Coleoptera - Beetles

[Beetle guy]

I have snooped around some and the Safari Smithsonian stag beetle looks like a cross between an Odontolabis (pronotum) and Hexarthrius (mandibles)  .

BUT, the two best options are Prosopocoilus confucius and P. giraffa daisukei

I thought the P. confusius as well, though I only saw it on photo's while ago. F-toys made a nice P. confusius as well.

[bmathison1972]

I should hunt me down one of these big Sega M. elephas (with or without wings) to have it represented, but I am less-likely to pay a lot for single figures of commonly-made species.

[Beetle guy]

I should hunt me down one of these big Sega M. elephas (with or without wings) to have it represented, but I am less-likely to pay a lot for single figures of commonly-made species.

of course I will give you a heads-up when I encounter one thats cheap!

[brontodocus]

Ah, another never-before-seen figure! It's nice to see figures of big Megasoma species in the size range of major specimens. I have a Sega M. actaeon which is about the same size.

[brontodocus]

I have always considered the Smithsonian Collection Stag Beetle to be a P. confucius, too.

[bmathison1972]

well, that settles it for me. If me, Marcel, and Andre agree it must be the best option. I'll change my records accordingly!

[stargatedalek]

I'm not near as well versed in beetles as any of you, but that species definitely fits the scale of the line.

[Beetle guy]

Ah, another never-before-seen figure! It's nice to see figures of big Megasoma species in the size range of major specimens. I have a Sega M. actaeon which is about the same size.

Yes, they made Sega three big M. actaeon figurines, with slight differences (which is quite weird, I think) Two with longer forelegs than the other and all three have a different ventral moulds and colours.

[Beetle guy]

On this Sega figurine line(s)
The SEGA 'big beetles' (note: not an official series name, just to label it) came in blisterpack and some with a plastic strap holding a information card.
Many beetles were produced and sometimes with alternative or altered molds for particular species. The style of the series figurines differs so much that they can hardly be seen as a whole. Most of them were released from 2003 to 2009 and pretty hard to find. I do think to know all of them made by now. I did not keep/collect all, because some were a bit badly made to my opinion, focusing mainly on realistic figurines. The quality of the molds differs in these big beetles. Some look less realistic and/or very bulky, others are just great and one (Chalcosoma moellenkampi) can even compete with the DeAgostini beetles (64 models from real beetles, the best in beetle figurines there is) the SEGA DX_series and certianly some F-toy ones.

On the beetle
Hexarthrius mandibularis is a large stag beetle species from Indonesia. It belongs to the family of the Lucanidae.
This beetle has a dark, brownish/reddish body. With very large, antler-like mandibles with small teeth on the inside edge, and one large, forward-pointing pair located approximately in the middle of the mandibles (to a third) down from the somewhat inward forked tips. The larvae of  Hexarthrius mandibularis lives and feeds in rotten hardwood.
The size (depending on which subspecies, Hexarthrius mandibularis mandibularis or Hexarthrius mandibularis sumatranus) for a male ranges between 115 and 118,5 mm respectively.

On the figurine
A very rare find. The figurine depitcs Hexarthrius mandibularis mandibularis (I think). It was released in 2003. This model probably came in a blisterpackage with a Mushi King playing card. I do not know for a 100% though, because I bought it with a lot of used items.
It has far less realistic details than the Sega DX version of the same species. The legs (less bulky than the DX version) and mandibles are slightly bendable but not really poseable. The pronotum even has a design flaw, it is wrongly shaped (like no stagbeetle species pronotum in general is shaped). Also a minor pitty, there are no small teeth along the inner edge of the mandibles in this model.

The figurine measures: 120 mm so almost scale 1:1 for a very big male.

First the four Sega Hexarthrius mandibularis figurines I have.
Above left: From the MushiKing big beetles series, above right: From the Mushiking small series the black version,
Below left: From the Sega DX series (H. sumatranus) and below right the Mushiking small series the brownish version.



Comparing the DX version (left) and the 'Big beetles' version (right).



The flaw in the pronotum design (marked red is what the shape should be) and the toothless mandibles.





And the overview...

[brontodocus]

Once again a figure I (think I) haven't seen before! Interesting fact about the flawed anterior margin of the pronotum. I can understand that small details like serrations on the mandibles may sometinmes be omitted in a figure but the pronotum is strange. Maybe they had two specimens belonging to two different species as a template?

[Beetle guy]

Once again a figure I (think I) haven't seen before! Interesting fact about the flawed anterior margin of the pronotum. I can understand that small details like serrations on the mandibles may sometinmes be omitted in a figure but the pronotum is strange. Maybe they had two specimens belonging to two different species as a template?

To my knowledge, no Lucanidae beetle has such anterior margin of the pronotum. But that's my knowledge

[bmathison1972]

Revisiting the Neotropical rhinoceros beetle, Golofa claviger (Linnaeus, 1771). This species is native to Peru and Ecuador. Here we see two major males about to engage in a territorial dispute! The upper brown figure is by Kabaya (World Insect Science 1) and the lower more yellow figure is by Sega (small series, standard).

