Chap Mei Ponies (and derivatives)

CHAP MEI
I got my first Chap Mei ponies at a dollar store in the late-90’s in mom and baby sets. You can see that the color schemes on some of the adults was influenced by the 1997 My Little Pony reboot (G2). There are also bootleg versions of the Chap Mei original mold with some modifications.

Note that as of 2024, Chap Mei is producing a collection of toy horses under the collection title “Be My Own”. These horses have molded plastic hair and somewhat resemble Playmobil horses.

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IVY: Chap Mei unicorns vs
PETAL BLOSSOM: Chap Mei unicorns vs
SKY SKIMMER: Chap Mei unicorns vs
The metallic accessories discolor the plastic pretty badly. Note that the wings are attached to the saddle, not the pony, so they are plain unicorns if you take off the saddle.

CHAP MEI BABIES:

(no symbol, or worn off?)

LARGE CHAP MEI BABY:

This baby is marked Chap Mei but is larger than the others, a little over 3″. It appears to have come with a wedding set (see below).

WEDDING SET:

I bought this set used, so I don’t know with certainty that all the accessories are original, and what is missing; but the clothes all seem to fit the ponies.

I have also found a groom pony (note that he has blue hooves, and the bride has pink; otherwise they are the same colors) in packaging labeled Kidz Fun Fashion Pets Pony Playset by Excite from Carrollton, Texas. The hooves are marked Chap Mei and the quality seems similar; I don’t know if there was an official licensing agreement or if the mold was “borrowed” by Excite. The groom is pictured on the back wearing a top hat that is not included in this set. The card is not dated, but has an attached coupon for a film camera with expiration date in 2003.

 

COMPARISON: left to right: 1. original Chap Mei; 2. fakie with painted hooves; 3. fakie with unpainted hooves; 4. fakie with narrowed hooves.

FAKIES – WIDE HOOF

This one is marked Chap Mei, but I suspect it is a fakie as the materials feels lower quality, and it is a tiny bit shorter than a true Chap Mei:

FAKIES – NARROW HOOF
This fakie version has had the legs/hooves slimmed down. They are not all marked by brand, but one of the adults that I have is branded JA-RU (a company in the novelty toy industry) on the side.

In-package My Princess Pony:

FAKIE BABY

Solid plastic – these have been sold as “Little Lovely Pony”:

Squishy plastic:

LONG KEY
A different mold, but based on the Chap Mei adult, shows up on two ponies I have marked LONG KEY on the bottom of the hoof (I haven’t found any information on this manufactuer). These have wings attached to the body and NO unicorn horn. There were also babies from Long Key, which are not direct copies of Chap Mei design.
Purple: IMG_20200227_120053

Pink:

Dark Pink:

Yellow:

Yellow w/ yarn hair:

White w/ yellow hair:

Pink w/ yarn hair:
Blue w/ yarn hair: IMG_20200227_120104

Yellow w/ yarn hair:

Yellow w/ nylon hair:

Purple w/ yarn hair:
Hoof markings: IMG_20200227_120059

Blue baby:

Pink baby: