Issue 76 : Saturday 31st March, 2018
Ghostbusters fans have probably never had it so good in terms of Action Figure availability and options. We've recently had a wider release of the Mattel 6" figures, and have a pretty indepth line of 7" figures from Diamond Select. The next team to throw their hat in the ring is Mezco who have finally confirmed the details of their 6" One:12 Collective Ghostbusters figures The first point to make is that these are up for pre-order as a set only. The four figures will come in a single collectors tin and there is no indication of single releases - although to be honest, who would buy just one or two of the team?
The UK Disney Store have listed an exclusive unmasked Spider-Man Select figure from Homecoming, available right now at £22 plus delivery. The release uses the existing body, hand options and diorama base - but replaces the masked head with an unmasked Tom Holland head. It arrives in the usual Select packaging, but possibly a slimmed down version as we've seen before for Disney release. The packaged shot looks impressive in terms of the likeness to Holland - unfortunately the unpacked shots are not flattering
Each figure comes with the usual tailored soft goods outfit that One:12 are renowned for. There is also an additional head option for each character, the swap out head being an expressive versions such as Peter's "he slimed me" face. The figures also come with accessories and a utility belt. The belt will hold the specific accessory and a walkie-talkie. Venkman comes with a Bacharach Sniffer 300. Ray with a Ghost Trap and his Ecto Goggles. Egon has a PKE meter, with working extendable arms. And while not a true accessory, Winston will come with Slimer who has articulated arms. Other pack in parts include the standard One:12 display stand and alternative hands for the characters. All the hands do appear to be gloved.
The set is up for pre-order at $300 and is due to ship sometime between October and December 2018. UK pre-orders are likely to go up soon and I'd be expecting to pay around £250
They ain’t afraid of no ghost! Mezco welcomes everyone’s favorite parapsychologists into the One:12 Collective with a five-figure deluxe set all four Ghostbusters plus a supernatural bonus figure: Slimer! Each Ghostbuster comes with their own light-up proton pack and is packaged in a special edition, collector-friendly metal tin, perfect for displaying alongside the troop!
The blurb on the website leads with "Inspired by Avengers Infinity War" and yet the figure carries the Homecoming logo. As I've previously speculated, I wonder if Disney will lead with a selection of Select 7" figures for Infinity War - all tweaked from prior releases, but not necessarily the actual Infinity War suits. We could therefore get that unmasked Star-Lord? We could also get some re-releases like Winter Soldier or Black Widow. This would be similar to how they did Civil War at Disney Store, albeit they were predominantly comic book releases.
Empire Magazine are offering two FREE Marvel Legends 6" figures to anyone subscribing to a year of Empire Magazine by the 18th of April. The figures will be a random pick from the UK Best of MCU wave which builds the Hulkbuster from Age of Ultron. The figures included are Loki, Hawkeye, Warmachine, Avengers Assemble Captain America, Black Widow, Thor. Hulk and Iron-Man.
The Tamashii Comic Con takes place in Japan in May, across the 25th to 27th. The event is a showcase of the Tamashii Nations product range including their SH Figuarts line of 1/12 Action Figures. Attendees to the event have two convention exclusives to look forward to. Up first is a brand new Iron-Man figure in their Marvel 1/12 line. This is a version of the Mk3 armour, but painted in Stealth colouring. He will set collectors back 6000 yen (about £40).
And for Star Wars fans, we have a Force Awakens C-3PO. He will come with the red arm, and in a special metalized finish. Threepio is a little more expensive at 6500 yen (approx £44).
If you go for a physical subscription that will be £42 for a repeating annual subscription or £46.50 for a one off annual subscription. If the figures are your interest then try the digital subscription which is £26 for 12-months including the figures. So arguably £13 each for figures and a free magazine each month on your tablet. CLICK HERE for the offer via Great Magazines
Both figures will be strictly limited, so if you want to have one of these in your collection prepare to spend big on the secondary market - or talk nicely to someone attending the event.
