Gojitron
Comic and Toy Czar
Location: Monsterland
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Kong: Skull Island toy line
The toys for the upcoming Kong: Skull Island have started hitting the action figure aisle, sold exclusively at Wal-Mart. This line is made by Lanard (who??). You know, Lanard, the makers of that knock-off GI Joe line, The Corps! (that exclamation is part of the logo). In fact, much od the Kong line is made up of re-purposed molds from The Corps! I believe this is the first time Lanard has done licensed toys. The packaging on these is branded with the new "Monsterverse" logo, Legendary's branding for their shared Godzilla/Kong universe.
The "Creature Contact" sets are the lowest price point at $9.96 and there are three sets available.
The Skullcrawler set comes with a Monarch base and Lt. Col. Preston Packard played by Samuel L. Jackson. The figure is a pretty good likeness.
The Giant Spider set comes with a jeep and James Conrad played by Tom Hiddleston. Again, the figure is a good likeness but the sandy brown hair is an odd choice. In the film the spider will be referred to as "Mother Longlegs".
The last of these is the Pterodactylus set which includes a generic soldier and boat. Rather than a beak, this creature has Cthulhu-like tentacles on it's face.
The next two sets are both labeled as "Storm Strike Monarch Expedition Team". There's an attack boat and a helicopter each with a generic military figure. These retail for $14.96.
Lastly, the star of the show, King Kong himself. Kong stands an impressive 18" tall and is packed with another generic Monarch soldier. Kong sells for $24.96
It's a modest toy line, but there's something very charmingly retro about it. Obviously these figures don't have the insane detailing and articulation of most modern action figures, but there's great value here. If I were a kid with $20 to spend and my choices were one part of Voltron, a single Marvel Legends figure, or two complete playsets, I know what I would choose.
It will be interesting to see what happens in 2020 if there are toys for Godzilla vs. King Kong. Jakks Pacific, NECA and Bandai all released toys for the 2014 Godzilla, but Lanard is the only toy maker for the new Kong movie. Hopefully the licenses can come together in a unified toy line.
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2/13/2017, 12:50 am
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MachSabre
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Re: Kong: Skull Island toy line
Dude, these amazingly look great for that price. I gotta agree... If i was a kid, I'd want these instead as well.
Now that I think about it... Really, why wasn't The Corps! figures more popular? It's not like the toys were ever THAT bad, especially compared to the action figures of that size scale today, the vehicles were fun, they were all well reasonably priced... And unlike G.I.Joe... These guys never went away.
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2/13/2017, 11:08 am
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iacon45
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Re: Kong: Skull Island toy line
I don't understand it either why Corps! never sold better. Especially since GI Joe hasnt been actively on pegs for a couple of years (except TRU and Comic shops). Only thing I think of is their exclusivity to Walmart. They actually had some huge vehicles last Christmas that ended up clearanced locally for $15 each. I was actually tempted to get one even though I don't have any Corps figures.
But those Kong sets look good. Just a couple of quick questions though. That spider set: are the legs jointed or bendy plastic? Also it looks like the Mega Kong figure doesnt have knee or hip joints.
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2/13/2017, 4:22 pm
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Gojitron
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Re: Kong: Skull Island toy line
quote: iacon45 wrote:
Only thing I think of is their exclusivity to Walmart.
I remember seeing The Corps at Target as recent as a couple of years ago so I'm not sure how long the W-M exclusivity has been a thing. TRU has their True Heroes line which is pretty extensive so that's probably why they're not interested.
quote: But those Kong sets look good. Just a couple of quick questions though. That spider set: are the legs jointed or bendy plastic? Also it looks like the Mega Kong figure doesn't have knee or hip joints.
The spider legs are solid plastic with a ball joint connecting then to the thorax, so there's a little movement. You're right about Kong, he's got swivel in his wrists and ankles, ball joints in shoulders and double-jointed elbows so you can simulate him pounding his chest. The chest, torso and legs are a solid piece.
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2/13/2017, 5:51 pm
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