Sculpting - Dead Collector ****, Tim ***1/2
Sculpting continues to be Sideshow's strength.  They are the best in the sixth scale business at capturing human likenesses, and these two are no exception.

The Dead Collector is dead-on.  Looking at him from various angles confirms just how accurate the overall sculpt is, and I don't mind that the hat is part of the sculpt.  By doing it this way they give us the best overall look.

Tim isn't quite as nice, hence the slightly lower score.  It's not that there's a serious problem, but the slightly worried look they chose is not my first choice.  It simply doesn't represent the character for me as well as a number of other facial expressions.  Still, it's beautiful work, particularly on the folds of the leather hat and horns.  Again, having the head piece as part of the head sculpt made the most sense, and allowed them to give us the very best head sculpt possible.

Paint - ****
As on most sixth scale figures, the paint ops are confined predominately to the hands, head and a few accessories.

The high score here is due to two areas - the overall work on the faces and hats is excellent, along with the great 'mud' effects on the Dead Collector.

There's plenty of complex detail on both head sculpts, and the paint work is done perfectly.  Both are examples of excellent paint ops simply bringing out excellent sculpts.

The mud effect on the Dead Collector is also very well done, and is a tough one to pull off.  Usually, such things just end up making the figure look unrealistic, but this time they found a way to get the dirt on his face and hands to look like it just came off the wheels of a passing cart.

Articulation - ***1/2
Both have the standard male Sideshow body, including the ball jointed necks, ball jointed shoulders, cut biceps, double jointed elbows, excellent wrist joints (my favorite), chest, waist, ball jointed hips, cut thighs, double jointed knees, and ankles.

The only negative is that both figures have very limited ankle movement due to the boots.  But all the other joints have a great range of motion, particularly the elbows, wrists and knees, and they were tight enough to hold most poses.

Outfit - Dead Collector ****, Tim ***1/2
Somehow Sideshow just keeps doing a better and better job on the outfits.  The level of detail and quality really is quite amazing, even compared to the other high end manufacturers.

The Dead Collector has his furry shirt, pleather tunic, and fuzzy pants with leggings.  The leggings are wrapped cloth around the calf of the pants, and the shoes are separate.

The details on the tunic are what catch the eye first - the rivets on the front and back, along with the unique buttons and ties really make it stand out.  But when you start to handle it you'll realize how high quality the material is, and how excellent the construction is.  The inside of the tunic is a soft material, like suede, and it's really outstanding to see such a diversity in material on a single figure.  I don't think any two pieces of this outfit are from the same type material.

Tim isn't quite so unique in his material types, but he has the same level of quality construction.  The tattered robe has heavy lining through the back half, and the undergarments are all separate and unique.  His boot sculpt works well, although it does reduce the range of ankle motion.

The only flaw in Tim's costume, which is partly the flaw of the source material, is the lack of hemming everywhere.  The ends of the cloak are tattered, with holes and burns all around, just like in the film.  However, that means there are lots and lots of places for the outfit to fray.

Accessories - Dead Collector ***1/2, Tim ****
Tim wins this time, if for no other reason than sheer numbers.  While Sideshow always produces great looking accessories, I've often complained that they produce too few.  Tim breaks that pattern.

The Dead Collector has but two accessories, although they are perfect choices.  He has his wooden club, and his triangle.  While the chain for the triangle is metal, the triangle itself is plastic and therefore has no tone.

Tim comes with a plethora of goodies to hang about his neck - a bone, a small pouch, small bag, and some sort of medallion.  Along with those accessories (all of which come with a rope to go around his neck) he has his required staff.  The staff fits nicely in his right hand, and all the accessories have terrific sculpts and paint ops.

We got that nasty rabbit with the big, pointy teeth with one of the nights.  I believe we've even gotten the Holy Handgrenade with one of them, making a scene with Tim complete.

Value - ***
As you've come to expect, this depends on where you pick them up.  But even buying them from Sideshow directly is cheaper than it used to be, and you should be able to pick them up from most dealers around $30, a nice, solid value.

Overall - Tim ***1/2, Dead Collector ****
While ***1/2 is no shabby score, no sirree, I was expecting Tim to be a four star figure.  I was slightly disappointed though in the choice of facial expressions for the head sculpt, and that's the only thing holding me back from the top score.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, I had no real anticipation over the Dead Collector.  But they did a marvelous job capturing the look of the character, and he has one of the best outfits Sideshow has produced.  Surprises always score better than disappointments.

Where to Buy - 
You may find these at Media Play or Sam Goody stores soon, but I haven't seen them there yet.  I'm betting they'll be around $30.  On-line:

- Sideshow has him for $40.  These figures are limited to a run of 7500, pretty standard for the Monty Python series.  (MROTW Affiliate)

- Big Bad Toy Store has them for $30 each.

- Aisle Sniper has them at $33 each.

SPECIAL NOTE!  Right now Sideshow is selling the new Knight of Ni figure as a preorder.  They will only be available through the Sideshow store, and they are only making 1000.  You might want to pre-order this one if you've been picking up all the Monty Python figures!

On top of that, they have a great special on for Halloween - you can pick up all three of the Buffy Gentlemen figures for just thirty bucks!  That's just ten bucks each, and that's a heck of a good deal.