ATLANTIS MODELS PHANTOM OF THE OPERA KIT REVIEW

NOW PLAYING:  LONG-BOX VERSION AND GLOW-PARTS VERSION!

By Bill Engar

Atlantis Models’ first monster kit was Phantom of the Opera!  It comes from original Aurora tooling.
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ON TONIGHT'S PLAYBILL:  ATLANTIS MODELS RELEASES TWO PHANTOM OF THE OPERA MODEL KITS IN 2020.  BOTH KITS IMPROVE ON PREVIOUS VERSIONS OF THIS CLASSIC AURORA FIGURE MODEL.  COLLECTORS AND BUILDERS ALIKE WILL BE HAPPY.  IF YOU CAN'T DECIDE WHICH ONE TO GET, BUY BOTH--WHILE YOU STILL CAN.

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Two versions of Phantom were produced by Atlantis!  You’ll want to get both!
 
Phantom of the Opera is one of the first of Aurora Models’ legendary monster figure kits from 1963.  Atlantis Models  released the long-box version of Phantom in February, 2020.  It was sold out by summer!  Luckily for Phantom fans who weren’t able to get one, Atlantis has released a special glow-in-the-dark version of Phantom of the Opera!

For the first time since about 1970, Phantom of the Opera returns in a square box - with glow-in-the-dark parts!  The new Atlantis logo and Lon Chaney emblem distinguish this release.  The hideous Phantom never looked so good!

Stories like Nosferatu, Jekyl and Hyde, and Hunchback of Notre Dame received film adaptations in the early 20th Century, but Phantom of the Opera (1925) with Lon Chaney was truly a landmark film in the genre, and it is this film adaptation that is referenced by the Phantom of the Opera model kit.  Stay tuned for our bonus features as we elaborate.

Here's what greets you when you first open the box.  Glow-parts are in their own bag.

Even though the 1925 film became technically antiquated with its silent-era presentation a very long time ago, Lon Chaney’s Phantom portrayal is unmatched in its impact by later movie reboots in 1943 and 1962.  His visage is still horrifying a century later and stands with any contemporary horror movie character!
 
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1986 musical stage version of Phantom of the Opera has the distinction of being the longest-running Broadway production demonstrating that the story shows no sign of waning in popularity in our culture.  It is no surprise that Atlantis is onto something with a strong-selling kit.
 

Atlantis’ current version of Phantom comes in an attractive square box.  While the original 1963 version of Phantom was a popular kit, sales of the Aurora Monsters model kit line softened as the 1960’s drew to a close.  In an effort to revitalize sales, Aurora decided to include a sprue of glow-in-the-dark parts with the kit.  There was some confusion among purchasers as to which kit had the new glow parts or not, and it was decided to package the kits with glow-parts in square boxes by the early 1970’s so that modelers had no doubt as to what they were getting.

TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE:  The plastic contents of the kit.  Glow-sprue on the left.  Note that all parts from the regular kit are there as well--the glow-parts are duplicates of original kit parts!

Kit parts molded in gray styrene plastic.  An extra sprue of glow-parts is included.  Aurora apparently took masters for the original parts and made a new mold with a few key parts on a different sprue that would make a creepy glowing display when substituted for the regular gray parts.  The regular non-glow parts are still included; in fact, the standard non-glow kit is still there in its original form.  All the glow-parts are duplicates of those original parts—so you essentially get two sets of those kit pieces.

The Glow-Parts sprue.  Having a duplicate set of parts opens up some interesting possibilities for your build!

The glow sprue with the lights out.  No enhancement was done to this photo, and no black-light was used.  The sprue was set on a table about five feet away from a ceiling light for a few minutes, and the light was shut off for this photo.

Perhaps the single item that makes the Phantom kit stand out is the sculpting on the face.  Overall, it is extremely well-done.  Things like skin textures, wrinkles, and tortured expression were executed flawlessly by Aurora Models over a half-century ago.  The mouth and teeth were particularly well orchestrated, and with a little paint and weathering, your model will make a striking display on your shelf!

Here's a closeup shot of just the figure parts.  Note that the Unfortunate Victim (part of the diorama base) is included here as well.  Sculpting for this figure is just top-notch.  Wrinkles on the clothing, the shapes; everything was just extremely well done and Atlantis' execution of everything here is picture-perfect! 

The rat has a very nice fur-texture that will look great with some dry-brushing.  In addition to the lizard, we have the thumb to Phantom's right hand, and the neck-cord to his cloak.

