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The three new McFarlane Doom figures have been revealed. All three are Doom Slayer figures and are taken from Doom Eternal. Up first is the Doom Slayer in the white Astro Slayer Skin. This one is a Big Bad Toy Store Exclusive and is limited to 3000 pieces. He comes with the Crucible Sword, flaming arm blade, and circular display base. He is joined by the Doom Slayer in the Ember skin as we saw in the earlier preview image. This is a general release and will be packed with a Super Shotgun and the extended flaming arm blade. The final member of the trio is the classic Doom Slayer who will come with the same Supershotgun as the Ember Doom Slayer and the same flaming arm blade as the other two figures. This is another exclusive, this time sold only via the McFarlane Store. This makes it a US-only exclusive presently, but we will have to wait to see if that change. All three figures will ship in July 2022. Since the beginning, the DOOM Slayer has been a force to be reckoned with, unflinching in his mission to eradicate the demonic horde. In DOOM Eternal the Slayer is faster and deadlier than ever. Protected by his iconic armor and armed with a devastating arsenal of weapons and abilities, the Slayer is primed to wage his eternal war against Hell. Product Features 7-inch scale (17.78cm) Made of plastic Based on the Doom Eternal video game Limited edition of 3000 pieces Designed with Ultra Articulation with up to 22 moving parts for full range of posing and play Features DOOM Slayer in his Astro Slayer Skin (White Armor ver.) Showcased in DOOM themed window box packaging Since the beginning, the DOOM Slayer has been a force to be reckoned with, unflinching in his mission to eradicate the demonic horde. In DOOM Eternal the Slayer is faster and deadlier than ever. Protected by his iconic armor and armed with a devastating arsenal of weapons and abilities, the Slayer is primed to wage his eternal war against Hell. Product Features 7-inch scale (17.78cm) Made of plastic Based on the Doom Eternal video game Designed with Ultra Articulation with up to 22 moving parts for full range of posing and play Features DOOM Slayer in his Ember Slayer Skin Showcased in DOOM themed window box packaging McFarlane Toys Store Exclusive. Since the beginning, the DOOM Slayer has been a force to be reckoned with, unflinching in his mission to eradicate the demonic horde. In DOOM Eternal the Slayer is faster and deadlier than ever. Protected by his iconic armor and armed with a devastating arsenal of weapons and abilities, the Slayer is primed to wage his eternal war against Hell. Incredibly detailed 7" scale figure based on the legendary DOOM Franchise. Designed with Ultra Articulation with up to 22 moving parts for full range of posing and play. Features DOOM Slayer in his Classic Doomguy Skin. Figure comes with a base, the Supershotgun and Extended Arm Blade. Figure showcased in DOOM themed window box packaging. If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Check out our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews, and store reports About Me : As a child of the '70s and '80s I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force), and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licenses - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who, and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK-focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...

We haven't seen a Doom! action figure release from McFarlane since the Doomicorn in 2020. Now, the McFarlane team have announced a trio of Doom! figures from the new Doom! Eternal video game all of which will be revealed and go up for pre-order as of the 17th of May 2022. Check out this promo image of the Doom Slayer, in Ember Armour Skin, from Eternal... from what we can see of the figure, this seems to be a new sculpt and not a direct re-use of the original McFarlane Doom Slayer from 2019. If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Check out our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews, and store reports About Me : As a child of the '70s and '80s I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force), and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licenses - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who, and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK-focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...

