Blaine's Bug of the Day

[bmathison1972]

Today, I received the Life With Insect set by Bandai, new for 2020. These were sold as exclusives at a grocery store in Japan. I secured mine early, before the prices skyrocketed LOL. There are 8 figures; I bought 7 of them (the 8th was a color morph of the D. hercules and cost twice as much!). They figures are all 1:1 in scale.

First, the boxes (paper towel role shows you the sizes of the boxes - much of the size is in packaging).



Figure A. Hercules beetle, Dynastes hercules:



Figure B. Stag beetle, Prosocopoilus giraffa:



Figure C. Goliath beetle, Goliathus goliatus:
This is a HUGE figure



Figure D. Little Barrier giant weta, Deinacrida heteracantha:
@sphyrna18 - this one is for you ;-)
I plan on making this my next blogpost!



Figure E. This is a set of three smaller figures (but still 1:1). They are all immature stages:

1. The larva of the Japanese rhinoceros beetle, Allomyrina dichotoma:
Hard to appreciate in this pic, the posterior end of the abdomen is translucent.



2. Larva of the Asian swallowtail, Papilio xuthus:



3. nymphal exuvia of the large brown cicada, Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata:
Interesting, this is not the nymph, but rather the shed skin (exuvia). You can partially make out the slit in the top where the adult emerged from:



Here is a group shot of all of them:

[Beetle guy]

Nice Blaine!
Really great models! I got the G. goliathus and D. hercules. Also two X. dichotomus larvae ;-)
I modified the painting on the G. goliathus and D. hercules. I am pleased with these modifications. Will share some pic's of them in the customize section.
The Weta also looks nice! But when I wanted to order it is was around 60 euro. That is a bit to much for me. Especially knowing the retail price of these was around 700 Yen.

The design style of these reminds me of the Bandai/Sega beetles of the Mushiking DX-special series. Also very acurate (even if some models have bulky legs like the P. giraffa in this series).

[bmathison1972]

Thanks @Beetle guy

What I didn't know until I received them, is they are technically not Bandai figures; they are by Bandai Spirits, which is technically a separate, sister, company to Bandai (but they form a monophyletic group LOL).

For the Blog, I only plan on reviewing the weta, caterpillar, and cicada (the last of which will be combined with figures from other brands). So, for now I don't plan on reviewing any of the three you bought :-)

[Beetle guy]

Does the cicada skin look beter than the Kaiyodo animatales cicada?
I cannot deside from the pic's I have seen on the web.

If the prices drop I will get the Weta ;-)

[bmathison1972]

Does the cicada skin look beter than the Kaiyodo animatales cicada?
I cannot deside from the pic's I have seen on the web.

If the prices drop I will get the Weta ;-)

I think the Kaiyodo ones are better

[Beetle guy]

I think the Kaiyodo ones are better

Thanks! I will pass on it.

[BlueKrono]

How large is something like the weta out of the packaging? As an environmentally-conscious person I find excessive packaging problematic.

[bmathison1972]

How large is something like the weta out of the packaging? As an environmentally-conscious person I find excessive packaging problematic.

The weta is 10.0 cm not including appendages. I haven't measured the whole thing, but it covers my open hand and fingers (you'll see pics when I get to the Blog review of it).

I am also very conscious of excess packaging (packaging often dictates what foods I buy, usually only picking things in recyclable containers). Luckily, the packaging around these figures is all easily recyclable.

[Advicot]

Even if certain packaging won't recycle the best thing is just to reuse it as much as you possibly can, e.g. biscuit trays as planters for seedlings, plastic wrap for packaging up figures when doing a trade etc

[sphyrna18]

THAT WETA!!!! WOW! That is an amazing figure!  Geez - I hope I get one soon!  I didn't realize they were Bandai Spirits, which always skyrocket in price, but hopefully I can find one for a decent price.  Congrats, though, on another really great figure.  I'm looking forward to your review!

[bmathison1972]

2020 Kaiyodo Revogeo Asian giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia Smith, 1852.

This will be my next Blog review, later this week or next weekend.

[BlueKrono]

A fitting choice for 2020, especially here in the States. Think they did that on purpose?

[bmathison1972]

A fitting choice for 2020, especially here in the States. Think they did that on purpose?

Not at all. These have been planned for years (and Japanaese companies have made this species several times over the years)

[BlueKrono]

Well hopefully it will boost their sales with all the press this species is getting.

[stargatedalek]

The comic shop I work at has the Revogeo hornet advertised in the previews we were sent, with a whole spotlight for it that briefly touched on the recent sightings. Considering how rare it is that even licensed Kaiyodo figures are included I think it's fair to say there is going to be at least a little bit of a boost given the newfound interest.

Those Bandai Spirits insects are incredible, I saw the weta in your photos and finally decided I couldn't wait any longer on snatching that one up.

[bmathison1972]

yes, I should elaborate. The reports from the US will not influence production in Japan, BUT it might get more American buyers/collectors to pursue these figures.

However, I could see a US-based company like Safari looking into this for an Incredible Creature or such. Doubtful, but we can always hope .

[Loon]

That's a pretty neat looking hornet. This is articulated, right? I'm not a bug collector, but looking through your pictures makes me really want to start.

[bmathison1972]

That's a pretty neat looking hornet. This is articulated, right? I'm not a bug collector, but looking through your pictures makes me really want to start.

Hi Loon, yes it is heavily articulated. I plan on a Blog review later this week where I will mention all the points of articulation, among other things

[bmathison1972]

New arrivals today, the Anomalocaris canadensis and Olenoides serratus from the 2020 Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. set called, The Great Old Sea. They are articulated, and there is minimal assembly for the Anomalocaris. Not sure why I bought these, other than I am a completist for most arthropods identifiable at the genus or species level. These represent the first and third most commonly made extinct arthropods (Opabinia is probably second), and there are better examples on the market. Don't get me wrong, however, as I really like them. The third figure in the set was an (extant?) coelocanth.

I plan on reviewing the Amomalocaris for the Dino Toy Blog, and maybe the Olenoides, unless someone else really has the urge to.

[sirenia]

New arrivals today, the Anomalocaris canadensis and Olenoides serratus from the 2020 Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. set called, The Great Old Sea. They are articulated, and there is minimal assembly for the Anomalocaris. Not sure why I bought these, other than I am a completist for most arthropods identifiable at the genus or species level. These represent the first and third most commonly made extinct arthropods (Opabinia is probably second), and there are better examples on the market. Don't get me wrong, however, as I really like them. The third figure in the set was an (extant?) coelocanth.

I plan on reviewing the Amomalocaris for the Dino Toy Blog, and maybe the Olenoides, unless someone else really has the urge to.

Wow! That display is amazing! Look forward to seeing your reviews.