Blogging the Mignot War of the Worlds set got me thinking about another pioneer of Fantasy merchandise, the 1933 RKO Pictures KING KONG jigsaw puzzle. Checking my books again I found the reference I was looking for in Sci Fi and Fantasy Collectable by Phil Ellis 2003. It values this amazing item at a minimum of £1000 explaining that there is only one known example complete with it's original envelope packaging. A further complete example turned up on Hakes Americana auction site this year [the puzzle and envelope pictured], where it sold below estimate for $860. Coming just 8 years after Mignot's War of the Worlds play set RKO's puzzle is nevertheless one of the earliest Fantasy movie tie-ins. An antique even?
Paling like an ant on Skull Island, the oldest item in my own meagre KONG collection is the 1976 IDEAL game below, which tied-in with the Dino De Laurentiis film of the same year using the movie poster artwork for the box cover. GRRRRRRR! Any more early Sci Fi / Fantasy Movie/TV collectables out there?
The Jack Black version was better than the 1976 attempt with Jeff Bridges. I guess every other generation will have a crack at remaking the King of the Monsters.
ReplyDeleteLove all three versions myself and the latest one was a grand monster flick!
ReplyDeleteThe Bridges version is the weakest but still great fun.
I had a couple of little King Kongs as a kid, circa 1968/70. They were about 3 inches tall. Used to tie string to their arms and pretend they were creepers as I swung them between the table and chairs or the rose bushes outside.
hee hee - love that image Ed of Kongs on strings. Were those Kongs the little solid plastic Britians style figures or the rubber jigglers?
ReplyDeleteI had one Kong that was the solid hard Britian type, actually I had a couple of those.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite Kong however was a similar sized beast but it was softer, like very hard rubber but you could leave a finger nail imprint in it. It also had movable arms but only in the vertical axis.
I got that Kong from an amusement arcade in a place called "Wicksteed Park", from one of those glass case things with the little crane inside. The Kong was in a little plastic bag with a cardboard top with some art work on it and said something like "Mighty Kong". I think it was a jungle scene with Kong holding a huge snake that was wrapped around him, like in the film.
There were a lot of figures in the case that looked as if they had been made by the same manufacturer and I got another one, a rat, made from the same hard rubber. very detailed as I remember, with delicate whiskers and a very realistic tail.
There was another logo on all these packets...something like "Brutes in Bags"...it wasn't that, but was something like it.
Ring any bells?
I remember having rubber animals and insects like snakes, ants and rats. Don't remember that specific Kong or Rat in a bag but it'll be out there somewhere Ed! I'll look in Dana Cain's Collecting Monster Toys book [you got that?]. In the meantime I found this cool Kong ring
ReplyDeletehttp://tracystoys.blogspot.com/2009/10/vintage-king-kong-toy-ring.html
More toy Kongs
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/93779577@N00/sets/72157616204448788/detail/?page=2