Having recently showcased CollectA’s small tortoiseshell butterfly (Aglais urticae) in my daily ‘Museum’ posts on the ATF, I thought it would be a good opportunity to review it for the Blog! I was contemplating just migrating over my forum walk-around, but I am not happy with those images, so I took new ones for a fresh review. I remember being really excited when the figure was first released in 2010 as I thought it was a novel species in toy form (however, at the time I was unaware of the 1998 version by Bullyland). It’s still not a commonly made species. CollectA would produce it again in 2020 for their Mini Insects and Spiders tube. I also have a larva from a company called Beam that I have tentatively identified as A. urticae. Many of the Beam caterpillars were influenced by the Club Earth Caterpillars to Go, but the ‘A. urticae‘ was not. I have also seen the sculpts used by Beam released under other names, so who knows their true origins anyway?
The small tortoiseshell is a common and familiar species of butterfly throughout much of Eurasia, with rare vagrants showing up in North America. They commonly inhabit fields, meadows, roadsides, disturbed areas, and suburban parks and gardens. Larvae primarily feed on plants in the genus Urtica (nettles), but also Humulus (hops). Adults take nectar from a wide variety of flowers.
The figure has a wingspan of approximately 7.0 cm, with makes it slightly larger than 1:1 for a large specimen (scale range 1.5:1-1.1:1). Like most of CollectA’s insects, it is made with a very hard and firm PVC and the surface is well-textured. The shape of the wings is accurate for the species; the wings are a bit thick, but that’s probably to prevent breakage. Alas, our friend here today suffers a common affliction with figures of nymphalid butterflies, and that’s the presence of six functional (walking) legs; the first pair of legs should be reduced to small sensory structures.
The color is very well done, both dorsally and ventrally, albeit maybe not as bright as the actual animal dorsally! CollectA insects tend to have a more subdued, matte finish than the living animal.
Overall, this is a charming toy that would make a great addition to any collection, especially for those interested in uncommonly-made and interesting taxa.
Pic with it’s 2020 ‘mini’ counterpart:
Pic with the Beam larva:
