Issue 79 : Saturday 12th May, 2018
Hasbro's big Star Wars May the 4th reveal came in the shape of this brand new 6" figure of Admiral Piett. The figure will be released in June and is a shared exclusive so will be carried by a number of retailers. He is supplied in his grey pressed Imperial uniform complete with removable cap and a blaster. Early pre-orders in the UK have gone up at Star Action Figures and ID Toys
As we hit May the 4th, Disney Store have released the full details of their new Return of the Jedi 35th Anniversary Elite Series Darth Vader figure. Using die-cast parts and standing 7" high, this Vader is as he is seen at the end of the Original Trilogy and this includes a removable two part helmet to reveal the old Anakin Skywalker beneath. He also has his trademark lightsaber, sculpted PVC cloak and display stand. The figure went for sale in UK on morning of 4th May and sold out by 9am. Stocks should be going into stores also.
This new Star Wars Black Series 6" exclusive kind of caught most people out as it was revealed and immediately put up for pre-order. The figure seems to be somewhat of a hybrid of the Centerpiece Collection and a standard figure. The sculpt is that of a standard Stormtrooper, but with added blaster damage decor. He also he comes with blast FX pieces. There are two large explosion pieces, similar in design to the ones on the Centrepiece line, and a smaller clip on piece that looks to attach to the Blaster. There is also a stand included, which looks very similar to the design packed a few years back with the 3.75" line. A few of the UK retailers have this up for June delivery at circa ÂŁ33
As seems to be the common process now for SH Figuarts Marvel releases, the US distribution of the newly announced Bucky 1/12 figure will include a packed in FX Piece when US distributor Bluefin bring this to the US market. The FX piece is an exploding mud/earth type effect that has been used in other sets and in standalone releases in various colours. The figure plus FX piece will be boxed and set you back $85 with pre-orders up already on Big Bad Toy Store. While the single Far East release hasn't got a confirmed release date as yet, this US set is scheduled for November 2018.
NECA have revealed the packaging for their upcoming 1/4 scale Wonder Woman figure. She will be released at the end of May. Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. In the Wonder Woman movie, the world will watch as Diana of Themyscira becomes the legendary Wonder Woman. This detailed 1/4 scale action figure is based on Wonder Woman's look in the new movie and has 30 points of articulation for heroic poses. She stands 18" tall and features the likeness of Gal Gadot. Includes sword, shield and lasso accessories, and alternate sets of interchangeable hands! Window box packaging.
NECA are re-releasing a number of popular figures from their back catalogue this year. The first of these is Doctor Gordon Freeman from Half Life 2. It has now been revealed that the figures packaging will be updated from the original clamshell to this new window box design. Dr Freeman is due Summer 2018 and you can pre-order now at a number of specialist stores.
Randy Falk, NECA Director of Product Development, is back on Twitter after an absence working on new products. His first share are these behind the scene work in progress images of the two Pennywise figures which are getting the Ultimate treatment later this year. "BTS - Both the 1990 and the 2017 versions of Pennywise are getting closer to production & are looking incredible!!" - Randy Falk
NECA have teased this image of them putting the final touches to the packaging design for their 30th Anniversary Evil Dead two pack of Hero Ash and Deadite Ed Getley. The set was due to ship this month, May, but NECA appear to have been having delays with their production partners in China and a lot of release dates are being pushed back.
The next McFarlane 7" Stranger Things figure has been revealed, via Entertainment Weekly, as Barbara Holland. Barb will be an October 2018 release and looks to be exclusive to Entertainment Earth. She will have the limited 12 points of articulation and will come with the circular Stranger Things display stand. Her single accessory will be a Trapper Keeper 80's binder. Barb has a US RRP of $19.99 and in the UK that will probably translate to ÂŁ20 as stores in the UK will most likely have to order from Entertainment Earth.
