Reviewing Fanhome’s ‘E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Build-Up Model’ Subscription Service

At New York Comic Con 2023 back in October, I was able to hang out for a while at the Fanhome booth to view and discuss upcoming releases from the purveyor of subscription-based home collections and models. I was almost sold on the THREE FOOT LONG Millennium Falcon Build-Up Model, when I saw a very familiar Asogian* staring at me from atop a four foot pedestal.

There stood Zrek** in all his lifelike glory, moving his eyes and blinking, pointing his lit up right forefinger, and reciting lines from the 1982 film E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. I believe this model is just slightly smaller than the puppets and costumes worn in the Oscar-winning Steven Spielberg film, but otherwise it’s a ridiculously faithful reproduction of our short, brown, rotund friend. The realism is actually a little creepy, especially when he’s shipped to you in pieces.

Before we go any further, let me get the disclosure out of the way. Fanhome gifted me an E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Build-Up Model subscription for review purposes. Fair? Fair.

My first shipment arrived last month. I waited until the second package came to make a review/progress video. Okay, that’s not entirely true. I made a video of the first package almost immediately, but it won’t ever see the light of day.

Everything that could have possibly gone sideways during a recording, did. I dropped the box, scattering parts all over the floor. Lighting rig fell on my head. Phone started ringing off the hook. I used to silence the thing on recording days, but who calls on the house phone? Seriously. Who?

Anyway… The second package arrived today and I got to work. I now have a very realistic face, complete with moving, blinking eyes, and a dismembered right forefinger that glows red at the tip. Assembly of the first five stages took me less than half an hour. The steps are clearly explained and illustrated. No issues whatsoever. Parts are manufactured with extremely tight tolerances, so everything drops in exactly the way it’s intended. Fit and finish are exceptional. 

One of the things I really appreciate about this kit is the assembly order. E.T.’s face arrives in the first package. You can’t do anything with it yet, but you have it. You can see the details. You can take it out and feel the flexible skin. You can see how the mouth is cut so that it moves. It gives you something to look forward to in future steps.

The same thing applies to the right index finger. It comes in the second package. There’s no logical reason to assemble a finger before you have an arm and a torso. They send it early though, and while I’m sure there’s a different setup to power the led that lights up the finger tip when the whole model is assembled, Fanhome send out a power pack that lights up the finger now, so you can see how it will look down the line.

These out-of-order sort of ‘preview’ pieces, the informational booklets included with each step of assembly, and the wait between packages all add layers to the excitement of building your very own model. Whether it’s E.T., Batmobile ’66, the DeLorean from BTTF, the iconic cars from the Fast & Furious franchise, K.I.T.T., or Iron Man, Fanhome has you covered.

I’ll record a progress video tomorrow morning before I split to Vegas on a recon trip for next weekend’s Las Vegas Toy Con. We’ll get it up on our YouTube channel early next week.

The Fanhome E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Build-Up Model subscription service is available at this link.

* E.T.’s home planet is named for the first and, as far as I know, only time as Asogia in William Kotzwinkle’s E.T.- The Book of the Green Planet, a 1985 novel that takes place after the events of the 1982 film.

**E.T.’s real name is revealed in a script for the never-made film sequel, titled E.T. 2: Nocturnal Fears. Steven Spielberg and Melissa Mathison drop the bombshell in the nine-page treatment that the little brown guy’s real name is Zrek. On a tangentially related note, the Universal Orlando E.T. ride is absolutely bonkers, but the thing that still stands out most to me about that dumpster fire is that an elder Asogian character, on Asogia, called our stout friend “ET,” in English. My brain hurts.