Recent acquisitions

[bmathison1972]

Some 2021 figures that are not from Japan. The desert warthog by Schleich (species designation on Schleich's own website) and the grey heron and common starfish by Papo. The heron is...WOW! The starfish replaces the older Safari WS Sealife figure, which is very nice, but big comparted to other starfish in my collection.

[Isidro]

Actually Schleich designated it as just warthog, and if we can narrow down to species is 100% sure the common warthog, the discrepance with scientific name has been already explained

[JimoAi]

  Here's my most recent haul

[bmathison1972]

What??? The Heliocoprion is available already???

[JimoAi]

What??? The Heliocoprion is available already???

yep

[JimoAi]

@bmathison1972 here's a size comparison

[bmathison1972]

I don't need a size comparison, I am getting it. In fact, I just ordered it from eBay!

[Gwangi]

My Helicoprion arrived yesterday, I posted it in the DTF but since we're talking about it here...

[bmathison1972]

Yeah Gwangi, I saw your pics there too! I just ordered mine! For some reason I thought it was a July release but happy to see it now.

[Isidro]

Nice eye colour
My favourite of your last photos is the blue shark, I need one hehe

[JimoAi]

A mini haul I got that includes Craig from south park, the mysterious Epoch Remoras (probs a Marlin sucker) and a Takara Tomy giant cusk eel

[Isidro]

I waaaaaant that remora.

[bmathison1972]

very nice, JimoAi

[JimoAi]

Correction: I meant Spearfish remora

[JimoAi]

I waaaaaant that remora.

Maybe try your luck with @brettnj. Wonder if he has any information on this or the Kaiyodo Aquarium Remora

[JimoAi]

Here's the Remora (on the dense between Marlin sucker and Spearfish Remora) on the Papo Oceanic Manta. Alerting @sbell on this unusual find

[sbell]

Here's the Remora (on the dense between Marlin sucker and Spearfish Remora) on the Papo Oceanic Manta. Alerting @sbell on this unusual find

I've seen that before. It's part of an Epoch set. The other figures are on similar bases, and it works by having the remora and then the figure fit onto the central peg.

Don't have one though, I don't recall having seen them much

[JimoAi]

Here's the Remora (on the dense between Marlin sucker and Spearfish Remora) on the Papo Oceanic Manta. Alerting @sbell on this unusual find

I've seen that before. It's part of an Epoch set. The other figures are on similar bases, and it works by having the remora and then the figure fit onto the central peg.

Don't have one though, I don't recall having seen them much

Kaiyodo did make one too based on the Indian Remora. I cut the base and used epoxy to secret the top of the head

[bmathison1972]

Some Japanese figures arrived today!

First up, the three Tarlin tarantulas. At first I thought Tarlin copied Epoch, who used these sculpts last year for a set of tarantulas, but then I realized Tarlin is a subsidiary of Epoch:
1. Mexican red-kneed tarantula, Brachypelma smithi
2. greenbottle blue tarantula, Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens
3. Indian ornamental tree spider, Poecilotheria regalis



Next three of the figures from Qualia's Japanese Snakes collection. They are not as stylized as I thought. I didn't realize I already Kaiyodo's mamushi, so now I have two and have to decide which I want to retain (honestly, I think I'll retain this Qualia figure; it's not proportioned perfectly but it has so much charm). These are all 'strap' figures, but the cords unscrew (the remaining hole might be unsightly for some, however).

1. Japanese rat snake, Elaphe climacophora
2. tiger keelback, Rhabdophis tigrinus
3. mamushi, Gloydius blomhoffii



Next, what is sure to be crowd favorites and pursued by many on the forums, four/five figures from the second volume of Kaiyodo's Toxic and Venomous Creatures collection. The centipede and box jelly are somewhat 'soft'; the salamander has a hard body and the ray is mostly hard but the tip of the tail is softish. These are all strap figures too, but the cords unscrew and the remaining hole is very discrete.

1) fire salamander (yellow, Salamandra salamandra)
2) box jelly (Carybdea brevipedalia)
3) centipede (Scolopendra hardwickei)
4) Xinju river ray (Potamotrygon leopoldi)



Last is the most ingenious. It is the golden-ringed dragonfly (Anotogaster sieboldii) and its nymph. You are probably wondering why the nymph is 'incomplete'. Well it turns out, parts of the adult are used for the nymph too. The body of the adult (exclusive of the wings) fits INSIDE the nymph and the adult's legs become the nymph's legs. Essentially, you can take a complete nymph and 'peel away' parts of it, revealing the adult. You just add the wings, and the adult is complete. To display both stages independently, one needs to purchase two figure sets; I have since ordered another as I want a complete nymph and adult as separate figures.
Once I have the second set, I plan on a Blog review documenting the assembly (or rather, disassembly) process!

[Isidro]

That dragonfly presentation is unbelievably original!!! But as for species, my favourite is the centipede - my most favourite chilopod species since ever - while for figures, my favourite is the river ray (because of size of the centipede).