Kaustic Plastik/Infinite Statue 1:6 Lon Chaney’s Phantom of the Opera Figure.

[Buttmunch]

Yeah, I’m not a fan of all the games we have to go through these days just to be able to order something. From Hasbro to Hot Toys there is always some hoop to jump through. I’ve just gotten accustomed to it I guess but I don’t enjoy that aspect of the hobby. Rarely do I ever see anything I collect on a shelf in a store anymore. Everything is pre-order this, wait list that. Now with lower editions happening again, you can’t even wait and see how something turns out before it’s sold out.

 

[Cocoboloboy]

So was the whole possible expansion pack option just a big fat lie like them saying it was cost prohibitive to include the mask?

I’ll be ordering with Kit regardless. Regular for me since I don’t have room for all the extras.

 

[MarkKing]

This is an over 600 dollar figure usd for Web exclusive...
Might be too pricey

 

[batsheva]

This is yet another reason to sit it out for me. Games. Maybe I am just boring in my old age. I just want to walk into a place, see a product, make a decision, and leave with the product in my hands. "Oh, its too cost prohibitive to make a mask." Next day: "Psyche, ya idjits! Only 180! Zoinks!". It's Solomon Grundy levels of dopey.

I agree and share your sentiments.
If the reason is cost-prohibitive, I'm sure people won't mind a price raise on the regular and deluxe versions, as long as the mask is included.

Why bother spending another cost to make a mold just to print 200 pcs of mask, and limit it to the web exclusive only..
That will make the cost of the mask even higher instead of printing more copies and raising a bit of the reg and deluxe version's price.

I get it with the base, it's not too essential.. but the mask? come on now.
I guess the only consolation for me is that the mask is not wearable, decorative only.

 

[Buttmunch]

Yeah I anticipate a bit of blow back on that mask situation. It would have been better for them to keep quiet on answering any questions about it if they wanted it to be a surprise for the preorder. Saying it wasn’t included and might come in an accessory pack was either a straight lie, last minute change, or misunderstanding (translation) with wanting a masked headsculpt. Either way, they should have been upfront with the mask accessory. And really, it should have been included with every figure. Lon Chaney’s phantom probably wears it the least of the Phantoms but doing something like that to a Claude Rains or an Andrew Lloyd Weber Phantom would have been absolutely unthinkable.

 

[matrix69]

I don't know what their thinking is/was, but the mask should have been included with all three different sets.
290 euro for the standard version that comes with no accessories is a bit steep. Compared with the standard Nosferatu that came with four accessories.

Looks like they've laying all their eggs on the moveable eyes feature being the main selling point.

 

[matrix69]

Yeah I anticipate a bit of blow back on that mask situation. It would have been better for them to keep quiet on answering any questions about it if they wanted it to be a surprise for the preorder. Saying it wasn’t included and might come in an accessory pack was either a straight lie, last minute change, or misunderstanding (translation) with wanting a masked headsculpt. Either way, they should have been upfront with the mask accessory. And really, it should have been included with every figure. Lon Chaney’s phantom probably wears it the least of the Phantoms but doing something like that to a Claude Rains or an Andrew Lloyd Weber Phantom would have been absolutely unthinkable.

Chaney wears the mask for half of the movie, which is why i was surprised that a masked/hatted head sculpt wasn't included from the off, let alone just a mask.

Personally i wish they had continued with the two different head sculpts approach of previous releases.

 

[jacksparrow900]

Looks like KP is including a mask as a site exclusive accessory

View attachment 698415

That is a lame attempt at photoshopping someone ones homemade made mask into a photo. Claiming it to be the one you will receive.

 

[Buttmunch]

I don't know what their thinking is/was, but the mask should have been included with all three different sets.
290 euro for the standard version that comes with no accessories is a bit steep. Compared with the standard Nosferatu that came with four accessories.

Looks like they've laying all their eggs on the moveable eyes feature being the main selling point.

Yeah the non-deluxe Phantom isn’t a great value. A base and some hands is really bare bones. $200 more for the organ and accessories isn’t bad by comparison but it is still a very expensive set. And the exclusive even more so. The exclusive version probably being the best value, but the highest overall cost as well.

Th moveable eyes are nice but I don’t think they’ve sold them very well in the photos. Certainly not to the extent I wouldn’t have preferred another head. All their previous releases having alternate heads set them up for disappointment here. The exclusive Hammer figures had 3 heads each!

I was originally thinking something like what we got, plus the mask for a standard/deluxe with maybe the mask removal reveal screaming face as an exclusive with the teased organ. Even without Christine, that is an iconic shot. Erik is very expressive facially (which is actually surprising given the make up) due to the silent film aspect of everything needing to be very visual, in a theatrical type way. Having just the one head, even with moveable eyes falls short of that. Heck, NECA included 5 heads with theirs (4 unmasked).

 

[Dr. Anton Phibes]

Between the prices and the games, they might just find they will turn people off from this, rather than attract them. It worked on me. I may be out for good. I don't like this sort of thing. It makes it easier to just shrug my shoulders, walk away, and go grab a sandwich.

 

[Buttmunch]

I do worry if they turn enough people away we might not see any more monsters come to fruition. Seems Wolfman is likely to be next and thankfully with him he doesn’t have an obvious large diorama piece. He could be bare bones and just fine. Maybe swap out Talbot parts like NECA but nothing truly crucial they could lock behind an exclusive or deluxe paywall. Hopefully being a more popular monster would also help his sales.

