044 Action Figure Sat-TOY-day News, 31st December 2016

Issue 44 : Saturday 31st December, 2016

d a e D g n i k l Negan 7� Wa Figure r e p o o r T f i r MAFEX Sca r e t t a H d a M Exclusive Select y x a l a G e h t f o s n a i d r a Gu s t c u d o r P 2 .

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McFarlane have confirmed that Negan from The Walking Dead, as played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, will be the 23rd figure in their 7" Color Top range of figures/statues.

Negan will come with his infamous bat Lucille which is stained in the blood of it's recent victims. He will retail in the US at $19.99 and will therefore be somewhere around the £17£20 in the UK. Negan will be released in June 2017. At this stage it is unclear if he will fall into the Green (4th) Series, or launch a new color of his own.

The first two Diamond Select 7" figures from Alice through the Looking Glass are due in stores in the next few weeks.

It has now been confirmed that the Mad Hatter will get a variant release which will be a Previews exclusive. This "Red" Hatter is a repaint of both the figure and the packed in diorama shop front. This Red version is the Hatter from the present day as opposed to the green younger version that Alice encountered when she when back in time.

Also unveiled by Diamond are these packaged samples of the upcoming Alice figures. They follow the usual Select packaging design, but I have to admit they look very polished.

A Diamond Select Toys Release! You’ve met the Mad Hatter, now meet him again! This 7-inch, Previews-exclusive variant figure of the Mad Hatter, based on his appearance in Alice Through the Looking Glass, sports the red coat of the present day, rather than the green coat of his younger days. The figure features the likeness of Johnny Depp, has 16 points of articulation, and comes with a diorama background depicting a building from Wonderland – connect the base to the bases of the other two Alice figures to build a larger town!

Figure comes packaged in display-ready Select packaging, with spine artwork for shelf reference.

Sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios!

Although not as prolific as SH Figuarts, Medicom are certainly stepping up their output of Star Wars 1/12 product in their MAFEX range.

Leader of the group known as The Saviors, Negan is one of the most merciless enemies to ever cross paths with Rick Grimes and the other survivors.

With no remorse, Negan executes those who get in his way with his weapon of choice, Lucille. With the barrel end wrapped in barbed wire, Lucille is the iconic baseball bat that Negan wields to not only intimidate others, but eliminate them as well.

Negan is sculpted in his iconic outfit from Season 7 of AMC’s The Walking Dead. Figure stands 7 inches tall and comes complete with multiple articulation points and stylized brand specific display base.

So far in the MAFEX Series we've had figures from the Original Trilogy, the prequels and of course The Force Awakens. Medicom have now confirmed that as well as the Death Trooper from Rogue One - they will also be releasing the visually impressive Shoretrooper.

Following a similar vein to the Bandai kit, this MAFEX release will come with interchangeable parts allowing you to display the model as the regular trooper or the Kama wearing Squad Leader. He will come with the usual level of articulation and two weapons.

Release date is tentatively set for August 2017. That is quite an extensive wait what with other 1/12 Shoretroopers already on sale and with the Figuarts trooper ready to drop in January. The trooper has an RRP of 5800 Yen - that's around £40 or $50 converted, but expect to add more on for import costs.

While a number of sites and retailers have speculated over the wave contents of the next Black Series Wave, US retailer Dorkside Toys have pretty much confirmed what we expected in that Wave 10 / Rogue One Wave 3 will include just two new figures - and then a full repack of figures that were part of the first two waves.

While the arrival of Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus are welcome, the other repacks are at risk of shelf warming.

It is possible that now the film has debuted in cinema's that the popularity of figures like Krennic, Jyn Erso and Cassian may now climb - it seems unlikely that these will clear at the same rate as the two new characters - potentially creating the type of on shelf disparity we saw with the 4th Wave at the start of 2016 - where Hux and Asty were soon sold out and Snowtroopers and Tie Fighter Pilots filled the shelves.

Diamond Select Toys have confirmed the Select 7" scale figures they will be releasing in 2017 for the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel.

DST skipped the first Guardians movie, but following the sucess of the movie they have been very vocal about the fact they will be doing 7" figures for Vol. 2. Although ideally fans would want to see the full team, we have to be aware of the licencing restrictions on Diamond and the amount of figures they can release.