At the end of Avengers: Endgame, Thor left Earth with the Guardians of the Galaxy - or was it the Asgardians of the Galaxy - and it is this journey with Star-Lord and the crew that will carry forward into 2022's Thor: Love & Thunder. This review is written ahead of the movie release and is done so only with the information to hand via the packaging of each figure and the teaser trailer from late April 2022. I will update these reviews once the film has been released. This review may contain minor spoilers but only in the context of any information provided on the package or visually on the figure. The Love & Thunder Star-Lord uses the standard Legends box with no specific accent colour and rather a strong use of the blue through red scheme we see in the movie logo from the box front. The two side panels carry a mirror image of Star-Lord's latest look, and this is repeated again on the reverse. Beneath this is the checklist for the Korg BAF and to the side of the image is the standard background text that does not provide too much info as you would expect from a figure released 3-months ahead of the movie itself. "Peter Quill and the Guardians of the Galaxy return, teaming up with friends new and old to defend the galaxy from a dangerous new enemy." Star-Lord's overall look for Thor: Love & Thunder - as we have seen so far in the teaser - is relatively consistent with his outfit from the previous Guardians movies, and from Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Peter is wearing his long coat, cast in a deep red and painted with a blue feature down one side - a colour that looks more muted on screen. Under this is a rubberised vest piece which seems to be what he is wearing during the latter part of the teaser as he addresses the Guardians, this is also cast in red and painted with a darker red panel and gold zip and clasps. The arms feature armoured panels, coloured in gold, at the shoulders, and around the wrist area. While the legs are a plain brown with two-tone brown painted boots with a silver clasp. The costume is finished with a further rubberised piece that acts as a strap going from his right shoulder down to his left hip. It is painted with silver clasp details but doesn't seem to have any real purpose? The paintwork, as applied over the base colours, is neat across the figure. The only area I can't work out is the shoulder panels as I don't know if the red showing through is a weathering attempt, or if the paint was too thin to cover properly? The likeness for this new Star-Lord has come in for some criticism both on the release of the promo images and then in hand, although in hand it is certainly better than the original promo's made it look. Chris Pratt hasn't had a great Star-Lord sculpt to date across his various MCU figures - and Mattel also found it difficult for their Jurassic World Amber Collection line. Like other collectors & reviewers, I can't quite put my finger on why this one doesn't quite work. From certain angles, it is absolutely nailed on Chris Pratt - particularly from the side - but from other angles, less so. I would say the sideburns to beard are perhaps too heavy, in the trailer you can see the sideburns are thicker and then the hair is thinner for the beard - whereas the head sculpt has both the same with no transition between the two. The hair too is too neat and the forehead area quite large. The face uses the photo-real decor to add the now standard level of realism to the eyes and this is applied well and without any concerns. The Love & Thunder Star-Lord does use the older Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Peter Quill figure as a base. The legs and torso are direct re-use, with the new vest put over the original t-shirt. The coat is new, as are the arms of the figure which are pinless while the legs remain visible with pins at the knees. These two layers of rubber coats on the torso of Star-Lord may work against him and make him look a little too bulky The head is of course new, but the neck joint is the same so that does mean your Peter Quill figures can all accept the new head, or you can add the older heads to this new tweaked body. Whether he uses it in the movie or not, the figure does feel like it needs the helmeted head as an accessory. Nearly all previous releases of Quill have included it, with the exception of the 2017 figure from the Mantis BAF wave. What we do get is the same pair of Quad Blasters as the 2017 releases. These are cast in grey but this is not a metallic finish and the overall paint apps have been diminished since 2017 and now only get two panels of what is meant to be gold on the main body of either barrel. These remain slightly oversized, although the size choice may be deliberate so the hands can grip them in the same way Peter uses them in the MCU. They fit into either hand and Star-Lord does feature trigger hands on both left and right. When the blasters are not in use they can be holstered, in a fashion, using the pegs that are still present on the re-used 2017 legs. The fit is quite snug once the trigger of the blaster is lined up with the peg, but as these are quite large they will push out the line of the coat a little bit. We would count up articulation on Star-Lord as 19 points of articulation, although in reality, the new vest piece renders the t-joint in the torso useless. The arms are pinless as mentioned earlier, and feature a full range of motion. The legs are pinned, but the pins themselves are not easily visible under the tails of the coat. While the legs can do everything you would want them to do, any posing outside of standing is not really possible due to the coat. Star-Lord stands well in most poses and the joints are all secure, ratcheted where needed for added stability, and work with the aesthetics of the figure in most cases. Looking at the short scenes in the Thor: Love & Thunder teaser, the new Marvel Legends Star-Lord is a good match for what we are going to get on the screen, therefore, avoiding one of the usual complaints with Marvel Legends pre-release movie waves in terms of accuracy. You could argue the blue of the coat is too bright, and there is the likeness issue which is certainly not fantastic - but is still probably the best Chris Pratt head to date, at least from certain angles. An alternative helmeted head would have been a nice addition, as would the usual level of paint apps to the Quad Blasters which now look quite cheap. The figure articulates and poses well enough, and like all team building figures - he looks the part once posed with other characters such as Groot and Ravager Thor from the same wave. We are guaranteed a new Star-Lord Legends next year anyway for GOTG3 so this is a little bit of a stop-gap, and only time will tell if Star-Lord's role in Love & Thunder warrants this figure or if there were other key characters that may have been more worthy in this advance release slot. For more News, Reviews and a Checklist of Releases - visit our Marvel Legends Database If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Check out our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews, and store reports About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...

It is time for another Monster MAYhem reveal from NECA! Today the NECA social feeds have shared these images of the packaging for their upcoming An American Werewolf in London Toony Terror 2-pack, due for release this August. The set features Jack and Kessler Werewolf in 6-inch stylised Toony Terror format. If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Check out our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews, and store reports About Me : As a child of the '70s and '80s I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force), and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licenses - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who, and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK-focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...

