Issue 81 : Saturday 9th June, 2018
After revealing her portrait last week, Hasbro have now revealed the full promotional image for Val from Solo, A Star Wars Story. The wave lineups being talked about have Val included in Wave 19, the same wave as the recently revealed L3-37. That would put her round about an August release? Val was originally listed as "Val (Mimban" but the outfit is more as seen as they left Mimban to travel to Vandor
In Demand Toys has listed this 6" Star Wars Black Series General Veers figure for pre-order. An June release date was originally quoted, but this has now been revised to August 2018. The figure sold out in under 3 hours with In Demand. The figure has come out of nowhere, but we assume will use some parts from the Piett figure already announced. The helmet and armour appear removable and there is a standard Imperial Peak cap for Veers to wear if you wish. Considering the recent Mud Troopers from Solo A Star Wars Story share some of this armour, the Mud Trooper may not be far behind. Veers will be a Walgreens Exclusive in the US.
The first Hasbro exclusive for San Diego 2018 has been confirmed, and it is a Star Wars 3.75" Vintage Collection 3-pack. The set, in classic retro 3-pack packaging, see's the first appearance of Dr Aphra who will get a single release later in 2018 as part of the main line. Accompanying Aphra are the two droids that accompany her on her adventures in the Marvel comic book series, Triple zero and Beetee (0-0-0 and BT-1) The set will be on sale at SDCC 2018 for $50 and there is an indication in the press release (below) that limited stocks may make their way to select other conventions - which if they follow suit with last year may include London Film & Comic Con (6" Rex). Stocks will also go on sale to the US market via Hasbro Toy Shop after the event. It is not clear at this stage if Beetee and Triple Zero will get a future single card release.
Checkout this clearer look at the NECA Ultimate 1984 Gremlin, due for release later this year. This is the first of at least two Ultimate Gremlins figures, the other being a Stripe figure - with NECA indicating more to come? NECA have revealed their first SDCC 2018 Exclusive via US news site Entertainment Weekly. The article confirms that the partnership between NECA and the properties of Guillermo Del Toro - announced at last years San Diego Con has now spawned a $40 action figure of the Director himself.
The figure is coming with a variety of accessories to replicate the bar or cinema scenes from Gremlins. Your Ultimate Gremlin can play cards with the playing cards accessories, whilst drinking his beer and smoking his cigarette. And over in the movie theatre we have the popcorn packets to wear on his ears and then to keep him fed and watered - some Brad Bite, a Doo-Dah bar and a drink of Cola (names and logos amended so no copyright has been infringed we assume). The Gremlin is due to ship in October 2018 and will come in the usual Ultimate collectors box with opening flap. We'd also expect a movie poster themed design to the outer box.
The Mexican Movie Director is presented in NECA's 8 inch "Mego" style figure - a sculpted head on a generic body with tailored soft goods clothes. He will come with his notebook within which are sketches for his iconic movie Pan's Labyrinth. The figure is strictly limited to 2000 units and will be sold at SDCC 2018 in July.
NECA have confirmed the packaging design for their Crash Bandicoot figure, to be released this Summer. While many properties for NECA are moving to window boxes, the Crash figure will stick with the classic clam-shell design.
To honor the first appearance of a Gremlin in our Ultimate line, NECA has completely re-sculpted the original 1984 Gremlin body! Any fans of the #Gremlins movies knows the rules: keep them out of sunlight, don’t get them wet, and never feed them after midnight. Break them and your fuzzy, friendly little #Mogwai will turn into a scaly, savage Gremlin, like this deluxe 7” scale figure (stands approximately 6” tall). The all new body features over 25 points of articulation, including ears and jaw. This Ultimate edition comes with popcorn bags that can be placed over the ears like in the movie, assorted candy, mug, playing cards, 3D glasses and more. Packaged in a collector-friendly window box with opening flap.
We have not seen a lot from NECA and their Aliens line over recent months. It seems factory issues and delays will mean our 2018 output is limited, but the NECA team do have big plans for next year. We know the Resurrection figures are coming in 2019, and this tweet also indicates plans for a 40th Anniversary line for the original Alien movie - with one release being 1979 Alien eggs and Facehuggers.
