Tarzan and Jungle cat set or Tarzan and Giant Ape set Mattel 1978

[kennermike]

I have a question Ive seen some of these go for hundreds mint on mint card how rare are they and did they have only limited release in America

[Mego-Kid]

Hi, they were marketed for a short run in the late '70's just as Tarzan was becoming less and less of interest with kids. It is a unique piece, and I almost bought one on ebay a few years back.

[starsky]

never seen them in stores growing up. only saw them advertised in department store catalogs like jcpenny, sears, etc...

[MIB41]

Very rare. I have the Tarzan and gorilla set which was the other version available at the time. Mine was purchased at a Consolidated Store which often carried extensive lines of Big Jim and Mego Monsters. I remember them vividly to this day. If your selling it, you should get a nice price for it. I would imagine a minimum of $200.00. Quite bit more if the card is not terribly damaged.

[kennermike]

Thanks to those who responded .I dont have one for sale Im trying to track one down for a decent price thats why I was asking how much $$$ and how Rare

[Action Martin]

I never heard of these Tarzan toys. Anyone have any pics?

[kennermike]

I have been looking everywhere the last couple of days these sets are extremely hard to find

[starsky]

sometimes it may even take weeks, months, and even years!!

[palitoy]

I saw at least 2 last year on Ebay, they do turn up. I have a set loose but I've always wanted one carded.

Mattel was obviously trying to cash in on the Filmation series with this set, if I had seen it as a kid, it would have been mine.

http://www.plaidstallions.com/images/tarzanape.jpg

[Action Martin]

Thanks for the pic! I never saw that before. 1978? Hmm. I was heavy into Star Wars and Micronauts then so I probably never noticed these.

[Vortigern99]

I was still deeply enamored of Tarzan in 1978; if I had known these existed I would have asked for them for Xmas! But I never even heard of them till this thread. The T figure looks like a Big Jim knockoff, if not an actual BJ re-packaged.

[ThatBatmanGuy]

Not really a Big Jim knockoff but more of an extention of the BJ line. The head is Big Jeff with black hair and grip hands from the European sets. The Ape is from one of the jungle sets.

Bob(who produces Big Jim repros)

[misterdroid]

I saw at least 2 last year on Ebay, they do turn up. I have a set loose but I've always wanted one carded.

Mattel was obviously trying to cash in on the Filmation series with this set, if I had seen it as a kid, it would have been mine.



I agree. I never saw one of these as a kid and would have snapped one up in a heartbeat. I actually didn't even know it existed until I bought the original Tomart's guide to action figures in the 80's.

[starsky]

i wanted one too but as usual mom said "NO"