Issue 68 : Saturday 9th December, 2017
Medicom have released full details, and promotional images, of their 1/12 MAFEX Captain Phasma from The Last Jedi. Despite what appears to be a revised look for Phasma in the upcoming Last Jedi movie, there hasn't been a lot of love for Phasma this time round with companies going a lot harder on the new Praetorian Guards and the Executioner. Bandai are the only other company to be releasing a Phasma from The Last Jedi in their Action Figure Kit range.
As we reported a few weeks back, the next wave of the Star Wars 6" Black Series will land in early 2018 and will include three new figures of DJ (Canto Bight), Rey (Island Journey) and the Captain Rex. The wave will then be made up with some repacks - Phasma, First Order Stormtrooper, Poe (Last Jedi), Imperial Royal Guard and Lando. I personally am still holding out the tiny hope that the repacked Phasma and First Order Stormtrooper may just get tweaked to make them Last Jedi releases? There is no indication that this will happen - but it wouldn't take much for Hasbro to amend the helmet on the Trooper to the one used on the recent Amazon set, and to at least pack Phasma with her new staff.
This MAFEX release will not arrive until at least July 2018. She will come with her revised helmet design and what looks to be very shiny metallic silver effect armour. The cloak will be a soft goods version with red trim and possibly some underwiring to allow it to be posed (not confirmed, but indicated in the pictures).
Robotkingdom are the first site to put this 15th wave up for pre-order and within this have shown the first images of Rex and DJ in their boxes. Rex looks to be coming with the new face printing technology and is packed with his twin blasters. DJ is armed with two types of blasters. It seems the Rey Island Journey figure boxed images have not yet been released.
As well as her blasters, she will get her new staff - and this appears to come in a compact and then extended version. The usual MAFEX stand will also be included. Cost wise, the Japanese RRP will be 7,800 Yen - once imported, expect to pay around $60 in US and ÂŁ50 here in UK.
You can keep tabs on the future Black Series releases at our new 2018 Black Series page, but as a wise Jedi Master once said "Always in Motion is the Future"
Tamashii Nations have released the full details of their The Last Jedi Luke Skywalker 1/12 figure which will arrive in May 2018. Based on his "exile" costume with darker robes, hood and cloak - Luke will be a webstore exclusive costing 6480 Yen. That's around ÂŁ40 or $57, but the exclusivity will make it harder, and more expensive to pick up for collectors outside of Japan.
Tamashii Nations have confirmed the full details of their SH Figuarts (A New Hope) Darth Vader figure along with a set of promotional images. A New Hope Darth Vader will be released in April 2018. He will come with his lightsaber, which can be displayed lit and unlit - with the unlit hilt hanging off his belt as required. There will be a number of hand options to swap in and out - including one for Force Choking both Rebels and incompetent Imperial Officers. The cloak will be soft goods, but will include an inner armature so that it can be posed. The chain clasp on the cloak will be a real chain - similar to what Hasbro used on the first Black Series Vader.
Vader will retail at 6,480 Yen in Japan, that's around $60 and ÂŁ45. US and UK collectors should be able to order directly from Japanese suppliers like Hobby Link Japan and Ami Ami. One question does remain however, when will Bandai/Tamashii give us collectors access to those wonderful backdrops they have used in the Vader promotional images. They would be a brilliant addition for collectors.
We originally speculated that the inner cloak was soft goods, but it now appears the whole figure is sculpted plastic and SHF will include two hood options to interchange - one raised and one down. Interchangeable hands will also be included - one alternative for each hand. Luke comes with a couple of "specific" accessories. These are listed specifically as "exclusive accessories parts set". That may indicate that while this release is a Webshop exclusive, the figure may get a more basic re-release without these items in the future. The description on these accessories have been left deliberately vague on the Tamashii website. No doubt to avoid spoilers. If you want to read some more details (spoilers) on these accessories then visit our full online article
The first look at an SH Figuarts Obi-Wan Kenobi from A New Hope was back in 2016 at a Japanese trade show. The release now takes one step closer with this image released by Tamashii Nations - a teaser of kinds. It would make sense for Obi-Wan to make an appearance in the first half of 2018, particularly to line up in that iconic battle with the April release of A New Hope Darth Vader. The early trade show images did look very impressive - this shot less so in terms of the Alec Guinness head sculpt. And while I am not always a fan of soft goods, I do see their benefits on figures like this when you see what the plastic has to look like to represent a big baggie robe and retain articulation.
