Vintage Mego: Planet of the Apes Fortress 

If I were a kid in the early 70s, I would've begged for this. Planet of the Apes was huge at that time.

I wanted this so badly as a kid but never had it. I loved the apes and still do.

I tell my wife the same thing every time we venture into a toy aisle at Walmart or wherever: "Today's kids do not have good toys compared to 70s and 80s kids!" Thanks for this video. I only ever had the planet of the apes board game and a few bubble gum cards. I always wanted this playset!

I’m more of a MOTU vintage line collector (my kid period) but I truly enjoy your Mego content/videos. I have three vintage Megos in my collection - Superman; removable cowl Batman; Robin.

Great video! Thank you SO much for breaking this out of the box for us all to see.

Wonderful video Brother. So Happy You had the complete set. Thanks for sharing Your passion for collecting vintage!! 😀👍♥️🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇧🌎🎉🎉🎉🎉👏👏👏👏🎉🎉🎉🎉💯💯💯💯

The table is also a sort of reference to the tv show. There was a rather strange episode whereby the Zara equivalent Female Chimpanzee Doctor was brainwashing the astronauts by strapping them to a table and spinning them around really fast like one of those playground fixtures. Ah, the 70’s. A much simpler time.

But the late 70s gave us Star Wars and Kenner came along and gave us those action figures we loved. I missed out on planet of the apes toys but I didn't miss the Star Wars toys. Loved that Death Star playset.

For the longest time, I thought the 2001 theme was from Planet of the Apes. I then came to realize that it was only used in the toy commercials for some bizarre reason, not the Apes movies at all. I guess the ape scene from 2001 was close enough. :-D

Awesome Video. This also randomly happens to be my most recent Mego find, having stumbled across a mailerbox version tucked away in an antique mall.

Hey you changed the music for the toy pics!!! I really like it! Has a Sci-Fi theme to it!😁👍 This set looks really cool. Glad everything was there. Congratulations on a cool set.

was the Fortress based on a design from the cartoon series ? Not as a fortress but as a building as the art looks somewhat similar , but I havnt seen it since the 70's so I can be remembering the style of art completely wrong . I remember most playsets at this time were constructed similarly , with thick printed upon cardboard and plastic additional pieces . Great episode and thank you .

I was lucky enough to obtain this piece recently! Along with the tree house! I bought them from a friend for 200 dollars each! Apes 4 Ever!🙉🐵🙈🙈

One wonders if that Urko would have been a Fist Fighter figure. The art seems to indicate he is punching and that action feature was big around that time.

What a great video... love your channel. I've always wanted to see one of these close-up, and out-of-the-box. Has anyone ever thought to do high-res scans of the pieces for posterity/repro purposes?

Oh man, that commercial was great. 👍👍

The monotone narration in the commercial ad is a hoot ☺

Dang, I love the cheap-but-effective aesthetic of cardboard playsets. It's why I love the Palitoy Death Star and Action Force playsets. However, one of my holy grails, which I am still awaiting a lottery win to purchase... is the Amsco Marvel World Playset. Come on lottery, I need me some cardboard joy!

That wonder woman really did look like Lynda Carter,I heard somewhere she was upset they used her likeness without her permission.

Never had the play sets but my brother and I each had a gorilla. Our mom bought them for us to play with in the waiting room while she visited my uncle in the hospital. I was more interested in the m16 the gorilla had. The TV series SWAT made the m16 a popular toy. It’s interesting the apes accounted for such a large percentage of sales. My brother and I were way more into the superhero line. I stuck with mego through my toy days but my brother moved on into the Star Wars stuff. Kenner made those? I don’t remember.

Awesome video

Your videos are always such a treat to watch; this one is no different. Thanks for the video and that piece of music you chose was awesome. It'd be swell if you didn't mind sharing the name of it :)

I had the treehouse. It had a plastic frame, made to look like brown logs. The thing was big, and I recall part of it broke, and my father had to glue it . . .

I remember this thing under the Christmas tree when i was 6. I confess I liked the toys better than the movies....

I had all of these toys and loved it!!

It kind of reminds me of the escape scene from Planet of the Apes. You can pretend that you can bust out of jail and chase the Astronaut all over the place.

Wow this stuff brings back the memories I had tree house and a catapult

I was born in 1980 and only had Spidey and Hulk Mego figures, Star Wars and Masters of the Universe were my main toys. Some of my friends had alot that were passed down from older brothers and I always wished I could have my own collection, which is still beyond my means lol. Recently subbed so I have ALOT of catching up to do, ty for the videos!!!

