No spooky season would be complete without a member of Araneae, the spiders, quite possibly the animal most symbolic of Halloween. What haunted attraction isn’t covered in fake spider webbing? And what child doesn’t bring home at least one plastic spider ring after a night of trick or treating? Today we’re looking at the 2016 Papo “tarantula”, a figure that our own Blaine Mathison stated, “might be the best spider figure ever produced”.
Classification: Arachnids
Brown Dog Tick (Merial)
4 (4 votes)
Commonly called the brown dog tick or kennel tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus is the most widely distributed tick species in the world. It’s primary hosts are dogs and other canids, but it can bite humans as well. However, it doesn’t have a strong predilection for humans, and even in households where dogs are infested, their human owners may never get bitten.
Crawlers (Pocket Explorers by Phidal Publishing Inc.)
3 (4 votes)
Pocket Explorers is a line of books by put out by Phidal Publishing. They designed for children and are educationally driven. Looking at their website, the themes are Reptiles, Wild Cats, Dinosaurs, Sharks, Polar Animals, Birds of Prey, Bears, and Crawlers, the last of which we will be looking at today.
Black Widow (Hidden Kingdom Insects by Safari Ltd.)
3.7 (6 votes)
In what seems to have become an annual trend, I am reviewing a southern black widow spider (Latrodectus mactans) as part of the ‘spooky’ October reviews. In 2021, I reviewed one by Eastern Unlimited that was specifically sold as Halloween decor. Last year I reviewed Safari’s 1998 figure that was released for the Smithsonian Insects line.
Common House Spider (Garden Animals by Papo)
5 (2 votes)
Before I start this review, I must again thank our friends at Happy Hen Toys who kindly donated this review sample for the Blog.
When today’s figure was first announced, it was referred to as a ‘common spider’. That left the door open for several ideas on what it might be (especially since the promo pic wasn’t taken at the most diagnostically-helpful angle).
Black Widow (Smithsonian Insects by Safari Ltd.)
3.5 (2 votes)
So for my Halloween blog review, which I regret is my only one this year, I will be covering the Smithsonian Insects black widow (Latrodectus mactans) by Safari Ltd., originally produced back in 1998. One of my Halloween reviews last year was also L. mactans, but a novelty toy specifically sold as Halloween decor.
Barn Spider (North Coast Creations)
4.3 (3 votes)
Today’s review is significant in a couple of ways. For one, it’s October, which means it is now spooky season on the blog. A time to focus our reviews on the creepy critters usually associated with Halloween. It also just so happens to be my 100th review. Coming up with a sentimental or special figure to review, that also ties in with our seasonal theme, seemed like such an impossible task that I almost gave up on it.
Sahara Desert TOOB (Safari Ltd.)
4.8 (8 votes)
The Sahara Desert covers about 25% of the African continent and is the largest hot desert in the world, with an area of 3,600,000 square miles (9,200,000 km). This immense ecosystem is made up of sand dunes, some of which are 500’ tall, stone plateaus, sand seas, gravel plains, dry valleys, and sand flats.
3D Picture Book Spiders of the World (Toys Spirits)
2.3 (3 votes)
Today I am reviewing an ingenious collection of spiders by Toy Spirits. The collection is called 3D Picture Book Spiders of the World. The verbiage ‘3D Picture Book’ (or similar) is used often in Japanese figures, most notably by Yujin, but this time it is very appropriate, as the figures come displayed in small books (more on that below).
Emperor Scorpion (Wild Life Africa by Schleich)
4.6 (5 votes)
Native to the rainforests of equatorial West Africa, the emperor scorpion, Pandinus imperator, is one of the most familiar and popular scorpion species. Its large size, fearsome appearance, docile nature, and mild venom make it very popular in the pet trade. It should be no surprise than that it is the most commonly-made scorpion in the toy market.
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.
Black Widow (Fun World by Easter Unlimited, Inc.)
1 (1 votes)
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.
Castor Bean Tick (3B Scientific)
5 (2 votes)
For my next instalment of creepy critters for October, I decided to review the castor bean tick (also known in Europe as the sheep tick, Ixodes ricinus) by Germany-based 3B Scientific. I also chose this figure because it’s my forum avatar, and I have never presented it here.
Scorpion (Wild Animals by Papo)
5 (5 votes)
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
Today I want to introduce you to a creepy crawly that is probably even more abhorred or feared than its close relatives, the spiders. Where I live this is mainly an abstract fear, as there are no scorpions here as of yet (let’s see what climate change brings us within the next 20 years).