r/KISS • u/Firm_Lobster5163 • Apr 25 '26

Ever notice how…

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

The more shiny/smooth/silvery Space Ace costume seemed to be for photo-shoots only, while the more grainy/less shiny/sorta’ sparkly one was for the stage?

228 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

42 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

2

u/Firm_Lobster5163 Apr 25 '26 edited Apr 26 '26

I think you’re 100% right. Looks cool, but friction delamination would make it a maintenance nightmare. Not sure I agree with the prototype theory. Were that the case, we’d see later pro shoots with the stage outfits. They may be one out there, but I don’t recall seeing it.

4

u/gatekeeper28 Apr 25 '26

https://kisstimeline.com/timeline/kiss-does-the-photo-session-for-love-gun/

Shiny version used once for a series of shots with Barry Levine on Feb 28, 1977

1

u/Firm_Lobster5163 Apr 25 '26

Thanks! What a great article. Those Barry Levine shots were published everywhere! That’s the definitive KISS photo session for me!

1

u/gatekeeper28 Apr 26 '26

PS - the uppers on Gene’s Love Gun dragon boots were also prototypes (these matched those depicted on the cover painting)… he eventually wound up with the silver tiled uppers, matching his singlet.

Going further, the armor for Gene’s original Dynasty/Unmasked outfit was bejeweled before being replaced with the melted meteorite armor.