Paul's Bloggiversary Phantom of the Opera Part 2 – The Aurora Kit Itself

Hi Woodsy,

Aurora released their movie Monster kits in the 1960s and 1970s, with the kits remaining available in to the 21st Century. Both Polar Lights and Atlantis have re-issued many of these classics in recent years.

My first taste of an Aurora Monster kit was the Atlantis 1/8th scale Phantom of the Opera. Mine is the most recent version, copyright date 2022, moulded in Metallic Green plastic, and with the Premium Hobbies name on the side of the box.

Atlantis kits have a prefix which identifies the original source of the kit – in this case A for Aurora, followed by the original Aurora kit number. The Premium Hobbies version also has a PH suffix.

The Chaney Entertainment logo appears on one end of the box. This is in the old Hard Box style, with a glossy paper slick glued to a heavy cardboard box lid.

The kit contains 34 parts. In addition to the Phantom himself, there is a prisoner in the dungeon, a lizard, and a two-piece rat.

Eric is holding his famous mask, with his face exposed. He stands on a rocky base, which includes a moulded name plate.

The standard of detailing is this kit is outstanding. Every detail of Erik’s face, and clothing, is shown, along with the poor creature in the dungeon.

Basic construction is fairly simple, with most of the components – head, body, arms, legs, and shoes, being moulded in two halves. Oddly, the thumb of the right hand is a separate part.

The left hand, cape, cord, cravat, and mask are separate parts. Construction is nice and simple.

The base has two separate rocks, flanking the prison cell. The poor inmate (who is in a terrible state), comprises only a half-head which is glued to the back wall of the dungeon, and two forearms which are holding the bars of his cell window.

To further dress up the scene, there is a rat (Aurora really loved rats – they were included with most of the Monster kits), and a small lizard. These scenic bases are a great feature of the Aurora Monster kits, and are great fun.

Next up will be the construction. This is a beautiful kit, and I will certainly be getting more of these Atlantis re-issues when I can.

All eight photographs are mine.

Paul Adams

New Zealand

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Part 3 7pm UK Time Tomorrow