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!)

Sculpting - *** (barely)
The head sculpt is pretty good. So far, this is the weakest sculpt of the Bonds in my opinion but is a fairly accurate representation of Roger Moore. There's just something I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe he's a little too young looking or maybe not quite "smug" enough to be the Moore Bond. Oluf Hartvigson, another talented sculptor for Sideshow Toys is responsible for this sculpt. 

Paint - ***
The head is the only things that is really painted. Sideshow did an overall nice job on the head. The head has mostly crisp edges but I did have some of the ear paint smudged into the hair. Otherwise, the skin tones and blending are pretty good.

Articulation - ***1/2
Sideshow has articulation that is comparable to the other top figures on the market. Overall they are very posable yet stable figures.

Outfit - ***
Bond is dressed in his finest polyester leisure suit! It's a white jacket over a white shirt and black tie, brown slacks and brown shoes. Overall, the suit has nice detail and is pretty sharp. The only gig I had is the jacket seems pretty bulky over the shirt around the collar area. It really takes away from the otherwise smooth crisp seams.

Accessories - ***
Bond comes with his standard issue PPK pistol but no where to put it! He's also equipped with campaign glass and bottle and a "wooden" elephant. The elephant is actually pretty decent but kind of an odd accessory for such a minimal object from the movie. The figure also comes with the standard Sideshow figure stand.

Play Factor - **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 him on line for around $35 from Kriegsmachine/Eklyps. This is a pretty standard price I've seen on line.

Overall - ***
I gave him a *** but it's a marginal ***. He's overall a nice figure, but when I put him next to the other Bond figures, he just doesn't seem up to par. Sideshow has a second figure & sculpt of Roger Moore pictured on their site that appears to capture his likeness a little better.

I am a huge Bond fan and will probably be getting several more figures in this line. Sideshow will soon be releasing other figures in the Bond line including the exclusive Jaws figure. Check out more of the figures at Sideshow's site.

Where to Buy - 
There are several on-line choices:

- there's always direct from Sideshow where this Bond is $40.  You can also pick up Scaramanga there.

- Aisle Sniper has Scaramanga still available for $35, but is out of this Bond.  They have some of the earlier figures for $30 as well.

The Rater: 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 email him or visit his site at www.the-precinct.com