Staying with The Phantom Menace is R2-A6 (Ric Ollie's droid from The Phantom Menace).
Tokyo Comic Con and SH Figuarts had a wealth of Star Wars product on display, including some brand new figures we've not seen before.
And we then move to Attack of the Clones for R4-P17 who is of course the Astromech assigned to Obi-Wan Kenobi and will make a great companion piece to the prequel Obi-Wan. The final figure is C2-B5 from Rogue One - a lot was made of this droid in the build up to the movie, with a figure in the Disney Elite series, but he seems to have been cut from most of the movie.
The range continues it's love for the Prequel Trilogy with new figures of Queen Amidala from The Phantom Menace, Count Dooku, Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi. It also looks like we will be getting more Battle Droids. The sad news was there was no sign of the previously displayed Grievous and the Super Battle Droid - these may have dropped off the release plan at present.
For Clone fans, new flavours of Phase 1 Clones will be released including the Commander (Yellow), Sergeant (Green) and Lieutenant (Blue). These were displayed alongside the previously released Captain (Red) and an Attack of the Clones C-3PO.
The R2 sculpt is going to be re-used for some new Astromech droids and for fans of The Phantom Menace, SH Figuarts will be giving us the full set of Astromech droids as stationed on the Naboo Royal Starship along with R2-D2. These droids are R2-C4, R2-M5 and R2-B1.
Moving on to the Original Trilogy and the Jabba figure got another run out. We got excited over this a year or so ago with a grainy image. This one is a lot clearer and there are questions for me over the segmentation of the tail to add articulation?
There was a better look at the recently teased A New Hope Obi-Wan and a surprise reveal of A New Hope Princess Leia.
Tamashii Nations have shown off their next Manga Realization Marvel figure at Tokyo Comic Con - this fantastic looking Deadpool. Deadpool will come with two katana blades as well as two ornate duelling pistols. We await full details and a release date, potentially in 2018 And finally the Sequels, and we get an Episode 7 Han Solo and a Finn in Stormtrooper disguise.
Tamashii Nations will be releasing these stunning looking SH Figuarts 1/12 figures of Batman and The Joker - as taken from the upcoming Anime movie, Batman Ninja.
The one thing to bear in mind with all these reveals is that a figure being on display does not necessarily mean a release any time soon. As we mentioned earlier, last year or so we have seen figures of Grievous and a Super Battle Droid that have since dropped off the radar - and any of the figures here may or may not share that fate.
Medicom are releasing a Gwenpool figure in their 1/12 MAFEX range. The figure was on display at Tokyo Comic Con and is most likely a 2018 release.
Up to now the Tamashii Nations Movie Realization range of Star Wars figures has stuck to the Original Trilogy with the odd foray into the Prequels for figures like Darth Maul and Jango Fett. Now the line is going all out for the Sequels with four new figures revealed at Tokyo Comic Con. The Realization line takes the characters we love and designs them as though they existed in Feudal Japan. This means Samurai inspired armour and weaponry as well as ornately decorated helmets. Translating this to The First Order is a natural step, and like their Original Trilogy counterparts the First Order Troopers look pretty good. There were three on display an Ashigaru (foot soldier) standard trooper. A Teppo Ashigaru / Heavy Gunner and a Commander with orange Pauldron.
The SH Figuarts journey through the various Iron-Man suits from Iron Man 3 continues with these two new 1/12 figures revealed at the Tokyo Comic Con.
To lead your troops we get the Captain herself, Phasma. And commanding all of them was the Kylo Ren figure. This one appears to have lost something in translation and on first look is not as impressive as previous Sith figures like Vader and Maul. You do however have to be impressed by his broadsword which looks spectacular.
