Scorpions (Takara Tomy A.R.T.S.)

Review of the [nearly] complete set of Scorpions by Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. (I do not remember the release data). Like the spider set, it was probably released about the time of the merger with Yujin (this set came out either the year before, or after, the Venomous Spiders set). Also like the spider set, the species are not restricted to Asia/Japan (T-ARTS often seems to be more diverse, geographically).

Unlike the spider set, which had 6 figures (5 + 1 SECRET), this set has 7 figures (6 + 1 SECRET). At the start of this post I say nearly complete, because I do not have the secret figure. If I remember correctly, it is second species of Pandinus (and if I remember, they just painted the P. imperator in this set a different color). Otherwise there are many similarities to this set and the spiders. For one, a few have a habitat-style base (although they do not attach to it - I secured mine with glue), and all have a round flat base with the Japanese name, Latin name, and degree of toxicity on a 1-5 scale using skulls-and-crossbones.

The figures themselves are typical gashapon-sized and made of a single-piece PVC. When the set was released, five of the species were unique (including, I assume, the secret), but at the time of this writing one has been made a second time. So, below I will only be showing 3 unique species.

On to the figures, in order they are illustrated on the accompanying paperwork:

1. emperor scorpion, Pandinus imperator.
No scorpion set would be complete without this quintessential species! It is the most commonly-made species at the genus level, and I have many other figures (assuming that if not otherwise indicated, emperor scorpions represent P. imperator), including those by AAA, Bullyland (two versions), Cadbury (UK Yowies, a tentative ID by me), Chap Mei, Discovery Channel (Deadly Kiss), Edu Science, Kaiyodo (Night Aqua Museum, plus they will release one in 2018 as part of the Sofubi Toy Box series), Safari LTD (Smithsonian Insects, Authentics Insects), and Toy Major. 4D Master did an anatomy model I do not yet have. Also, the scorpion in the K&M International Desert Polyvinyl Bag set looks like it was sculpted based on Pandinus.

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2. South African fat-tailed scorpion, Parabuthus transvaalicus.
This remains a unique species! Notice the misspelling on the base!

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3. deathstalker, Leiurus quinquestriatus.
Initially, this was a unique species but in 2014 Kaiyodo released one as part of their Toxic and Dangerous Creatures set in the Capsule Q Museum line.

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4. yellow fat-tailed scorpion, Androctonus australis.
This might be the only figure specifically attributed to this species, however it is clear the CollectA and Papo scorpions are intended to represent it.  The Safari LTD Venomous Creatures TOOB and T-ARTS B.I.G. Insects scorpions are probably also at least in this genus.

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5. lesser brown scorpion, Isometrus maculatus.
This is a unique species. Love the rock on which it sits!

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6. dwarf wood scoprion, Liocheles australasiae.
This is a unique species and is the smallest figure in the set. It comes with a piece of bark on which to sit. Another with the misspelling of the genus name on the base!

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It is easy to recognize the Deadly scorpions from those who are not that venimous: the Deadly ones HAVE A BIG TAIL AND SMALL CLAWS. The not-so-venemous ones HAVE BIG CLAWS AND A SMALL TAIL. In other words, Deadly ones defend themselves with their sting. Not-so-venimous ones defend themselves with their claws.

Bowhead Whale wrote:

It is easy to recognize the Deadly scorpions from those who are not that venimous: the Deadly ones HAVE A BIG TAIL AND SMALL CLAWS. The not-so-venemous ones HAVE BIG CLAWS AND A SMALL TAIL. In other words, Deadly ones defend themselves with their sting. Not-so-venimous ones defend themselves with their claws.

No, that is a false equivalency that has created a misconception. It is true with regards to the natural prey of the scorpions (such as insects, small reptiles, whatever), but does not necessarily correlate with regards to toxicity to humans (which are not natural prey).

Brrr! Scary little beauties

But such wonderful models !

You write that you have two variations of the Emperor Scorpion, - is that the black one and the one with green on it ?
I often wondered what species it is

That's another very interesting set from Takara. Especially because it introduced some new species to the hobby. I agree that often, scorpion figures assigned to the genus level, do really represent the most common species of these genera. Fortunately, despite some misplelled taxa, Takara decided to identify those up to the species level. A new page is created on TAI based in this topic and you can find there a link to this thread.

Another interesting serie of great figurines :)