# Phantom of the Opera (done)



## Hooty (Mar 4, 2000)

I finally have completed my Revell re-issued "Phantom of the Opera". As a kid it was the third monster kit that I ever built. The fourth and final one was "The Forgotten Prisoner". I really enjoyed getting a chance to build this again. At least this time, in my opinion, it came out looking better than when I did it as a kid.















































I didn't like the plain plastic back, of the cell, and sculpted in the rock wall.











Hooty


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

Beautiful work here Hooty :thumbsup:
One of my favorite Auroras!...Love the Bones on the trapped prisoner, I always thought this detail was so cool...
Great Job!!!
Mcdee


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## paulhelfrich (May 11, 2009)

That looks great! Super job!


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Impressively gross, and scary Phantom model!


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## Mark_6478 (Aug 27, 2000)

Outstanding work Russ... Love the color choices you made & your photos are
very sharp! :thumbsup:


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## razorwyre1 (Jan 28, 2004)

seeing great buildups like these always makes me wonder what the original creators of the kits would think if they could see them. 
they probably never envisioned their kits being finished like this.


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## crazypredator2 (Dec 1, 2009)

looks good, i like it.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Thats super cool. Probably one of the best Aurora Phantom's I recall seeing. I like the traditional colors and finish, but executed very very nicely. I had this one as a kid too. I had built up the glow version, and when the movie Phantom of the Paradise came out, I painted some blood on his face and covered the mask with silver foil to make him look like the movie character!


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## Hooty (Mar 4, 2000)

Thanks, fellas! Glad ya'll liked it.

djnick--I just recent watched, "The Phantom of the Paradise" after not seeing it since first seeing it, NEW, at the movie theater years ago. I had forgotten how good it really was. ( just my opinion)


razorwyre1---that is something to think about. I see what others have done to the originals and think how great it would have been to build like that back then. But, super glue, Aves, and dry brushing were not in my 8, to 12 year old vocabulary at that time.


Hooty


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## dklange (Apr 25, 2009)

Great work on the Phantom, Hooty!!!:thumbsup: An really NICE job. Really like your details on the base and prisoner. - Denis


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## louspal (Sep 13, 2009)

Nice,clean detail Mitch! I particularly like what you did with the eyes. Good job!
Brad:thumbsup:


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

Looks terrific! One of the more "life like" phantom models out there!


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## Night-Owl (Mar 17, 2000)

Very cool paint job Russ, well done! :thumbsup: I'm also a fan of *Phantom of the Paradise*. Saw it in the theatre when it first came out back in the day. Been thinking about converting an Aurora phantom into the POTP.


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## Hooty (Mar 4, 2000)

Go for it, Rick! Bet it turns out great.


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## Hooty (Mar 4, 2000)

Just realized that I forgot to paint his eyebrows. :freak:


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

There's something really "eeeeeeeeeeeeeee" about those red lips, Hooty, and you may be the only modeler in history to restainhimself from painting black circles around the Phantom's eyes. The lack of color on the eyebrows gives a weird touch - it looks like the Phantom has just gotten up in the morning or something. In short, he's quite distinctive.

The only quibble I have is, the wounds on the Prisoner aren't bleeding. You have rust staining the bottom of his dungeon bars, where's the bloody blood? Otherwise, all the base elements are as well done, IMHO, as the figure.


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## Hooty (Mar 4, 2000)

I think that if the Phantom had looked more like Chaney I would have probably painted the eyes with dark circles. As far as the prisoner's wounds not bleeding, I hadn't thought that through very well. But that is easily fixed. I'm thinking of attaching the whole thing to wood base later, which is something that I need to do for my other two monster buildups.


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## MonsterModelMan (Dec 20, 2000)

Great job, Russ, on your Phantom kit! Your use of color and drybrushing looks very good! And yes...we all suffer from the no AVES and drybrushing ideas as kids...man these are different times today for sure! 

Nice job!:thumbsup:

MMM


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Hooty said:


> ...I'm thinking of attaching the whole thing to wood base later...


That's what I do, O Mighty Hootster. If I may suggest:

