The Incredible Shrinking 31 Days of Toy Terror: The Phantom of the Opera (Masque of the Red Death) from Universal Studios Monsters Little Big Heads by Sideshow Toys

 

   This year's 31 Days of Toy Terror was not intended to be so heavily focused on the Universal Monsters crew but, hey, that's what I like and I have a pretty decent collection of them. Today I'm checking out the first figure I've ever reviewed from Sideshow Toys' 1999 Universal Studios Monsters Little Big Heads: The Phantom of the Opera in his Masque of the Red Death guise. The standard version of the Phantom was released in the first series of Little Big Heads in 1999 while this figure was released as part of the second series in 2000. Sideshow Toys really went all in on the Universal Monsters around the turn of the millennium and released a lot of really high quality product. These guys are 4-inch figures with the aesthetics of a bobblehead (though their heads don't bobble!) and Sideshow released a decent cast of characters in multiple color variants (full color, greyscale, bronze, glow-in-the-dark, etc.). I love the Phantom in this outfit! Ready for the terrifying Phantom to get even creepier? Than join me after the break...

The Facts:

Height: 4 inches

Articulation: Swivel head.

Accessories: None

Year of Release: 2000

Original Retail Price: $6 dollars

The Positives:

* The crimson colors against the Phantom's white skull mask really stand out here. The Little Big Heads are around 4 inches tall and have a miniature bobblehead aesthetic. The head does rotate a bit, but it's a bit stiff, so be careful. They're rendered in a fairly realistic style, unlike, say, a Funko POP! or something, but the heads are oversized and the details are exaggerated. Almost like something from a Mad magazine comic. The detail is nice, though, as these do appear to be fairly accurate to their onscreen counterparts and the Phantom has the benefit of being able to compare colors with his onscreen counterpart as this scene was colorized for the silent film.  

* That skull head mask sure is spooky. I think it's because the eyes show through, and they just look like they don't belong with the rest of the skull. They're very eerie! The skull has a blending of paint to really accentuate the details and elements like the teeth. It's just a mask in the film, sure, but it definitely shows that the Phantom was dedicated to his craft.

* The Phantom's hat is pretty swanky, festooned with a long red feather. This hat definitely couldn't be pulled off by just anyone; you really need that certain panache that only the Phantom has. The paintwork and sculpted detail even makes the hat look like it's made from leather rather than plastic. It's a good effect.

* I love his staff! I dressed like the Wolf Man for Halloween last year and while I'll probably do that again this year, I'd love to put this costume together for Halloween one year. Or maybe for HeroesCon.

* I really think it's neat when the base of a figure or statue utilizes the base in an interesting way, such as how the edge of the Phantom's robe flows over the base. It's a neat visual effect.

* One thing I like about Sideshow's figures from this era is that they have the names of the characters printed on the bases. It's an interesting touch that gives the figures a museum like quality. Hard to say why I like it so much, but I do.

The Negatives:




* Overall the paintwork is pretty good on this guy, though there are some places (like on the Phantom's fingers) that look a bit gloppy. 

   How's this Little Big Head of the Phantom of the Opera? He's quite cool. I've managed to acquire a few of these over the years but I've never reviewed any on here before. This is a pretty cool take on the character and I'm impressed by (most) of the paint work and the strength of the sculpt. Sideshow had a lot of success with their Universal Monsters lines, probably because they both released some quality product and they had a robust character selection. I'd love to see more companies releasing Universal Monsters stuff today delve even deeper into the Universal Classic Horror archives. This is a Great minifigure and a cool tribute to a film that's now 100 years old!


 If you're looking for more of the Phantom of the Opera then check out my review of the Sideshow Phantom of the Opera (Silver Screen Edition), NECA's Toony Terrors The Phantom of the Opera, Funko's ReAction The Phantom of the Opera, Super7's ReAction of The Phantom of the Opera as the Masque of the Red Death, and The Phantom from Monster in My Pocket.

If you're interested in more of the Masque of the Red Death from Edgar Allan Poe's story, I've actually revieweded the Mythos Expansion 2: Edgar Allan Poe & Red Death, the Figura Obscura The Masque of the Red Death, and the Super7 Universal Monsters ReAction The Phantom of the Opera as The Masque of The Red Death.