Planet of the Apes

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Planet of the Apes 1974-1975

Over its two year run from 1974 to 1975, Mego’s Planet of the Apes line was one of their best selling movie brands of the decade. All items fell into two different waves, which included ten different figures, four fantastic playsets, several accessories, and the Action Stallion. A “Bend N Flex” series was also released in 1975 with six rubber figures. Fun Fact: The reason for Mego’s generic Astronaut was due to a failure to acquire the likeness rights for Charlton Heston’s character from the original movie.

For more information about Mego’s Planet of the Apes line, see bottom of page for a complete summary.

Planet of the Apes (1974): Series 1 Figures

Mego released five brand new figures for the first series of characters in the Planet of the Apes line in 1974. All Series 1 figures were re-released the following year in conjunction with the Series 2 figures for 1975.

Astronaut

Market Value:
Carded $250 – $300
Loose $55 – $80

Astronaut
Accessories: Cloth Jumpsuit, Boots, Belt, Helmet w/ Visor
Years Released: 1974, 1975
Scarcity Factor: Can still be found but getting tougher each year
Notes: The Astronaut figure was billed as a generic astronaut since Mego could not get the likeness rights to Charlton Heston from the Planet of the Apes movie. If the jumpsuit looks familiar, think Action Jackson with a white plastic belt. Fun Fact: The head sculpt is actually stamped with a 1972 date, so it can be assumed that it was meant for another line at some point.

Cornelius

Market Value:
Carded $150 – $200
Loose $30 – $45

Cornelius
Accessories: Cloth Shirt, Pants, Moccasins
Years Released: 1974, 1975
Scarcity Factor: Can still be found but getting tougher each year
Notes: Cornelius was portrayed by Roddy McDowell in the Planet of the Apes movie, and the figure is a fantastic likeness of the character. Strangely, the Galen figure is nearly identical to the Cornelius figure, so it’s almost impossible to tell them apart without them being in the package.

Dr. Zaius

Market Value:
Carded $150 – $200
Loose $30 – $45

Dr. Zaius
Accessories: Cloth Coat, Pants, Boots
Years Released: 1974, 1975
Scarcity Factor: Can still be found but getting tougher each year
Notes: Dr. Zaius was portrayed by Maurice Evans in the Planet of the Apes movie, and the figure is a fantastic likeness of the character. There is a slight color variation to Zaius’ hair with it either being orange or yellow type color.

Soldier Ape

Market Value:
Carded $225 – $275
Loose $70 – $100

Soldier Ape
Accessories: Cloth Tunic, Pants, Boots, Gloves, Rifle, Bando
Years Released: 1974, 1975
Scarcity Factor: Can still be found but getting tougher each year
Notes: The Soldier Ape is the generic ape fighter figure from the Planet of the Apes movies, and the figure is a decent likeness, despite the bug eyes. The General Ursus figure is very similar to the Soldier Ape, except with different colored hair and slightly different head mold.

Zira

Market Value:
Carded $150 – $200
Loose $35 – $50

Zira
Accessories: Cloth Coat, Skirt, Boots
Years Released: 1974, 1975
Scarcity Factor: Can still be found but getting tougher each year
Notes: Zira was portrayed by Kim Hunter in the Planet of the Apes movie, and the figure is a fantastic likeness of the character. There is a slight color variation to the clothing outfit that Zira wears with the color ranging through various shades of the standard hunter green.

Planet of the Apes (1975): Series 2 Figures

After massive success with the first series of Planet of the Apes figures, a 2nd series was released the following year in 1975. The new series contained five more new figures, with all figures being from the new television show, except for General Ursus, who was actually from the movie, Beneath the Planet of the Apes.

Alan Verdon

Market Value:
Carded $200 – $250
Loose $50 – $75

Alan Verdon
Accessories: Cloth Shirt, Vest, Pants, Moccasins
Years Released: 1974, 1975
Scarcity Factor: Can still be found but getting tougher each year
Notes: Alan Verdon was portrayed by Ron Harper in the Planet of the Apes television show, and the figure is a fantastic likeness of the character. Fun Fact: Alan Verdon is a actually a typo by Mego, since the character is really named Alan Virdon in the show.

Galen

Market Value:
Carded $200 – $250
Loose $45 – $60

Galen
Accessories: Cloth Shirt, Pants, Moccasins
Years Released: 1974, 1975
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: Galen was portrayed by Roddy McDowell in the Planet of the Apes television show, since Cornelius was not in the show. Strangely, the Galen figure is nearly identical to the Cornelius figure, so it’s almost impossible to tell them apart without them being in the package.

