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King Kong in Ingliston, Scotland

Author	Comment
IzzyVanHalen	King Kong in Ingliston, Scotland	Lead	[-]
Aug 16 10 11:09 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Am I the only Scottish guy in here, or do we have any other Scots monster kids frequenting this forum? Anyhoo, one of my earliest memories of monsters was the giant statue of King Kong that once stood looming over Ingilston outdoor market near Edinburgh. From what I can gather, it was first seen in Birmingham as an advertising gimmick for a car company. At some point it was bought by Spook Erections, an outdoor market company in Scotland. It stood, black and grey, at Ingliston for many years before being painted bright pink (!) for a short while. It's gone now and, apparently, now lives in Penrith, where he has been painted white. Anyway, here he is: The Reel Deal: bad movies and the geeks who love them. http://movie-reel-deal.co.uk/ Last Edited By: IzzyVanHalen Aug 16 10 11:47 AM. Edited 1 time.
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Monsterpal		#1	[-]
Aug 16 10 5:10 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The next time he's moved he might be painted plaid.
HalLane		#2	[-]
Aug 17 10 12:30 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanx, Izzy ~~ what a great Kong! He looks a lot like that robot Kong from those French(?) Kong comics. << At some point it was bought by Spook Erections, an outdoor market company in Scotland. << I don't think that name would fly in the U.S.
IzzyVanHalen		#3	[-]
Aug 17 10 12:34 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Oh, it desn't fly here either, Hal! Any time we see or go to one of their markets we unfailingly roar with laughter. Especially at their logo: A pregnant ghost? A fat KKKer? You tell me. The company has become fondly known as "Spooky Rections" but you don't see them as much as you used to. I did manage to find this picture of the Ingliston Kong in his prime: The Reel Deal: bad movies and the geeks who love them. http://movie-reel-deal.co.uk/ Last Edited By: IzzyVanHalen Feb 1 11 4:49 PM. Edited 1 times.
doctor kiss		#4	[-]
Aug 17 10 1:30 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	IzzyVanHalen wrote: From what I can gather, it was first seen in Birmingham as an advertising gimmick for a car company. Long after Kong had departed, I regularly used to catch a bus at that precise spot between the Rotunda and the Bull Ring shopping centre in Birmingham, and even years later you could see the empty (but sizeable) site of the plinth where he had once stood, before the city council subsequently razed the entire area to the ground. He originally came to that site in 1972 under hallowed auspices, as a cultural project funded by the Arts Council of Great Britain! For the first six months he served purely as a sculpture thanks to a sponsorship deal with Peter Stuyvesant (!). Only after that did the council put him out for general tender as an advertising hoarding, whereupon the used car dealership came in.
skull island escapee		#5	[-]
Aug 17 10 2:05 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Izzy, I am Scottish, and indeed have lived in Edinburgh. I do actually remember seeing the Kong model there [was it the early '80s?], and another memory I have of the time was smuggling beer into a School trip to the Highland show at Ingliston, and enjoying an illicit beverage. OCH AYE, THE NOO! [not reccomended for all you law-abiding citizens]. 'the horror..............THE HORROR!' Cartoon-strip blog here [updated regularly]: http://zoomertoonsrabsmith.blogspot.com/
IzzyVanHalen		#6	[-]
Aug 17 10 3:03 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Wow! Amazing who you meet on the CHFB! Thanks for the info Doctor Kiss! And always nice to meet a fellow Scot, SIE! That's Skull Island Escapee The Reel Deal: bad movies and the geeks who love them. http://movie-reel-deal.co.uk/
todmichel		#7	[-]
Aug 18 10 12:46 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	A little "off topic" I'm afraid, but although being not Scot, I'm from Brittany, so we're Celtic cousins! I just met a lot of Scots at the Interceltic Music Festival in Lorient...
Van Helsing 1958		#8	[-]
Aug 18 10 1:55 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well I`m Scottish and proud of it!
skull island escapee		#9	[-]
Aug 18 10 2:29 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It's a small, small, world here on the Classic Horror Board! It's Festival time in Edinburgh, and once I met a New York [Long Island] gal for a few dates at the Festival, so this planet really does seem small at times. 'the horror..............THE HORROR!' Cartoon-strip blog here [updated regularly]: http://zoomertoonsrabsmith.blogspot.com/
Servant of Legendre		#10	[-]
Aug 23 10 6:00 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I don't remember that Kong, but I'm glad to find another Scot here cos maybe you can help me with this one: When I was a kid me and the family were driving to Prestwick airport and at some point on the journey I was told to keep a look our for Kong, and spotted a large whitish Kong surrounded by scaffolding. I found later that it was for use in the DeLaurentis movie. It was much bigger than the Ingliston one, and Ingliston wouldn't have been on the road to Prestwick anyhow, so I'm sure it isn't your Kong I'm thinking of. But - I haven't ever been able to find any more information about where this Kong was or what it was doing in Scotland.I'm sure I didn't imagine this scene! Last Edited By: Servant of Legendre Aug 23 10 6:02 AM. Edited 1 times.
