Sculpting - ****
All I can say is that I can't believe how great these figures are! Like the X-Plus 1933 vinyl versions that I previously guest reviewed, these are very accurate designs that are sculpted great! They are the most fantastic looking Kong figures in this scale. The first version of King Kong is posed in a fight position to stand on the Skull Island base. The base is exotically sculpted and appears like it was the real skull island seen in the classic. King Kong stands on this base very well. 1933 King Kong appears very gorilla-like considering his bare feet, bare hands, bare chest with nipples and simian shaped body but like his film counterpart he is standing upright. The pose is quite a "bring it on" fighting stance with the right arm down to his side holding the tree branch or holding his girl Ann where his left arm is up further extending the fingers of his hand showing he's ready to take ya! 

His face is great with a visible tongue but unlike the friendly expression X-Plus chose for their awesome vinyl figure the Konami Kong's expression is in a rage properly matching his posing stature. He has this large forehead where the eyebrow region is really far out that is sculpted superbly. The King Kong version on the Empire State Building is somewhat similar in expression but the pose differs as does the sculpt. The body and expression is about the same as the other version but the pose is more downward as he is ready to throw the plane. There is a cuff on his right wrist from his imprisonment at the world premiere. In his left had he is holding a severely damaged aeroplane ready to smash it down! The base is just a dozen feet of the Empire State Building which is sculpted very good and looks like it could actually be some kind of prop that is from the 30s! 

Now on to the Tyrannosaurus rex. He is one awesome looking monster! Well, I say monster because this is really what he was depicted as and not like a real animal that he really was, I'll get to that in the Accuracy section. like the X-Plus version of the T-rex, Konami really paid a close amount of attention to the creature seen in the movie classic. The figure of the Tyrannosaurus is large compared to Kong, he's got the bumpy skin, the long three fingered claws, the puppet-like neck & opening of his back and huge head with the eyes forward on either side and large visible tongue. The expression chosen is just fantastic as is the pose. Though he looks extremely vintage he does look very menacing indeed! The base that he stands on is exotically sculpted like Kong's. The T-rex pegs onto his base very good as well. 

Now onto the Brontosaurus figure. The "Thunder Lizard" looks terrific though like the T-rex his appearance as a real animal is not accurate but how he appeared in the film is another story. Bronto's feet are big with pointed claws and his body is quite big with veins all over it. While the tail drags down and his long neck is crinkled showing he was some type of physical special effect. His expression is decent with his mouth open showing his small teeth & tongue and his eyes looks decent. His head is rounded as this dinosaur was thought to have that feature, and was seen countless times depicted in the old days this way rather than the current and correct appearance as Apatosaurus. The overall pose matches really well with the aggressive behavior as seen in the film. His base is sculpted well like the others and he fits very well on the base. 

Now on to the last and final figure, the Pteranodon. This is a very good likeness as well. The body and wings look identical to the figures' counterpart seen in the film classic. His head is just phenomenal with the big long crest of the cranium and his long beak were you can see his tongue. His base is sculpted equally well but since the Pteranodon is in flying pose he must use a special long translucent peg that pegs into his body and as well as in the base. I am just so amazed how great looking and how accurate Konami made these 1933 King Kong figures. Though I am wowed, this is all I can say about them!  

Paint - ****
Well, there isn't a whole lot to paint but what there is to is applied quite well. These figures are in a black & white format to match how they originally appeared in the classic film. All of the figures' eyes, mouths, claws, tongues and base colors are not blotched that I can see This is what you want on a figure especially in this small of a scale.

Accessories - ****
This section gets four stars easy! This is what I really wanted X-Plus to do with their great figures. Each figure comes with a base. Skull Island King Kong, Tyrannosaurus rex, Brontosaurus and the Pteranodon included different bases of Skull Island and New York King Kong has an Empire State Building base. Skull Island King Kong includes a large deceased tree for his base, two alternate hands, one with a tree branch and one opened for Ann! Yes, his lovely lady is also included which she has an acceptable appearance with her gown, long blowing hair and good feminine body. She fits in Kong's big hand nicely as well as on the dead tree for when Kong is battling the Tyrannosaurus or the Pteranodon. The Pteranodon or Pterodactyl included a separate base piece and a long peg for the flying pose. The Brontosaurus also includes another base piece that has some old bush remains. Of course these require assembly but it's very minor and can be fun because its easy. All of these accessories are very good looking and I'm quite pleased that Ann was included with the Eighth Wonder of the World. This is a very good amount of stuff included with these figures and it just couldn't get any better especially with Skull Island King Kong.

