Super7 Planet of the Apes Gorilla Soldier (Patrolman) Super7, 2019
Day #2,703: April 25, 2024
Gorilla Soldier (Patrolman) Ape Is Enough
Planet of the Apes ReAction Figure
Item No.: No. 03438 Manufacturer:Super7 Includes:Rifle Action Feature:n/a Retail:$17.99 Availability: March 2019 Other: One of Four ReAction Planet of the Apes Gorillas
The Gorilla Soldier (Patrolman) is a redeco/co-deco of the Gorilla Soldier (Hunter) figure. That one is a bit redder. This one is a bit bluer. Trying to find reference of some of these can be tricky because lighting and fabric aging and all of that, but I did notice a few with this color for "background gorillas" with much cheaper vests and gloves - they looked more like cheap Halloween costumes than the fancy props (or this action figure) you saw front-and-center in most scenes.
For troop builders completists, and people who just can't let a good toy line end without buying those last few figures, this ape's for you. He has the same rifle as Taylor, Aldo, and the other Gorillas, and he has the same odd Chewbacca-like hands, but let's be honest: we're here because we love this movie and this style of figure. Yeah, it's a repaint, but so what? The entire line is one playset, eleven carded figures, and two deluxe boxed guys. Get 'em, enjoy 'em, and weep at the passage of time because odds are everybody who would have appreciated figures like this when they were kids are likely to be 40-60 now.
Star Wars fans will look at this figure and note some familiarity to old Kenner toys, he looks like he could hang out in the background of the old Creature Cantina playset. He stands and sits well, although getting the rifle in the hand can be a little tricky. You can sling it over his shoulder, too. His head was molded in his skin color, giving it a slight hint of translucence - very subtle! - with painted black hair. The blue on his sleeves and pants sets this blue concord grape-dyed looking outfit apart from the other gorillas in this line, which are a redder hue. The gloves, boots, and vest are also black with a brown bandolier.
The detail is once again pretty good, with quilted patterns on his torso and little buttons and tiny bits on his gloves. It's convincingly old. It really does feel like a lost Kenner artifact, and I'd go as far as to say Apes is Super7's crowning achievement for this format. The Alien sculpts were good, but the execution and deco needed a little more time in the oven at Funko's factories. The apes are pretty much perfect - you can point to numerous details that are convincingly like something out of a Sears Wishbook. Maybe some day one of today's kids will lament a bygone era of being sold a LEGO set on the great-grandson of whatever Instagram turns in to some day. The one thing this toy doesn't have is what makes the real old figures so special - childhood memories. The sculptors at Super7 nailed the textures and appearance of this figure, but sadly nobody ever got one when they were 5 years old and put it in the Millennium Falcon as a Chewbacca substitute. (Hey, kids in the 20th century had to pretend sometimes.)
I'm writing these reviews before they go live, spacing them apart because I don't want the line to end. My pal Seth sent me an Astronaut Cornelius and I'm ordering a bloody Lawmaker from work, and that'll be that. The sculptor of these figures is reportedly Steve Geddes, an ex-Kenner sculptor who came out of retirement to do freelancing and also reportedly re-retired in 2024. I have absolutely no idea if anyone from Kenner is still around to make these kinds of figures, but I really appreciate the level of detail and the eye for how things were here. Some of these guys can be hand in bundles or on markdown if you can find them, and I have no idea if they'll be expensive collectibles or not some day. They're some of the better-quality retro figures, so I'd recommend picking them up if you're of an age where this sort of toy means something to you. While Super7 and others still make this kind of figure, different sculptors use different tools and some look absolutely incredible. I can only hope Svengoolie and Vampira turn out half as well as the Gorilla Patrolman.
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