Polar Lights 1/6 Scale KISS Figures

By Ernest Thomas

Background

You wanted the best and you got it. The hottest band in the land.....KISS!

And my pre-adolescent world was rocked to the point of no return. KISS. The height of glam-rock from the '70's. They had it all; rockin songs, the costumes, the fire-breathing, blood-spitting, exploding stage show, the mystery of who was under all that make-up. How they scared my parents! With the reunion of the original members a few years ago, complete with the make-up, I was able to re-live those care-free, chaotic years for an evening when the tour came to my town. I felt like I was thirteen again. So when Polar Lights announced the KISS models, I was excited.

The Kits (Click on Thumbnails for larger image)

The models consist of four individual injection-molded figures, sold separately, that build up into a 3-D diorama of the KISS Destroyer album cover. Each kit comes with a full color card-stock backdrop to stand the completed models in front of to complete the presentation. You'll end up with three extra backdrops if you buy all four models. Each of the figures also comes with a plastic rock base, which all fit together like a puzzle when completed. .

Due to the limitations of the injection molding process, each figure averages 28 to 34 parts, including the bases. This inevitably leads to lots of seams that need to be filled and sanded. The alternative would be solid resin figures that would be well out of my price range. Personally, I have more time than money, so I'll gladly accept the seams and spend the time filling and sanding while keeping the checking account in the black. But to give credit where it's due, the guys at Polar Lights made the effort to put the seams where they would naturally occur anyway, like the boot tops, belts, hair lines, etc...... It wasn't possible to hide all the seams this way, but they tried. I especially liked that they didn't put seams right down the middle of the faces on Gene Simmons dragon boots. The models themselves were very easy to put together. I really only looked at the instructions for the Gene Simmons model to make sure I got the armor parts right. Otherwise, the models can only go together one way, and I spent an average of 45 minutes assembling each kit, from cutting the cello on the box to putting the completely assembled models on the bench for the night. The real work will be spent on the seams and painting.

There were a few things I didn't care for with these models. Nothing real major, but enough to bug a KISS fan. These include:

• Re-working the hair on the Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley figures (it should be curly),

• Repositioning Paul Stanley's right leg and right arm,

• Re-working Gene Simmons eyes to give them a more sinister look,

• Adding bigger and better looking spikes on Gene's armor and boots,

• Adding the leather bat wings to Gene's costume,

• Thinning the dagged trim on the arms of the Peter Criss figure,

• Possibly a complete repositioning of the pose on the Ace Frehley figure.

But for these few things I didn't like, there's plenty that I do like. The subject matter, which is great, the ease of construction, the efforts to reduce the seam work needed. The thick plastic, which I would normally hate, should make the few corrections easier to accomplish.

All in all, these are fun models of neat subjects. I had fun building them and I'm sure I'll have fun painting them. I hope Polar Lights does well with these kits. Maybe they'll do some other rock & roll subjects. I could give them a list; Pete Townshend, Jimmy Page, Alice Cooper, Johnny Rotten, Joey Ramone...