Special Features - ****
As you know, Ann is included with Kong which is such a treat. Take a look at the picture of the great ape fighting the Tyrant Lizard King! 

This is one feature that I absolutely love. You can display Kong holding the tree branch, placing his beloved Ann on the tree, connecting the T-rex's base on to Kong's and walla, you are finally displaying one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history! It looks so accurate. You can also varientize (uh, is that a word?) this display placing Kong's beautiful Ann Darrow in his hand. Now you can also connect Kong's base to the Pteranodon's base and display this great scene as well. Also, and this is important for both versions of Kong's hands, Skull Island Kong's right hand & New York Kong's left hand acts like cut joints meaning that they are not meant to be articulated but they do move or turn. So these figures are basically statues yet these two in particular do move a little bit therefore you have a small bonus with these guys! They are able to do this because they are removable. The features of Kong's base connecting with the T-rex or the Pterandon and interacting with each other is a really cool way of altering your displayments and keeps the figures looking even more entertaining on the shelf.

Accuracy - Compared to the real animals: Version 1 & 2 Kong **1/2, T-rex 1/2, Brontosaurus **, Pteranodon **1/2 - Compared to the 1933 King Kong creature versions: ****
Since I am a prehistoric animal lover I think that this is a necessary feature. If you look at these creatures on a realistic view point, they're not that realistic.  Kong stands up and walks in an upright position most of the time and real life gorillas do not do this. They are not as mean as the character makes them out to be, in fact they are quite gentle giants. The Tyrannosaurus Rex was depicted and thought to be like he appeared in the film but many paleontologists found out that the T-rex didn't have three fingers and that this was actually an Allosaurus' hand so the big meat eater was actually an Allosaurus in the film and not a Tyrannosaurus, and the ginormous animals are not related. When you see the dinosaur in the film he is this huge monstrous creature. The real theropod was an animal to be feared but it wasn't a monster. The Tyrannosaurus was very sociable and were loving parents like its relatives, the modern avians and even crocodilians. The animal didn't stand upright similar to a human. In the early days it was thought that but the current sauroscian stance in the correct way the T-rex as well as many other ancient theropods stood. 

The Brontosaurus is somewhat accurate. I say that because of the figure's stature. The figure has a very large body with a long tail and neck but the head, feet and tail position is wrong. The head was longer, similar to an equine, and the animal didn't drag the tail along rather it held the tail up for balance and used it as a weapon. 

The feet weren't like claws, they were more circular similar to a modern elephant's foot, with a large nail protruding from the index claw. 

The Pteranodon's design is actually not that far morphed from current depictions. Though the body seems much bulkier than it really was, the head is very good. The wings should be more bat-like and the position of the body wouldn't be upright as much.

Now how these figure's designs are compared to their counterparts seen in the films is completely accurate. The humanoid stance of King Kong on Skull Island and the "correct" amount of cuffs of only one on the New York Kong compared to the four cuffs of the great but inaccurate McFarlane Kong, the upright stance of the Tyrannosaurus rex with three claws and monstrous appearance, the rounded head of the Brontosaurus with the tail dragging on the floor of the ground and the pudgy Pteranodon hovering in a wing flapping stance. You couldn't ask for a more screen accurate figure set from the 1933 film classic than this! If dinosaurs and pterosaurs weren't studied more after the 33 film like they are being studied today, you'd believe that these are replicas of real animals. What I am saying, its looks like these guys are alive and that is no joke! Look near the bottom of the page for a special note concerning the figure comparisons.

Scale Comparison - ***1/2
Kong and the Tyrannosaurus are good in scale though the T-rex seems a bit bigger than he should, be but this is ok. The Pteranodon is also in good scale compared to Kong. The Brontosaurus is way off as he should be in the size range of the T-rex or possibly even larger. Ann is in good scale with Kong, the Tyrannosaurus and the Pteranodon. The bases' environments are also good in scale with the figures. Konami did a good job in the section as well.

Quality - **1/2
This is a section that most figures in with most of the figures (um, pun intended!). All are made of good plastic but it is possible that the bases may warp lift over time. Also I have noticed the long peg of the Pteranodon's is also capable of warping as well. Otherwise these figures are sturdy and Kong's alternate hands fit in and fit out rather well so they won't break. I hate it when anything I own warps due to warm degrees in the room and companies should be aware of this warping.