More Help Needed: POTA boxed figures

[NewForce]

hello all...
everyone did such a great job on helping me with the Monsters, I have a few more questions... in this same original owner collection, I received 5 boxed POTA...
2 Urkos (that I believe is really an Ursus figure)...
1 Astronaut (that is not the blue suited astronaut, but is really an Alan Verdon figure)...

in checking the musuem gallery, it says the "urko" is rare (yet I have 2 of them) and it says that the
Verdon figure is speculated "not" to have come boxed, yet I have an Original owner piece confirming the picture Mike J provided..

so, like the Monsters, I will likely sell these, would love to hear some opinions (on rarity, price expectations, etc)...
I also got a boxed Ursus and Box Galen, as well as the 5 ser 1 MOC...
thanks
rick

[NewForce]

wanted to follow up on this post to the Mego gallery:
"Alan Verdon in an Astronaut box courtesy of Mike J. The current belief is that neither Verdon nor Burke actually came in these boxes."...

I can confirm, that verdon did come in an astronaut box, if someone wants to update that part of the gallery...my example (which I will post a jpg of later) came from an OO (Original owner ) collection, where the figures were never removed and sat in a box for 30+ years till recently discovered...so, that is confirmation enough for me

[DCSTING]

pm sent.

[NewForce]

[apes3978]

In checking the musuem gallery, it says that the Verdon figure is speculated "not" to have come boxed, yet I have an Original owner piece confirming the picture Mike J provided.

I wanted to add that I seen a boxed Virdon figure in an auction ad in TOYSHOP magazine several years ago... Whether he truly belonged in there I suppose is up to speculation, but it seems the seller said it was all original and NRFB.

[cjefferys]

I was under the impression that current wisdom now says that Verdon and Burke came in the Astronaut boxes, not the Astronaut, due to the other boxed figures (Urko, Ursus and Galen) all being Series 2 figures like Verdon and Burke. Isn't that believed now? I thought that most Astronauts found in Astronaut boxes were due to collectors switching figures to what they thought was "correct".

By the way, those all look gorgeous. I really, really wish I had the money right now to throw at them. I've always wanted boxed apes, and I don't think I could do better than these examples.

[NewForce]

I was under the impression that current wisdom now says that Verdon and Burke came in the Astronaut boxes, not the Astronaut, due to the other boxed figures (Urko, Ursus and Galen) all being Series 2 figures like Verdon and Burke. Isn't that believed now? I thought that most Astronauts found in Astronaut boxes were due to collectors switching figures to what they thought was "correct".

By the way, those all look gorgeous. I really, really wish I had the money right now to throw at them. I've always wanted boxed apes, and I don't think I could do better than these examples.

excellent insight...I have never collected Apes, so I only know what is on the MM gallery... if Verdon and Burke are now accepted as coming in the Astronaut box, cool...but, I just wanted to confirm that at least Verdon did, since I have an example!

[Raydeen1]

The Astronaut most definitely came in a box. I had one when I was around 4 or 5. Of course, I also had Zaius, Soldier Ape and Cornelius but there seems to be no recorded findings of these last 3. It may be that they were only available boxed in Canada or they may have been very early releases but there is no doubt in my mind I had them and my Mother remembers the boxes clearly.

Oh and those are beautiful. I wish I could buy them.

[apes3978]

I was under the impression that current wisdom now says that Verdon and Burke came in the Astronaut boxes, not the Astronaut, due to the other boxed figures (Urko, Ursus and Galen) all being Series 2 figures like Verdon and Burke.

What you're saying certainly makes sense to me, and I was actually thinking about that when I read the previous posts... I suppose MEGO just wanted to use a generic "Astronaut" box for Pete and Alan rather than having to make up two seperate boxes...

It is too bad that MEGO didn't do the other figures in boxes like they did for the second wave of figures (the TV seriescharacters)... But, now thanks to the highly creative MEGO73, that certainly has changed...