Mezco have been teasing a number of new One:12 Collective Batman products for Batman Day 2018. The first is an alternative purple suit version of their comic book Catwoman. This will be exclusive to Mezco themselves and not distributed elsewhere.
Mezco have released full details of their One:12 Punisher figure. Frank Castle will arrive at some point between Nov 2018 and Jan 2019. He will be the usual mix of soft goods and sculpted detail. His clothing is tailored, including a leather effect jacket - which can be removed to show his sculpted flak vest. This means you can display Frank as seen in Daredevil Season 2, or in his own series. The figure, like all Mezco One:12 figures, comes with a logo base and stand. Accessories include a standard, and bloodied head option.
There are a multitude of hand options, which can be swapped out to hold the various weapons. Weapons include the Mini-Gun from the end of Daredevil Season 2 as well as handguns and knife with sheath. There are also FX pieces to clip onto your weapons.
"The One:12 Collective Catwoman- Purple Suit Variant has arrived and features a classic all purple bodysuit with black accents, whip, waist belt with an opening tool kit, removable backpack, and removable goggles. This figure is extremely limited and only available through MezcoToyz.com, so catch her while you have the chance!" Also teased was this look at a Commissioner Gordon figure. Whether the Bat Signal accessory will be included is not known at this stage.
Pricing is $80 in US with a $20 non refundable deposit when ordering from Mezco. UK pre-orders have started, including our friends at Toys in the Attic with a £65.99 price tag.
The One:12 Collective Punisher includes two head portraits capturing Frank Castle’s intimidating demeanor as portrayed by Jon Bernthal. Outfitted in a leather-like overcoat and armored vest with skull insignia, he comes complete with an arsenal of weapons, true to the Punisher’s menacing reputation. After exacting revenge on those responsible for the death of his wife and children, Frank Castle uncovers a conspiracy that runs deeper than New York’s criminal underworld. Now known throughout the city as The Punisher, he must discover the truth about injustices that affect more than his family alone.
And if that wasn't enough for Bat-Fans, a YouTube video was released teasing a 1/12 scale Batmobile, you can click through the image to see the video.
Once a company has a Spider-Man figure in its repertoire, it is almost inevitable that the Venom/Black suited version will make an appearance down the line. This is exactly what is happening over at Tamashii Nations where they look to be taking their existing Manga Realization Spider-Man and will put him back out in a very sleek black colour scheme. He will be called the Covert Spider-Man. Black Suite Manga Realization Spider-Man will come with the same accessories as the original - grappling chains, as well as two katana swords. In Japan it will be a Bandai webstore exclusive. We await to see if Bluefin will be distributing this, or a version of this, in the US.
Wave 15 is the first Black Series wave to use the face print technology and this is clearly evident when you get Rey in hand as her features are much closer to that of Daisy Ridley with more natural shaded lips, more realistic eye detail and some very subtle skin tone. She does look a little startled from some angles, but all in all a very good looking head sculpt.
By my reckoning the 2018 release of Rey in her Island Journey gear is the 4th version of Rey released since her appearance in The Force Awakens and that isn't counting the variants like the Crait version or the original version repacked with Luke's lightsaber. Island Journey Rey is number 58 in the Black Series phase 3 packaging with a brand new Gregory Titus illustration.
You can begin to see the improvement on the head sculpt when you line Rey up against her previous versions from 2015 (Force Awakens) and 2017 (Last Jedi). This one image shows the game changer that the Face Printing Technology can and will bring to the Star Wars Black Series line this year and beyond.
The rear of the packaging carries a more specific overview of the character than we are perhaps used to, talking about Rey's awakening force power and how she travels to the hidden world of Ahch-To to seek out Luke Skywalker. She is clipped into the inner tray with her cloak, which is folded up behind her and looks quite neat and small in this state. To one side is her blaster and lightsaber, to the other her trusty staff.
Out of the box and the cloak is a lot larger than it first looks, with a large amount of it having been bunched up behind the figure in the insert. While it is a relatively soft flowing material, it doesn't fold too well and sits like a triangular poncho and doesn't look particularly fetching.
