I’m a little late to the Hallowe’en party this year…but better late than never. And in that spirit, here’s a set of animals that, if you mess with them, ‘late’ could be your proper adjective. Animals that as a group tend to create a visceral if generally unnecessary fear and loathing, even though most are harmless.
Aquatic Museum (Wing Mau)
5 (1 votes)
Review of the complete set Aquatic Museum by Wing Mau. While in recent years, it appears Wing Mau is producing and marketing figures by Play Visions, Club Earth, and K&M International, this appears to be an original set of theirs. The set consists of six species of crabs native to Japan and surrounding areas, one of which is a unique figure (see below).
Blue-ringed Octopus (Water World by Bullyland)
4.6 (7 votes)
When I was in high school, I did a report on the top 10 most venomous animals in the world, based on an article in one of the nature magazines I was subscribed to at the time. I don’t remember what the article’s criteria was for determining the ‘most venomous’ (potency?
Kidako Moray (Enoshima Aquarium 3D Atlas Anima Series 2 by Kaiyodo)
5 (2 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
The Kidako moray (Gymnothorax kidako) is a species of moray eel inhabiting coral reefs in subtropical and tropical seas around western to central Ocean Pacific area from Taiwan to Polynesia, including Hawaii, and from south Japan and Korea to New Caledonia.
Sharks of the World Box Set (Colorata)
3.5 (6 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
Happy Shark Week to everyone who loves sharks! This is the time of year where TV programs go out of their way to showcase shark-based programs, most notably Discovery Channel and National Geographic. These programs help open the doors to knowledge on these animals and help the general public understand, instead of fear, these misunderstood creatures, although some programs may over sensationalize rather than give true facts.
Blacktip Reef Shark (Marine Life by Papo)
4.8 (4 votes)
The blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) is one of the most recognizable sharks, a staple in aquariums that frequents shallow coral reefs in the wild, which makes it popular among tourists and SCUBA divers. The blacktip reef shark is a generally timid species with only 11 unprovoked attacks and 21 attacks total to its name, none of them fatal.
Lantern Shark (Wild Republic Rubber Balls by K&M International)
4.5 (2 votes)
So, it’s Shark Week again and once more I rise up from my own thing to bring in a couple of unusual shark models. Because I can never just bring up a more familiar figure because that’s too easy! So I’m going to look at a tiny little figure that just happens to represent a pretty tiny shark!
Crested Gecko (Incredible Creatures by Safari Ltd.)
4.8 (9 votes)
The Safari crested gecko (Correlophus ciliatus) is new for 2022 and part of their Incredible Creatures line. It’s a fitting addition too. The crested gecko is only found on the island country of New Caledonia. Specifically, on the southern portion of the island of Grand Terre and on Isle of Pines.
Bullock’s Nudibranch (Incredible Creatures by Safari Ltd.)
4.8 (9 votes)
Bullock’s nudibranch (Hypselodoris bullockii) is a colorful and familiar sea slug from the Indo-Pacific region. They are benthic in nature and are often associated with coral reefs. It turns out, many historical records of H. bullockii are incorrect, due to morphologic confusion with other species in the bullockii-complex.
Goldendoodle (Farm World by Schleich)
4.5 (4 votes)
Review and images by Bonnie; edited by bmathison1972
As soon as I knew Schleich were releasing a crossbreed featuring a golden retriever I was very excited to see it in real life!
I think this is a really interesting model, as it is the first time Schleich have released a cross-breed dog officially named and in their main dog series!
Salmon-crested Cockatoo (Webkinz by Ganz)
3.3 (3 votes)
Review and images by Birdsage; edited by bmathison1972
The Salmon-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis), also known as the Moluccan Cockatoo, is a species of parrot that is endemic to Seram and several other islands in Indonesia’s Maluku Archipelago. The species resides in lowland rainforests up to an altitude of 1,000 m (3,300 ft).
Thylacine (Southlands Replicas)
4.8 (5 votes)
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Alas, less than five years after its promising debut, the animal toy company known as Southlands Replicas is no more. But while it did exist, it produced many superb renditions of Australian fauna, including the tragically extinct thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus)..
Green Christmas Beetle (Yowies Series 1, UK and Australian releases by Cadbury)
4 (1 votes)
This week Christmas is celebrated throughout much of the world. In trying to keep with holiday themes, I have decided to review a pair of green Christmas beetles (Anoplognathus punctulatus) by Cadbury that were released in both the Australian and UK Yowies collections in 1997. Members the genus Anoplognathus are commonly called ‘Christmas beetles’ as they tend to be abundant during Christmas time in Australia.
Giant Clam (Shellfish with a Lid Mascot Vol. 3 by Toys Spirits)
5 (1 votes)
Right about the time I decided the review the Cadbury Yowie giant clam a couple weeks ago, Toy Spirits (a subsidiary of SO-TA, or vice versa) decided to produce one in the third volume of their Shellfish with a Lid Mascot series. The figure was not marketed at the species level, but I bought it hoping I could confidentially identify it as something different than the Cadbury figure which was specifically marketed as Tridacna maxima.
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.