The Marvel Legends Thor: Love & Thunder products hit stores on the 26th of April 2022, timed to land just after the first teaser trailer for the July 2022 movie. All seven figures in the wave, and the BAF, were taken from the movie and included updates for several returning characters. This review is written ahead of the movie release and is done so only with the information to hand via the packaging of each figure and the teaser trailer from late April 2022. I will update these reviews once the film has been released. This review may contain minor spoilers but only in the context of any information provided on the package or visually on the figure. The Love & Thunder figures follow the usual design principles for Marvel Legends and are of course not yet subject to the plastic-free packaging so still feature a figure window. The Love & Thunder logo sits under the window and beneath this is the character's name. Thor is listed as Ravager Thor indicating his position within the Guardians (Asgardians) of the Galaxy and the Ravagers following the events of Avengers: Endgame. The side art shows Thor in this Ravagers outfit and the same image is shown on the back of the box along with the usual BAF checklist and a very very short, and non-spoilery piece of text that simply reads "Thor wields the mighty Stormbreaker against a terrifying new foe." Ravager Thor is an entirely new pinless figure and does appear to be more in proportion to the other MCU figure's height wise coming in just a touch over 6.75 inches tall. He features a white T-shirt that is printed with a tree emblem over a pink & red geomatical circular design. There are nine cream dots within the image indicating this is a representation of Yggdrasil, the World Tree. Over this Thor is wearing a sleeveless jacket and this is cast in its own base colour and painted with black on the collar and pockets as well as some silver stud on the reverse. The black coverage is not great in places the red base can still be seen and the edges are a little sloppy. This jacket could be removed with some playing around allowing you to display Thor simply in his vest? The outfit is finished with blue trousers, held in place by a brown belt with an ornate painted gold buckle. There are then knee-high black boots which have a wrapped design sculpted up the shins and this is painted over with a light brown tan colour. Thor's head is also a new sculpt and features the photo-real print application to enhance the sculpt further with realistic eyes, beard, and shading around the prominent facial features. This gives it a good likeness to Chris Hemsworth and on par certainly with a couple of the previous releases like the Endgame Final Battle Thor. The hair is well coloured also and sculpted to sit to one side of his face and then either side of his shoulders - this does create a slight floating hair effect on the left-hand side in particular as the head is posed. The whole costume is accurate to Ravager Thor's on-screen appearance and I am reliably told the head works well with older Thor figures for an updated look, particularly on the Infinity War Thor which did always struggle slightly in terms of the Hemsworth likeness. Thor comes with Stormbreaker, and this is the same accessory as included with Endgame Final Battle Thor but repainted now for the standard look with the brown wooden colour handle and silver axe head. The head sports two silver tones that are used to give further definition to the weapon with a gunmetal finish across much of the axe-head, but with a brighter silver used as an edging colour and on prominent parts. Stormbreaker fits into either of Thor's hands. No other parts are included for Thor and he feels a little light in terms of not featuring at least another pair of hands? Articulation across the new pinless body remains extensive with 19 points of articulation in total. The knees and elbows remain double-jointed and this is particularly useful for the arms and for posing Thor with Stormbreaker and in more detailed battle poses. There is a lot of movement in the chest joint which does allow crouching poses - but this does cover up the vest design, and also doesn't quite work with the head which is the most restricted joint due to the hairpiece. Thor stands perfectly well under most poses with a solid pair of ankle rockers that are aligned for a perfectly flat stance. I do like the new Ravager Thor look for Thor as an MCU character, especially considering in the last 10 years or so his armour and cape have not changed enormously and the only not armoured variant of Thor we've had is the unworthy Thor from Endgame in his dressing gown. The figure is a very good recreation of the new Ravager Thor look and is really well executed. The colours are bright colours, and the vest design is impressive and assuming it is using the photo-real print app opens up plenty of other avenues for clothing designs. The pinless bodies make a huge difference to the overall look of any figure, and more so here with the exposed arms no longer showing the visible peg whole around the elbow. Certainly, another strong Marvel Legends release from Hasbro and another release from an upcoming movie that does not seem to be impacted by the design process using early or concept artwork. For more News, Reviews and a Checklist of Releases - visit our Marvel Legends Database If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Check out our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews, and store reports About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...

Bandai UK is heading the MCM London Comic-Con from the 27th to 29th of May. Their booth, S1040 at the Excel Centre will feature both Bandai products as well as the licenses that Bandai UK specifically distributed in the United Kingdom including the McFarlane action figure line, Banpresto, Gundam Infinity, Chibi Masters, Shokugan, Dragon Ball, & Tamagotchi. The Bandai UK team will also be debuting the brand new Anime Heroes Digimon collection at the show, with the first wave of WarGreymon, Omegamon, and Beezlemon on display. Check out the teaser images below shared with us by Bandai UK and as seen a Digimon Con. Press Release:- “Bandai UK is set to return to the UK convention scene from May 27th – May 29th with a newly designed, collector-focused booth showcasing the very best of the collector channel. Amongst the brands on display will be our growing range of 6in Anime Heroes figures including the worlds first in-person look at Wave 01 of the Digimon collection. The first three characters include WarGreymon, Omegamon & Beezlemon, each of which made their livestream debut at the inaugural ‘Digimon Con’ on February 26th and we’ll have samples on display to reward UK collectors for their continued support of Digimon here in the UK with the line launching here this July. We’ll also have the currently styles of the original Digimon Device, DigimonX & Digimon Vital Bracelet! Come see for yourself at MCM London Comic Con at the London Excel from May 27th – 29th – Bandai UK Booth S1040. Follow @bandaishopuk on Facebook & Instagram for all the latest. Also on display will be items from our Banpresto, Gundam Infinity, Chibi Masters, Shokugan, Dragon Ball, Tamagotchi & McFarlane Toys.” If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Check out our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews, and store reports About Me : As a child of the '70s and '80s I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force), and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licenses - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who, and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK-focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...