DST do seem to have gone for the best solution and will release 7" figures of Drax and Starlord. Drax will be packed with Baby Groot, while Star Lord will come with Rocket. That would leave Gamorra un-accounted for at this stage - and then you would be on to secondary characters like Yondu - and if you collect Select MCU figures you know that level of release is pie in the sky.

With smaller figures packed in with the main figure, it may be the case that there will be no diorama piece packed in. It is also not clear as yet if Starlord will come masked or unmasked, or both. Disney store often released a revised version for their own stores, so there is a possibility that the main release comes masked and then you have to double dip the Disney release for the unmasked version.

There are no images as yet for the figures, we would assume the first reveal would be at Toy Fair 2017 in February. Based on the timescales and precedents set by DST for other movie releases - we should expect these about 2-3 months after the films release in April 2017. RRP for the UK is £19.95

There is little doubt that 2017 is going to see the collectible market flooded with Baby Groot product.

The first one officially announced is from NECA who will be releasing this 1:1 full scale Baby Groot in April 2017.

Groot will be made using their foam rubber technique, overlaid with handpainted latex - the same process used in the 2014 full size Rocket Racoon figure.

Groot is however a little smaller, and therefore both more affordable AND display friendl - standing at 10 inches tall.

So far only the US RRP has been confirmed at $34.99, expect UK price to be a comparable £35 rather than the exact monetary conversion.

The only re-release that I don't expect to sit around is the Deathtrooper as he will army build nicely.

I suspect Wave 10 isn't going to hit retail in a great deal of depth, so don't miss out and place your pre-orders as they go live over the next couple of weeks - with the stock itself due as soon as January 2017.

Now this wave is pretty much confirmed, our Phase 3 2017 page has started to take shape and can be found in our Black Series archive

Mezco have confirmed full details of their One:12 collective Deathstroke figure. This DC Comic book figure will come with masked and unmasked head options as well as a variety of weaponry and interchangeable hands.

Deathstroke will be released in Summer 2017 (July/August) with US pre-orders open now. UK price is expected to be circa £70

A military man, Slade Wilson was recruited into the special ops unit Team 7, where he participated in highly dangerous classified missions. There he underwent an experimental procedure that granted him enhanced speed, strength and intelligence, effectively making him the world's greatest soldier.

Following the disbandment of Team 7, Slade became Deathstroke, a mercenary-for-hire. He quickly became known in the criminal world as the man to call when you want to make sure the job will get done.

Deathstroke continuously pushes himself further and further with an unwavering focus on getting the job done no matter what it takes, no matter how ruthless, deadly or manipulative he must be. He is, without question, the world's greatest assassin and one of the most feared people on the planet.

NECA have released full details of their 2017 Ultimate Predator Jungle Hunter.

This new treatment of the classic 1986 Predator will come with upgraded articulation, an opening gauntlet and swap out head and hands. Like most Predator releases to date the Jungle Hunter will also come with a trophy skull. NECA are also packing in a backpack and one of their newly introduced blast effects.

He is due to ship in April 2017, and in line with other Ultimate figures I expect the UK RRP to be around £25 From the original Predator movie, we present the definitive collector’s version of the #JungleHunter!

For additional info and a full gallery of photos, please visit: http://neca.io/2igPI00 The Ultimate Hunter has received the “#Ultimate” treatment, including additional articulation in the biceps (bicep swivels), elbows (double elbow joints) and torso, plus an opening gauntlet!

Comes with interchangeable heads and hands, plus skull and spine, mask, cannon blast effect, human skull, and removable backpack. Collector-friendly deluxe window box packaging with opening flap. Starts shipping out to retailers in April 2017!

NECA to celebrate 30th anniversary of Predator with a special 7 figure assortment of their 7" range.

French Film Director Luc Besson is releasing his latest movie, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, in 2017 and it has now been confirmed via Twitter that NECA are picking up the licence for this movie and making action figures.

Anyone who has seen a Besson film knows the visual style is very individual, none more so than one of his most iconic films The Fifth Element. Besson's other movie's include The Transporter series and District 13.

Take a look at the trailer for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets as well as the blurb for the movie.

At this stage the key question will be if NECA will do traditional 7" figures, or like Intersteller go down the 8" retro look for the movie.

This will be separate from the usual clamshell Predator range and will be sold in window box packaging. This following image of the packaging confirms one of the 7 figures as the partially cloaked Jungle Hunter... "The Jungle Demon" We saw teases of this Jungle Demon figure a few weeks ago.

