Issue 13: Saturday 13th February, 2016
Issue 13 : Saturday 13th February, 2016
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US! Can you believe that we are 1 year old this weekend… One year ago I took my blog and launched the Mephitsu Archives as a full on Action Figure website, focusing in on news & reviews for mid-range action figures. In 12-months we have taken a brand new site to 400+ Facebook likes (all natural, no marketing), a 100 or so Twitter followers and visitor numbers of around 1000 hits per month. I am really looking forward to our 2nd year, and have a few bigger challenges planned to help take the site to the next level. More about those as we progress into 2016. For anyone and everyone who has visited the site, liked and interacted with us on Facebook, tweeted us or read our twitter feed or even watched our YouTube video’s (these will get better) - THANK YOU - we couldn’t have done it without. But even though it is our birthday, we are still working. There is no rest for the wicked when we have a HUGE Toy Fair event taking place in New York this weekend. I’ve learned a lot in the past 12-months and I hope our NYTF 2016 coverage will be the slickest yet.
Supersized Legends from Hasbro In a potential move to counteract the popularity of Hot Toys perhaps to fill a missing middle ground hole in the market Hasbro are about to supersize their Legends figures by releasing 12" 1/6 scale figures from their Marvel licence.
Titanfall A few weeks ago at the UK Toy Fair, there were a number of interesting McFarlane products on display at the booth of Distributer Star Action Figures. These new McFarlane products were badged as The Red Caps, a new range of collectors figures covering a number of licences including McFarlane's own Spawn, The Walking Dead and Assassins Creed. Images do exists from UKTF if you look, but most sites were asked not to use them. It seems we will find out much more about this Red Cap line at the New York Toy Fair this week. And McFarlane have kicked off in advance with this announcement of a licence Tie in with Titanfall. The promo poster carries the Red border, which was seen on the product packaging at UKTF. And promises bigger figures at 7" scale, a scale McFarlane used to work in with their old Movie Maniacs line. All very interesting and one to watch for this coming weekend.
Starting later in 2016 with Captain America and Iron-man these figures will come with alternate heads, swappable hands, and various accessories. US RRP is around $50, so my guess would be a £40-£45 UK price.
Our Toy Fair coverage and commentary kicks off on Saturday the 13th February. With the doors opening around 2pm UK time, we would expect news to start coming through from that point. Facebook will be our initial channel for news and commentary, with the website being updated through the day. Checkout our ToyFair section by clicking the link below. Please look us up on Facebook where there will be interactive discussion about the key breaking news.
Diamond Select announce wave 2 of their Muppets Select range. Wave 2 will be made up of Bunsen with Beaker, Animal with Drums and Statler & Waldorf with Balcony!
Diamond Select have confirmed that the full Ghostbusters Rooftop Diorama will be on display at Toy Fair this weekend.
DST promise more pictures at Toyfair 2016 I look forward to seeing it from a number of angles, and seeing more of their GB figures - perhaps even a look at product from the 2016 reboot movie, of which DST have a licence and will be doing Minimates as well as 7" Select figures.
Issue 13 : Saturday 13th February, 2016
Hasbro has confirmed, via their Pulse News page, that Deadpool is being released in their Marvel Legends wave. Deadpool should be part of the X-Men wave, also containing Rogue. What other figures will make up this wave, or indeed the Marvel Legends slots for the rest of 2016 should be announced at Toy Fair - with the Hasbro Presentation taking place at 12noon on Saturday - that’s 5pm UK time. Whatever happens, it is fairly positive to see Hasbro returning to making X-Men universe figures, particularly when Fox continue to hold onto that property and many would have us believe that Disney are blocking many XMen releases in a number of properties. Contributed By: Deadpool Newsbox.com have published a great Q&A session with Mezco from their pre-Toyfair event Among the report is the reveal that Kirk will be joining Sulu and Spock in the One:12 Collective Star Trek range. Checkout the full story and gallery here > http://goo. gl/cSIixI
“Hello, it’s me. That’s right, Marvel Legends fans! Wade Wilson here – your favorite Special Forces operative turned mercenary turned anti-hero. Hasbro Pulse is exclusively revealing my new and awesome figure from the upcoming 2016 X-Men Marvel Legends Series this fall – take a look! Why yes, those are new gauntlets and boots… thanks for noticing!”
