The perky, sparkly-eyed Kim Hunter enjoyed a distinguished film career over several decades, though it's perhaps a role in which she's almost unrecognisable for which she's best remembered. While I don't know who performs the domestic duties in a chimpanzee household, I do know who wears the pants, and that's Zira, the veterinarian of the Planet of the Apes saga, principal protagonist along with her somewhat hen-pecked husband Cornelius, trying in vain to convince the Orangatang intelligentsia that humans are worth preserving.
Mego fashioned their 8" line based largely on the TV series which followed the movie quintet in 1974. The principal characters were recreated and Zira made an auspicious debut complete in olive green and brown tunic, with that distinctive Kim Hunter charisma beaming from beneath John Chambers' award-winning make-up. Mego did an outstanding job on this likeness (and indeed all their other ape incarnations), the subtleties and nuances of Hunter's facial expressions captured effortlessly in these super-articulated large-scale figures.
The type 1 variant pictured (metal rivets as opposed to plastic binders) at left suffers the typical Mego-fate as waists deteriorate over time, though it's not uncommon now to re-string these figures to preserve their mobility and give them a second shelf life. The authentic garb is difficult to keep clean unless well protected, and the studs and velcro can loosen over time, fortunately if you're not too elitist in your collecting standards, you can pick up Mego POTA replacement garments at very affordable prices. Of course, if only mint original will meet your discerning standard, then you pay accordingly.
I picked up Zira for little more than $25 on the secondary market, and she's in remarkably good condition for that price, though I personally wouldn't have paid more than $30-$35 based on the inflation rate I've witnessed over a number of years collecting these figures. Essentially, she's not that scarce, though it is becoming more difficult to find a nice specimen with original accessories that haven't been torn, frayed or discoloured. These figures akin to their WGSH contemporaries aren't really kid's toys, they're delicate and better suited just to display; in point of fact, very few of mine survived the 70's and if they did, they no longer have their original wardrobe (there's something a little swinging about having a toy box that includes a nude Anson Williams doll casually intertwined with a partially clothed Batman and boots-only clad Dr. Zaius, some sort of wild Mego orgy-party going on right there).
It's a strange hobby sometimes, no less especially when you receive your green leggings and fawn moccasins in the post, to fit your 8" POTA type 1 classic. The gender cross-over and the doll vs action figure tension is all part of the progression of these figures over time, and while Medicom might be considered the 2001 POTA Marky Mark remake merchandiser, I'm looking no further than 1974 Mego for my POTA action figure quota - of which Zira is the dominant female specimen.
Zira | 1974 | Mego | Planet of the Apes
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