Big Chief Studios James Bond Series

[matrix69]

To my mind, Bond will live or die dy the next actor who gets the part. I think Daniel Craig as Bond has already been done as much as he'll ever be with custom figures. The best Bonds are historic and I think the franchise should now be left to history to be admired and respected as the iconic cinema it once was.

All we've gotten from custom figures are a load of Spectre and SF Bonds. I'd really like a decent looking Craig from CR.

 

[matrix69]

I don’t really think queen studios is anything to take seriously. At this point. They may be…They may not be. Anyone can talk about things they want to make… few more can actually buy licenses but even fewer can become successful at making timely consistent and high quality items. Remember blitzway started off like this in 1/6… and where are they now? All that to say take queen studios with a grain of salt until they have a reason to be taken seriously.

Big chief had a lot of things stacked against them and some QC issues which crippled them and they should have made more figures in their tenure. Also being overly optimistic… I’m all for Bond girls but the only one we got was solitaire… really? But they still managed to make a few figures .

as previously mentioned oddjob, Goldfinger and Moore (I’ll also include Baron) are genuinely good figures.

That’s about where my praise is going to stop… and anyone who cares to pay attention or doesn’t have me blocked probably knows I have a history of being hard on them.

Sadly these two figures, and look I’m glad they came out at all… sadly they are really a massive step backwards.

I for one don’t care about packaging and specially excessively big ones but it was still quite a shock to see how bad the packaging was this time around.

so far I’ve only opened Bond but wow… wow. I don’t recall the last time I’ve seen such a poor suit . Like it’s beyond bad. The one from Goldfinger years ago which was still bad, was light years better than this. I mean this is kind of inexcusable.

The head is nice albeit a bit cartoonish but that’s in part with the paint job, every bit as bad except probably a lot worse than the GF portrait.

Some things like the cigar box or other trinkets are welcome but you can see how much they cheaped out when you look at those playing cars which they were too lazy to print on the back for.

All in all it’s a very sad release. A miracle it came out but it really is a bit of salt in the wound after waiting for so long.

Back to the suits, as hard as I was on the dam toys godfather golden years release compared to this suit it really does show that mass releases can still be half decent.

Many years ago I talked how pop toys , daftoys and toys city suits destroyed the goldeneye suit. This many years later is where you managed to land?… come on guys really.

In any case I do want to thank big chief for fighting for the license and genuinely trying. You gave me a few mass releases that I was able to cobble together nice Bond figures of that would have cost me a fortune with custom figures, of which 2.5 other people would have supported me in getting made.

The extra accessories look to be few and far between alright. For the price point they should have at least included the hat and coat as part of the set, and not as an incentive exclusive.
Still looking forward to getting mine though...warts and all

 

[ChigsHakko]

I cancelled my pre order for Bond with Sideshow but I’ve relented and given the fact we’re unlikely to see any Bond figures at all for the foreseeable future I’ve only gone and bought Bond and Dr No from a UK seller so should have them shortly. Hopefully, I can futz them to look serviceable and can row back on my earlier comments!

 

[Rogerbee]

All we've gotten from custom figures are a load of Spectre and SF Bonds. I'd really like a decent looking Craig from CR.

Yeah, that's true. Sadly, interest in Craig will wane now and he'll be a tough ask for anyone to do.

 

[HarryBlack]

I don’t really think queen studios is anything to take seriously. At this point. They may be…They may not be. Anyone can talk about things they want to make… few more can actually buy licenses but even fewer can become successful at making timely consistent and high quality items. Remember blitzway started off like this in 1/6… and where are they now? All that to say take queen studios with a grain of salt until they have a reason to be taken seriously.

Big chief had a lot of things stacked against them and some QC issues which crippled them and they should have made more figures in their tenure. Also being overly optimistic… I’m all for Bond girls but the only one we got was solitaire… really? But they still managed to make a few figures .

as previously mentioned oddjob, Goldfinger and Moore (I’ll also include Baron) are genuinely good figures.

