Hot Toys James Bond Figures

[DrWeaponX]

So you think we will get only James figures? No villans and girls?

Girls? Unlikely. I don’t see enough of a market and since most every Bond actress never headlined a large/adjacent blockbuster property (except maybe Halle Barry and DAD is out of the question), I just don’t see many sales justifying it, especially since the costumes are basically dresses.

Villains? I could see. BCS failed on many levels but their biggest failure was the obscurity of their licenses which was compounded by the obscurity of their figures. Sure, 007, Who, and Peaky are/were cultural zeitgeists but the supporting characters aren’t. That said, Goldfinger and Samedi were audacious and overall pretty solid offerings for what they were.

I could see a 006 (Bean is still topical), Scaramanga (Lee is having a resurgence in 1/6), Oddjob (HT excels with Asian likenesses), and maybe Jaws for a wow factor.

All of that said, I agree with most that this was probably more of a commercial move to box out other competitors from the license. The market has been awash with Craig sculpts and likenesses from third parties and customizers for YEARS of varying quality - it just doesn’t seem that exciting to start with him (though logical).

My suggestion if HT is reading:

Wave 1
James Bond - Goldeneye Jungle fatigues (full accessory suite, exclusive: some kind of N64 pack-in)
Jaws - Moonraker (Moonraker diorama, laser, metal bar for Jaws, moveable jaw)

Wave 2
James Bond - thunderball - white tux/rubber diving suit two-pack
Scaramanga - Blue leisure suit/white suit set, golden gun, energy device diorama base

 

[Johnny Utah]

Man a Thunderball Sean would be insane. Seamless legs, blue fins, red wetsuit, harpoon.

 

[aksimpson123]

Anyone know when first looks are expected to drop or do we presume it will be at SDCC this summer?

 

[Johnny Utah]

I think they'll start earlier. The announcement was clear but vague enough so as to drop at any time.

I will be in disbelief for a week or so after seeing a HT Bond figure from initial pics to Secret Base pics and so on. It really is a game changing license.

 

[HyperDrive]

I’m gonna laugh when all they do is Craig. Probably Connery and maybe Brosnan.

What people need to remember is mass market demand and I think we’re collectively overestimating that. I know most of y’all in here would go for anyone and everyone but the masses wouldn’t imo.

The Bond girls are definitely out of the question. I’d say the villains are as well.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Not many people going to spend $280 plus shipping and fees on a Bond girl... or many villains either. Certainly not enough people to meet factory requirements.

I just can't fathom a way for HT to make this line worth their time. Not sure why, now, they bothered to pick it up. I can only think that they believe Craig and Connery will sell well enough to make those two alone worth their while. Maybe SDCC variants.

Will they go Artisan in order to jack up the price?

 

[HyperDrive]

None of these main Bond characters need the Artisan treatment.

Idk why we’re overthinking this. Look at Arcane, two figures and that’s most likely it. Same goes for League of Legends or Netflix One Piece. The recent main character for Squid Games S2 will most likely be it too.

If they make Craig, that’s good enough and would be “worth their time”. One and done. They tease the license they’ve obtained as a marketing gimmick just like they’ve always done in the past.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Well yeah, that's what I'm expecting, ultimately. Craig.

 

[HyperDrive]

I hate to be the Debbie Downer, but I seriously wouldn’t expect much out of this “line”. I get it… people are excited, but to think this is going to be anything more than a 1-3 figure max “line” is unrealistic imo.

 

[cmiller99]

It's the difference between a company like Hot Toys and a company like Big Chief having a license like Bond.

Hot Toys don't really have any incentive to go deep here unless there's a lot, lot more demand for Bond figures than expected, which is pretty unlikely. Hot Toys are used to Marvel, Star Wars, DC sales levels. I doubt Bond can match that across multiple figures. This license is just another feather in HT's cap.

Whereas a company like Big Chief definitely had a massive incentive to go deep into a prestigious license like Bond, or Doctor Who for that matter, to establish itself as a recognised and respectable company with the ability to make quality figures from important IPs. Unfortunately for everyone, they really ****ed it up.

 

[Johnny Utah]

I think HT sees Marvel and Star Wars aren't as lucrative as they used to be. They're going back to earlier films in both franchises this year, but Bond is a massive license, and has never been done in this kind of quality. I think they'll have it for years and go deep, doing waves of 2-3 figures per film. Bond, the villain, the henchman, a girl.