The face is not the only thing that makes it an iconic vintage horror figure kit.  Aurora Models gave their 1/8-scale Phantom a perfect, dramatic pose.  Even if you haven’t seen the movie, you know that Phantom has just revealed his hideous face after ripping off his mask, which is held high in the air!  Even though frozen in eternity, the figure’s body language conveys his tortured soul and helps bring it to "life."  Phantom’s floppy bow suggests that he lives in another era, and the cape reveals subtly that he either has dark powers or maestro talents!

I believe this presentation alone would have made this a classic kit even if the base had only consisted of a plain, flat piece of plastic.  But Aurora Models went for extra credit in the form of a base that is a model kit in itself.  The gory, tortured victim lets you know that The Phantom is an entity to fear.  His twisted face and wounded arms add to the creepy nature of this model.  Inclusion of this feature in this kit originally probably helped influence some parent groups to boycott Aurora models not long after the monster kits came out.  Perhaps we’ll never know how many original young builders became axe-murderers solely after building these kits, (I’d guess it’s somewhere between zero and none) but I’d be surprised if anybody still complains about them today considering what else is out there.

Parts to the base (plus Phantom's right hand) can be seen here.  The Unfortunate Victim , pictured elsewhere is also part of the base.

In addition to the hewn block “dungeon,” there is a rocky base that will be fun to weather.  If this wasn’t enough, a very nice rat and lizard reveal the squalid conditions in which The Phantom lives—yup, he resides in the sewer!  You never knew such a world could exist below an opera house, but Atlantis Models’ Phantom kit will make you believe it.

Phantom collectors take note!  This is the bottom of Atlantis' box.  The Ghoulish-Green complexion of Phantom in this photo suggests a build that can utilize the glow-in-the-dark parts.

Even with all this cool stuff, “Phantom” is not that hard to build.  Minimum, you’ll want some type of glue made for styrene plastic.  It comes in liquid form with a brush, or in a tube.  We like the liquid-type the best.  A hobby knife to trim and clean up parts is needed, too.
 
Some of the parts have some gaps as you might expect from a 1960’s vintage plastic model kit.  Some sort of model building putty should be on hand if you want to fill them.  If you’ve built a glue-kit or two, you should have no trouble building Phantom. 
 
Files for plastic and various grits of sandpaper ranging from fine to extra-fine will be helpful.  In addition to a little flash, there are a few minor sinkholes.  There are a few parts that show some signs of age and previous use on the tooling that might need a little cleanup if you tend picky toward your model building, but there’s nothing that will challenge the builder or lessen the experience of building the classic Phantom of the Opera kit. 

Phantom’s face, hands, and floppy bowtie glow in the dark if you expose the plastic to room light for a couple minutes or so and then turn the lights out.  A few parts on the base glow as well.  The unfortunate victim in Phantom’s cellar-dungeon also glows.  He might be the reason your mother wouldn’t let you have this kit originally.  Order one up today without telling her.  The rat and lizard glow as well! 

Instruction sheet is a single 11X17" foldout.

The meat of the instruction page includes original Aurora artwork.  Just a handful of diagrams are needed for a model that's not a complex endeavor to complete.

As mentioned previously, Atlantis had a previous release of this kit in a long-box version that has sold out on their website.  At time of review, it can still be found at hobby outlets. 

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You’ll be happy with Atlantis Models’ Phantom of the Opera kit.  Whether you’re a builder or just a Phantom collector, you can’t go wrong with this kit, which is guaranteed to become a collector’s item.
 
Dem Brudders love this kit and thank Atlantis for providing the “Glow Kit” version for us to review here.  We give it an enthusiastic four thumbs up!

Four sides of the box are similar, just like the classic Aurora release.  This one contains the technical specs of the kit:  Ten inches high, 46 parts.  Made in USA.

Here is the Amazon link for the latest version of the Atlantis Models'  Phantom of the Opera in the Square Box.  You can learn even more about the kit here including pricing and availability.  As Amazon Affiliates, we get a small referral commission on any purchases made after clicking on these links.  This helps our website with no additional cost to you.

At time of posting, you can get TWO versions of Phantom of the Opera, both 2020 kits from Atlantis.  Here's the Amazon link for the Long-Box version of Phantom, released prior to Square Box.  We don't know how much longer you'll be able to get this one since it's not available on Atlantis' website!

STAY TUNED - WE'LL POST SOME ADDITIONAL BONUS FEATURES ABOUT PHANTOM OF THE OPERA AND BOTH ATLANTIS PHANTOM KITS!

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