Up first is the Mark 21 "Midas" suit, and this does look impressive with those varying shades of gold. It is however, for me anyway, overshadowed by the Mark 22 Hot-Rod suit with that fantastic flame paint job on the lower legs. No more details are known at this stage, and bear in mind a lot of these Iron-Man armours have been exclusive releases for SH Figuarts rather than being sold on general release.
NECA have released the following images showing the final packaging for their Robocop vs Terminator Ultimate Future Robocop. Being an Ultimate release, Robocop will come in the Ultimate packaging with opening front cover. The box is very visual with artwork taken from the Dark Horse comic series.
After a few weeks away from Twitter, NECA's Director of Product Development Randy Falk was back with a bang with this first look at the packaging art for the upcoming 7" scale Ahab Predator, Ultimate Edition. "Been a long time since we've done one of these, #prednesday first look at the Ultimate Ahab packaging" - Randy Falk
NECA have confirmed the full details of their 7" scale Predator Bone Throne. This diorama piece will measure over 14" tall and be cast in resin with some plastic sections. It is designed to fit most of the NECA Predators. The release date is set for March 2018, and the price is going to be around the £75 mark here in the UK Our friends at Toys in the Attic have the item up for pre-order right now.
While not as many accessories as we might expect to see in an Ultimate release, Robocop will come with his very impractical rocket firing backpack. He also gets his Auto-9 handgun and an articulated shoulder cannon. The figure will be between £25 and £30 here in UK - and you can preorder now at our good friends Kapow Toys
From the 1992 Dark Horse comic book mini-series written by Frank Miller and drawn by Walt Simonson, Future RoboCop gets the "Ultimate" treatment! When fate reveals that the technology that built RoboCop will lead to the creation of Skynet, Alex Murphy must engage in time-twisting battle against both the murderous computer network and the human resistance fighters out to destroy him. This 7" scale action figure is loaded with rockets and missiles - he's even got a shoulder cannon machine gun that's articulated! Ultimate Future RoboCop features over 25 points of articulation and includes an Auto 9 pistol accessory. Comes in display-friendly window box packaging with opening flap.
For anyone who remembers those baby turtles that NECA displayed at SDCC 2017, we finally have details of how NECA will be bringing these to stores. The set contains all four baby turtles and these stand 4 inches high and are articulated. They are scaled to fit in with NECA's quarter-scale turtles. We also get a couple of accessories - a half eaten Domino's pizza in box and some Corn Snacks. The bonus inclusion, for those who own the figure, is a new hand for the 1:4 Michelangelo. This hand comes with a cool nunchuks spinning action. The RRP on this set in the US is about $50. We assume the same licensing issue is attached to these as was attached to the 1:4 turtles, and these cannot be sold or distributed officially outside of the US. The set is due for release in March 2018.
Predator – Bone Throne Diorama Element Add to your Predator collection or build amazing scenes with the new Bone Throne! Only the most powerful and respected member of a clan can be seated upon this throne, which is crafted from the bones of their most worthy opponents. The Bone Throne measures over 14” tall and is cast in resin with some plastic elements, such as the six Alien Movie UK Queen “fins” on the back of the throne that can be angled to your liking. Sized to fit NECA’s 7” scale line of #Predator action figures (will fit most figures 7-9” tall). Shipping Date: MARCH 2018
Aldi's store deals, commencing the 10th of December, will include a raft of Marvel 6" basic articulation figures. These are the same type of figures we saw last year, and that have been popping around between Home Bargains and B&M stores. For the third year running, Aldi stores will be stocking a range of basic 6" Star Wars figures from Hasbro. The figures are made by Hasbro with each figure standing between 5.5" and 6" tall. The figures don't observe scale, and are rather made to the same height. This means Phasma will most likely be undersized vs the other figures in this basic range and against the 6" Black Series. Rey on the other hand is a perfect fit to the standard 6" line. You can read all about the figures released to date here in our archive.
The figures are made by Hasbro with each figure standing between 5.5" and 6" tall. Scale is not observed, so Hulk will be the same height as Iron-Man and so forth. They are also very limited articulation - usually just three joints across the head and shoulders. There are 10 figures due for release - Thor, Iron-Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, Hulk, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Loki, Kid Arachnid and Vulture. They come in quite tidy display boxes with some nice animated series type artwork on the front - individual to each character. The price on each is ÂŁ6.49 You can pre-order these from Aldi now for dispatch as of the 10th December. Or you can pick up in store. If you are wanting to add these niche items to a collection as boxed then I'd be tempted to pre-order or get down to Aldi as soon as you can on 10th - after that they will be thrown into those wire bins and rifled through.
