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Post by Ghouldrool on Dec 14, 2010 14:51:16 GMT -5
Chap Mei's safari rescue themes still remain popular among kids and nature lovers alike!
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Post by dinoviper on Jan 6, 2011 14:17:20 GMT -5
The giant gorilla should be considered King Kong sized because that is just what he is. Released during the Wild Quest 2 series the gorilla is by far one of the largest figures Chap Mei has released. The detailing is pretty spot on with an actual gorilla the black fur and white chest and face are also appealing. The gorilla is also one of the the more articulate larger figures. The head, arms, waist and legs all rotate. A small lever on the back makes the forearms thrash back an forth and I would guess this signifies the gorilla beating his chest. Small holes cut away in the stomach are believed to have some sort of sound. Although mine did not come with this feature. It is assumed that the noise it made was similar to the Wild Park giant grizzly and Dino Valley Spinosaurus. The giant gorilla comes with a set of shackles which attach to his wrists and shake wildly when the gorilla action attack is activated. The gorilla also has bandage that wraps around the wrist and covers the wound on the underside of the gorillas arm. I picked up the gorilla several years ago off of amazon.com they had two versions of the giant Gorilla then one with sound and one without. The one I selected without sound came with the Mega Tracker vehicle. The Mega Tracker was a huge green truck with a crane and a large cage in the bed for holding large animals. However the cage could not hold the gorilla which came with it. The Mega Tracker also had sound when you pressed the button on the truck hood an alarm would sound. I have since sold this vehicle due to space conflictions in my room. I bought the giant gorilla after Peter Jackson's King Kong was released. I was a huge fan of the movie and wanted a Kong that was a little cheaper and durable then the Playmates version. The Chap Mei Gorilla is big enough to tackle the Jurassic Park T rex's Kenner released back in the 90s. Which is what I like to use him for. This version of the gorilla is still being sold with the Mega Tracker at amazon.com. A more realistic looking gorilla that is slightly smaller and standing on all fours is planned in the upcoming Chap Mei, Jungle Adventure line.
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Post by dinoviper on Jan 6, 2011 19:42:28 GMT -5
By now you must realize I am a reptile dinosaur nut because that is just about all my reviews have been based on so far. Truth is I believe Chap Mei is just as big a reptilian freak as I am because they continue to produce incredible detailed figures. Perhaps the oldest figure I have in my Chap Mei collection is the Wild Quest Iguana. I remember picking this one up at a Toys R Us when these Chap Mei sets first came out. I don't remember what set it was with but I do know it came with another small animal a human hunter and a vehicle. You can still find the iguana on ebay from time to time usually as a single figure. The details in the figures scales, spines, wrinkles in the skin are well crafted. Even the warty bumps on the body are an added touch. Even though most Iguanas I have seen are not warty. Perhaps these are flakes of dead skin or even parasites under the skin. The only gripe I have about him is the forked tongue. Iguanas do not have fork tongues this is trait seen in veranid lizards. The colors are vibrant and seem to match an actual iguana, even the touch of light blue on the throat is a nice addition. Usually color on iguanas determines the health of them and I can tell this is one healthy iguana. He is pretty accurate scale wise. Iguanas can grow over 5 feet long if taken good care of and well fed. It would be no surprise to see one this big out in the wild. He makes a perfect pet for one of your 3 3/4" figures. He is also great to put in the background of your jungle safari dioramas. There is a new repainted version I am calling the Easter egg iguana because half the body is red and the other half is blue as it appears to be dipped in egg dye. It will be released in the new jungle adventure line. I hope Chap Mei puts out some new lizard molds in the future. Chap Mei already has several snakes, crocodiles and even two turtle figures. I have been waiting several years now for a komodo dragon lizard. Perhaps someday.
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Post by Ghouldrool on Jan 10, 2011 18:05:18 GMT -5
Here are some fantastic shots of Wild Quest series II. I've had them on my harddisk since forever, and I still appreciate them. The tiger has since seen re-release through Jungle Adventure last year and you can still get it through Toys'R'us if you live in the States. Most sought after however is that giant wild boar, as it never saw any re-release at all, and in my opinion, it could sorely use one!!
