click to see larger image (26k, 540 x 811)

Cuban Kingpin Tony Montana is Sideshow's Latest Anti-Hero: Say Hello to Our Little 'Fren!

Toy Fair (Javits Center) February 20-23, 2005 - Gangland lifestyles and urban desperados are the most enduring of Hollywood archetypes. From George Raft to Tony Soprano, audiences have embraced the criminal underworld. And no screen performance, no gangster depiction is more searingly vivid, more universally imitated that Al Pacino's Cuban cartel kingpin, Tony Montana, in the landmark 1983 film "Scarface." From his hardscrabble rise out of Miami's Mariella �migr� ghetto to his blaze-of-glory denouement, Tony's story served as a broad metaphor for the Roaring 80s.

Pacino's pit-bull charisma, including his trafficante swagger has been rendered by Sideshow Collectibles, in two remarkably lifelike collectible figures. Sideshow, the world's premier manufacturer of licensed and proprietary collectible products, joins with Universal Studios in an exclusive license for the production of 1/6 scale (approx. 12 inches) and 1/4 scale (approx. 18 inches) figures. Both figures feature Al Pacino's signature wardrobe (white suit, red silk shirt) and handgun from the film.

Sideshow's gifted artists and fabricators researched and re-created both the likeness and the attitude of Al Pacino as Tony. Sculptor Andy Bergholtz, along with clothing and prop fabricator Greg Mowry, collaborated on a classic collectible. The 1/6 scale figure is poseable, with Sideshow's customary 36 points of articulation. Sideshow's incomparable 12-inch figure line has won a host of awards and industry raves from publications world wide.

The 1/6 scale figure presents more of a sculpture set piece, with features so lifelike you expect it to convulse into a menacing sneer and proclaim: "Say hello to my little 'fren!" According to Sideshow's Creative Director, Tom Gilliland: "The advantage of developing collectibles in the one-quarter size is that it allows our designers and fabricators to capture a wider range of detail in each aspect of the prototype. Our production team often works with film directors, archivists, and movie studios to ensure accurate costuming and accessories for every character we create."

Sideshow will be showcasing this item at the New York International Toy Fair - Sunday, February 20th through Wednesday, February 23rd, 2005. Booth #2563.

Click here for a preview.