Kong King by Imperial Toy
A gorilla.
(Click to enlarge)
People like gorillas, right?
No? Too scary?
(Click to enlarge)
Well, I like this gorilla. He just called to me. He looks more like a man in a suit than a true gorilla.
This big, black, angry primate is by Imperial Toy. I’m not sure what year this toy was released. Probably the 70s or 80s from the looks of him.
I have a feeling it’s supposed to be reminiscent of King Kong. See the resemblance?
(Actually, this shot of King Kong reminds me of Danny Glover.)
I don’t see any marking giving rights to a movie studio or anything, so this is probably just a generic giant gorilla. I’ll call him “Kong King.” He’s supposed to fight some of those dinosaur toys Imperial made in the 80s.
You remember those dinosaurs? I actually had this dinosaur as a kid.
Dinosaur image courtesy of Cretaceous Central. Thanks!
I remember dropping those little green army men into his mouth, filling its hollow plastic torso with unlucky soldiers. (It was always hell to get the dinosaur to regurgitate them though.) I would even squeeze his mouth shut repeatedly to make the act of eating that much more convincing.
(Click to enlarge)
Kong King is plasticy, goofy-looking, has minimal paint applications and has very obvious construction seams. He has two points of articulation at the shoulders. The rest of him is just a hunk of hollow, flexible plastic.
Notice his smooth, polished bare ass…
(Click to enlarge)
… and what’s with coconut bra?
(See. I told you’d I’d post another York Show toy this week. I’ll try to do another.)
January 12th, 2009 at 1:55 am
i actually JUST bought that same exact dino for 75 cents at a peddler’s mall in kentucky
January 12th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Wow. Good find.
I hadn’t even thought about that dinosaur until I started writing this blog entry.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:27 am
I have a very similar Gorilla figure except it has two red led lights for eyes and a button on his chest. When you push the button he kind of makes a weird snoring/growling/moaning noise and his eyes flash on and off for a few seconds. It’s made of hard plastic too. but the sculpt looks to be the same.
January 12th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Man, your toy sounds so much cooler. I wish I’d found a roaring, laser-eyed gorilla toy instead.
January 12th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
I got that same Kong last year. It is an officially licensed King Kong, and I think it was released in ‘85 or thereabouts.
Check out my post: http://toyriffic.blogspot.com/2008/06/da-da-da-daaaaimperial.html
January 12th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Thanks for the tip Bubba Shelby.
The car in Kong’s hand was a nice touch. Too bad I don’t have any small cars lying around.
January 12th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Hey Justin!
I just have to say WOW! All you’ve done on this site is so AWESOME!
best,
Simon
January 14th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I had a gorilla like that when I was a kid.
January 17th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
I totally had one of those dinosaurs when I was a kid, back in the eighties. I would attack the Star Wars figures with it for some reason, and the simulated chewing mouth movement was a must for me too.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:02 am
Amazingly, in Asia KING KONG is called KONG KING. Kong actually means King in Korean whereas King has no meaning.
The more you know!
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:47 am
Wow, thanks for the insight AsianFan. Good to know. That’s pretty funny and coincidental. (I’m taking your word for it by the way.)
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:51 am
@ Simon - Thanks for the support, Glad you like the site.
@ Fae Cthulu - Funny that we both did the mouth chewing thing. A modern dinosaur toy would growl, animate and have a chewing action all activated by the press of a button. Also, it wouldn’t be hollow, because it’d be filled with electronics.
April 1st, 2009 at 7:01 pm
OH! I still have this very same dinosaur–I got him at McCrory’s when I was a kid, and I remember him seeming so HUGE in my little hands. Even the display box he was in advertised them all as GIANT DINOSAURS.
His name is Thor, and for a while he sat on my desk at work…when I had a job.:(