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

One of my big issues with the Big Chief Studio’s James Bond was that it appeared that they simply repurposed an existing base body rather than create a new one based on the dimensions of Sean Connery. The result is that the figure is too narrow in the chest and shoulders and overly thick front to back. If I pay even 50 or 60 dollars for a figure my assumption is generally that I’m getting a custom figure, not something the makers had lying around, and you’re going to pay way more than that amount for these Big Chief Studio figures. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that they used the same body to create Auric Goldfinger and simply padded up the midsection and thighs. It looks more body accurate than the Sean Connery figure but feels soft, like a stuffed animal, when you pick him up.Besides being a little bit of a cheap solution, the padding also pretty much kills the articulation. He can’t swing his legs to the side and can lift them forward, maybe, 20 degrees. The thigh swivel is non-existent and his foot is able to turn 360 degrees (obviously not accurate to human anatomy) but is super loose. He actually has a double hinged knee and can kick himself in the butt if you have the desire to pose him doing that. There is no waist turn or ab crunch and his arms are extremely limited do to the padding in the shoulders. He cannot even lift his arm parallel to the ground which is pretty weak. The elbow and wrist articulation are fine but nothing spectacular. The neck articulation is pretty close to the bare minimum.What I wrote in my review of the Sean Connery figure is that Big Chief Studio’s clearly put their focus on the face sculpt and clothing. The figure is a very accurate reproduction of Gert Frobe’s face although I think Connery’s sculpt is slightly better. I really wish BCS could have included a couple of alternate heads and with the price they’re asking I don’t think it’s unreasonable. I would trade all the other extras for a few more heads. I would say that Goldfinger’s suit looks better than Bond’s and I think it’s mostly because it sits on a more accurate body. Let’s get down to brass tacks. These figures look awesome just standing there on their stands. In terms of posability, they honestly kind of stink. I mean, Hasbro has sold 12” figures with cloth clothing for less than 1/5th the cost. Are these figures really 500% better? Obviously, the main appeal is that these are licensed James Bond figures and as a huge fan of the franchise and the movie they mean a lot more to me than some generic soldier figure. It just feels to me that at the asking price there should be less flaws. For instance, the pant cuff looks rather raggedy and the lack of extra head sculpts is a bummer. When I went online to check out other James Bond figures from other companies it does appear, based on images alone, that the Big Chief Studio figures are head and shoulders above the rest particularly in the head sculpt. I could not find any figures that even came close to what BCS has achieved so that additional price clearly isn’t for nothing.One area I can’t fault BCS on is the packaging. They pack these figures in a way that nearly guarantees that the box will arrive in mint condition. The box itself is practically a piece of art in itself and they are well above other figure manufacturers like Bandai and Storm Collectibles. Standing side by side, Bond and Goldfinger look fantastic but they didn’t hook me in enough to spring for a bunch more of these figures. I plan on getting the upcoming Roger Moore figure but I’m going to pass on Oddjob, Baron Samedi and Solitaire because I’m just not impressed enough with these figures to go all out. If they were about $100 less or went further including a custom body and alternate heads I might spring for the other figures. Actually, I have to assume Samedi is a custom body since his body is exposed. Very nice figures but not five stars given the price point. Still, if you’re a huge Bond fan like I am they probably are the highest quality Bond figures ever produced.