General Urko

Market Value:
Carded $600 – $700
Loose $60 – $85

General Urko
Accessories: Cloth Tunic, Pants, Boots, Rifle, Bando, Knife
Years Released: 1974, 1975
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: General Urko was not featured in the movie but was a character from the television show and portrayed by Mark Lenard. Urko was a very well sculpted figure that came with a molded-on helmet, along with a rifle, knife and cool looking Bando to go across his chest.

General Ursus (V-1)

Market Value:
Carded $450 – $550
Loose $60 – $85

General Ursus (V-2)

Market Value:
Carded $600 – $700
Loose $60 – $85

General Ursus
Accessories: Cloth Tunic, Pants, Boots, Gloves, Rifle, Bando, Knife
Years Released: 1974, 1975
Scarcity Factor: Both versions are tough to find on secondary market
Notes: Every character in Series 2 was from the television show, except for General Ursus. He was actually from the Movie, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, so it was definitely an odd choice. He is similar to the Soldier Ape figure, but for copyright reasons, a 2nd version of the character was made that was identical to General Urko. Therefore, you may find either figure on a General Ursus card, but both are tough to find.

Peter Burke

Market Value:
Carded $200 – $250
Loose $50 – $75

Peter Burke
Accessories: Cloth Shirt, Vest, Pants, Moccasins
Years Released: 1974, 1975
Scarcity Factor: Can still be found but getting tougher each year
Notes: Peter Burke was portrayed by James Naughton in the Planet of the Apes television show, and the figure is a fantastic likeness of the character. Burke, along with Alan Verdon, are the two astronauts in the TV show that crash landed on the dreaded Planet of the Apes.

Planet of the Apes (1974-1975): Accessories

There were four basic accessories released for the Planet of the Apes line by Mego from 1974-1975, with a fifth accessory, the Rock Launcher, only being available in the United Kingdom.

Battering Ram

Market Value:
Boxed $95 – $125
Loose $40 – $55

Battering Ram
Accessories: Ram w/ Boulder, Housing, Wheels
Years Released: 1975
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: The Battering Ram accessory for the Planet of the Apes line was a simple but fun addition to the series. It was a primitive looking battering ram, which fit in perfectly with the POTA universe. The actual Battering Ram was attached to the housing with string and would rock back and forth.

Catapult and Wagon

Market Value:
Boxed $300 – $350
Loose $110 – $140

Catapult and Wagon
Accessories: Wagon, Horse Harness, Catapult, Rubber Band, 10 Rocks
Years Released: 1975
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: The Catapult and Wagon set was a really fun accessory introduced to the Planet of the Apes line by Mego. It included a wagon full of boulders with a horse harness to hook up to your Action Stallion, along with a Catapult to then sling the boulders at your enemies. Fun Fact: The Canadian version came with a horse in the set.

Jail

Market Value:
Boxed $100 – $125
Loose $40 – $60

Jail
Accessories: Detention Cell, Door, Padlock
Years Released: 1975
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: Mego produced four large scale playsets for the Planet of the Apes line and all of them came with jails or detention pens, so this Jail accessory piece is for the kids who didn’t have one of the playsets or if you had a bunch of figures that needed to be jailed. Side note: the padlock on the jail was very flimsy and easily broken, making it a little tough to find a working one on the market.

Throne

Market Value:
Boxed $90 – $120
Loose $30 – $45

Throne
Accessories: Chair, Sliding Cage
Years Released: 1975
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: The premise for the Throne was extremely simple. The Apes would place a peanut butter sandwich on the throne, then one of the astronauts would sit down on the throne to eat it, and the apes would trigger the trap. A cage would slide down and capture him…..This was a simple but fun accessory.

Rock Launcher (UK Release Only)

Market Value:
Boxed $300 – $400
Loose $50 – $75

Rock Launcher
Accessories: Catapult, Wheels, Rubber Band, Rocks X 6
Years Released: 1975
Scarcity Factor: This item is rare and doesn’t come up for sale very often on the secondary market
Notes: The Rock Launcher was just the catapult part of the catapult and wagon set that was released in 1975. The Rock Launcher was actually released under the Palitoy brand and was only available in the United Kingdom. This is one of the more rare accessories released for the Planet of the Apes line due its limited availability.

