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. I recently reviewed one on my daily ‘Museum’ posts (the second in the set to be reviewed), and so I was inspired to do an overview of the entire collection on the Blog. One of the things I like most about this set, is they all come with really neat habitat-style ‘diorama’ bases. The figures are clearly made up of different pieces but come assembled, and I am not sure if they are safely removable from their bases or not (I have never seriously tried for fear of breakage). The frequency of the figures varies from very rare to very common (until 2020, one was unique).
Japanese rhinoceros beetle, Allomyrina dichotoma
No set of Japanese insects would be complete without good ol’ A. dichotoma. Probably the most commonly-made insect species (certainly the best represented in my personal collection). The figure sits on a log base that measures 6.0 cm long across its widest points. The beetle itself is 3.5 cm long (including the cephalic horn) for a scale of 1:2 for a major male. There are a couple small scarabaeoid beetles sculpted onto the log as well. Because they are green, I wonder if they were intended to represent the drone beetle, Pseudotorynorrhina japonica (P. japonica is attracted to sap flows on wood much like A. dichotoma).
Japanese giant water bug, Kirkaldyia deyrollei
This might be the neatest in the set. The bug comes with a frog ‘prey’ and a cool base simulating a submerged stem and aquatic vegetation. The bug attaches to the base and the frog attaches to the underside of the bug. The base has a maximum height of 6.5 cm and the bug has a body length of 3.2 cm (minus appendages) for an average scale of 1:2.
garden spider, Argiope amoena
This figure was unique until late 2020 when Kaiyodo made a much better version for their Capsule Q Museum line. The spider is sitting atop an orb web. A black hymenopteran, perhaps a winged ant or small be, representing prey trapped in the web, is painted on the underside. The web base is 6.2 cm long across its widest points and the body length of the spider is 2.0 cm, within scale 1:1.
large brown cicada, Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata
This figure depicts a freshly-molted adult cicada, which aligns it with the ecdysis process of G. nigrofuscata I previously covered on the Blog. The figure stands 6.0 cm tall and the body length of the cicada is 2.2 cm for a scale of 1:1.4-1:2. The nymphal exuvia attaches to the base and then the adult attaches to the exuvia. This is the most common species of cicada in toy form, and while simple in design, is also probably my favorite.
Japanese giant mantis, Tenodera aridifolia
This figure is depicted resting on a branch, with its wings open (the forewings probably should not have been as translucent as they are). The log is 6.0 cm long. The body length of the mantis is challenging to measure, but comes to about 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:1.1-1:1.4 depending on the sex (closer to 1:1 if a male).
So there we have a quick overview of the Figure Pictorial Book of Gakken Insect collection by Bandai. These are probably only going to appeal to those who like or at least don’t mind bases for their figures (follow my posts long enough and you know I do!). If one wanted these species as part of a synoptic collection, there are far better examples of all of them available. But for me, these still remain some of my favorite figures in my collection.