Walkaround of the giant Japanese hornet,
Vespa mandarinia (Smith, 1852) by Mushibuchi (year unknown). I have this figure thanks to Brett who stumbled upon it on YAJ. I was unfamiliar with the brand. Some Google searching shows they have a few other insects including what must be the only figure of a member of the order Plecoptera as well as a flying dung beetle suggestive of
Heliocopris!
Vespa mandarinia is not uncommonly made in toy/figure form and I have additional figures by Kaiyodo (2x), Subarudo, Rement, Yujin, Break Co., and a larva by Shineg. I believe Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. also did one (which is probably similar if not identical to the Subarudo one).
This figure is a plastic model kit. It comes in 24 pieces: head; thorax; 5 abdominal pieces; stinger; 6 legs; 2 mandibles; 2 antennae; 2 eyes; 4 wings. The figure was intended to be assembled using ball joints (not supplied) to make the final product articulated. However, I used super glue and rigged small pieces of plastic to make everthing a secure, permanent attatchment. For one reason, I found the ball joints hard to come by without ordering from overseas, and secondly I am not a fan of articulated figures if I can help it.
The plastic is...different it seems. It is kinds of waxy (maybe I should have cleaned or treated it first?). I wanted to do all the coloring with Pitt pens, but the plastic rejected the ink somewhat. I had to use acrylic paint for the brown portions. I did use orange Pitt pens over the yellow base, however. Because the ink did not outright cover the yellow, it gave it a subtle orange tint to a yellow background. I actually like it better (although it may not show up well in the images)! I also used some black Pitt pens to highlight the brown banding on the abdomen. I coated everything with satin varnish before I glued the parts together. This plastic is really prone to chipping (even with the varnish coat) and I was periodically doing touch-ups. I am happy with the color but not sure how well it will show up in the pics. Another frustrating thing is with the way the wings were attached to the mold casts, it creates notches in three of the wings.
The figure is designed to be in flight and I am still trying to come up with a safe and attractive way to display it. The final product is 11 centimeters long (not including 2 additional centimeters for the stinger), with a wingspan of 17 centimeters and a height (with extended legs) of 12 centimeters. It is advertised as being 3:1 scale.
Not sure if I will pursue others in the series. I have seen the mantis on YAJ. If I see the plecopteran I would probably have to get that one as well as the (
Heliocopris?) which may also be hard to refuse.
P.S. Has anyone noticed that until now I have been misspelling the species name '
mandarina'? One of my earlier figures must have been marketed with a misspelling...
On to the pics (this is a very image-heavy post):
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]the final product (again, need to find a good and safe way to display):
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Toy Animal Wiki 
Home Latest Topics 
