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Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set Chap Mei Toys, 2013
Day #646: April 25, 2013
Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set
Big Squid and Deep Sea Suit

Animal Planet Toys R Us Exclusive
Item No.:
n/a
Manufacturer: Chap Mei Toys
Includes: Giant squid, SCUBA mask, flashlight, king crab, deep sea suit
Action Feature: Tentacles move, sort of
Retail: $14.99
Availability: Early 2013
Other: Good enough

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Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure SetThe Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set feels like a modernized (and encheapened) 3 3/4-inch scale action figure set in the vocabulary of Fisher-Price Adventure People. The quality is, on the whole, OK - the human figure is the weakest part, the squid isn't bad, and the suit is what makes it particularly interesting (and I believe is currently unique to this set, as the squid can be had separately and more cheaply and in different colors, too.) I would say this is how you should take the set: it's good, not great, and ideal if you're going to use the creatures and suit as accessories for your other toys that you already own.

Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure SetSince it's unique (currently) to this set in the USA, focusing on the suit is a good idea. It's a large toy and stands alone well on its own, with its head enlarged and arched forward similar to Marvin from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie. The figure has articulated arms and rotating claws, plus removable fans, tanks, and cameras on the side. There's a hook on the back so you can use a winch on a boat to pull him up, and I'm not entirely sure this was designed with water play in mind. The suit doesn't seal up, so water will enter through the holes in the feet as it's lowered in to a pool or tub. Also, there are no weights on the feet to make sure this happens.

Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set

What's surprising is that the suit, which looks tight, is surprisingly accommodating for other figures. The included diver fits just fine, as did random Iron Man, Spider-Man, G.I. Joe, and other 3 3/4-inch scale action figures I placed in here. It stands up well, has a good weight to it, and is quite charming in appearance with its four windows on the helmet. The only place where this could be better are the yellow painted tank and camera, or the red fans. Light paint applied to dark plastic doesn't tend to look too well, and it would no doubt be better as molded yellow or molded red parts. Or, for that matter, unpainted molded brown parts. It still looks pretty good.

Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set

As giant squid toys go, this may be one of the best on toy shelves today. It's also one of the only ones available. The mechanism is laughably impotent, as a button on the body moves two of the tentacles a couple of centimeters each. If angled correctly, you can use them to grab the diver figure but generally it just wiggles them around a bit. With a 5-inch long body, it's a sizable toy and the plastic quality is pretty good. There's no articulation to speak of, but the black, white, and yellow paint applications make it look like a more expensive toy. He has a little beak as well as suction cups, making this a less-than-authentic but still fun little toy. The squid has also been sold in a little box for about $8, so you might also consider buying him alone if you don't want the deep sea suit.

Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure SetThe crab is an unarticulated (but neat) king crab, and it's cute enough. I can't do much with it, but it's neat and a nicely painted bonus. Rounding out the set is a diver which is the set's weak link. It's OK. With 7 points of articulation including jointed ankles, the figure manages to surpass his 1970s and 1980s ancestors by allowing his feet to do a "swimming" pose, plus there are removable swim fins which have a tight fit. The SCUBA mask doesn't connect to anything, but it basically fits just fine. Rounding out his gear is a plastic flashlight, giving this 4-inch tall blond male diver just enough gear to be somewhat interesting. The plastic quality does feel a little cheap, but given the price point that's to be expected. The outfit paint job is OK, but you can tell it's a shirtless, nippled man with a wet suit painted on top. He also has some straps on his person molded in flesh color and this makes the item look pretty cheap.

Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure SetAs bang for the buck goes, these sets do deliver a lot of plastic at a low price point and make a convincing argument for gift-givers over, for example, Imaginext. There really isn't anyone else doing figures quite like this nowadays, so unless you want to buy Adventure People on eBay this is a pretty good nonviolent, mostly unbranded and not-very-commercial toy alternative. There's also a small collector's market for this stuff, which I think is helped along mostly by the fact that there really isn't any definitive guide to the toys Chap Mei makes or what all is out there. If you're looking for a hobby on the frontier of toy collecting, this is it.

--Adam Pawlus

Additional Images

Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set
Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set
Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set
Buy The Pin

Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set
Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set
Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set
Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set
Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set
Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set
Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set
Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set
Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set
Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set
Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set
Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set

See more Chap Mei Toys figures in Figure of the Day:
Day 630: Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Liopleurodon Deep Sea Adventure Set
Day 646: Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set
Day 1,580: Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Deep Sea Creature Encounter Set

See more Animal Planet figures in Figure of the Day:
Day 630: Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Liopleurodon Deep Sea Adventure Set
Day 646: Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Giant Squid Deep Sea Adventure Set
Day 1,580: Chap Mei Toys Animal Planet Deep Sea Creature Encounter Set
Day 2,550: Blip Toys Animal Planet Electronic Battling Dinos Set

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