Big Chief Studios James Bond Series

[Wor-Gar]

I would try the Launch Pad on a single figure and certainly hope that the production piece came out close to the proto. If it doesn't, that will be the end of Launch Pad for me. Same reason I rarely invest in custom projects. Really, its no different than preordering. I don't preorder from Threezero because they are so inconsistent.

 

[posterguy]

October 1968 : OHMSS starts filming in Switzerland........

 

[Doodlebob7]

Where the **** are Pierce and Craig, I can't believe it's been this long and nothing. Also that laughpad scheme sounds stupid, I would never get in on that.

 

[posterguy]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LBGrnBDJlUQ

55th anniversary FRWL , prolly the best script in the series

 

[Raymond F.]

Launchpad just means the line crashed and burned. Which is a bit of a bummer. I think the nose thing really screwed them up. Not their fault either but where they screwed up big time was not communicating with the customers enough and taking a year to replace them. Even if it took a year they should, have communicated with the customer.

I think LALD will come out. much later than expected but it will but if launch pad is for the most iconic Bond incarnation ever and not some random thing like a Honey Rider the line is as good as dead.

With their shoddy QC and it being a big question mark if something will even look OK in production there is no way the launch pad idea is going to work.

I'd get Baron and Solitaire just to support the line but Really just don't want to dedicate space in my collection to them since they are bound to be 3/5 figures. Even 5/5 figures would be a stretch and I'm a big Bond fan.

They maybe had their strategy wrong. The second line should have probably been a Daniel Craig line. Something that is a bit more recent to get mainstream appeal (even though I actually prefer the LALD approach myself).

 

[thecapn]

Launchpad just means the line crashed and burned. Which is a bit of a bummer. I think the nose thing really screwed them up. Not their fault either but where they screwed up big time was not communicating with the customers enough and taking a year to replace them. Even if it took a year they should, have communicated with the customer.

I think LALD will come out. much later than expected but it will but if launch pad is for the most iconic Bond incarnation ever and not some random thing like a Honey Rider the line is as good as dead.

With their shoddy QC and it being a big question mark if something will even look OK in production there is no way the launch pad idea is going to work.

I'd get Baron and Solitaire just to support the line but Really just don't want to dedicate space in my collection to them since they are bound to be 3/5 figures. Even 5/5 figures would be a stretch and I'm a big Bond fan.

They maybe had their strategy wrong. The second line should have probably been a Daniel Craig line. Something that is a bit more recent to get mainstream appeal (even though I actually prefer the LALD approach myself).

Wasn't the delay in a Craig line set by EON? I could've sworn I read somewhere where they wanted Big Chief to focus on "the classics" first before moving into modern figures. Which is a HUGE mistake, I agree, but may not have been Big Chief's.

Also - I personally only need one Connery. And if you've already bought the Goldfinger version, why buy the Dr. No version? Perhaps they think many collectors feel that way and won't "double dip" on their Bonds.

 

[ChaserFan]

Yeah I don’t feel the need to get another Connery. It’s a shame they can’t just get one of each Bond out, and save their time and money on the less popular/successful characters.

 

[spindrift]

Launchpad just means the line crashed and burned. Which is a bit of a bummer. I think the nose thing really screwed them up. Not their fault either but where they screwed up big time was not communicating with the customers enough and taking a year to replace them. Even if it took a year they should, have communicated with the customer.

I think LALD will come out. much later than expected but it will but if launch pad is for the most iconic Bond incarnation ever and not some random thing like a Honey Rider the line is as good as dead.

With their shoddy QC and it being a big question mark if something will even look OK in production there is no way the launch pad idea is going to work.

I'd get Baron and Solitaire just to support the line but Really just don't want to dedicate space in my collection to them since they are bound to be 3/5 figures. Even 5/5 figures would be a stretch and I'm a big Bond fan.

They maybe had their strategy wrong. The second line should have probably been a Daniel Craig line. Something that is a bit more recent to get mainstream appeal (even though I actually prefer the LALD approach myself).

I agree- the line is done- LALD figures might come out or might not.
Yes the Craig line was important- too limited interest in 50 year old plus Bond films by the 1/6 community(not me- they are my favorites still)

 

[Wor-Gar]

Unfortunately, except for a few of us here, not many people on the planet want $250 representations of 50 year-old Bond characters. Essentially, guys in suits.

The only Bond movies that I believe would sell well are Goldfinger, Spy Who Loved Me, GoldenEye and Casino Royal -- with honorable mention to Thunderball and Skyfall. Beyond that, at these prices, its very pick-and-choose your Bond outfit or favorite villain.

Letting EON or Danjaq decide that Live And Let Die will be their 2nd offering was a really bad idea. When Sideshow did it, the figures were $29.99. At nearly ten times that, people only want one Connery Bond, etc. And there's very few villains most people would pay for -- Oddjob and Jaws being the most likely.

Dr. No should have been after Goldfinger since its the 1st Bond, then they should have shifted to a modern Bond (Brosnan or Craig), then back to Moore.

But hey, no game-plan for Bond would mean 'big money' no matter what they did. Its an old franchise that has been tired for a long time. Casino Royal made a great promise that it never kept and the films have been produced sparsely ever since. Nobody involved even seems excited about doing them anymore. That family needs some fresh eyes and a new Bond desperately. But anyway...