McFarlane has announced a new DC Multiverse 7-inch scale figure of a classic comic look Martian Manhunter. This new addition to the line shares parts with the Rebirth Martian Manhunter and will come under the Gold Label exclusive banner. In the US the figure is sold vi Target, while here in the UK we are likely to get him as a standard release across all McFarlane stockists. The figure is on the Target website for pre-order, but without a confirmed release date as yet - but we assume Summer 2022. J’onn J’onzz, the mysterious Martian Manhunter, is one of the last survivors of the planet Mars, and was accidentally transported to Earth not long after the majority of his people were wiped out. Martian Manhunter is thought to be as strong as, or possibly stronger than, Superman, and has a variety of powers including super-strength, super-speed, flight, telepathy, telekinesis, shape-shifting, phase-shifting, regenerative abilities, and near-invulnerability. Manhunter also has genius-level intellect and strong leadership skills. Using his vast powers and skills, Martian Manhunter strives to protect the citizens of his new home, Earth. Incredibly detailed 7” scale figure based off the DC Multiverse Designed with Ultra Articulation with up to 22 moving parts for full range of posing and play Martian Manhunter is based on his DC Classic look Martian Manhunter comes with a base Included collectible art card with figure photography on the front, and character biography on the back Collect all McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Figures If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Check out our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews, and store reports About Me : As a child of the '70s and '80s I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force), and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licenses - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who, and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK-focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...

One of the big (literally) selling points when Diamond confirmed their new 7-inch scale Lord of the Rings figures was the inclusion of Sauron, as a build-a-figure, split across the first three waves. This is not the first time Diamond have included a 'build-a' option in their Select line, with the Ghostbusters line a few years ago including two huge pieces in the shape of the rooftop from the original Ghostbusters, and then the entire frontage of the New York Firehouse. Sauron does represent the first 'collect and build' figure for Diamond in the Select series so it would always be an interesting project to follow particularly to see if they could match the experts at Hasbro and of course the new BAF format at McFarlane in the same 7-inch scale. As a collect and build figure, Sauron has no packaging. But nor are there any instructions or guidance on the build included - which does pose a couple of issues. Sauron is split down into six components, and his mace weapon. You could finish the figure without the mace if you wished, negating the need to purchase the Moria Orc? Once all parts are collected then the assembly is very much common sense but not overly easy when we are talking about a Dark Lord with very spiky armour, and a degree of force needed to get the legs, arms and particularly the head to slot into place. The cape is where instructions would have been desirable. I had the figure over a week and thought that Diamond had cut the cape wrong as it didn't fit over the neck joint and didn't line up with the shoulder armour. Then, by complete accident, I found a panel on the back, sitting under the two shoulder sections. If you remove the shoulders, this panel then clips off and under this v-shaped piece sit the exact size pegs to hold the cape. You thread this into place and then slot the panel back onto the body leaving the cape flowing as it should. As soft goods go, the cape hangs well enough with enough weight in the material to keep it flat and straight. It includes stitched panelling on one sid with three triangular sections, each getting larger as you move down the cape. Each hem is stitched so there should not be any issue with fraying. Visually, Sauron is stunning as well as being impressively sized at dead on 12-inches in height from armoured boots to the spikes on his helmet. He dwarfs even his own Nazgul and towers over Frodo. The body is entirely cast in dark grey plastic and the sculpt of each panel of armour includes a beaten metal texture. There are layers over layers, each individually sculpted as panels overlap the one beneath and then the whole piece is painted to give a brushed but battle-scarred metallic armour finish. The single piece of detail outside the grey metallic armour is the One Ring on his right hand which is a bight gold contrasting colour against the rest of the figure. The ring is too small to have even a chance of seeing glowing runes, and up close it is quite crudely painted with a fair bit of gold bleeding onto what would be the finger. Sauron is armed with his ferocious mace. Sadly here too we have issues. The first is the mace's condition on arrival which for me was badly warped across both the main shaft and the 6 spikes of the end section. This took a bit of patience, hot water and then fridge treatment to straighten out. The second issue is sort of forgivable, but in the Lord of the Rings prologue, Sauron wields the mace in his right hand to sweep aside the armies of Man and Elves. Here, Diamond has only allowed him to use his left hand - the right reserved in a non-gripping pose and to display the One Ring. For those with an eye for detail, it is worth noting he does switch to holding the mace in his left hand in later scenes when the ring is cut from his hand by Isildur. The third issue is a disappointment in that the left wrist joint is so weak it actually