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Jbyrdd
Adventurer
MADD GRINNER.
Posts: 40
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Post by Jbyrdd on Jan 11, 2011 15:58:00 GMT -5
Nice line, why such a short run and yes they are hard to find.
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Post by dinoviper on Jan 17, 2011 14:54:52 GMT -5
Most sought after however is that giant wild boar, as it never saw any re-release at all, and in my opinion, it could sorely use one!! Yeah as an Ice Age Beast
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Post by Ghouldrool on Jan 22, 2011 12:41:55 GMT -5
When Chap Mei first started to seriously venture into the action figure market, Wild Quest series 1 wasamong the first of its big sellers. It saw wide distribution through many toy stores and animal parks, and even today it's still available. You can still find Wild Quest sets under the ELC or Animal Planet brands, or reissued otherwise. Wild Quest spawned some curious creatures, not all of them reissued as much as others. Here's one. The Wild Quest 1 leopard. We're used to more detailed sculpts from Chap Mei by now, but back in the day this creature was one of the bigger articulated ones. Most Wild Quest creatures feature zero points of articulation. It's just not a good sculpt.. which is why it got replaced sooner rather than later, and unlike some other creatures the lack of a re-release will make this figure harder to find in most countries. Here's another good example, Chap Mei's first attempt at a rhinoceros. Of course nowadays, we have seen the fantastic Wild Park rhino which is bigger, electronic (sounds like a cow for some reason!) and has the better sculpt. Yet this Wild Quest 1 rhino is seldom seen, also because it was only available in few sets and wasnot re-released at all when production was cancelled.
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Post by Ghouldrool on Mar 18, 2011 5:34:08 GMT -5
Here's another shot of the fierce Wild Quest II tiger, from an ended auction. It's a great sculpt, and seems to have the better paint job than the re-release that's available through Toys 'r Us right now, and also available in the Jungle Adventure line. The difference is in the plastic which is more yellow for the new release and more orange for the older one. The older release seems to have an extra coating of orange highlights. Though this creature obviously uses the paws of Beast Raider's Whitefangs, the head and torso are new.
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Post by Ghouldrool on Apr 10, 2011 5:50:26 GMT -5
This is one of the most common Chap Mei sets in my country that you can find, but I snagged these pictures because although it's such a common set, it's great to see it still in the original box! A shot of the side of the box. It's interesting that this version shows Quickgun Wallace in blue instead of tan. I always associate the blue version with Wild Quest II.
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Post by dinoviper on Feb 8, 2012 13:30:01 GMT -5
Wild Quest II Giant WarthogCall it what you want hogzilla, giant hog, the hog from hell... This is a huge hog. Maybe not so much on its own it can easily fit in a human adults hand. Stand it next to a 4" action figure and you got yourself a really monster. While most people would consider the cyclops, liopleurodon or the 2 headed dragon "holy grails" of Chap Mei I have to say that the Wild Quest II warthog is my "Holy Grail". It has never appeared at any store in my area or in the animal planet section of TRU. While it is just simply an over sized pig for a "safari" line I always believed it belongs in the Ice Quest series with the Smilodon and Mammoth. I even hoped that one day Chap Mei would put out a Ice Age line of prehistoric animals and use this as a prehistoric pig. The giant warthog has articulated legs a rotating tail and a button on its back that closes the lower jaw. While to most this is a forgettable figure lost in the archives of the mid 2000s. For me it now has a home right next to my mammoth and other ice age beasts of long ago. I don't think Gnawgahyde can handle this hog...
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Post by Ghouldrool on Sept 14, 2013 8:48:42 GMT -5
Here's a set that was quite common in stores in the Netherlands. It features an Orca that also made its way to the Animal Planet sets that are in stores now. As it's always cool to see sets like this in their original packaging, enjoy the picture!
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