Revealed via the Entertainment Weekly website, Maz Kanata is coming to the Star Wars 3.75" range. The figure will be coming single carded, and then later in a box set called Takodana Encounter - the other figures being rereleased of Finn, Rey and BB8 We expect Maz to be on display at Toy Fair
This image from Mezco is currently doing the rounds online with Mezco asking fans to guess what this is? The most common thinking is that this may be a first look at a 1/12 scale Batmobile for their One: 12 Collective line. If so this will be making a lot of Bat fans happy. Will we see any more at Toy Fair?
"Here is Maz Kanata in all her glory as a Hasbro action figure, complete with blaster to help fend off The First Order's invasion of her flag-draped castle. The toy includes her headgear with goggles (all the better to see your eyes), but she also comes with much more. For now, Maz cannot be purchased individually, but will be available at an unspecified date this spring as part of the Takodana Encounter 3-75-inch playset, which features three other characters..."
Issue 13 : Saturday 13th February, 2016
Comicave Studio's are a Singapore based studio who are releasing a number of diecast Iron-man figures in both 1/4 and 1/12 scale. At the recent Wonder Festival they had a number of Iron-man 1/12 figures on show. These were the usual Mk 43 which every man and his dog have or are releasing, as well as another stunning 1/12 Hulkbuster. But also on display were a number of the lesser released Iron Man suit variants from Iron Man 3 Mk23 Shades Mk25 Striker Mk33 Silver Centurion These are on top of the already released Mk38 Igor and Mk40 Shotgun. And for serious collectors that is a really good start towards a pretty nice Hall of Armour display in 1/12 scale from IM3. Particularly when we consider the 1/12 SHFiguarts Hall of Armour shown last year was more IM2 and focusing on suits Mk1 to Mk7 The Comicave figures aren't cheap considering they are made up of 75% diecast and including working LED's. Expect to have to pay around ÂŁ150 for one of these on import plus delivery and a likely hefty bill from the Customs people.
This awesome SH Figuarts Marvel display was centre stage of the Tamashii Nations section at the festival. The large left hand portion is assigned to Avengers, Age of Ultron and contains the 6 main Avengers including the Hawkeye and Widow that were announced late last year but still not released. The 7th figure in this section appears to be War Machine. In the centre section are four slots for Civil War figures. We already know SHF are releasing the new Captain America and the Mk46 Iron-man, and these seem to be the top two slots. What is underneath is open to interpretation as no more images have surfaced. Looking at the poses my money's on Black Panther and Ant-Man. The final slot, obscured by a visitor, is the SHF Hulkbuster.
The Good Smile Company from Japan feel like they have been off the radar recently with their Figma range of 1/12 super articulated figures - overshadowed by the Marvel & Star Wars releases from the likes of Mafex (Medicom) and SH Figuarts (Tamashii Nations). At the Winter Wonderfest 2016 Figma had gone big with new releases, and amongst the Japanese Anime releases were a few Movie figures gems. Firstly, 1/12 collectors look like they will be getting a movie Deadpool, although that was just a promo image and not an actual figure. Disney fans will be getting a 1/12 Figma Elsa and Olaf from Frozen. And fans of the Ted movie's will be getting their very own badly behaved bear. Figma figures tend to start at a lower price here in the UK vs say Figuarts, but pricing is often dependent on the franchise. On average Figma figures are starting around ÂŁ35 here in the UK.
Issue 13 : Saturday 13th February, 2016
Turtle Power Having seen the SH Figuarts Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle 1/12 figures at a couple of shows, SHF have now released the promotional images for the first two Leonardo and Donatello. Leo and Donnie are being released in August 2016, and you should be able to pre-order these from the usual SHF suppliers by the end of this month. Each turtle comes with their weapon - Leo's Sword and Donatello's Staff - as well as two face options, three sets of hands, a pizza (of course) and a manhole cover. There is also a neat option round the back of each turtle where the belt can also be swapped out. One version will be flat to the shell, while the other allows the Turtles to holster their weapons. The Japanese RRP is 7,020 Yen - which on a direct conversion works out to £42 - expect to therefore be paying around £50-£60 with customs/delivery.
NECA were gearing up for Toy Fair 2016 with a new reveal image every day this week. First up was the Weird Al Yankovic 8” retro figure. Weird Al was first teased late last year, and this is the first look at him in his wacky shirt and with his accordion, alternative head sculpt and microphone. NECA have also said that this won’t be the last Weird Al figure at this 8” scale with more planned for later in 2016 and into 2017. Fans will be able to pick up the first Al figure in May this year. Also revealed in all it’s glory was the Quarter Scale Bale Batman. At nearly 19” tall, Q-Scale bats will come with a grappling gun and batarang. Like Weird Al, Batman will start shipping in May 2016. Next up was a full reveal of the standalone Predator Scarface figure. Scarface, from the Concrete Jungle Video Game, won’t come under any series/wave of Predator figures - he will be a standalone release, closer to an Ultimate series. Scarface will come with alternative heads (masked & unmasked) as well as at least two weapons.
