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Beneath the Planet of the Apes
12" Prisoner Taylor

Ron Hatchell, our resident Planet of the Apes fan, is back tonight with a review of the Sideshow 12" version of Taylor from Beneath the Planet of the Apes.  Take it away, Ron!

I was excited when Sideshow announced the first of their “Beneath the Planet of the Apes” line (based on the 1970 film) in February. I pre-ordered each one as it was available and have been waiting with a very controlled excitement for their arrival since then. I received the Beneath version of Taylor (the Sideshow exclusive version reviewed here, limited to just 400), the astronaut version of Brent, the slave version of Brent around mid-July, and in early August I received General Ursus and the San Diego Comic Con Exclusive Vision Lawgiver Statue (100 made). That leaves the two mutants (the leader and the jailer) to complete the announced “Beneath” line.







It is my understanding that if we want the Planet of the Apes line to continue, we need to e-mail Sideshow and let know. Sideshow has acquired licenses for all five “Planet of the Apes” movies and the TV series, but will be deciding which characters to make based upon what they feel is enough demand from the buyers. Sideshow handles requests for future wants through their regular customer service forum. So, please, let them know which characters you want by visiting their website and selecting the CONTACT US link on the lower left side of the page. Then select the [Customer Service Form] link, which is also used for “General inquiries”. And then select the “Other” option. They regularly tally results for these requests and pass them on to the correct department. 

Packaging - ***1/2
The “Beneath” line uses an over-all color that seems to match the same movie in the 5-DVD box set (teal?). Each box released so far has on the front cover the logo, images from the movie, the “alpha-omega” bomb, and an actual image of that particular figure. The image of the figure’s head is also on the top and both sides. The back of the box tells Taylor’s story from the movie. The inside flap shows five scenes from the movie and some written text that tells a general story of the movie. The main differences between the boxes are the images of the actual figure that is in the box, their name, and the story of that particular character on the inside of the front flap. 

The figure is held in place in the plastic mold with one regular tie around the waist, five see-through plastic strips (similar to the “dental floss ties”, but thicker) around the neck, wrists and ankles, and the legs are held in place with the standard thick plastic band that is taped on the back of the mold. Two “dental floss” ties support the spiked prison guard club, one more supports the ape gun, and a standard tie helps keep the “Beneath the Planet of the Apes” stand in place. 

It must be tough for Sideshow to try to please everyone, but they keep trying. The new see-through ties are a bit tougher to untie than the normal thick ones. However, if you just want to display them and cut through the thin ones, you can get remove everything in record time. 

Sculpting - ****
The artists for this Charlton Heston / George Taylor is Mat Falls, who is the principle sculptor and a co-founder of Sideshow Collectibles. His Sideshow whose portfolio includes 250 Sideshow items, and he has had the honor of doing most of the Planet/Beneath line (except for General Ursus and one Brent). 

This is the same sculpt as the “Slave Taylor”. The feet, which usually fit inside boots and don’t need much work, are larger and more of a realistic size (as they don’t have to fit inside boots). They look great, with veins and separation between the big toe and the other four. The feet also seem to be made of the same material that they made his hands with. They are softer and the toes can even be bent slightly. The fingers also can bend, which can help in the holding of guns and other accessories. 

Paint - ***1/2
Again, identical to the “Slave” Taylor, except “all” of his body is painted to look dirty, except for his face (the “Slave” version was dirty except for his face, chest, torso and back). The lack of shine on his body and additional dirt helps make him look more realistic. Even his toenails and fingernails also appear to have gathered some dirt along the edges. This dirt is something I didn't expect on the Slave or this version. It is an extraordinary surprise that adds a great deal of realism to his overall appearance. I am dropping a half-point because the color of two of the accessories (the spiked prison guard club and the ape gun) is all black, and they have more colors to them in the film. I am not really complaining, nor criticizing, but “4” is perfect score, and as the saying goes, “you can’t always be perfect”, although Sideshow does manage to get there more than any company that I have bought figures from. 

Articulation - ***1/2
With over 30 points of articulation, his head can turn completely around and move up and down about a quarter of an inch either way. There is a full, realistic range of motion on the shoulders, upper arms, elbows, forearms, wrists, waist, hips, top of his thighs, knees, lower legs, and ankles. I had some difficulty getting him to stand on his own, as his ankles seemed a bit weak. I’m assuming Sideshow doesn’t make a lot of “barefooted” figures, so the feet are larger than normal (they don’t have to fit inside of boots) and are less able to support the weight of the figure. All other joints were very tight. The figures comes with a teal-colored logo "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" stand to help support him. I’m dropping a half-point because of the limited motion of the figure’s neck. This hinders his ability to lower his head much as he should be able to. If you want the character to look down, he has to bend at his waist. Sideshow’s figures’ articulation is always some of the very best available, and one of the many features that they stand out on. It is one of the top two reasons I continue to buy their action figures. 

Outfit - ****
Taylor wears white pants and a white collar-less shirt that has a khaki colored section that runs from the top right front side to the bottom. There is one string at the top of the front of the shirt to tie both sides together. It is single-stitched throughout, and looks like the one he wore in the movie. Not much can go wrong, and nothing did. Great job! 

