Ice Spider (Eldrador by Schleich)

Among the many deadly residents of the Ice World of Eldrador is the ice spider. While its preferred hunting method is to lie perfectly still in ambush near the mouth of a dark cave or a crevasse, it possesses phenomenal speed and agility and can easily chase down its victims before injecting them with freezing venom.

The Schleich ice spider is sculpted in a very dynamic pose with its head raised and its pedipalps and front pair of legs poised for attack or defense. The second pair of legs is also slightly raised off the ground, leaving the task of support to the third and fourth pairs, and they do a good job of it as you can see.

The ice spider is one of the smaller, non-articulated toys in the Eldrador series. Thanks to its legs, it measures 8 cm high, 9 cm long, and 11.5 cm wide. It is made out of very light blue translucent PVC that has been painted over with white on top and denim blue on the bottom to give it an icy feel. Its eight beady eyes are glossy black.

This toy does not appear to be based on any particular species, but the relatively short, thick legs are reminiscent of a tarantula or perhaps a jumping spider. It is sculpted to give the appearance of being made out of rough, jagged ice. The limbs and abdomen are covered in bumps and spikes and the tips of the legs are rather like icicles.

The ice spider’s mouth is lined with four small, curved chelicerae, and along with the many limbs, give their owner a very frightful appearance indeed. And happily for younger collectors who enjoy playing with their toys, the spider’s limbs are flexible and very resistant to breakage. It is also a very light toy, weighing in at just 62 g.

The Schleich ice spider is a very cool toy, if you’ll pardon the obvious pun, and both of my boys quite enjoy it. It is widely available online and in brick and mortal stores that carry the Eldrador series.