Search this site

Hasbro has unveiled the next full wave of Vintage carded Marvel Legend wave. Based on the X-men the wave reveal included figures first shown at New York Toy Fair and two new reveals in the guise of Iceman and a white costume Storm. The full wave of Wolverine, Silver Samurai, Storm, Dazzler, Cyclops and Iceman. The wave is due to ship in August and preorders are open now at most of the UK independent stockists. "A tribute to over 80 years of Marvel comic book history, the Marvel Retro 6-inch Collection features core Marvel characters with retro packaging and design. These Marvel action figures include multiple points of articulation, classic-inspired details, and a character-specific accessory. Collectors and kids alike can expand their Marvel collection with 6-inch scale figures from the Marvel Retro Collection. Figures each sold separately. Full set of 6 figures including Wolverine, Silver Samurai, Storm, Dazzler, Cyclops and Iceman."

Incendium have shared some new images of their planned 5 inch line of Bill & Ted action figures. Arriving in Summer 2019 and under Incendiums FigBiz banner, these figures stand 5 inch high and have 10 points of articulation. Both Bill and Ted come with their guitars and are presented on an appropriately designed blister card. The design of the figures is very much in the animate style of the Bill & Ted cartoons from 1990's as opposed to a more realistic movie style. The top of the card shows other characters such as Rufus, but is unclear if these will be released. The figures are priced at $29.99 and it is unclear at this stage if there will be any UK availability. "Help Bill & Ted pass their history class and avoid military school! Travel through time with these two most excellent figures. FigBiz officially licensed action figures are the perfect addition to any collection, inspired by the ultimate era of Saturday morning cartoons! Shipping Summer 2019"

Alongside the main wave of Captain Marvel Legends figures from Hasbro was an Exclusive version of Carol in her Binary Form. This release was exclusive to Walmart in the US and available via the Hasbro Fan Channels in the UK and sold via a number of independent stockists. Packaging 4/5 BInary Captain Marvel comes in the same packaging with the same design as the main wave releases. The character name sits in a gold panel and there is a gold backdrop to the figure with the Star Force emblem. There has been some degree of posing of Captain Marvel in the box as opposed to a neutral pose. This is OK, but not great and it does expose some gaps in the thigh joints straight off the peg. The two side art panels are identical and show Captain Marvel with her Binary Powers activating. There is then a wider shot of this on the reverse alongside a short piece of background text "Captain Marvel channels her powers of cosmic energy manipulation to access an elevated binary form that lets her blast down any galactic threats" Paint & Sculpt 4/5 This is of course the same figure sculpt as was released in the main wave, and in the Star Force Green in the other Walmart (US) / Fan Channel exclusive from the Captain Marvel movie. On the Binary Form release there has been some updates to the paint and the plastic. The unmasked Carol Danvers head uses the face print technology but the eyes are now painted in glowing orange. The hair piece has been recast in a translucent orange that does look impressive when lit correctly. The same translucent plastic has been used on both arms with painting starting solid at the top shoulder and fading into the orange plastic at the wrists. This again looks great when lit, but of course unlike the head there are inner workings that can be seen within the translucency such as the arm pins and joints. The uniform is well painted with gold and red applied onto the base blue plastic. There are a few untidy bits, but nothing disastrous with all the gold trim in good order. Captain Marvel also comes with a second masked head option. Here the hair is also replaced for the translucent plastic and the eyes are again coloured in glowing orange. Accessories 5/5 While we do lose the alternative hands that come with the mainstream release, the Binary Form Captain Marvel has four accessory pieces to show off that immense cosmic energy. The first two are balls of translucent orange that slot onto the fists of the hands. These are a touch darker than the arm but sill capture the light and have a glowing effect once lit. Both sides are different too so they are not a simple repack of the same accessory twice over. These power balls also fit the other Captain Marvel figures. The second accessories are the soft rubbery energy strands we have seen on other Legends figures. I thought these may just be the Scarlet Witch pieces recoloured, but they are different (they may be off another release I am not familiar with). The two pieces snake around the lower arm and really set off the glowing arms and they also hide some of those inner gubbins. These wraps can also be used when the energy balls are in play for truly Binary powered look. Articulation 4/5 Captain Marvel has 16 points of articulation, consistent with other female releases. Head : ball jointed pivot neck Body : ball joint torso Arms : ball joint shoulder, single joint rotating elbow, pivot wrists Legs : ball joint hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees, ankle rockers Posing Carol is quite a lot of fun as she is very mobile in most areas. She works great on a flight stand if you have one as I always envisage the Binary Power as being used as she is flying around in combat. It would be nice if we can get to a double jointed elbow on female figures as that is the only area on Captain Marvel that is a little subpar. It is worth also noting that while the shoulder pads do bend with the arm to a point, they are also a little restrictive. All the joints on our figure are solid and tight and Carol stands perfectly well unaided. Summary While this may be a tweaked version of a main release, and the second exclusive to use the exact same sculpt, this is a perfect exclusive with enough variation to make it worth buying - potentially even over the basic version as this one looks so much more impressive, especially when lit. The figure has the same issues as the other releases, notably the arm articulation which is the same as any female Marvel Legend figure. I am also not overly convinced by the box posing. If you find this figure, then grab it and if you really want to make it stand out then invest in a suitable flight stand and perhaps some spot lighting to really make her shine I score the Binary Powers Captain Marvel a 4 out of 5. See More Marvel Legends MCU Figures