NECA have unveiled the packaging for their 7" scale 2017 IT Pennywise, figure due for release at the end of June. Our IT Movie Pennywise (2017) 7" Scale Action Figure is arriving early! Check out the packaging shots prior to his ship date at the end of this month
As NECA revealed their full suite of SDCC 2018 exclusives there came the bitter-sweet confirmation of a 7" scale Predator Hawkins figure, as played by Shane Black in the original movie. This release finally gives us another Human character from the original movies, besides Arnie. But the flip-side is that this is a strictly limited US release for SDCC 2018. There will be 3000 units only, with the set sold at SDCC or via a pre-order to US collectors via NECA store. Based on the Q+A and info tweeted by NECA, there is no option for anyone outside of the US getting hold of this. The best hope would be a potential reuse in a 2-pack or similar in the future like Aliens Newt from 2016.
As teased, NECA have confirmed via the following image that they will be selling a SDCC 2018 exclusive set of 1990's Movie Turtles. The set will follow previous SDCC releases of boxed turtles, but is the first based on the 1990 film. The set is made up of the four Turtles, each approx 6 1/2 inches tall. Each Turtle has his appropriate weaponry as well as alternative hand options. There are alternative bandana "tails" for variant posing, and to spice up the display we have a canister of Ooze and four pizza slices. The set is limited to 5000 pieces and is a SDCC 2018 exclusive. It comes in a box set with outer sleeve that is designed to reflect the original VHS cover for the original 1990 movie. If you are at SDCC it will set you back $125. Like all Turtle product from NECA there is zero chance of this being available outside of the US. Your only option will therefore be the dreaded secondary market.
The pack will use the 35th anniversary packaging, and be the last one in this line which included 7 boxed figures through 2017 - again including an SDCC Dutch exclusive. Hawkins will come with machine gun pistol and knife.
That's not all though. NECA have confirmed that for $250 you can also buy the set bundled with their new Street Scene diorama. This set was shown at Toy Fair and the indication was this was a general release. We would hope that the street scene will still make general release.
Predator 30th Anniversary - 7" Scale Action Figure - Hawkins This action figure debut is the final entry in our line celebrating the 30th anniversary of the classic Predator movie! The first-ever Rick Hawkins action figure features the likeness of Shane Black and comes with submachine gun, pistol and knife accessories. Hawkins has over 20 points of articulation and stands approximately 7� tall. Comes in foil-accented 30th anniversary window box packaging.
NECA's next Friday the 13th 7" figure has been unveiled as an Ultimate release of the Part 5 "Dream Sequence" Jason. The set is due to release in September 2018 and includes 4 interchangeable heads - each representing a different dream that Tommy has been having while in mental institutions after killing Jason in the previous movie. There is also a special Mask that is based on the original movie poster. The figure also get a machete, axe, ice pick and tombstone accessories. The last inclusion is a hand with the split fingers that works with this figure, and can also be put on the previous Part 4 Ultimate release. As with all Ultimate releases, this will come in the closed box packaging with opening front flap to reveal the figure. UK pricing will come in between £25 and £30 when this hits pre-orders.
We had seen the 7" scale Real Ghostbuster figures from Diamond at Toy Fair 2018 and also knew that these 6 figures would make up wave 9 and 10 of the Ghostbusters series. We were not sure of the wave breakdown, but that has now been confirmed with this promotional image of Series 9 which is made up of Egon, Winston and a Real Ghostbusters Cartoon Slimer. That puts Series 10 being made up of Peter, Ray and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Collectors will need to get the Build-a-Diorama parts from both Series 9 and 10 to combine with the ones from Series 6 to 8 and build the Ghostbusters Firehouse diorama. Series 9 is scheduled for a late 2018 release with pre-orders due to go up soon.
NECA presents the definitive collector’s version of Jason from Friday the 13: A New Beginning! This is Jason as he appears in the nightmares that haunt Tommy, who has been living in mental institutions since he killed Jason in Part 4. This deluxe 7” scale action figure features over 25 points of articulation and comes with 4 unique, interchangeable heads to represent different dreams (bloody mask, resurrection mask, grave mask and a special mask based on the one-sheet poster). It’s also packed with accessories--machete, axe, ice pick, and tombstone. Bonus: includes an extra left hand with split fingers that can be used with this figure or the Ultimate Part 4 Jason! Comes in a display-friendly deluxe window box with opening flap.
