Issue 87 : Saturday 15th September, 2018
Hasbro have announced, via Yahoo Movies, the full details of the Star wars Black Series Hoth pack leaked recently by Robotkingdom.
The set is the first European Convention Exclusive and includes Princess Leia and Han solo from the Hoth scenes of The Empire Strikes Back. The figures are presented in a display box designed to look like the ice corridors of Echo Base.
The set will sell at ÂŁ49.99 and will be on sale at MCM London Comic Con, Paris Comic Con, Lucca comic Con in Italy and Noris Force Com in Germany. Robotkingdom first broke the new of this set a couple of weeks ago and took pre-orders for the set. They have now been forced to write out to customers to cancel these orders and refund the monies as Hasbro will not be supplying them with the set. Apparently the set was initially offered worldwide via all the various Hasbro distributors. As confirmed by Robotkingdom and In Demand Toys, this has since changed so that only the UK/European distributor will get these and not the US or Far East. Ironically this will make the set harder to get in the UK as most independents source stock via the Far East Distribution channel.
Leia appears to be pretty much identical to her single release. Han is a new figure as such with a new sculpted brown Hoth coat with soft goods fur and scarf.
Amazon has updated listings for the next two Star Wars Black Series figures, Val (Vandor) and L3-37. While the listings remain under their original code names, images have been added for the figures both loose and out of packaging.
L3-37 is listed as Medusa while Val is down as Artemis Trooper. Neither figure is in stock, nor can a pre-order be placed - but you can add it to a list for future updates. L3-37 and Val should arrive in Wave 19 sometime in October/November. They will be joined by the Imperial Patrol Trooper. There is also a good indication that Wave 20 will be combined into Wave 19 meaning the wave should also include Dengar, Lando Skiff, Leia Hoth and possibly Rio Durant. We await 100% confirmation on this.
Diamond Select Toys have shared these images of their Marvel Select Beast figure. Beast stands around 8 inches tall and comes with a Danger Room diorama piece that is in keeping with other prior Select X-men releases. Beast will hit stores on 26th September onwards.
Sega Megadrive fans may be interested in this image shared by Hong Kong based Storm Collectibles. It seems to indicate a range of figures from the iconic Golden Axe video games are in the works. No further details of this as yet, but we watch with interest
NECA were present at the 2018 Reebok Predator Movie launch and had a couple of new figures to tease us with. The Fugitive Predator is already in stores, but there is a second Thermal Image version heading for retail. The card alongside this figure listed retailers like FYE, Target and Amazon - this is likely more the key retailers picking this up in the absence of Toys R Us and not any kind of exclusivity - but we await more details.
NECA have revealed the packaging for their next Ultimate Jason action figure release. The dream sequence Jason, from Friday the 13th Part 5, is due to start shipping in the next 2 weeks. UK collectors may have to wait a few weeks longer. The figure comes with various head options as well as a selection of Jason's weapons and his gravestone.
The second figure is then the lager Assassin Predator, as seen in the trailer. This figure is huge and dwarfs the normal scaled Predators. Again we await more details on this figure and its release date.
SH Figuarts have released the promotional images of their 1/12 scale Iron-Man Mk50 from Infinity War. This is the nano-weapons suit and as such includes a wealth of swap in and out parts to represent the various configurations Tony used in the battle with Thanos and his minions. It includes options for standard and bladed hands. There are also feet with extra weapons, wrist blasters and wing pieces. Unlike the basic release, there are no obvious inclusions of FX blast pieces. The Mk50 will also get one of the new stands where the base of the stand doubles as a storage box for the accessories. The figure is due to open for pre-orders and has been mentioned as a Bandai Webstore exclusive for Japan. There would likely be an option for Bluefin to pick this up for Western distribution which may or may not adjust the contents of the set. Either way you will have to wait until March 2019 to get your hands on this figure.
Mezco have revealed their New York Comic Con 2018 exclusive Doctor Strange 1/12 figure. This is the "first appearance" edition and comes in a more muted blue shades costume as inspired by his first appearance in Strange Tales. Like the original release Strange comes with two magic fx pieces, alternative hand options and a cloak with built in armature for posing. This time round the cloak has a magnetic attachment to fix it to the figure. The Eye of Agamotto pieces are also updated and a large Orb of Agamotto piece is included with hinged lid. The figure is exclusive and can only be bought at an RRP of $80 in the US via the Mezco website, pre-orders available now with a $21.25 non refundable deposit. It will also be available to buy at New York Comic Con at the Mezco booth. New York Comic Con starts on the 4th October 2018 and runs until the 7th.
Medicom's MAFEX Infinity War Spider-Man in the Iron Spider suit is due for release in April 2019. As well as the articulated spider arm backpack, the web effect and the magnetic hands and feet for wall crawling - it has now been announced that the set will include an unmasked Tom Holland head sculpt.
Welcome to our review of Nakia, part of the Black Panther wave of Marvel Legends figures released in early 2018. We breakdown the figure and look at the sculpt, paint, articulation and accessories before delivering our usual rating out of 5.
Sculpt & Painting 5/5
Nakia has a face print technology head which gives an exceptional likeness to Lupita Nyong'o. The skin tone is excellent and the eyes extremely realistic. The head even sports sculpted earrings on both ears which have a defined pattern and a re painted a pewter colour. Only the hairline slightly Packaging 4/5
spoils the head sculpt as there is a slight gap where the hair piece (a separate piece to the head) is affixed.
The Marvel Legend packaging is pretty recogniseable now with its wide figure window and scooped sides. The variation in each release is done via logos and colour schemes and for me the Black Panther releases are some of the most visual to date.
There is an electric blue theme that runs around the BAF logo at the top to the character name at the bottom. This continues into the side art which is an image of Nakia in blue tones with just a touch of golden light bathing the side of her head. This rich gold is then used on the backing card behind the figure - and as you take this from the box you will see more clearly a large panther head logo built into the cardback. The outfit is as intricate as the head detailing with a huge amount of patterning in each section. While a lot of the costume is left as the red base plastic, this patterning stops it looking dull. Other areas then have a gold dry brush to further draw out the pattern which is also trimmed in black and orange stitching patterns. The neck collars, wrist armour and shoulder armour is painted silver as is the panther emblem on the belt. The legs are plain brown and may have benefited from a wash. The boots are plain black.
The rear of the box doesn't paint Nakia in too good a light as the image used has a bit of an odd look created by the way the light and shadows fall on her face. Beneath this is the Build-a-Figure checklist. The Panther wave has Okoye as a BAF and the checklist confirms the 5 figures you will need to build Okoye - with her torso and spear coming with Nakia.
Articulation 3/5
Accessories 4/5
Nakia is designed with what is becoming a fairly standard suite of articulated
Nakia is armed with the two ring blades that she uses in the climax of the
options for female figures. 16 points of articulation is "ok" but it is still 2 or 3
movie. These are cast in a softer plastic but aren't warped or misshapen like
short of what we see on the male characters like Black Panther and
some other more recent pack-ins. They are cast in a grey metallic plastic
Killmonger in the same wave.
with a load of symbols sculpted around the blades. It is a shame that a wash wasn't applied in dark grey or black to bring out these etchings. It is also a
Leg articulation is spot on with all the movement you would need from
shame that the plastic was not painted to be more silver, perhaps with a
double jointed knees supported by a thigh swivel, ankle rocker and ball joint
silver dry brush - the blades do look dull.
hips - even the skirt section doesn't pose to much of an issue when the legs are being posed. The torso gets a ball joint just under the bust, and this does
The blades fit into either hand and supported by the articulation there are a
work well and is less intrusive than the T-Joint we see on a lot of the male
wealth of action stances possible with Nakia
figures. The head too is a ball joint and thanks to the thinner neck and pivot on the peg the head is wide ranging in its articulation.
Summary The issue is in the arms where the double jointed elbows have been dropped in favour of a single rotating elbow. The trouble with this is that it only bends to 90 degrees, so there is some restriction on arm posing - in particular the Wakanda Forever arms crossed pose, the one Nakia herself sported in one of the movie posters. The rest of the arms work well enough with ball jointed shoulders and pivot wrists - it is just a shame that this one joint restricts the arms a little too much
Nakia is a gorgeous looking figure and reflects the richness and depth of costuming and vibrant colours we saw in Black Panther. The likeness on the face print is excellent and the paint well applied. Articulation is standard for a female character but we continue to wish that those elbows could be double jointed to extend the posing options.
Accessories are OK but are a bit dull and the sculptural detailing is lost without another layer of paint. And for boxed collector's I love the vibrant contrasting blue and gold colourings around that sleek black packaging.
I score Nakia from Black Panther and impressive 4 out of 5.