028 Action Figure Sat-TOY-Day News, 11th June 2016

Issue 28 : Saturday 11th June, 2016

… k e e w s i h Also t f o s l i a t e d m r i f n o c 2 1 One: es v i s u l c x e their SDCC l o o p d a e D e r u p f o s e h c 18 in e h t n i n o l il D e e s e w l Wil e? g n a r r o t a NECA Pred

It is starting to look like Icon Heroes actually have a full wave of Once Upon a Time figures lined up for us in December 2016.

Last week we saw details of the first two - Hook and Regina. And Icon have now unveiled the 3rd figure in the range, Emma Swan.

Emma will come in "regular" clothing, reflective of the show, and is packed with Sheriff badge, Sheath, Sword and Dark One Dagger.

From the hit ABC television series Once Upon A Time comes the Emma Swan action figure! Measuring approximately 6 inches tall and fully articulated, Emma comes with the Emma Swan Dark One Dagger, sheriff badge, sheath, and sword!

New promotional images are surfacing for the new 3rd Doctor 3 pack which will hit B&M stores in the UK later this Summer.

The set will retail for ÂŁ14.99 here in the UK, exclusive to B&M stores. In the US it will be sold by WhoNA but at considerably more with a proposed RRP of around $45.

The set contains the 3rd Doctor, a repainted version of the sculpt used in the Green Death set from 2009 and the Planet of the Daleks 2-pack from 2014. The figure is painted in a blue outfit to represent the one the 3rd Doctor wore in the 1974 Invasion of the Dinosaur story.

A new Jo Grant figure is included, a direct repaint of the 2013 Jo Grant from the Three Doctors set without the fur lined jacket. This Jo Grant is painted to represent her appearance in the Time Monster from 1972.

The final figure is a direct re-release of the Roger Delgado Master, as previously released in the Claws of Axos 2-pack (2010), and in the Time Monster pack with his Computer Bank TARDIS (2013). He is reflective of his appearance across a number of the early 1970's 3rd Doctor stories.

Shortly after the 3rd Doctor pack images went live, images were shared for the other two packs that would join the 3rd Doctor pack in B&M stores.

Set one contains repacks of the 10th Doctor (long coat and white trainers), a Vashta Nerada and a Cyberman complete with gun.

The other set contains three classic monsters, all again repacks. The set is made up of a Zygon, Ice Warrior and a 1968 Invasion Cyberman.

Both sets will retail at ÂŁ14.99 and will only be available in B&M stores - and at present aren't getting a US release (unlike the 3rd Doctor Set).

Expect to see these on the shelves at the end of July / beginning of August.

This image has been circulated on Facebook showing a Bandai display at a Far East Trade show. At first glance, with nothing else in the picture to give scale, you assume this is a standard 1/12 BB8 kit. But look closely at the info-card which states this will be a 1/2 scale.

The BB8 prop stands at 2' 2", or 670mm. That would bring the kit in at at 13" high (335mm) and therefore a touch larger than the Hasbro Remote Control BB8, although this one has the added fun of building it first.

Mezco have been revealing their full line up of Convention exclusives, and the one we have all been waiting for is the full details for this One:12 Collective 6 inch Captain America figure.

The release put out from Mez at Mezco indicates Cap will come with an alternative head sculpt vs the usual release. He will also have a magnetic shield that attached to magnets in his wrist. He will also be presented in a special collector's tin, which opens up to reveal a lenticular Super Soldier transformation chamber.

No pricing as yet, but as well as being on sale at the Conventions this summer starting with SDCC - it seems US collectors can also pre-order from the website as of the 8th of June. We would assume a US price of around $80-$100 on this one. And we also don't expect this to be available via any UK retailers unless they have a surplus after the conventions.

Another one of our Con Exclusives this year is the One:12 Classic Captain America figure and he has some cool features that will only be available with this version.

Let's start with the classic color palette of his uniform: with bright, bold reds, whites, and blues and scalloped chest armor, there is no mistaking that this is the version of Captain America that is from days past.

Cap features a completely new head sculpt of his retro winged helmet and comes with an alternate unmasked head. He of course comes with his trusty shield (which some would argue defies the laws of physics), a boot knife which sheaths nicely in his, well...boot, a shield harness, and a bunch of different hands for posing, fighting, and throwing his star spangled disc.

