045 Action Figure Sat-TOY-Day News, 14th January 2017

Issue 45 : Saturday 14th January, 2017

T S T A s r a W r a t S �

5 7 .

3 New e v a W n e M X d n e g e L l e v Mar r e n n u R e d a Bl m r i f n o c A NEC e c n e c i l 9 4 20 o t k c a b g n i m o c s i g n o K King toy aisles

US site Yakface.com have shared this image from one of their site readers of a

Hasbro have confirmed that they will be releasing a 3.75" Galen Erso in their 5POA Star Wars range. Galen will come packed with his Mouse (MSE) Droid.

3.75" Black Series AT-ST and Driver found in a Walmart store. The price was listed as $60.

There are no more official details at this stage. We can assume this is still under Walmart exclusivity as per the 3.75" Black Series figures, which should mean this at least has the potential to make it's way to UK Asda stores.

Additional images have been shared, via a listing on eBay, which do confirm that this is not a specific release but a general AT-ST (we did assume with the weathering this might be a Jedha themed release). The AT-ST driver will come with removable helmet. Both appear to be re-releases from the Black Series Endor pack from a couple of years back that was a US Toys R Us exclusive.

Hasbro have fully revealed the content of the next Marvel Legend X-Men wave, from which you will be able to collect and assemble Warlock as the BAF. The wave is made up of a classic X-Men suit Cyclops. Dazzler, Polaris, Shatterstar and Sunfire make up the next 4 figures in the 7 figure series, arguably the least desireable figures.

Wolverine, or rather Old Man Logan, is comic book based but is obviously included to take advantage of the Old Man Logan focus in Spring with the Fox release of Logan at the Cinema.

The odd thing about Logan is the the exclusion of any accessories or BAF piece, meaning you can skip him and still build the Warlock BAF. The final figure is Colossus, who is sporting quite an unusual costume, particularly that neck piece.

He will come with an alternative "metal" bearded head.

The BAF is Warlock, who once assembled can be posed with normal fist or circular saw hand weapon.

The info was released via Mads Mikkelsen on his official Twitter feed. Mads appears to have been sent a packaged figure as he tweeted the packaged image in hand rather than a promotional image.

Where the figure fits in the release schedule is unknown, but is expected to either be included in (or land after) wave 3 which contains the likes of Bodhi, Admiral Raddus and Jyn in Imperial Ground Crew disguise.

For any 6" collectors eyeing up the MSE Droid. This looks to be the newer and therefore smaller sculpt and will be too small scale wise for the 6" scale - you will need to look out for the older mode as reviewed HERE. There is of course still hope we will see Galen in 6" form and I think a 6" MSE Droid has to come along as some stage.

This banner has gone live on the SH Figuarts website, confirming that we will be seeing 1/12 Figuart figures from Guardians of the Galaxy. This shouldn't really be a surprise as SHF have been heavily supporting the Marvel Cinematic Movies for a while now moving from just doing the Avengers movies to now covering every release in some fashion. We now await the reveal....

Singapore high end collectible company Comicave Studios have been pumping out Iron-Man 1/12 diecast collectable figures for some time now, at least in terms of tempting collectors at trade shows, and have a following of collectors in the Far East as well as in the US and UK.

There was some frustration about this initially being down as a Far East exclusive, but US collectors in particular can be relieved that the US distributor Bluefin have now confirmed this will be sold directly in the US. Pre-orders are due up soon, ETA remains June 2017

First is Fiora who will be packed along with her sword.

Collectors who were hoping to add the Mark 7 and Midas (Mk21) suits to their 1/12 collection were left disappointed today by this post on the Comicave Facebook page which confirms they are stopping any further development of these two figures quoting "development cost inefficiency". This follows the cancellation of the Starbust armour, meaning 3 planned figures have now been pulled.

This has left fans fuming and puts the whole line at risk if they can't get two of the more popular Iron-Man arms to stores. After the issues with the previous licensees, Play Imaginative, it is a sad turn of events.

We've seen a couple of images so far for the SH Figuarts 1/12 Doctor Strange movie figure, and now Tamashii Nations have unveiled the full suite of promotional pictures.

The Funko Legacy 6" line is not quite as dead and buried as we had believed, with two new figures based on the popular League of Legends online game arriving in stores January 2017.

The other figure is Zed, who is packed with his wrist blades The new 6" figures will boast 20 points of articulation and will come on the blister cards we saw for the Evolve figures, not the boxed packaging used on the Legacy Game of Thrones and Magic the Gathering figures. US RRP is $19.99, so expect to pay ÂŁ20 her in UK once these make their way to specialist stores.

One of the most sought after Marvel Select figures of recent years is the Disney Store Exclusive Flash Thompson as Agent Venom. Originally released in 2013, it has gone on to one of the more expensive figures in the range on the secondary market.

It is therefore going to be great news to collectors that Disney Stores are re-releasing the figure in 2017. The figure will have 16 points of articulation and will be packed with two hand guns, working holsters and a diorama base.

