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McFarlane Brings KISS Alive with Love Gun Boxed Set From: sportsology.net by Kathleen Oliver 
The rock group KISS has always been larger than life to their fans, and their superhero likenesses have adorned many toys throughout their career. This August, McFarlane Toys will bring KISS's "Love Gun" album cover to three-dimensional life with the release of the Love Gun Deluxe Boxed Edition figures.The set includes Ace, Paul, Peter, and Gene pre-posed in positions to match the Love Gun cover, and three white-faced, scantily-clad Love Gun ladies, all draped in positions of adoration with passionate expressions on their white faces. What makes this set even more special is that it also includes a replica of the Love Gun staircase, complete with green marbled pillars and the moon rising in the background. The staircase and pillars are made of plastic, painted to match the Love Gun cover theming, with a corrugate mural spanning between the pillars. The top platform of the staircase has small holes that line up with the shoes of each KISS member, and with the enclosed pegs, you can attach the feet of the figures to the stage so that they stand on their own, precisely recreating the Love Gun album cover. (Incidentally, despite there being eight holes in the staircase, my set only included five pegs for the feet. Regardless, the pegs were sufficient to stand the figures up independent of one another.) 
The KISS figures themselves are intricately detailed, an area where McFarlane always continues to shine with their action figures. To me, the PETER CRISS figure is the most accurately detailed -- his signature cross necklace is actually formed out of a tiny chain and cross hanging around his neck, versus being molded into the figure. His bandoliers and hip belts are exquisitely rendered, as are his pants -- right down to the tie at the waistband and the zippers on the thighs. Peter's legs are not poseable, but his arms and head move independently of his body.The GENE SIMMONS figure is my next favorite -- Gene's hair is molded out of a softer rubber, and it captures the wild, in-motion imagery of the album cover very well. His costume also features a real metal chain attached to his neck collar and the waist of his chestpiece. His cape is molded of a soft rubber that can be opened wider or closed around his arms. The studs on his leg pieces are painted with great detail -- while they're paint, I had to look closely to see if they were actually metal. Gene's face is also particularly detailed, right down to his teeth -- each tooth is individually sculpted, not just painted on. You can even stick your finger into his mouth. One thing I also found particularly funny about the Gene figure is that it has a belly button! I don't think I've ever seen that on a McFarlane figure before, and I'm sure whoever sculpted Gene must have had fun creating this level of detail! Gene's head and arms also move independently. The PAUL STANLEY figure has a great-looking recreation of his rose tattoo on the right shoulder, and he's wearing a pinstriped vest, feathered gloves, and a choker collar, all molded to his body. Because of the pose Paul is holding for the album cover, his arms do not move at the shoulder like Gene and Peters do -- instead, they rotate from the tops of his starred gloves. His pants have the same high level of detail as Peter's do, with the stars, chains and belt appearing to be attached to the figure, even though they are molded into it. 
ACE FREHLEY -- I love everything about this figure.. except Ace's face. This rendering of Ace's face looks more like his body double's face in "KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park" than it does ACE FREHLEY in makeup! His jawline is more square, and his face is longer. (It dawned on me that perhaps this was meant to be a hybrid Space Ace of both ACE FREHLEY and new guitarist TOMMY THAYER's features..!) Aside from the slightly odd face, Ace's costume is so detailed that his space boots and vest look like they're made of fabric. I had to touch him to really convince myself his costume pieces were molded on. Ace is the least poseable of the bunch, as his arms are permanently crossed and legs in a wide stance, but his head does turn. (And ladies, this Ace has the largest "package" of all of the
figures in this set! Hey, I had to mention it.)
Now, the girls.. the three Love Gun ladies are pre-posed to lay lustily on the stairs, gazing at the objects of their affection. I have to say that these girls are some of the most detailed and artistic creations I've seen from McFarlane. Their costumes and bodies are incredibly detailed and lifelike -- where the ties and slits of their catsuits "cut" into their skin, their skin bulges through the costume pieces. The figures are all in fixed positions, with the exception of the woman in the mesh catsuit, whose ankle boots can be turned and posed. And, the sculptors of the Love Gun girls obviously took some artistic liberties with these three ladies, as on the KISS album cover we never get to see the backsides of their costumes. Here, two of the ladies' suits are so revealing in the back that they're showing what my daughter would cheerfully refer to as "plumber butt" -- though these shapely girls are the farthest thing possible from plumbers.To sum it all up, I'm really enjoying this deluxe set of Love Gun figures and would highly recommend them to KISS fans once they hit the stores next month. A great deal of attention has been paid to the detail in recreating the outfits of one of KISS's most memorable eras, but the addition of the Love Gun girls and the diorama stair set to display them in is really phenomenal. Along with this KISS set, McFarlane will also be releasing additional music-themed lines of figures later this year. When the Love Gun set hits the stores, Ozzy Osbourne's Bark at the Moon set is also due out at the same time. September will bring the Beatles' Yellow Submarine set, as well as a Las Vegas Elvis. In October, Jimi Hendrix and a Motley Crue box set will also be gracing store shelves. McFarlane's music figures continue to be some of the most realistic-looking collectibles available today, and the KISS Love Gun set is no exception. |
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