031 Action Figure Sat-TOY-Day News, 2nd July 2016

Issue 31 : Saturday 2nd July, 2016

… k c a b s i n Spaw s e v i s u l c x e Star Wars a plenty e m i T a n o Once Up d e w e i v e R y k NECA Roc

Hasbro have confirmed that their 6 inch Black Series exclusive for Star Wars Celebration 2016 will be an unmasked Kylo Ren. The exclusive was announced via Entertainment Weekly.

Using the existing Kylo Ren body the figure will come with a revised unmasked head sculpt, as well as Kylo's own mask. He will also come with the melted Darth Vader helmet, the triple blade light saber and a particularly impressive First Order red banner and stand.

The figure will be available from the Forbidden Planet booth which is being shared with Hasbro. The US price is listed at $34.99 for Kylo, but usually considering the event is in London no £ value has been confirmed - direct conversion would put the figure at £26.39.

There is no details as yet on the packaging, this will be confirmed later. I suspect that the packaging and then some element of the pack (probably the First Order stand) will be the exclusive element and this Kylo will most likely hit the standard range at some point in 2016/17.

There have been rumours of an Alec Guiness Obi Wan Kenobi figure for some time, but few would have predicted him being this years SDCC exclusive.

Announced today via Entertainment Weekly, Obi Wan will come in special collectors packaging. He will come with a soft goods robe as well as his light saber, and Anakin's light saber he would hand to Luke Skywalker. He will also come with a table and the holographic image of Princess Leia.

The packaging, black and white in design, is along the same vein as last year's First Order Stormtrooper. I suspect that like the SWCE Kylo Ren that we will see this Obi Wan figure as a standard release sooner rather than later - and it is the packaging and one or more of the accessories being the exclusive part, most likely the Leia hologram and table.

Obi Wan will be sold via the Hasbro booth at SDCC 2016 and will be $44.99 (which equates to £33.93. UK fans should keep a close eye on places like Kapow Toys, and Far East sellers like RobotKingdom, who usually get hold of stocks of SDCC exclusives around the same time of the event.

The Rebel Alliance and Resistance’s most loyal protocol droid has a new look – and you may not recognize him.

But not to worry, with the Star Wars: The Force Awakens Premium Edition Vac-Metal C-3PO 18-Inch Big Figs(TM) Action Figure – Convention Exclusive, this loyal companion will become a familiar friend.

Entertainment Earth have announced a Force Awaken's Jakks Pacific 18 inch C-3PO as an SDCC 2016 Exclusive at their booth.

He will come packed in a golden window box, marked as "Premium Edition" and will only be available for the 4-days of SDCC 2016 (20th 24th July)

Fresh from the Battle of Takodana, C-3PO sports his recognizable shiny gold finish, along with a red arm he wears to remember the fallen First Order RA-7 protocol droid named Omri.

Measuring 18-inches tall, this is the first Threepio action figure at this scale with his metallic finish.

From Jakks Pacific’s Big Fig collection, the figure comes packaged in a premium edition box with a Resistance symbol backdrop and gold foil highlights.

Mattel confirm a Hot Wheels exclusive to Star Wars Celebration London.

The Prototype Boba Fett car is a repaint of the original release, and will come in special Celebration packaging. There are no details on price, numbers available or how to pick one up at this stage "FIRST LOOK: The new Hot Wheels @Starwars Prototype Armour Boba Fett exclusively at 2016 @SW_Celebration! #SWCE"

Available for sale on July 20, 2016, at the Entertainment Earth booth #2343 at San Diego ComicCon, fans will have the first opportunity to grab this exclusive! *NOTE: This item will only be on sale July 20 – July 24, 2016 at San Diego Comic-Con 2016 at the Entertainment Earth booth #2343. It will not be for sale on our website at any time.

We don't usually cover Gentle Giant, particularly as their products are mainly high end statues. But this news, broken by Yoda's News today certainly caught my eye - if only from a nostalgia point of view.

Gentle Giant will be releasing two Jumbo Kenner Luke Skywalker figures, one with light hair and one with dark and these will be exclusive to their Premier Guild Members and then at SDCC 2016.

Limited to 250 each, Premier Guild members can order these shortly - and the remainder will be available at SDCC with fans getting to choose which hair colour they want (subject to availability). Checkout the full story and gallery at Yoda's News

Support your Independents... 20% off this week at A1 Toys on all full priced items (some exclusions).

Discount applicable in store and online. Online orders are discounted at checkout, and its FREE delivery too.

Valid until 4th July 2016

More details have been revealed for the upcoming SH Figuarts WWE debut figures.

