030 Action Figure Sat-TOY-Day News, 25th June 2016

Issue 30 : Saturday 25th June, 2016

s l a e v e r x Mega Mafe e c i l A t c e l e Diamond S s e v i s u l c x e More SDCC revealed d! a e D l i v E s And Ash v

Diamond Select's X-Files 7 inch figures are ready to ship to stores next month, and Diamond have now released a first look at the packaging for the two figures.

The first two Mallrats figures from Diamond Select aren't due in until the back end of the year, and we have already had a reveal of what series 2 will look like. Like the first wave, the second will be made up of two figures.

The first is Silent Bob who comes with alternative head, grappling gun and utility belt. Bob will come with a Popular Girl store backdrop. Bob, like Jay from series 1, will be re-using some parts from the earlier Jay & Silent Bob Select figures.

The second figure is Renee, who comes packed with shopping bags, purse and video take. Renee will come with Fashionable Male store backdrop.

The packaging looks to be a perfect blend of the usual Select styling, while capturing that 1990's feel of the X-Files themselves.

Mulder will be sold with alternative hands, head, FBI badge, handgun and a bag of pumpkin seeds. He will also come with the chair from the X-Files office.

Scully will come with alternate hands, torch, FBI badge and hand-gun. She will be packed with the desk. The desk is a direct re-use of the one packed with the Gotham Select Ed Nygma. although these images now indicate it has been recoloured to a dark wood colour. The decision to pack Scully as though she is standing on the desk is a little odd.

UK fans can pre-order Mulder and Scully at our affiliate partner, Forbidden Planet

Muppet fan site, Toughpigs, have revealed a first look at Diamond's third series of Muppet Select figures.

The three pack series will be broken down as follows

● Rowlf the Dog, Crazy Harry and Mahna Mahna ● Floyd Pepper Janice

and

● Miss Piggy, Foo Foo and Penguin

Diamond are casting their Select series net far and wide this year, with numerous new properties joining their long running Marvel range.

The latest are figures from the new Alice sequel, Alice through the Looking Glass.

The first two figures will be Alice (Mia Wasikowska) and the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp). Each figure will have 16 points of articulation, will come in the standard oversized art panel packaging and the figures will be packed with diorama backgrounds representing buildings from Wonderland. These bases will connect together into a larger scene.

NECA have tweeted the following image of a prototype 7 inch scale T800 Endoskeleton arm, complete with cylindrical case.

NECA have now confirmed that they are releasing the Translucent 1979 Concept Alien in their Quarter Scale line. The figure will be a very limited run "For #facehuggerfriday coming in Q scale by popular demand. Very limited run on this. Act quickly, 1 chance only" - Randy Falk, NECA via Twitter

It seems this is something that NECA are working for perhaps a future figure or accessory pack but nothing as yet is confirmed.

"A very early work in progress of a future accessory perhaps... #t2sday #terminator not final" - Randy Falk via Twitter @NECA_TOYS

NECA have confirmed full details of their Ultimate Ash figure, as seen in The Evil Dead 2 played by Bruce Campbell.

As with all Ultimate releases, Ash will come with two head options one of which is a possessed sculpt.

There are then swappable hands/arm options as well as a tape recorder, Sheila's severed head and a shotgun and axe. What is causing most controversy amongst some fans is the lack of a Chainsaw accessory which has been a trademark of Ash and the Evil Dead movies.

It will be interesting to see if NECA can follow suit with the Alien Stasis Tube and release this with a built in LED feature?

Evil Dead II: One of the horror greats and a true cult classic! From the 1987 movie starring the one and only Bruce Campbell, we present the definitive collector’s version of Ash! We have seen the promotional images of the Predator, Series 16, Stalker Predator from NECA and this image has now been released as a behind the scenes look at the development of the figure which is due out in Autumn this year. It also gives us a look at the Predator behind the mask.

Series 16 will be another Kenner themed line and stalker will have a Glow in the Dark feature.

"BTS test shot Series 16 Stalker Predator + extra some parts, final figure will be GITD #prednesday #kenner"

#Ultimate #Ash features all new fully articulated legs and tons of accessories, including 2 interchangeable heads (regular and possessed sculpts), interchangeable right forearms, severed possessed hand,#Sheila head, #Necronomicon, tape recording machine, #shotgun and#axe accessories. With over 25 points of articulation, he’s fully poseable and ready to rock your world!