2018 saw the Marvel Legends contingent of Netflix MCU characters expand with new figures of Luke Cage, Iron-Fist and Colleen Wing in a SDCC 2018 exclusive pack along with tweaked figures of Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Following the SDCC set, it was confirmed that the Luke Cage sculpt was getting a general release as a 2-pack, the surprise was then the 2nd figure being the Netflix MCU regular Claire Temple (and not Iron-Fist as expected). The set was released in the US as a Walmart exclusive and elsewhere as a fan channel option. This review is for the Luke Cage figure, checkout the corresponding Claire Temple review. Packaging 4/5 The packaging for Luke and Claire is the standard 2 pack box with the same scooped sides as the single releases. Hasbro has then retained the same colour scheme for the packaging as the 2017 Netflix figures from the Marvel Knights wave, with deep red card back. The two side panels are also done in the same style with a comic-noir type image in shades of black and deep red. But while the style is similar, the choice of images are not as good or as gritty as the 2017 ones, particularly the left hand spine Luke cage image with the illustrated bullet ricochets. which doesn't quite work as well as say the Elektra and Daredevil illustrations. The rear of the box carries promotional images of both Claire and Luke and a short bio. "When Luke Cage meets Claire Temple, he discovers even a bullet proof man sometimes needs someone to help him keep it together" Once out of the box it is a nice touch to see a cityscape in the red of the figure card back. This is another link to the original Netflix releases which had similar imprinted city views. Paint & Sculpt 4/5 Luke is essentially the same figure as the SDCC release, but now with a yellow T-Shirt rather than red. The head sculpt is a great likeness to Mike Colter and is sculpted as a mean and moody Luke Cage. The use of the face print technology results in some intense and realistic eyes under Colter's brow, and a more natural finish to his beard. The rest of the outfit is quite plain. The T-shirt is sculpted with some degree of folds and creases, but is a single colour yellow. The cut of the arms at the shoulder is not the prettiest, and while this helps articulation (as we will see) it does throw the look of the figure in a neutral arms by side stance. The trousers have more detail with a denim style finish. The trousers do seem to sit a little high over Luke's boots. There is a nice touch with the watch on Luke's wrist. This is well sculpted, but left quite plain in a grey colour. Luke and Claire do scale really well together with Luke a touch taller. The issue I guess is that it feels as though including Claire in this set kind of robs us of the Iron-Fist general release we had all potentially expected in this 2-pack. Accessories N/A Luke comes with no accessories or any alternative body parts. While this is not a disaster, a couple of variant hand options would have been nice. Articulation 5/5 Luke has an articulation count of 19 joints, fairly standard for a male figure. Head - ball joint with pivot Body - T-Joint Torso and waist swivel Arms - ball joint shoulders, bicep swivel, double jointed elbows, pivot wrist Legs - ball joint hips, thigh swivel, single joint knee, ankle rocker Posing Luke is really easy, with no armour or capes you can really go to town with fighting poses to hands on hips intimidation stances. All the joints are tight and move well and the figure stands perfectly. The rounded shoulders do look a bit off from a sculpt point of view, but allow great arm movement. And the same is said of those high trousers over the cut of the boot - which actually allows greater range on the ankle rocker. Summary Scoring Luke as a figure, I have found very little to criticise. Where an area doesn't look 100% from an aesthetic view (those shoulders, boot cut) the reasons are clearly to help articulation, and that works as posing Luke is a joy. I score Luke Cage a solid 4 out of 5. From the perspective of the set overall, this is a also a strong 4 out of 5 set. While sum may not be pleased about the inclusion of Claire over Iron-Fist, the execution of both figures is great and a worthy addition to the Netflix MCU collection. See More Marvel Legends Figures

