GORILLA KITS - RESEARCH BY PAUL ADAMS

There have only been a few Gorilla kits over the years [other than Aurora's famous King Kong] . Here is a quick run-down. Some of these have been mentioned before on Moonbase Central, but here they are all together.

*

Monarch Models Konga

[courtesy of Toy Heroes]

[courtesy of Monarch Models/ Cult TV Man]

Monarch Models of Canada have had a Konga diorama kit in the pipeline for a few years now, but it has yet to appear. It shows the now giant Konga crashing through a house, with the various human figures not faring too well. The scale is 1/35th.

[Prototype box and marketing appeared at this June's Wonderfest, Louisville, USA]

*

ITC Marvel Metal Gorilla

ITC Model Craft, the Hobby Division of the Ideal Toy Corporation, released a group of six kits in the early 1960s called the Marvel Metal Animal Series. These were all moulded in black plastic, and came with a substance called Marvel Metal Finishing Compound that was painted over the model, and then buffed to give a bronze-like finish.

All the kits depicted various wild animals. The copyright date on the box is 1960, but they appear to have been very short-lived, and have not been re-issued by anyone else, as far as I can see.

Kit number 3856-198 was a Gorilla. The -198 suffix meant that they originally sold for $1.98.

*

Revell Endangered Mountain Gorilla

In 1974 Revell introduced another short-lived line of snap-together kits, called Endangered Animals. All had moving parts.

The Mountain Gorilla, H-703, was moulded in black plastic. It had a movable head, jaws, and legs; and came with an Environmental Display Base.

The kits were later re-issued by Revell Germany, with a 1991 copyright date on the boxes. The name on the box now being Berg-Gorilla.

This kit was also released by Revell/Kikoler of Brazil as a King Kong tie-in model, for the 1976 movie.

*

4D Vision Gorilla Anatomy Kit

4D Master make a range of educational anatomy kits, both human and animal. These are simpler than the old Renwal kits, and the parts come pre-finished. They just need to be assembled.

The Gorilla has various parts of the body: the head, chest, one arm, and one leg, moulded in clear plastic, to show off the skeleton and internal organs.

The kits have been released under a range of different names, in different countries. They can be painted, if you just want a display model.

There have been a few Japanese kits, by Marusan and Imai, of giant gorillas. But I am not sure if these are actually Gorillas, or un-official King Kong models.

*

Wagon Master Circus Gorilla Cage

In addition to their extensive line of Old West wagon kits, the US company Wagon Master did a small range of vintage Circus Wagons. Among these was the Gorilla Cage - alas, no actual Gorilla was included.

These were large scale wooden kits, with pre-shaped parts. Horses, mules, or oxen, to draw the wagon, were available separately.

The kits appear to date from the 1950s or perhaps early 1960s, and remained available at least in to the 1970s under the Craft Master name.

*

All other six photographs from Worthpoint.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

[entries in brackets by Woodsy]