Kit Willer, is Tex Willer’s half Navajo son, in the spirit of pulp characters like Tarzan, Tex has a full grown son but doesn’t look a day over 35.
The Mego Kit Willer Figure like all in the Tex Willer line, cleverly reuses existing Mego parts from the American West line, but it’s done in a way that it doesn’t interfere with an accurate depiction of the character. The Mego Kit Willer head was also used for the Planet of the Apes Astronaut, and was proposed to be Don, boyfriend of Dinah-Mite but a certain Man of Steel won that title when the figure actually went into production.
Kit Carson’s head sculpt was reused more than once at Mego
The Rifleman: The Mego Kit Willer packaging shows Kit carrying a rifle, don’t panic if you can’t find your rifle, he didn’t come with one!
Holy Cow Dept: Courtesy of Super Collector Rudy Zerbi we have the original Mego Kit Willer Box art as drawn by Galep. Truly one of the cooler discoveries of the last ten years. Many thanks to Rudy for sharing this wonderful piece of Mego history.
Kit Willer’s pants have been reproduced by Classic TV Toys. The reproduction pants are packaged with an opening and snap in the front. The originals don’t have the “fly” design and the opening is in the back. The biggest difference is the material. The reproductions are made of a velvet type material where the originals are a simple heavy material. The reproductions also fit more loosely and have larger cuffs. They are unmarked.
Kit’s shirt has been reproduced by CTVT. The original shirt is a bright yellow nylon type material. The repro is made of a more standard cloth. The original has a red square shape stuck to the front with 6 studs along the edges. It is and cut with a design along the edges. The studs are small and simple looking gold studs. The reproductions chest piece is larger, made of a vinyl material, perfectly square with no decorative edges and doesn’t form to the shirt. It tends to look like a shield of sorts. The studs on the repro are larger and look like yellow jewels. The repro is unmarked.
Like his brother, Kit likes to dress in style so sports a western tie, in this case green in color. The tie has been reproduced by CTVT. The big difference here is edge fraying. The reproductions fray’s along one side where the original does not. The repro is also a brighter green color and is unmarked.
Kit Willer wears a hat that can be found in the Action Jackson Western set. The hat has been reproduced by CTVT. The reproduction is darker in color, more brown where the original has an organish tint. The repro is a little rough around the brim, not as smooth as the original and is marked CTV on the underside of the brim.
Kit wears the same double gun holster belt as Wyatt Earp in the Western line. The repro holster is darker in color where the original is a little reddish in color. The holster belt features leg straps which break easily on the original. The original straps are very round compared to the reproductions, which are fairly flat in shape. You’ll find some flashing on the repro belt and it is marked CTV on the back. Tim Mee reproduced the belt for it’s western line during the Mego era. It is a vintage reproduction made with the same mold and materials. It is almost identical in every way to an original holster with maybe a slight color difference. Just a touch more on the red side than an original.
Kit wears vinyl belt under his gun holster belt. It is the same belt found in the Action Jackson Safari set. The belt has been reproducted by CTVT. The reproduction is a darker brown, with a much bigger belt buckle. The repro belt buckle has a round shape on one side that isn’t present on the original. The repro is unmarked.
Kit Willer carries two pistols of the same style as the rest of the Willer gang and many of the Western characters. The pistol has been reproduced by CTVT. The detail on the reproduction isn’t quite as sharp as on the original and flashing is evident. Some are marked CTV on the gun grip and some are unmarked. Tim Mee reproduced the pistol. This is a vintage piece, reproduced during the Mego era. Same mold, just in gray instead of chrome. Otherwise it’s identical.
The western boot worn by Kit can be found on Buffalo Bill from the Western Line. Western AJ also has these boots, but they are a lighter, caramel color brown. They have been reproduced by CTVT although it get’s a little weird. The Tex Willer characters and Buffalo Bill wear the same brown colored boots. For some reason when CTVT reproduced these, they created different colors. The reproductions found on the Willer guys are a much darker brown than the original’s. A much closer color can be found on the Buffalo Bill reproduction. Both colors are a little more narrow and a little taller. There is flashing evident on the reproductions and they are unmarked.
The Astronaut’s head from the Planet of the Apes line was also used for Kit Willer, just with a little repaint. Kit has darker brown hair, shorter sideburns, and black eyes. The Astronaut has lighter brown hair and blue eyes. CTVT reproduced the head for their Willer line, but used the longer painted sideburns and blue eyes of the Astronaut, but the darker brown hair of Kit Willer. The reproduction is unmarked.