Haunted Studios Maltese Falcon.
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VonMagnum
Sr Member
Just noticed this thread and given the negative (and inaccurate by at least the current ones sold) comments about the Haunted Studios version, I thought I'd share my own experience in case anyone is looking at them and wondering.
I've got a Haunted Studio RESIN Falcon (I bought it before I even joined RPF) and I've thought it was great looking to my eyes. I don't get the hate here, but it's not been my personal experience. I think I paid around $120 plus shipping for a ~5 pound version. It looks less glossy than other versions I've seen, but then the lead one on in the movie wasn't glossy either (from what you can see in black & white), but perhaps texturally smoother than the resin finish here. In any case, I have no real complaints, especially for the price. It looks good to me comparing it to the shots in the movie that show the Falcon. I didn't see any option there to buy a plaster falcon that was mentioned in this thread. Given I bought mine in 2018, there was no plaster model for sale then. If they made one, it was older than this thread. They have an interesting gift wrap option to wrap it in the same newspaper bundle as in the movie inside a sack marked from the Paloma ship. I didn't opt for it, but it looked neat.
The Falcon made for publicity photos that Bogart holds up in many media photos is supposedly one of a couple of copies made of plaster (the one actually used in the movie was made of lead and supposedly weighed 45 pounds and a second backup was also made of lead and I think it was the backup one that got dropped at one point and has a dent in it) so if you can find a plaster recreation that is screen accurate and in good condition, it at least matches the two Falcons made for publicity shot (Bogart supposedly complained the 45 pound Falcon weighed too much at one point so the plaster versions were made).
No Falcon associated with the movie was made from a plastic resin, but it makes a nice durable replica. Haunted Studios had two versions for sale when I looked there, the screen accurate version (mine is shown below) and a "full feather" version that looks more natural (might have some more background I don't know about), but doesn't match the screen prop. The one stolen from John's Grill in San Francisco was supposedly one of the actual studio plaster publicity props (not used in the movie itself) and was signed by Elisha Cook Jr. I don't think it was ever recovered (a replacement was commissioned and the new one is made of bronze at the restaurant).
My Haunted Studios Resin Falcon:
I've got a Haunted Studio RESIN Falcon (I bought it before I even joined RPF) and I've thought it was great looking to my eyes. I don't get the hate here, but it's not been my personal experience. I think I paid around $120 plus shipping for a ~5 pound version. It looks less glossy than other versions I've seen, but then the lead one on in the movie wasn't glossy either (from what you can see in black & white), but perhaps texturally smoother than the resin finish here. In any case, I have no real complaints, especially for the price. It looks good to me comparing it to the shots in the movie that show the Falcon. I didn't see any option there to buy a plaster falcon that was mentioned in this thread. Given I bought mine in 2018, there was no plaster model for sale then. If they made one, it was older than this thread. They have an interesting gift wrap option to wrap it in the same newspaper bundle as in the movie inside a sack marked from the Paloma ship. I didn't opt for it, but it looked neat.
The Falcon made for publicity photos that Bogart holds up in many media photos is supposedly one of a couple of copies made of plaster (the one actually used in the movie was made of lead and supposedly weighed 45 pounds and a second backup was also made of lead and I think it was the backup one that got dropped at one point and has a dent in it) so if you can find a plaster recreation that is screen accurate and in good condition, it at least matches the two Falcons made for publicity shot (Bogart supposedly complained the 45 pound Falcon weighed too much at one point so the plaster versions were made).
No Falcon associated with the movie was made from a plastic resin, but it makes a nice durable replica. Haunted Studios had two versions for sale when I looked there, the screen accurate version (mine is shown below) and a "full feather" version that looks more natural (might have some more background I don't know about), but doesn't match the screen prop. The one stolen from John's Grill in San Francisco was supposedly one of the actual studio plaster publicity props (not used in the movie itself) and was signed by Elisha Cook Jr. I don't think it was ever recovered (a replacement was commissioned and the new one is made of bronze at the restaurant).
My Haunted Studios Resin Falcon:
Lightning
Master Member
The version Haunted Studios sells now is a version that sands down all the bulky feathers of their previous version. A story I heard years ago was the the original falcon was similarly smoothed after coming out of the mold. That's the story haunted studios is telling on their website now. And it does explain why there were these birds floating around claimed to be descended from the original mold with bulky feathers.
by the way, this is what 47 pounds of solid lead falcon looks like:
by the way, this is what 47 pounds of solid lead falcon looks like:
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VonMagnum
Sr Member
After reading some more, I do see that the Haunted Studios one I have has some sanding on the back of its head (kind of a recess/dent there like something went wrong). My only other issue with it is the paint job is not "smooth" enough to look like paint over lead. It's slightly textured. The photos of the Oz bird I've seen look smoother and it has the feathers on the back of the head (To my eyes, there's actually one too many rows compared to the movie scene, so I don't know that any are exactly accurate on the back of the head). Had I known about it at the time, I probably still would have gone with the Oz bird, even being a bit more expensive for the smoother look and better feathered head, but with so many other things to buy, I think I'll stick with what I have for now. I wouldn't have noticed even that much if I wasn't looking so close.
I saw a plaster full feather one on eBay. I thought about offering like $40 (they want $65 + S&H) and put it somewhere else in the house as it's still neat looking, but I really need to cut back spending (have more Indiana Jones stuff coming and I'm still looking at Touch Tip lighters, one (any model in decent shape) to actually use upstairs for incense, candles, etc. and a clock one for display under the movie poster in my home theater). I've got a Maltese Falcon book coming now as well (though about display one of those next to the bird for now, but I lost the auction for the '87 hard cover one with the bird on it and ended up buying a 1965 'collection' leather-bound one with 5 Hammett novels and a built-in bookmark (It'll go well with my similar Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy tome from the 1990s before that awful "Earth - Mostly Harmless" book was added that killed everyone off (Adams towards the end of his life said he regretted doing that, out of spite to fans constantly begging for another book, and was going to write another book to fix it along with more movies supposedly coming, but died before the Hitchhiker's Guide 2005 movie was released). Now it's forever ended with everyone dead in a parallel universe. Lovely. I like the ending of the book before it where Adams meant it to end with Arthur finally getting a woman and heading off into the sunset. But then he started changing the movie story too (Arthur never got anywhere with Trillian before and given how cute Zooey is, I liked it). Hmmm, I wonder what prop would go well with the Hitchiker's movie, maybe the new electronic thumb?
I saw a plaster full feather one on eBay. I thought about offering like $40 (they want $65 + S&H) and put it somewhere else in the house as it's still neat looking, but I really need to cut back spending (have more Indiana Jones stuff coming and I'm still looking at Touch Tip lighters, one (any model in decent shape) to actually use upstairs for incense, candles, etc. and a clock one for display under the movie poster in my home theater). I've got a Maltese Falcon book coming now as well (though about display one of those next to the bird for now, but I lost the auction for the '87 hard cover one with the bird on it and ended up buying a 1965 'collection' leather-bound one with 5 Hammett novels and a built-in bookmark (It'll go well with my similar Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy tome from the 1990s before that awful "Earth - Mostly Harmless" book was added that killed everyone off (Adams towards the end of his life said he regretted doing that, out of spite to fans constantly begging for another book, and was going to write another book to fix it along with more movies supposedly coming, but died before the Hitchhiker's Guide 2005 movie was released). Now it's forever ended with everyone dead in a parallel universe. Lovely. I like the ending of the book before it where Adams meant it to end with Arthur finally getting a woman and heading off into the sunset. But then he started changing the movie story too (Arthur never got anywhere with Trillian before and given how cute Zooey is, I liked it). Hmmm, I wonder what prop would go well with the Hitchiker's movie, maybe the new electronic thumb?
VonMagnum
Sr Member
I've been watching the movie comparing it to both Falcons and I've oddly come to the conclusion neither feels exactly right. I don't know about the size/height thing (the Haunted Studios version is supposedly from an original plaster mold, but it might have been slightly different in size than the lead one for all I know; I think the Oz one was based off the lead measurements?), but ignoring that aspect, in the movie the statuette is clearly not as polished/shiny as the Oz one to my eyes. The Haunted Studios version looks the right amount of "dullness" to me (at least when comparing black and white footage), BUT it also isn't smooth enough and looks like paint over resin whereas the Oz one definitely looks believable as enamel over lead in appearance. In other words, if the Oz version has a fault it's that it looks "too good" (i.e. better than the movie version) as in it's all "polished up" looking. It could be a trick of the black and white film footage, of course to some extent, but that's my take on it.
If I had to choose one, I like the Oz one better, but a family member visiting here tells me she prefers the Haunted Studio version (which is now sitting on my Roland piano upstairs in the music/living room staring at guests, which with the backlighting looks pretty creepy there in a good way). I don't think either is a "bad version" at this point. But if you want a more polished and detailed version, the Oz one is the way to go. You can actually see where the gems would go on that one. It would be interesting to take the gold plated version he has and put gems in it to see what the fully realized ideal statue would look like if it had theoretically arrived in Spain intact.
The Haunted Studios Falcon perched on my piano setup for home recording..... (one of my Staff of Ra medallions and my other Hellraiser cube are keeping it company)
If I had to choose one, I like the Oz one better, but a family member visiting here tells me she prefers the Haunted Studio version (which is now sitting on my Roland piano upstairs in the music/living room staring at guests, which with the backlighting looks pretty creepy there in a good way). I don't think either is a "bad version" at this point. But if you want a more polished and detailed version, the Oz one is the way to go. You can actually see where the gems would go on that one. It would be interesting to take the gold plated version he has and put gems in it to see what the fully realized ideal statue would look like if it had theoretically arrived in Spain intact.
The Haunted Studios Falcon perched on my piano setup for home recording..... (one of my Staff of Ra medallions and my other Hellraiser cube are keeping it company)
VonMagnum
Sr Member
There's an 'odd bird' for sale on eBay right now... (Maltese Falcon Statue Real Foundry Cast Bronze | eBay)
I'm curious what others think. It starts out calling it foundry bronze, making me think he made a solid bronze statue and that might explain the extremely high asking price, but then it says it weighs like 7 pounds, 13 ounces, which is no way in hell solid bronze (it would be closer to that 45 pound lead one, I think). If it's a mixed bronze/resin process, the weight might make more sense. So if it's only 7 pounds, why is shipping almost $200, then? Reading further, it says it's made of RESIN (yeah we haven't seen that before) and the base looks "squished" to me somehow visually with rough edges (for a researched "more accurate" bird the base looks less accurate to my eyes than either Oz's fine bird or even the Haunted Studios one. I like the bronze highlights, but damn $2400.... wow. Then comes the customer quotes. It says it's "one of a kind" with no plans to make more since it was SO EXPENSIVE to make (a resin bird, really? A solid bronze one, perhaps) so how is it there's customer feedback proclaiming they loved the bird they received if there's only ONE made? Did they all pass it around? Very odd. Very odd indeed.
Edit: OK, one mystery solved. He's selling other Resin birds for a tiny fraction of that bird so that explains the feedback. What's not clear in that original ad is if that expensive one is actually solid bronze and the wrong weight info, etc. got copied over. Either way, I don't recall seeing this version before. Anyone know anything else about it? Then again, there's someone on there selling an utterly inaccurate (IMO) bird for a hell of a lot of dough. I guess people can ask anything they want on eBay (Maltese Falcon - $1500 | eBay)
I'm curious what others think. It starts out calling it foundry bronze, making me think he made a solid bronze statue and that might explain the extremely high asking price, but then it says it weighs like 7 pounds, 13 ounces, which is no way in hell solid bronze (it would be closer to that 45 pound lead one, I think). If it's a mixed bronze/resin process, the weight might make more sense. So if it's only 7 pounds, why is shipping almost $200, then? Reading further, it says it's made of RESIN (yeah we haven't seen that before) and the base looks "squished" to me somehow visually with rough edges (for a researched "more accurate" bird the base looks less accurate to my eyes than either Oz's fine bird or even the Haunted Studios one. I like the bronze highlights, but damn $2400.... wow. Then comes the customer quotes. It says it's "one of a kind" with no plans to make more since it was SO EXPENSIVE to make (a resin bird, really? A solid bronze one, perhaps) so how is it there's customer feedback proclaiming they loved the bird they received if there's only ONE made? Did they all pass it around? Very odd. Very odd indeed.
Edit: OK, one mystery solved. He's selling other Resin birds for a tiny fraction of that bird so that explains the feedback. What's not clear in that original ad is if that expensive one is actually solid bronze and the wrong weight info, etc. got copied over. Either way, I don't recall seeing this version before. Anyone know anything else about it? Then again, there's someone on there selling an utterly inaccurate (IMO) bird for a hell of a lot of dough. I guess people can ask anything they want on eBay (Maltese Falcon - $1500 | eBay)
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Mofokoala
New Member
Wow that $1500 eBay bird looks like they left it too close to the heater 
Of all the falcons I’ve seen, none have been close enough to the actual birds that appear in the various auction catalogs IMO. No one seems to get the eyes right. They’re not spherical but more almond shaped to my eye.
I had a go at making one myself a few years ago, also cast in bronze. Here’s a couple of pics of my interpretation. If that eBay guy thinks he can get $2400 for his I’ll definitely put mine up there as well
Of all the falcons I’ve seen, none have been close enough to the actual birds that appear in the various auction catalogs IMO. No one seems to get the eyes right. They’re not spherical but more almond shaped to my eye.
I had a go at making one myself a few years ago, also cast in bronze. Here’s a couple of pics of my interpretation. If that eBay guy thinks he can get $2400 for his I’ll definitely put mine up there as well
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VonMagnum
Sr Member
Very nice Mofokoala. I was playing with Photoshop a bit to get a more concrete picture of what the described original 'gold' Falcon with jewels might have looked like (more or less based on the brief description in the movie) and came up with this Photoshop mod of one of the two I have (Oz one). At least I can picture it better now.
GeordieIndy
Sr Member
Does anyone here own a full feathered Haunted Studios Maltese Falcon? I sent Haunted Studios a message asking for some photos, but they never got back to me. So if anyone owns one and can share some photos, I would really appreciate it. Thanks.
VonMagnum
Sr Member
It's on their web site with a photo: Product Detail: Original Haunted Studios™ The Real Maltese Falcon™, MALTESE FALCON COLLECTION, ORIGINAL-MALTESE-FALCON-STATUE
GeordieIndy
Sr Member
Hi VonMagnum,
Thanks for the reply.
The image they have on their website has been flipped, and it’s actually the right side of the bird they are showing, although it appears to be the left.
I would like to see photos of the left and back of their Falcon. I’m also hoping to compare their resin version to the plaster version they used to make.
Thanks for the reply.
The image they have on their website has been flipped, and it’s actually the right side of the bird they are showing, although it appears to be the left.
I would like to see photos of the left and back of their Falcon. I’m also hoping to compare their resin version to the plaster version they used to make.
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VonMagnum
Sr Member
Google images is your friend... Two seconds to find "Full feather Maltese falcon":
Try plaster added for the old one. The Falcon is symmetrical.
GeordieIndy
Sr Member
Thanks, I have those images too. But still can’t find an image of the other side of the Falcon. Hoping some members on here might have one for more detailed photos.
Thanks.
Thanks.
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