Stonecold Steve Austin will be provided with removable vest as well as beer can's with splashing beer effect to toast his victory. The images indicate there will also be at least 3 head options - Neutral, Shouting, Grimacing The Rock will come with microphone and either removable sunglasses, or a swap out sunglasses wearing head. He will also come with neutral "eyebrow" head and a shouting version.

Both figures are due in stores in December 2016 with the Japanese RRP at 6000 Yen. This equates to around a £45 price in the UK. $60 in the US - but expect a bit more on top for import costs etc. depending on the distributors in these territories.

Icon Heroes are releasing a range of 6 inch figures based on the hit ABC show, Once Upon a Time. The first figures will hit stores in December 2016, and we now know that Robin Hood will be the 4th figure in this initial December wave.

Robin will come with his bow, arrow and alternative st of hands. He will join Regina, Hook and Emma Swan and each figure will retail at $24.99 in the US. As yet we have seen no UK pre-orders.

"From the hit ABC television series Once Upon A Time comes the Robin Hood action figure! Measuring approximately 6 inches tall and fully articulated, Robin Hood comes with his bow and arrow and an additional set of hands!"

Click the images below to see the full gallery at www.mephitsu.co.uk

Jedi Insider are reporting a “rumour” that the Black Series 6 inch C-3PO figure revealed late last year may in fact be an Amazon exclusive when it is finally released for sale.

The credibility of this rumour is bolstered by the fact the same source predicted the unmasked Kylo Ren and Obi Wan figures - so for once it is a rumour worth watching.

If the red arm Force Awakens 3PO does end up as an Amazon only figure then we would assume an Original Trilogy version will hit mass retail.

A number of Facebook sources have been posting that the Disney Elite C-3PO and R2-D2 figures will finally see a UK release as of the 15th July. If this is confirmed it may not be a coincidence that this is the same date that Star Wars Celebration kicks off in London.

In December of this year (2016) the world of Assasins Creed will be brought to the big screen by 20th Century Fox. The movie follows the modern day protagonist Callum who is re-living the memories of his ancestor, Aguilar, with both roles played by Michael Fassbender. And Aguilar is joining the McFarlane Color Top range this coming October in their revised 7 inch scale.

Needless to say, this early promotional image looks fantastic - with a great likeness to Fassbender. All the other Color Tops announced to date have been popping up for UK preorder around the £18-£20 mark, and we would expect Aguilar to be the same.

When McFarlane announced their return to the 7 inch scale with their Red Tops line, it was confirmed that Spawn would be a part of this return.

We saw the first planned Spawn figure earlier in the year, and the full details have now been confirmed by McFarlane. Spawn will fall in the "Blue" wave and is #10. He is due to hit stores in November 2016 with an RRP of $19.99 / circa £20 here in the UK. Also confirmed, is a Toys R Us Exclusive "unmasked" Spawn. The wording is interesting in that the unmasked "hamburger" head is alternate, so fans will most likely be aiming to pick up this Toys R Us version over the vanilla release.

This figure will be #11 in the blue wave and will retail at the same price, but only in Toys R Us Stores in the US. We await to see what UK / Rest of the World distribution looks like.

Al Simmons, once the U.S. government’s greatest soldier and most effective assassin, was mercilessly executed by his own men.

Resurrected from the ashes of his own grave in a flawed agreement with the powers of darkness, Simmons is reborn as a creature from the depths of Hell– a Hellspawn. Now, Spawn must choose between his life on Earth and his place on a throne in Hell.

This figure stands 7 inches tall and comes equipped with an assault rifle and pistol. Spawn is sculpted in his signature black and white Spawn costume, complete with iconic red cape and spiked gauntlets. Stylized display base included.

Through a revolutionary technology that unlocks his genetic memories, Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) experiences the adventures of his ancestor, Aguilar, in 15th Century Spain. Callum discovers he is descended from a mysterious secret society, the Assassins, and amasses incredible knowledge and skills to take on the oppressive and powerful Templar organization in the present day.

Aguilar is a warrior in 15th century Spain, during the Inquisition. An Assassin who fights for freedom against powerful forces seeking to eradicate it, Aguilar possesses incredible Parkour fighting abilities. 500 years later, Aguilar’s memories continue to exist within his descendant Callum Lynch. Once unlocked, Callum experiences these memories in the present day, allowing him to re-live Aguilar’s thrilling adventures, while acquiring his ancestor’s powerful skills.

This figure stands 7 inches tall and is dressed in his iconic Assassin robes depicted in the upcoming Assassin’s Creed movie. Aguilar comes armed with Assassin Sword and extended Hidden Blade. Assassin’s Creed branded figure base included.

Text for exclusive version...