There are 4 figures down for release, all in new white & red packaging that matches the design for The Last Jedi packaging - even though the movie title is not specifically included. It is not clear if these follow a similar design to the 2016 packaging where there will be a character specific image on the left spine and some short background text on the reverse. Rey and the First Order Stormtrooper have been released before while Phasma and C-3PO are new additions. Sadly, there is no sign of the Deathtrooper which has so far not been released anywhere other than Canada. Each figure retails at ÂŁ6.99 You can pre-order these from Aldi now for dispatch as of the 10th December. Or you can pick up in store. If you are wanting to add these niche items to a collection as boxed then I'd be tempted to pre-order or get down to Aldi as soon as you can on 10th - after that they will be thrown into those wire bins and rifled through. I personally love these figures, they are so quirky and yet some stand up really well against their expensive Black Series counterparts sculpturally. One of my hopes is that the 3PO scales well to the Black Series as that opens up a very cheap customising option for other protocol droids.
Mezco have put their next Justice League One:12 figure up for pre-order - the Tactical Suit Batman. Bat's comes with the usual cloth costume, overlaid with the armoured panels. The cape is soft goods, but has an underwired system allowing it to be posed. There are two head sculpts, and two sets of goggles - one to wear over the eyes, the other to wear on the forehead.
We have seven sets of hands, for varying poses and for holding the included accessories. The accessories are made up of the Grappling Gun with three hooks - one of which has the rope attached. There are also three grenades and three batarangs. And Bats also gets the Parademon rifle. The whole thing can then be displayed on the standard logo base with display post.
Bandai have confirmed two new Action Figure Kit sets for Star Wars, The Last Jedi. These are 1/12 scaled kits that come on sprues and are snapped together to build your articulated figure. First is a new Captain Phasma. She most likely be a revision of The Force Awakens version She comes with her new staff/spear weapon.
The figure is due to ship between June and August 2018 and will cost $80. Pre-orders are now open for US collectors direct from Mezco with a $20 non-refundable deposit. We await the UK pre-orders, and once up expect to be paying around ÂŁ70
The other release confirmed is this R2-D2 and C-3PO kit. This is the first time the iconic pairing have been boxed together with C-3PO having been a single release and R2 being packed first with R5-D4 and then with BB8.
Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman's selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists newfound ally Diana Prince to face an even greater threat. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to recruit a team, a Justice League, to stand against this newly awakened enemy. Revealed for the first time in Justice League, the figure showcases the never-before-seen Tactical Batsuit with visible upgrades. The One:12 Collective Tactical Suit Batman has two head portraits and a newly designed, film-accurate tactical suit. Designed for combat, the tactical suit was created to handle combat situations with super powered adversaries, like the immortal Steppenwolf. The One:12 Collective Tactical Suit Batman also comes equipped with 2 pairs of goggles for display in up or down positions, a Parademon rifle, a trio of Batarangs, three grenades, and a grappling gun with three assorted hooks. He also includes a display base with logo and adjustable display post along with a cape clip with posing wires for dramatic displays.
Both kits will retail in Japan for the equivalent of ÂŁ15 / $20. Due to licensing agreements they are not officially allowed to be sold outside of the Japanese market. That will leave collectors relying on imported goods - and that means a bigger price ticket. For me, the best avenue for these models in the UK appears to be 3rd party sellers on Amazon.
Review : Supreme Leader Snoke Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro) Wave/Series : Wave 14 (Phase 3) Released : November 2017 ÂŁ24.99 Supreme Leader Snoke has already had one release so far in 2017 as a Gamestop exclusive with his Throne. This release, part of wave 14, is the same exact figure but now packed singularly as #54 in the Phase 3 packaging.
Snoke slides out from either the top or bottom box flap in the red inner tray. He is alone in the tray with no accessories present. Be careful when removing him from the tray - while he is not secured in with any twisty ties or similar, his cloak is tucked into two slits and could be damaged if you just pull him out.
