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Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Tim the Enchanter

By Daniel Lipkowitz, Assistant Editor

It's...

Tim the Enchanter!

Although he had only a small role in the film, guiding King Arthur and his knights to the Cave of Caerbannog near the end of their quest for the Holy Grail, Tim the Enchanter was undeniably impressive with his skill in magical pyrotechnics.

Well, you could probably try to deny it, but really, where would that get you?

Packaging:

Like the Black Knight and the Dead Collector, Tim the Enchanter comes in a large box featuring character-specific decoration superimposed over movie art. Tim's packaging erupts in blazing fireballs, with several holes actually "burned" through the blackened front flap. I'm starting to really like these uniform-but-individualized boxes that we're getting for the newer releases in the Holy Grail line.

The requisite silly notes include a warning advising the purchaser that Tim the Enchanter himself would not easily fit inside the box, and therefore what one is in fact buying is a 1/6-scale replica. On the inside of the front flap is a brief bit of text explaining that Tim, while doubtless knowledgeable and powerful, was not really that legendary a character after all. Poor Tim.

Thankfully, Tim and his accessories are not nearly as difficult to remove from their packaging as are the Dead Collector and his triangle. There's no torso-wrapping twistie-tie this time around, and Tim's staff and neck accoutrements come easily out of the plastic tray. The cardboard backing is, unsurprisingly, fireball-themed, and the black-cloaked Tim looks pretty nifty superimposed in front of the blazing inferno.

Accessories:

Tim the Enchanter's main accessory is his wizard's staff. It's appropriately long and wood-like, with good sculpting and durable plastic, and several shades of brown paint bring out the details.

Tim also has an assortment of... stuff to hang around his neck. This includes a bone, a pouch, a small sack and what seems to be some sort of stone medallion, each with its own loop of string. The bone and medallion are especially good, with multiple paint applications making them look worn and weathered. The strings slip easily over Tim's horns, and the eclectic collection of objects looks quite wizardly suspended under his long beard.

Like other recent Sideshow releases, Tim also comes with a good-quality figure stand. The round base displays the Monty Python and the Holy Grail movie logo and the text "John Cleese as Tim the Enchanter".

Sculpting and Paint:

Tim's face features a pretty good likeness of John Cleese (not that Cleese was all that recognizable in his enchanter get-up). Oddly, although the sculpt appears to be identical, a comparison of the final product's face to the box photos reveals that some subtle change of Tim's features seems to have transformed his expression from intense and serious to rather worried and quizzical, like he's just finished saying, 'There are some who call me... Tim?"

Tim's skullcap is nicely sculpted and colored, and the sweeping ram's horns on the sides of his head are beautifully painted and detailed. The horns are made of a flexible plastic, so the ends shouldn't run any risk of snapping off, and their asymmetrical curling looks to be a perfect match for the film stills. Another nice job from Sideshow's sculptors.

They've also done something neat with Tim's two-toned beard. While his moustache and the black sides of the beard are part of the facial sculpt, the long and wispy white center is made of synthetic hair. While not a perfect blending, it's a very nice effect, and the result is that the beard both looks more realistic and permits a full range of neck movement.

Articulation:

Tim the Enchanter uses the usual well-articulated Sideshow 12" body, with his boots limiting ankle poseability but a full range of movement otherwise. No problems here!

Costume:

Tim the Enchanter may not be the most legendary of the Holy Grail characters, but he certainly is one of the film's more visually striking designs. Clad in five layers of tattered black and red robes, Tim looks mysterious, imposing and ancient -- and with his mixture of torn cloth and skeletal animal bits, he's instantly recognizable as the granddaddy of a legion of nightmarish Terry Gilliam creations.

Tim's outer cloak is stitched to the skirt of his inner robe to keep it closed in the packaging, but it's easy enough to strip the string and separate the layers. The tatters are achieved with a series of straight cuts along the edges of the robes. The cut sections fray naturally for a more realistically worn appearance, but thanks to the coarseness of the fabric, they won't completely unravel with use. Be warned, though, that when first taking Tim out of the packaging, you will very likely end up covered in loose black and red threads.

Spatters of paint simulate dirt and mud along the bottom half of Tim's robes, adding to the appearance of age and decay. The back of the outer cloak is covered with vertical slits, letting the red of the inner cloak peek through. The hood is large enough to fit over Tim's horns, and even though his robes reach the ground, the enchanter sports a nicely sculpted and painted pair of boots underneath.

Overall:

There's very little to complain about here. The various cuts and rents in Tim's robes are perhaps more precise than one might wish for, but I can't think of a better way to handle the tattered look of the outfit on a mass production scale, and the result looks pretty darned good. The accessories and sculpt are nice, the painting is excellent and the design of the beard is quite clever. If you like the line or just want a scary-looking wizardy druidy figure, then I'm happy to recommend Tim the Enchanter.

You can see pictures of Tim the Enchanter in our Gallery!