Diversity of Life on Earth by Bandai

[bmathison1972]

Hi, everyone! Old lurker, first-time poster in the forum.

I recently found this line (coming from Bandai's Dragon Ball/Naruto S.H. Figuarts line) and just bought the Dynastes neptunus figure from an eBay seller. I now realize that many species are in the line and I am eager to collect them. I do have some questions, though:

1. Are these beetles 1:1 with their real-life counterparts?
2. Where besides eBay are these available for purchase? I'm based in the US.
3. Do we pretty much have all species in the genus Dynastes? It's my absolute favorite one.

I'm looking forward to seeing more of these beetles and to hear from you guys!

Hi @Hyperdistortia

I am not sure if the Dynastes are all 1:1 in scale; given that they are larger beetles they probably are, but I know that in general the Diversity beetles are not necessarily 1:1.

There are D. neptunus, D. hercules, and D. satanas in 'standard' and Advanced lines, and D. granti in the 'Mini' line (that mini D. granti might be 1:1, as it is not a large species). They have not made D. hyllus yet.

Not sure how often he visits the site, but @Beetle guy might have better answers for you, as I think he more actively collects them than I do. I only collected new and rarely made taxa these days.

Welcome to the forum

[Fembrogon]

There aren't any established US stores carrying these, sadly. Occasionally you can find listings on eBay, but I've had a little more success with AliExpress (as long as you're patient with the site's garbage search function). The best places to find Diversity figures, though, are Mercari and Yahoo Japan, where it's quite easy to find listings. You'll need a account with Buyee or similar sites to order and ship, though; or you can try our own @brettnj for assistance.

[sbell]

Hi, everyone! Old lurker, first-time poster in the forum.

I recently found this line (coming from Bandai's Dragon Ball/Naruto S.H. Figuarts line) and just bought the Dynastes neptunus figure from an eBay seller. I now realize that many species are in the line and I am eager to collect them. I do have some questions, though:

1. Are these beetles 1:1 with their real-life counterparts?
2. Where besides eBay are these available for purchase? I'm based in the US.
3. Do we pretty much have all species in the genus Dynastes? It's my absolute favorite one.

I'm looking forward to seeing more of these beetles and to hear from you guys!

A lot of people get in touch with Brett @brettnj as he has sources in Japan that can track down and purchase/ship to you. You can discuss with him what the fees, expectations are, but overall it is fairly competitive with the other available purchase forwarding services available online, and far more personalized!

Just beware that getting into Japanese figures is a slippery slope--there's always something cool or interesting coming along!

[bmathison1972]

Some recent additions to the DoLoE line.

First two figures from 2024 Premium Longhorn Beetles, the harlequin longhorn (Acrocinus longimanus) and Eupromus ruber. Both are new genera, let alone species, as figures.




Next two figures from Stag Beetles Vol. 7, Prosopocoilus zebra and Rhaetus westwoodi. The P. zebra replaces my original DoLoE figure, which is much cruder by their current standards and used the body of P. dissimils. The R. westwoodi is a new genus and species as a figure!

[bmathison1972]

Advanced Ladybugs Vol. 2

Clockwise from top, center:
1. Synonycha grandis [new/unique species as a toy/figure]
2. Anatis halonis [second exemplar as a toy/figure]
3. Coccinella hasegawai [second exemplar as a toy/figure]
4. Coccinella septempunctata
5. Olla v-nigrum [third exemplar as a toy/figure]

I didn't need the C. septempunctata, but it was cheaper to get the whole set. Besides, with the C7 from the first set displayed in flight, I now have one in both positions.

[bmathison1972]

Two from the recent Beetles Vol. 6:

1. Trichogomphus lunicollis [second example of this species I am aware of]
2. Mecynorhina ugandensis [third and fourth examples of this species; I only got the orange variant]

[TheOwl98]

The new beetle set is interesting. I guess they've started doing beetles with no elytra articulation. I really like the Chalcosoma atlas figure, though I was unsure of the paint job (because I was expecting a little green on the carapace and it's metallic black). I did a ton of looking around and apparently they do exist in that color, though that particular color scheme (metallic black carapace with metallic green elytra shell) seems to be more common with C. caucasus.
I got the whole set, but I only assembled M. ugandensis (orange) and C. atlas.
I love how these figures are getting more realistic.
I've read there will be a cicada set and a water bug as well sometime in the future.