The 7” scale figure comes in collector-friendly deluxe window box packaging with opening flap. Starts shipping out to retailers in September 2016!

It seems the Japanese companies are also not immune to the temptation of taking an existing figure, casting it in blue translucent plastic and releasing it as a holographic figure The Mafex holographic Darth Vader will be a Wonderland Festival 2016 exclusive, with a limit of 2000 units being available.

The price is 4500 yen (£28) but expect to pay much more via the secondary market to get one of these into the UK or US

Mafex are also expanding their Star Wars collection even further with the planned release of a 1/12 Force Awakens Rey, and a Revenge of the Sith Darth Vader.

The Vader obviously shares the sculpt with the hologram version and looks to come with either removable helmet, or alternative head portrait Rey, in a move that beats both the Hasbro and Disney Elite version, will come with her X-Wing helmet as well as her sandstorm/scavengers head gear. She also comes with her staff, the blaster given to her

by Han AND Luke's lightsaber.

Both will be released in 2017 and will likely be in the £40-£50 bracket once they reach UK shores.

After the Joker and Harley Quinn, it seems the next Mafex 1/12 figure from Suicide Squad will be Deadshot.

Arriving in March 2017, Deadshot will come with two head options masked and unmasked - as well as an armoury of weapons. The price is TBC but likely to be around the £40-£50 mark when imported into UK. It is clear from this image and the likeness of Will Smith, and of course the associated figures of The Joker and Harley Quinn, that there has been a real step-up from Mafex and the other Far East firms in sculpting human likeness.

Mafex have released promotional images of two figures based on the 1968 Stanley Kubrick cult Science Fiction classic, 2001 : A Space Odyssey.

The 1/12 figures are based on the space suits as seen in the movie. The red as worn by Dr David Bowman (Keir Dullea) and the yellow as worn by Dr Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood). We must stress that the helmets are nonremovable on these figures and therefore there is no likeness for either actor.

The figures are highly articulated and will stand 160mm (6 1/4 inches) high. Price is expected to be around £40-£50 here in the UK. They will be released in February 2017.

Tamashii Nations have revealed the first (Action Figure) exclusive for Star Wars Celebration London. The Teppou Ashigaru Storm Trooper, from their Movie Realization line, is a tweaked version from the base figure released last year. #SWCE Exhibitor Exclusive Teppou Ashigaru Sandtrooper from Tamashii Nations at Booth #S803 The Teppou trooper stands at 170mm (6 1/2 inches) high and like all Movie Realization releases is a Samurai styled version of the familiar Star Wars Storm Trooper. The Trooper will be available from the Tamashii Nations booth, S803. There is no price details as yet. There is also no images of the packaging or an indication of how many are available.

Entertainment Earth will be offering this Biff Bang Pow set of the Big Bang Theory characters in Star Trek outfits at this year's SDCC (booth #2243)

Like so many recent waves, the latest Marvel Legend wave has broken online and not via any official release by Hasbro.

We are some 3-weeks away from Star Wars Celebration London, and 4-weeks away from SDCC 2016 - and yet we still have no idea what the promised Hasbro Star Wars exclusives will be for both events.

We knew many of these figures from Hasbro panels at Toy Fair, but this is confirmation of the full line-up

Hasbro confirmed, at Toy Fair, there will be a shared exclusive between the two and a further SDCC only item - and one of these will be Rogue One based.

You will need 6 figures to build your Abomination - Scarlet Witch (MCU Civil War), Secret War Captain America, Captain Britain, Eel, Wonder-Man and Iron Skull.

It seems we may have to wait until the 6th July, 1pm UK time, when Hasbro will apparently be making an announcement - and we have to assume it will be the reveal of these exclusive items.

Watch this space….

Review : First Order Snow Trooper Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro) Wave/Series : Figure #12 (Phase 3 Wave 4) Released : Jan 2016 in US / June 2016 in UK Price : ÂŁ22.99 Wave 4 in itself posed a peculiar challenge to collectors, with a US release at the turn of the year - but no such release in the UK until very limited numbers were obtained by specialists some 6 months later in June. By this time the UK had already had wave 5 and wave 6 - and that will have damaged the demand for the #12 figure, The First Order Snow Trooper, as Hasbro re-packed him two to a box in wave 6. Add to that the Snow Trooper officer exclusive at Toys R Us which has been around, and in quantity, since Autumn last year and you can see why collectors are a bit "meh" about this figure and why the prices are so low at time of writing.