Aside from all of that, this version comes with even more. There are strong micro magnets embedded in his upper gloves and harness that connect with a magnet in the underside of his shield. Most importantly, he comes in a deluxe round tin package with his shield insignia printed on the top. Open the tin case and you will find the super soldier transformation chamber where through the magic of lenticular animation you can see Steve Rogers change from scrawny weakling to heroically large proportions right before your eyes.

The figure will be up for pre-order here starting June 8, 2016 as well as for sale at our booth at San Diego Comic Con.

The other One:12 exclusive, available at SDCC 2016, from Mezco is their Armoured Batman from Batman vs Superman, Dawn of Justice.

This figure has light up eyes and real metal parts within the armour. He will also be packed with a real metal Kryptonite Spear and a Grappling Gun which will be different from the regular release.

Like Captain America, Batman will be available at SDCC 2016 and US customers can also pre-order on the Mezco site from the 8th June.

Kicking off this summer's blockbusters was Dawn Of Justice and we were treated to the fan-craved show down between Gotham's dark knight and Metropolis' modern day savior. The battle between these two titans was nothing short of epic.

The One:12 Collective has already shown our BvS Armored Batman figure at Toy Fair back in February but now we are ready to talk about him in depth (and start putting him up for pre-order). I want to take a moment to discuss the features this figure includes.

Armored Batman has light up eyes — I think everyone expected that but still we are pretty damn proud of it. Also, components of his armor are cast in real metal, not diecast metal, REAL metal.

Oh, and speaking of metal, he comes with his antiSuperman weapon of choice — a REAL metal kryptonite spear.

Batman is geared in his cloth outfit underneath his armor just as seen in the film. He includes 3 sets of hands and his heavy-duty grapple gun (different from his standard release version).

The figure will be up for pre-order here starting June 8, 2016 as well as for sale at our booth at San Diego Comic Con.

NECA are always pulling surprises out of the bag, and the announcement of a quarter scale Deadpool figure was one of the biggest to date.

NECA have already released movie versions of Thor, Captain America and Iron-Man in quarter-scale, with Hulk due later this year. Deadpool is however a shift in direction as he is based on the comic version , but will certainly capitalise on the success of the 2016 Deadpool movie and won't look out of place on a Q-Scale Marvel display shelf with the other 18" offerings.

Deadpool should be in stores by December, and based on other Qscale releases we expect the UK price to sit around £80 The newest addition to our line of quarter scale action figures is Marvel's Merc with the Mouth!

Possibly the most skilled mercenary in the world... and definitely the most annoying. The joke-cracking, reference-making, fourth-wall-breaking, taco-eating funnyman of the cold-blooded killer set, #Deadpool has long skirted the line between hero and villain, between maniac and genius, between ugly and smelly.

This incredibly detailed 18” figure has over 30 points of articulation for great action poses. Accessories include #katanas, #sai, machine guns, #pistol and #knife accessories, all with working #holsters and #sheaths. Starts shipping out to retailers in November 2016!

We had assumed that the Bill and Ted release from NECA in their 8 inch retro line would be the only figures from the Bill & Ted licence.

How wrong we were as NECA have now confirmed Rufus, the time traveller played by George Carlin, will be released in the range with similar packaging design.

It's not all as simple as it looks, with the figure being available if you buy the Ultimate Bill and Ted Blu-ray box set. The news was broken by Entertainment Weekly. The Bluray and Figure package is available from 20th of September and US fans can place their pre-order already atShoutFactory.com and the price for the full set is $79.99

NECA have confirmed that unlike other tie-ins like the DC 7" figures, this one will get an International release - and details on this will be released soon.

On Sept. 20, Shout! Factory is releasing the deluxe Blu-ray box set Bill & Ted’s Most Excellent Collection, and it does indeed come with a most excellent array of goodies. Like what? Dude! The set features 1989’s Keanu Reeves- and Alex Winter-starring Bill & Ted’s Most Excellent Adventure, the Blu-ray debut of its 1991 sequel Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, an entire disc of bonus features including new interviews and commentary, a “Wyld Stallyns” guitar pick, and vinyl stickers.

Also? If you buy the limited edition version of the set, you will become the proud owner of an exclusive lithograph and an exclusive action figure of George Carlin’s character, Rufus (NECA, the company which created the figure, will have a Bill & Ted action figure set available in July).

Both versions of the set can be pre-ordered at the official Shout! Factory website from today.

As we speculated a few weeks back, NECA have revealed that the Apollo Creed for Series 2 of Rocky will be the Rocky IV "showman" version.