Spawn stands 7 inches tall and features alternate “Hamburger Head” depicting Spawn without his mask. Figure comes equipped with assault rifle and pistol and is painted in a variant costume color scheme, complete with iconic red cape and spiked gauntlets.

NECA have shown off the proposed box design and art-work for their Ultimate T1 Police Station Assault Terminator. The figure is on track to hit stores in August.

"Since you are all loving Tech Noir so much here is the packaging for the next Ultimate T-800 #t2sday #terminator" - Randy Falk, NECA (via Twitter)

And following this was this image of 8 new test shot figure arriving at NECA NECA tweeted a couple of behind the scenes Predator images this week. The first a test shot of their upcoming Ultimate

"Bonus image for #prednesday - how 8 brand new Predator test shots arrived the other day.

Like xmas in the studio"

"An early look at Ultimate City Hunter for #prednesday. See what upgrades you can spot here, not final WIP shown" - Randy Falk, NECA (via Twitter)

- Randy Falk, NECA (via Twitter)

Fans were quick to analyse the image and identify Clan Leader, Stalker, Broken Tusk, Scarface as well as the two Ultimate figures - Jungle Hunter from Predator and City Hunter from Predator 2. The other figures remain a mystery at present.

"Let's take a closer look at the ultra creepy Albino packaging for #facehuggerfriday" Aliens Series 9, containing the figures of Vasquez, Drake and the Albino Concept Alien will hit stores later this year. NECA have revealed the initial packaging design for the Albino. The figures will be packed in the usual clamshell packaging.

NECA have released a first look at the packaged 8 inch retro figure Captain Spaulding from House of 1000 Corpses. The figure will hit stores in July 2016.

"A look at the packaged Captain Spaulding for #MonsterMonday Available late July & more from Corpses will follow" - Randy Falk, NECA (via Twitter)

Review : Rocky Balboa* NECA, Rocky III Wave/Series : Rocky 40th Anniversary Series 1 Released : June 2016 ÂŁ22.99 *2 versions of Rocky are available in Series 1. Black trunks with title belt and blue trunks. This review covers both figures but at this stage we are working with the black trunk version and will update out gallery with the alternative version in due course.

From 2012 to 2014, NECA produced a small series of Rocky figures - with characters taken from the first four films including the titular Rocky Balboa, Ivan Drago and Apollo Creed. The series has taken on almost cult status and finding any figure from this original run of clam-shelled figures will mean paying considerably over the odds.

In 2015 it was announced that NECA would return to the Rocky licence with a 40th Anniversary series of figures. Within this they would re-release figures from the original range, as well as add in brand new sculpts.

Wave 1 of this 40th anniversary range would be based on Rocky III and contain two versions of Rocky and two versions of the main protagonist, Clubber Lang.

The two spine sides are identical with the Rocky text logo at the top, and under this the 40th Anniversary wording. In the centre is another foil image, this time of the iconic silhouette of Rocky's celebratory fist in the air pose. Under this is the character name, and confirmation of the series.

The box back is made up of the movie poster for Rocky III and in this case it is this original movie poster that provides the inspiration for the figure itself and it's packed in Championship Belt. To the top of this poster is a short paragraph laying down the premiss of Rocky III. To the bottom of the poster is a four figure check-list detailing all the figures in the line, and on top of these is the wording "The Greatest Challenge".

Out of the box and Rocky is strapped into the usual inner tray, and this sits in the gold/yellow coloured backing card. Once unstrapped then Rocky comes out of the box fully ready to enter the ring, there are no accessories packed with him and the Title belt on the Black version is already attached to his waist.

In this review we look at the first of the Rocky figures.

The first considerably change vs the original 2012-14 range is the move to a collectors box for these 40th anniversary figures.

The box is a sleek gloss black and of comparable size to other collector lines including Funko's Legacy range and Star Wars Black Series.

Starting at the front of the box, and the black background is actually made up of spotlight stars. The film and character name is presented in stark white text to the bottom right. And to the bottom left is a high shine foil stylised image of Rocky. The window shows off the majority of the figure and wraps round the top flap, but not to either side as we sometimes see on this type of packaging. The colouring of the foil character images and the back drop of the figure tray will apparently be changed for each series.

Rocky stands 6 3/4 inches high, mirroring Sylvester Stallone's stature of 1.77m and that will accurately sit with fans as Rocky always shorter than the opponents he faced in the movies.

Rocky feels a nice weighty piece, more so than other recent NECA figures - not sure if that is intentional?

