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2018 saw the release of the 4th and 5th Vehicle/Creature packs in the Star Wars Black Series 3rd phase packaging. The 4th release was the long awaited Dewback and Sandtrooper set, adding another creature to the collection and a further Sandtrooper variant with the grey pauldron. Packaging 4/5 The Dewback comes packed in large rectangular box with a small window on the bottom left through which the figure can be seen. The creature itself is secured in the box and that allows Hasbro to deliver it part assembled to save packaging space. Instead of seeing the actual creature, the front of the box is dominated by a large Gregory Titus illustration with a small cut in at the top left showing the Dewback and Sandtrooper. To keep in theme with the other 3rd phase boxes, the Dewback's left hand spine is coloured a deep red and is numbered as #04 in the series - following on directly from the original Tie Fighter and last years Speeders (Luke & Rey).The opposite spine has a different Titus illustration focusing this time on the Sandtrooper. Like the other releases, the box also carries some blueprint type images woven into the black backing colour. These sit predominantly on the top of the box and look OK but don't work as well as say the schematics of an actual vehicle rather than a creature. Round the back are a group of image panels showing off the Dewback and the Sandtrooper. To the side of these sits the bio text for both rider and creature. "SANDTROOPER Stormtroopers dispatched to desert worlds wear specialized gear and are nicknamed sandtroopers. Sandtroopers wear standard stormtrooper armor augmented with cooling units, a helmet filter, and a survival backpack with extra rations and water. While hunting for the Death Star plans on Tatooine, sandtroopers used native dewbacks as mounts." "DEWBACK Rugged reptiles with thick hides, dewbacks are plodding but reliable mounts. When prodded by their riders, they are capable of brief bursts of surprising speed." Dewback Paint & Sculpt 4/5 Out of the box the Dewback saddle has to be assembled to the creature by means of a shaped socket in its back and two plugs either side. Once done you can see the beauty of this creature and the execution by Hasbro. The skin is textured like a lizard and the body shape and proportions of the Dewback creature are captured extremely well - most likely using the Special Edition digitally added version rather than the original prop from 1977. The Dewback is cast in a green plastic, but has paint apps across its body to bring out the shading as well as the straps of its saddle. The only place this doesn't work is on the "fur" ridge running from the neck to the tail. This is left base green and would have been nicer painted or at least dry brushed in a darker colouring. The Dewback has been criticised as being undersized, but I don't see that and the rider and creature look well proportioned to me. Sandtrooper Paint & Sculpt 3/5 The Sandtrooper sculpt was first released in 2013 and is as old as the Black Series itself. The original trooper was a triumph and was only flawed by a bow legged look - and ironically this flaw allows it to act as a rider for the Dewback with only a couple of small tweaks to the original design. The body is cast in white gloss plastic with the joints in black and weathering is added on top to dirty up the armour. This is patchy and focused heavily on the head and torso with only a little on the legs and none on the arms which look clean in comparison. The pauldron, now grey on this release, is also weathered. While the majority of the Sandtrooper body remains identical to the 2013 release there has been a couple of minor tweaks to aid the figure sitting on the Dewback. The crotch area is cut higher to allow the ball joint hips more movement. The stomach section has also been tweaked with less pronounced detail - possibly allowing for a touch more movement in a seated position. Accessories 4/5 The accessories included are obviously for the Sandtrooper only. First is the electro pole that the Dewback riders use. This is cast in a dark grey gloss plastic with no other paint apps. Details are also limited to the shaped ends. The pole fits in either hand on the Trooper. Our trooper is also armed with a DLT-19 Heavy Blaster Rifle, another piece dating back to the 2013 launch of the line. This is cast in the same dark grey plastic and unlike previous versions gets no gunmetal dry brushing. It is designed to fit in the Trooper's right hand, with a flexible trigger finger slotting into the trigger. And to finish off our trooper has his survival backpack, the finishing touch to any Sandtrooper. Like all previous releases the backpack slots into place in a socket on the Troopers rear. The sculpt of the backpack remains unchanged with a softer plastic strap an pouch that wraps over the shoulder and hangs on the Troopers left hand shoulder and chest. Colouring on the pack is identical to previous releases - with no weathering, leaving it looking a little clean. Sandtrooper Articulation 4/5 Our Sandtrooper comes in at 18 points of articulation, coming from a time where both knees and elbows got double joints. Head - ball joint with pivot Body - ball jointed torso Arms - ball joint shoulders, bicep swivel, double jointed elbows, pivot wrist Legs - ball joint hips, thigh swivel, single joint knee, ankle rocker The arm articulation allows for some nice double handed weapon poses, but also to grip the reigns on the Dewback. The legs, with the shallower crotch piece, straddle the saddle well and he sits as comfortably on the Dewback as an Armoured Trooper can. Dewback Articulation 5/5 Putting the Trooper to shame, our Dewback rolls in with 23 points of articulation with some neat tricks like articulated claws front and back on each foot to allow it to be planted flat to the floor. Head : ball joint neck, pivot jaw and pivot tongue Body : ball joint tail Legs : front toe joint, rear toe joint, ankle joint, mid leg joint and hip joint The jaw is also articulated to give either an open or closed mouth look, and even the tongue inside the mouth is jointed to move with the jaw and be posed either sticking out in the middle or flat to the lower gum. The movement of the legs allows the Dewback a number of options such as raising the front legs to stand him up or lowering them to bow the head. All four feet however will need to be on the floor for him to stand on display. Summary The Dewback and Sandtrooper creature set is an awesome release with very few flaws. While you can argue both rider and mount might benefit from a few more paint apps - the sheet detail in the sculpt and the articulation are enough to offset this. As an expansion to your imperial forces, this figure and creature set is a must and I score it a solid 4 out of 5. See More Star Wars Black Series Figures