We would expect the majority of the figures to be re-releases or tweaks - with spots likely for the Jungle Hunter and Dutch.

Christmas Day saw this Alien Resurrection tease from NECA. The legs are certainly Ripley. The gun I am not sure on yet, it doesn't seem to be a match to the promo stills.

The Alien Resurrection figures, we assume, will fall into Series 11 which will be released in Summer 2017. In the meantime the Aliens series is being paused while they release the Alien : Covenant figures

In the 28th century, special operatives Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) maintain order throughout the universe for the government of the human territories.

Under orders from their commander (Clive Owen), the duo embark on a mission to Alpha, an intergalactic city where diverse species share their technology and resources for the betterment of all. The ever-expanding metropolis is also home to sinister forces that jeopardize the future of mankind.

McFarlane have confirmed details of their next 5" Walking Dead figure.

Aaron will, like all new 5" scale Walking Dead figures, be a Walgreens US exclusive retailing for $14.99. There is no clarity on how easy these will be to get in the UK. Aaron will be packed with his licensing device & headphones, Rifle, License Plate and Pistol. Check out the gallery below and below that the official blurb from McFarlane.

Unlike the newer 7" scale figures, this release will remain super articulated with 22 points of articulation.

The long awaited release of the Diamond Select Doctor Strange has taken a step closer.

Diamond have released these packaged shots of the figure and confirmation that the figure is not on its way to comic book stores, in the US at least. If previous Select releases are anything to go by then UK collectors will have to wait a bit longer.

It is interesting that these images are not the usual polished pictures we expect from Diamond.

Promotional images of the SH Figuarts Doctor Strange 1/12 figure due June 2017 have surfaced.

We first saw a sample figure at the Tokyo Comic Con in early December, and now we have the start of the promotional images and a confirmation of a release date for June 2017.

Pricing, when the good Doctor hits the UK, will be circa £50 or $60 if you are in the US.

Good-natured and adventurous, made Aaron the ideal choice to be Alexandria’s recruiter.

Despite the harsh and un-trusting reaction he received from initial contact of Rick’s group, he saw the good that can come out of even the roughest members. He knew Alexandria needed Rick if they planned to stay alive.

Aaron was not only correct in his judgement but became a valued and trusted individual with the survivors, which helped lead them and Alexandria into a whole new world.

Comes with Licensing Device w/ headphones, Remington Model Seven Compact Rifle, License Plate, and Pistol.

Spectacular likeness of Aaron based off Digital Scans of Ross Marquand. Figure also includes approximately 22 points of articulation and is sculpted in his outfit worn in Season 5 of AMC’s The Walking Dead.

Aaron is a Walgreens exclusive figure.

It seems as though there is plenty of life left in the Disney Elite 6.5” Diecast series, and that this life still includes product for The Force Awakens.

We’ve already had new TFA product this year with the Han Solo and Stormtrooper Commander releases.

Now Disney are adding the First Order Tie Fighter Pilot to the roster. Although not yet online in the UK, he is turning up in UK Disney Stores with the revised RRP of £19.95

While this new product roles in, Disney are it seems desperate to clear the older Elite stock from shelves to make room.

We’ve already reported on the unmasked Kylo Ren figure being marked down to £5. And the 5 figure box set of First Order troopers has dropped like a stone since it’s pre-Xmas release. Originally £100 this set is now £34.99 Sadly sold out online, there is stock out there isf yif you still need this set, with its exclusive Heavy Weapon Stormtrooper, in your collection.

Beware Rogue One Spoilers in our next article

With Rogue One now showing across the World and receiving pretty positive press in the main, it is a great time to ask if Hasbro and Disney have "got it right" this year with their Action Figure releases for Rogue One - specifically the Black Series.

The Shoretroopers were kind of "meh" in the end, in fact they now feel like they were there purely to sell toys - otherwise why not use a full compliment of existing Stormtroopers - there seemed no real reason why these Shore Troopers were in place on the base? Don't get me wrong, they are an awesome design I just expected a reason why they had a variant armour and for it to fit into the story.

Last year there was a lot of criticism after the film release that highly sought after figures in both the 6" and 3.75" ranges played a tiny part in the film. Figures of Sarko Plank, The Guavian Enforcer and the infamous Constable Zuvio had no real bearing on the plot of The Force Awakens and are now shelf warming the world over. And yet we still have no figure of Luke or Leia from Episode 7.