We had already had confirmation of a Black Panther MCU 2-pack arriving later in 2018 containing an Everett Ross figure and a repack of Killmonger, now with the Michael B. Jordan head. We had also seen a leaked photo of this box set with packaging that seemed to read "Stan Lee BAF". This has now been confirmed by these images which show the Stan Lee figure. We had originally thought the BAF would be across 3 packs, but it seems only two of them are involved - the Black Panther set, and the one including a repacked Falcon and the new Winter Soldier / White Wolf. The rumoured Dr Strange & Iron-Man 2-pack is actually a 3 pack with Thanos in the Best of MCU 10th anniversary line.
Hasbro have announced, via the Hasbro Pulse, the final line up of their Venom Marvel Legends wave due towards the end of 2018. The wave will be comic book based, but is obviously playing to the enhanced profile of Venom with his live action movie due in October 2018. We were already aware that the wave include figures of Venom and Carnage. We were also getting Scream, Poison and Spider-Ham. Announced today, with the following images, are Typhoid Mary and the build-a-figure for the wave - a "Monster" Venom. The wave should land in Autumn, most likely ahead of the October Venom release. "You’re Eddie Brock. I’m the symbiote. Together we are Venom. Available Fall 2018, Venom 6 Inch Legends wave with Monster Venom Build A Figure."
The first Netflix (Marvel Knights) wave of Legend figures in 2017 was warmly received by fans of the Marvel Netflix shows, but a follow up wave was never announced and fans were left nervous if they would ever complete their Defenders line up as a minimum. While a new wave including Netflix figures is not on the cards, it seems Hasbro have plans in place to ensure we aren't totalling lacking in new Netflix MCU figures. This two pack was posted by Robot Kingdom and includes new Legends figures of Luke Cage (Mike Colter) and Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson) with her claw hand weapons as seen in Iron-Fist. According to RK the set is due to release imminently. In the US it will be exclusive to Walmart. I wouldn't expect to see this in Asda stores here in UK though.
Gamestop in the US has released a product page for their upcoming Marvel Legends exclusive "gamer-verse" Spider-Man. The figure will arrive in December and includes the usual swap out hands and web effects. The costume is based on the most recent PS4 outing. The page was later taken down by Gamestop - so we await more details...
Figma have revealed their new Predator 1/12 scale figure, designed by Takayuki Takeya. Like their Alien figure, the Predator is quite stylised rather than being a direct translation from screen and it has a lot of Anime influences. The Predator comes with various weapons as well as a removable mask / facepiece. The highly articulated figure is scheduled for a December 2018 release. Pre-orders are starting to go up at Far East retailers for an eye watering 12,800 yen - that converts to £88
Mezco have announced a new DC Comic Book based Joker figure for release late 2018 / early 2019. The One:12 release gives the Joker a brand new, more modern head sculpt and a deranged grin. The figure is subtitled the "Clown Prince of Crime Edition".
He is packed with the usual display stand. He has two head options one smiling, one grinning. There are multiple hand options as well. And for accessories we have a cane, knives, teddy bear bomb and what look to be some guns - although as yet these are greyed out on the promo image and indicate they are not 100% confirmed. As with all One:12 releases, the clothes are tailored soft goods over a super articulated body. The Clown Prince can be ordered now in the US for $80 with the usual non-refundable $20 deposit. UK collectors expect to pay around £65 from your retailer of choice.
Power Rangers isn't something we cover too often, but this SH Figuarts release of the White Ranger - complete with unmasked head - has caught my eye. The super articulated Ranger will come with the White Ranger Power Sword and will arrive around October 2018. Japanese price is 6684 Yen, that's about £44
The Clown Prince of Crime is presented in a short-sleeve button down shirt, tailored vest, and pinstripe pants. He comes equipped with the most diabolical of accessories including a teddy bear strapped with dynamite and flaunts two head portraits capturing his maniacal visage. The Joker has a penchant for blending crime and chaos and is the Batman’s most lethal foe. Not only is the Joker the Dark Knight's greatest villain, he is widely considered one of the greatest villains of all time.