"First look at the new Apollo Creed from Rocky IV part of Series 2 due out this Fall.

Hat & Coat are removable #tbt" Creed looks to come with two head options, and as per the tweet his Hat and Coat will be removable. Series 2 is due in Autumn, and we know that Ivan Drago will likely get a re-release in this wave. One other definite figure for Series 2, revealed by NECA on Twitter, is Rocky himself who is a re-release of their original Rocky IV figure but he will be packed with both head options AND a US flag which can be draped over the figure as per the closing scenes, this will likely make use of the existing sculpt used on the Video Game version.

Could we be one step closer to NECA being able to release a Dillon 7 inch figure from Predator?

Well if this Twitter conversation is anything to go by, then it seems we could well be.

Despite having Carl Weather's likeness approval for his Rocky appearances as Apollo Creed, this has never translated to give NECA the opportunity to release a Dillon figure in their Predator line.

With the Twitter frenzy over the new Apollo Creed figure, one fan decided to ask the question outright... and the reply from Carl Weathers was certainly positive.

NECA have also talked about the lifespan of the range and are aiming for 4 series of figures - one for each of the first four movies. This is likely to mean more Apollo Creed figures will be coming for Rocky 1 and 2 in later series.

NECA have shared a few behind the scenes images of their upcoming Aliens Vasquez, being released in August as part of Aliens : Series 9 "Your BTS look at the incredible Vasquez test shot in action. Series 9 releases August/Sept #facehuggerfriday"

NECA's #Prednesday tweet this week was this image of what appears to be two Predator shoulder cannons, each coming with firing effects.

NECA's Randy Falk followed up this response with a challenge to get a Dillon figure out and on shelves for the 30th Anniversary of Predator in 2017

The common consensus is that these will be part of the planned Ultimate Predators planned for later this year.

As we saw in March, City Hunter from Predator 2 will be the first Ultimate Predator. Jungle Hunter from the original movie will follow, this may fall into 2017 and be part of the 30th Anniversary celebrations,

And not long after the confirmation that NECA and Weathers had exchanged Direct Messages.

Obviously a Twitter conversation isn't concrete confirmation, and there have been similar conversations which have also come to nothing. But if NECA can pull off likeness rights and figures of Vasquez, Drake and Newt - then this is at least a start to getting a Dillon to sit alongside Dutch on your Predator display shelf,

Last week Mezco revealed their One:12 Collective Space Ghost Action Figure.

Entertainment Earth have now unveiled their exclusive Glow in the Dark variant of this figure. The Space Ghost is due out in December and retails on EE at $70 and can be shipped to UK.

Rey has already seen a couple of tweaks from her original wave 1 Force Awakens figure, with updated paint apps on her and BB8.

Now Hasbro has made a significant change, shipping Rey with Luke's Lightsaber now included.

This was first unveiled on an eBay auction, and soon verified with some further inhand examples. Research indicates it is the latest issues of wave 4 that are carrying this revision - wave 4 of course being the Asty and Hux wave that has only hit in very limited numbers so far, and almost none at all into the UK.

Entertainment Earth Exclusive! Mezco's Space Ghost Glow-in-the-Dark 1:12 Collective Action Figure - Entertainment Earth Exclusive features over 32 articulation points, intricate sculptural work, incredible costume detailing, and tons of accessories for an iconic classic vision with a real-world look. But that's not all. Space Ghost comes with his trusted companion, Blip the monkey, who also boasts an exceptionally realistic sculpt and more than 10 points of articulation. Perhaps best of all, this exclusive version of Space Ghost actually glows in the dark! Whether you're a fan of the classic 1960s cartoon or Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, or you know him as Thaddeus "Tad" Ghostal or Thaddeus Bach, this Space Ghost Glow-in-the-Dark 1:12 Collective Action Figure is a must for your collection.

Bandai have confirmed that after the Clone Trooper 1/12 kits, due later this month, the next 1/12 Star Wars figure kit will be the Battle Droid - due in August.

There is a twist for Army Builders however as the kit will be a Battle Droid with STAP speeder - there is no opportunity to buy just the droid at this stage.

The price will be more than a standard kit, and UK fans will be looking at a similar price to the Speeder Bike (£30) once this works it’s way into the importers stock lists.

Medicom have announced that they will be releasing an alternative damaged head and a Kryptonite spear for their 1/12 Mafex Armoured Batman figure. The twist, is that these two accessories will be packed with their Mafex Nightmare Batman.

