Super7 Planet of the Apes Gorilla Soldier (Hunter) Super7, ???
Day #2,679: February 1, 2024
Gorilla Soldier (Hunter) Ape Is Enough
Planet of the Apes ReAction Figure
Item No.: No. 03437 Manufacturer:Super7 Includes:Rifle Action Feature:n/a Retail:$17.99 Availability: ??? Other: One of Four ReAction Planet of the Apes Gorillas
The Gorilla Soldier (Hunter) is both essential, and not. If you're a fan of old-school Kenner (or Mego or Mattel) 3 3/4-inch action figures, this is the sort of thing you didn't know you were missing your whole life. He look almost the same as Aldo, very similar to the Gorilla Soldier (Patrolman), and not too far off from General Ursus - but he has a hat.
The two Gorilla Soldier figures appear to be from the same mold, while Aldo is so close I didn't realize he wasn't at first glance. They are close to the very definition of "just different enough to make you mad," or an excellent army in the making - at least they're all a little different. The fact that it exists is something of a miracle, and the fact that it looks and feels so much like an action figure sold at a Toys By Roy or Lionel PlayWorld while Saturday morning cartoons still mattered is the kind of thing I'm hoping to not take for granted. If you still want to buy figures that look and feel more like old toys, get this one. Yes, it costs a little more than other figures on the market from bigger toymakers, but nothing else is quite this good. Sometimes it's worth ponying up for a gorilla that looks like he could hang out with Jabba the Hutt and Bib Fortuna.
I was surprised Super7 made different sculpts for these guys. At first, I just thought the heads were different - Aldo has a very dark gray/blue face, while the Hunter here has a lighter brown face with drawn-in black eyes. It's even more Kennery that way. The limbs all swing forward easily, and the neck turns without much fuss. His claw-like hands can hold the rifle, and they do so with less of a fuss than some other figures. Functionally, it's good.
What's funny is they are so much alike - t hose heads may be the same sculpt. The chest, arms, and legs may be from a very similar sculpt that was interpreted by different tooling masters at the factory for all I know. Also had a fancy collar under his bandolier and more detial on his gloves, and they each have completely different wrinkles in the purple parts of their costumes. The sculpted details are all somehow different, but pretty much the same. How is this possible? I have no idea.
The most surprising change is over the figure's legs. If you look at the Hunter, he's got quilted detail over his hips. Meanwhile, Aldo has smooth sculpting there.
The sculpt is simple, missing some of the bandolier detail, but that's the secret of doing these guys right. If it was completely true to the movie but with a primitive head or simple deco, it wouldn't be retro. Everything about it is just old-school enough that it just feels so real. The hands remind me of the old Chewbacca figure, with feet sticking out to the sides a bit and limited detail in the limbs. I do feel a little silly having bought all the figures I could find so far, but when is the next time they're going to get something this old-fashioned to market again? The kids who saw these movies in theaters have got to be in their 60s and 70s now, and people like me who saw The Simpsons make jokes about it before checking the movies out aren't exactly young anymore. Word on the street has it that the sculptor who did this (and some other Kenner-style figures) has finally retired from his retirement sculpting side-hustle so we may never see retro figures in this style quite like this ever again.
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