Dung Beetle (Jasman Toys)

Walkaround of one of the more peculiar figures in my collection, a dung (rhinoceros?) beetle by Jasman Toys, original release date unknown. A little backstory on this figure. When I first started collecting insect replicas, I started with scarabaeoid beetles, and I started in 1998 or so. This was one of my earliest figures, and I believe when I first bought it, it was released (re-released?) in conjunction with the Disney movie, A Bug's Life. At some point I misplaced the toy, I think I just forgot to pack it up when I moved from Phoenix to Atlanta in 2007. Well, last weekend I was seeing what's new on eBay and I found it for sale, so I bought it and here it is again!

When I first bought it back in the late 1990s, I was not to savvy with manufacturers, and only now that I am reunited with it, did I realize it was produced by Jasman Toys!

As I said it's a peculiar figure. In fact it could just as easily represent a rhinoceros beetle rather than a dung beetle, but to me it looks more like a coprine (besides, when I bought my first one years ago, I was a specialist in dung scarabs :) ). First thing you will notice is that it lacks a head. The cephalic horn comes right out of the prothorax! Also, the first pair of legs do not come off of the prothorax (a common mistake in generic toy figures). It is a large, solid piece of plastic. It is 14.0 cm long (not including the horn) and 7.5 cm tall at its highest point.

This toy is really only for the most taxonomically specialized, or those interested in weird novelty-type figures. On to the pics:

What a weird looking beetle !!! Makes me think of the world of Dr. Who

But I love the story behind it, and of course, it is an extremely interesting model for connoisseurs

Thankyou for sharing the - as always - great photos and fine description

Wow, i never know that figur. What is the size, it looks very large?

widukind wrote:

Wow, i never know that figur. What is the size, it looks very large?

The size is in the narrative above, and yes it's a big one!