Mego Bend 'n Flex Planet of the Apes Astronaut

Quick post. This is Mego's Astronaut from their Bend 'n Flex bendy series from 1975.

I picked this guy up last year from a Mego Marketplace seller. I'm keeping him carded as I love the cheesy, vintage artwork and, in this case, the packaging feels as much a part of the toy as the toy, itself. I especially love the illustration on the back of the package that shows all the characters in the series.

I only had two of these Planet of the Apes bendies as a kid...the astronaut and a soldier ape. I got the Astronaut first and he accompanied me on a road trip from Minnesota to Montana to find a new house when I was about 8 years old. While visiting Montana, we stopped by a Kmart and I was allowed to buy a soldier ape. So, my strongest memory of these Ape bendies has to do with playing with them in the car for hours and hours while riding from state to state.

Better than a Gameboy or Ipod for passing time? Eh, probably not... but there wasn't a whole lot for a kid to do on long road trips back then.

I've said it before, but I love how Mego got away with making their astronaut toys look NOTHING like the astronaut characters from the films.

Gotta love the 70's.

Mego 8" Planet of the Apes Astronaut Peter Burke

This is Mego's Peter Burke from 1974. He's the other astronaut that was stranded with Alan Virdon on the TV version of Planet of the Apes.

As with Virdon, Mego did an outstanding job of capturing the actor's (James Naughton) likeness... especially by 1974 toy standards.

To be complete, Peter should have a brown long-sleeved shirt, tan pants, a burlap (yep, it's even rough and itchy) vest, and brown moccasins (same as Virdon and Cornelius/Galen).


This concludes the Mego Planet of the Apes action figure line. Mego produced 9 individual figures from the films and TV show (ten characters... as Mego used the same figure for both Cornelius and Galen). Although, we really didn't care what movies or shows the figures came from as long as we had a good assortment of Apes and Astronauts to play with... and Mego delivered. I think Mego did an outstanding job on the Planet of the Apes figure line. For Megos, they are well-detailed and come with a nice assortment of accessories (at least the Generals did). For me, this will always be the quintessential Planet of the Apes figure line and I'm glad I was the right age when they arrived to enjoy them like I and many others did.

Mego 8" Planet of the Apes Astronaut Alan Virdon

In 1974, those dirty apes from the series of ground-breaking sci-fi films were transported to my family's little black and white television (along with millions of other televisions, I'm sure). The Planet of the Apes television series didn't last long, but while it did, I was always glued to the set to see what would happen next to the astronauts that were stranded in this strange world where apes ruled and humans cowered. The TV show, in premise, was a lot like the first Planet of the Apes film. Although, instead of one astronaut surviving and being on the run, the television series had two...Peter Burke and Alan Virdon.

This is Alan Virdon, one half of the human astronaut duo that survived through all 14 episodes of the television show that were produced. Mego produced Virdon as part of the their second series of Planet of the the Apes (POTA) figures. While the first series of figures featured a generic astronaut that looked nothing like Charlton Heston, this new batch of POTA figures featured astronauts with very good likenesses to their living, breathing counterparts on the TV screen (Alan Virdon was played by actor, Ron Harper).


I remember seeing these two newer astronauts in the Coon Rapids, Minnesota Target store in 1974. Instantly, I wanted to bring them both home for my apes to chase and torment. It wasn't to be... and, as a kid, I never did get these two astronauts. However, my mom did make a very convincing version of one their tattered costumes for my Mego Tarzan and he did a fine job of standing in for these official Mego astronauts (and Evel Knievel's Canyon Sky Cycle stood in as the astronaut's ill-fated rocket ship).

Alan is a pretty basic Mego figure. He didn't come with any accessories or extras... just the figure and his "ripped-up" clothing. To be complete, he should have his tan shirt and pants, brown vest, and brown moccasins (the same ones that Cornelius and Galen came with).

It was great to finally get Alan and his astronaut buddy, Peter, a couple of years ago. It made that 7 year-old that had to leave them behind at Target very happy.

Mego 8" Planet of the Apes General Urko

Okay...I'm going to get through all these dang dirty apes if it takes me several months. I promised myself that I'd get through all the Mego apes in a reasonable amount of time... and I've failed. So, onward!! I'll do the best I can. Just a few more to go and then I'll move on to some other 70s toy goodness... like more large-size Star Wars.