cant support the weight of the mace in hand. The wrist simply obeys gravity and when you raise the weapon in a more attack-minded stance, the wrist simply flops back down. Articulation is standard by Diamond Select terms with 16 points of articulation. With single-joint knees and elbows, the arms and legs are not hugely expansive in terms of posing options and especially not with the weak wrist joints. The spiked shoulder armour to is not engineered to work with the joints so if you happen to raise the arm too high, these shoulder pieces pop off and go flying - leaving the cape then unsecured and dropping off also. But sadly there is more, and the biggest issue of the lot. For whatever reason, Sauron has been sculpted with a rounded finish to the soles of his boots. Anyone knows that when you have a big figure, a stable base is key yet Sauron is far from stable in any pose as the rounding of the boots allows him to rock forward or backwards and fall over with far too much ease. The plastic is heavy and also brittle in places, so get the positioning wrong and your relatively expensive Sauron will be doing himself a lot of damage if he takes a shelf dive. In summary, this is a hugely impressive piece visually with a depth of sculpting on the armour I have not seen on many other figures and a good finish in terms of paint and decor. The execution then lets him down. The stability in the feet and wrist are the biggest issues, with smaller issues like the shoulder armour that pops off regularly or the lack of instructions that leaves you scratching your head over the cape. Thankfully all is not lost, and it doesn't take too much work to fix the figure - although we shouldn't really have to. The bent parts can be straightened, the wrist joint tightened, and you can also fix stability with a decent 12-inch figure doll stand. These small investments in time will leave you with a very visually impressive centrepiece for your Lord of the Rings collection - and the hope now is that the collection will grow some more and is not abandoned by Diamond without ever completing the Fellowship of the Ring as a minimum! For more News, Reviews and a Checklist of Releases - visit our Diamond Select Database If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Check out our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews, and store reports About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...

If you have followed me for any length of time, you will know that I am a huge fan of the Jabba's Palace scenes from Return of the Jedi. And ever since the release of Jabba the Hutt in 2014 I have been hankering after a Bib Fortuna to display with Jabba. For the past few years, a Gentle Giant (slightly oversized) Bib Fortuna statue has been Jabba's majordomo. I can now pack away the Gentle Giant piece with the arrival of the Star Wars Black Series Bib Fortuna. Bib is part of Wave 6 of the Galaxy Collection and is the 8th figure in the Return of the Jedi series, following on directly from General Lando Calrissian. The box features the green accent colour of ROTJ and this extends on the border section and as a highlight colour on the greyscale side artwork showing Bib with the arch and stairwell of Jabba's Palace behind him. This artwork, as is standard, is repeated on the rear of the box alongside the background text. "Those attempting to do business with Jabba the Hutt needed to maneuver past his pasty-faced majordomo, the Twi'lek Bib Fortuna" Out of the packaging, Bib stands at 6.25 inches tall, a touch taller than figures like Luke Skywalker from Jabba's Palace, and in keeping with actor Michael Carter's on-screen height in the Fortuna costume and prosthetics. Starting with the body and the arms, legs and torso are all cast in the base blue of Bib's under-robes - the only decor added being the bracers at the wrist which are painted in grey. While most of the body is new, the legs are taken from the Dryden Vos figure from Solo. This makes sense both in terms of managing cost, but also to give Fortuna the added height he needs. A plastic section sits over the chest containing the grey circular inlaid panel, and this then extends visually - but not physically - down to the sash belt and lower robes which are added as a further rubberised plastic piece. Here again, the grey elements are painted and do suffer from a few problems around the edging. Over all of this sits the outer robes, also soft plastic, which drape over the head and shoulders and encase the arms with a slitted and open sleeve piece, and wraps all the way down around the legs and to the floor. The head, as we expect from the Black Series, is a fantastic likeness to Fortuna and includes the sculpted head tails that stretch out and round the shoulders of the figures. The two slim skin-sacks sit under the elongated double chin and this and the bulbous forehead and eyebrows frame the face itself. The facial features are really well done and enhanced perfectly by the photo-real application of the red and sunken eyes and that mouth which is slightly open with the filed pointed teeth exposed behind the top lip. The whole head is cast in a bone-white plastic and includes plenty of textural surfaces such as ribbing down the lekku. These head tails do look to be glued into the head via sockets, but the fit is very clean and with an almost invisible join. The whole ensemble is treated with a blue wash which does vary from figure to figure - some looking very blue and others with nothing but a few blue hues. It is certainly worth shopping for Bib in person if you can to get a finish you are happy with. My first real issue with the Black Series Bib Fortuna is the choice of accessories. Now in Return of the Jedi, we didn't see Bib handle or use anything that would warrant a film-accurate accuracy. When Kenner released the figure in the early 80s they created what they felt was an appropriate