The head sculpt is a strong representation of Stallone, and captures what I think were more refined chiselled features in the 1982 Rocky 3 vs the fresh faced Stallone we saw 6 years earlier in the original 1976 Rocky movie. The hair is perhaps a little less "bouffant"than we see on the film promotional posters, but is a compromise between the promotional images and the mid-fight Rocky.

The black trunk Rocky also comes with the Championship belt.

This is a work of art, with a really intricate design of an elasticated yellow strap, over which is a red, white & blue over strap. There is then a huge gold eagle design central piece, and around the side some smaller circular images which are of the actual Rocky figures themselves - Clubber Lang, Rocky, Apollo Creed and Ivan Drago. The belt sits loose on the figure, but has no clear clasp to remove it - although I would guess it would slide (carefully) off via the legs with patience.

The boxing gloves are well sized and neatly painted in a high gloss finish. They are red on the black trunk figure, and gold on the gold trunk. Both versions hold a decal logo to the base, as well as intricate stitching up the palm to the base.

The beauty of the Rocky figure is the decision by NECA to cast this figure in a very glossy flesh tone plastic. This is then washed to add muscle definition and makes the whole body pop whilst also looking glossy and sweaty as any boxer would be during a bout. On top of this the eyes are well painted as is the mouth.

Clothing wise and Rocky is wearing a pair of boxers trunks which are essentially a rubber piece applied over the top of the body sculpt.

On one version of Rocky the trunks are gold with his name monogrammed on the side. These gold trunks are the ones worn by Rocky in his first, unsuccessful, bout with Clubber Lang. The other version is a set of black trunks.

These are not actually seen on screen, but are rather the ones used on the promotional posters. The trunks hold loads of sculpted detail with fold after fold of the cloth and them also holding a high ridged elasticated trim.

The boots are again identical on both figures other than colouring - black and gold on the poster Rocky, gold and white on the gold trunks version. The outer socks are textured with neat lines applied, but not overly neat so they don't look like a stitched material. The boots hold two tassels either side which hang independently away from the boot rather than being a sculpted part of it. And like the gloves they have a neat lace up sculpt, although one of the boots on mine had some heavy handed painting in its white colouring which lost some of the detail.

Articulation is key for a figure like Rocky, the range is crying out for action shots and to replicate boxing stances. To that end the figure doesn't disappoint. The head is ball jointed so looks fully round 360 degrees as well as looking up and down.

The shoulders are ball jointed and move out to the side by a full 90 degrees as well as up above the head. There is no bicep swivel but rather the arm rotates at the elbow as well as moving 90 degrees again via the single jointed elbow. The arm ends in a pegged wrist which is hidden under the gloves. This does give the arms a full range of movement for throwing punches, although you would need a wider elbow articulation (double jointed?) to be able to bring the gloves in to the face in a defensive pose.

The chest joint sits under the rib cage, and looks a touch unwieldy on a figure - but then again there isn't anywhere to hide on a figure that is essentially naked apart from a pair of socks and trunks. This chest joint is a big piece of the articulation as it allows you to hunch Rocky over to that familiar boxing pose.

The shorts hide the leg articulation at the hips. The shorts are cast in a rubber material so they do allow the legs to move to some degree. You wont get Rocky sat down or kneeling, but there is enough movement in the top of the legs to get into wider boxing stances. The knees are only a single joint, but this is fine as a double joint would not have added anything significant to the poses you can achieve. The knees do rotate at the joint, which does help stability.

As a start to the Rocky 40th Anniversary relaunch, this figure is almost flawless. It looks great, feels really robust and poses particularly well with just a few exceptions. You would argue the title belt version is better value for money, but then again purists will maybe plump for the gold shorts in being more screen accurate. Either way it's good to have a choice... whether we will still be as enthusiastic by the end of Series 4 and we have somewhere in the region of 8 Rocky figures in our collection. As a dĂŠbut I am going to score Rocky a 5 out of 5, applicable to either version.

Into the feet and there is a rocker joint at the ankle and a clever toe joint, which allows you to plant the back foot in a more realistic position with toe's flat on the floor. The weight and balance of the figure will mean you wont get a good stable stance using this toe joint, but putting the figure on a NECA pegged stand or similar will help you get some brilliant action positions.

Order your NECA Rocky figures (Series 1 and Series 2) courtesy of our affiliate partner

Read our Clubber Lang Review CLICK THROUGH the image below

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

Issue 31 : Saturday 2nd July, 2016

… k c a b s i n Spaw s e v i s u l c x e Star Wars a plenty e m i T a n o Once Up d e w e i v e R y k NECA Roc

Issue 31 : Saturday 2nd July, 2016

… k c a b s i n Spaw s e v i s u l c x e Star Wars a plenty e m i T a n o Once Up d e w e i v e R y k NECA Roc