While the random pick is a downside, there are some great figures in that line. And if you don't get exactly what you want there are some great communities, like our friends at Marvel Legends UK where you can look for trades or sell the figure on.
September 2018 will see Medicom release their 1/12 MAFEX Robocop figure. It seems there will then be a follow up to this release, with a Robocop 2 figure arriving in January 2019.
After announcing Eggsy in February, Medicom have now confirmed that the 2nd figure in their MAFEX 1/12 Kingsman line will be Harry Hart, as played by Colin Firth.
The Robocop 2 figure will be coming with alternative expressions for the face and a quantity of damaged armour parts which can be swapped out depending on the look you want for Murphy. He will also come with his trademark weapon and options to have the thigh holster open or closed. Also included are a blast FX and a socket set. The final accessory is Cain's brain
Harry will come with two version so his umbrella - one open and one closed. He also has a handgun and alternative shoe options, with the 2nd pair having a pair of blades exposed. Eggsy isn't out until December 2018, and Harry Hart will follow in 2019.
It seems that the John Wick licence for Action Figures has been touted around a number of different companies. After announcements by both Mezco and Diamond Select, it now seems Medicom are also releasing a John Wick figure in their 6" MAFEX line. The MAFEX John Wick will come with two head options, one normal and one bloodied. He will be well armed, with a selection of machine guns and handguns to use. The figure is scheduled for release in January 2019.
The basic range of 6" figures for Avengers Infinity War is even larger than we first imagined. As well as all the other figures announced to date, we can now add War Machine to that listing. The figure is a 6" scale limited articulation release which will retail for around ÂŁ10 here in the UK. This line is currently being stocked by Tesco, Disney Store and Very.
Review : Eleven Stranger Things Wave/Series : McFarlane 7" Released : March 2018 (UK) Price : £16.99 - £19.99 McFarlane have been back in the 7" Action Figure game for about 2-years now, but in that time they haven't really found any major hitters in terms of licences aside from The Walking Dead. This may all be set to change with the arrival (finally for the UK) of the long awaited Stranger Things figures. Like most of the McFarlane releases, these are not a wave as such, but are individual releases with us getting two simultaneously to kick off the Stranger Things line. Here we are looking at Eleven.
At this point in my review we normally start looking at sculpt and paint, but not with this one. There is a key issue to address immediately with Eleven and that is with her leg joints and her ability to stand. Straight out of the pack it is clear there is something not right about her lower legs and knee joints. In fact when you close the knees up fully in to what would normally be a neutral position they are horrifically bent unnaturally forward (see images). Couple this with very loose ankle rockers somewhere in the sneakers, and there is zero chance of Eleven standing under her own steam. Thankfully there is a stand included. This looks to be a clear plastic, but up close does have a yellowing to it. The Stranger Things logo is printed onto this in a deep red. There is one foot peg and this goes into Eleven's right foot, the only one with a corresponding peg hole. This fit is not good either and there is still some terrible leaning until you get those knees and ankles balanced. While all the McFarlane 7" figures to date have been window box releases, the Stranger Things figures are blister carded in a nod to the shows retro feel and 1980's setting. The cards are designed with the rounded corners and J-hook us children of the 80's remember so well, with the card art being very reminiscent of the movie posters of the time.
While I was pretty frustrated at this point after fighting to get Eleven stood up, this was soon forgotten when you start to admire both the sculpt and paint job on this figure. Considering that this is a sub £20 item (I bought both Eleven and Hopper for around £35) the facial sculpt is arguably on par with, if not better, than NECA. The likeness to Millie Bobby Brown is spectacular Round the back is more 80's retro goodness with section showing off images of the two figures released so far - Eleven and Hopper. To the side of this in a contrasting blue colour is a checklist of upcoming figures of Dustin, Lucas, Mike, Will and the Demogorgon. Only the Demogorgon has an image of he actual figure, the others are head shots of the cast. The final segment of the card is beige and turned over to the legal and copyright details. This card seems to be the European release with a number of the rear text items repeated in French and Italian. Eleven is packed into a blister on an inner tray, and the only way out is by ripping the card (old school style). The inner tray see's Eleven strapped in by two twisty/elastic ties which do take some undoing. The rest of the accessories are held in by tape. Watch out for the blonde wig which sits behind the tray not in it - it falls out very easily and can get lost in the packaging.