staff for Fortuna - and this was then made canon when Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau included it in the short end-credit scene that introduced The Book of Boba Fett. The POTF2 release gave him a blaster, while the Saga Collection had him come with a knife. So with all these options to choose from, Hasbro decided to pack their Black Series Bib Fortuna with the three drinking cups they released as part of the exclusive Cantina set from last year? While I cannot deny that Bib looks fine holding any of the cups in his elongated clawed fingers, there is something about choosing a non-screen accurate accessory such as this when there were plenty of others that could have been used. While I appreciate recreating a Kenner accessory in the Black Series is something Hasbro have avoided before - namely Admiral Ackbar's baton - but this Bib Fortuna would have looked so epic with a 6-inch scaled twisted handle staff - or even a hidden plaster under his robes. Articulation is also not fantastic for Bib Fortuna either, and not so much the joints themselves but the choice of a full rubberised outfit over the top. If you strip back the robes then Bib has a more than adequate count of 16 points with a pair of double-joint needs courtesy of the Dryden Vos figure. Sadly these legs are pinched together under the inner and outer robes and while Bib looks like he should stand fine - the ankle rockers are not quite set up correctly and he does fall forward far too easily. In the end, you may end up using the robes themselves to keep him standing. The arms are a little freer to move thanks to the cut of the sleeves and they can move completely from the elbow joint downwards. The shoulders might as well not be jointed at all as they cannot move under the robes without pushing the robes out of place and into odd angles. I'd quite like to see a stooping or bowing action at the waist to replicate Bib's movement on-screen and while the waist joint does the motion for us the robes are too fixed for it to be noticeable. That leaves the head which moves well enough with enough play in the lekku for a few variations in head position. I recently spent a review (Boba Fett on Tython) bemoaning soft goods as they ruined that figure for me. Bib is an example where I feel a combination of soft goods kept in check by rubberised parts might have been the way to go? Revan or Zuckuss being two figures that spring to mind with that sort of combination. What we get from Bib Fortuna is a fantastic looking, but a fairly static and neutral piece that relies more or less exclusively on the arm positions to articulate. Thankfully he does that well enough, either holding one of his many cups (?) or simply gesturing. He is another excellent Original Trilogy release who looks the part alongside Jabba the Hutt or any of the other released denizens of Jabba's Palace such as the Gammorean Guard or the various Bounty Hunters. There are things Hasbro may have done differently and am not saying that would have been better, but using strategic soft goods may have helped articulation without losing the looks - and could we not have got that staff as a nod to the Kenner days? Wave 6 is out as of Spring 2022 and I would imagine out of the 8 figures released in the wave that Bib Fortuna, along with Fennec Shand and Boba Fett, would be the ones that are likely to sell out first. For those who are interested:- Our Jabba the Hutt sits on a scratch built throne that utilised the gargoyle heads from the Kenner version as well as the pipe and bowl from the original SDCC Jabba set. The chain is a real jewelers chain replacing the plastic chain on Leia and also used to keep a leash on Bubo which is a custom cast piece made from a blown-up mold of the 3.75-inch version. Our C-3PO translator is one of the basic 5 POA figures and may well (at some stage) be dirtied up and covered in Jabba's goop from his frog snacks. For more News, Reviews and a Checklist of Releases - visit our Star Wars Database If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Check out our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews, and store reports About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...

On the 11th of May 2022, Super7 emailed out to their subscribers that their 6th Series of Thundercats Ultimates was live for pre-order. Shortly after, a second email came out stating they had got too excited and released this too early. The pre-order page and full details were then taken down from the Super7 site. The 6th Series of the 7-inch Ultimates for Thundercats is inspired by the classic LJN Toys and pays homage with classic versions of Lion-O, Cheetara, Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living, and Monkian. When they do re-surface for pre-order we will share the full details and add them to our Super7 Database. Super7’s latest additions to the ThunderCats ULTIMATES! roster are inspired by the timeless toys we grew up with! These made-to-order, highly articulated 7” scale ULTIMATES! Figures of Lion-O, Cheetara, Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living, and Monkian are upgraded versions of the original toys, while still maintaining the vintage charm of the classic toy line. You don’t need Sight-Beyond-Sight to see that these ThunderCats ULTIMATES! figures would be quality additions to any collection! Available until June 10, expected delivery Spring 2023. If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Check out our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews, and store reports About Me : As a child of the '70s and '80s I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force), and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licenses - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who, and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK-focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...

