Toy Major Butterflies
Review of
Butterflies produced by Toy Major in 1996. OK, butterfly sets have been made multiple times. Club Earth did a set, Safari LTD did at least three (Collectors Case, Authentics, TOOB), K&M did a tube, US Toy did a small set, and I have figures from sets not attributable to manufacturers.
All of these below are marked ‘TM’ and ‘1996’. They have letters on the underside, but the letters are duplicated and not just on a figure of the same sculpt. Makes me wonder if TM produced two sets of 12 in 1996. I probably bought these in the early 2000s and honestly cannot remember where I bought them. My numbering below is random and not how the figures are marked or marketed.
Because they were not marketed as specific species (to my knowledge) the identifications are all mine. Several are based on the Club Earth set (these companies all had habit of copying one another) but many are from my deductions, often by using ‘The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Butterfly World’ by Paul Smart in conjunction with Google searches.
I am sure these are not all the best identifications possible. If anyone has a better idea, PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS. If anything, I hope this thread will initiate discussion on these and other figures…
Several factors were taken into consideration when making an ID. Shape and color were the big ones, but sometimes you have to ‘read between the lines’ and note that a prominent color on the figure might be a minor accent on the real thing. Think of it this way, if some painted a toy zebra, the way it was painted could determine if it appeared to be white with black stripes or black with white stripes. So, at times you have to be creative and try to get into the mind of the artist.
Papilionidae (swallowtails)1. eastern tiger swallowtail,
Papilio glaucus. This is a fairly safe determination given that this species has been made several times before.
photo hosting2. anise swallowtail,
Papilio zelicaon. Based on the color, this could be several things (the Old World swallowtail,
P. xuthus, is another possibility). I chose this one namely because it was also made by Club Earth.
image upload with preview3. nobile swallowtail,
Papilio nobilis. I am not happy with this ID, but I couldn’t find another tailed species with a pale orange-brown base color.
upload gifs4. purple-spotted swallowtail,
Graphium weiskei. This figure pops up in toy form now and then, including by Club Earth.
pic hosting5. pipevine swallowtail,
Battus philenor. While these colors are clearly those of the pipevine swallowtail, they are the colors of the
underside of the organism. Like adding or removing tails, painting the venter on the dorsum is also not unheard-of with toy butterflies… Beam did a larva of this species.
forum image hosting6. Cairns birdwing,
Ornithoptera euphorion. This is generic enough it might represent any one of a few birdwings, but Cairns was also made by Club Earth (as well as by Cadbury-Yowies).
free photo uploadNymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies).
7. monarch,
Danaus plexippus. This is the most-commonly made species of butterfly and its ID cannot be in question here, either.
upload gambar8. queen,
Danaus gilippus. This figure could also represent the tropic queen,
D. eresimus, but I thought the queen was the more logical choice. The unbranded caterpillar sets include a larva of this species.
photo hosting sites9. red admiral,
Vanessa atalanta. A distinctive shape and color, this species was also made by Bullyland and Skillcraft. Surprisingly, neither this species nor the mourning cloak (next) were made by Club Earth.
upload gambar10. mourning cloak,
Nymphalis antiopa. A distinctive species and possibly a unique figure!
photo uploading websites11. Large tortoiseshell,
Nymphalis polychloros. I waffled back-and-forth with this one. At first I thought it was a
Papilio or
Graphium without tails (but the shape in general never sat right with me). Adding tails where they shouldn’t be, or removing them when they should be there, is not unheard of among toys (Safari added tails to both its
Morpho peleides and
Idea leucone in their Collectors Case). I then started looking at
Polygonia and
Nymphalis and suspected the spots on the wings were just painted as continuous stripes…
image hosting 30 mb12. purple emperor,
Apatura iris. Not as realistic as its Club Earth counterpart.
free picture upload13. red glider,
Cymothoe sangaris. This predates, and is a much better example of, the figure by Safari LTD for their Butterfly TOOB.
photo upload sites14. Graecian shoemaker,
Catonephele numilia. Very similar to its Club Earth counterpart (I do not think I would have ever figured this one out if CE hadn’t made one!).
images hosting15. Menelaus morpho,
Morpho menelaus. Generic at the genus level, I chose this species as it’s commonly made (the Club Earth species clearly represents
M. cypris).
how do you print screen16. large true forester,
Euphaedra sarcoptera. I am not happy with this ID but it is a best fit for the
underside (again) of
E. sarcoptera. There just are not many species incorporating pink and green with black spots.
imgurlPieridae (whites, sulfurs, orangetips)17. southern dogface,
Zerene cesonia. This might represent something else but I think this is the best match (plus it’s one of my favorite leps). K&M did one for their Butterflies tube. Interestingly, the only pierid in this set!
picture sharingLycaenidae (gossamer-winged butterflies)18. crowned hairstreak,
Evenus coronata. Being from Arizona, I always associated this figure and others like it with the great purple hairstreak (
Atlides halesus) but
E. coronata was made by Club Earth and others and this seems to be the species of this morphotype…
upload image online free19. coral jewel,
Hypochrysops miskini. I bounced around several lycaenids but finally settled on this one. This could easily be assigned to other species if you guys have a preference for your own collections…
free upload pictures20. Genoveva azure,
Ogyris Genoveva. Again, not the best example but it corresponds to the Club Earth figure.
image hosting over 5mb21. small copper,
Lycaena phlaeus var.
schmedtii. I bounced around a few
Lycaena species (including
L. gorgona) but finally settled on this one.
upload gifsRiodinidae (metalmarks)22. Cramer’s mesene,
Mesene phareus. This does not seen to be a great representative of this species, but it is in-line with the Club Earth Figure (and a good example why the target species may not be immediately recognizable).
screen capture windowsUNASSIGNEDThese last two I am just not comfortable with:
23. This is probably a color variant of
Graphium weiskei (above)—just not many options utilizing pink, green, and white.
adult image hosting24. I am really stumped here. I was hoping the pink spots would be an indicator but I cannot find anything like it.
image uploading