The only ones not to get in a mess with figure choice last year seemed to be Disney, who chose wisely for their debut 6.5" Die-cast Elite scale. And even they are still stuck with a number of characters on clearance, although who could have foreseen main characters like Poe Dameron, Rey and Kylo Ren not selling?

So have we had a better choice this time round?

Well in the 6" series it seems like a fairly decent improvement vs last year. The first wave gave us 4 key characters, and the only one majorly peg warming was Cassian - and I bet he starts moving now the film is out. They also mixed in some TFA goodies for those not sold on a the Star Wars Story concept, but it seems the Kylo Ren unmasked was only desirable while it was a Celebration exclusive. It was nice to update Rey with the improved paint and ligtsaber, but I like many held out for the half price deal at Toys R Us to do this.

This first wave release of Cassian, Jyn and K-2SO gives us, in my opinion, the key trio of heroes from the film. And with the Deathtroopersrounding it out I think they will sell really well having played quite a large part throughout the film unlike the Scarif and Hover Tank Troopers.

The same can be said about the Hover Tank Pilots, another great design but not integral to the story and their part driving the tank and the AT-AST could have easily been substituted for the AT-AT drivers from Empire. In fact, I thought Hasbro were being cute including the AT-AT driver in wave 9 and the Emperors Royal Guard in the early wave for 2017, but it seems only the Royal Guard will fit as both an Original Trilogy and Rogue One figure. And of course the newly arrived Princess Leia who can now be posed from any of her A New Hope scenes, or as per that final Rogue One scene.

We also know that Baze Malbus and Chirrut Imwe are coming in 6", and they pretty much round out the key characters with the exception of Bodi Rook - who I liked more than I expected. Disney put him straight in to their Elite releases, and his name has appeared on a survey for the Black Series - I just hope we will get a figure of him in the 6" scale to round out the Rebel group - after all, it's not as though any of them will be appearing in any subsequent movie.

So who are we missing?

Well I mentioned Tarkin above, and he is a fantastic figure that is screaming out to be made now considering he would fit in with both Rogue One and A New Hope collections.

Wave 2 of the Rogue One figures brought us the main protagonist in Director Krennic, although I think he was massively overshadowed and condemned into role of a lackey by both Vader and the CGI Grand Moff Tarkin.

While Tarkin was a surprise, we've known Vader was making an appearance for some time and it was feasible Hasbro could have got him into the first couple of 6" waves - they certainly did it with the 3.75" figures.

There is also the other key character of Saw Gerrara who I didn't really like very much, but who played a big part in the film. He is coming in 3.75", and we've also had at least one of his troops in that scale with Morroff who was packed with a Scarif Trooper (odd choice as they appeared on two separate points in the film and in space).

Outside of this, hard core fans may want some more Rebel Troopers or the slightly variant "Sandtrooper" that we saw in the opening scenes. And talking of Troopers, the Rebel Troopers from the Tantive IV would be a nice addition for Army Builders and again would sit as both Rogue One and A New Hope releases.

And who exactly will connect to that Eadu Jyn Erso Kmart exclusive?

Last years Kmart exclusive was deliberately split for release of one before the movie (Kylo Ren) and one after (Rey) so not to give away any spoilers. It seems this year will follow the same plan, although having now seen the film it is difficult to see how a second figure would now work on this diorama or how it would have given away any spoilers.

You can apply this back to the Imperials too - and I for one would love a Death Star Trooper or Imperial Gunner.

Outside shots would go to Chopper, although I think they will get to him in the Black Series as a pack in with Ezra in the next 18-months or so. There is also Mon Mothma, Bail Organa or even Galen Erso. And what about a Deluxe pack of Moroff and Edrio Two Tubes?

Assuming the diorama follows the film plot, then the obvious choice for the second figure could well be Krennic - a re-release, but maybe with a tweaked "windswept" cloak and/or weathered paint work. There is also the possibility that these aren't opposing figures, so it could be Cassianin his Eadu gear (a re-release) but now packed with his sniper rifle configuration that has been included only in the Target pack to date. The final option, and the outside chance, is for it to be Galen Erso - but to give Kmart a brand new figure on an exclusivity deal would be outside the usual.

Please tell us what you think, and who you would like to see in the Star Wars figure ranges come 2017... Help our social channels stay spoiler free for now by using the Disquss thread below.

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