This is the other ape general. I knew him as General Urko, as a kid. You may know him as General Ursus. His package variations, back in the day, used both names. Go figure.


This General was a hard "sell" to my parents. I never did get him as a kid. He looked too much like the previously released Soldier Ape for my parents' taste. They did have a point. However, he was different enough that I wanted him and envied those that did have him. There was something cool about his face sculpt that I really liked. Although, not screen-accurate, he was much closer looking to the apes in the movies and TV show than the first gorilla soldier ape we got from Mego. He looked menacing to me... maybe it was the knife.



A complete General Urko should include his tunic with attached cuffs (although, some variations of this figure were packaged with the original soldier ape tunic and separate "mittens"), pants, black split-toe general boots, bandolier with knife holder, knife, and M16 rifle (with brown string).

I've always viewed this guy as one of the "newer" Mego apes since he was released after the TV show started airing. That was over 35 years ago. Man, I'm getting old.

Mego 8" Planet of the Apes General Ursus

Happy New Year, Everyone!!!

This is Mego's General Ursus from 1974. He was released as part of the second wave of Planet of the Apes figures. This second wave was based on the POTA TV series that was running at the time.

There is a bit of controversy involved with the name of this figure. You see, during the time that Mego produced this figure, his packaging used two different names...General Ursus and General Urko. Another Mego General figure from this same wave also used these two names. However, since the figure I had as a kid was called "Ursus," that's the name I'll be using for this guy. Although, it should be noted that "Urko" is probably the more appropriate name as Urko was the name of the helmeted General from the TV series (played by Mark Lenard) that this second wave of figures was based upon. General Ursus is from the film Beneath the Planet of the Apes and is almost identical to the General in the TV series.


Ursus was probably my favorite Mego Ape. There was just something so cool about him coming with an extra accessory. He had a rifle AND a knife. So, that automatically gave him a "one up" on the regular soldier apes because they only came with a rifle.

Looking back, it was an odd choice for Mego to use the colors that they did on General Ursus. His costume with the riveted collar and helmet were a nice approximation of a character costume from both the movies and the TV show. However, the purple and mustard coloration seems completely out of left field. When I was a kid, though, I think the bright colors were part of what made this guy my favorite. Perhaps, Mego was following the look of this character from the Planet of the Apes cartoon. I don't know.

A complete General Ursus should include his mustard colored tunic (with attached cuffs), a pair of purple pants, two black boots (note that the General's boots have a split toe and are not the same as the soldier's boots), a rifle with string, a bandolier with a knife "scabbard," and a silver/gray knife. Ursus is also sporting a helmet. However, the helmet is not removable.

Left to right: Mike Magnuson, Yours Truly, David Magnuson, and my brother Michael. The Magnusons were good friends that lived next door. We shared a wall in our townhouse. They were in a band with two older siblings and it was always a lot of fun for me to hear them practicing through the wall.

The photo above was taken in Fridley, Minnesota in 1974. So, I've had the picture almost my entire life. I was scanning and archiving a bunch of old family photos last year when I noticed, for the very first time, that my brother is actually holding a Mego General Ursus figure! Also, a friend (thanks, Brian B!) pointed out that he is ALSO holding Mego Batman in the other hand. Wow!!...hidden treasure.

Below is a close-up of the figures in Michael's hands.

The Mego Planet of the Apes figures were such great kids' toys and General Ursus is no exception.

Mego Planet of the Apes Zira

Just about every line in the 1970s that Mego produced had at least one female character in it. With the World's Greatest Super Heroes we had Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Catwoman, Supergirl, Invisible Woman, and Isis. With the Star Trek line we got Uhura. With the Dukes of Hazzard line we got Daisy Duke. With the Planet of the Apes line, we got Dr. Zira.

When I was a kid, it was practically unthinkable to buy or ask for a female action figure. In fact, it seemed like the term "action figure" didn't even apply when it was a female character. Heck, Zira could have come chewing a cigar and been armed with grenades and a bazooka and I still would have thought of her as a "doll." These days, I'm too old to care...and if there's a hole in my collection that needs a female character, I throw caution to the wind and go ahead and "order it up" online.

