Army of the Apes by Bullmark

Another TV show tie-in. I'm on a roll! I have a couple more to follow from old television programs as well.

Instead of breaking this apart into separate entries, I thought I could talk about all four of my Bullmark (ブルマァク) Army of the Apes (猿の軍団) toys that I have all at once.

This is not a show I have eny experience with outside of what little information exists on the internet. Army of the Apes, or "Saru-no Gundan", was Tsuburaya Productions' television version of the U.S. Planet of the Apes series. The Army of the Apes series lasted only from 1974-1975 with 26 episodes. IMDB's synopsis of the show is "A female scientist and two children are accidentally transported into a future dominated by apes."

The show was adapted into an American dubbed movie in 1986 called Time of the Apes. I think it was covered on Mystery Science Theatre...

I feel like the slacker kid in class trying to give a book report on a book I obviously have not read past the back cover.

Anyway, there onto the toys. There are a few full sized apes I have seen floating around from time to time, but these almost minis seem to be pretty abundant.

Header
While I have only found one of these still in the bag with a header, the one that I do have is quite nice. There are a couple really cool paintings on the front and back featuring characters from the television series; an action shot on the front and more of a montage on the back. I like the style, and the fonts look cool. A great little header card.

Sculpt
For what they are, the sculpts of these toys are not bad. They get the point across and even manage a little detail while still maintaining a simplicity and ruggedness that many action figure sized toys from the 70s and 80s had.

All of the figures here are articulated at the shoulders and the neck so you can get some good fighting and generic ape poses in there... except for the red caped ape. Not sure of his name, but his gimpy left hand/arm holding the staff is not that great.

The figures are well balaced... maybe a little top heavy especially with their arms raised, and not many glaring issues in quality outside of a bubble on the shoulder of one of them. Not a huge deal with the mass produced toys of the time, however.

I really like the faces of the three suited apes. Like I said before, they are simple, but I think they are interesting and get the point across without getting bogged down in over-detailing. Again, though, the face of the elder caped baboon guy is not my favorite.

The ape with the white moustache and the loooong buttoned up suit is probably my favorite. His face has the better sculpt I think with the little details, and his clothing is well done.

The giant bowtie on the chimp in the tuxedo is pretty ridiculous.

Overall, nice sculpts... at least on three of them.


Paint
Not so good here.

I have a few handmade, street vendor style luchador toys in my possession now, and the paint job on those is just a little worse than these.

I don't know if it is due to the rush of mass production or what, but the brush painted areas on these figures have quite a few issues. It just seems to be slapped on really.

For the most part it is a smooth application, but they did not "stay in the lines" very well. And I don't mean in the nice, slight overspray with the airbrush way you see on the vintage (and vintage-style) paint jobs on larger vinyl toys.

You can see it the most on the staff hand of the caped ape. Pretty sloppy job painting the fingers and staff itself. The black feet underneath are very sloppy as well. His face is not great, but it is passable I suppose.

You can see these issues on the other figures as well. Fortunately these problems are not as pronouced as they are on the caped baboon.



Value
You can pick these up for relatively cheap considering the afe (30+ years old)... Even a bagged one will not feel like it is emptying your wallet. I suppose it is because the show was not ever that popular and the toys are not the fad of the day for modern collectors, but hey, more for me!


Overall
Positives: Apes in suits!
Negatives: Sloppy paint

These are not my favorite gorilla themed vinyl, but they aren't terrible. I can get past the sloppy paint. They don't have a huge footprint so they can be wedged in nicely to a crowded shelf. Pick them up if you want some pint-sized gorillas to add to your collection. They are pretty random to have... you could impress your friends when you talk about the Japanese version of Planet of the Apes! ....Or maybe not.

King Kong by Mego

Well, now we have a vintage toy that didn't bother making a fake King Kong... they give us the real thing! Here is a figure from the 1970s: King Kong (キング　コング) by Mego.

Mego is an American toy company established in the 50s, but they really caught on full steam in the 1970s. The company obtained King Kong rights for toys along with the much hyped 1976 King Kong movie remake. Oddly, there was only one figure of King Kong himself actually produced in the U.S. (which came with a big shooting game), and there was also a plush doll. Other items released in the U.S. in this movie marketing campaign were punching bags, models, even a weird straw that had Kong climb a building as you slurped liquid through.

In Japan, however, there were a couple King Kong figures produced for Mego by Bullmark. Gotta love Bullmark! There was a funny wind-up that had long arms stuck up in the air, and the classic waddly feet that you always see on wind-up walkers... and there was this more realistic vinyl figure with a silly little car to hold on to.

I was very fortunate to come across a Mego King Kong page at the Mego Museum website, so thanks to them for the info on Mego's Kong releases!



Header
The main head attached to the top of the bag for this toy, despite being the same on both sides, it really cool. The King Kong illustration is one seen on much of the Mego Kong packaging at the time, but it still looks great, and is cropped well for this card. The sunburst and big red text to the side is kitschy and fun, and the loud colors and rows of stars make it stand out... just as a giant ape would I suppose.

They make up for just having the same front and back to the header card by actually including a background card in the bag along with the toy. I included flat images here of the front and back, but in the package, the bottom folds underneath, making a little platform for the toy to stand on. It's a cool little backdrop with an illustrated city street behind the big ape himself. On the back, there seems to be some King Kong stats and other information.

Very nice overall packaging, especially for a vintage vinyl toy!


Sculpt
For its size (about 6 inches tall or so), this is a nicely detailed figure. The vinyl isn't the greatest quality, but you run into this a lot with older toys. (I was also lucky to find this still sealed in the bag, so the condition is great). The hands and feet in particular are nicely sculpted.

I like the menacing face, but the teeth/fangs are a little crooked as they jut out of the mouth at a weird angle. And the fur is kind, but adds a lot of detail all over.

The arms are articulated at the shoulders which is nice, even though with the arms down the figure appears awkward for some reason. I think the legs are a little long for a gorilla, but they may have been left that way for balance sake. It stands relatively well, although the car in his hand makes him a little top heavy when his arms are raised.

And the car... wow this thing stinks. It looks like a battleship with waron wheels. It totally does not fit the scale or style of this figure, and I have no clue why they even felt it necessary to even include it. If they wanted to include some cheap plastic accessory, they should have chosen a hollow skyscraper roof or something for him to stand on. This crappy car doesn't even stay in Kong's hand all that well.


Paint
Not the greatest paint application on the figure. You can tell this toy was mass produced in a hurry, as the paint appears to have been sprayed on in the general location without much attention to detail. Same story with the brush applied teeth and eyes.

While the colors work well... there is some nice, subtle coloring on the toes... there are places on the chest and under his nose where the paint is uneven. A more deliberate application would have been better here to ensure proper coverage. Also, the brushed paint on the teeth is very sloppy, even extending onto the lips. The pupils are crooked also, we are seeing a Kong lazy eye.


Value
This toy can still be found around for pretty cheap considering the age. I even found one still stapled in the bag for not much at all. I assume these were made in mass quantity to hype the King Kong movie, which leads to the lower price.

Overall
Positives: Cool, medium sized King Kong toy, nice hands, great packaging

Negatives: Shitty car accessory, too-quick paint job

The package may be the saving grace for this toy. While it's pretty cool having an actual Kong as opposed to a bootleg, it doesn't have the same feel and charm as some of the cruder vintage pieces that were also mass produced. Not sure exactly what it is. Regardless, Mego (and Bullmark) still did a good job with these, and I would recommend it to gorilla/King Kong completeists without hesitation.