That’s about where my praise is going to stop… and anyone who cares to pay attention or doesn’t have me blocked probably knows I have a history of being hard on them.

Sadly these two figures, and look I’m glad they came out at all… sadly they are really a massive step backwards.

I for one don’t care about packaging and specially excessively big ones but it was still quite a shock to see how bad the packaging was this time around.

so far I’ve only opened Bond but wow… wow. I don’t recall the last time I’ve seen such a poor suit . Like it’s beyond bad. The one from Goldfinger years ago which was still bad, was light years better than this. I mean this is kind of inexcusable.

The head is nice albeit a bit cartoonish but that’s in part with the paint job, every bit as bad except probably a lot worse than the GF portrait.

Some things like the cigar box or other trinkets are welcome but you can see how much they cheaped out when you look at those playing cars which they were too lazy to print on the back for.

All in all it’s a very sad release. A miracle it came out but it really is a bit of salt in the wound after waiting for so long.

Back to the suits, as hard as I was on the dam toys godfather golden years release compared to this suit it really does show that mass releases can still be half decent.

Many years ago I talked how pop toys , daftoys and toys city suits destroyed the goldeneye suit. This many years later is where you managed to land?… come on guys really.

In any case I do want to thank big chief for fighting for the license and genuinely trying. You gave me a few mass releases that I was able to cobble together nice Bond figures of that would have cost me a fortune with custom figures, of which 2.5 other people would have supported me in getting made.

Quite the rant there! So you don't like a toy, and? Return it, get your money back. I'm sure that could be arranged. I however love it and am very glad I have Connery Dr. No in my collection. I don't play with my figure and sent into into battle with GI Joe. It sits on a shelf where it looks great.

 

[ChigsHakko]

Quite the rant there! So you don't like a toy, and? Return it, get your money back. I'm sure that could be arranged. I however love it and am very glad I have Connery Dr. No in my collection. I don't play with my figure and sent into into battle with GI Joe. It sits on a shelf where it looks great.

This is a forum…where we discuss toys, their pluses and their negatives. They cost a lot of money and we have certain expectations in terms of quality. There can be no defence of the quality of the suit BCS have put out here. People are going to be upset because we have waited so long for this release and having waited so long and parted with our cash we are absolutely within our rights to point out such obvious flaws. Ray was quite considered in his response, I was expecting a much harsher critique to be fair!

 

[shells075]

Quite the rant there! So you don't like a toy, and? Return it, get your money back. I'm sure that could be arranged. I however love it and am very glad I have Connery Dr. No in my collection. I don't play with my figure and sent into into battle with GI Joe. It sits on a shelf where it looks great.

I for one appreciate Ray's input.

 

[Rogerbee]

Seconded!

 

[DDani]

Those who have Dr No, there shouldn't be anything in the upper right part of the tray, next to the cigarette, right? I'd like to make sure, nothing is missing.

And on the nose of the figure there is a black dot, I'm not sure it is intentional skin texturing and I'm overreacting, but I checked the nose first because of the earlier problems - so what do you think?

 

[shells075]

Its a shame BCS didn't include the Dr No radiation suit.
The old SS Dr No figure came with one.

 

[Johnny Utah]

It would be sweet if InArt announced that they have the 007 license tomorrow and killed this mishandled mess once and for all.

 

[SwedishHeat]

How many other companies would want to get the James Bond license knowing you couldn't make a Daniel Craig figure? That seems like the death knell to me. I'm curious if BCS knew that going in. Who else can a licensee not make? What happens if you can't make Dalton or Brosnan, either?

I still think the market for James Bond figures simply isn't there. It's a big problem that the license has typically stayed away from merchandising. It seems like they hardly do any licensing at all. People just aren't conditioned to buy James Bond figures in the way they are Ninja Turtles and Batman. The people buying these $300 figures now, are the ones that played with the $5 version as kids, but no one was playing with $5 James Bond action figures as a kid. Bond was never marketed to kids, so trying to market a grown-up toy to grown-ups isn't going to work. BCS has had relative success with Dr Who, because that was a kids show, or at least an 'all ages' show, which Bond was markedly not.

