I have noticed Chap Mei figures get a lot of attention on the Dino Toy Blog, but their extant critters do not seem to get as much representation. So, here is my sole figure by this company, an emperor scorpion,
Pandinus imperator (Koch, 1842). Chap Mei figures seem to walk the fine line between relatively accurate animal figures and movie monsters; it does not help that they are often sold with military-style people armed to the teeth! This scorpion reflects the latter. It is sold as part of a boxed set called
Giant Scorpion Playset that includes another giant scorpion in different colors and an armed soldier (even though it is sold under their Animal Planet brand).
The figure is large; it is hard to measure with a stiff upright metastoma (tail), but it is comparable with the Safari LTD Smithsonian figure (see last image) which was made in the 2:1 scale. As such, the Chap Mei figure could also be easily placed in the 2:1 range.
The colors are unnatural and gaudy, but if you do not take the colors into consideration, the morphology of this figure is actually pretty darn good! I have been told that the light blue paint glows under ultraviolet light but have not tried it out yet. There is a button on the back that when pushed makes the pedipalps (claws) move inwards and outwards.
If you are one who likes to repaint figures, this would make an excellent choice, as some natural coloring would actually make this a decent figure!
On to the pics:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]With the Safari LTD Smithsonian figure:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
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