AMT/Ertl Model Kits

[bmathison1972]

Walk-around of the Chinese mantis, Tenodera sinensis (Saussure, 1871) as part of the Colossal Mantis Diorama by AMT/Ertl in their Gigantics series, originally released in 1996. Aluminum Metal Toys (AMT) was a Michigan-based toy company that specialized in model cars, trucks, and such (and I believe most were plastic, despite the word 'aluminum' in their name). In 1978, AMT was purchased by British Lesney (the makers of Matchbox) and then in 1983 by Ertl and renamed AMT/Ertl. It was during that period this figure was made. In 2007, AMT was sold and its models reissued by independent companies until it was taken over by Round 2 LLC in Indiana. Most of the models throughout the years have been automobiles, with some Star Trek and other sci-fi products. There were at least three of these 'monster' arthropods released as part of a line called 'Gigantics'. I am not sure how many were made, but I have recently acquired the mantis (reviewed here), the scorpion, and tarantula. A quick Google search suggests there may have been a wasp as well.

The brief history of the company out of the way, let's examine the taxonomic issues with this figure. As you can see in an image below, the mantis was marketed as the praying mantis, Stagmomantis carolina. However, technically the term 'praying mantis' refers to Mantis religiosa. To complicate things, if you read further in the text, it says the model was based on the Chinese mantis (which refers to Tenodera sinensis). If we examine the morphology of the figure itself, it is clear it was indeed modeled after T. sinensis based on the form of the facial shield and that the wings extend to and beyond the tip of the abdomen. This is actually to my advantage, as figures by Japanese manufacturers are actually T. aridifolia, and as such this is a new species for me (although I was looking forward to a second Stagmomantis...).

As the name of the set and series suggests, these Gigantics figures were intended to appear as giant 'movie-monster' type creatures, displayed destroying a city or neighborhood. I, of course, am only interested in the animal itself and will not be assembling or painting its accessories. If you are curious, the people, cars, and much of the building are also gray plastic, but the ground and backdrop are painted cardboard.

The mantis figure comes in 23 pieces and is originally a pale gray. Glue is required to hold most of the pieces together. The sculpting on the figure is exquisite and morphologically it is probably one of the most detailed figures of this genus!

Unlike the recent Heller figures, I completely assembled this figure prior to painting. The paint scheme was inspired by the images on this BugGuide post (http://bugguide.net/node/view/231853/bgimage). I started with a base gray-brown then painted the brown and white and green on the wings, and used a yellow Pitt pen for the eyes. I then added stippling highlights for other parts of the body. I was nervous to try to add ornamentation to the face so it is left relatively plain (except the eyes for which I am very happy with). Like other figures I paint, the final version is covered with a satin varnish.

The final figure is about 140 mm tall by 165 mm long total (including appendages). Stretched out, the body would be about 170 mm, making it about 1.5:1 in scale.

On to the images:





















And the final product:





I hope to start on the tarantula this coming weekend...

[widukind]

Nice figurine

[bmathison1972]

Walk-around of the tarantula, Aphonopelma steindachneri (Ausserer, 1875) as part of the Huge Tarantula Diorama by AMT/Ertl in their Gigantics series, originally released in 1996. Aluminum Metal Toys (AMT) was a Michigan-based toy company that specialized in model cars, trucks, and such (and I believe most were plastic, despite the word 'aluminum' in their name). In 1978, AMT was purchased by British Lesney (the makers of Matchbox) and then in 1983 by Ertl and renamed AMT/Ertl. It was during that period this figure was made. In 2007, AMT was sold and its models reissued by independent companies until it was taken over by Round 2 LLC in Indiana. Most of the models throughout the years have been automobiles, with some Star Trek and other sci-fi products. There were at least three of these 'monster' arthropods released as part of a line called 'Gigantics'. I am not sure how many were made, but I have recently acquired the mantis (previously reviewed on the ATF), the scorpion, and tarantula (reviewed here). A quick Google search suggests there may have been a wasp as well.

Like the mantis, there are some taxonomic issues with the figure. The figure was marketed as 'Eurypelma californicum', a name that has been considered nomen dubium for decades. In 2012, it was proposed that most specimens assigned to E. californicum probably represent Aphonopelma hentzi. However, the species was originally described from California, and A. hentzi as currently delineated does not occur in California. In 2016, the genus Aphonopelma was revised, and there is no mention of E. californicum or the 2012 note about its possible connection to A. hentzi. Not being personally familiar with the taxonomic status of species prior to the revision, it's possible that in 2012 specimens from California were being attributed to A. hentzi. Anyway, to make a long story short (I know, too late), I have decided to paint my figure after A. steindachneri, a large black species from southern California (I figure, if this is going to represent a spider destroying a city in California, might as well be Los Angeles...).

