KISS - Dressed To Kill

[MIB41]

Farrow has got some fantastic close up photos of all the production 12 inch figures on his Facebook page. Very nice. I haven't seen the 8 inch Gene close up yet, but it absolutely looks different. You know there is so much likeness on Peter, I'm really surprised he could not sue KISS for his likeness over and above the makeup. I mean you can clearly see that is Peter Criss.

[noelani72]

^^I hear ya Tom…that is the #1 reason I wanted these figures - Farrow sculpts made on a mass-scale.

But, the 8" Gene does not follow the DTK theme…and FTC's website page for the 8" Gene is misleading..it does not reflect this never-before-seen head.

[MIB41]

I read Farrow had to make a number of sculpt changes, so I think the original intent had to be switched. I dare say when the 12 inch sculpt got shrunked down, it didn't translate properly, so they scrapped it. My thoughts. Paul and Peter on the 12 inch scale look excellent. I'll have to have those. Ace is descent but the likeness is still kind of iffy. Gene is okay, but that smile just looks off to me. Hard to do expressions like that. It's very open to personal interpretation. I know their coming out with figures in their Alive outfits and the sculpts are different there. So I'm hoping I might get my definitive Gene and Ace from that lot. But Farrow does awesome work. No one beats him. This is a tremendouse first shot out of the gate. He should be commended.

[noelani72]

nope, the Gene 12" head did not get shrunk - they made an entirely different head for the 8" Gene - expressionless, unlike the Dressed to Kill Lp cover picture.

My expectations for the DTK line was probably higher than it should of been (second guessing myself a lot lately with FTC).
But, long before FTC acquired KISS, I was familiar with Farrow's work as I had seen it on other sites and Ebay…so when he got hired, the bar raised quite high. Danny is an exceptional artist and he is a great asset to FTC.

Most folks here know I am KISS-fan at heart - but I have a budget. When the 12" repro Mego figs came out, those were a must…and we had issues with bodies being strung too tight, face paint with obvious brush touch-ups, and hair that was so unattractive/dis-similar to how Mego did it in the 1970's…well…it was what it was.

Look at all the other KISS lines…and speaking as a KISS fan, there is simply no interest in them, aside from perhaps the various Gene figures because of his costumes. 'I' don't have them all, and the sole reason I have the First LP KISS figures is because I received them as a Xmas gift last year.

But DTK…like I said, expectations rose very high in my head and I was hell bent on getting them come hell or high water…perhaps in both formats 8" and 12"..which is a first for me.

Then out of nowhere, a pic of an unknown Gene head shows up in their FB pic this week. Kudos to FTC for quickly promoting product and getting folks riled-up their pre-orders were finally shipping…but whoa, Gene is NOT what we've been fed over the past few months.
To me, that is inexcusable.

It is no different than Marvel hyping the release of Iron Man 3 on Bluray, you wait three months in anticipation…it comes out. You rush to the store and buy it, plan an evening with your family and friends to screen it. You sit everyone down, popcorn in hand and start the show…just to discover that Marvel turned it into a cartoon.
Make sense?

[MIB41]

^^^ I completely understand and many thanks for the insight on the head. I was unaware of that. Very cool. I can understand your frustration. It will be interesting to see what the close ups photos for the eight inch look like.

[mego maniac mark]

Now I am worried about this series. I too fell in love with those photos , especially the Gene grin which looked so cool. All of them for that matter looked just like the album cover ( one of my fave's) which is why I want them. I have not got any of the other kiss figures, but have asked Santa for these. I hope I am not let down

[Wise4671]

I was going to buy a set of the 8"ers until I seen that the head sculpts are now different then what was being shown. Come on FTC you got the ball rolling big time with the Batman release don't slow it down like this.

[THE FALCON]

Wow, what a big difference in Gene's head sculpt. I like the first version much better.

[CrimsonGhost]

Why didn't they just reduce the 12" Farrow sculpts? Is it just the Gene that is different or is it actually all of them? Weird...

[noelani72]

ya know, I really don't understand why they do what they do…it's like they are struggling as a company (even though they've been around well over a decade) or there are too many hands in the cookie jar to keep stories and websites straight.

I mean, companies get sued for stuff like this - its called False Advertising. To win, one must prove they were hurt by the deception.
Well, not sure how you claim damages over a toy that doesn't look as it was advertised, but what it "IS" should not matter.

Go to their site right now, here let me help you…
8" Gene DTK sales page:
http://figurestoycompany.com/kiss8in...lthedemon.aspx

IT says, in addition to a beautiful photo of an excellent figure…
"The Demon's face paint and outfit were derived from KISS's album entitled "Dressed to Kill" that was released on March 19th, 1975. His highly detailed legendary style comes complete with a gray scale pinstripe suit, matching the albums cover."

Here is the album cover:
cover_dtk_large.jpg

Here is a side-by-side comparison of the 8" figure that is shipping according to the pic off their Facebook wall:
Screen Shot 2013-12-05 at 3.39.03 PM.jpg

I just don't understand and if you can't tell from my tone, I am pretty disappointed.

[thunderbolt]

Makes me nervous about the 66 Batstuff. Will they just show us the 12 inch figures as prototypes then pull a bait and switch with the actual product?

[CrimsonGhost]

It's fascinating, really. The angle of the 8" photo makes it hard to tell what is going on. I've thought since the prototypes that the smile on Gene looked odd...I wonder if he actually is smiling and he's just sculpted with a underbite and at this angle it looks like he's not smiling. The jury is still out.

But then, if the head is different, I wonder why? Maybe the color version will have the smile? Curious to see how it comes out.

[noelani72]

Makes me nervous about the 66 Batstuff. Will they just show us the 12 inch figures as prototypes then pull a bait and switch with the actual product?

BINGO - that's my point.
I am so disappointed that I have been fed photos of an AWESOME sculptor's work…..that as of today was still being shown as the "big grin and teeth" head for sale on the 8" figure…just to learn that - ohhhhhhh we couldn't shrink the nice Farrow 12" head properly, sooooooo instead we just whipped this one up cuz it's just as good".

That's the way I read the switch and I am really really disappointed.
I was so wanting this line (based strictly on the photos FTC themselves released) in both formats…but now, the Gene head is totally off and wrong..it's like ordering a Superman and it comes with and Aquaman head….makes no sense.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

I don't think I'd call it a "bait and switch." Figures are almost always different from proto/test shot stage to final product. That's a big reason I don't do pre-orders.

Don C.

[Astronut]

This is my personal take. I, for one, am grateful and thrilled that there is a company that is actually giving us Mego-style figures in the year 2013. Seriously. I mean, there's nothing wrong with discussing these things (slight disappointment etc) but I cannot imagine complaining about a head sculpt deviation when I have had dreams for nearly 30 years of Megos coming back from the dead. No lie. I have literally woken up from at least a dozen dreams of finding Megos back in stores hanging on peg hooks... or finding cases of them in an abandoned warehouse. I am so happy to know we are not only getting good quality Mego-type figures like the KISS lines and now the DC WGSH stuff. Holy ****. Seriously. I am extremely thankful for these things, warts and all.