MI6 Review: Zao - Sideshow Collectibles

Die Another Day saw 007 turn 40 on the silver screen with the addition of the 20th film to the canon. The actor Rick Yune was cast along side Toby Stephens as henchman Zao. To evade capture Bond sets off a bomb in the opening sequence of Die Another Day, which results in the villain Zao becoming diamond encrusted.

Sideshow Collectibles, founded in 1994, has been exclusively licensed to create a line of 12" collectible figures in the likeness of all five Bond actors, key villains and some of the famous women. MI6 reviews the Sideshow Collectibles figures...

Zao - Rick Yune

Item No: 7716
Size: 12 inch (304mm)
Weight: 3.00 lbs (1.30 Kg)
Units: 3000
Artist: Mat Falls

Order Online - Sideshow Collectibles

Official Description
As Bond tries to escape from crazed General Lee in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, he sets off a series of explosions as diversions. One of these explosions turns a handful of Conflict Diamonds into shrapnel, imbedding into the face of Zao, Lee's henchman. In a later attempt to change his appearance, Zao undergoes radical facial reconstruction but Bond's meddling leaves the process incomplete causing Zao's diamond studded appearance to take on an albino like quality. It seems in Zao's case, diamonds are a man's best friend.

Accessories
This 12 inch Zao figure is fully articulated and features a film-accurate portrait, costume and accessories.

Included in the full-color package:
• Stetchkin pistol
• Icarus glove
• 12" figure stand with Die Another Day logo

Packaging
The rear face of the box looks at Rick Yune’s career so far and is split by half a dozen stills from the film. Rounding up the rear cover are three paragraphs, ‘The Villian Gadgets’ a look at the Jaguar XKR and Icarus, Brosnan four time ‘James Bond’, and ‘Bond Girl’ a Halle Berry. The rear is finished with an image of Sideshow's Jinx figure, posed with a gun.

The inner flap gives a brief mission overview and cast list, which is the same as the on the box for the Jinx figure. A US character poster of Zao is used on the front, and the sides of the box show Zao posed through the eye of the gun barrel logo, with the film title and character name above.

Three wires and a plastic band around the legs hold the figure in the box. These are easily removed. The stand has been placed along-side the figure, meaning it’s easily removed and replaced with no damage to the box. The stand is stamped with the film title “Die Another Day” and character name.

Sculpting
Mat Falls returns to work on this Die Another Day figure, and the sculpting looks excellent, capturing Rick Yune's heavily made-up appearance. The diamonds on the face mostly match up, however some appear missing. Falls has encapsulated the hairless henchman’s sinister look. The right hand has been perfectly set to hold the pistol. Upon closer inspection, finer details on the hands are visible including veins, tendons and creases in the skin at the joints. Small amounts of flashing can be seen on both hands.

Both accessories have been sculpted with much care by the Sideshow team and have not lost any detailing in the manufacturing process, which can sometimes be the case with finer items.

Articulation
Using Sideshow's well-established sixth scale male body, Zao has all the movement you would expect. He features tight fitting joints from the head, neck, ball-jointed shoulders, chest, cut biceps, double jointed elbows, and wrists. The waist is twistable along with the, hips, thighs, and knees. The loose fitting costume allows for a full range of movement. However the boots restricted the ankles' full range of movement.

Outfit
The figure has layers and layers of well-tailored film accurate clothing. Simple black trousers (pants) with a single popper at the waist securing them. These are tucked neatly into the soft rubber boots, which carry a lot of great detailing around the laces.

The figure wears an elasticized black polo shirt, which fits tightly and is similar to the shirt on the Lazenby figure. Next is the excellent waistcoat, sharply tailored with a neat finish. The waistcoat has three poppers on the left hand side.

The trench coat on this figure is great - a perfect length and cut, allowing the character free range of movement.

Accessories
The Zao figure comes with two accessories that are both seen in the film. First - a Stetchkin pistol with removable magazine, the bullets of which are well sculpted and detailed, fitting snugly into the handle. The gun is finished with a brown detailing on the grip. The slide of the gun can moved back and forth. Overall the gun is one of the bettered detailed accessories in the Bond range.

The second and final accessory is the Icarus glove, which is worn by both Zao and Graves in the film. Finished to a high level both in sculpting and painting, the glove has been caringly recreated.

Accessories
Stetchkin pistol
Icarus glove

Overall
Paint and costume on this figure are some of Sideshow's most effective work. This figure completes the Die Another Day set along with Pierce Brosnan as James Bond and Halle Berry as Jinx.

MI6 Rating