There is a level of normality returning to the convention scene for 2022 after two years of disruption and San Diego Comic-Con in July 2022 is now starting to creep onto the horizon, particularly as Diamond Select Toys have today unveiled their 2022 convention exclusives. The action figure offerings are all very much themed around retro packaging and styling and repack existing Select 7-inch figures with new deco in place, and into retro-inspired packaging. Each of the single figures will cost $25 in the US and will be sold at SDCC, and via a pre-order program direct from Diamond (including International shipping options) and potentially also via Previews & Diamond stockists. Up first are some new additions from Cobra Kai, starting with VHS boxed versions of Danny Larusso and Johnny Lawrence. Each set features a repack of the existing figure - Danny in his Miyagi-Do Karate Suit, and Johnny in the Cobra Kai colours. These are then packed into retro clamshell VHS-style boxes along with a collectors card and a display base. Each set is limited to 4000 units. There is a third Cobra Kai set that is listed as the Cobra Kai Retro 2-Pack. This set features both Larusso and Lawrence, each in their classic Karate suits. While there is no image as yet for the box, it is confirmed in the blurb to be a full-colour opening window box. This set retails at $80. Everyone loves the Netflix series Cobra Kai, but we prefer it on VHS! This fully articulated 7-inch figure of Daniel LaRusso depicts him as he appears in the fan-favorite Karate Kid sequel series, and includes a display base. With over 16 points of articulation, this figure will take home the title in any martial arts toy tournament! Limited to 4000 pieces Everyone loves the Netflix series Cobra Kai, but we prefer it on VHS! This fully articulated 7-inch figure of Johnny Lawrence depicts him as he appears in the fan-favorite Karate Kid sequel series, and includes a display base. With over 16 points of articulation, this figure will take home the title in any martial arts toy tournament! Limited to 4000 pieces A Diamond Select Toys release! Revisit the fight that started it all, with this exclusive two-pack featuring Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso! The two karate students-turned-teachers are wearing their classic karate gi’s, and each 7-inch figure features over 16 points of articulation. The pair come packaged in a folding, full-color window box. Sculpted by Rocco Tartamella and Chris Dahlberg, packaging design by Jack Tsai! Limited to 4000 pieces. The VHS clamshell packaging is also used on the other two SDCC Action Figure Exclusives. There is a repack of the Select Bruce Lee figure, and this set also includes the alternative hands and nunchucks, including the nunchucks with motion effect. Bruce is joined in the line by John Wick who comes in his black suit from the first movie and is armed with a pistol and a machine gun. Display bases are also included with Bruce Lee and John Wick, and these are also limited to 4000 pieces. Everyone loves the Bruce Lee films, but we prefer them on VHS! This fully articulated 7-inch figure of Bruce Lee features him shirtless, in black pants, and includes nunchucks, escrima sticks, a bo staff and a display base. With interchangeable hands and over 16 points of articulation, this figure of the legendary fighter can take on an army and come out kicking! Limited to 4000 pieces Everyone loves the John Wick films, but we prefer them on VHS! This fully articulated 7-inch figure of John Wick features him in his classic black suit from the first movie, and includes a pistol, machine gun, and a display base. With over 16 points of articulation, you’ll have him tearing through a bathhouse full of goons in no time! Limited to 4000 pieces If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Check out our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews, and store reports About Me : As a child of the '70s and '80s I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force), and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licenses - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who, and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK-focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...

Boba Fett's triumphant return to the Star Wars saga was realised through the second season of The Mandalorian, after being teased in Season 1. Boba made his return on the sands of Tatooine as an apparent hermit and this story would be further explored in the spin-off series, The Book of Boba Fett. The first action figure in the 6-inch Star Wars Black Series line of Boba Fett from the Disney+ shows came as part of Wave 6 of the Galaxy Collection, released in Spring 2022. It features Boba in his dessert garb and as seen in the story 'The Tragedy' from Season 2 during the battle on Tython. Because of this, Boba Fett is part of the Mandalorian Galaxy Collection Series, number 20 in the line to date. The box, therefore, features the dark orange colour scheme and highlights on the artwork. The rear of the box carries the same artwork as the side panel and a short piece of text. "Once regarded as one of the most fearsome and capable bounty hunters in the galaxy, Boba Fett seemingly met his demise in the Sarlacc pit on Tatooine. A survivor to his core, Fett lived to fight another day" Boba Fett has been created by Hasbro as a sculpted body, over which they have placed a soft-goods robe. This doesn't look particularly good in the box, and less so out of the box compared to what we see on screen during the Tython scenes. The robe Hasbro have created is fully enclosed and is more Jedi-like, compared to the more rugged material we see Boba wearing. The material used on the existing Black Series Tusken Raider figure would have been a much better fit for obvious reasons. When you watch 'The Tragedy' and of course subsequent Book of Boba Fett episodes, the cape hangs heavy on Boba and exposes more of the robes underneath, rather than covering them completely. The head sculpt is new and is a good likeness to Temura