Planet of the Apes (1974-1975): Playsets

Mego released four large scale playsets for their 8″ Planet of the Apes line, with the Village and Treehouse being released in Series 1, and the Fortress and Forbidden Zone Trap being released in Series 2. All of the playsets remain tough to find in boxes and can fetch high prices on the secondary market.

Forbidden Zone Trap

Market Value:
Boxed $600 – $800
Loose $200 – $300

Forbidden Zone Trap
Accessories: Cardboard Playset, Jail Cell, Net Trap, Window Shutters, Hatch
Years Released: 1975
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: The Forbidden Zone Trap playset was the first original playset released for the Planet of the Apes line in 1975. Unlike the Village and Treehouse sets, this playset was all new due to the massive success of the Apes action figure series. The playset was basically the remnants of an old garage that was located in the Forbidden Zone. The premise was the apes would hide there and wait to capture the human characters. It didn’t come with very many accessories, except for a jail cell and the actual net trap.

Fortress

Market Value:
Boxed $500 – $650
Loose $100 – $150

Fortress
Accessories: Cardboard Fortress, Weapons Rack, Batons x 3, Rifles x 3, Flag, Sun Reflector, Ladders x 2, Table, Jail
Years Released: 1975
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: The Fortress playset was another original playset released for the Planet of the Apes line in 1975. Unlike the Village and Treehouse sets, this playset was all new due to the massive success of the Apes action figure series. The playset was not modeled after any building in particular, but did resemble one of the Apes Village structures. A Village playset had already been released the year before, so it was named the Fortress. It came with several great accessories, such as an operating table, weapons rack, jail, sun reflector mirror and a Planet of the Apes flag.

Treehouse

Market Value:
Boxed $450 – $600
Loose $125 – $200

Treehouse
Accessories: Main Building, Staircase, Hatch, Table, Net, Weapons Bench, Batons x 3, Rifles x 3, Jail
Years Released: 1974, 1975
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: The Planet of the Apes Treehouse playset was not based on anything in particular but rather a generic playset that was modeled for the Planet of the Apes universe. It is actually a re-branded Jungle Treehouse from the Action Jackson line that was released in 1972. A gift set was released as well that included the Treehouse and all five of the Series 1 figures in plastic baggies. The gift set is a coveted item and difficult to find in box on the secondary market.

Village

Market Value:
Boxed $450 – $600
Loose $125 – $200

Village
Accessories: Fold-Out Plastic Playset, Vinyl Mat, Table, Weapons Bench, Jail, Net, Batons x 3, Rifles x 3, Jail
Years Released: 1974, 1975
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: The Village Playset from Planet of the Apes was a re-purposed Bat Cave playset, which was originally a Lost Continent Playset from the Action Jackson line. Still, it was a nice piece for Planet of the Apes and featured some really great artwork. It had many of the same accessories as the Treehouse, but sadly, it did not have the Bat Signal light from the Bat Cave. I guess there was no Bat-Ape character in this universe.

Planet of the Apes (1974-1975): Vehicles

Since there were no cars in the the Planet of the Apes world, they had to settle for horses and Mego released the Action Stallion for the line in 1974.

Action Stallion

Market Value:
Boxed $250 – $350
Loose $50 – $80

Action Stallion
Accessories: Horse, Saddle, Bridle, Wire, Remote Control
Years Released: 1974
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: The Action Stallion was a remote controlled horse that was originally made to be used with the Action Jackson line and then re-cycled for the Planet of the Apes. It featured a wired remote control that worked well as long as you were following along next to the horse. The Action Stallion was later re-branded for the Super Knights, American West Heroes, and Dinah Mite lines.

Planet of the Apes (1975): Bend ‘n Flex Figures

Mego had already released a series of Bend ‘n Flex figures based on the mega successful World’s Greatest Heroes line in 1974, so with the popularity of the Planet of the Apes franchise, it only made sense they would get the Bend ‘n Flex treatment as well. All five of the Series 1 figures were released in this format, as well as Galen from Series 2.

Astronaut

Market Value:
Carded $150 – $200
Loose $25 – $50

Astronaut
Accessories: None
Years Released: 1975
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: The generic Astronaut from Series 1 made the jump to the Bend ‘n Flex format in 1975. This actually wasn’t a bad interpretation of the figure.

Cornelius

Market Value:
Carded $125 – $175
Loose $25 – $50

Cornelius
Accessories: None
Years Released: 1975
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: Cornelius from Series 1 made the jump to the Bend ‘n Flex format in 1975. The bendable figure was actually a nice interpretation of the actual figure.