A new Jurassic World Playset has been unveiled by Mattel for release later this year. The Lava Surge set comes with a Baryonyx DInosaur and has a lava goo effect. The set also looks modular and as though it could be connected to future sets.
Skybound have announced a special Walking Dead 5" comic book set, made by McFarlane, will be sold at SDCC 2018. The set is called the Rick Grimes 15th Anniversary set and includes four versions of Rick throughout the comic series. Starting with a new Sheriff Rick figure, there is then an updated version of All Out War Rick with a new shirt, followed by New Beginnings Rick. The set is closed out by "Negan" Rick from issue #163's variant cover.
McFarlane announced their 7" scale Call of Duty figures at Toy Fair 2018 and revealed two figures at that time in the guise of Simon "Ghost" Riley and John "Soap" Mactavish
Following suit with other Skybound exclusives, there will also be a "bloodied" version for sale.
A wider announcement has now confirmed a larger set of releases than first thought, including some retailer exclusives.
The set will be sold at the Skybound booth at San Diego Comic Con in July, 2018. The price is $100. Collectors not attending SDCC and from overseas will need to shop the secondary market
The first new figure is Ruin. Then we have Seraph is a Target exclusive in the US and comes from the Black Ops release.
Bandai have been exhibiting new Star Wars 1/12 Figure Kits at the Tokyo Toy show. The show has confirmed that a number of new Astromechs are going to be released. These will be R4-19 a dark blue Agromech seen on the First Death Star (A New Hope). R2-Q5, the black and gold imperial R2 unit from the second Death Star (Return of the Jedi). R5-J2, an R5 unit also seen on the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi. We wonder whether these three Imperial droids will be combined into a multipack of sorts? We are also getting two new R2-D2 kits. One with booster rockets as seen in the prequels, and a 2nd with a bunch of internal gadgets. These may end up being the same kit with multiple options?
There will be a Winter Variant of Ghost Riley that will be sold at Gamestop in the US. Mactavish also gets a variant, a "bloodied" version which will go to Walmart.The figures are due to arrive in Autumn.
Collectors of a certain vintage, like myself, are well aware of the Mego product from the 1970's with licences like Marvel and DC, but also lines like Doctor Who and Star Trek. The company went bankrupt in 1983 and the brand name has remained dormant for some time. Only recently have we seen Mego inspired product from the likes of Diamond Select Toys, NECA and Mezco - with tailored clothing over a standard figure with a sculpted head and hands In 2009 the Abraham Gentile Entertainment company (AGE) acquired the Mego brand name but nothing has really happened since then until March this year when a new Mego Corp. facebook account appeared. This week, at the Mego Meet 2018, the current Mego Corp President Marty Abrams announced that Mego was back, returning to mass market Action Figure production. The new line of 8" figures will be released in waves, and Mego promise a launch of 20 figures taken from a mix of licences and these will be the 8" Mego. We will find out more later in June - with important questions yet to be answered like the licences involved, and if these will be made in a retro style to match those of the 1970's - or if they will go down the more realistic route taken by NECA in recent years.
While not the usual lines we cover being a larger figure, I think this SDCC 2018 exclusive Boba Fett from Gentle Giant is pretty cool. The figure is part of their long running 12" Jumbo Star Wars figures, using scans of the original vintage figures. He will come on a special Return of the Jedi cardback to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Return of the Jedi. The figure will be sold at SDCC 2018 via the Gentle Giant booth or you can join the Gentle Giant Premier Guild and order one for shipping after SDCC. Visit www.gentlegiantltd.com/premier-guild/ to find out more information or to sign up for the Premier Guild.
When the original Ant-Man hit our cinema screens, there were no true MCU 6" Legends releases to coincide with the movie. While we got a few comic characters, even the main character of Ant-Man got a semi-accurate version which was more based on the Avengers cartoon. Our first true MCU Ant-Man figure would come later when the BAF Giant Man was included in the Civil War releases.
The other change vs the Avengers figures is the top logo now becoming the Pym Tech logo, and this is also printed on the inner yellow cardboard tray something you don't notice immediately. Wasp comes packed in the inner tray with her alternative head to one side, the Cull Obsidian head to the other and her backpack and swap out hands beneath this. Behind this sits a second tray containing her wings.
