Many moons ago, the 100th Episode of X Band: The Phantom Podcast was unashamedly a celebration of the podcast, and we so appreciated the dozens of people who sent in congratulatory messages for us to include.
First advertised in Episode 96, we held a competition to give away a limited edition Bradford Exchange Bronze Phantom statue. The statue is an absolute classic and a must-have for any serious Phantom collector. Based on a Glenn Ford design, the imposing 12 inch figure is simply sensational.
All you needed to do to enter was write a review on iTunes for X-Band: The Phantom Podcast. The ChronicleChamber team sorted through the entries and chose the review that we liked the most, and that was written by - Finn Mauriks of Victoria, Australia!
Now we do have to say at this point that we had no idea how old Finn was until he sent in his photo with his prize - he definitely won the competition on merit and not some sort of youth vote! To be up front, there was actually some spirited debate among the ChronicleChamber team regarding the "best" review, but once we saw the photo and realised Finn was a member of the next generation of Phantom phans, we could not have been more delighted. The statue is in the right hands.
It did cause a little problem for us though - we didn't want to publish Finn's photo without parental permission and perhaps unsurprisingly, now he has his statue he has stopped replying to emails! So we eventually decided to go ahead with a pixelated pic that you see above. We've actually had this post sitting in our Drafts folder for over four months!
Either way. we really appreciated Finn's generous review, and his response to receiving the statue has further confirmed for us that he truly is a deserving winner:
"I have been a Phantom collector for three years now so I'm still very new. I found out about the Phantom from my uncle who had a few in the attic. I think my first issue was 1736...? But now I have loads of old issues now. Right now the statue is living on my desk looking phantastic.
"I discovered X-Band: The Phantom Podcast by typing "Phantom" into the podcast app on my phone. I saw the photo of the Phantom and knew this was the one to listen to. I have been listening to the podcast since early 2017. But I have listened to all the episodes from #55. I like the podcast because I just get to know what's happening in the phantom community. Also because of the great interviews. Or I like it because I can hear people talking about the Phantom, something I don't usually hear.
"My chosen side? Falkist or modernist? To say it flatly I think both are equal. It shouldn't be one or the other, it should be about the qualities of the story and art. The art is what draws me into the stories. Although if I were to pick a side I would go with Falkist, because you have to give recognition to the creator. Although Scandinavia has brought the Phantom along so that new stories can be made."
Congratulations again Finn, and many thanks to MerchantWise in Melbourne who have donated the statue for us to give away in this competition.
One last word on the 100th episode...
Including our production of The Gibs Brothers radio play was a pretty special thing for us too, and we really hope you enjoyed it. If you haven't heard it yet - why not? The YouTube version is at the bottom of this post... do yourself a favour, take the 10 minutes, and check it out now!
The Gibs Brothers:
