For my final Halloween post, I am reviewing a figure that was specifically sold as a Halloween novelty toy! I am referring to the black widow (Latrodectus mactans) by Fun World, which is a Division of Easter Unlimited, Inc., a novelty shop that sells seasonal and holiday-themed toys, décor, and costumes. Based on the stamp on the bottom of the toy, it was produced in 2015.
The toy could probably represent any one of a few species of Latrodectus, but I assume it’s L. mactans as that is the most common and familiar species, at least in North America. Latrodectus mactans occurs in the southeast quadrant of the United States. It makes irregular ‘dirty’ webs that commonly contain dead leaves and other windblown debris (Latrodectus belongs to the family Theridiidae, commonly called ‘cobweb weavers). Webs occur in woodpiles, under stones, among piles of rubble, in hollow stumps, in rodent burrows, and around human habitations, including in garages and sheds. The females are venomous and their fangs (chelicerae) can pierce human skin; the toxin produced is called alpha-latrotoxin that affects the nerves. Envenomation by L. mactans is called lactrodectism; symptoms can range from headache, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue to myocarditis, rhabdomyolysis, and possibly death (although death is rare, especially in healthy individuals).
The figure is quite large, comparable in size to the Smithsonian Collection and Hidden Kingdom figures by Safari Ltd. The legspan is 17 cm. The body length is 7.5 cm for a scale of 9:1-5.75:1 in scale. It is made out of a firm rubber; the abdomen is hollow and ‘squishy’ if squeezed (but in general the figure is firm enough to hold up well on its own). The proportions are pretty good for a widow. Spinnerets are sculpted, but the eye arrangement is wrong (as it is in most spider figures). Other than the classic red hourglass, the entire figure is solid black. Overall for a cheap novelty toy, it’s not that bad!
Overall, a figure like this probably wouldn’t appeal to most typical collectors, but it might be fun for kids!!! It is sold as a holiday prop and best used for decorating your house for Halloween (although some of us have ‘Halloween’ décor year round in our homes :). If you want a better representative of this species for your collection, the aforementioned Safari figures and the 2020 model by CollectA are fine (although none of them have the correct eye arrangement). If you want a smaller representative, the best is probably by Takara Tomy A.R.T.S.
When I first saw these I thought they were bootlegs of the Hidden Kingdom figure, seems I was incorrect?
No, they are not. The sculpts and proportions are different enough that they cannot be bootlegs. I just pulled both figures off my shelf and here are some obvious differences:
1. the abdomen of the Fun World figure is slightly longer than Safari
2. The Fun World has coxae (basal segment of the leg) sculpted, whereas Safari does not
3. The eyes on the Fun World figure are farther apart
4. The hourglass on the Safari figure is merely painted on; the Fun World has the hourglass sculpted on under the red paint