I recently completed a Holy Grail collection, so I thought to share it on the Blog. I am referring to the Butterflies to Go collection by Club Earth. I am not sure when it was released, but it was probably alongside the classic Play Visions collections in the late 1990s. The set consists of 12 species of butterflies.
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
Life Cycle of a Honey Bee (Tarlin)
4.7 (3 votes)
Today we are looking at an interesting collection from a company called Tarlin (I must admit, I had never heard of them before learning about this set). The set, which came out recently this year, is simply called ‘Bees’ and features developmental stages and brood chambers of the western honey bee, Apis mellifera.
Firefly (Chick-Fil-A Properties, Inc.)
2 (3 votes)
Walkaround of a novelty food premium, a firefly by Chick-Fil-A Properties, Inc., originally released in 2014. I like food premium figures. They are often unique, original releases, that tend to disappear quickly after being released. As such they are often difficult to obtain and over time may fetch a bit of money to acquire them!
Centipede (Hyde and Eek! Boutique by Target Brands)
3 (1 votes)
OK, this is a rather fun and goofy review to celebrate Halloween! I often like to do reviews of obscure or unusual figures, or neat figures of odd or unfamiliar brands. Today I bring you the review of a centipede, gen. sp. by Target Brands, as part of their Hyde and Eek!
Edible Crab (Marine Life by Papo)
5 (4 votes)
Today we are looking at the edible crab (Cancer pagurus) released just this year by Papo. This is an exciting figure. It is Papo’s first crustacean, and only the second crustacean in a Western company’s ‘Sealife/Marine life’ line following CollectA’s 2019 king crab (I am not counting figures in the Incredible Creatures line by Safari Ltd.).
Miracle of the Earth: The Brilliance of Fireflies (Jám)
4.3 (3 votes)
Today I am showcasing a very interesting set. It has been a ‘Holy Grail’ set for a while and I recently completed it. The figures in this set are probably worthy of individual reviews, but since it is such a rare and unusual set, and it is unlikely anyone else would have these figures to review (among our regulars), I thought I would show the whole set at once.
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).
Tyrol Grey Cattle (Farm Time by CollectA)
4.8 (5 votes)
As I mentioned when I reviewed the 2020 Papo Highland cattle, I really like cattle breeds. When it comes to the Eurasian stock (Bos taurus taurus), I started with the 2019 Hereford from CollectA, followed by the aforementioned 2020 Papo Highland Cattle, and now the 2020 Tyrol Grey cattle by CollectA.
Asian Giant Hornet (Revogeo by Kaiyodo)
5 (4 votes)
Today we are looking at the third release in Kaiyodo’s Revogeo line, the Asian giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia. The Revogeo figures are large, articulated, and (to date) all arthropods. Endemic to Southeast Asia, eastern Russia, and Japan, V. mandarinia is the world’s largest hornet. It gained some attention here in the U.S.
Little Barrier Giant Weta (Life with Insect by Bandai Spirits)
5 (3 votes)
Today we are looking at the Little Barrier giant weta (Deinacrida heteracantha) by Bandai Spirits (a sister company to Bandai) for their 2020 series, Life With Insect. The Life With Insect series was a special release only sold at a grocery store chain in Japan. The figures started to sell out quickly and now permeate online markets, such as eBay, fetching exhorbitant prices!
Large Brown Cicada, ecdysis process (Bandai, Bandai Spirits, Break Co. Ltd., & Kaiyodo)
5 (3 votes)
Today we are looking at the ecdysis process of the large brown cicada (Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata), a species of cicada distributed throughout much of Southeast Asia, including China, the Korean Peninsula, and Japan. The ecdysis process is whereby a growing animal sheds its skin as it gets larger (e.g., a molting snake) or an insect advancing to the next stage of development, as we will see in this review.
Western Capercaillie (Wild Life by Schleich)
5 (3 votes)
I received today’s figure in the mail just last week, even though it came out 20 years ago! I am talking about the western capercaillie, also known as a European grouse, Tetro urogallus, which was released by Schleich in 2000. A common and familiar bird, it is surprising there were so few figures made of it, and they are all, to the best of my knowledge, retired.