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And now, a personal note:
You may wonder – who is this fanatical Chap Mei guy who buys these expensive overseas playsets? Why does he do it?
The answer is – I am a 43-year-old software sales/engineer with three kids and a tolerent wife, and these are the types of toys I really enjoyed as a kid, that really are not made anymore in the US.
I have been collecting toys since 1976 with the Micronauts, and then Star Wars and G.I. Joe. Pretty much I bought (with my allowance and mowing money) every 3-3/4 inch scale figure/vehicle from 1977-1991. Over time, of course, this collection became too large and I ended up selling everything except the ‘cool’ items like the classic Star Wars toys and the G.I. Joe figures. I keep my complete sets of the Mego lines from films like the Black Hole, Buck Rogers, Star Trek, etc, and also overseas lines like Madelman 2050 and Action Force.
I think I saw my first Chap Mei sets back in 2001, and they were pretty lousy, knock-off types of toys. Then, the quality improved and they released items like the Merkeva tank, the Little Bird helicopter, and the Chinook, and these were very well done. The quality seemed to improve with each passing year, and these vehicles began to surpass the quality of the G.I. Joe line, which had those Sound Attack vehicles with the toylike, shiny plastic.
The Chap Mei vehicles became very inventive as to their design, and they started branching out in gonzo directions with He-Man lines, Wizard lines, Police Lines, etc, in ways that I did not see any-mass marketed toys approach. I also liked that they were not doing licensed properties, but sort of emulating them. Someone doing Harry Potter toys? Let’s do a Wizards line! Hasbro doing Indiana Jones? Let’s do Adventure Heroes with a steampunk vibe! Jurassic Park? Ditto!
There is also the fun factor of seeing an entire collection of buildings, vehicles, and figures in a guitar-case sized box. Who does this anymore? Who sells fire, police, military, and cowboy/Indians sets at the same time on the same shelf?
What company would make a riot-control vehicle for 3-3/4 figures? Who would make a boombox accessory that turns into a minigun? Who would release a P-61 night fighter? A two-headed pirate zombie? Animals with guns strapped to them? Vikings? Cavemen? And who releases BUILDINGS as playsets these days? Who comes up with these ideas?
It’s that inventive, loose feeling of fun that I like to see, without restrictions from license owners. I really think that the large companies don’t make these sorts of retro toys these days due to license costs, and also that kids are more into video games. Parents are more likely to spend money on video games and systems than on toys such as these.
However, the fact that Chap Mei still exists and now has a large TRU presence means that they must be succeeding in their approach, and when I am overseas I still see a large amount of sets in the stores. It’s just in the US where I only see sets at TRU and Rite Aid. It seems that many larger and complex sets never make it to the US, and by and large these are the most interesting ones to me.
Lately, I have also curtailed my collecting urge lately due to cost, and that there really isn’t much I am interested in anymore except a few of the Star Wars figures from the (non-prequel) films. As a result, I have been saving my cash for items that interest me, and these hard-to-get Chap Mei sets fit the bill. Part of the fun is also sharing my reviews and photos with others on the board who may not have opportunity to find these items.
That's all for now, hope you enjoyed the post!
Toygeek
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