 

[cmiller99]

Marvel and Star Wars are over-saturated, certainly. It's been interesting to see Hot Toys recently diversifying a bit more and re-engaging with some of the licenses that built their reputation in the 2009-2014 period (i.e. pre-Star Wars license, back in the innocent days where the most we had to complain about was too many Nolan Batman figures). That said, the only properties where Hot Toys have reliably, consistently and frequently produced figure after figure over the course of the last fifteen years are Star Wars, Marvel, and DC. It's the question that always comes up in these kinds of conversations on here: how popular is this property in Asia? I daresay Bond actually might stack up pretty well - these films have generally been worldwide hits and the British presence in Hong Kong may have helped its popularity there too.

 

[DioramaMaker]

I'm gonna level with you, because some folks just want to be the most negative Nancies possible, even myself to an extent.

This isn't a one figure license, it's simply too hard to obtain and the holders are extremely particular from what I understand.

Craig, Brosnan, Connery. I stand by that.

If those do well, you'll see a "B" tier companion piece (villain, henchman, girl) release for each one. Around the same time they'll do an alt version of the appropriate Bond to get double use out of the sculpt and entice sales on the B tier release.

But, in the face of everything....

I expect, at worst, two of each of those Bonds in alt styles. If all else goes sideways.

But it's not just Craig.

 

[RandomHero]

Hot Toys don't really have any incentive to go deep here unless there's a lot, lot more demand for Bond figures than expected, which is pretty unlikely. Hot Toys are used to Marvel, Star Wars, DC sales levels. I doubt Bond can match that across multiple figures. This license is just another feather in HT's cap.

I entirely disagree.

Marvel isn't a cultural phenomenon anymore. It's regressed massively, which even Marvel is aware of with the joke about Wolverine joining at a low point in the last Deadpool movie. DC can't get out it's own way - maybe Gunn will fix things, maybe he won't, but there's a reason companies keep rehashing the same figures from the Nolan movies over and over. Star Wars is in a weird way - nothing from Andor or Skeleton Crew which were well received, nothing from The Acolyte and barely anything from Mando Season 3 which were horribly received. The Mando & Grogu movie in 2026 will be the first Star Wars film in 7 years, which is somehow not that far off from the gap between ROTS and TFA.

Inflation has been here. Tariffs are arriving. Economic uncertainty/trade war is looming. War feels inevitable. People's collecting habits are already changing. There isn't going to be a craze for secondary characters like there was a few years ago. I certainly wouldn't have bought Koska Reeves or Moff Gideon if they came out today.

Bond is largely untouched. The figures that are out there fall well short of what current standards are for sixth scale figures. Bond is popular worldwide. If you adjust for inflation, 7 of the 25 movies have made over a billion in modern dollars. All 9 of the Craig/Brosnan movies were over $700 million. Bond is definitely up there with the Darth Vaders and Indiana Joneses of film, where even if you haven't seen the movie, you know who the character is.

Hot Toys might just go Craig, Brosnan and Connery to start, and if they sell well, they'll expand. They need another line that's going to make them money as the previous cash cows they had have started to dry up.

 

[BurningRage]

Would be funny if they just made Lazenby.

 

[cmiller99]

I entirely disagree.

Marvel isn't a cultural phenomenon anymore. It's regressed massively, which even Marvel is aware of with the joke about Wolverine joining at a low point in the last Deadpool movie. DC can't get out it's own way - maybe Gunn will fix things, maybe he won't, but there's a reason companies keep rehashing the same figures from the Nolan movies over and over. Star Wars is in a weird way - nothing from Andor or Skeleton Crew which were well received, nothing from The Acolyte and barely anything from Mando Season 3 which were horribly received. The Mando & Grogu movie in 2026 will be the first Star Wars film in 7 years, which is somehow not that far off from the gap between ROTS and TFA.

Inflation has been here. Tariffs are arriving. Economic uncertainty/trade war is looming. War feels inevitable. People's collecting habits are already changing. There isn't going to be a craze for secondary characters like there was a few years ago. I certainly wouldn't have bought Koska Reeves or Moff Gideon if they came out today.

Bond is largely untouched. The figures that are out there fall well short of what current standards are for sixth scale figures. Bond is popular worldwide. If you adjust for inflation, 7 of the 25 movies have made over a billion in modern dollars. All 9 of the Craig/Brosnan movies were over $700 million. Bond is definitely up there with the Darth Vaders and Indiana Joneses of film, where even if you haven't seen the movie, you know who the character is.

Hot Toys might just go Craig, Brosnan and Connery to start, and if they sell well, they'll expand. They need another line that's going to make them money as the previous cash cows they had have started to dry up.

