The Japanese Tiger beetle Cicindela chinensis japonica is a subspecies of Cicindela chinensis, a species of ground beetles native to Asia. The real beetles size can reach 2 cm, the figurine is 3,5 cm (not including the legs and antennae).
Kaiyodo released the figurine of this beautiful beetle in their 9th ChocoQ Animatales series line up in 2004. Matsumura Shinobu designed the prototypes. It is a beautiful figurine, delicately painted and sculpted with very slender legs and antennae and much detail. The posture is very typical for a tiger beetle. The figurine is not a toy. Due to its fragilty it is more a figurine for display. The beetle originaly came in a small capsule inside a chocolate egg. There came a little paper with assembly instructions with it.
If you are a collector of beetle and insect figurines you probably do not want to miss out on this one. Since it was released for a short time in 2004 finding it in auctions like Yahoo Auctions or Ebay might be your best chance.
