Crustacea: Decapoda (crabs, shrimps, lobsters, crayfish)

[bmathison1972]

I was traveling for six days but now I am back so time to update this thread. This time, the decapods produced by Kitan Club as part of the Nature Techni Colour Series (now produced by Ikimon).

back row, left to right:
1. giant Japanese spider crab, Macrocheira kaempferi (Temminck, 1836) [Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan]
2. purple pincer hermit crab, Coenobita purpureus Stimpson, 1858 [Nature of Japan - Ogasawara]
3. ornate spiny lobster, Panulirus ornatus (Fabricius, 1798) [Toba Aquarium]
middle row, left to right:
4. Japanese spiny lobster, Panulirus japonicus (von Siebold, 1824) [Nature of Japan Vol. 1]
5. horsehair crab, Erimacrus isenbeckii (Brandt, 1848) [Nature of Japan, Vol. 3]
6. Japanese freshwater crab, Geothelphusa dehanni (White, 1847) [Nature of Japan, Vol. 2]
front:
7. Geothelphusa dehanni [this was part of a strap set of eight figures, same sculpt but different colors]

[Beetle guy]

Those are so nice !!!

[bmathison1972]

With the acquisition of the 2018 Safari LTD spiny lobster, time to showcase the Safari LTD Incredible Creatures decapods:

1. Maine lobster, Homarus americanus Milne-Edwards, 1837
2. California spiny lobster, Panulirus interruptus (Randall, 1840)
3. shrimp, gen. sp.
4. terrestrial hermit crab, Coenobita sp.
5. blue crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896
6. Sally lightfoot crab, Grapsus grapsus (Linnaeus, 1758)

[bmathison1972]

Time to get back to this thread. These are the LARGE AAA figures; it does not include smaller versions. Also, I am missing at least the spiny lobster. But here are the four large decapods I have (I have the mantis shrimp too, but that is not a decapod):

1. dungeness crab, Metacarcinus magister Dana, 1852
2. mud crab, Scylla serrata (Forsskal, 1774) (one of the first posts in this thread is the small AAA version of this species)
3. Maine lobster, Homarus americanus Milne-Edwards, 1827
4. tiger prawn, Penaeus monodon Fabricius, 1798

[bmathison1972]

Dude, these decapods are epoch! I mean, literally, they were produced by the company Epoch! They come from various sets.

roughly left to right, top to bottom (some of these have been shown already); those with an asterisk (*) are unique at the species level:
1. giant Japanese spider crab, Macrocheira kaempferi
2. Japanese spiny lobster, Panulirus japonicus
3. Alaskan king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus
4. freshwater crab, Geothelphusa dehanni
5. long-armed hermit crab, Pagurus longicarpus*
6. terrestrial hermit crab, Coenobita caviceps [one of three color variants I have]
7. European lobster, Homarus gammarus*
8. harlequin shrimp, Hymenocera picta*
9. floral egg crab, Atergatis floridus*
10. coconut crab, Birgus latro
11. fiddler crab, Austruca lactea
12. squat lobster, Ibacus ciliatus
13. long-armed soldier crab, Mictyris longicarpus

[bmathison1972]

Walkaround of the red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852) by Takara Tomy A.R.T.S., 22nd Anniversary Collection. The figure is marked 2005 but not sure if that was when this anniversary figure was released, or that was the original date (assuming this is a re-release of an earlier figure). Like recently shown migratory locust and Japanese giant mantids, this is another 'non-scarabaeoid' figure released in the T-TARTs sets. This species is native to the southeastern USA, but has been introduced to Japan where it has achieved pest status, and this its frequent inclusion in Japanese sets.

The figure is 10.0 cm (body length, not including antennae or clawed legs), which does put it within the 1:1 range for a large individual. Some assembly is required and the front legs (pincers) do not attach snuggly.

The first image in on a custom base courtesy of @sphyrna18 (where it sits permanently on my shelves!) and does not come with the figure 

On to the pics:

[Beetle guy]

Nice one, also the base!

[AnimalToyForum]

Good catch. 

