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Manufacturer: Sideshow Toy, Inc. (www.sideshowtoy.com)
Series: Monty Python and the Holy Grail
MSRP: $40.00
Edition: 5,000 limited
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Manufacturer: Sideshow Toy, Inc. (www.sideshowtoy.com) |
It's...
The Bridgekeeper!
The Old Man from Scene 24 makes his triumphant return! Terry Gilliam's diabolically decrepit Bridgekeeper has arrived in 1/6 scale form, thanks to Sideshow's terrific Monty Python and the Holy Grail line. If you haven't seen the film, you're probably not reading this review, but just in case you need a refresher, this fine fellow guards the perilous Bridge of Death, across which is said to lie the Holy Grail itself. In order to pass, King Arthur and his knights will have to answer some pretty tricky questions -- and woe betide the knight who answers wrong!
Packaging:
Like the rest of the Holy Grail line from Series 3 onward, the
Bridgekeeper comes in a blue box with a velcroed front flap that
identifies the character and actor on the outside and offers some
information on his role on the inside. Close-ups of the figure adorn the
sides of the box, while the back features a few movie stills and a page
from the film's script. Each package in the line has character-themed
decoration; for the Bridgekeeper, this takes the form of a spooky mist
rising from the base. The usual pleasantly silly quips and warnings
also appear.
Inside, the Bridgekeeper is twistie-tied into a plastic tray, which is itself twistie-tied to a cardboard shell that provides a foggy grey backdrop for the packaged figure. The two bird accessories are held securely in the tray and may require some effort to safely pop them free.
Accessories:
The Bridgekeeper comes with a pair of tiny birds, the African and
European swallows that form a running gag in the film. For such tiny
accessories, the swallows are well sculpted, although their flattened
poses do make them look a little more like wooden replicas than living
birds. There's a bit of give to the plastic, so the wings aren't quite
as fragile as they may seem, but I'd still recommend being careful
when handling them.
Do necklaces count as accessories? Dangling on a string around his neck, the Bridgekeeper wears a set of three bones, including part of a human jaw with two molars still in residence. The bones have been given a dark wash over white paint to appear properly aged and look quite authentic.
Also included is a three-part stand with the movie logo and "Terry Gilliam as the Bridgekeeper" printed on the base. It's quite sturdy and supports the figure well in his signature poses.
Sculpting and Paint:
As usual, Sideshow has done an excellent job in capturing the
likeness of the actor. Every wrinkle of the Bridgekeeper's squinting,
leathery face is here, down to the tiny individual lines in his lips
and the bags under his eyes. Long hair is tough to pull off in plastic,
but they've done good work here in making his hair and beard look
matted and filthy. The paint is very cleanly applied. Multiple color
washes bring out the details in the hair, and the pale grey pupil of
the Bridgekeeper's blind left eye looks appropriately eerie. Brown
lines have been used to accent some of the wrinkles; it's a good idea,
but the lines are a bit too thick around the right eye and above the
left brow, making the expression seem a little cartoony when viewed up
close. The Bridgekeeper's twisted hands are just as good (the right is
reused from Patsy, but I don't recognize the left), down to the painted
dirt around their fingernails, and really contribute to the spot-on
creepiness of the character.
Articulation:
The Bridgekeeper features Sideshow's standard super-articulated 12" male body, with an added twist -- he has ball joints at both the base of his neck and the base of his skull, letting him hunch forward and still stare straight ahead. It may sound like a minor detail, but it benefits the figure tremendously. Sideshow's fore-aft shoulder movement also helps, letting you move the arms forward to emphasize the Bridgekeeper's stoop-shouldered slouch.
Costume:
Remember how much I liked Tim the Enchanter's tattered robe? The Bridgekeeper's is even better. His long grey coat is positively shredded, and the paint used to create the dirt'n'wear effect on all of his clothing stiffens and curls the tatters to make them even more chaotic. It's a really great effect. Be warned that the frayed edges are likely to keep fraying over time (which should only enhance the realism), and the figure comes out of the box shedding little bits of string everywhere.
In addition to the coat, the Bridgekeeper wears a tattered apron with a tie in the back, as well as simple peasant-style shirt and pants. All of his clothes are made from coarse, dark grey fabric and feature subtle paint and wear applications that are probably the best in the line so far. There even seems to be a bit of padding at the back of the shoulders to give the figure a slight hunch. Hidden under the beard is a thin black cord for the shirt collar. The ends of the cord are oddly long, and I had to wrap them all the way around his neck to keep them tucked out of sight. The figure's flat-bottomed black boots are from the same mold as Patsy's and support him well even without the stand.
As a final touch, the Bridgekeeper has a ribbon of grey fabric wrapped around each forearm, wrist and palm. One end of the ribbon is stitched to his sleeve, but the other is just tucked into place, which caused a bit of panic when one of his hands unexpectedly popped off and the whole thing spontaneously unravelled. Fortunately, it was easily wrapped back up again.
Overall:
The Bridgekeeper addresses pretty much every minor dissatisfaction that I've had with previous figures in the Holy Grail line. The torn clothes look terrific, the dirt and wear effect on the fabric is great, the added articulation is perfect and the expression is dead-on. Even the swallows are a nice bonus. If not for the odd brown stripes on the face, I'd consider this a perfect figure; as it is, it's darned close. Highly recommended to fans of Monty Python or anyone who's ever wanted a creepy old man toy.
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