The eyes in particular are very intense, and while the skin has varying tones and shades which heightens the likeness while also adding depth and shadow. Eleven even gets a tiny blood trickle from her nose.
The body and outfit are equally as impressive. Eleven stands a shade over 6" high and comes in her pink dress and blue jacket. The jacket is ruffled and creased and has patches of dirt washed into the blue. Similarly the dress is dirty and stained in the creases. The hands and legs are a plain skin tone and the only spoiler to the look of the figure remains those ugly knee joints with a very old school peg joint clearly visible from both sides. We finish with off white socks and dirty and muddy sneakers.
This radio is cast in a black plastic with silver paint added to the aerial and a few buttons. I am not sure why a gripping hand was beyond McFarlane? Instead we slot the radio into the hand by lining up a hole on the back with that weird plug. Once in place it looks odd as the grip is still not there and in a lot of poses it looks like she is levitating the radio.
McFarlane are not about high articulation, but they are trying to add enough to each figure to give the figure the poseability it needs. Eleven is advertised as having 12+ points of articulation. 12+ is a stretch, I can get to 11 points ironically with another couple bordering on what could be classed as a joint. We start with a very maneuverable ball jointed head with a good range of motion. We then have a shoulder joint and a single rotating elbow which gives a decent range of arm movements. The hands are simply plugs so there is no pivot, only a rotation at the wrist. The legs start with the floppy ankles we spoke about earlier. There is then that bizarre knee joint which looks to be 10 years out of date and seems to bend the knee the wrong way. Because you also have to have the joint open to have Eleven standing, you expose the ratchet underneath. Above this are the two contentious joints as I think the hips may be a swivel, but they certainly don't do anything else. With that in mind I would not have been adverse to McFarlane skipping the knee joints and adding more joints into say the arms or the torso.
The other alternative hand (left) is a gripping hand and is there to hold Eleven's Eggo. The Eggo itself is a simple disc with waffle imprinting. It slots neatly into the gripping left hand.
Our final piece is the wig that Eleven wears in the first series to blend in at the school. The hair piece is a fairly heavy solid piece and is well painted in shades of blonde with a wash to add darkness to depth. Because it feels so rigid and heavy I was sceptical on the fit, but it did indeed slot tightly over the shaved head of Eleven and sits pretty well.
Eleven gets a second set of hands in the pack, both designed to hold the accessories she is also packed with. Unlike most modern figures where the peg and hand are connected and they slot into a socket in the arm - the McFarlane joint is a peg in the arm onto which the hand slips by means of a tiny ball joint. While the hands come off easily, they are difficult to add back on as you can't really see what you are doing and if everything is lined up. The spare right hand is bizarre at first look with what looks to be a 6 digit coming off the thumb. This is actually a peg which is used with the radio accessory.
I do however urge caution using the wig as my first instincts were probably correct and after just one fitting on my figure it gouged a load of paint off the side of Eleven's head - frustrating! Why include something that will actually damage the figure? It it can't be engineered to work without damage then don't include it or make it a swap out head option.
The Stranger Things Eleven is a stunning figure with an awesome paint job. It then undoes all that hard work with the worst knee joints I've seen for a very long time and an inability to stand for any period of time - even with the stand. The hair piece is also frustrating as it damages the figure it is meant to be designed to fit. The choice of the radio and the peg in the hand is also an odd one and doesn't look great. All in all Eleven will look awesome on display, you just need to keep her upright and that might even mean the radical solution of glueing her lower joints. I score the Stranger Things Eleven a 3 out of 5.