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MI6 Review: Sean Connery "Thunderball"
- Sideshow Collectibles
At the height of Bond in 1964, Sean Connery once again
returned to the big screen in a bigger and better film –
“Thunderball” – which is still to this
day the highest attended “bums on seats” Bond
movie ever released. After endless legal issues over copyright,
Thunderball finally made it into production, and upon release,
became a global success breaking all previous Bond box office
records.
Sideshow
Collectibles, founded in 1994, has been exclusively
licensed to create a line of 12" collectible figures
in the likeness of all five Bond actors, key villains and
some of the famous women.
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James Bond - Sean Connery
Item No: 7717
Size: 12 inch (304mm)
Weight: 5.00 lbs (1.30 Kg)
Units: 5500
Artist: Mat Falls
Released: December 2004
Order
Online - Sideshow Collectibles
Official Description
This deluxe Connery is expertly captured as Bond from the
movie 'Thunderball.' Bond shows off his brawny legs in his
diving outfit with this 12" figure.
Accessories
The figure has over 30 points of articulation for
full range diving action and comes in a full colour box
with figure stand! Bond is equipped with Q's aquatic propulsion
dive rig, dive mask, dive knife, fins, and spear gun.
Right: Reverse box art
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Look Up! Look Down! Look Out!
Sideshow has bravely stepped up to recreate a true Bond icon,
and has managed to convey the style, scope, scale and sophistication
of the movie in a wonderful 1:6 scale figure. The climax of Thunderball
takes place over the stolen nuclear bombs in a dynamic undersea
action sequence, and this is where Sideshow has plucked Bond’s
appearance.
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Exclusive
The exclusive version of this figure comes with the famous
007 rebreather device. This addition gives the figure extra
exclusivity and is a very nice trinket. Based on the movie
prop, this item is extremely finally detailed as the gold,
silver, grey and black re-breather has been masterful crafted
by the sideshow team. The re-breather, however, does not
fit into the figures month or hand! If you are a series
collector this will be a must, but if you want to display
the figure out of the box, it is hard to justify the exclusive
version of the figure.
Flipping Good
Bright blue divers fins and goggles set off the famous orange
wetsuit. The pair of fins are perfectly modelled with no
flashing visible. Sideshow has chosen to create two separate
flippers rather then a cheaper single fin. There is a slight
difference between the left and right to enable the figures
feet to sit comfortably. The stiff plastic holds them firm
and look great on the figure.
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Fitting and removing the flippers required a little skill but
once you have mastered the task it is easy. They are tight fitting
and don’t restrict any of the figures ankle movements, allowing
them to be positioned to simulate swimming.
| Goggles
Blue in colour, the dive mask is a great snug fit once it’s
on, and the elastic makes it easy to fit the mask over the
figures head, both on or raised. The faceplate is just large
enough for you to see Connery’s detailed face. Detailing
on the mask is fine, including the silver lining.
Knife
Also included with the figure is the divers knife and sheath
that Bond used to great effect during the film’s climax.
The sheath is made out of sideshows pleather material can
easy be attached to the figures lower leg. However, if you
remove the knife (which can be held by the figure) do so
very carefully, as the toggle to fasten the knife is very
weak and easy broken. The knife itself is well made, and
the silver and blue handle are film accurate, fitting snugly
into the sheaf or the figures right hand.
“I think he got the point”
Scaled correctly to the figure, the ridged spear gun has
been well detailed and is excellent for this scale. Detailed
with silver highlights, the weapon is easily grasped by
the figure, and extremely helpful in dispatching foes, both
above and below the sea. The gun, however, does not look
like the film version, due to the amount of detail possible
on this scale.
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Dive, Dive, Dive!
The biggest accessory, and by far the best, is the dive rig made
up of tanks and mini propulsion unit. Featured in the finale of
Thunderball, Connery’s Bond receives this ground breaking
undersea technology from Q. Enabling him to escape a couple of
close calls, the finally detailed model is comprised of several
fixed components and cable and valve to oxygen tanks, that fits
neatly into the figures hand or month. The gold highlights are
crisp and well defined.
Upon closer inspection the join lines are clearly visible on
the model, however most of these appear to be lines that are featured
on the film version. The propeller on the propulsion unit is fixed
which is a good thing, as it will not become lost in the future.
Fitting the tank and propulsion unit to the figure is simple.
