James Bond Action Figures!!!

I can't believe it. My dreams have come true. (I have very simple dreams.) The Corgi James Bond action figures I speculated about last year are actually happening! After several waves of stationary figurines (Gilbert called them "action figures" in the Sixties; Corgi made the best to date out of metal in the Nineties) and larger dolls of varying quality (Sideshow generally produced the best in their 12-inch Bond line), we're finally getting real, honest-to-goodness James Bond action figures! (There were some produced briefly by Hasbro in Mexico in the early Eighties, but they were terrible and are impossible to find; and there was, of course, the line of James Bond Jr. figures in the early Nineties, but they hardly count unless your ideal Oddjob wears a purple sweatsuit and lots of bling.)

CommanderBond.Net gave the heads-up yesterday to a story on Action-Figure.com about Corgi's display at the current UK Toyfair trade show. The website even provides lots of tantalizing pictures! And they look great. Really, really great. There will be waves of five-inch figures based on Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, and a range of seven-inch figures based on classic Bond. These ones will be less posable and more statue-like in nature, like McFarlane's 24 figures or the Star Wars Unleashed line. Characters include Moore, Connery, Brosnan and Craig versions of Bond as well as Solitaire, Scaramanga (yay!), Oddjob, Jaws, Pussy Galore, Vesper, Honey Rider and even Baron Samedi! (He actually looks very cool.) Imagine having a seven-inch Honey Rider on your desk! This looks set to be a great line, and will definitely net Corgi a lot of my personal dollars. I hope it does well in general and we end up getting figures from all the movies! (I really want Dalton, Lazenby, Tracy and Xenia... and a Rocket Pack Bond from Thunderball would be welcome, too...) The five-inch line will also include vehicles.

No matter what people say to me for the rest of the week, all I will hear coming out of their mouths will be, "James Bond action figures." (Luckily, people who know me well will accept this. I thank them in advance for their understanding.) I am very excited. Frankly, I think I'm looking forward to these toys even more than to Devil May Care or Quantum of Solace!