Sad to see this line suffer so quickly. I had high hopes of at least getting about 3-4 movie offerings before things started to go sideways. Certainly hoped for TSWLM before it tanked.



So... what's going on with TSWLM Tuxedo project? Really, there's that little interest we can't even find 15 people here? Tells you all you need to know about the IP.

 

[spindrift]

Yes and I'm afraid the Mission Impossible films are far more entertaining and have FAR better action than the last few Bonds. Tired is a good word for it.
Perhaps Nolan will do the one after this and refresh the series- or maybe not.

 

[davejames]

Yeah it definitely feels like they overextended themselves. Instead of trying to get out three figures per movie, they should have just focused on making the actual Bonds look as good as possible. And that the suits and paint jobs lived up to the great sculpts that had been created for them.

 

[shells075]

Re: Big Chief studios - James Bond Collector figures

crazy news.. I hope for leaps and bounds of improvment from this company to do justice to the license though.

The second post in this thread has proved to be quite prophetic.

 

[Steel & Flesh]

Just how much would it cost me if i was to join in on the TSWLM Tuxedo project

 

[Freakazoid!]

Yes and I'm afraid the Mission Impossible films are far more entertaining and have FAR better action than the last few Bonds. Tired is a good word for it.
Perhaps Nolan will do the one after this and refresh the series- or maybe not.

Two things I felt towards the Bond franchise this year:

-When Danny Boyle was announced to be the director, I felt it was a smart move, but instantly knew this would end in "creative differences"- and it did, unfortunately. Not sure what those differences were about, though.

-When I went to see Mission: Impossible Fallout I felt like the Bond franchise was in a tough spot- how can Bond compete with all the extra possibilities the M:I formula has? M:I worked towards a really nice balance of mixing a very personal story with larger than life stunts. It is a team film that establishes missions ahead of the happening. It has well-balanced humor. Spectre was the first Bond film to try a personal story since Goldeneye, but it didn't work out (IMO).

At this point I really don't know which direction the Bond franchise should take. Going into 60's period piece territory seems like a good way to differentiate itself from M:I. Then again, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. already did that.

 

[davejames]

As much as I enjoy the MI films, there's still something about the classier and more stylish world of Bond that I really love. At least when it's done well, like in Casino Royale and Skyfall.

Plus I just find Bond an inherently cooler and more compelling character to watch than Cruise's Ethan Hunt. Who still feels a bit like a generic action hero to me.

 

[Raymond F.]

Oh I have to say that I think Bond, even the bad Bond movies are in a totally different class than those mission impossible movies.

I watched a couple of the more recent ones and they were enjoyable, do I remember a god damn thing about any of them? Nope. Not a single supporting character, the only villain I can remember is Philip Seymore Hoffman and I think that movie was regarded the worst of the series. it all took like a decade or whatever to bring the franchise back and they did so in such a way that give little advancement to character.

Ethan Hunt is just Tom Cruise, no more no less. And I like Cruise in that kind of movie, and the films were fun to watch but there is no world there.

James Bond may not make linear storylines in their movies either and Bond is not exactly the most multi dimensional of characters either, but he has such a distinct and original aura, charisma and essence as does his world and supporting characters.

Bond has flavor and MI does not.

That's the way I look at it!

MI is most welcome to me! and honestly should probably have some official merchandise, but in no way do I think it replaces or even parodies James Bond as a franchise or the need for James Bond merch in any way.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Very well put.

MI has always seemed as hollow as its lead to me.


I do wish Bond would go back to the bigger better set-pieces its seems to have forgotten about. They haven't had a great one since that construction site chase in the opening of Casino Royal. That chase was the best footchase ever -- and really got the testosterone flowing for the rest of the film, which sadly rested on a card game.

I also miss the big bad bases that the colorful villains used to have. They were fun even when illogical. I feel better when Bond blows up the bad guy's base.

 

[Raymond F.]

I agree Wor Gar!

And many may not agree with me but this is why I really think Spectre was an underrated film. To me it was classic Bond.

Beautiful locations and super stylish art/costume direction? Check
Lumbering brute of a villain in Dave Bautista? Check
Great cart chase? Check
Charismatic and evil mastermind villain played by a memorable actor in Waltz? Check
Train /fight sequence? Check
Big super villain lair that gets blown up? Check

 

[Raymond F.]

You put an interesting point out there as it pertains to Casino too. That opening sequence was one of the best ever and in sharp contrast to the rest of the film. But to me thats why that movie is pure and utter magic as it succeeded in going balls to the wall in the opening sequence and lead up to a card game which on paper seems like it should be a downer, yet it managed to get more and more interesting and intense as the film progressed.

One of my all time favorite films, one of the best ever made, not just Bond but action/drama if you ask me

 

[Wor-Gar]

I do love Casino Royal, but I wish there was just one more high-octane set-piece to match that opening somewhere at the end of the 2nd act. The car bit, rolling over after missing Vesper, wasn't what it could have been for me. That said, its still Craig's best outing for me -- and a far better movie than most Bonds.

I do have to question the Spectre "car chase" though on your check list. The chase being interrupted with Moneypenny getting milk from her fridge really killed any high-octane adrenaline for me.

My issue with Spectre was that it hit all the right structural notes and tropes but just bent them in a weird way that isn't Bond.