I've been buying these rock and roll collectables for around six years now. My collection started when I happened to stumble across their Brian May statue that they produced back in 2007. Like all of their collectables, Brian's statue is officially licensed and limited edition. I was so impressed with Brian that I've been collecting Rock Iconz ever since. My previous article shows you some of the rock legends that have immortalised by Knucklebonz but by simply going to their website or typing 'Knucklebonz' into eBay, you will see an impressive rock and metal line up- all officially licensed and many now sold out! The likes of Queen, Judas Priest, AC/DC and Slayer have all signed up to be a part of the series. Never a band to shy away from unique merchandise (or merchandise in general), KISS are the latest rock legends to get the Knucklebonz treatment.
The company have been teasing the KISS Army since last summer via their Facebook page and I have had two of the four statues pre-ordered since late December. Now of course as Knucklebonz releases more statues, it spreads the word as music fans see their favourites join the series. 13 years in business and their first bash at one of the biggest rock bands in history was bound to garner attention. Kiss fans and Knucklebonz collectors alike were abuzz as to when KISS would be shipped. If you haven't already ordered yours you'll be pleased to know that that time is now!
The question on everyone's lips is simply this: Are they any good? I personally think that as Knucklebonz get more established that their statues have become consistently great. Their Lemmy statue which I was lucky enough to get for Christmas before his unfortunate passing is arguably my favourite they've done so far! As for Kiss? Well being I have only bought Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley you may have to look elsewhere for now if you're considering buying Ace or Peter's statues. That being said if they are anything like Gene and Paul's then KISS fans should be pretty damn happy.
My statue of the Demon is actually a gift for my 30th birthday in June so other than opening the box and making sure it wasn't damaged during shipping I've barely seen it. My first impression was a good one. The advantage of doing this kind of project with Kiss is that they have such flamboyant stage attire and make up that you can potentially have a really great collectable that stands out. I knew that Knucklebonz would work hard on an icon like Gene Simmons and in the brief time that I looked over the statue, I knew that I was very happy with my purchase... but sadly I have to wait until June when I turn 30. Rest assured I'll put some pics here when that happens.
Paul however is a different story. Different in that he isn't a birthday present and he is already pride of place in my existing Rock Iconz collection. So let's have a look!
I was actually very pleasantly surprised when I opened the box. The pictures that Knucklebonz released are a good indicator of what to expect and yet I was still very impressed with the detail. I actually think that the finished product has a better likeness of Paul than the prototype that KB have on their website. I'm by no means an expert but I do feel that that old saying 'a picture's worth a thousand words' is pretty apt here...
In an ideal world I'd love to add Ace and Peter to my collection but we'll have to see how the old finances hold out. If you're a KISS fan who has never invested in a Knucklebonz statue please feel free to message me over at the Norris Approved Facebook group or on Twitter @NorrisApproved3. I'm happy to answer any questions you have.
In the mean time I'm gonna look ahead to June when I can add Gene to my legendary rock and roll line up!