[Beetle guy]

On this Sega figurine line(s)
The SEGA 'big beetles' (note: not an official series name, just to label it) came in blisterpack and some with a plastic strap holding a information card.
Many beetles were produced and sometimes with alternative or altered molds for particular species. The style of the series figurines differs so much that they can hardly be seen as a whole. Most of them were released from 2003 to 2009 and pretty hard to find. I do think to know all of them made by now. I did not keep/collect all, because some were a bit badly made to my opinion, focusing mainly on realistic figurines. The quality of the molds differs in these big beetles. Some look less realistic and/or very bulky, others are just great.

This one was released in a series including five other species: Dorcus alcides, Allomyrina dichotoma, Dynastes hercules (blueish gray), Dynastes satanas and Chalcosoma moellenkampi.

On the beetle
Prosopocoilus giraffa is the world's largest saw-tooth stag beetle with long, sharp mandibles. It is found in a wide range of Asia (India to Indonesia). It is up to 119 millimetres in length. They have a mainly black body colour. There huge mandibles are used for fights with other males and because of the size the beetles can sometimes hardly control them. Is is said to be an agressive species.

On the figurine
A pretty rare find. The release must bin between 2003 and 2009. The figurine depitcs Prosopocoilus giraffa. And considering mandibles and size probably P. giraffa keisukei. This model came strapped to an information card (in Japanese). Some parts of the mould of this figure are used in the P. giraffa from the Sega big flying beetles.
It has less realistic details than the Sega DX version of the same species, except for the legs (Which are a bit bulky in the DX version). It is made out of hard ATBC-PVC, that's different compared to most of  the rest in this series. Mainly these figurines are made from more bendable material. This model is not poseable.

The figurine measures: 113 mm so almost scale 1:1 for a very big male (119 mm is the record known to me).

And the Pic's... I might give it a little paint update.

[bmathison1972]

I don't have this guy, but I have his DX cousin  . Of the 13 P. giraffa figures I have, 6 are by Sega  LOL

[bmathison1972]

Nature Techni Colour's collection of glow-in-the-dark mushrooms makes an excellent background for the pleasing fungus beetle, Micrencaustus lunulata (MacLeay, 1825), a species of Erotylidae from southeast Asia.

The fungi, clockwise from top-right [including the mushroom the beetle is sitting on]: Omphalotus japonicus, Mycena lux-coeli, Mycea sp. 1, Mycena sp. 2, Pleurotus eugrammus.

[Beetle guy]

Haha, nice one!! I have the biolumeniscent fungus set to great how they glow in the dark as well!

[bmathison1972]

Walk-around of a figure I have been after for a long time, and now thanks to froggie (Beatrice) I now have it: the firefly, Lampyris noctiluca (Linnaeus, 1767) by Bullyland, originally released in 1994. The figure is not marketed at the species level, but given Bullyland is a German company, this probably represents a German species, with L. noctiluca being the best option. This species is the 'common glowworm' of Europe. It has marked sexual dimorphism; males are typically beetle-like with functioning flying wings and fully-developed elytra, but the females are larviform (see last image).

The figure is 7.5 cm (not including appendages, and my figure has broken antennae!), making it roughly 5:1 for an adult male. Because with this species males are only weakly bio-luminescent, the figure does not have well-defined light organs. The eyes are also nicely proportionatly large, as they would be in a species that needs to see well at night! The only perplexing thing is that the elytra are clear. Many of the flying insects that Bullyland put out about the same time as this figure have clear wings, but this being a beetle it should have at least opaque elytra.

On to the pics:

















Here is the Bullyland male with a female custom made for me by Jetoar in 2016:

[Halichoeres]

What a great figure. I've always loved lampyrids. Their pronota look like little shelves over their heads.

[Beetle guy]

Very nice!! I had no idea these were this big! Thanks for showing with the 4D-Master log for reference!

I would give the elytra just a slight layer of deep redish brown just enough to still let them be transparant.  But hey that's me 

[bmathison1972]

Walk-around of the rhinoceros beetle, gen. sp. by Bullyland. There are two color forms, the brown one was released in 1994 and the green one in 1995. They are not marketed at the species level (or if they were, I do not have the accompanying paperwork to confirm). One would suspect they represent Oryctes nasicornis (Linnaeus, 1758), given that is 'the' European rhino beetle, but the deeply-grooved elytra are not consistent with that species. Honestly, it looks more like a coprine dung beetle than a dynastine!

The two color forms are the same sculpt; they measure 6.5 cm (not including horn nor appendages), which would make it 1.5:1 if were intended to be O. nasicornis. Despite the abiguity of their identifications, I really like these figures.

Just like with the previously-reviewed house fly, this figure has a 'dollar-store knock-off' (see last image).

On to the pics:















With it's dollar-store counterpart (far right):