Confused? So are we.... although this is probably a clever ploy to sell both figures, similar in a way to how a Build-a-Figure works.

Mafex Armoured Batman is scheduled to hit UK stores in November, and you can pre-order here

Review : Robocop w/Jet Pack NECA, Robocop 3 Wave/Series : N/A Released : Sept 2014 ÂŁ19.99 It is a fact that once NECA have a successful sculpt under their belt, they do their utmost to ensure that sculpt is maximised in terms of variant releases. From the initial Robocop we have had a damaged version and a video game version. The same figure is rolled out again here, but now with a wealth of added value and this time based on Murphy's appearance in the 1993 sequel, Robocop 3.

Once the outer plastic is cut away and opened you will find the main insert tray where Robocop and the two weapon pieces are strapped into place. Behind this is a smaller tray containing the Jet Pack.

Robocop stands dead on 7 inches high, so he doesn't dominate any of the other NECA figures in terms of height and is consistent with the reported height of Robocop (Peter Weller) at 6ft.

The entirety of the figure is a complete re-use of the original NECA Robocop figure, but when you have a great sculpt then why tweak it. The armour is all beautifully designed and captured and there are loads of little bits of detail all over the figure.

Checkout the imprinted serial number on the left thigh, and the imprinted police reference on the either side of the helmet.

Murphy's facial sculpt, or rather the bottom part of it, is well done although as this is the original figure reused, it is a likeness of Peter Weller and not Robert John Burke who replaced him in the 3rd movie.

Robocop comes packed in the NECA clamshell packaging, with a brushed chrome effect design and sporting the Robocop logo. There were two variations of packaging, one bearing the standard Robocop logo and a second with the red outlined Robocop 3 logo on the header.

The card back continues the brushed silver design and is quite different to a lot of other NECA cardbacks. First off there is no background for the figure or the film, something that is usually included on a NECA release. Instead the top two thirds of the card is made up of three panels, trimmed in a black and yellow hazard design. Each panel contains an image of the figure, each representing the three individual looks - Assault Rifle, Jet Pack and Cannon Arm. Under this, and taking up the bottom third or so is another hazard design trimmed panel which shows the three steps in opening the spring loaded thigh holster.

While the sculpt is a direct carry over, the paint job has been overhauled to match the bluer hues used in the costume of the 3rd Movie. This looks great, and has some subtle variations and an almost pearlescent look in places. Contrast is provided by the black gloss gloves and the chest and groin area. My figure, as you can maybe make out in the images, did have some paint flaws on the chest but this will be an isolated issue and I put it down to battle damage.

The face, the other contrasting paint area, is picked out in flat flesh tones with a pinker lip colour. And if we are talking detail, have a look at the figure from the chin upwards - and you will see the bottom of Murphy's nose in the rim of the helmet. This could have easily been left off, but it is that attention to detail that keeps NECA ahead of many other manufacturers.

Articulation was never brilliant on the original figure, and there has been no change on this one. Due to the bulk of the armour you won't get much movement out of any of Robocop's limbs, but then again that pretty much matches what we saw in the movies. t to ease it into life.

The head is probably the most manoeuvrable part and this can move to each side as well as looking up and down. The shoulders will rotate round fully, but any outward movement is blocked by the upper part of the shoulder armour. The same can be said of the single jointed elbows, that get about 45 degrees into the bend before stopping. There is no wrist movement, instead the entire black section of the forearm rotates - and it will be very stiff out of the pack so maybe apply some heat to ease it into life.

One of the big selling points of the original figure was the spring loaded thigh holster, and I was pleasantly surprised that this has still been included on this figure despite all the other accessories. The workings are really well hidden, and the joints so tight you may well think there is nothing there. The only obvious workings when closed is the triangular release switch hidden round the back just above the right knee.

Once pushed the thigh holster clicks open with the two panels separating centrally with one moving forward and the other moving back. Inside the holster you will find another accessory, the iconic Robocop handgun. I do applaud the engineering that has gone into this mechanism, but it is quite flimsy and anyone with fat fingers will find the panels pop off too easily and getting the gun back in place and the panels closed is really difficult.

The gun is another direct re-use of the original weapon, and cast in plain black with no real paint detail although the sculpt is crisp enough and it fits neatly into the right hand with the trigger finger slotting into the trigger nicely.

There is a joint under the chest plate that allows some movement in the torso, and it is this torso joint that becomes crucial if you are wanting to pose Robocop in any kind of action pose where he is shooting his weapon.

