Re: Big Chief Studios Acquires James Bond License
The next wave must be a different actor to keep it exciting and unpredictable. If it's just waves of Connery it'll get stale fast. Collectors grow weary of variants very very quickly and will spend that money elsewhere easily.
I agree. I think they'd want to get the "Big Bonds" done before going back to Connery or one they've done before. Moore, Brosnan, and Craig ought to be the next three Bonds. I'm sure they'll get to Lazenby and Dalton eventually, but I think the other three would be better sellers. If they were going chronologically, Lazenby would be next, or Moore if they're doing the "Big Bonds" first. I would think Craig, the current Bond, should be next on their list now. They've got the classic Bond collectors interested, now they'll want the modern Bond collectors (obviously there is a lot that want both). Nobody has done an official Craig Bond yet (ie Sideshow never did him in their line) so I think there is quite the market for it based on all of the customs we've seen since Casino Royale's release. Now picking WHICH Craig movie might be difficult other than it for sure not being Quantum of Solace
Casino Royale, Skyfall, and Spectre all have reasonable shots for different reasons. CR defined Craig and Bond in a new way. Skyfall is Craig's Goldfinger. And Spectre gave us the new Blofeld. All good choices for figures, even if the film qualities varied.
And I'm not so sure the three figure trend will follow. Goldfinger was an unusual film because the main villain and the lead henchman are iconic. I don't feel the need for a Stromberg or Drax to boss around my Jaws. I think a Moore and Jaws alone would suffice. If you wanted another trio with Moore, I'd go LALD with Scaramanga and Nick Nack. Jaws would probably be more popular though and that Navy uniform for Bond would be a nice new look for him in the scale.
Brosnan had a lot of forgettable bad guys though so I'd probably stick with Goldeneye for him. They could do a trio with 006 and Xenia. But that comes down again to whether they are ready for the female body needed for the character. I think that was another rarity film where the henchwench and the main villain were good characters.
I think it might be a bit of a juggling act to not just duplicate the Sideshow line while still making so many of those same characters. They did a great job with Goldfinger. They didn't do the black stealth outfit Sideshow did. Sideshow never did Goldfinger himself, but Oddjob was always going to be the same outfit so there was no avoiding that. Making Oddjob far superior to the Sideshow version helps immensely sell him again to the Sideshow collectors. Making Jaws in anything but the parachuting outfit again should be simple enough. I'd love to see him in one of the suit jackets with the suspenders underneath for those two distinct looks. Again, I think that Navy outfit for Moore would be a good choice to avoid any of the Sideshow outfits at first and give us a variety from just a bunch of figures in suits. Since Connery isn't in a Tux for this figure, I don't feel they are locked into just making the tuxedos for each bond either. I'd be fine if none of them were actually. Lazenby had his kilt look that would be a fabulous alternative for example.
They've got strong promise with these first three and as long as the quality holds up, and the payment issues diminish, I think they'll have a strong line on their hands for a while.