Always ones to innovative, NECA today revealed their new Dynamic Action Figure Stand. Designed to open up display possibilities to a whole new level , the stand is similar to those we have seen from the Japanese manufacturers. The big selling point is the ability for this stand to be wall mounted via built in suckers. The test will of course be how well these stick when you consider you are hanging your prized possessions on the stand and don't want them plummeting to Earth. More details will follow at Toy Fair we assume including confirmation of RRP and Release Date.
The final reveal of the week ahead of Toy Fair was this image of the NECA Quarter Scale Hulk. Hulk is now painted and lined-up with fellow Q-Scale Thor, Captain America and the new Mk43 IronMan. Although marked as “not final” it seems Hulk is now not far off ready for release and we expect to see him on display at Toy Fair over this coming weekend. Release date and price still TBC.
Issue 13 : Saturday 13th February, 2016
Announced via Yahoo Movies today - DC Collectibles are launching a new collectors range of DC characters taken directly from the various DC movie's. The line will launch around September 2016 with figures from the Superman Returns movie - bringing us Zod, Faora and Jor-El. It will then move on to Dawn of Justice, from which will get an Armoured Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Lex Luthor. These will be in stores November 2016. The series will then move on to Suicide Squad (in 2017) with El Diablo and a fantastic looking Harley Quinn. The scale on these are not yet confirmed. Prices are quoted in US at $45-$50 so a bit steep considering the US to UK Toy Exchange rate will put these at ÂŁ40 in the UK. Checkout the full story at Yahoo Movies by clicking through on any of the images.
Issue 13 : Saturday 13th February, 2016
Review : Ultimate Sarah Connor NECA, Terminator Wave/Series : Ultimate Series Released : January 2016 Price : ÂŁ22.99 When NECA ran their first Terminator series of figures, they never got as far as releasing a Sarah Connor figure. It was therefore a bonus to fans that when the Terminator figures moved to an Ultimate Format that NECA announced that the 2nd figure in that line would be Sarah. For anyone unfamiliar with NECA's Ultimate Format - these are figures that are packed with various swappable parts and accessories so that you can choose which version of the character to have on display. Other released to date include the T800 from Terminator 2, as well as John Matrix from Commando and Freddie Krueger.
Sarah stands 6 1/2 inches high, comparable with the movie where Linda Hamilton stands 1.6m tall vs the 1.8m (6ft) frame of Arnie. Starting with the feet upward for a change, and Sarah comes with a pair of black army boots which are sculpted to include laces all the way up through the shin area. These have a very subtle wash on top of the base colour to just raise those lace details. Combat trousers are relatively plain, but with folds and creases where you would expect them and a couple of pockets down the side. There is more detail round the back of these trousers where you can see the stitching on around the seams. Like the boots I think there is a very subtle second wash on top of the base black colour. Sarah's belt is studded, and with a fairly intricate buckle and all of this details is crisply sculpted and more importantly crisply painted in a silver finish. A knife sheath hangs from the belt at Sarah's right hand side, and rather than be sculpted the knife actually slides in and out as an extra accessory. Unfortunately NECA have chosen to attach a very odd piece of elasticated thread to the knife, and at this scale it just looks wrong and sits sticking out to the side.
Sarah Connor arrives in the black/blue Terminator themed glossy box. Design wise it is identical to the T800 box from last year, and will be used again on the upcoming Ultimate T1000. The front cover is updated to show an image of Sarah directly from the movie as played by Linda Hamilton. This image, or at least the head shot, is repeated on each spine. Round the back and the figure is now photographed and sits alongside a short piece of text that summarises the plot of Terminator 2. Underneath the text are a couple of inserts showing the alternative heads that Sarah is packed with.
Like all Ultimates, the actual figure is not on immediate show, being hidden behind a Velcro fastened flap. Once opened the inner part of the flap has a larger image of the Sarah figure from the back of the packaging. You can then view the figure via the viewing window. Opened up and Sarah is laid out with a number of accessories around the main figure. She comes with one head fitted, and two more alongside. She is then armed with a handgun, rifle and shotgun. We will look at each of these in due course.
