General Ursus


Mego General Ursus Trading Card Art

Introduction

 

General Ursus ( item # 50900/7) ( assortment # 50902) packed 5 per case

The Mego General Ursus figure is named after the character in the film Beneath the Planet of the Apes. He has NO helmet, and a face that is nearly all black. When first released, Mego Ursus was dressed in the same outfit as the Soldier Ape, including all variations, even silver. In those outfits, with sleeves that are completely fabric; he must have gloves to be complete. Mego Ursus was later released with attached cuffs in place of gloves. All of these outfits included the same brown pants as the Mego Soldier Ape. There is a UK exclusive variation of the figure with an almost purple tunic with attached cuffs, just like the Soldier Ape.

To be complete, Mego General Ursus needs the following: Brown pants, either the Soldier Ape top (AND gloves) OR with attached cuffs, smooth general boots (with creased toes), general’s bandolier with short sword, and m-16 rifle with string. Like all of the figures in Mego’s second POTA wave, the General is found on both Type 1 (metal joint) and Type 2 (plastic joint) bodies.

For some unknown reason related to copyright or name changes during the production of the television show, Mego, changed his name and released him as General Urko. It is interesting to note that in the television commercial announcing the up coming second series of characters he is introduced as “URKO the vicious Soldier Ape”. Also interesting to note is that, Mark Lenard, who played General Urko on the TV series, once said that when he auditioned for the role, the character was named General Ursus.

Packaging



1st issue US card (all characters copyright of Apjac Prod and 20th Cent. Fox)

2nd issue US card ( astrerix on Ursus (black face) all other copyright of only 20th Cent. Fox)

3rd issue US card ( Ursus and Urko switch names, asterix on Ursus (helmet head))

Mailer box

US window boxed

Palitoy card (UK)

Cipsa boxed (Mexico)

Forbidden Zone Gift Set (none found to date)

Fortress Gift Set (none found to date)

Catapult and Wagon Gift Set ( none found to date)

 

Window Box



The rare Mego boxed Ursus. He is called Urko and wears a Soldier
Ape uniform in the box illustrations (Pics from the Museum’s expert
and founder of the wing, ABMAC)

1st Issue Green Ursus Card

 

Green carded Ursus courtesy of Bill Mattioli, notice the gloves.

Third Issue (Urko) Card



Mego Yellow Carded Ursus courtesy of Brain.

 

Palitoy



This beautiful Palitoy UK Mego Release of General Ursus is courtesy
of Mike J. Notice that his outfit is black.

This Palitoy Ursus has a burgundy outfit, courtesy of Will Frost.



Mego Ursus in his Mexican (Cipsa) outfit, the sleeves for Ursus
have been known to come in both reddish brown and green! (pic courtesy
of Mike J.

cipsa boxed general ursus

Here is Soldier Ursus from Mexico, who is intent on finding Humans
and his pants: That joke never gets old! (courtesy of Brain) What’s interesting is the term “Humanoids” on the packaging, which is what they used on the animated series.

cipsa boxed General Ursus

Loose General Ursus

 

boots

The General Apes wear a pair of boots with indents on the toes making what appears to be space for three toes. They are unique to the general’s and have not been factory reproduced.



 

bando

The General Apes have a bando with a space to put their knife. The bando has been reproduced by Doctor Mego and very accurately. The main difference is color. The reproduction has a little more red in it’s color. It is marked DM on the inside.



 

knife

The Generals have a knife (short sword really) that can also be found with some figures in the Lion Rock line. It has not been factory reproduced.



 

rifle

The Soldiers come with the same rifle as the General Apes, which can also be found in several Action Jackson sets. The rifle has been factory reproduced by CTVT and by EMCE Toys. The original says Mego on the stock, while the CTVT reproduction is unmarked. The EMCE version is stamped EMCE in place of the Mego stamp on the stock, so it’s easy to ID. Good thing too, since it’s pretty hard to spot otherwise. It’s a very accurate reproduction in material and color. The tell here is the grip near the trigger. The pattern on the original is much smaller than the pattern on the EMCE version. EMCE also used black string instead of brown for the strap.



Glove Options

 

glove options

This particular General Ape can be found with the cuffs sewn into the sleeves of the tunic as well as versions with the same tunic and gloves that the Soldier Apes wear and in the same color variations. If the General has sewn on cuffs, he shouldn’t have gloves. If he has no cuffs on his tunic, he needs the gloves to be complete. The gloves have been factory reproduced (see below).



Gloves

 

gloves

This General Ape doesn’t always have gloves. See the above section for details. When he does need gloves it should be noted that Ape gloves have been factory reproduced by EMCE Toys. Since the gloves and the tunic are made from the same material in the case of both the original and the reproduction (respectively) the material discussion can be seen in the next section regarding the tunic. The gloves on the reproduction are a little bigger in width, and the brown mitten part is cut a different shape. Original Mego gloves have ridges cut on the top, perhaps to similate fingers. Hard to say, but they are there, while the EMCE version is without these ridges. The reproduction is unmarked.



 

tunic

The General sometimes wears the same tunic/glove combo as the Soldier Ape most commonly wears which has been factory reproduced by EMCE Toys, although more commonly wears the version with vinyl gauntlets sewn into the tunic sleeve. This version is not pictured here but in the header complete figure shot at the top of this page, and which has not been factory reproduced. There are many shades of color for the vinyl, at least for the tunic with the separate gloves. Blue is the most common, but there is a lighter blue, a lizard skin blue, a variation to the lizard skin blue, maroon, silver (really grey), and even black. All of them feature brown cloth sleeves which lean towards the orangish side of the brown spectrum. The EMCE Toys reproduction tunic is the type with the separate gloves and comes only in blue. The repro tunic is a bit larger than the original, more in width than height. The blue is a bit lighter than the most common original blue tunic, but darker than the original lighter blue tunic. The originals tend to have a little bit of a glossy shine to them, while the reproduction has a very matte finish. The opposite side of the reproduction vinyl is a black rubber mesh, while the original is a soft blue backing (in the case of the blue tunic the repro represents). The brown sleeves on the reproduction are just a bit lighter in color overall and a bit less red/orange than the original and made of a more modern slicker material. The EMCE version is unmarked.



 

pants

The General wears cloth pants which lean towards the orangish side of the brown spectrum in color. The pants have been factory reproduced by EMCE Toys. The brown sleeves on the reproduction are just a bit lighter in color overall and a bit less red/orange than the original and made of a more modern slicker material. The EMCE version is unmarked.

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