My entry is James Bond, Agent 007 as played by George Lazenby in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” from 1969. This figure has been 10-plus years in the making. The figure, in spirit of this very site is of course by Sideshow. The outfit was custom made for me by Project Are and I supplied them with women's tights in the correct color of Bond's ski outfit in the movie. A plush doll of Willy Wonka gave up its life for the goggles, which I liberated with a Dremel grinding tool with the straps printed out on photo paper and trimmed. The hat is Ken's with a pom-pom added to the tip. I found the skis loose at a toy show, which I believe are from "The Corps" or maybe even Soldiers of the World. The boots, bindings and the decals for those and the skis have been painstakingly reproduced by me, though it's a pity that the snow weathering obscured much of it. The poles are Hasbro.
I know that what follows is from the novel and not the movie, but it captures the spirit of the ski chase sequence when James Bond escapes from Blofeld’s mountaintop lair in Switzerland, Piz Gloria on Christmas Eve.
Excerpts from Chapter 16, “Downhill Only,” On Her Majesty’s Secret Service by Ian Fleming.
“The three-quarter moon burned down with an almost dazzling fire and the snow crystals scintillated back at it like a carpet of diamond dust… Bond didn't pause. He went straight for it and over the edge… The first vertical drop had a spine-chilling bliss to it. Bond got down into his old Arlberg crouch, his hands forward of his boots, and just let himself go. His skis were an ugly six inches apart… But this was no time for style, even if he had been capable of it! Above all he must stay upright!
Bond's speed was now frightening… Danger was momentarily forgotten in the joy of speed, technique, and mastery of the snow. Bond straightened up and almost dived into his next turn, this time to the left, leaving a broad S on the virgin mountain behind him…
There was a slight upward slope short of the big turn. Bond took it at speed, felt his skis leave the ground at the crest of it, jabbed into the snow with his left stick as an extra lever and threw his skis and his right shoulder and hips round to the left. He landed in a spray of snow, at a dead halt. He was delighted with himself! A Sprung-Christiana is a showy and not an easy turn at speed… “
Here's some of the shots that I converted to nighttime (never thought I'd be doing my own "day for night" photography!)