Dr. Zaius

Market Value:
Carded $125 – $175
Loose $25 – $50

Dr. Zaius
Accessories: None
Years Released: 1975
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: Dr. Zaius from Series 1 made the jump to the Bend ‘n Flex format in 1975. The bendable figure was actually a nice interpretation of the actual figure.

Galen

Market Value:
Carded $150 – $200
Loose $25 – $50

Galen
Accessories: None
Years Released: 1975
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: Galen from Series 2 made the jump to Bend ‘n Flex format in 1975. Galen was the only figure from Series 2 to be made into the bendable series.

Soldier Ape

Market Value:
Carded $125 – $175
Loose $25 – $50

Soldier Ape
Accessories: None
Years Released: 1975
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: Soldier Ape from Series 1 made the jump to the Bend ‘n Flex format in 1975. The bendable figure was actually a nice interpretation of the actual figure.

Zira

Market Value:
Carded $150 – $200
Loose $25 – $50

Zira
Accessories: None
Years Released: 1975
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: Zira from Series 1 made the jump to the Bend ‘n Flex format in 1975. Zira and Galen are the most difficult to find of the six Bend ‘n Flex figures.

By 1974, Mego Toys was quickly becoming a global name in the toy industry. With the World’s Greatest Heroes line already proving to be a huge success, Mego turned their sights on other licenses from the big and small screens with Star Trek and Planet of the Apes, which were both released in 1974. The original Planet of the Apes movie was released in 1968, which was then followed by four more films with the last one being Battle for the Planet of the Apes, released in 1973. Twentieth Century Fox was attempting to revive the Planet of the Apes franchise in 1973 by re-releasing the original two films on network television and then re-releasing all five films in theaters. Their strategy paid off big time because the country was thrust back into ape mania with the public clamoring for more. Mego took notice of this and quickly signed a licensing deal for a Planet of the Apes toy line. Planet of the Apes was the first series that Mego had released from a movie and was considered a bit of a risk at the time, since it wasn’t clear if any further Planet of the Apes films would even be released. Apparently that didn’t matter to the toy buying public, as the Planet of the Apes line turned out to be one of the biggest selling lines that Mego ever produced. It did well enough that a second series of figures was released the following year in 1975, which were based off the Planet of the Apes television show that was airing on the CBS Network. Planet of the Apes Merchandise exploded into every retail store in the country and even across the world, but no other brand ever achieved the success that Mego did with their iconic toy line.

During its two year run, Mego gave us some truly iconic figures and accessories for their Planet of the Apes line from 1974-1975. All the released items fell into two different series or waves. The first series contained five different figures that included Cornelius, Zira, Dr. Zaius, Solider Ape and a generic Astronaut figure. The reason for the generic Astronaut was that Mego failed to get the likeness rights to the Charlton Heston character from the original movie, Taylor. Also released in Series 1 was the Action Stallion, which would be re-used for a few other lines, and two new playsets, the Village and the Treehouse. The figures proved to be so popular that a second series was released in 1975, based on characters from the new Planet of the Apes television show airing on the CBS Network. Included in Series 2 were the stranded astronauts, Allan Virdon and Peter Burke, Galen, and two ape generals, General Urko and General Ursus. Also included with Series 2 were two more playsets, Fortress and the Forbidden Zone. These were both late releases and are generally hard to find in box nowadays. Four new accessories were also released in Series 2, the Battering Ram, Catapult and Wagon set, the Jail and the Throne. These all made for a lot of great fun and playability. The Planet of the Apes action figure line remains extremely beloved by the generation of children who grew up in that era, myself included.

The packaging for the basic assortment of the Planet of the Apes figures were colorful and extremely eye catching with beautiful artwork, which would remain a staple with Mego’s figure packaging. The Series 1 packaging in 1974 had each figure on a standard carded blister pack with the figure to the right side and a small beautifully drawn portrait of each character in the series to the left. The classic Planet of the Apes logo was at the top of the left side of the card with each character’s name just above the blister bubble in bold white letters. Beginning in 1975 with Series 2, Mego switched the small character portraits on the front of the card to reflect the new figures that were released in that series. Everything else about the cards remained the same. Like the World’s Greatest Heroes line, Mego continued their tradition of using multiple colors for each figure’s package, so each character featured a different color card. This made for a very attractive display on the toy shelves and hooks.