The sculpt is very clean and crisp, as we expect from Hasbro in terms of armoured figures. It is also cast in a nice contrast of gloss plastic for the helmet and armoured panels on top of a duller white under-suit.

There are no paint applications as such other than some black and grey accenting on the helmet, arms and boots - as well as some touches on the chest control panel and above this a decal of some sort. I would say this decal may well indicate rank, but it is identical to that on the Snow Trooper officer.

The Snow Trooper, #12 in phase 3, comes in the red phase 3 packaging. Interestingly there have been three reported inner tray positions for the figure - some apparently using the same inner tray as the Toys R Us figure with gun in hand and pointing down, another with gun in hand pointing up and this one where the gun sits separate.

Paint niggles include some spots of paint caused in the factory, and the black of the visor is too short and should extend further to either side of the helmet.

The backpack sits into an octagonal hole on the troopers back. I had assumed the octagonal shape would keep the backpack in the correct position - but they then made the backpack peg round, so the fit is not as tight as one might hope.

The backpack, like the armour, is cast in high gloss plastic with a few black and grey paint apps to pick-out the controls.

In hand the Snow Trooper stands a touch under 6 inch, which does make him look a little "short for a Storm Trooper" particularly against the standard First Order Troops. He is however a very solid, squat and heavy figure. He comes packed with his blaster rifle and his backpack.

Articulation starts with the standard Black Series head ball joint and even with the overhanging helmet, the Snow Trooper can rotate a full 360 degrees and can look straight or downwards - any backward movement to aim the head looking up is blocked by the helmet.

The only other accessory is the rifle, which can be held in either hand and you can also get a cradling pose using that elbow joint.

The rifle is nicely painted with white paint applications over a black plastic. This does however mean the white of the gun does look a little yellow up against the armour of the figure. Further paint apps on the gun pick out the scope and barrel in silver.

The arms are retractable shoulder ball joints with the armour on the shoulder sliding neatly into the chest armour when you raise the arms. They will not go to a full 90 degrees to the body, but move more than I might have expected. The elbows are the now standard single joint with the swivel function. The elbow will bend 90 degrees in the natural motion, and has some degree of backward movement too - not that this looks natural. The pegged and jointed wrists will rotate fully and bend forward a little to help cradling the gun.

There is a hidden joint up under the chest panel, and this lets the torso rotate a full 360 degrees if you wish. Watch out though for turning it too far to the side as the backpack will get pushed off to an odd angle.

The First Order Snow Trooper is a nice, average figure in the Black Series. Yes, a thinner or differently designed skirt would have aided the posing options. And I think I would have liked him to stand a little taller. Sadly he will suffer from the way he has been packed in both wave 4 and wave 6, with the exclusive release ahead of him coming out, and from the pretty lack luster way the Snow Troopers were portrayed in the movie.

I gave the Snow Trooper officer a 5 out of 5 on release, and I think this version needs to be a little less than that at a 4 out of 5.

Check out the other Wave 4 reviews online

The legs are tucked away under a rubberised skirt, but still hold a good range of movement. The hips would swing out to a seated position and a splits position without the skirt - but with it you will be held to neutral stances only. There is a thigh split and swivel, most likely to allow the feet to move out for more stability - but as always as you twist the joint the lines of the sculpt are thrown out.

The double jointed knees are also held back by the skirt - but I have found you can get a walking position that will still allow the figure to stand, and with some support you could get a running motion too. There is an ankle joint of sorts, but the overhanging ankle armour keeps that in check allowing for minor adjustments to the foot position.

Checkout the alternative covers that didn’t make the front page this week

Issue 30 : Saturday 25th June, 2016

s l a e v e r x Mega Mafe e c i l A t c e l e Diamond S s e v i s u l c x e More SDCC revealed d a e D l i v E s And Ash v

!

Issue 30 : Saturday 25th June, 2016

s l a e v e r x Mega Mafe e c i l A t c e l e Diamond S s e v i s u l c x e More SDCC revealed A

! d a e D l i v nd Ash vs E