Accessories - ****
There are two cool accessories than come with this figure (aside from the "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" stand) which he really didn’t use much or at all in the movie, but Sideshow gave them to us anyway, so that’s a good deal. First is the spiked "prison guard club" that Brent used to try to kill Taylor. It is all black, unlike the movie version, but has a rough texture like the one in the movie. It also comes with a string at the end, so it can be hung on a wall, like the one in the movie. It is made of a rubber-type material, which is probably a good thing, as the "spikes" could break if they were plastic and even hurt someone if they were plastic or a harder material. Taylor "did" use this one on a Gorilla while it was shooting at his girl, Nova. 

The other cool accessory is the "ape gun" rifle, which Taylor never used but handed to Brent to use on the apes. The rifle is like the one the Slave Taylor used, except the bolt action does not move. And, the strap stops about mid-barrel, which is just like the one Brent used in the movie, instead of stopping near the muzzle. Be careful handling the straps, because they might come loose too easily (one of mine did). The rifle is also all black, unlike the one in the movie. There is no trigger in the guard, but you can’t really get his finger in the guard section anyway. But his hand does fit "over" the guard area pretty good.

Fun Factor - ****
Well, speaking for myself, “I’m” having fun with it. I’ve got Taylor and Brent fighting each other with one of the spiked prison guard clubs (still waiting for the mutant jailer to arrive), and another set of Taylor/Brent figures having the time of their life, either shooting apes or getting shot by them just before it all ends. I wish I had these as a kid, as I watched these movies when I was, and “I” would have had the time of my life re-creating scenes from the movie by actually playing with them. But I can’t seem to get myself to play with them anymore. But it is still fun to pose them in “still life” scenes, and I’m looking forward to getting the two mutants (with removable faces!) so I can complete the whole “doomsday bomb scene”. I’ll have to use one of the two Zaius figures from the first movie (even though his outfit in this last scene is different than the two he wore in the first movie), as I see no sign they are releasing a “Beneath” version of Zaius. 

Value - ****
Sideshow is selling this web-exclusive figure for $50.00, which is pretty good considering they only made 400 and did such a great job with it. 

If interest in this line declines, hopefully they can continue making limited numbers for the few of that want these bad enough to pay the amount needed to keep the line going. It does seem like a lot of money for some collectors, but we are not even sure at this point if there is enough interested buyers to support the rest of the movies, and TV series. So, if keeping them at a low production run and charging more is the only way to keep them going for us who really want them, I’m willing to pay the extra $10.00 and so for them. I mean, for an extra $10.00 for figure, if they create an additional ten figures, is only an additional $100.00, which I would gladly pay to get the rest of the Planet of the Apes figures I want. 

Things to Watch Out For - 
“Not suitable for children under 14 years of age.” I am assuming it is because of the spiked prison guard club. It does cause some discomfort when the spikes are pressed into the skin, but it is not sharp enough the puncture it (I actually tried this!). As the saying goes, “you could put someone’s eye out with it”, but since that didn’t happen in the movie, just stick with the story line and everyone should be safe! Also, take care with the gun strap, as it might come off easily, like one of mine did.

Overall - ***3/4
Outstanding in almost all aspects. I am very happy we are getting all of the major characters in the second movie. Although Taylor wasn’t on the screen very long for this film, he was a very important character. He was one of the main reasons Brent was sent to space, the main person that Brent and Nova was interested in (besides themselves), he and he of course single-handedly decided the future of the entire planet! And since they had already made most of the other versions of Taylor (astronaut, forbidden zone, and slave, but not the one bearded version who spent most of the time in the first movie), we really needed this last version to help complete Taylor’s story. 

If you are interested in creating the “bearded” slave Taylor that was in most of the first movie (Sideshow didn’t release this one), here are some instructions on customizing him. You will need the “Forbidden Zone” version (the only one with a beard), and either swap clothes or swap heads with the slave version. To swap the two heads, here are some instructions from Sideshow: “It’s actually an easy swap. The heads are “rotocast” (hollow), unlike most of our 12” figures (with solid PVC heads). With minimal force, you should be able to pop off the heads and swap them. If you get any resistance, try heating the head before removing or re-assembling.” I was able to pop the heads of both of my “Forbidden Zone” Taylors without any problems and without heating them first, but you might consider not taking any risks. Using a hair-dryer and heating the head first makes it remove much easier. If you don’t have a hair dryer, some people “carefully” lower the head in boiling water for a few seconds, which will soften the head enough to easily remove or put back on. Please exercise extreme caution when using boiling water or a hair dyer (follow directions for safe handling). 

Score Recap:
Packaging - ***1/2 
Sculpt - **** 
Paint - ***1/2 
Articulation - ***1/2 
Outfit - **** 
Accessories - **** 
Fun Factor - **** 
Value - **** 
Overall - ***3/4 

Where to Buy - 
I pre-ordered mine through Sideshow for $50.00, but they don’t update their website very well, and they still show this in a “pre-order” status for the US and Non-Europe. I received mine around July 15. I am not sure what is really happening concerning the current EUR status. “This figure is exclusively available only directly from Sideshow Collectibles.com” is what the webpage states. 


Figure from the collection of Ron Hatchell.

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