Araneae - SPIDERS!

[bmathison1972]

Walk-around of the velvet spider, Eresus kollari Rossi, 1846, by Bullyland, new for 2017. The species is distributed from Europe to Central Asia and was previously considered part of the E. niger-complex. To my knowledge this is the only figure of a member of the family Eresidae and honestly one I have always secretly wanted to be made! The figure might represent E. moravicus, but I think E. kollari is the more logical choice.

The figure is painted to depict a male and is 40 mm long (not including appendages), making it slightly larger than 3:1. It is solid, firm piece of PVC with slightly softer legs (not as soft as the Papo wolf spider legs, however).

This unique figure comes highly recommended!

One to the pics!

[brontodocus]

Ah, wonderful! Still have to get this one. By the way, the 40 mm body length reminded me of something: while the sexual dimorphism is already considerable in E. kollari, the southern European E. walckenaerius has females that can be as big as the Bullyland model (but with shorter legs) while the males are still as small as E. kollari males. E. kollari is distributed here in Germany but quite rare and I've never encountered one, alas.

[bmathison1972]

Edited the first post to include Eresidae!

[bmathison1972]

I have re-uploaded the images in the initial post (and even added a new family)

[bmathison1972]

I have re-uploaded these images to Postimage.

[bmathison1972]

I have recaptured these images for Postimage.

And I still think this is the BEST spider figure outside of Japanese manufacturers.

[bmathison1972]

It is the absolute best spider figure out there!

[brontodocus]

really tempted to buy this one ;-)

I've gotten this wolf spider (Arctosa cinerea) on camera last summer.

Yes, you should definitely get one! By the way, Arctosa cinerea is a great find! I have never encountered one myself. From what I read, they get quite big, at least for Central European standards.

[Beetle guy]

really tempted to buy this one ;-)

I've gotten this wolf spider (Arctosa cinerea) on camera last summer.

Yes, you should definitely get one! By the way, Arctosa cinerea is a great find! I have never encountered one myself. From what I read, they get quite big, at least for Central European standards.

I saw quite a few by a riverside near my home over a strech of 1 km. I was photographing Cicindela hybrida when this one came along ;-). In the days after I spotted 4 on different places.

[bmathison1972]

Walk-around of the katipo, Latrodectus katipo Powell, 1871 by Science and Nature's New Zealand Wildlife Collection. This figure was released in 2016 but was not available outside of New Zealand until mid-late 2017 or so. I bought mine from MiniZoo in Australia. The katipo is a venomous spider, like other widows in the genus Latrodectus, and is endemic to coastal areas of New Zealand where it is believed to be in serious decline. There are five species in the genus Latrodectus available in toy/figure form, but this figure is only the second version of the katipo; the first is a Cadbury Yowie which I can imagine must be difficult to find easily these days.

There are two forms of the katipo, red and black. The former is what was produced by S&N; the black form has an entirely black dorsum on the abdomen. The figure has an abdomen with a diameter of 20 mm, making it 2.5:1 for a mature female. It is important to point out, this figure is an exact copy of their redback spider (L. hasseltii) from a few years prior, even to the extent that they left 'redback spider' printed on the bottom of the katipo figure (see last image!!!!). I do not mind when a company re-purposes a figure for a new species, but at least print the correct/current species on the underside! The katipo figure however is made of a more sturdier plastic, as the legs are firmer (the redback had somewhat soft legs).

On to the pics:











Comparisons with their redback spider:

[sbell]

Cool figure...though it is funny that they couldn't be bothered to at least remove the name from the original figure, if not remould that part.

As for the Yowies Katipo, it is the al-black version:



No red there...and it isn't much to put together either. Given how they often made very colourful figures, this one is almost disappointing in it's monochromatic form!

[bmathison1972]

Cool figure...though it is funny that they couldn't be bothered to at least remove the name from the original figure, if not remould that part.

As for the Yowies Katipo, it is the al-black version:



No red there...and it isn't much to put together either. Given how they often made very colourful figures, this one is almost disappointing in it's monochromatic form!

I was going to mention the Yowie one is probably the all-black version, BUT my Yowie figure actually has a small patch of red on the very rear dorsal side (just above where the spinnerets would be).

[bmathison1972]

Walk-around of the Tarantula Spider by Toy Major, originally released in 1996. I recently received this figure from froggie; it was on her recent sales post. I originally asked for it because it was a Toy Major figure I was not familiar with, and as I collect more I find myself being more and more a completist. I know TM gets a lot of slack for their suspected knock-offs and such, but I have always been a huge TM fan (also, they have had to fears in making tons of arthropods). When I got this figure in the mail, I didn't realize how much I would like it. Every now and then, a figure comes along with a certain aesthetic charm that we find really appealing, even if it not the most realistic (another good example for me is the Safari Incredible Creatures shrimp).

