Random Toys – Kong Mega Figure
Lanard Toys just released it’s Kong Skull Island toys based on the upcoming movie and what’s a King Kong toyline without a giant Kong figure? Today we’re looking at the Kong Skull Island Mega Figure!
Kong comes packaged in an open box. He appears to be zip-tied into the cardboard with a 3 3/4″ figure zip-tied in a bubble.
The back of the packaging has some artwork of Kong fighting one of the other Skull Island beasts, a picture of the toy itself and a small blurb about Kong himself. There are also some images of the other toys in this line.
The 3 3/4″ figure appears to be a generic soldier type of figure. He has the same style of sculpting as Lanard’s Corps! toyline so he should fit in very well with those figures. The soldier only has 3 points of articulation. Swivel Shoulders and Neck.
The Bazooka on his back can be unplugged and fits well in his right hand. Honestly, this figure probably didn’t even need to be included. It has one basic pose and feels like it was just added for increased “play value” which I don’t think Kong needed.
Now, I mentioned how Kong was zip-tied into the packaging, well he’s also screwed in! There is a screw holding a plastic tab against the inside of the cardboard backer that goes into Kong’s back. This will probably make it harder to steal Kong out of the packaging (but then he’s an 18 inch tall toy, I don’t think he’ll be so easy to steal anyway!) It definitely makes for a secure package holding Kong in place. Thankfully the hole in the back from the screw is small and not much of a distraction (especially compared with the screw holes that hold the body together)
As advertised, Kong stands about 18″ tall. Kong has articulation at the Head, Shoulders, Elbows, Wrists & Ankles. I’m not sure what type of articulation is in the head. I can turn the head side to side, but it pops back to the center most of the time. I’m afraid to force it too much for fear of snapping the joint. The shoulders are your typical swivel/hinge joints, the elbows are double hinged joints and the wrists & ankles appear to have ball joints. Unfortunately the arms and legs are sculpted to hide these ball joints and wind up hindering the articulation a bit (This is more a problem with the wrists than the ankles) The arms are pretty heavy and can fall back down while trying to achieve some poses, but there are many raised arm poses where the arms stay in place.
The double hinged Elbows work well and allow for a great range of motion! Kong can beat his chest, touch his head, etc…There are much smaller, more articulated figures out there that can’t do half of the movements Kong’s arms can. The hinges seem a little thin, but I’m hoping the fact that they are also pretty large means that they won’t snap after some rough play.
Even though the included figure is pretty static, it fits remarkably well in Kong’s open right hand. I feel like the figure was pre-posed to fit inside this hand and that redeems it a little in my eyes (I still don’t think it was needed, but I like how it looks in his hand and it’s very secure in there so it’s not going to fall out)
While Kong is a Mega Figure, he does come up a little shorter than Jakks Pacific’s Giant Size Godzilla. The two of them still feel pretty natural together and are a must buy if you like large figures.
The Lanard Kong Skull Island Mega Figure may have a few drawbacks (No leg articulation, iffy head movement) but for the price ($25 at Walmart) it’s a fun toy. The arm articulation is good, the sculpt itself is nice (I like the head as it feels pretty realistic (for King Kong)) and the whole figure is pretty well balanced. No matter how you position the feet, Kong stands well and doesn’t feel like he’ll fall at the slightest tremor on your shelf.