Big Chief Studios James Bond Goldfinger: James Bond 1:6 Scale Limited Collectible Figure

I’ve bought a lot of Bandai, Figma and Storm Collectible figures but I’ve never dipped into the super-premium figures like Hot Toys or Big Chief Studios. One reason is because I’m much more of a fan of the 1:12 scale figures but also because I’ve never seen a license owned by those companies that interested me enough to pay the high price. It wasn’t until I saw the Sean Connery figure from Goldfinger that I decided to take the plunge and spend the money. The original cost of the figure was $249 and as I write this review you can still find that price online, even if not from Amazon.So, what do you get for such a high ticket? The figure is taller than a Barbie doll with much more realistic proportions. I saw a person once complain that the head is too large but I don’t think that’s the problem. When comparing the figure to still shots of Sean Connery in the gray suit you can see that Connery was clearly broader in the chest and shoulders. The figure is very long limbed which gives him a bit of a stretched out, narrow appearance. The suit is not covering a fleshed colored human figure and the clothes are not removable. My suspicion is that Big Chief Studios used an existing figure model rather than create a new one specifically for Connery’s shape and simply hoped that the suit would mask the differences.The face sculpt is fantastic although I’m used to getting several alternative expressions and I would have preferred that even if it left a seam in the side of the head. Sean Connery is very expressive and to offer just one face seems skimpy. The suit looks very film accurate but it is not removable. My one big issue is with the tie which looks all wrong. The knot was below his top shirt button which is not accurate and it’s made of a kind of thin mesh. The knot should be larger and pulled up to the top. I tried to fix it with no success. I’m also not a huge fan of the shirt collar which looks a bit chintzy. My expectations might be too high given the price tag of the figure but I definitely see room for improvement.If you’re hoping for a superior level of articulation to go with the high ticket price you’re likely to be disappointed. In defense of Big Chief, the articulation is severely handcuffed by the cloth suit. There is some fairly weak ankle articulation and the knee and elbows have better than 90 degree bends. There is some stiff bicep rotation and some shoulder articulation that is somewhat hard to maneuver due to the suit. We get some ab crunch and not so great wrist articulation and decent neck articulation. When I get a new figure I really enjoy trying to see what poses I can put it in but I really didn’t get that joy this time around. One pose I tried was to have James Bond standing with his hands in his pockets but I couldn’t pull it off. If I wasn’t concerned with damaging the fabric of the figure I probably could have forced it but I finally gave up.Based on my review someone would be excused for thinking I hate this figure. I absolutely don’t. The packaging is gorgeous and clearly targets the serious collector. As in gymnastic, there is a level of difficulty and producing a figure with a cloth suit is a whole lot more difficult than producing a figure made entirely of rubber and PVC. What I don’t understand is why the ankle and wrist joints are so average when they are not at all restrained by the suit. It’s obvious that the articulation was never meant as the centerpiece of this figure. My three big complaints are that the figure should have been more accurate to Sean Connery’s dimensions, there should have been some alternate faces and the tie gets a fail. This one will definitely get put on a shelf for display and despite my complaints I would consider getting the Auric Goldfinger figure and the Roger Moore Live and Let Die figure coming out early next year. If this figure were better I would have considered getting some of the other James Bond figures but there is definitely room for improvement.