Using the two cloth looped hooks around the figures arms and a
buckle lets you to secure the tanks to the figure. If all this
was not enough, the figure comes with a pre-attached watch. As
with most Sideshow Bond’s, the watch is finally detailed
but small amounts of bleed are visible between the black face
and surround.
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Packaging
Featuring the world famous 3 panel artwork of Frank McCarthy
and Robert McGinnis, Sideshow has created a new oversized
box to accommodate this new figure. Larger then their previous
12” boxes, but slightly smaller then the oversize
14” Jaws box, this box is deeper to hold the dive
rig. The inner flap gives a mission briefing and cast list.
This is highlighted by figures featured in the opening credits
of the film.
On the reverse we are given a brief glimpse into Connery’s
long acting career starting with Bond and moving up until
Finding Forester. The bio also notes the wide assortment
of awards and recognition he has won. The box is finished
with Sideshows usual ‘Bond Gadgets’ and ‘Villains
Gadgets’ which briefly looks at the gizmos featured
in the film. Breaking up this information is eight film
stills plus images of the figure, of which one highlights
the new stand.
Sculpting
With two previous Connery’s under their belt, this
third Connery has been resculpted by Sideshow. This new
Connery figure has to be one Sideshow’s most challenging,
and has resulted in one of the finest pieces overall.
A new head has been sculpted by Mat Falls to enable the
figures mouth to hold the regulator. With new detail lines
around the month and a slight goldfish look, the lower half
of the head has been finally detailed. Falls has yet again
managed to create a striking resemblance to the real life
Bond. The slight improvements in Connery’s face improve
the overall appearance.
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Both hands have been changed to perfectly grasp the spear gun knife
and regulator. Closer inspection reveals finer details on the hands
and toes including defined veins, creases in the skin at the joints
and nails. Small amounts of flashing can clearly be seen on both
hands and over the crown of the which is a shame, though this does
not distract from the overall appearance.
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Compared to the two previous Connery figures, the tone on
this figure is a lot softer.
Detailing on the head is to high standard, with no visible
bleeding on any of the edges and soft highlights and defections
the detailing is equal to past Bond figures. The lips and
mouth could have been detailed a little further to aid the
expression that is created.
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“What sharp little eyes you have”
Detailing on all of the accessories is extremely high, especially
the exclusive re-breather.
Due to the nature of the figure, the lower half of the body is
exposed. If Sideshow had detailed the legs it would have easy
improved overall appearance of the figure.
Articulation
Using Sideshow's well-established sixth scale male body, Connery’s
Bond has all the movement you would expect. He features tight
fitting joints from the head, neck, ball-jointed shoulders, chest,
cut biceps, double jointed elbows, and wrists. The waist down
has a twistable waist, hips, thighs, and knees and ankles. Designed
to be positioned in a swimming pose and sporting the range of
accessories when fully equipped is next to impossible to stand
freely. The tight fitting wetsuit allows for a nearly a full range
of movements.
Outfit
The first wetsuit to be produced in the Bond range by Sideshow
works well. The white cloth shorts exposed lines are clean and
well tailored. They fit with the orange half suit compatibly;
the nappy wrap around is popper’ed into place on the figures
waist. On the whole the orange suit works extremely well, and
all the show lines are clean with fine stitching. The costume
has been produce with a tight fit in mind, and Sideshow has added
just enough material to comfortably position the figure in any
Bond pose. Sideshow has recreated the film costume on this scale
extremely well, including the extra forearm detailing.
Accessories
Aquatic Propulsion Dive Rig
Dive Mask
Dive Knife
Fins
Spear Gun.
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Overall
If you are a collector of Sideshow’s Bond series,
buying the exclusive figure with a re-breather is a must.
If you are a regular, or new collector, this figure would
be the perfect place to start.
Recommend over Sideshow’s two previous Connery figures,
this third figure sets the bar higher than any other sideshow
1:6 scale range. With a well crafted range of accessories,
Sideshow have left us wanting a second Thunderball figure,
equipped with the Bellex Rocket pack which would be a great
treat for 2005.
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Finally, the figure comes with a new Sideshow James Bond stand
that allows you to pose the figure horizontally to capture a swimming
pose. Overall, the product is one of the freshest and most adventurous
figures Sideshow has produced to date in the classic Bond series.
MI6 Rating
Related Articles
Thunderball MI6 Movie Coverage
Sean Connery - James Bond
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1998-2004.
Bond materials © Danjaq and United
Artists. Bond trademarks ™ Danjaq.