As the name of the set and series suggests, these Gigantics figures were intended to appear as giant 'movie-monster' type creatures, displayed destroying a city or neighborhood. I, of course, am only interested in the animal itself and will not be assembling or painting its accessories. If you are curious, the people, cars, and much of the building are also gray plastic, but the ground and backdrop are painted cardboard.

Like the mantis, the tarantula figure comes in 23 pieces and is originally a pale gray. Glue is required to hold most of the pieces together. The legs were two pieces each, halved down the length of the legs. When assembled, the tips do not touch, giving the impression of cleft claws. I am not sure if this is intentional or if they just don't align perfectly along their lengths. The model came with an assembly stand to help attach the legs.

Also like the mantis, I completely assembled this figure prior to painting. I painted everything except the abdomen black, and then the abdomen a very dark gray. I used that same dark gray to 'dust' the legs and chelicerae (might not be clearly visible in pics). I am not going to put any contrasting highlights anywhere, keeping the figure relatively dark and uniform (like some specimens of the assigned species). Like all figures I paint, the final product was covered with a satin varnish.

The body of the figure is 105 mm long, not including appendages or mouthparts, and the carapace is 45 mm long, making it slightly larger than 2:1 for an adult female (we can assume from the lack of leg spurs the figure is a female).

On to the pics...



















and the final product:

[widukind]

very nice figurine

[bmathison1972]

Walk-around of the Arizona hairy scorpion, Hadrurus arizonensis Ewing, 1928 as part of the Rampaging Scorpion Diorama by AMT/Ertl in their Gigantics series, originally released in 1996. Aluminum Metal Toys (AMT) was a Michigan-based toy company that specialized in model cars, trucks, and such (and I believe most were plastic, despite the word 'aluminum' in their name). In 1978, AMT was purchased by British Lesney (the makers of Matchbox) and then in 1983 by Ertl and renamed AMT/Ertl. It was during that period this figure was made. In 2007, AMT was sold and its models reissued by independent companies until it was taken over by Round 2 LLC in Indiana. Most of the models throughout the years have been automobiles, with some Star Trek and other sci-fi products. There were at least four of these 'monster' arthropods released as part of a line called 'Gigantics'. I recently acquired the mantis, the scorpion, and tarantula, and there is also a wasp I still need to get. I have already reviewed the mantis and tarantula here on the ATF.

Unlike the mantis and tarantula, this model was not marketed after an exact species. The paint scheme they recommend is for 'common North American scorpions,' but they also refer the user to the box lid for 'a more exotic breed'. I have decided to paint mine after H. arizonensis because the morphology (especially with regards to the sternum) best fits members of the family Iuridae (although the tail looks like that of a buthid...). To my knowledge there are no figures specifically marketed as H. arizonensis, although this genus was most-certainly the inspiration for the Hidden Kingdom and Desert TOOB figures by Safari LTD.

As the name of the set and series suggests, these Gigantics figures were intended to appear as giant 'movie-monster' type creatures, displayed destroying a city or neighborhood. I, of course, am only interested in the animal itself and will not be assembling or painting its accessories. If you are curious, the people, cars, and much of the building are also gray plastic, but the ground and backdrop are painted cardboard.

Unlike the mantis and tarantula, the scorpion comes in only 19 pieces, but is still the same a pale gray base color. Glue is required to hold most of the pieces together, and like the tarantula comes with an assembly stand to help attach the legs. If you look at the morphology of the tail you will notice it appears to be 'upside down'. The way the figure assembles, it is impossible to correct since the basal two segments of the tail are permanently attached to the main body. At least I was able to attach the stinger in the correct position (contrary to their recommendations...).

Like the first two figures reviewed, I completely assembled this figure prior to painting. I initially painted everything a brown-yellow (I don't like the yellow paint I have been using—it's awfully thick and applies kinds of paste-like...). I painted the medial and lateral eyes and stinger black. I used a gray Pitt pen to add gray bands to the dorsum. Like all figures I paint, the final product was covered with a satin varnish.

Stretched out, the figure would be roughly 17.5 cm, making it slightly larger than 1:1 for a large specimen (natural length up to about 14 cm).

On to the pics...





















and the final product...