Rick Patterson must be "001" when it comes to James Bond fandom. If his recent display of memorabilia proves anything, it’s that the city resident doesn’t need a licence to celebrate the fictional British super spy.
Just in time for October's long-awaited cinematic release of Daniel Craig's last outing as Bond in No Time to Die, Patterson assembled an outstanding showcase of his collectibles at the Landmark Cinemas 8 at Jensen Lakes. The display only lasted five days, but it made an impact on theatre-goers, giving them all ... a View to a Thrill.
"It was a pretty good show. People were taking pictures and videos," Patterson confirmed.
"Everybody loves James Bond. I found out there's an international fan club; it's all over the world. We hired a professional video person to come in and she shot some video and she's editing it now. We're going to add some special effects and titles and music and everything, too."
The display included figurines, life-sized cardboard cutouts, movie posters, hats, shirts, and more collectibles than one could shake a martini at.
The extensive — and expensive, by Patterson’s account — collection is also stridently comprehensive, covering all of the actors (including famed one-timer George Lazenby) and all of the films. Some of the pieces run more than $400 each, though that’s largely due to how exacting the details are, right down to the specifics of each outfit. They’re right on spec, he says, and the head sculpts are “dead on.”
"That technology has come a long way. When you look at them, you go, ‘That's identical to what the person was in the movie.’ You pay for that. The costumes and everything are all handmade, hand tailored. They get fairly expensive," he continued.
A lot of the collectibles are limited edition items, he continued, including half a dozen gold-plated model cars. They're only three or four inches long but they're 24-karat gold-plated, he explained.
Patterson's collection is only a few years old, though his preoccupation began when he was a child. He explained that he grew up in a military family during the Cold War with Russia. At one point, his dad was posted in Germany.
"There was always this British counter-espionage thing going on. I never really thought too much about it when I was kid. It was exciting but I left that behind in my teenage years."
Remembering how his parents used to buy the 1:6 scale G.I. Joe action figures, he started to search collectibles on the Internet a few years ago. He bought the entire collection of movies — and watched them all, too — before he looked up the 1:6 James Bond figures.
"Just from there, it just took off. Everything was on there, so I just started collecting, and then adding and adding and adding and adding more stuff," he admitted.
"Because of everything being shut in with COVID, I had a lot of spare time and didn't go out much. I started ordering things on the net and customizing a lot of this stuff, too. Everything just took off from there. I didn't stop. I think I've got a couple more pieces coming in and then that's pretty much going to be it for that. It took up too much room. It's all in storage now as soon as I tore it down."
It's indeed an impressive collection, and Patterson alluded that James Bond wasn't the only object of his fascination. His music and movie collection are nothing to scoff at either. He keeps busy with his collections, sometimes too busy to even be able to sit through a night at the theatre.
The bitter irony is that he still hasn't had the chance to see No Time to Die. He heard that it was pretty good, though.
