Mego
Rarities
 A LOOK AT THE RARE PLANET OF THE APES
TAYLOR CARD!
Ape fans and Mego collectors alike have often
wondered why there was never a Taylor action figure in the series. It seems like such a
glaring omission that one of the most important characters in the series was never made.
Actually, if the empty Taylor blister card (pictured
at left) is any indication, there very well could have been one.
Found in 1996 at a toy show in Atlantic City, New
Jersey, this empty Taylor blister pictures three unreleased characters...Taylor, Brent and
the Mutant Human from Beneath the Planet of the Apes, the second film in the Planet of the
Apes series..
Strangely enough, no Taylor Mego has surfaced.
Several customizers have made different versions of the popular Charlton Heston character,
but any Taylor Mego that has surfaced to this point has been a "fantasy" custom
project.
Several theories explaining the existence of the
Planet of the Apes Taylor Mego card have emerged.
The most widely believed theory is that it was some
kind of test marketing attempt to expand the already popular line, because the only
example has a price sticker.
Another possibility is that the item was simply an
unproduced packaging prototype Mego designed (thus, the reason that no Taylor Megos have
been uncovered).
No cards for Brent or the Mutant Human have been
found, though a few collectors have reported seeing them, including one unconfirmed report
of a gentleman calling a toy dealer and claiming to have all three, including the dolls. |
The rare Taylor card from the
Mego Planet of the Apes eight inch line..
(Photo courtesy MMB)
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Unanswered Questions Sometimes
a rare Mego find creates more questions than it answers. For example, some questions
collectors want to know about the Taylor card are:
- Why, if this was a test run for the line,
wasn't it a box instead of a card? Actually,
it appears that this run was made after the Mego ape series had already begun, when the
apes were already on cards.
- Where is CK Toys? The price tag on the front says CK Toys, but no one seems to
remember that store.
- What the hell kind of freaky kid would save
the card instead of saving Taylor action figure? Maybe the kid liked the pictures of apes on the card and kept it long
after the Taylor figure himself broke. Or maybe he was just a supreme weirdo.
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