2018 saw the Marvel Legends contingent of Netflix MCU characters expand with new figures of Luke Cage, Iron-Fist and Colleen Wing in a SDCC 2018 exclusive pack along with tweaked figures of Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Following the SDCC set, it was confirmed that the Luke Cage sculpt was getting a general release as a 2-pack, the surprise was then the 2nd figure being the Netflix MCU regular Claire Temple (and not Iron-Fist as expected). The set was released in the US as a Walmart exclusive and elsewhere as a fan channel option. This review is for the Claire Temple figure, checkout the corresponding Luke Cage review. Packaging 4/5 The packaging for Luke and Claire is the standard 2 pack box with the same scooped sides as the single releases. Hasbro has then retained the same colour scheme for the packaging as the 2017 Netflix figures from the Marvel Knights wave, with deep red card back. The two side panels are also done in the same style with a comic-noir type image in shades of black and deep red. But while the style is similar, the choice of images are not as good or as gritty as the 2017 ones, particularly the left hand spine Luke cage image with the illustrated bullet ricochets. which doesn't quite work as well as say the Elektra and Daredevil illustrations. The rear of the box carries promotional images of both Claire and Luke and a short bio. "When Luke Cage meets Claire Temple, he discovers even a bullet proof man sometimes needs someone to help him keep it together" Once out of the box it is a nice touch to see a cityscape in the red of the figure card back. This is another link to the original Netflix releases which had similar imprinted city views. Paint & Sculpt 3/5 Claire does hold a strong likeness to Rosario Dawson and uses the face print technology. The face is sculpted with a smile on Claire's face, which does work against her as we will see a bit later in some of the posing. The hair, I think, is a re-use from another figure as its not a great match to the style Claire has in most of her Netflix appearances - it should be more towards her eyes on her right, and swept back further on the left. The body to most likely uses some generic female parts, and puts Claire in a plain black top with some sculpting around the collar. The trousers/leggings do look off in places with the thigh cut in particular throwing the line of the leg. Claire scales really well with the packed in Luke Cage figure, sitting a touch smaller than Mike Colter's Luke. Accessories 5/5 Claire is packed with a whole raft of options starting with her bag - another re-use from a previous figure (Mary Jane). This is coloured in a dark plastic with silver around the clasp. It will sit over Claire's shoulder, although it is a bit too big to sit naturally. The blue hands did throw me to start with, but then I realised these are latex medical gloves and that of course makes perfect sense considering Claire is regularly patching up one or more of the Netflix lead characters. The right gloved hand is simply the standard hand painted blue with the left being a similarly splayed version. Claire can be armed too with the Fighting Claws she sported in her time in the Iron-Fist 1st season. These do allow Claire to take up some action poses, but when doing so her smiling expression is not quite a fit and she looks far to jolly to be sporting such dangerous weapons. Articulation 4/5 Claire has 16 points of articulation, the usual count for a female Marvel Legend body. Head - ball joint with pivot Body - torso ball joint Arms - ball joint shoulders, single jointed rotating elbows, pivot wrist Legs - ball joint hips, thigh swivel, single joint knee, ankle rocker Being so slim, the posing options on Claire are extensive and even with the single rotating elbows, she can get those Tiger Claws up in some good fighting poses. All the joints are tight and work well. The ankles are perhaps too tight and our figure had to have a bit of a hot water soak to get them working - there is perhaps a touch too much plastic over the joint where those leggings meet the shoes. Summary While she may not have been the figure we wanted packed with Luke, there is no denying that Claire Temple is a very well executed figure - even with some re-used parts from older Marvel Legends. We can argue that the hair piece is not quite right, and I personally would have preferred a more grim faced Claire. But you then have to look at the volume of accessories and the extensive articulation, even without the double jointed elbows we see on the male figures. I score Claire Temple a 4 out of 5. From the perspective of the set overall, this is a also a strong 4 out of 5 set. While sum may not be pleased about the inclusion of Claire over Iron-Fist, the execution of both figures is great and a worthy addition to the Netflix MCU collection. See More Marvel Legends Figures