The next joints are the hips which are quite flexible on one axis, and you can sit Robocop down with legs out straight. Like the arms though, and sideways movement is blocked by the top of the thigh armour. The knees are a bit more compliant with a satisfying ratcheted joint allowing a full 90 degree bend.

The feet are also on a simple joint, and the beauty here is the piston on the reverse of the leg which actually moves in and out as you bend the feet.

The ankles however have no sideways movement, so anything other than a neutral pose will see Robocop standing on the sides of his feet. The ankles also feel a bit weak and once you add the weight of the jet pack I can see these flopping forward and overbalancing the figure really easily.

The second accessory is a swap out cannon arm for the left hand. As I mentioned earlier, the wrist joints are very stubborn on this figure and the same can be said to pop off the arm and more so to replace it back on. However, once the forearm is off the cannon slots on neatly and looks really good to vary the look of your Robocop figure. Like the handgun, this is cast in black plastic - with a tonne of detail, but no paint apps. A metallic dry brush would have really drawn out some detail.

Packed in with the figure, although from the first movie rather than the third, is the Cobra Assault weapon. This is a beast of a gun, and is almost as long as the figure itself. Again, cast in black plastic, this piece does have some additional features with a flexible rubber shoulder strap and some working struts to allow the weapon to be supported when fired. Robocop can hold this weapon, but in one hand only - there is no way you will ever get him to cradle it. Most fans, if you are going for screen accuracy, would pass this weapon to the original silver Robocop for him to use in his face off with the Deluxe ED-209.

Finally, the title piece of the whole figure - the Jet pack. Now whereas the other accessories lacked a bit of paint detail, this thing has paint apps to spare. It is a stunner. Essentially this is sculpted and cast in a gunmetal finish, making it look metallic, but also used rather than fresh off the production line.

There are no pegs, plugs or straps. The pack is designed to snugly slot over Robocop's head and hug his shoulders and fit the curve of his armour - it is perfect engineering. At first the lack of any articulation or joints on the hand grips of the Jet Pack is confusing, but then you realise they have been cast in a flexible plastic so simply bend round into Robocop's grip and will then move fully in conjunction with the arms.

So here is a great figure, reused yes but in my opinion made better with the addition of some specific accessories and some very clever engineering of a jet pack piece that would have sold this figure on its own - let alone the inclusion of the Cobra rifle, the cannon arm and that spring loaded holster. His articulation isn't the greatest, and of course he will also suffer a little with the stigma of that 3rd movie which was in broad terms perhaps one sequel too far.

If you ignore the blue tint colouring, this is as close as you will get to an Ultimate Robocop figure at this point in time considering he comes with accessories that you can use to represent looks in all three movie's. I am going to score the Jet Pack Robocop a 4 out of 5.

The sculpt detail is really good, down to the individual hydraulic piping round the back to the exhaust vents and hydraulic pistons. This is all supported by some neatly applied red paint lining out various areas and some contrasting yellow paint under the shoulder thrusters and round the back of the hand grips. The handgrips themselves are painted in a yellow and black hazard design. And if you want to applaud NECA for attention to detail, where none is really required, then look at the paint apps inside the pack where the wiring is painted red and yellow and additional pieces are painted silver. All this detail is of course then covered up when Robocop wears the jet pack!

Checkout the alternative covers we had lined up for Issue 28 - so many potential figures announced this week to grace our front page

Issue 28 : Saturday 11th June, 2016

… k e e w s i h t Also f o s l i a t e d rm i f n o c 2 1 : e On s e v i s u l c x e C C D S r i e h t l o o p d a e D e r u p f o s e h 18 inc e h t n i n o ll i D e e s e w Will ? e g n a r r o t NECA Preda

Issue 28 : Saturday 11th June, 2016

… k e e w s i h t Also f o s l i a t e d rm i f n o c 2 1 : e On s e v i s u l c x e C C D S r i e h t l o o p d a e D e r u p f o s e h 18 inc e h t n i n o ll i D e e s e w Will ? e g n a r r o t NECA Preda

Issue 28 : Saturday 11th June, 2016

… k e e w s i h t Also f o s l i a t e d rm i f n o c 2 1 : e On s e v i s u l c x e C C D S r i e h t l o o p d a e D e r u p f o s e h 18 inc e h t n i n o ll i D e e s e w Will ? e g n a r r o t NECA Preda