I don't think quality has anything to do with it. If the market actually cared about quality in the way this forum does, most companies would've been out of business long ago. Sideshow would've closed up 10 years ago. Hot Toys would've never survived 'oily abs' Batman. Executive Replicas is still chugging along making 1998 Sideshow-era looking stuff at $400 a pop. Kaustic is still moving forward with whatever random, classic movie star license they can get a hold of.

It's simply a matter of 'if you make it, people will buy', and when you can't make the figures because the talent doesn't want to participate, then you're just SOL.

 

[DDani]

What I don't understand why Live and Let Die figures? Which is among the worst Bond films for many... And then Dr. No - where Dr. No itself isn't really famous villain. Or at least a Honey Ryder please... Why not a movie with Blofeld? Or a Dalton/Brosnan movie? Q? These decisions could mean that the line was not that success that it could be - I'd think other than the completionists skipped some of these because of waiting for more favorable characters.

They had this "Launch pad" stuff, why didn't make a poll to see what characters people want - this way we would have a chance to get not so popular characters too (I'd like to have a Kara Milovy ). What I can think is that EON restricted them somehow... It would be good to know...

As for Craig, I hate the Craig era, especially Skyfall - I'm wondering how many new fans are there who would buy a Craig Bond, but does not like the older ones - I'd think not that many compared to the fans of the earlier Bonds. So that might not be that big deal breaker. Overall the fact that these are old movies - even Brosnan's last one was 20 years ago - makes it hard to sell as much as for a recent Marvel / Star Wars movie/series.

I'm not so sure in InArt - first we have to see how the Joker turns out, then they have to see if there is enough need for Bond figures, then we have to see the price... I'd rather hope Big Chief continues it, at least we get something, even if it is not perfect, I'm happy to have the two Connerys, Goldfinger, Oddjob, LALD Moore and Dr. No. Of course competition won't hurt, but I'm not so optimistic that it will actually happen.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I still think the market for James Bond figures simply isn't there. It's a big problem that the license has typically stayed away from merchandising. It seems like they hardly do any licensing at all. People just aren't conditioned to buy James Bond figures in the way they are Ninja Turtles and Batman. The people buying these $300 figures now, are the ones that played with the $5 version as kids, but no one was playing with $5 James Bond action figures as a kid. Bond was never marketed to kids, so trying to market a grown-up toy to grown-ups isn't going to work.

Bond was very much marketed for kids -- dolls, games, cars, display sets, etc... but it was a very, very long time ago. Pretty much only Corgi has continued to make James Bond toys through the 70's, 80's and 90's (a few 6 inch figures here and there)... until Sideshow came along and made a sizable line of 1/6th figures.

But you're right, it isn't a franchise that has driven toy merchandise for a very long time. But there's a lot of film figures people buy that never drove toy sales.

The people who will buy old Connery and Moore 1/6th figures are the old men who have a wide collection of action/adventure movies and want to add an iconic secret agent to the shelf.

 

[mattdorris]

Quite the rant there! So you don't like a toy, and? Return it, get your money back. I'm sure that could be arranged. I however love it and am very glad I have Connery Dr. No in my collection. I don't play with my figure and sent into into battle with GI Joe. It sits on a shelf where it looks great.

Looking forward to getting my Dr No set!

 

[mattdorris]

What I don't understand why Live and Let Die figures? Which is among the worst Bond films for many... And then Dr. No - where Dr. No itself isn't really famous villain. Or at least a Honey Ryder please... Why not a movie with Blofeld? Or a Dalton/Brosnan movie? Q? These decisions could mean that the line was not that success that it could be - I'd think other than the completionists skipped some of these because of waiting for more favorable characters.

They had this "Launch pad" stuff, why didn't make a poll to see what characters people want - this way we would have a chance to get not so popular characters too (I'd like to have a Kara Milovy ). What I can think is that EON restricted them somehow... It would be good to know...