[Raydeen1]

What you're saying certainly makes sense to me, and I was actually thinking about that when I read the previous posts... I suppose MEGO just wanted to use a generic "Astronaut" box for Pete and Alan rather than having to make up two seperate boxes...

It is too bad that MEGO didn't do the other figures in boxes like they did for the second wave of figures (the TV seriescharacters)... But, now thanks to the highly creative MEGO73, that certainly has changed...

While this does sound logical for the most part, I am convinced the 1st five figures were released in boxes. I had 4 of them. I think there just don't happen to be any examples recorded by photos. Mego switched everything to cards later on. If Mego wanted generic Astronaut boxes, why did they bother doing separate cards? That is where this theory goes a bit awry for me. I'm not saying it isn't possible but I had 4 of the 1st five boxed, which goes with the way Mego did things at the time. I wish I kept those boxes but I didn't start doing that until a couple years later. Mom may have a picture of them on the mantle. I'll get her to look. Again, it could have been a Sears only deal or a Canada only deal or some other thing. My Mom worked at Sears so it is very probable she got them there.

[cjefferys]

By all means, I'd love to see a picture of Zaius, Soldier Ape and Corny boxes if possible. No one can say for sure that they don't exist, with Mego anything is possible, it's just that no examples have been known to surface as of yet.

It's interesting to see that the above boxed examples all seem to be T1 figures. This seems to suggest that they used boxes at the beginning of the second series run (as second series figures are more common on T2 bodies, and that seems to indicate that the switch to T2 happened early in the run). So it looks like Mego went from cards, to boxes, and then back to cards? Or were boxes only released in certain markets? The POTA boxes have always mystified me as where exactly they fit into the history. Maybe that's why they are so cool.

[SUP-Ronin]

Regardless, those look awesome. I really like the ape boxes.

[megozilla13]

The line in the ape gallery stating that burke and virdon never came boxed reflects the thinking of collectors years ago. I talked to brian about it a while back and he said he meant to change it. My boxed virdon and burke also came from the original owner who purchased them in the seventies. Because no series one figures have ever been found boxed, it would make sense that the blue astronaut was never boxed and that the ones that you see turn up are the result of collectors trying to "correct" what they think is a mismatched figure and box.

As for mego coming out with the boxes first and then the cards, that can't really be as even the prototypes pictured in the 74 catalog are carded.

I still doubt the first series was ever released boxed. Even as a Canada exclusive, I would think atleast one would have turned up on ebay in the last ten years. Raydeen, if you could find a picture, I'd love to eat by words.



mikej

[cjefferys]

For what it's worth, I'm in Canada, and never saw any Apes in boxes when I was a kid. When I finally found out about that packaging years later, I was floored.

[Raydeen1]

Haha
I know people think I'm remebering it wrong but I have a VERY good memory about many things. I KNOW they were boxed. It isn't a matter of me THINKING they were or remembering it wrong. It was a huge thing for me to get them and I never forgot the boxes. People thought I was nuts 15-20 years ago when I said my apes were in boxes with bamboo or trees on them. Well, the boxes definitely exist so it's only a matter of seeing some of the first series surface. Mike, I wouldn't hold you to eating your words. I'd just be happy to see them surface.

The line in the ape gallery stating that burke and virdon never came boxed reflects the thinking of collectors years ago. I talked to brian about it a while back and he said he meant to change it. My boxed virdon and burke also came from the original owner who purchased them in the seventies. Because no series one figures have ever been found boxed, it would make sense that the blue astronaut was never boxed and that the ones that you see turn up are the result of collectors trying to "correct" what they think is a mismatched figure and box.

As for mego coming out with the boxes first and then the cards, that can't really be as even the prototypes pictured in the 74 catalog are carded.

I still doubt the first series was ever released boxed. Even as a Canada exclusive, I would think atleast one would have turned up on ebay in the last ten years. Raydeen, if you could find a picture, I'd love to eat by words.



mikej