New images have been released for the SH Figuarts Hulk figure from Avengers Endgame. Hulk comes with two head options and is scheduled for an October 2019 release. While he looks the business, the last image indicates he may be a little under scaled vs the other 6 inch scale SH Figuarts Avengers.

While Mattel may be winding up the DC licence before it moves over to McFarlane, but they do have a new wave of Multiverse 6 inch figures coming in Summer 2019. The wave is made up of 6 figures and each will contain parts to build a 7th figure, the awesome Batman Ninja. The figures include Beast Boy, Starfire, John Stewart Green Lantern, Wally West Flash, Nightwing and a DC TV Black Lightning. "Fans and collectors will love these highly detailed 6" key DC character figures. Each one features 20 points of articulation, detailed battle suits, authentic paint, iconic elements, and a bonus piece to build Ninja Batman! Product Features 6 inches (15.24cm) Based on the DC Comics characters Features 20 points of articulation Highly detailed battle suits Build Ninja Batman Box Contents Beast Boy figure, Piece to build Ninja Batman Starfire figure, Piece to build Ninja Batman John Stewart Green Lantern figure, Piece to build Ninja Batman Wally West Flash figure, Piece to build Ninja Batman Nightwing figure, Piece to build Ninja Batman Black Lightning figure, Piece to build Ninja Batman"

Following on from the news NECA have arranged a licencing deal for their 7 inch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figures worldwide, it was announced today that the 7 inch movie figures will now be following the cartoon figures to the UK. The set of Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, based on their appearance in the 1990 TMNT movie, will arrive between October and November 2019 and will be the single packed releases that had been exclusive to Gamestop in the US. Pre-orders are up across many of the UK independents with prices ranging from £85 to £90 for a full set of Turtles and £23 - £25 for the singles. Checkout pre-orders at our good friends Kapow Toys.

NECA have revealed the packaging for their Rodan figure from Godzilla King of the Monsters. Rodan should begin shipping later this month in the US.

Godzilla - 7" Scale Action Figure – Rodan (2019) NECA is thrilled to present its next figure from the upcoming, hotly anticipated Godzilla: King of the Monsters movie! Based on the monster’s on-screen appearance in this sequel to the 2014 Godzilla movie, Rodan features articulated wings and includes a display base with support rod for simulated in-air poses. Review : Q3 2019

Funko will continue their range of products for Dark Crystal for the Netflix Series, Age of Resistances, which is released on the 30th of August 2019. After releasing a series of 3.75 inch figures back in 2017 from the 1982 movie, Funko have a wave of new figures - apparently in the same scale - for the new Netflix series. The wave of 6 figures is revealed in this (low res) photo and includes what looks to be a repaint or rehash of the 2017 Aughra figure. Everything else appears new. The six figures are named as Deet, Crystal Spider, Rian, Poddling Hum, armoured Skeksis and Aughra. The original Dark Crystal line from Funko failed to hit UK shores in any depth and was impeded by exclusive releases of key figures like the Landstrider and Garthim that turned off collectors as prices skyrocketed (me included). Let's hope that the new Age of Resistance figures are easier to find. We may still have larger figures on the way from McFarlane who picked up the Dark Crystal licence in 2017. The new Netflix show may be a launchpad for McFarlane to now bring these to market? Watch the trailer for Dark Crystal : Age of Resistance below...

Hasbro Pulse has unveiled the next wave of Marvel Legends figures, the X-Men Wendigo wave. The wave includes 6 comic book characters tied to the X-Men and includes members of X-Force and Alpha Flight. Badged under the X-Men line are Nightcrawler and Mr. Sinister. From X-Force we get the X-Force Wolverine, Boom Boom and Cannonball. Alpha Flight are represented by The Guardian and the BAF of the wave, Wendigo who was a key enemy of Alpha Flight. The figures are due for an August release and pre-orders are already open across the UK independents and worldwide.