|
O.H.M.S.S.
Bond/Blofeld
  |
Today's guest review matches up with my own
review over at Movie
Poop Shoot - the new On Her Majesty's Secret Service Lazenby Bond and
Blofeld. Take it away, Mark!
This is Sideshow Toys' third James Bond in the Bond figure series and his
most famous nemesis Ernst Blofeld. The first figure was the original (and
best!) Bond, Sean Connery,
which was previously reviewed at this site. The second Bond as portrayed by Pierce
Brosnan was also reviewed at this site. This figure is James Bond as
portrayed by George Lazenby in the movie "On Her Majesty's Secret
Service." Lazenby only appeared in this one Bond movie. Many dislike
this movie and feel this was the worst of the Bond movies while others
believe it was the most true to the Ian Fleming idea of Bond. His nemesis in
this movie was Ernst Blofeld as portrayed by Telly Savalas. This role was on
the heels of his famous role in "The Dirty Dozen" and led to a
successful career in which he is probably best remembered as his role in
"Kojak". Several other characters followed the Blofeld mold in
future Bond movies, as well as other non-traditional characters like Dr.
Evil from the Austin Powers series!!
|
|
|
|
Packaging - ***1/2
If you've ever read my reviews before, you know that boxes are nothing more
than functional transportation vessels to me. I immediately rip them apart
to get at the goodies inside. However, these boxes feature great graphics of
the movie posters on the cover and photos from the movie and of the figures
on the sides and back. The flap style box allows full viewing of the
contents. For those collectors that like to keep the boxes, these figures
and accessories are easily removed and could be easily returned (only three
twist ties!) The Lazenby box is on the left and the Blofeld on the right.
Sculpting - Bond ****,
Blofeld ***1/2
The head sculpts are great. Both have really nice likenesses of the actors.
In my opinion, Sideshow is doing the finest sculpts in the industry today
and these figures follow the trend. Oluf Hartvigson can take the credit for
these great sculpts. There is no doubt of who these figures are supposed to
be. I actually like the Blofeld sculpt better but gave it half a star less
because it has a pretty noticeable mold mark, including a slight pinhead
size divit, which runs across the top of his head from ear to ear. The bald
head only highlights the defect. The sculpt is so nice that it overshadows
the flaw and saved the rating.
Paint - Bond ***, Blofeld
****
The heads are the only things that are really painted. Sideshow did an
overall nice job on the heads. The Blofeld head is very neat with excellent
shading. The Bond head also has nice crisp edges but the shading is off.
Wrinkles on his forehead aren't blended and appear like lines and the
eyebrows are a bit sloppy.
Articulation - ***1/2
Sideshow has articulation that is comparable to the other top figures on the
market. The Bond figure has molded black gloves for hands. Overall they are
very poseable yet stable figures….Another thing I noticed but is not a gig
on the figures is that almost all of the Sideshow figures I have purchased
were misaligned in the boxes. What I mean is the joints on the arms and legs
are never facing forward and need adjustment as soon as they are out the
box. I don't know if it's just because of the speed of the assembly line or
what. Again, it's not a gig, but just something that makes you go hmmmmmmmm.
Outfits - ***
The Bond figure is dressed in a blue "snow suit". It's actually a
thin hooded jacket and pants made out of thin parachute type nylon. It's
nicely put together and could have gotten a better score if they'd have
simply made it a realistic padded suit. He also has socks, a t-shirt and
some pretty non-descript boots. Again he features molded gloves but they are
in decent pose for gripping his weapons.
Blofeld is wearing a brown "tunic" and what are is a cross between
a mounted cavalry officer's riding pants and lederhosen. He also has calf
high brown socks and very plain and ugly boots. As nice of detail is on the
rest of the figures and overall on the clothes, these boots kinda stink.
Accessories - Bond **1/2, Blofeld ***
Bond comes with his standard issue PPK pistol but no where to put it!
He's also equipped with an Armalite machine gun with a folding stock and
removable magazine. It is decently detailed but very fragile. He's kind of
light on accessories.
Blofeld is a little more equipped He comes with a decent pair of binoculars
and a belt mounted binocular case, two grenades, a .45 pistol and holster
and a flare gun that he uses to cause avalanches to chase Bond. OK stuff but
nothing exceptional. He also comes with a nicely detailed pair of goggles.
Play Value - **1/2
I always rank the figures on this category because after all, it is
supposed to be a toy. These figures are more suited to striking poses on a
collector's shelf than they are riding an avalanche down a back yard log
pile in a child's adventure. The Sideshow figures are overall pretty sturdy,
especially when compared to some of the other high-end figures but they are
obviously meant to be displayed and not played with.
Value - ***
I got them on line for $25 from an online 1/6 scale enthusiast who isn't a
big toy dealer but just a "good Joe" who does some bulk buying and
shares the wealth with other enthusiasts. Rob has a few more 1/6 figures
(Sideshow and others!) available and can be contacted at ops32@att.net At
this price these guys were a great buy. Most online dealers are selling them
in the $35 range, which is also a pretty good buy.
|
|
Overall - ***1/2
These figures are a great addition to my collection. I am a huge Bond
fan and will probably be getting several figures in this line. Sideshow will
soon be releasing Bond figures of Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton, both of
which I intend to buy. Sideshow also has several enemy figures planned
including the top hat throwing "Oddjob". Now I just need to decide
if old Telly stays in character as Blofeld or if I put him in a 70's leisure
suit and kitbash him out as Theo Kojak…"Who loves ya baby."
Where to Buy -
Sideshow is selling them direct, and many sixth scale retailers will
be carrying them. I'm betting they turn up at specialty stores like
Media Play as well. On-line:!
- Sideshow
Toy has them available direct for $40 each.
- Aisle Sniper
usually has the Bond figures available for $32 each plus shipping, but you
should call to see if they have them in.
- Big Bad Toy Store
had a great price at $60 for the pair, with a flat $5 shipping.
- Entertainment
Earth has each available for $38 plus shipping each.
About the reviewer:
Mark D is an avid action figure collector old enough to have gotten
vintage GI Joes for Christmas as a kid, but still young enough to play
with his toys. He collects mostly vintage AT GI Joe stuff but still likes
to grab the cool stuff that comes out now, especially law enforcement
figures and accessories. He's been a regular at The Sandbox (alt.toys.gi-joe)
since he first came on line about five years ago. He's always looking to
swap with other Joe-head and assist them in finding the hard to find
stuff. You can contact him at mmdals1@aol.com
or visit his site at www.the-precinct.com
|
Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford. |