Morrison, although it lacks the scarring, texturing, and depth of injury we see Boba sporting in these early scenes as he returns to the Star Wars universe. What Hasbro have done instead is utilise the face print tech to execute the more realistic eyes, mouth, and shading around the nose - then over this have applied white patches as the scarring tissue. Like the robes, this doesn't do the character justice and ends up looking like Boba has a dirty face rather than a scarred one. I've even seen people online asking if it's a factory error rather than a deliberate paint job. The figure also seems to suffer with this more recent issue of very glossy heads in the Black Series. There is a lot of sheen from Boba, particularly with his shaved head and the finish is very much different to a Marvel Legends figure for example released at the same time? Thankfully the cloak is not a complete write-off and under them there is a full set of sculpted robes that are accurate to the episode. We also get a sculpted - and very well painted - ammo belt that also includes a holster. The figure is pinless throughout all of the joints which helps the overall finish and the joints are cleverly disguised on the legs with the robes of the knee extending over the knee so it bends behind it - a technique we also saw with the Wave 7 Ahsoka Tano figure, also from The Mandalorian. So with a little bit of work, the robes are serviceable if you can tuck them away at the sides so as to expose the much better sculpted plastic detail underneath. The hood will work to an extent, but like most Black Series hoods on robes, it lacks the weight or the fabric type to sit naturally over the head so it ends up looking too big and oversized. The usual trick of wetting the hood and then shaping it may work but it really needed a heavy material and better stitching to get it to sit in position. Tython Boba Fett is well armed for a Black Series figure starting with his blaster which is a gunmetal silver piece with a painted brown handle. Like the prop itself, it is pretty featureless but the overall accuracy is good with the visible twin barrels and upper sights. It slips into the right gloved hand of Fett with the usual trigger finger design that slots the finger into the slot of the trigger. When not in use, it nestles neatly in the holster. Boba's larger weapon is his Cycler Rifle and this is not the same Cycler Rifle included with the Tusken Raider figures and presents with a slimmer barrel and grip. It is brown in base colour with grey sights and gold rings running up the barrel and around the trigger. It features an adjustable rubber strap that loops around the stock and again around the barrel with the latter section then sliding up and down the barrel depending on how you want the rifle slung - either over one shoulder or as we see on Tython across the back diagonally. This adjustable strap also helps when posing Boba with the weapon in hand as it can be rotated to hand naturally depending on the orientation of the weapon. It is a little tricky getting the right hand to line up with the gun and then slipping the left hand around the barrel to support the shooting poses. Finally, we have Fett's custom Gaffi stick and this new accessory appears to be made in two parts with the larger end cast in a deep brown to represent wood, and the other side a bright gold. The weapon fits into either or both hands and can be wielded in a number of positions. It features a simply tied strap that goes over the body to hand the Gaffi over Boba's back. This strap is not elasticated so avoid any significant strain as the knots will most likely deteriorate over time. Fett has 19 points of articulation across a pinless body. Both elbows and knees are single joints with a rotation and as mentioned are engineered to look like part of the sculpted robes. Boba includes the butterfly shoulders which don't move extensively but do help with the Gaffi stick and Cycler rifle poses. He also includes the two-part neck which gives more expressive head movements and removes the need for the visible joint in the neck itself. Everything works really well and Boba is easy to pose and display with each joint doing what is expected of it and holding in place securely. The trick is to get the pose then try and get the robe to sit around that - and sadly that is difficult and Boba still ends up looking off in a lot of positions purely on the back of the soft goods. As a huge Boba Fett fan, this was a figure I wanted to love. Sadly, he comes with a lot of issues and they are very visual issues in terms of the way the head is sculpted and then painted, and then the choice of fabric for the robes. Boba needed to look scarred and tattered and needed to be wearing the heavy almost sack life textured robes of the Tusken Raiders, instead, he does look more like a Jedi and while there are good poses in the figure, most of the ones I have tried end up looking flat and lifeless. I do remain an advocate of soft goods where required, and you couldn't do this Boba entirely in sculpted plastic without huge sacrifice on articulation. The figure is one that I suspect many will tweak with after-market cloaks. On the positive side, we get all three of Tython Boba's primary weapons, and the robes underneath are very well executed if you can train the soft goods to show them off by sitting off to the sides. I do feel this would have been a more suitable choice as the first figure in The Book of Boba Fett Galaxy Series, being a look he sports across both shows - starting TBOB series with Fennec Shand feels wrong when this figure was in the same wave? Here's hoping the subsequent Fett figures on the way do improve on what is essentially his transitional look between his apparent death in Jedi and his return in The Mandalorian. For more News, Reviews and a Checklist of Releases - visit our Star Wars Database If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Check out our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews, and store reports About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...