<Li> Merian C. Cooper, who was shot down in World War I in an Airco DH. 4 and made a prisoner of war by the Germans, and who later flew with the Kosciuszko Squadron, played the airplane pilot and Schoedsack the machine gunner in uncredited roles in the film's final scenes . </Li> <P> After the RKO board approved the production of a test reel, Marcel Delgado constructed Kong (or the "Giant Terror Gorilla" as he was then known) per designs and directions from Cooper and O'Brien on a one - inch - equals - one - foot scale to simulate a gorilla 18 feet tall . Four models were built: two jointed 18 - inch aluminum, foam rubber, latex, and rabbit fur models (to be rotated during filming), one jointed 24 - inch model of the same materials for the New York scenes, and a small model of lead and fur for the plummeting - down - the - Empire - State - Building scene . At least two armatures have survived - one believed to be the original made for the test footage - and are owned by Peter Jackson and Bob Burns . In 2009, one sold for £ 121,000 ($200,000) at Christie's in London . </P> <P> Kong's torso was streamlined to eliminate the comical appearance of the real world gorilla's prominent belly and buttocks . His lips, eyebrows, and nose were fashioned of rubber, his eyes of glass, and his facial expressions controlled by thin, bendable wires threaded through holes drilled in his aluminum skull . During filming, Kong's rubber skin dried out quickly under studio lights, making it necessary to replace it often and completely rebuild his facial features . </P> <P> A huge bust of Kong's head, neck, and upper chest was made of wood, cloth, rubber, and bearskin by Delgado, E.B. Gibson, and Fred Reefe . Inside the structure, metal levers, hinges, and an air compressor were operated by three men to control the mouth and facial expressions . Its fangs were 10 inches in length and its eyeballs 12 inches in diameter . The bust was moved from set to set on a flatcar . Its scale matched none of the models and, if fully realized, Kong would have stood thirty to forty feet tall . </P>

Where was the original king kong filmed at