Many people are not aware of this, but the Sideshow 8 inch Phantom of the Opera figure has two completely different unmasked head sculpts.
It is the only figure in the entire line to have a running change variant. Now, here is where it gets strange.
When I first discovered it years ago I contacted Sideshow to ask them about it. Strangely, no one seemed to know WHY it was done.
Naturally, I assumed it was a likeness issue, so I then contacted Ron at Chaney Entertainment, and much to my surprise, he was completely unaware of the revised head.
The really strange thing is, the first release head is IMO, more film accurate, and has much more detailed paint applications which are in line with the rest of
the figures in the series.
Making it stranger still is the fact that this second head sculpt is very scarce, while the first release is common.
Usually, with any running change, it's the first version that ends up being more difficult to find. This begs the question...WHY was it changed at all?
Why pay for new tooling then hardly make any figures with the new head?
None of it makes any sense, and no one at Sideshow or Chaney Ent. has any clear answer as to why it happened. We may never know the answer.
![](https://i.postimg.cc/3JDMXFYy/Phantom-Heads-1.jpg)
![](https://i.postimg.cc/P5Gg2v5S/Phantom-Heads-2.jpg)
It is the only figure in the entire line to have a running change variant. Now, here is where it gets strange.
When I first discovered it years ago I contacted Sideshow to ask them about it. Strangely, no one seemed to know WHY it was done.
Naturally, I assumed it was a likeness issue, so I then contacted Ron at Chaney Entertainment, and much to my surprise, he was completely unaware of the revised head.
The really strange thing is, the first release head is IMO, more film accurate, and has much more detailed paint applications which are in line with the rest of
the figures in the series.
Making it stranger still is the fact that this second head sculpt is very scarce, while the first release is common.
Usually, with any running change, it's the first version that ends up being more difficult to find. This begs the question...WHY was it changed at all?
Why pay for new tooling then hardly make any figures with the new head?
None of it makes any sense, and no one at Sideshow or Chaney Ent. has any clear answer as to why it happened. We may never know the answer.
![](https://i.postimg.cc/3JDMXFYy/Phantom-Heads-1.jpg)
![](https://i.postimg.cc/P5Gg2v5S/Phantom-Heads-2.jpg)
![](https://i.postimg.cc/yxtMqkXY/Phantom-Heads-3.jpg)
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