We've all seen this one around, but I never actually owned one until now.

This little Godzilla vinyl was released in 1985 by Imperial and for my money is one of the worst looking Godzilla toys out there. Yet I know some people love it since it was readily available, cheap and most everyone had one at some time or another.

But not me. Nope, I never saw this thing until I was an adult collector and already familiar with the much better toys by M1, Marmit and even Bandai.

So, why did I buy it now then? Well, the same reason I buy a lot of crap. It was cheap. It was from the same seller I was buying something else from (the Imperial Kong to be specific) so I could combine shipping. And it had the tag.

Yes, the tag. The tag is probably the best thing about this toy. It's got a nice picture of Godzilla...that actually looks like Godzilla. And it says "King of the Monsters", like the old US posters.

This Godzilla is just 6" tall and is articulated at the hips and shoulders. The vinyl is very soft and squishy. Just like the King Kong, Imperial made two sizes of this toy, the other being larger, a foot tall or more. I'm not sure since I don't have that one yet. Interestingly, both Godzilla and King Kong were sold separately, but also together in a box, along with Dracula and Frankenstein, in a set called "Clash of the Movie Monsters". This has also been bootlegged, with alternate color schemes showing up in dollar stores recently.

While not a great toy on it's own, all collections must start small so this little Kong was a worthwhile pickup for cheap money.

I've quietly been on a bit of a King Kong binge lately, getting a few different things here and there that have enhanced my giant monkey collection. One of these was the small size Imperial Kong that I managed to score for very little money awhile back. I specify the "small" Kong because remember that that there was that large size Imperial Kong that I lucked into awhile ago. Really, that was the start of my Kong fixation, if one could call it that.

As you can see, the smaller Kong I got comes with a tag around the neck, but it was also released on a card with a bubble sealed around it. Although it's the same toy, I'd like to get one of those some day, too. But for now, I'll have to settle for just this one.

This Kong is about 7.5" tall and is made of very thick, almost rubbery vinyl. The arms move up and down, but that is it for articulation. It would have been nice if the neck moved like the bigger version. Ironic then that the tag should bother to specify that it's the "Articulated King Kong". Yeah, barely..

Anyway, this isn't too impressive on it's own. It's best enjoyed in a group with other Kong items.

How does one go about building a nice toy collection?

Hard work? Spending foolishly? Building a network of friends in the hobby?

All those things help...but I'm a big fan of good old fashioned dumb luck!

I picked up this King Kong toy at a little used goods store one day while I was just killing time. The place carried all sorts of stuff from old records to board games, vhs tapes to signs and even old barbershop chairs. It's one of those places where you just never know what you're gonna find. And in this case, I didn't even know what I had found.

I was carrying around a couple other toys that I needed to get rid of (a Tauntaun for a 12" Luke Skywalker and the Yamato Ideon toy that became obsolete with the release of the Soul Of Chogokin) so I decided to see if there was something there I could trade them for. I found two King Kong items that I had no prior knowledge of, this toy and also an old Jim Beam decanter that was released to promote the 1976 remake. Even though it wasn't the original, I really sort of liked the look of the decanter. I asked the proprietor what it would take to get both items. He said he'd take my two toys in trade, plus $25 cash. Unfortunately, I only had $18 with me.

I decided that I'd just take the decanter and leave this toy behind. I mean, there were no markings on this thing so I just assumed that it was some silly bootleg giant gorilla and nothing that special. I told the guy I'd take just the decanter, but he said I could take both if I promised to bring back the extra $7 next time I was in the area. So I left with both.

I snapped the above photo to show some monster friends what I'd bought and wouldn't you know it, it turns out that the decanter, while nice, was a pretty common item, but this toy was in fact quite hard to come by! I would have assumed just the opposite. Both of my friends who've been collecting monster items far, far longer than I have congratulated me on my find and not too subtly suggested it would look nicer in their collections!

What I learned about it though is that it was in fact not a bootleg, but was made by a company called Imperial. Apparently they made a smaller, more common King Kong but that this size (about 13.5" tall) is much harder to come across. Evidently, it was packaged with a tag around the neck with the name and manufacturer on it.

The toys is a simple one, with just a few points of articulation at the hips, shoulders and neck. It's cast entirely in dark brown vinyl, with red and white painted highlights. There is also green on the fingernails of mine, but the only other picture I've seen of one doesn't have that. Perhaps someone gave him a manicure at some point.

I didn't care too much for this toy at first, but it's since grown on me quite a bit. But is that because it's a nice toy, or just because I found out that it's hard to come by? A little of both maybe...but either way, I'm glad to have stumbled on it!