Semi-related question (and sorry if it has been covered before on the forum). What does "A.R.T.S." stand for?

[bmathison1972]

Walkaround of a new species for me, the snow crab Chionoecetes opilio (Fabricius, 1788) by MegaHouse. Snow crabs are popular commercial crabs native to shelf depths of the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Surprisingly, this species has not been made before.

The figure is a 'Kaitai' puzzle consisting of 41 pieces! The pieces snap together without any adhesive. This figure has both internal and external organs, but interestingly, the internal structures are hidden when the figure is complete. The set also comes with a paper plate and plastic 'crab claw crackers', simulating a cooked specimen, and a recipe guide LOL. Interestingly, when we see red crustaceans like this, they are often meant to represent cooked individuals, however in nature C. opilio is more commonly red than green or brown! When completed, the carapace measures about 5.5 cm, making it about 1:3 for a large male and just over 1:2 for a large female.

There are positives and negatives to this figure. The carapace shape is about correct and the proportions are nice. However, the eyes are cartoony and somewhat anthropomorphized. Also, some of the part labels are permanently printed on the pieces (for those of you who like to customize and repaint, these are minor issues).

The first two pics below are courtesy of Hobby Search from where it was bought, the other three are mine. I did not take step-by-step pics as I assembled it. An interesting figure, but a new species for me!

[Beetle guy]

could get nicer when you get out the brushes for some repainting 

[stargatedalek]

It looks pretty good, shame about the eyes though. I'd recommend touching them up, removing the black paint very carefully with something like nail polish remover.

I've never seen a red one, now I'm interested, all the ones I've seen alive were mixtures of beige and purple or light pink. Could that have something to do with population, these being specimens obtained locally in much shallower conditions than the far north? Or perhaps a Pacific vs Atlantic thing?

[bmathison1972]

It looks pretty good, shame about the eyes though. I'd recommend touching them up, removing the black paint very carefully with something like nail polish remover.

I've never seen a red one, now I'm interested, all the ones I've seen alive were mixtures of beige and purple or light pink. Could that have something to do with population, these being specimens obtained locally in much shallower conditions than the far north? Or perhaps a Pacific vs Atlantic thing?

I knew you'd like this one . Yes, this red is still brighter than in nature, but they can be pink to light red in life.

I don't like to alter figures; I like to keep errors intact for educational purposes.

[Advicot]

Oh my, I love coconut crabs! 

[Isidro]

I don't remember if was me who asked the comparison of different coconut crabs or not. Anyway I'm interested in the Kaiyodo (Okinawa collection) one (number 3), as it's the best marching in size for my collection without losing realism. However I can't find nothing in the net searching for Kaiyodo coconut crab. Are you sure that it's from this brand?
The Yujin one looks a bit better in quality and only very slightly bigger so if I can't find the Kaiyodo maybe I get the Yujin

[bmathison1972]

I don't remember if was me who asked the comparison of different coconut crabs or not. Anyway I'm interested in the Kaiyodo (Okinawa collection) one (number 3), as it's the best marching in size for my collection without losing realism. However I can't find nothing in the net searching for Kaiyodo coconut crab. Are you sure that it's from this brand?
The Yujin one looks a bit better in quality and only very slightly bigger so if I can't find the Kaiyodo maybe I get the Yujin

Yes, you asked me for the comparison. The Kaiyodo crab is indeed by Kaiyodo, but it is from one of their Japanese cultural collections (Okinawa Figure Collection) where it represents the only animal in the set (in other words, it is not from a set of animals specifically). Can be rare, but it shows up on the Japanese auctions periodically.

[Isidro]

Thanks. I've searched also for Kaiyodo Okinawa nature collection, omitting coconut crab from the search, and also I didn't obtained any result. The only image of this crab that I can find in the net is yours!

[Advicot]

What a good model. I can tell its male. 

[Advicot]

I used to collect crab shells, and it's quite interesting to look at the body parts of the crab. 

[bmathison1972]

Cadbury Yowie red hairy hermit crab:

[bmathison1972]

Kaiyodo Choco Q Japanese Freshwater Crabs: