Multiple Gen 1 Molds


I’ve been very fortunate to own a total of twelve Gen 1 masks at once. Though I recently parted with a few it gave me the opportunity to study and compare masks, and I’ve reached exciting observations. There were multiple molds used for the original Gen 1 'Weeping' ghost masks! These molds all derive from the same master sculpture, yet are differentiated by specific defects and unique raised tick marks — some even varying in size. Fun World must have had numerous molds to meet mass production needs.

From my findings, I’ve distinguished the following different molds:


A. Multi-Dot B. Second Dimple C. Small Dot

There's an additional early mold with slight differences. We do not know if we can say it's quite Gen 1 yet.

D. Splotch Mold (*may be a later mold)

There are numerous matching defects mold-to-mold, but these are quick and easy identifiers. Several differing molds (possibly more outside of my collection) all derivative of the same source. I’m assuming multiple casts were made from a master, each with unique tick guides carved before molding. While individual masks can have their own defects, I was able to group multiple masks by matching features.

I noticed a number of markings that must have been on the original sculpture because they are consistent on each mold. These markings are also featured on the ‘Gen 2’ and ‘FWD HN’ masks, proving they all come from the same sculpture. I’ve found a number of differences across 'Gen 2' molds as well, some being smaller and some featuring different markings. I don’t have as large a sample size to make comparisons. This begs the question: with multiple molds found, what exactly is a Gen 2? Has the Gen 1 / Gen 2 binary been the wrong way of thinking about these masks? Could what we call ‘Gen 2’ be more so production differences of the same sculpture (paint style, thin vinyl, and deeper casts)?

Update: I've posted about this before, but having three nearly identical copies with each Gen 1 'defect', I thought this was a perfect opportunity to illustrate how little the mouth defect matters in what the face looks like. A Gen 1 is a Gen 1.