Zira was a scientist and fiancee to the chimpanzee, Cornelius. She was fairly certain there was more to humans than meets the eye...that they were more than just animals. When she met Astronaut Taylor, her suspicions were confirmed. You see, Taylor was the first talking human any ape had encountered. After realizing how special Taylor was, both Cornelius and Zira did what they could to help Taylor escape the ape community that was sure to dissect him once they realized his special vocal ability and intelligence.

Zira comes with two brown boots, a skirt, and a tunic with velcro closure (pretty hi-tech for the 70s). She didn't come with any accessories, unfortunately. However, there is some nice embossing work on her tunic's vinyl panel. I have no idea what it says, though. Perhaps, it says, "Zira: Woman Scientist." It always cracked me up that the original Mego TV commercial for the Apes figures called her this. It was almost like code to little boys that said, "Don't buy me."


These days, Zira has a place of honor in my Mego Apes collection as the lone female character. I would even display her, I'm man enough.

....which leads me to a question I have about displaying vintage toys:

Does anyone else have an aversion to displaying vintage toys because you are afraid that old emotions and associations with the toy will be replaced with new ones if you have it around day-to-day?

Maybe, it's just me. Am I crazy?

Mego 8" Planet of the Apes Astronaut

Who looks nothing like Charlton Heston, dresses like the Maytag Man, and has mutton-chops that would make a Rhinestone Cowboy jealous?

This guy.

This is Mego's Planet of the Apes Astronaut.

He's kind of a generic, all-purpose astronaut for the simian Planet of the Apes figures to attack, torture, and maim. In the original Planet of the Apes film, three men survived from their ship's crash landing only to stumble upon a hostile ape civilization. The primary astronaut, Taylor, was played by Charlton Heston and was the obvious choice for a likeness when Mego produced their astronaut figure.

I'm not sure if Mego decided that kids wouldn't care if this figure didn't look anything like Heston...or if Heston refused to allow his likeness for the toy...or if Heston was asking for too much money to license his likeness. At any rate, this is what we got. He was just called "Astronaut" on his package and in the television commercials.

He is made of completely recycled parts from Mego's Action Jackson line of figures. Action Jackson was a smaller copy of toy lines like Gi Joe and Action Man. Everything from the Astronaut's head and helmet down to his boots was recycled from the Action Jackson line. Even then, it was a bit disappointing that his helmet and suit looked nothing like the astronaut suits from the film. The least they could have done was give him a white suit.

However, there is something quaint and innocent about the fact that there once was a time when a toy company could get away with something like this. He was an astronaut and was stranded on the Planet of the Apes... this was enough for most kids and their imagination filled in the rest.

A complete Astronaut includes his silver helmet (with chin string and retractable goggles), blue jumpsuit (with GIANT zipper pull), white belt, and black boots.

Mego 8" Planet of the Apes Dr. Zaius

This is Mego's 8" Dr. Zaius. He was first released in 1974, also.

Dr. Zaius sort of presides over the science and religion aspects of Ape Society as the "Minister of Science" and "Chief Defender of the Faith." He's seen as a wise old sage by most of ape society. However, Zaius knows more about ape history than he is willing to divulge to others. He's fearful for ape society if the truth of its origin leaks out. Kind of like how our government hides the truth about UFOs, Bigfoot, and Unicorns from us...allegedly, of course. If they do, it's for our own good.


Mego did an outstanding job with the head sculpt on Zaius. It looks a great deal like the character in the films and seems to almost have every crease and wrinkle. He even seems to have that certain twinkle in his eye that actor, Maurice Evans, brought to the role. Am I seeing too much?

Dr. Zaius didn't come with any accessories. It would have been nice if he had come with a scroll or something, though. Nope, he'll just have to suppress the truth and torment humans using only his wits and hairy mitts.

A complete Dr. Zaius should include his fur-cuffed tunic, pants, and black boots. Some versions of Dr. Zaius include boots with symbols from the Ape alphabet embossed on the sides of them. However, the example pictured is wearing the standard black boots without symbols. It should also be noted that with all the Mego Apes, Zaius included, the hands of the figure should be sculpted with a hairy texture.