Already listed on the US site at $24.95 we expect this to go up on the UK site very soon (all other exclusives have crossed the Atlantic to date)

JANUARY 9, 2017 – Leading action figure and collectibles maker NECA announced today that it has acquired the license to BLADE RUNNER 2049, the hotly anticipated sequel to the legendary sci-fi movie. The company plans to release a full range of figures, die cast vehicles, replicas, games and more in 2017. Additional details will be revealed at New York’s International Toy Fair in February.

There are a number of licences from classic movie's

ABOUT BLADE RUNNER 2049

that for many different reasons have not been made officially into Action Figures. Amongst fan lists of dream figure series, one that always comes up is Blade Runner

It seems that although we may never see figures from

Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.

the classic 1982 Ridley Scott movie, collectors will be able to get their hands on figures from the Blade Runner universe. Confirmed by NECA today, the US company have struck a deal for the likeness to the 2017 Blade Runner sequel and will be producing figures based on the Blade Runner 2049 film.

We do not know much else at this time, with a promise of more information at Toy Fair 2017 next month.

It's a new #Prednesday reveal from NECA, a look at the Series 17 Serpent Hunter Predator that will be arriving in late February or March.

Scroll down to read the NECA press release, and as you go check out the teaser trailer for Blade Runner 2049.

It looks awesome, a design that certainly stands out from a lot of the other AvP Predators.

The word of caution is that figures may be either the 7" hard sculpted figures and/or the 8" Mego style figures.

The science fiction thriller is directed by Denis Villeneuve (ARRIVAL) and features a star-studded cast that includes Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Carla Juri, Lennie James, with Dave Bautista and Jared Leto.

Original BLADE RUNNER director Ridley Scott executive produces the dystopian tale based on characters from the novel DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? by Philip K. Dick. Produced by Andrew A. Kosove, Broderick Johnson and Cynthia Yorkin.

BLADE RUNNER 2049 opens in theaters on October 6, 2017. Visit official website bladerunnermovie.com for more details.

We would assume the vehicles will be within the fledgling Cinemachine banner.

We are getting even closer to the re-release of the Aliens Hicks & Hudson from NECA. The ALIENS 30th Anniversary 2 pack of Hicks & Hudson all packed out & shipping in a few weeks #facehuggerfriday #aliens #gameoverman - Randy Falk, Twitter This new 2-pack is a combination of the previous releases - with both head options, one with helmet. All the accessories are included - Pulse Rifles, Motion Trackers, Shoulder Lamps and Hick's Shotgun. There is also some updates with the flesh now using the flesh toned plastic and some updated decor and improvements to Hudson's helmet new deco & use of flesh tinted plastic. Hudson helmet more accurate color & tampo then original release - Randy Falk, Twitter These new packaging images have been released by NECA and the pack itself should be in stores sometime in February. You can pre-order HERE at our affiliate partner

Following on from the successful Friday the 13th Part 3 Ultimate Jason, NECA now appear to be lining up a sequel of their own - a Friday the 13th The Final Chapter Jason.

After teasing the item at New York Comic Con, NECA have now shared this image of the Predator Bone Throne.

The NYCC display thrown was, buy their own admission, a kit bashed version. This has now been re-worked and looks glorious. There are no more details as yet.

We have known a Lambert in Spacesuit figure from Alien (1979) was on its way in 2017, having had some sneak peaks through 2016. NECA have now shared the following images of the figure which are taken from the card back. The figure will be part of Series 11 which also includes the Kenner inspired electric blue Alien Xenomorph which reuses the Big Chap Sculpt. The third release in the series is an as yet unknown figure. This does mean that the series will be a mixed release from different properties within the Alien universe and not focused on one film or theme.

A new #facehuggerfriday as promised brings a first look at the WIP

cardback

for

Series

11,

a

mixed

wave

of

Alien

Awesomeness (Randy Falk, NECA, via Twitter)

Lambert will come with two head options, the Spacesuit helmet, a torch and a pistol. The additional head is to satisfy those collectors who are not always happy with the expression that NECA sculpt into their character faces and allows this one to be displayed with either a neutral face or a more terrified look. The scared version is sculpted with the flight cap, while the more neutral look is uncovered.

NECA have shared this prototype image of the Demon Spawn from series 2 of the Ash vs Evil Dead TV show.

This will be a 7" release, but other than this there are no more details at this stage as to how or when this figure will be available.

So far our only details are these accessory pieces and a tweet from Randy Falk Getting everything ready to make this #friday13th truly Ultimate! (Randy Falk, NECA, via Twitter) This new Jason looks to be coming with a Gravestone, Meat Cleaver, Saw and that very unusual weapon the Corkscrew

Lanard Toys have announced, via Idlehands, that they will be producing 3.75" toys from the 2017 Kong : Skull Island Movie.

We first heard about Funko tieing in with Playmobil in February 2016. Funko were looking for the next Pop! and were taking the iconic Playmobil 3" figure, blowing it up to 6" in height and applying iconic properties to the figures pretty much the same model as Pops! where the likeness of the actual actor was not an issue, allowing multiple properties to be pumped out.

