worldwide, usually in the waters of the outer continental shelf and upper continental slope.

Giant Deep-sea Isopod (Dango Mushi 05 by Bandai)

5 (4 votes)

Review of the giant deep-sea isopod (Bathynomus giganteus) by Bandai, released recently in November, 2019 for the fifth set in the Dango Mushi Line. I am not going to go into too much detail on the animal itself, as this was covered when the species was first introduced to the Blog.

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.

Goliath Beetle (Diversity of Life on Earth: Beetles Vol. 3 by Bandai)

5 (4 votes)

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.

Insects 02 (Diversity of Life Mini Collection by Bandai)

5 (7 votes)

Praying mantises are cool – I think that’s an opinion I can safely say is shared between many animal enthusiasts. Out of all the hundreds of thousands of insects known to science, probably no group is equal parts so peculiar and charismatic as Order Mantodea, the mantises. It’s only natural, then, that a number of toy and collectible animal brands have tackled mantises and continue to do so.

Japanese Giant Mantis (Diversity of Life on Earth – Japanese Giant Mantis by Bandai)

5 (2 votes)

The Japanese giant mantis (Tenodera aridifolia) is a large mantid distributed in Japan, Taiwan, and China. There has been some confusion on the taxonomic identity of this species, as the Chinese mantis (T. sinensis), which is more familiar to most casual observers and non-specialists, was originally described as a subspecies of T.

Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle, life cycle (Bandai Spirits & F-toys)

5 (1 votes)

In just under two years ago, on August 21, 2019, I posted the first review here on the Animal Toy Blog. Now, I have the pleasure of posting review #500! Wow, 500 reviews just under two years! Many thanks to all the reviewers who have made this possible!

Allomyrina dichotoma is known as the Japanese rhinoceros beetle in English and kabutomushi in Japanese.

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