For this review, I deep dive for our October scary theme, and talk of blood sucking horrors, Vampires. In the deepest parts of the ocean, where even the sun fears to shine, live creatures of a frightening and ghoulish nature. One of these creatures floats silently through the waters, looking for prey to devour. This beast is Vampyroteuthis infernalis, THE VAMPIRE SQUID FROM HELL!!!!!!!!!!!
This denizen of the deep, with it’s writhing tentacles, reaches a… mere 30 centimetres in length. Ok, dropping the overly creepy stuff, the Vampire squid is actually a docile animal, it’s name coming from the membranes that connect it’s tentacles, which can be brought up to form something akin to a vampire’s cape, covered in sharp looking but ineffectual spikes, a defence mechanism along with jets of bioluminescence, as ink would have no effect. There aren’t many models of this species about, but thankfully Kaiyodo are always happy to fill the void. Let’s see how they did.
This is part of Kaiyodo’s bottlecap series, with the caps having scenery and stands to really bring the models to life. It also displays information on the animal, like name, size and how deep they are found, 700-1500 metres in this case. They may work on actual bottles, but they certainly won’t fit on any screw tops, which is a shame. Who wouldn’t want a vampire squid to protect their drink? (I don’t think anyone has ever said that before!)
Kaiyodo really nailed the look of this animal, not missing a single anatomical feature, even having the the tubes for it’s bioluminescence to be funnelled through. The membranes that form it’s cape, though hard to see due to the pose, are actually translucent, so light will pass through, a really nice touch. The pose is simple, as if slowly drifting through the dark, as the Vampire squid does as it looks for food in the abyss. A nice touch, though it would have been great to have another with it’s tentacles and membrane open, but never mind. It is quite small, measuring 1.9″ long and 0.4″ high, which works well for this small creature. The base helps to give it the look of it floating through the water, really works.
I love Kaiyodo for both their extinct and extant models, as they are willing to create models of animals few other companies do. This is a prime example of this, a great model of an obscure species. This line is discontinued now, so eBay or other second hand sites will be your best bet. I definitely think it’s worth it though, so grab it if you see it. It doesn’t disappoint.
I enjoy your reviews but I really wish you could get your camera to focus on the figures you’re photographing. I know you can do it because I’ve seen clear pictures of small figures in some of your other reviews. It’s hard to appreciate the figure when it’s blurry like it is, kind of defeats the purpose of having pictures at all.