Paul's Aurora Phantom Part 4: The Painted Kit

Hi Woodsy

The Phantom of the Opera is, naturally, dressed for the Opera. In fact, it is very similar to what Count Dracula is wearing.

The suit and cape are usually black, although other dark, formal colours are allowed – dark grey or dark blue. The shirt is white; and the tie or cravat is either black (formal), or white (very formal).

Photographs of Erik from the 1925 film show a dark cravat, and a dark waistcoat. I wanted to add a little colour to the model, without going overboard, as otherwise the figure is mainly black and white, on a grey base.

In order to reach certain areas, it is necessary to only partly assemble the model, before painting it. The kit is moulded in a metallic green plastic, so I applied a light grey undercoat.

All painting was done with Humbrol or Tamiya enamel paints. Following final assembly, a little touching up may be required.

I painted the coat, trousers, and outside of the cape in matt black, with the shoes in semi-gloss black (Humbrol 85 Coal Black). The shirt is matt white.

As explained earlier, I used a couple of short lengths of heat stretched sprue to define the edge of the waistcoat, and make painting easier. This certainly worked, and I painted the waistcoat a mustard yellow (Humbrol 81).

The cravat is a dark red, with the lining of the cape a much brighter red (Humbrol 174 Satin Red). There is also a cord across the front of the cape, which is yellow.

The buttons on the shirt and waist coat are Tamiya Flat Aluminum. I could not find my gold paint, so the buttons on the coat are Humbrol 54 Brass.

Painting the face is clearly the make or break part of this model. The face is very well sculpted, which makes painting a lot easier.

The inside of the mouth and nostrils are a deep pink. Erik has dark, sunken eyes, lips, and lines across his face. These were painted a dark pink/brown, and then largely over painted with a pale flesh colour.

The eyeballs are very pale grey/off-white – I never use white for the eyes, as it is too stark. The iris and pupils are a dark metallic grey.

The teeth are again off-white, not white. The hair and eyebrows are matt black, dry-brushed with Tamiya Tyre Black (although this is barely noticeable).

The mask is full strength flesh, with matt black for the hair, dry-brushed with semi-gloss black. This contrasts with Erik’s actual face.

The base comprises mottled dark/medium grey rocks, with a little light grey dry-brushing. The rat is brown, with a deep pink tail, ears, and eyes.

The movie title ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ appears in raised lettering at the front. For this I experimented with a gold Sharpie marker pen, although I am not sure how permanent this is on a painted surface ?

The stone blocks of the cell are a more uniform mid-grey, lightly dry-brushed with a lighter grey. Tamiya Burnt Iron (a dark metallic grey) was used for the steel bars.

The cell is very shallow, and to try and hide this lack of depth I painted the interior a solid dark grey, to create the illusion of inky blackness. No dry-brushing for the back wall, which helps with the feeling of depth.

The prisoner himself is in a very poor state, and I deliberately avoided a detailed finish, as he is just a shadowy figure in the background. I went with a pale flesh, toned down with light grey; and brown hair; with the eyes and mouth painted as for Erik.

The kit is very well moulded, and the fit is excellent. My only concern is that the join between the legs and the body does not seem very secure, although the parts fit well.

The only major area of contact is between the buttocks and the tails of the coat. There are a couple of small tabs on the legs, which fit inside the body, but basically the body is just sitting on top of the legs.

I would suggest adding some extra tabs from pieces of plastic card, to increase the amount of plastic to plastic contact, to strengthen this join. I used tube cement for the final assembly.

The cape is a very large, heavy single piece of plastic, and is glued directly to the shoulders, with no location pins or tabs. The cord across the front of the cape might need a little bending to fit correctly.

In conclusion – this is a wonderful model. In 52 years of modelling, it is one of the best kits I have ever built – Aurora did a first class job back in 1964.

I started this model the day I received it – 25th July 2026, and finished it on 4th September – a lightning fast build by my standards. I certainly plan on building more of these Aurora movie monsters.

Ten photographs, all mine.

Paul Adams from New Zealand