The way I see it is KP is likely our one and only shot of getting decent monsters for maybe the next foreseeable future. Universal may push a 100th anniversary in 2031 but I don’t see much else garnering a lot of new interest. Even the NECA front seems to be quieting down now so probably just a random thing here or there like Mondo’s Creature was. It’s been what, 20-25 years since Sideshow? Might be just as long before we see another push from another passionate company. Maybe by then we’ll all be deciding between the breathing and non-breathing versions

 

[newapelles]

That is a lame attempt at photoshopping someone ones homemade made mask into a photo. Claiming it to be the one you will receive. View attachment 698458

This just confirms that the mask was a last minute addition and they hastily photoshopped it in after collectors complained. It's wild that KP never thought about adding a mask prior to people pointing it out- it's one of the most essential components of the film. Huge oversight.

 

[batsheva]

With not so many loyal fans still around and the complicated licensing thingy, I think it would be wise for KP to take another route with their business strategy.. Especially if they want to sell as many products as they can, and in this case, with the Phantom that is not as popular as Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, or the Wolfman.

I get it that they probably think there aren't so many fans of the Phantom compared to Dracula, but making it more exclusive will rather drive the fans away, instead of winning their support.

Honestly, just like Dr. Phibes, I'm starting to lose my appetite for this figure. Was planning to just be ok with ordering the deluxe, but now with the mask bonus, aside from the base on the web exclusive version, the deluxe seems like an incomplete -yet expensive- version.
I think I will settle just with the regular version.

 

[Dr. Anton Phibes]

With not so many loyal fans still around and the complicated licensing thingy, I think it would be wise for KP to take another route with their business strategy.. Especially if they want to sell as many products as they can, and in this case, with the Phantom that is not as popular as Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, or the Wolfman.

I get it that they probably think there aren't so many fans of the Phantom compared to Dracula, but making it more exclusive will rather drive the fans away, instead of winning their support.

Honestly, just like Dr. Phibes, I'm starting to lose my appetite for this figure. Was planning to just be ok with ordering the deluxe, but now with the mask bonus, aside from the base on the web exclusive version, the deluxe seems like an incomplete -yet expensive- version.
I think I will settle just with the regular version.

They definitely threw a big wet blanket over whatever home fires were burning here at the House of Phibes. I am honestly wondering if such antics will ensue with The Wolfman. The exclusive originally somewhat created a feeling of "incompleteness", if unable or unwilling to get that one.... before we knew of the mask. The debacle with Phantom's mask technically makes every other version "incomplete". Like having a Batman figure without a utility belt. Just ridiculous.

 

[mediame]

Their website shows it come with all three different versions.

 

[batsheva]

Their website shows it come with all three different versions.

Oh wait, you are correct!
Seems like ordering the regular from the website is the way!

 

[Dr. Anton Phibes]

Yeah the non-deluxe Phantom isn’t a great value. A base and some hands is really bare bones. $200 more for the organ and accessories isn’t bad by comparison but it is still a very expensive set. And the exclusive even more so. The exclusive version probably being the best value, but the highest overall cost as well.

Th moveable eyes are nice but I don’t think they’ve sold them very well in the photos. Certainly not to the extent I wouldn’t have preferred another head. All their previous releases having alternate heads set them up for disappointment here. The exclusive Hammer figures had 3 heads each!

I was originally thinking something like what we got, plus the mask for a standard/deluxe with maybe the mask removal reveal screaming face as an exclusive with the teased organ. Even without Christine, that is an iconic shot. Erik is very expressive facially (which is actually surprising given the make up) due to the silent film aspect of everything needing to be very visual, in a theatrical type way. Having just the one head, even with moveable eyes falls short of that. Heck, NECA included 5 heads with theirs (4 unmasked).

My kid brother is a lawyer. he makes plenty of money., When I sent him the information, his reply was ; "For $600 I could have a one of a kind piece hand sculpted, or a 3D render produced. It's too high." He's got a point. There are plenty of starving artists out there.

None of this stuff is cheap. I get it. The whole "the only way to get a complete one is from us, not a middle man we wholesale to" simply reeks of ...well, good ole fashioned greed. When companies used to "skip the middle man", it was supposed to be in order to "pass the savings on to consumers". Nowadays it's quite the opposite. Offer the product to retailers. As a single version. Let it sell. Let the market determine the if it's a good seller or not. Don't play games with variants, exclusives, etc. to try to "goose" numbers/profits. It's idiotic. It's about killed the new comic collecting market.

 

[BurningRage]

Reg and deluxe up at Sideshow.

 

[batsheva]

I think it's always good to have several versions so that the customers can adjust their budget and still own a piece.
And I get it, some company has a website exclusive item so that the customers buy directly from them.
The base with the rug, I think that made sense to be a web-exclusive item. It's a non-essential accessory.
I just wish the mask is not a web exclusive, as it is an essential part of the Phantom.

 

[mediame]

I think it's always good to have several versions so that the customers can adjust their budget and still own a piece.
And I get it, some company has a website exclusive item so that the customers buy directly from them.
The base with the rug, I think that made sense to be a web-exclusive item. It's a non-essential accessory.
I just wish the mask is not a web exclusive, as it is an essential part of the Phantom.

It seems like the mask may have been added at the last minute, so perhaps it will also come with the versions sold by other retailers, and they have not yet been provided with updated info/photos?