The packaging is the familiar black box with the now bolder Star Wars Black Series logo up top. On the expanded bottom rail we get another lovely Gregory Titus illustration, although it does give Snoke a more inquisitive look as though he is thinking something over rather than menacing the galaxy? The red character text gives his full name as Supreme Leader Snoke, and this is repeated on the gloss red side spine under the large black number 54. The first thing that is striking about Snoke is the sculpt. The head is particularly impressive with its multitude of scars and defects - and yet with piercing eyes from beneath. The paint job further enhances the sculpt with a pink fleshy tone used on the damaged parts and blended in with the pale flesh. This same skin tone is used on the hands to give them a haggard look. Snoke is one for bling it seems, and his left hand carries a huge ring with gold band and a dark crystal or gem of some kind set in top.; This decadence also runs to his slippers too which are ornately sculpted - even though they sit under that gold robe.
The other spine also carries the character name, once again in red against the black background. There is the faded blown up lettering on this left hand spine with the word Snoke just legible against the black. Round the back, and thankfully there is no repeat of the wave 13 issue where the Titus illustration was cut off by some new legal text. Alongside the drawing of Snoke is quite a long piece of background text. As usual this gives nothing much away and simply talks about Snoke's position as the "shadowy" leader of the First Order and how he is a "Master of the dark side".
It isn't immediately apparent how tall this figure actually is, but Snoke stands 17.5cm tall, that is just shy of 7 inches and means he towers over most other Black Series figures - particularly noticeable when you line him up with his contemporaries such as Kylo Ren and the Praetorian Guard. I have been impressed with the material used on the 2017 soft goods for the Black Series, but there have been issues to date with the tailoring. Snoke is however very well done with the gold robes not only looking and feeling the part but also tailored very well. The robes hang beautifully from Snoke's thin frame. They are tied in place with a rubber sculpted belt that is cast in a gold plastic with embossed design. My one worry is fraying with a few loose threads apparent on the hems.
While the legs are hidden under the robes they have been treated the same as any other figure with ball jointed hips, thigh cut swivel, double jointed knees and ankle pivots. On this figure the most you will do is splay the legs out a little for balancing such a tall figure - but these joints will of course come into their own for the deluxe version where he will require seating on this throne. For such a tall skinny figure, Snoke stands particularly well and all the joints feel tight.
Under the robes is a sculpted under suit. The top part looks very much like Jedi robes, while the trousers are a weird 3/4 design that only reach his calves. We then have bare legs until we hit the ornate slippers we saw a little earlier.
As well as his Throne, Snoke also fits onto the Throne Room floor piece packed with the Target exclusive Kylo Ren deluxe release. It is here as we line him up with some Praetorian guards that we can start to appreciate the visuals of this scene. It is quite refreshing in a way to have a Dark Side user who is not clad all in black or dark robes. While it seems Snoke doesn't need a huge range of motion, Hasbro have not scrimped and under that gold robe is a full set of standard Black Series articulation points - 16 in total.
Adding Kylo to this scenario adds that dark dimension, and in these images you can see how tall Snoke is versus a standard Black Series human figure like Kylo Ren.
The head is the first, and this has a rotating ball joint and a pivot joint. The rotation work well, but the sculpt of the head doesn't allow too much forward/backward motion. Moving down from the head and you find a torso/waist joint. This is ball jointed but like the head does not have a great deal of lean motion in it - but it will rotate as required under the cloak. The arms are ball jointed at the shoulder, with a rotating elbow and rotating pivot wrists. These all move smoothly under the arms of the soft goods robe and the robe moves well with the arms and still looks and hangs neatly when the arms are posed.
Supreme Leader Snoke is a figure with barely any flaws. He has a superb facial sculpt with equally impressive paint applications. The soft goods work and his overall visual is elegant yet menacing. There has been no scrimping under the robe either with a full sculpted and articulated body. Our only criticism is the availability of the more deluxe version as many fans would prefer to skip this basic version for the larger set with his Throne. We award Supreme Leader Snoke 5 out of 5.