I both agree and disagree with parts of what you're saying.

What you're saying about modern Marvel, SW, DC not meeting expectations and this eating into sales as a result is true. But what you're saying about the tariffs etc. also applies to Bond - how many people will want to go deeper than Craig, Brosnan and Connery in a marketplace that's reluctant to invest in secondary characters? Aside from Moore, I suppose, who would probably sell well. But beyond that?

Trying to guess what will happen with the HT Bond license inevitably involves a lot of speculating, and some of it revolves around how popular the films are in Asia. They actually might have quite a good history there, which is promising, but I was recently looking into this and I struggled to find any solid box office stats to back this up. So I don't know. I'm just guessing that the British occupation of Hong Kong will have helped Bond maintain a big presence in Hot Toys' home turf throughout the series' history.

Bond is iconic and popular worldwide, and as you rightly point out these movies are consistently global box office hits, but there have only been three Bond movies in the last fifteen years, five in the last twenty. At their peak Marvel were releasing a movie that made as much money as a modern Bond film two or three times a year. Will that equate to similar levels of figure sales, or demand? A smaller company would be satisfied, but if the first two Bond figures they release under-perform compared to the average Avenger figure, what will Hot Toys take away from that?

I agree that there's potential for them to do really well with the line, and they're in a better position than Big Chief because the quality will be there from the start. So they'll obviously avoid the scenario that Big Chief found itself in where the figures weren't selling well for quality reasons amongst others, and as a result the money started to dry up, eventually leading to their insolvency.

Hot Toys may well be looking for new cash cow line, I'm just unsure if Bond will be the answer. It'd be nice if it was! One thing I can definitely agree with you on is that their approach will probably be to start with Craig, Brosnan and Connery, then to see what happens.

 

[a-dev]

Would be funny if they just made Lazenby.

Poor George, he's the only one I don't think I could be remotely tempted by from Hot Toys.

My number one choice is Brosnan - for the combination of nostalgia and yet being somewhat modern. Next I think I'll go with Roger Moore for what is, for me, the full-on childhood nostalgia. Then Craig. Then Connery. Then Dalton.

As far as villains....to tell the truth, I think Jaws is the only one I'd consider for how big and distinctive he would be on the shelf. OK I might find it hard to turn down a good Sean Bean likeness for Alec Trevelyan.

Bond girls, well, sight unseen I have no interest. Hot Toys has a hard time with female likenesses anyway.

 

[On Porpoise]

Timothy Dalton you would think should figure in there somewhere, especially since License to Kill was the first Bond I ever saw in the cinema. I guess his films just never quite struck the right chord with me.

Was my first Bond film as well. Still remember my dad taking me to it. I liked it well enough that when TNT or TBS, forget which one, had their Bond marathons I figured I would give them a watch. I was hooked right then and there. It became an annual event to watch those marathons and catch every single one. The only thing was that, for many many years, they never aired A View To A Kill or The Living Daylights for some reason . It was so aggravating because I wanted to see them ALL. Eventually they got them and I saw that I wasn't missing out on much .

After seeing Connery and Moore I quickly lost interest in Dalton. His movies were just too serious and didn't have the fun all the Connery and Moore movies had. Came across too much like standard spy movies rather than a Bond movie.

As for this line, as long as I get my golden trio I will be well satisfied.

Connery - Goldfinger
Moore - Man With The Golden Gun
Brosnan - Goldeneye

I've always liked that my favorite Bond movies had gold in the title.

 

[choombaz]

Would be funny if they just made Lazenby.

Sorry who?

Bond girls, well, sight unseen I have no interest. Hot Toys has a hard time with female likenesses anyway.

I don’t think they have a problem necessarily with female likenesses. I think it’s more a combination of they struggle often with younger people who don’t have any wrinkles or other distinctive facial features. Plus they seem to have an A team and a B team (and probably a C team lol) and just put them on the projects that have more money invested and their own personal interests. There are some amazing female likenesses out there - Hela, some of the Black Widows, some of the Angelina Jolies for example.

After seeing Connery and Moore I quickly lost interest in Dalton. His movies were just too serious and didn't have the fun all the Connery and Moore movies had.

I’m sure there is a ton of silly stuff in those Dalton movies isn’t there? The chase across the ice seems pure Bond for example. Dalton was more serious than the others I agree but I thought in Living Daylights especially he always seemed to have a twinkle in the eye and reminded me a lot of Connery in that one.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Love the ice chase and inflight fight. Yes those are the soundtrack song names