We are now just a few weeks away from the first of these to hit shelves. We would expect UK pre-orders to go up soon. The one that is up Forbidden Planet International who are quoting an RRP of £17.99 but are then discounting these to £12.99. They should hit stores later this month.

One interesting dynamic is if we will see these in more mainstream stores like Asda, Tesco, Toys R Us and Game - retailers who all picked up Funko product, namely pops, around 2015.

The first licences we will see are Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Willy Wonka, Doctor Who and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Across Social Media you can see the response to these is lukewarm so far, particularly amongst the specific fan bases like Whovians and Ghostbuster collectors. There is also a lot of noise around the size, with many collectors thinking these were standard size and scaled with existing Playmobil.

In fact Playmobil themselves are branching out with licenced properties at their own scale starting with Ghostbusters. This explains why these are a different size - and you wonder if the partnership included Funko getting to use the Playmobil design, while Playmobil benefitted from licensing deals or at least some help in obtaining their own deals.

The figures, which are obviously aimed more at children rather than adult collectors, are a mix of articulated human characters and larger creatures like Kong himself, but also some of the monsters from the Island and some militaristic vehicles.

Sadly, I can't see these doing all that well - look at the quantity of Jurassic World product still hanging round a year late - and these could well be destined for B&M and Home Bargain stores later in the Summer. I do however like the 18" Kong as a centrepiece for a collection, will be interesting to see the RRP on that.

The award for the worst Twitter representation for a brand has to go to the new US Underground Toys account that was set up in the latter half of 2016 and that hyped up a bunch of new Doctor Who 5" collectors figures - including a new 10th Doctor in Tuxedo and two brand new 12th Doctor sculpts.

Roll forward to January, about a month out from the promised release date of February, and when asked by a fan this is the response from Underground Toys...

Further questioning has confirmed not a single one of the three promised figures will now see the light of day.

Interestingly some details via a US site has contradicted the quote, claiming that UT were trying to solicit a US retailer to commit to these figures with a minimum of 5000 units. This would certainly make much more sense than saying there was a factory problem...

I suspect this, along with the waning interest in the show itself, is the final nail in the coffin of the Doctor Who figure line.

There is however still a chink of light in this whole saga, with Character Options (the UK based manufacturer and licence holder) still indicating these figures will go ahead and having shared images of the packaged product. Confused? Us too….

NECA have previously released a set of Action Figure stands. These first stands were circular and designed to slot into the peg holes of the NECA figures. We took a closer look at them HERE. NECA have now taken their Action Figure stands one step further - in fact several leaps further - with the release of their Dynamic Action Figure stand.

This top arm then fits into the lower arm which is on a larger base and comes with a ratcheted section and thumb slider, from which you can vary the height of your figure.

Finally, and we are looking at floor standing mode first, this lower piece clips into a wider base section.

The stand comes on a retro designed blister and card back.

The backdrop is very Tron-esque and the text fonts very 1980's, an era favoured

by NECA and their designers.

Once stood the base can support, and keep a wide rage of figures elevated.

We tried it on figures ranging from 3.75" Star Wars up to and including the NECA figures it is ultimately designed for.

Within this we also tried Diamond Select 7" figures, Hasbro 6" figures and a couple from the 5" Doctor Who range.

Once unpacked you will find a number of parts to assemble.

The claw arm fits into the shorter piece of tubing, the slots here are hexagonal so you need to choose the correct orientation depending how you are going to attach the claw to the figure - don't try and turn these once connected.

All were easily gripped in the claw and then supported up to the point we went for the larger Alien figures from NECA where the weight finally brought the pivot arm back down to earth. But even here, as you can see in the image, the stand still held the figure upright and in much more dynamic action poses than could ever be achieved previously.

We tested this on a number of surfaces, including the Ikea Billy laminate bookcase system that is a mainstay for lots of collectors. Sadly, the suction cups will only stay adhered to a glass or high gloss perspex surface. Once adhered to a suitable surface however they are pretty secure. We kept a "stunt" figure suspended at 5ft on a glass display door for nearly 4 weeks.

It is worth stating that although the stand is robust, you need to take care.

The plastic is very strong, but also with no give what so ever so is also brittle under pressure. The ratchet doesn't work all that smoothly to raise the height, so ease it up gently. And the claw is best worked with two hands one on each prong to open and close it the rear handle doesn't really help all that much. That being said there are nut & bolt connectors on the upper pivot and the claw which can be loosened or tightened as you see fit.

My advice though is don't stick any expensive figures on this stand until you've tested it at length, particularly if they are suspended at height.

This stand is not cheap, retailing at between ÂŁ10 and ÂŁ15 here in the UK, and between $10 and $15 in the US. Unless you are loaded you won't be putting loads of these in your collection, but they are nice to use on centre piece figures or displays. They will also be great for Toy photography allowing you to maintain some dynamic poses.

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The second element of this base is the ability to swap out the base for one with two suction cups. This is designed to attach to a vertical surface and keep you figures in a flying pose.

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