As for Craig, I hate the Craig era, especially Skyfall - I'm wondering how many new fans are there who would buy a Craig Bond, but does not like the older ones - I'd think not that many compared to the fans of the earlier Bonds. So that might not be that big deal breaker. Overall the fact that these are old movies - even Brosnan's last one was 20 years ago - makes it hard to sell as much as for a recent Marvel / Star Wars movie/series.

I'm not so sure in InArt - first we have to see how the Joker turns out, then they have to see if there is enough need for Bond figures, then we have to see the price... I'd rather hope Big Chief continues it, at least we get something, even if it is not perfect, I'm happy to have the two Connerys, Goldfinger, Oddjob, LALD Moore and Dr. No. Of course competition won't hurt, but I'm not so optimistic that it will actually happen.

I agree that Big Chief missed a big opportunity not utilizing Launch Pad for the Bond line. I assumed that was definitely going to happen when they announced it

 

[matrix69]

For those interested...BCS have Mr Bond back in stock.
https://www.bigchiefstudios.co.uk/collectables/james-bond/sixth-scale-figures/james-bond-dr-no

 

[Morgenergy]

Not sure how to feel about this whole saga. It should never have gone down the way it did: the quality of the bodies and tailoring, the cartoonish paintwork on the heads and of course the questionable movie choices all add up to a line that is destined to fail or cause mishaps.

On one hand I'm hoping they really have lost the license. Harsh, I know.

You can tell their priorities just weren't there. I've mentioned it before, what with constant Doctor Who figures and random Only Fools and Horses merchandise. Some would say that BCS weren't cut out for the job, but it seems they didn't want to be, as if they just couldn't be bothered or Bond was an inconvenience to them. In previous replies I've brought up how they may have personally not been invested in Bond as much as the other stuff they churn out and I'm closer to this viewpoint than ever before. Perhaps looking into it too much, but I see no other reason why somebody would be so utterly lazy with none other than, uhhhmm... DOUBLE-OH-SEVEN? The lack of marketing for the figures at conventions BCS had tables at speaks volumes, certainly whilst they had big banners and posters for their other licenses... it makes no sense to me. They must've paid a chunk of cash to use these names and likenesses, so to not throw it out there and invite customers - collector or normie - is mind boggling.

There's also licensing agreements and etc, but I'd be beating a dead horse talking about that again.

On the other hand, lets be honest... it would be a shame to lose access to another series of Bond figures so soon. Sure they're a bit naff but they're an opportunity for improvements and customs. It's an investment - 250 quid for a normal one! - but some loons will happily buy your leftovers on eBay for silly money. Not to mention, some characters and actors simply need a new figure to replace the haggard old Sideshow excuses: Dalton deserves justice in the figure world after the squarehead they churned out some 20 years ago now.

Truthfully I say all this as a mere onlooker. I don't own a single one of these figures but I really damn wanted to. But to pay such money for a figure so half you-know-what-ed just doesn't happen with me. I'd grab Moore if I found him cheap because he was a good figure, but he isn't my priority as he is without a certain midnight blue tuxedo.

Apologies if this wall of text seems particularly overreactive or whatever. Honest to god have no clue how something like this could be done so badly. It reminds me of that shoddy 007 Legends game that EA made 10 years ago... it was so bad it became the last Bond game. I'm a lifelong fan of Bond and hate to see things done so oddly.

 

[mattdorris]

For those interested...BCS have Mr Bond back in stock.
https://www.bigchiefstudios.co.uk/collectables/james-bond/sixth-scale-figures/james-bond-dr-no

Wow.. i reached out direct to BCS at end of March to ask if the Bond figure comes with the hat and coat and was told no…”the coat and hat were a preorder incentive” and the item in stock didn’t come with these. Not sure i would have paid the $55 premium for the 2 items but would have liked to know that before ordering from BBTS.

 

[pophoody]

Big Chief are so shady. They still have the discount and K9 incentives for the Definitive Series Doctors up, which were supposed to close in December.