Playmates - #66051 Roaring Kong

For the past couple of months Toys & Stuff has been featuring licensed tie-ins to Peter Jackson's remake of the classic "King Kong" movie. The sets covered so far had a 6 1/4" (15.9cm) H figure. This is the first of two sets by Playmates featuring a larger size Kong who comes in at 10 1/2" (26.7cm) H. It's funny but after looking on Amazon.com and eBay I noticed a bunch of seller's claiming this figure to be about 15" (38.1cm) H!! They measured him while still in the box with his arm raised! I don't know about you, but the last time I went to the doctor and he measured my height, it was from head to foot - I've never once been asked to raise my arms and then take the measurement!!  This Kong also features a roaring sound - by pressing his chest his mouth opens and he lets out a pretty decent roaring sound. There's is a lever on his back which, by sliding it left or right, causes his left or right arm to raise in succession. Sliding this lever also activates the sound unit on my Kong. The set come with three figures; Ann Darrow, an explorer, and a Skull Island native. Now here's the funny part - these are the same sized figures that come with the shorter Kong's and they are definitely too small for this king-sized Kong! Overall though this is a nice set with some cool features and would make a great addition to any Kong Kollector's Kollection :-)  Enjoy!

Figure Set

Playmates - #66007 Foetodon

Last week when we featured the Playmates 'Creatures of Skull Island' I erroneously stated that it was the only set without a Kong figure. Ummmm, not so! Why do I do these things? :-) Anyway, this set also does not have a Kong figure and neither does another set in the series. Good grief, well at least I caught the error and was able to rectify my goof. So, okay. today we feature another fictional 'what if' creature from Skull Island, the Foetodon. According to KingKong.wikia.com (http://kingkong.wikia.com/wiki/Foetodon) the Foetodon is an "Ambush predator and scavenger, Foetodon is found on the litter-strewn jungle floor, usually near game trails, where it will gladly take anything offered. Foetodon will also eat carrion, and will dig into mounds of leaf litter in search of large invertebrates. Young Foetodon live in lakes and steams until large enough to safely venture out onto land and into the jungles."

The set includes the Foetodon and six figures - two natives and four explorers. The critter itself is designed to collapse. A button on its belly is used to tighten up a series of strings within the body and lock everything in a taut position. A portion of the spiny back acts as a button release mechanism allowing Foetodon to collapse. In my opinion the collapsing feature is a failed design. The parts don't really tighten up that much and too much pressure on the string may break it. The string doesn't look as if it will take a whole lot of play use. In the collapsed mode, it simply looks like a broken toy! The sculpting is nice and it would have played out better if the toy was essentially one piece or simply had the snapping jaw feature.Still, it's a nice addition to the Skull Island series of menacing creatures. Enjoy! Bwettina & Fritz Berg <3 :)

Collapsed Mode

Like It :)  Deine Bettina :)

Playmates - #66008 Creatures of Skull Island

Today Toys & Stuff features another set in Playmates line of  licensed 'King Kong' movie tie-ins, the Creatures of Skull Island. This is the only set which doesn't include a Kong figure, having instead three fictional creatures:

- Arachno-Claw: an oversized spider like critter
- Celocimex: a mosquito too big for just one can of Raid to take care of
- Scorpio-Pede: a scorpion-like creature on steroids!

The set also includes two Skull Island Natives and one explorer. Each of the creatures has some menacing feature. The Arachno-Claw's head is supposed to thrust out menacingly by pushing the wings on its back, but in point of fact it only protrudes perhaps 1/8". The Celocimex's tail is designed to hold the included figures as its prey. The Scorpio-Pede has the best action. By pushing a lever on its underside, the two claws clamp together. Overall this is a pretty nifty set and it's good to see something other than Kong, because quite frankly, if you buy all the sets in the series, you'll have ended up with a veritable Kong family! Enjoy!

The entire set: 3 Critters, 3 Hapless Victims

Notice the Celocimex holding the Native in its tail

 Arachno-Claw

Celocimex

Scorpio-Pede