Before I start this review I must thank @Kenc and our friends at Toymany for passing along this review sample. Insects have been my specialty since the late 1990s so I was super excited they produced a set of them.
The genus Chalcosoma contains five species of large rhinoceros beetles from Southeast Asia. Collectively, they are referred to as three-horned beetles or Atlas beetles (although only one of the five bears atlas as its species epithet). Three species pop up periodically in our hobby. The Caucasus beetle (C. chiron) is probably the most common, although most figures, especially those prior to 2018, are marketed under the synonym C. caucasus. The Atlas beetle (C. atlas) and C. moellenkampi are made with less frequency. Today, for the penultimate Toymany insect review in this first set of 12, we will be looking at C. chiron. I should point out that at the time of this writing, Toymany has it marketed on their site as C. atlas, but I do not believe the morphology supports that identification (more on that below).
Including its cephalic horn, the Toymany Caucasus beetle measures about 7.5 cm, for a scale of 1:1.2-1:1.7. It probably scales closer to 1:1.7 since it clearly represents a major male. Like most figures in the set, it is sculpted in a rather neutral pose.
What lead me to believe the figure was modeled after C. chiron rather than C. atlas is the morphology of the accessory tooth on the cephalic horn. On C. chiron, there is a small, subacute tooth about midway or in the lower third of the horn, with a slight widening of the horn towards the apical end. On C. atlas, there is no subacute tooth mid-horn but instead a blunter, broader tooth in the apical half of the horn. I should mention that these two species are commonly misidentified, and doing an internet search of either species is going to reveal numerous misidentifications online. Compare the next to images.
In this image, we see a detail of the Toymany figure showing the small, subacute tooth roughly in the lower third of the horn. One can also appreciate a slight widening closer to the apical end:
In this next image, we see the horn of C. atlas by DeAgostini, which I should point out was cast from an actual specimen (apologies for the clarity; the DeAgostini insects are encased in clear plastic boxes and I didn’t feel like disrupting that for this pic)! Notice how there is no subacute tooth in the middle of the horn, but rather a wide, blunt tooth in the apical half, but not mid-way:
In life, C. chiron can be solid black or have elytra with a coppery or green metallic luster. Toymany went with the latter, which I appreciate to avoid making the figure monotone. As we’ve seen with other beetles in the set, the underside has brown infuscations to prevent the black portions of the body on the underside appearing monotone. This attention to detail really makes the figures stand out!
Despite the misassignment of the species, this is a really nice example of C. chiron. As I mentioned earlier, it’s relatively common (among insect species) in our hobby. At the time of this writing, I have 10 figures from 9 different companies. Figures by Bandai and F-toys are probably more refined, but they are likely hard to find (especially outside of Japan) and likely to be much more expensive. Today’s model by Toymany is the best for its size, availability, and price point! Perhaps a true C. atlas would have been neater, since it’s less commonly made in our hobby, but this it doesn’t distract from this figure’s quality! Available individually and as part of a set on Toymany’s website. Toymany has recently partnered with Happy Hen Toys in the United States, and while the Caucasus beetle isn’t available there yet, it may be in the near future.
