This week’s assignment from the League of Extraordinary Bloggers is to compare and contrast something. Well, since I recently picked up the new NECA Planet of the Apes gorilla soldier action figure, I thought it would be fun to see it next to the Mego soldier ape from the 70’s.
You’ve come a loooong way. (Mego packaging photo courtesy of Hake’s Americana & Collectibles)
There’s no doubt that Mego figures have a certain charm to them, and their playability factor is very high, but man, the “action” figures that are being produced today are astounding.
Neca has officially made me an action figure collector — an army builder, no less! Anyone else scooping up these dirty apes every time you see them? I can’t stop!
And, don’t quote me on this, I think these figures will be available in a special gift set at Target for the release of ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’. All very cool.
You are correct! I already ordered mine. 😉 If you preorder the DVD for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes from target, they were offering a free soldier ape. I found this strange because I’ve never seen a Neca figure at Target before, but I’m not complaining!
If you want to collect a unique Planet of the Apes piece, then you should look into getting the CED version of the original film. There are two different versions available, and I’ve always found CED’s to be fun to collect because so many people don’t know what they are. As such, they’re not too expensive either. You could get them both right now off of ebay for under ten bucks (for both).
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xapes+ced&_nkw=apes+ced&_sacat=0
The stuff they are producing in modern toy lines is impressive. No detail goes overlooked. Neca is especially good, with articulation and poseability. For some reason though, when it comes to the properties that had vintage representation, I always prefer vintage. The crudeness and simplicity does it for me. I realize that it’s the best they could do back then, but I feel like that simplicity puts a premium the imagination.
I absolutely agree that for creative play, the less detail and articulation, the better. With my kids, I’ve found that many of today’s action figures, like GI joe and Marvel figures, are so breakable and have so many tiny, loose accessories, that they just aren’t all that much fun (but they look great!).
Fortunately, I am not 8 years old, so I can fully enjoy these hyper-realistic figures. 😉
Do I spot some camel-toe on that ape.