Although I originally made this blog for posts about MIDI synthesizers and SoundFonts, I figured I could use it for some posts on other subjects too.
Real Life Bugs & Insects was a partwork magazine series published by RBA Coleccionables, S.A. that originally ran for 69 issues from 2008-2011. Each issue came with a real arthropod encased in a block of resin. The series was re-issued in 2016 and extended to 85 issues. It is the original 69-issue run that I have, which features five complete display cases of preserved arthropods.
I have made a list of every issue of the original Australian run of this series, along with the specimen that was included with each magazine. I subscribed to the series from day one, and received every issue as they were originally released.
This list is purely for informational and reference purposes; the magazines and resin specimens are not for sale. Also, since I do not have the second run of this series, I do not know exactly what new specimens were added. I also cannot remember exactly which issues did or did not come with display case labels; the information in the list comes from the magazines themselves. Some duplicate labels were definitely included, and at one point I had to write to the publisher to receive a set of missing labels.
Regarding the quality of this series, I must say I am pretty impressed with it. Some of the specimens unfortunately do have issues like silvering (in particular the American cockroach and demon spider), but others are preserved well and still have vibrant colors, especially the metallic beetles. The resin blocks have of course yellowed now from age, but this has not affected the view of the critters.
One criticism I have of the series is the inner trays in the display cases. The resin blocks are slightly inconsistent in size, meaning some have a loose fit in the trays' compartments, while others have a very, very tight fit. The compartments in the trays should have been made just slightly larger to compensate for the size variations of the resin blocks.