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IzzyVanHalen		#11	[-]
Aug 23 10 6:11 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I've never heard of a DeLaurentis Kong being kept in Scotland! How cool. The Ingilston Kong was painted white at one point and he's been moved around so much he may have been in Prestwick at some point. When was this? A date might help me track down the whereabouts of the Ingilston Kong and rule him out as a candidate. Sounds bloody cool though! Anyway, found another cool picture and some info. Apparently, our man Kong was designed and built in 1972 by one Nicholas Munro as part of a project funded by (as previously noted by Dr. Kiss) the Arts Council of Great Britain. The Reel Deal: bad movies and the geeks who love them. http://movie-reel-deal.co.uk/ Last Edited By: IzzyVanHalen Aug 23 10 6:17 AM. Edited 1 times.
Servant of Legendre		#12	[-]
Aug 24 10 5:56 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well, the Kong I saw would have been 70s too, but it was a standing tall Kong rather than a posing Kong. It was more like the 'standing' Kong from near the end of the movie, ie like this:
IzzyVanHalen		#13	[-]
Aug 24 10 9:33 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Man, that's an interesting and intreguing tale. I'd love to know what the story with your Prestwick Kong is. Sounds cool! Who knew Scotland was such a hotbed for giant ape activity? The Reel Deal: bad movies and the geeks who love them. http://movie-reel-deal.co.uk/
Servant of Legendre		#14	[-]
Aug 25 10 5:51 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The more I think about it, the more it bugs me! I'll do some digging to see if I can find any more info. I wish I could date it more accurately. The Dino Kong was released in 76, wasn't it? So if I saw it before that, what was it doing in Scotland? And if it was after the movie came out, how did it get here? A quick Google turns up this info on the Standing Kong: http://www.therpf.com/f9/...rop-what-happened-63459/ Hmm. Ha, I just noticed that your Kong now lives in Penrith! We want apes! We want apes and fine wines! Edit: If you put 'Penrith Skirsgill' into Google and click maps, then zoom into the Market, you can spot Kong on the left near the car park! Last Edited By: Servant of Legendre Aug 25 10 5:54 AM. Edited 1 times.
Ted Newsom		#15	[-]
Aug 25 10 7:04 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I think we can dismiss the diLaurentiis connection. It's a natural assumption if you don't think about it very much-- both Kongs showed up in the 70s-- but there's no simularity between them. This is just a giant Kong statue somebody did in Scotland-- no movie connection, any more than there is in John Agar's Land of Kong in Louisiana. Scotland does see like a peculiar place for a twenty-foot ape. But I guess most any place would.
pringly		#16	[-]
Aug 25 10 12:31 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Speaking of wayward Kong statues. We had one as well down at WildWood NJ. They put it up in 1972 on Morey's peir. I didn't come across it untill 1975 on my first trip to Wildwood. I was 8 years old and so psyched to go on the ride since I had just seen Kong for the first time the previous winter. It was 75 feet tall and you could ride around it in biplanes. It didn't last very long, though. I think it was torn down in the 80's. Those were the good old days!!!!! Last Edited By: pringly Aug 25 10 3:37 PM. Edited 1 times.
IzzyVanHalen		#17	[-]
Aug 25 10 12:40 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Here's a link to the picture Pringly posted if, like me, you're just getting the red cross of death. http://www.roadsideameric...ng_ouellettecirca60s.jpg It looks pretty cool. I'm a big fan of "roadside attractions" such as these, especially if they're movie related. The Reel Deal: bad movies and the geeks who love them. http://movie-reel-deal.co.uk/ Last Edited By: IzzyVanHalen Aug 25 10 1:14 PM. Edited 1 times.
pringly		#18	[-]
Aug 25 10 1:12 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks Izzy. I don't know what happened; it came out on my computer. Just to clarify a little bit. The actual ride was on a peir that was connected to the Boardwalk. I don't know if you guys have them over there. Last Edited By: pringly Aug 25 10 1:27 PM. Edited 1 times.
Kingkongkessler		#19	[-]
Aug 25 10 8:57 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	pringly wrote: Speaking of wayward Kong statues. We had one as well down at WildWood NJ. They put it up in 1972 on Morey's peir. I didn't come across it untill 1975 on my first trip to Wildwood. I was 8 years old and so psyched to go on the ride since I had just seen Kong for the first time the previous winter. It was 75 feet tall and you could ride around it in biplanes. It didn't last very long, though. I think it was torn down in the 80's. Those were the good old days!!!!! I rode that ride many times Kess
IzzyVanHalen		#20	[-]
Aug 26 10 6:13 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	There's a smiliar ride in Bobbejaanland in Belguim. There's clips of the ride in action and it looks as crappy as this still makes it look: The Reel Deal: bad movies and the geeks who love them. http://movie-reel-deal.co.uk/
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King Kong in Ingliston, Scotland

King Kong in Ingliston, Scotland