[bmathison1972]

The new beetle set is interesting. I guess they've started doing beetles with no elytra articulation. I really like the Chalcosoma atlas figure, though I was unsure of the paint job (because I was expecting a little green on the carapace and it's metallic black). I did a ton of looking around and apparently they do exist in that color, though that particular color scheme (metallic black carapace with metallic green elytra shell) seems to be more common with C. caucasus.
I got the whole set, but I only assembled M. ugandensis (orange) and C. atlas.
I love how these figures are getting more realistic.
I've read there will be a cicada set and a water bug as well sometime in the future.

I was surprised to see the elytra were fused, too. This means they can never be displayed with their wings open, even if using accessory wings. Honestly, that's fine by me, I don't display any of these with their wings open anyway.


And here is the recent set of Mini Crustaceans:
Tubuca arcuata
Paraleptuca crassipes
Gelasimus tetragonon
Chiromantes haematocheir
Chiromantes haematocheir
Ranina ranina
Ibacus ciliatus

[Isidro]

Ahhhhh, that Ranina ranina      ! One of my favourite decapods. I gues it will be too large for me...

[TheOwl98]

Have you all seen these announcements on the Gashapon blog? Elephant beetles, clearer images of the cicada and water bug, and an Asian swallowtail butterfly! (Papilio xuthus). Hyped!

[bmathison1972]

No; I just see them as their formally announced. What is this Blog @TheOwl98 ? Thank you.

[TheOwl98]

No; I just see them as their formally announced. What is this Blog @TheOwl98 ? Thank you.

It's actually the official blog of the Ikimono Encyclopedia series of figures. The guy who runs it is the one who started the figure line. He posts updates every so often. It's accessible from the Gashapon website.
https://gashapon.jp/blog/?cat=80

[RyujinGodOfTheSea]

Hello! I am heavily interested in the Bandai Diversity of Life Premium line. So far I have the coconut crab and the Nile crocodile. I can't really find much information out there as to whether there's any other figures in this line besides those two. I heard about a leafy seadragon and some beetles, but that's about it. Any help would be much appreciated.

This is easily my favorite of my figures. My favorite animal in highly articulated form.

[stargatedalek]

How does it compare to the GI Joe one from a few years ago?

[bmathison1972]

@RyujinGodOfTheSea - I merged your topic with one we already have going for the Diversity of Life on Earth line. You'll find many examples in this thread. Also check the 'Bandai - New for 2024' and other 'New' Bandai threads for each year.

[RyujinGodOfTheSea]

@RyujinGodOfTheSea - I merged your topic with one we already have going for the Diversity of Life on Earth line. You'll find many examples in this thread. Also check the 'Bandai - New for 2024' and other 'New' Bandai threads for each year.

Thank you very much!

[bmathison1972]

I recently acquired several new Bandai Diversity figures from three different beetle collections. The A. dichotoma pupa was sent to me by mistake, but the seller let me keep it. Those with an asterisk (*) are new species as figures/models.

1. Rhomborhina unicolor (Beetles Vol. 5)*
2. Allomyrina dichotoma, pupa (Beetles Vol. 5)
3. Chrysina chrysargyrea (Advanced Platinum Beetle and Rainbow Stag Beetle)*
4. Megaphanaeus lancifer (Beetles Vol. 5)*
5. Dorcus bucephalus (Stag Beetles Vol. 8 )
6. Cyclommatus alagari (Stag Beetles Vol. 8 )*
7. Chiasognathus grantii (Stag Beetles Vol. 8 )

[Fembrogon]

How does it compare to the GI Joe one from a few years ago?

The GI Joe classified croc is a saltie, for starters, so the two represent unique animals. "Fiona" is also smaller than the Bandai by about 9cm, and has a simpler paint scheme. It also retailed for 30 USD, of course, so it's going to be a bit less elaborate than the Bandai.

No, I do not own the Bandai to compare directly; the aftermarket on that figure is far beyond what I would ever consider comfortable to pay.