Roll forward now to the sequel and Hasbro obviously didn't think that this Summer release could hold a full wave of Marvel Legends on its own, and has packed the two titular characters within a 2nd wave of Avengers Infinity War figures which also includes MCU versions of Thor and Widow as well as comic book figures of Malekith and the Black Knight.
The figure comes packed with the masked head fitted, so let's take a look at this first. The design is similar to that used by Ant-Man but has been slimmed down. The visor is a transparent yellow and there are sculpted and painted eyes and eyebrows clearly visible underneath. The helmet is a pretty basic silver tone and therefore the lines towards the front are not as well defined. Further back we get a transition to a darker grey and this colour is also used to ring the visor and to the side of the mouth piece. The two "antena" are a softer plastic and sadly my left one (as we look at her) was warped out of the pack. Since taking the images and having given it a bit of hot water treatment I have kind of trained it back into place.
While four of the figures in the wave continue the purple and yellow colour scheme for Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp have their own red and yellow design which is much more visual. The side art has similar colour shading with a side profile of the Wasp on both panels. Round the back we get the usual promotional image against a fiery red background and a breakdown of the Cull Obsidian Build-A-Figure and where each of his 6 parts can be found. The Wasp body is sculpted with a huge amount of textured detail, with the whole upper torso being a honeycomb pattern with the various panels painted on top of the dark grey / blue base coat. Each panel and the interconnecting red and gold lines are all neat with no obvious paint bleed or splashes. The detail gets a little less down into the legs which hold the pattern only on the back of the thighs and then down around the calves. There is a gold and red stripe that runs from the crotch downwards and this is a bit messy in places and also suffers from being broken by the thigh split. If you are displaying her without her wings deployed then the backpack piece can be slotted on via a shaped hole in her back. This is quite plain being cast in silver with a single red painted detail.
For some reason female bodies on Marvel Legends seem to get a raw deal on articulation, and while Wasp has 16 points on the body this is 2-3 less than most, with some joints pared back to a more basic movement than we may be used to.
If you want to get Wasp with her wings deployed then the first backpack needs to be popped off and replaced by the wing set that comes in the box. Like the first backpack this is a plain silver piece with a red stripe - but now into four segments of the back pack are inserted partially translucent wings.
The head is ball jointed as is the torso, there is no ratcheted T-joint in the torso. The arms are ball jointed at the shoulder but there is no bicep swivel. The elbows are single jointed only and do rotate and we end with pivot wrists. The legs are pretty standard with ball joint hips - albeit a bit ugly with some very apparent gaps between crotch and legs. The legs do get a swivel, at the thigh, and the knees are double jointed. The knees do feel a bit loose out of the pack. We finish with ankle rockers - and even despite the Wasp's slim frame - she is pretty easy to stand.
The wings arguably add to the articulation count, as each one is jointed and can be moved up and down. There is no ball joint however, only a hinge, so the wings will only move up and down on a single axis.
Wasp comes with a pair of fists, and these can be swapped with open palmed hands. The operation is smooth with the hand popping out with a small amount of pull and popping back in with similar force.
Wasp is very much like Falcon that she takes on a whole new dimension if you get her onto a flight stand. There is nothing packed with the figure, so you will have to source your own. The one we have here is an unbranded generic stand with a waist clip that slides up and down a pole so the height can be adjusted.
The same can be said of swapping the head, although I wonder how many will put on the Evangeline Lilly head and then never ever take it off. This unmasked head is a thing of beauty and is for me one of the best likenesses we've had since the line moved to the face print technology. The skin tones are subtle, the eyes quite piercing and they've even captured her mannerisms with the mouth.
As a central character I am so pleased to be getting both Ant-Man and the Wasp from the movie. The Wasp is very well sculpted and painted as a figure with a lot of texture and paint apps in that costume. The second unmasked head is gorgeous and the masked head is pretty decent with that translucent visor - if you forgive the bent antenna. The only let down on this figure is the articulation with the chest joint and elbows in particular reverting to a basic joint. If you are an MCU collector then you need to get Wasp, stick her on a flight stand and have her in full flight (like Falcon) in your display. I score her a solid 4 out of 5.