Post by rihia2k on Mar 24, 2013 3:21:51 GMT -6
I know there's a good few Ninja enthusiasts on this forum, so I was surprised not to have seen any threads relating to Chap Mei's Ninja Curse here.
I've admired some Chap Mei material from a distance occasionally, but never taken the plunge until now.
I saw these groovy animal-head Ninjas at Kmart a few months ago but didn't have time to stop and check 'em out, so about a week back (with a free coupla' hours to myself) figured I'd stop these 5'' freaks from haunting my dreams once and for all.
Labelled as 'Ninja Curse' on the internet, on my receipt, & on the shelf. Labelled as 'Ninja Curse' nowhere on the actual product. Well, whatever, perhaps secrecy is the very nature of a curse.
Let's just jump straight to the 'pin-ups' of the three characters Chap Mei released here.
First up - 'Ninja Ironhat'
(my favourite, love the boar head)
More accessories than a rabid Ninja Demon Magic Animal Spirit fan ever ask for.
Once you switch out all the gears, you basically end up with a new character:
'Light-up Claw McGraw' action?
Sweet.
(I taped that button down for the shot, otherwise you gots ta hold it)
Second offering - 'Ninja Lizard Eyes'
(Guess 'Snake Eyes' was already taken)
While I'm sure Lizard's don't generally have red eyes (or wolf heads for that matter), gonna' let it slide because this here's the villain of the day.
Actually when I first cracked into Lizard Eyes I feared my appreciation for CM's Ninja quality had been premature, with a slightly loose right leg and ill fitting wolf-head he wasn't oozing the same zazz that Ironhat exuded from the get go. Meh, after a coupla' snap n' pops he's feeling awright.
Thirdly, last; not necessarily least, 'Ninja Shuriken'.
(Perhaps we'll ignore the fact that Ironhat carries shuriken also)
Without a doubt Shuriken's cat head takes the cake for sculpt skills.
Also notice no weapon gets repeated amongst these guys. Nice surprise.
Shuriken's human form doesn't exactly blow me away, but outta' the three his quality was tops.
Each Ninja sports a back sheath, not exclusive to any particular weapon. Anything clips in there tidily... micro USBs, nipple piercings, cat biscuits, the list goes on...
If it isn't enough that today's dosage of Ninja Madness involves alternate animal heads and glowing light-up blades, you can always just start from scratch... four-armed, garishly outfitted Assassin freaks. Cat-headed, wolf-footed-pig-hooved Shinobi with swords for hands. Etcetera, etcetera, an imagination outbreak awaits.
It won't replace Lego, still Chap Mei receives a tip o' the hat for originality alone. How many figure lines really bother to stand on their own two feet these days?
My local Kmart radar would suggest Lizard Eyes sits in scant quantity on the shelves and it's Shuriken doing all the peg-warming.
I also read these didn't get a release in North America (anyone confirm that?) hopefully they still sell elsewhere in decent numbers, because if Chap Mei gets enough encouragement to release a barbarian/fantasy theme in this scale & styling - Oh, I'm all over that like a cheesy metaphor.
PS. Also found an link from a few years back which shows these fiends released in day-glo colours with the packs actually marked 'Ninja Curse'...
www.actionfigureinsider.com/blog/spymagician/its-holiday-time-now-wheres-my-chap-mei-stuff/
I've admired some Chap Mei material from a distance occasionally, but never taken the plunge until now.
I saw these groovy animal-head Ninjas at Kmart a few months ago but didn't have time to stop and check 'em out, so about a week back (with a free coupla' hours to myself) figured I'd stop these 5'' freaks from haunting my dreams once and for all.
Labelled as 'Ninja Curse' on the internet, on my receipt, & on the shelf. Labelled as 'Ninja Curse' nowhere on the actual product. Well, whatever, perhaps secrecy is the very nature of a curse.
Let's just jump straight to the 'pin-ups' of the three characters Chap Mei released here.
First up - 'Ninja Ironhat'
(my favourite, love the boar head)
More accessories than a rabid Ninja Demon Magic Animal Spirit fan ever ask for.
Once you switch out all the gears, you basically end up with a new character:
'Light-up Claw McGraw' action?
Sweet.
(I taped that button down for the shot, otherwise you gots ta hold it)
Second offering - 'Ninja Lizard Eyes'
(Guess 'Snake Eyes' was already taken)
While I'm sure Lizard's don't generally have red eyes (or wolf heads for that matter), gonna' let it slide because this here's the villain of the day.
Actually when I first cracked into Lizard Eyes I feared my appreciation for CM's Ninja quality had been premature, with a slightly loose right leg and ill fitting wolf-head he wasn't oozing the same zazz that Ironhat exuded from the get go. Meh, after a coupla' snap n' pops he's feeling awright.
Thirdly, last; not necessarily least, 'Ninja Shuriken'.
(Perhaps we'll ignore the fact that Ironhat carries shuriken also)
Without a doubt Shuriken's cat head takes the cake for sculpt skills.
Also notice no weapon gets repeated amongst these guys. Nice surprise.
Shuriken's human form doesn't exactly blow me away, but outta' the three his quality was tops.
Each Ninja sports a back sheath, not exclusive to any particular weapon. Anything clips in there tidily... micro USBs, nipple piercings, cat biscuits, the list goes on...
If it isn't enough that today's dosage of Ninja Madness involves alternate animal heads and glowing light-up blades, you can always just start from scratch... four-armed, garishly outfitted Assassin freaks. Cat-headed, wolf-footed-pig-hooved Shinobi with swords for hands. Etcetera, etcetera, an imagination outbreak awaits.
It won't replace Lego, still Chap Mei receives a tip o' the hat for originality alone. How many figure lines really bother to stand on their own two feet these days?
My local Kmart radar would suggest Lizard Eyes sits in scant quantity on the shelves and it's Shuriken doing all the peg-warming.
I also read these didn't get a release in North America (anyone confirm that?) hopefully they still sell elsewhere in decent numbers, because if Chap Mei gets enough encouragement to release a barbarian/fantasy theme in this scale & styling - Oh, I'm all over that like a cheesy metaphor.
PS. Also found an link from a few years back which shows these fiends released in day-glo colours with the packs actually marked 'Ninja Curse'...
www.actionfigureinsider.com/blog/spymagician/its-holiday-time-now-wheres-my-chap-mei-stuff/