The upper torso is made up of an grey vest, on top of which is the combat vest. The shirt is quite plain and coloured a lighter grey than the rest of the outfit. The combat vest contains much more detail with straps, pouches, pockets and stitching right round from front to back. Unusually it has been left a flat black colour with no attempt to bring any of these details out? The vest is a separate piece, but there is no function to remove this to create another look for Sarah. This is a shame, but I can see how the extra engineering and getting a removable vest to fit snugly may be a step too far.
Sarah's arms are bare skin, and despite this are really well done with some defined muscle tone and with the joints treated sympathetically so not to ruin the look of the figure. The left arm has a sweatband at the wrist, and this does show some signs of paint bleed with the skin tone creeping round the sides of the green band.
Issue 13 : Saturday 13th February, 2016
There is also an issue if you move the hips too much that they start to push out the newly designed crotch area, which is now a rubber piece over the inner "skeleton" of the figure. Knees, like always, are really well hidden and still work well - but again like the recent Genisys figure the back of the knee joint is a different colour plastic and stands out considerably. The final joints are smack bang in the middle of the boots which does spoil the look slightly. However, these rockers are crucial for getting Sarah to stand firmly.
The initial head that Sarah comes "wearing" is the capped version. The sculpt is nothing short of stunning, with a really good likeness to Hamilton. The hat sits neatly and naturally on the head, but like the vest is not removable. Round the back is a pony tail, washed and shaded to add depth and hanging neatly down the back of Sarah's vest - not stuck out or looking unnatural as can often happen with sculpted long hair. The glasses are perhaps a tad too big, but that is only really evident up close. All of the skin tone is painted well and with very subtle hints of a "blusher" to bring out the cheekbones. Swapping the heads is quite traumatic. Although not as bad as the recent Genisys T800, it is still quite tough to get them off, and even harder to get them back on. That much handling will also have a negative effect on paint, so watch out for paint wear if you are changing the head look frequently. Head number two is the hair down head, and like the first is a really good likeness. Each head sculpt is going to be using the same base head, but it is important to any likeness that hair and any accessories don't ruin a good base sculpt. The hair down version is perfect with loads of layers in the hair style and with it all sculpted to flow either side of the shoulders once popped into position.
Head number three is the pony tail, and like the hatted version the hair is well painted and sits nicely down the back of the figure. To me though the fringe feels too big on this figure, and it has a habit to be looking down rather than straight ahead. The head is on a ball joint of such, and therefore all three versions have a good range of articulation. The shoulders are also ball jointed and can be moved out to the side to almost 90 degrees while then rotating fully. Both elbows rotate and bend to just under 90 degrees. Watch out for wrongly positioned elbows, as my left arm was fitted backwards in the box so I almost snapped it when trying to bend it the wrong way. A quick swivel and all was well. Both wrists are on a peg so can also rotate and bend up and down. There is a pretty impressive waist joint, which not only rotates - as you would expect - but also pivots up and down like a torso joint. The hips are jointed but like many NECA figures are not particularly manoeuvrable.
Looking at the weapons, and each of them is sculpted with a good deal of accuracy. The handgun sits snugly in Sarah's right hand with her trigger finger sitting into the trigger of the gun. The handgun is painted with a different coloured grip and my only criticism is there is no holster to tuck this away when not being used. The rifle is quite plain, but the central section is painted a different shade to the rest of the weapon. Again, it sits neatly into the right hand and with a bit of faffing you can get the barrel to be held in Sarah's left hand. It's not particularly natural though and you will need to be either pointing the barrel down into the ground, or have Sarah's right hand almost popping out of its wrist joint. To me the Rifle looks best shoulder slung using the strap provided.
The final weapon is a shotgun, which has a folding shoulder rest which also holds additional cartridges. This is the most intricate paint job, with each cartridge painted out in blue with bronze caps. The shoulder rest also actually folds in or out, but is prone to dropping off quite easily considering it's held in with two small pins. Like the rifle the shotgun is easily held one handed, but two handed is more of a challenge. It can be done, but again will start to pull the hand out of the joint. The shotgun is also not as snug a fit in the right hand and the grip feels quite loose and I suspect the hand will get weaker over time considering it is quite slender on the fingers. Considering the only other Sarah Connor figure we've had at this scale is now 14 years old, that was the McFarlane Movie Maniacs Sarah, then this release was always going to be a massive improvement. In fact it is even better than that, allowing the collector to tweak the look to at least three specific looks of Sarah from the T2 movie. There are very minor flaws, but nothing substantial and I can't in good conscious award Ultimate Sarah Connor anything other than 5 stars.