The cloak has a hood built in, but like previous hoods on Palpatine and Obi-Wan it does not sit neatly on the head and floats above the top of the head by some distance.
The blaster fits into either hand, but it is only the right hand on Rey that has a trigger finger to slot into the blasters trigger.
The cloak is fully removable and once off the real beauty of the figure is revealed with Rey's alternative outfit from the end of The Force Awakens and through the start of The Last Jedi.
When Rey is not wielding the blaster it can be slotted away in the holster on her thigh. The fit is snug and the blaster holds well in place. The arm articulation even allows a blaster drawing pose.
The outfit is made up of a grey inner robe over which is a darker beige sleeveless jacket. She retains her arm wrappings and the left hand ends in a darker leather wrap at the wrist. The inner tunic is tied with a belt, which is sculpted as part of this piece of clothing, and from this extends a holsters which is designed to look attached to her thigh. Her trousers are a green tone and cut off at the shin. The legs end with the ankle boots. Each piece is a single tone colouring with the exception of the arm bandages which are washed to add depth. The skin, where exposed, is perhaps a tad too pink and in the v-neck of the top there is some bleeding between the skin and the beige of the tunic.
The second accessory is that much used staff that dates back to Rey's Black Series debut in 2015. It has come with most Rey releases to date, including her speeder bike and Jedi Training releases from 2017. As with its other appearances, the staff is detailed down its length with grooved wood and wrapped grips. The one issue remains that strap which is a soft plastic piece that is cast in that shape. That makes it difficult to sling on her back, and also creates issues with certain poses as the strap is not hanging naturally and appears to defy gravity.
Rey comes with three accessories, the first being the blaster than Han gives her at Maz's palace in The Force Awakens. This is the same gun that came with the 2017 Jedi Training Rey. It is a silver colour with black grip and some neat sculptural details like the notches on the barrel.
While I appreciate the inclusion of the staff, an update to the design would have been welcomed.
Rey can swing her staff from left, right and both hands, giving you a wealth of poses to choose from.
Rey's lower leg articulatio is made up of a ball jointed hips, a thigh swivel, double jointed knees and ankle rockers. While Rey will kneel and sit and crouch, it is the action stances that make the figure. The ankle rockers are tight and stiff, but something about the foot shape and the position of the ratchets make Rey tough to stand. This is easily resolved by dropping her onto a Vintage Protech stand or similar.
And yet the final accessory will no doubt relegate the staff to the spares box. Rey comes with Luke's blue bladed lightsaber. This is packed assembled out of the box, but like all Black Series sabers the blade can be clicked off the hilt. The saber is again a re-use from the 2017 Rey, being the smaller hilt sculpt rather than a direct repack of a Luke's saber. It is coloured silver and has black around the fins on the grip and some red and gold to accentuate the controls.
The final articulation is in the truck of the body with a ball joint in the waist hidden by the cut of that belt. This allows the upper torso to lean forward or backward as well as rotate independently of the legs. The final joint is the improved neck joint which is now a ball joint and a pivot so the movement is improved hugely from a simple rotation to up and down looks, with Rey even able to put her chin on her chest.
The saber fits in either hand, and the arm articulation allows a two handed pose. This articulation starts with a ball jointed shoulder followed by a single rotating elbow joint tha tends sufficiently into this two handed pose for the saber as well as action poses for the staff. The wrists rotate and pivot to 90 degrees so can be posed for force pushes and the like. Wave 15 is a game changer for the Black Series and the bar has been significantly raised. Rey is streets ahead of any other release to date, and yet she isn't perfect when you consider the cloak doesn't quite work and we are still missing a level of weathering on the outfit which is a real disparity when you look at the head sculpt. I may be nit picking here, and so when we consider that Rey comes with three accessories, a good level of articulation and this new head technology then it is very clear this figure deserves a very strong 4 out of 5.