MI6 Review: Tee Hee - Sideshow Collectibles

In July 1973, 007 returned to theatres with "Live and Let Die" and a new James Bond was ushered into the series. 44 year old Roger Moore replaced Sean Connery and began his run as 007 which lasted seven films spanning 12 years.

The movie's villain, Mr Big, had an iconic right hand man in the shape of Tee Hee, portrayed by the late Julius W. Harris. The one armed henchman lost his limb to a Louisiana crocodile called "Old Albert" and had it replaced with a menacing metal claw.

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.

Tee Hee - Julius Harris

Item No: 7712
Size: 12 inch (304mm)
Weight: 3.00 lbs (1.30 Kg)
Units: 5000
Artist: Mat Falls
Released: October 2003

Order Online - Sideshow Collectibles

Official Description
The 12" limited edition figure of Julius Harris (Tee Hee) is dressed in a tailored costume and sports props and weapons as used in the film.

Accessories
The 12" figure comes with a pair of aviator sunglasses, baby crocodile, chicken quarter, and figure stand.

Right: The front box art uses a teaser poster for the film by artist Bob Peak (the Roger Moore "Live And Let Die" figure uses the final release poster).

Packaging
The rear of the box highlights Julius W. Harris' career and details his alter ego character Tee Hee. The three sections which are examined on this box are The Villains Gadgets, James Bond and finally a couple of sentences about Jane Seymour as Solitaire - the Bond Girl of the film. The box is rounded off with eleven stills from the film.

Tarot cards, which played an important role in the film's plot, can be found on both sides and on the inner flap. The flap also contains a brief mission summary and cast listing. As expected from SideShow their collector friendly packaging is easy to use and replace the figure into. The front of the box uses the teaser poster for the film which was issued ahead of the final art work (which can be found on the accompanying Moore figure). The poster art by Bob Peak captures the elements of the film perfectly.

Sculpting
The bald headed henchman looks very much like his real life counterpart including this crooked teeth. Sculptor Matt Falls has recreated the shape of his head with great detail, and Tee Hee's hand is positioned to enable him to hold the chicken. The work done on the clawed arm however is not up to Sideshow's usual high standard. There is flashing plainly visible around the mechanical wrist.

Painting
No visible bleeding or smudges any where on the figures head is a good start, but the figures teeth require more detailing as the white paint used is not strong enough to hide the darker plastic below. The chicken has been detailed to appear shredded which is an achievement.

Articulation
Using Sideshow's well established sixth scale male body, Tee Hee has all the movement you would expect to place him in a variety of villainous poses.

He features tight fitting joints from the head, neck, ball jointed shoulders, chest, cut biceps, double jointed elbow, and wrist. Below the elbow the clawed arm is a single piece, and the claw is a static extension out of the arm. The waist down with a twistable waist, hips, thighs, and knees and ankles. The loose fitting suit allows for a full range of movement.

Outfit
Just as in the film, Tee Hee sports a red blazer and gray slacks. The shirt and tie are an improvement on the past Bond figures issue by Sideshow, however the tie the figure comes with is not the same as the one on the box as the pattern differs slightly.

The blazer has 70's styling with over sized lapels, and four buttons are stitched on rather glued which is a nice detail.

The gray trousers are a different material to the blazer and are extremely well tailored. The figure is finished off with the standard black shoes with minimal detailing.

Right: Tee Hee tempts his baby crocodile with a piece of tasty plastic chicken.

Overall
This could have been a great Sideshow figure but it just misses the cut. There are other Bond figures you should buy before this one, but very few.

The crocodile and chicken accessories are an original idea compared to most of the series' weapons-based accessories, but the appeal of these pieces is limited. Perhaps the mail bag that Tee Hee cuts himself out of at the end of the film would have been an amusing addition.

This figure does look better standing next to the Roger Moore 007 figure from "Live And Let Die" as part of a themed set, rather than standing alone. So if you are purchasing Tee Hee, you should consider pairing him up with 007.

Overall this is an above average figure let down by poor accessories, and a disappointing claw.

MI6 Rating