On to the figure. First of all, it is big. I was expecting it to be smaller. I have a couple similar figures by TM and they are not quite as big. In this figure, the body length is 11.0 cm; when pressed flat it has a maximum leg span of 24 cm! The legs and pedipalps contain wires, so the figure is bendable/pose-able. I am displaying mine with the front legs raised as if in a defensive pose! If I ever get the AMT/Ertl tarantula hawk wasp, these two are going to make a fun diorama .

I do not think this figure can be attributed to a given species. The banded legs are very suggestive of The Mexican red-kneed tarantula (Brachypelma smithi), or related, but the green on the carapace clearly represents artistic license. If you wanted to call this B. smithi for your collection, I think you could get away with that easy enough . The eyes and mouthparts are consistent with a true tarantula in the family Theraphosidae.

The underside is a monochromatic black and is marked with the TM logo, the year (1996), and 'TARANTULA SPIDER'. Other pose-able spiders I have by TM are not given a common name other than simply 'spider'.

On to the pics, enjoy!

[bmathison1972]

Walkaround of the Mexican red-kneed tarantula, Brachypelma smithi (P-Cambridge, 1897) by Veronese Design. I am going to start with a little taxonomic disclaimer. There is confusion to the identity of spiders referred to as Mexican red-knees, since the description of a cryptic sibling species, B. hamorii Cleton and Verdez, 1997. The two species are indistinguishable morpholoically and can only be separated by DNA barcoding and strict geographic distribution. In the absence of a figure being specifically ascribed to a given species, I am referring to all figures as the classic B. smithi.

This species is probably the most commonly-made spider figure, and we will be getting two this year, by Schleich and Mojo Fun (and for both those companies their first standards-sized arthropods!).

This is my second walkaround of a Veronese figurine, the other being an emperor scorpion roughly one year ago. Like the scorpion, the tarantula is cold case resin, making it more of a statuette than a figure/toy. The detail is extraordinary and better than any toy version of this species. The body length (not including appendages) is about 6.5 cm making it slightly larger than 1:1 for a large female specimen.

The figure is permanently fixed to a very detailed base that includes a bonus arthropod, a 1:1 ladybug!

On to the pics:

[Beetle guy]

Wow, this one looks really good! Nice pic's too!

[bmathison1972]

Review of a set of five generic spiders by AAA. These were sold together, from the same distributor as my recently-reviewed set of 10 AAA insects.

There are 5 figures, comparable in size to the other AAA insects. None of these spiders appear to represent actual species. It looks like they were influenced from actual species, but artistic license was used with regards to color and in some cases, eyes and other adornments. It would be futile to try to ascribe species names to these.

Highlighting them here for the AAA fans on the forum.

[bmathison1972]

Walkaround of the Mexican red-kneed tarantula, Brachypelma smithi (P-Cambridge, 1897) by Mojo Fun, new for 2019. I am going to start with a little taxonomic disclaimer. There is confusion to the identity of spiders referred to as Mexican red-knees, since the description of a cryptic sibling species, B. hamorii Cleton and Verdez, 1997. The two species are indistinguishable morpholoically and can only be separated by DNA barcoding and strict geographic distribution. In the absence of a figure being specifically ascribed to a given species, I am referring to all figures as the classic B. smithi.

Just like my recent review of the Schleich tarantula, this is new, uncharted territory for Mojo Fun. Interesting that two major western companies are introducing arthropods to their standard animal lines and both are starting with B. smithi. I guess if you are going to experiment, do it with something familiar. It now means all major western companies have made this species, except for Papo! See also the last image.

This Mojo figure is similar in size to the Schleich figure, but a little better. The body length is about 4.5 cm, making it just under 1:1 for a small female (or 1:1 for an immature one). The maximum width between the legs in 8.0 cm. The plastic is firm and solid, good quality. The paint job is more matte, which I prefer. The arrangement of the eyes, while not perfect, is still better than the Schleich figure. The mouthparts are consistent with a mygalomorph.

Overall, for people that are generalists and just want a representative or two tarantulas in their collection, this is my recommendation (unless you want to hunt down retired or Japanese figures on eBay). It's a good quality and a good size. If Mojo Fun continues this trend, they are off to a good start!













A collection of Brachypelma smithi made by major western (non-Japanese) manufacturers:
1. Safari LTD (Smithsonian Insects)
2. Safari LTD (Hidden Kingdom Insects)
3. CollectA
4. Mojo Fun
5. Schleich
6. Bullyland

[Advicot]

I have three of these figures, I hoped that the figures were actual species but it seems they're just generic.

[Advicot]

This arachnid is currently on my wish list and it's nice to see a walk around of it. 

[AnimalToyForum]

This arachnid is currently on my wish list and it's nice to see a walk around of it. 

Then, maybe @bmathison1972 can feature this one on the blog soon.