When I was a kid I remember noticing that some of my Mego superhero figures had hands that were sculpted to look like there was hair on them. They must have been reused Planet Of The Ape figure hands.

Y’know, looking at this again, after looking at some of the high tech wizardry in my Wife’s crafting room, this might be the easiest vintage play set to recreate. You could bang out a sturdier version using a decent scanner, ink jet printer and a laser cutter. Even do it on wood or plastic sheet instead of cardboard.

Great video as always, I haven't jumped into the planet of the apes yet as I'm still acquiring the world's greatest superheroes but plan to eventually get some apes as well as start collecting the Star Trek figures.

Awesome Video, must be very rare to find, if you take into consideration that they are mostly made of cardboard.

meet some guys dressed as apes at blackpool. when they were doing a planet of the apes display in the early seventies. the suits they had on stunk. or it could have been the guys.

Great video. I have a story behind this set when I was a kid. To long to type

I wish mego would make these cardboard playsets again. Yes they were cheap and flimsy but they made the best play environment and where the most bang for the buck.

I got the POTA Fortress the same Christmas as the Mego Enterprise Bridge playset. The Fortress was a pain to put together and the play value just wasn't there for me so it just became background scenery. I don't think it made it to Spring. Loved the accessories.

@7:17 Control Sticks FTW

So cool! Beautiful set!

This was great to watch, I had the tree house set with all of the figures as well as the jail and battering ram. This brings back great memories and they were alot of fun for sure. 👍

I am just really in love with this. It's awesome. It's unbearably cool...

Apes have always ruled the earth, ALWAYS !

That's a cool playset as it's very well designed and includes a lot of what you want from the POTA theme. Something had to give for the cost of 8" scale playsets so I think this tab construction approach is valid. In hindsight the panels could have been made of a sturdy transparent plastic or more of that vinyl sheathing on cardboard. Was thinking with a transparent panel material you could create more of an illusion of holes instead of black as the only recourse. Was thinking the FP-Construx or later day K'nex Mario playsets had a good element of skeletal framing systems that could shore up some of the weaker load bearing elements Eg. that ladder looks vulnerable.

awesome. as is the Mego Commercial

I picked up my MEGO Apes Fortess back in the 90’s for about 150 bucks in the box only thing missing was the jail to this day haven’t yet obtained

I was 9 in 1974. Loved all apes toys. Just wish that they would have produced a spaceship for the astronaut

Awesome

I see this, and other Mego products and imagine "What if Mego accepted George Lucas' proposal?". Eight inch would be the accepted standard. I, to this day, love Mego toys. Figures Toy Company just does not compare. I wish Marty Abrams could have gotten his hands on more IPs for the return of Mego 8" action figures. Star Trek was a hit for them this time around too. I loved the POTA cartoon. I watched it every Sunday on WPIX channel 11, with Fantastic Voyage cartoon. Looks like a fun toy!

I didn't have any as kid but have noticed that Amazon has a couple of reprints for sale

Must.... Have!!!

thats wonderfull brick!!

Q: Planet of the Apes, Six Million Dollar Man, Micronauts, Star Wars figures, and JARTS. A: What is my childhood!

It wasn't just the _recycled_ Action Jackson tree house or the Bat Cave. It was THE Action Jackson tree house and the Bat Cave, of the future... ....when apes ruled the world!

Still binging.

I never had the Fortress, but I did have the Forbidden Zone and the Tree House

I still have mine with the box!

I think they went overboard with that flag in bold print.😂

I had the Planet of the Apes treehouse I didn't know there were any other please sets I think I remember one beach type of a place that the Statue of Liberty or I might be thinking of something else what's The Fortress in the playhouse in the only two I'm completely certain of

How did the apes waterproof their fortress? Wouldn't it fall apart in the rain?

1970’s me weeps...

Yes please!!!!😫

2001 An Ape Odyssey.

what a great looking set, but i sure am glad mego never built automobiles.

Anybody else laugh at the old commercial using the main theme from 2001 A Space Odyssey?

What is the music you are using?

I was too young for this cardboard vinyl wrapped treasure.

Oh to be a spoiled kid in the early 70s who owned this AND the Star Trek figures. To spend hours roleplaying Captain Kirk talking to Dr Zeus. I was born too late.

Who’s your favorite ape ?

You have the mexican version of Cornelius inside the fortress!

It seems like all the playsets for Planet of the Apes were based more on the failed tv series and not the movies.

I had the tree house.

Wow, that is, uh, chintzy. Cool, but chintzy.

These toys helped kids bring out there imagination, Not like today with all the electronics.

I feel like the movie 🍿🎥 is the future of usa terrible 😞