Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
I always have a love-hate relationship to blind bag/box figures. On one hand it’s thrilling to try to get what you want, but if you’re on a budget, it can be a nightmare especially if the figure you want isn’t appearing despite spending a lot of money. Today’s subject, is exactly that: mini blind box-style figures that feature fishes in tiny aquariums. They are part of the Lifestyle series in the Mini-verse catalogue by MGA, which also features succulents and candles which I have no use for. The ‘blind’ fishes can be quite easily distinguished by the fact they’re usually the heavier ones, as they come with a bottle of resin which labels if it’s saltwater or freshwater, a tank, substrate, a coral or plant, and the fish/turtle itself, which except for the turtles, are mounted on a transparent base. There are 6 total sculpts in the aquarium line: clownfish, blue tang, butterflyfish, goldfish, slider turtle, and betta. Today we would be taking a look at each individual figure in the saltwater fish assortment.
Clown Anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris)
Size: 1.1 cm
Scale: 1:3-1:10
Species frequency in being made into toy form: Common
The classic ‘Nemo’ has to be included in almost every marine life set. The unique accessories of this figure include a yellow coral, a cylinder tank, and multicolored gravel substrate. This is the smallest figure of the species that I’m aware of, and that is also an accurate depiction of the species. Colors are pretty standard with orange with white stripes outlined in black. I feel this is the weakest of the three pieces due to the fact of poor printing on both figures I got. the first one was really odd, with the stripes centered so that I had to get another one, for which I had to spend an ungoldy amount of money. Despite that, I think it’s one of the best clownfish, even for it’s size. Its tiny size makes it scale with a lot of standard-sized marine life figures. A bonus is that it’s cast in a translucent material to be more lifelike.
Copperband Butterflyfish (Chelmon rostratus)
size: 1.4 cm
scale: 1:10-1:14
Species frequency in being made into toy form: Very rare
A welcome addition of a copperband butterflyfish in the set, as despite being a readily recognizable species, they aren’t made almost at all. I feel this one is the best one in how well they capture the species in a small scale with the translucent white body, orange stripes with black outlines, and even the eyespot! Accessories include a cuboid tank, fake aquarium plants, and a magenta substrate. Pretty ironic that this species was included despite being notoriously difficult to feed in the aquarium trade, but I guess it’s a very familiar species! I have gotten about 6 of these trying to find another anemonefish so they’re pretty common!
Blue Hippo Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus)
size:1.5 cm
scale:1:10-1:20
Species frequency in being made into toy form: Uncommon
Another classic figure, and the biggest of the bunch. Its accessories include a fishbowl, leather coral, and yellow substrate. This one is the least accurate out of the three, with the pectoral fins being too rounded and too yellow. Other than that, the rest of the paint is well done and accurate: blue main body with black markings and yellow pectoral and caudal fins, albeit a bit off-printed. Out of the three, this one scales well with many larger figures since it’s 1:20 for a large specimen, and it scales perfectly well with Monterey Bay Aquarium figures. Even so, it still fits well with a lot of figures, too, due to it’s small size.
Overall, I think they’re among the best fish miniatures in that they tried to capture the life-like looks despite falling short, but the small size is somewhat forgivable. The bowls can be filled with resin that is provided to make a tiny aquarium scene but I won’t be doing that as I’m opposed to putting fishes in fishbowls. These figures are part of Mini-verse Lifestyle Series 1 and are quite new, appearing in physical toy stores and online retailors. Since they’re blind boxes, it’s a gamble to if you’re getting what you want, so eBay is the best bet, although you would probably have to pay a little more (which is better than buying tons and not getting what you want).
Comparison with some other sea life that fits within the 1:20 scale: Yujin Napoleon wrasse, Colorata frilled shark, Ikimon coelacanth, Papo leatherback turtle, Colorata arapaima, Schleich 2005 great white shark:
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