You can use old trophy plaques (of which I have no doubt you have a large quantity); the metal plates are usually attached with very strong double stick tape. If you protect the wood with a bit of masking tape, you can pry up a corner of the plate with a screwdriver, then peal it off with a pair of pliers. Goo Gone or rubbing alcohol should remove any tape reisdue.
If you don't have any trophy plaques handy (presumably because you don't like shooting fish in a barrel at model contests), you can get them on the cheap from your local bowling trophy shop - I just picked up three bases for some 1/4 scale busts at my LBTS for ten dollars.
You can get an unfinished wood plaque at Hobby Lobby, Michael's, or some other crafts/woodworking supply store. If you trace the base of your model onto a piece of paper and cut out the "footprint" before you go, it'll be a snap to fit it on the plaques in the store and ensure you're getting the right shape and size.
I've used a thick glob of five minute two-part epoxy glue to attach most of my monster models onto these plaques. During construction I rough up the inside edges of the bottom of the kit base with really coarse - 80 or 60 grit - sandpaper, which helps the glue grip the model. The footprint cutout serves to locate the model's position on the plaque so I can rough up the corresponding area there as well.
I like to use those cheap, disposable plastic paint brushes (available at dollar stores at two dozen for a buck) to apply the epoxy around the inside edge of the model base. It's necessary to work fast, not only to keep the glue from dripping onto the outside of the base, but to get it applied and the model placed on the plaque before the glue begins to cure; however, its holding power is very strong, so I don't worry about getting every bit of the inside of the model base covered.
Gravity pulls the glue down around the inner edges of the model base and onto the craft plaque. All I have to do is place the model where I want it and then hold it in position until the glue has set up. It's a hassle to keep the epoxy from running out from under the model, so I do as little repositioning as possible. A little lacquer thinner on a Q-Tip will clean the glue off as long as it hasn't had too long to cure (although I have to take care not to mess up the finish of either the model or the base with the solvent). If the epoxy isn't too obvious or in a hard-to-reach spot, I'll just dab a little Dullcote over it; no judge has ever told me my model didn't place because of epoxy smears.
The craft plaque also affords you a means of adding some security to your model. I decoupage my business card to the underside of all my bases. That way, if any sticky-fingered fan of my work decides to pay me a back-handed compliment by swiping the model off a contest or display table, I can prove my ownership of the piece. This little trick has paid off for me twice.
Finally, I like to stick little self-adhesive felt pads to the underside of the display base. They protect the surface the base rests on while giving purchase for the fingers of anyone who might need to pick the model up. That keeps the greasy paws of any ham-handed judge from coming in contact with the finish of my model.
Hope I haven't bored you too much with all this stuff, Hooty, but the alternative is for you learn it the hard way, and there's plenty enough of that already in this hobby!


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## mrmurph (Nov 21, 2007)

A friend of mine who built up the Forgotten Prisoner for me attached the kit to a base and affixed a nice little copper plaque. Very nice, and I had never thought of doing so!


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## Rebel Rocker (Jan 26, 2000)

WOW! That looks GREAT! The prisoner looks especially gruesome!!

Wayne


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## hedorah59 (Nov 24, 2008)

Very nicely done, Hooty! Looks very creepy, just like the Phantom should. I especially like the job you did on his face :thumbsup:

And some nice tips on the wood base, Mark - Thanks!


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## paulhelfrich (May 11, 2009)

Hooty said:


> Just realized that I forgot to paint his eyebrows. :freak:


I think they were burned off in his accident anyway.


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

Paul's right. They shouldn't be there and I have found that they look too overpowering once painted there.


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## Hooty (Mar 4, 2000)

Thanks for the base tips, Mark! 

Ok Fellers, no brows it is. Besides I have work to do on a Wolfman kit that I would rather do.:thumbsup:

Hooty


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## beck (Oct 22, 2003)

beautiful work Russ .:thumbsup:
hb


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## Mitchellmania (Feb 14, 2002)

I think the Aurora Phantom is one of my favorites of the series! You did a great job!! ( I don't thing the Chaney Phantom had eye brows.


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## ark undertaker (Jul 2, 2009)

I wonder how I missed this. 
That's a great looking Phantom, Hooty:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
I really like the sculpting you did on the base wall.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

I don't know how I missed this one either. A very nice build. Did you do anything special to the black clothing, any shading or high lighting which is about impossible with black? Or did the light from the camera just make it appear so? I was told on here that trying to do such things with black is impossible or very difficult. Anyway, very nice build and more ideas for when I get around to mine.


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## Hooty (Mar 4, 2000)

It was probably the lighting and camera. I used flat black craft paint and sealed it with Krylon Clear Flat. Never have been able to do a satisfactory job of highlighting black paint. Not saying it's impossible, just that I haven't been able to.


Glad ya'll liked it!


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I think the black looks super. When I posted my Aurora Dracula pics people asked me about how I shaded that one... and I hadn't! It was just Poly Scale Night Black out of the jar. These figures are large enough that they tend to shade and highlight themselves enough that you can get away with less painted on shading.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

I have found that if I apply flat black from a spray can (hardware store brands do fine) over primer, the two paints provide sufficient texture to grab paint for drybrushing. A medium gray works well - only a little, to highlight the folds of cloth and major contours. Then, as dj points out, most room light will take care of highlights, even when the paint has been sealed with Testors Dullcote.


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