NECA

National Entertainment Collectibles Association, Inc.
(NECA)

NECA teaser poster at 2013 SDCC (San Diego Comic-Con).

The National Entertainment Collectibles Association or NECA is an American manufacturer of collectibles typically licensed from films, video-games, sports, music, and television based in New Jersey. The company was founded in 1996 and has over 60 licenses for which it produces products.

In 2002, NECA's Reel Toys was formed as a division to produce action figures and dolls that are targeted towards action figure and toy enthusiasts. They are intended for teens and adults as collectibles for many licenses that no other company would market as a toy.

The only 3 products from NECA based on the 2001 Planet of the Apes reimagining were released that same year: an 8 inch statue depicting the film's hero and antagonist, Leo Davidson and the ruthless General Thade, along with a bust of Attar.

On September 14, 2009, they announced acquisition of the WizKids assets from Topps, for the collectible miniature Clix games and Pocketmodel games.

In a press release on January 21, 2014 NECA partnered with Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products for a new merchandise program based on the beloved Planet of the Apes franchise, which is set to include new products based on the film DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES as well as the classic movies. They became available on summer 2014, The program will include a wide assortment of collectible products designed to excite audiences of all ages such as action figures, giftware, apparel, accessories and more.

The new product lines were made available to coincide with the release of DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, and incorporated characters and elements from both the classic movies as well as the newest installment. Items feature fan-favorite characters George Taylor, Caesar, Cornelius, Zira, Zaius and the rest of the world’s most well-known primates.

After 2018, NECA's Planet of the Apes product line dwindled due to poor sales, with many figures ultimately ending up in discount stores. Six years later, the line was briefly revived in the fall of 2024 with re-releases of the Classic Series.

NECA Licenses

• Planet of the Apes - The Original Pentalogy
  • Planet of the Apes (1968)
  • Beneath the Planet of the Apes
  • Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
  • Battle for the Planet of the Apes

• Planet of the Apes (2001)
• Planet of the Apes - 20th Century Reboot
  • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Waves

Classic Series

Design Team

Product Development	Sculpt	Fabrication	Paint	Prototypes	Packaging	Photography
Randy Falk	Thomas Gwyn (Cornelius)	Brad Haskins	Jon Wardell	Adam Smith	Chris Longo	Stephen Mazurek
	Kyle Windrix (Cornelius)		Geoffrey Trapp

Classic Series 1

• Cornelius
• Zaius
• Gorilla Soldier

Classic Series 2

• Zira
• Zaius
• General Ursus

Classic Series 3

• Caesar
• General Aldo
• Conquest Gorilla

Statues

• The Lawgiver

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Series

Design Team

Product Development	Sculpt	Fabrication	Paint	Prototypes	Packaging	Photography
Randy Falk	Alex Heinke (Caesar, Maurice, Koba and Luca)	Anthony Minichino	Jon Wardell	Adam Smith	Chris Longo	Stephen Mazurek
	Thomas Gwyn (Caesar and Koba)		Geoffrey Trapp
	Trevor Zammit (Koba)

Series 1

• Caesar
• Maurice
• Koba

Series 2

• Caesar
• Luca
• Koba

Weekly Updates

Promotional photos of the Classic Series 1 were shared on the NECA website on May 5, 2014, as part of their weekly updates on the toyline. Since that day was a Monday, it was a 'Monkey Monday'. Two weeks later, on May 19, Cornelius' packaging was shared on NECA's website and Twitter.

Reissues

Planet of the Apes Legacy Series

On May 2, 2024, a set of reissues from the Classic Series was announced, consisting of four characters from the 1968 Planet of the Apes film and Beneath the Planet of the Apes: Zira, Zaius, Ursus, and a generic gorilla soldier. Preorders were made available through online retailers like BBTS and Entertainment Earth, with the wave bundle priced at $129.99 and scheduled to ship in June.

Product Description

"Get your paws on these action figures and celebrate the legacy of Planet of the Apes! These re-releases of NECA's classic figures of the world's most well-known primates are entirely faithful to their original on-screen looks. Fan favorite characters include Dr. Zaius, Zira, General Ursus, and a Gorilla Soldier! Each fully articulated figure stands approximately 7 inches tall and comes with character-specific accessories in collector-friendly window box packaging."

Gallery

Planet of the Apes (2001)

Classic Series 1

Classic Series 2

NECA Lawgiver statue

NECA 8" retro version of Astronaut George Taylor

Promotional Photos Gallery

Classic Series 1

Planet of the Apes Legacy Series

Knockoffs

In April 2025, a wave of 1:1 knockoff figures from the second Dawn of the Planet of the Apes series—featuring Caesar, Luca, and Koba—began circulating on websites such as AliExpress, initially priced between $20 and $25 USD. While these figures are replicated from the original molds, their paint applications are noticeably inferior. Additionally, the articulation tends to become loose quickly, and the ball joints in the arms are often poorly assembled, causing the interchangeable hands to fall off easily. Two months later, in mid-June, knockoffs of the first wave—featuring Caesar and Koba in their hunt paint variants, along with Maurice—began to be sold, now ranging from $15 to $20 USD. The Maurice figure is notably one of the worst of this knockoffs in terms of paint application.