As Godzilla King of the Monsters hits cinema screens (seen it, very noisy and lots of fun) SH Monsterarts have confirmed they will be releasing two of the films protagonists as a webstore exclusive 2-pack. Mothra and Rodan will arrive in November 2019 and pre-orders are open now at the Bandai webstore for 11,000 yen. Both figures will come with a Tamashii Stage Stand to allow them to be posed in flight poses. The Bandai Spirits webstore does state International Shipping is available, but I can't quite work out if that means the UK or not and I don't trust Google Translate to give any more info. I'd suggest collectors outside of Japan may want to wait to check availability from their own distributors such as Bluefin.

NECA's 5th and penultimate San Diego Comic Con 2019 Exclusive reveal was the widely expected Superman vs Alien 2-pack. These figures had been first shown at the 2017 New York Toy Fair, but had been plagued with licencing issues and NECA have been limited to a small release as a convention exclusive. The set is based on the 1995 comic mini-series from DC and Dark Horse and includes a brand new 7 inch comic book Superman figure. Superman comes with neutral and angry head options as well as two clip on laser vision FX pieces. His cape is soft goods and to achieve a flying pose there are swap out hands from fists to flat palms. The Alien looks to be using the upcoming Alien Resurrection sculpt, with variant colouring. As with all of NECA's SDCC 2019 exclusives a pre-order system will be in place across June 5th through 7th, with limited amounts of all exclusives up for pre-order each day for delivery after SDCC 2019. This is restricted to US collectors only and for this set it has to be purchased as a package with the Batman vs Predator set for $120. A small quantity will then be on sale at the NECA booth at SDCC where fans can purchase sets separately. For UK and Worldwide collectors, the only avenue will be hitting up the secondary market. "DC Comics/Dark Horse Comics - 7” Scale Action Figures – Superman vs Aliens 2-Pack In the 1995 Superman/Aliens comic book mini-series co-published by DC Comics and Dark Horse, Superman faces the ferocious Xenomorphs on a search-and-rescue mission to a planet without a yellow sun, the source of his immense power. The set includes two brand new, comic book based figures, both with over 30 points of articulation. Superman stands approximately 7” tall, features a fabric cape and comes with attachable eye blast effect. The Alien stands approximately 9” tall and has a bendable tail. This action figure 2-pack is inspired by classic comic book mash-ups! This set is based on a DC/Dark Horse mini-series and comes in window box packaging with embossed opening flap. Retail: $60"

The final San Diego Comic Con 2019 Exclusive Reveal by NECA is a 2nd DC / Dark Horse themed set, this time with Batman taking on The Predator. These figures had been first shown at the 2017 New York Toy Fair, but had been plagued with licencing issues and NECA have been limited to a small release as a convention exclusive. The set is based on the 1991 comic mini-series from DC and Dark Horse and includes a brand new 7 inch comic book armoured Batman figure. Batman comes with a soft goods cape and is armed for Predator hunting with a gun and a baseball bat. The Predator is a previously unreleased version, but does include re-used parts. He includes two head options, backpack, wrist blades and a spear. As with all of NECA's SDCC 2019 exclusives a pre-order system will be in place across June 5th through 7th, with limited amounts of all exclusives up for pre-order each day for delivery after SDCC 2019. This is restricted to US collectors only and for this set it has to be purchased as a package with the Superman vs Alien set for $120. A small quantity will then be on sale at the NECA booth at SDCC where fans can purchase sets separately. For UK and Worldwide collectors, the only avenue will be hitting up the secondary market. "DC Comics/Dark Horse Comics - 7” Scale Action Figures – Batman vs Predator 2-Pack In the 1991 Batman Versus Predator comic book mini-series co-published by DC Comics and Dark Horse, the hunter becomes the hunted as Batman faces a deadly Predator stalking Gotham. The set includes two brand new, 7” scale comic book based figures, both with over 30 points of articulation. Batman features a fabric cape and comes with a gun and bat accessory. The Predator features 2 heads, removable backpack, retractable wrist blades and spear accessory." This action figure 2-pack is inspired by classic comic book mash-ups! This set is based on a DC/Dark Horse mini-series and comes in window box packaging with embossed opening flap. Retail: $60"

NECA has tweeted, following its SDCC 2019 announcements, a response to a question about the previous solicited Batman vs "Joker" Alien DC/Dark Horse set. The response pretty much confirms that this set will be a future convention exclusive - probably New York Comic Con 2019. The tweet also confirms there is a 4th set in the series, and speculation is that this may just be an as yet unseen Green Lantern vs Alien set from the 2000 comic mini-series.

Terminator 2 fans prepare to be frustrated.... NECA have announced, via TheArnoldFans.com, that their 7 inch scale John Connor and Dirt Bike from Terminator 2 will now be a San Diego Comic Con 2019 exclusive. That means availability will be limited to the US where you can either pre-order ahead of SDCC 2019 for delivery afterwards, or pickup at the NECA booth in San Diego. Either option has limited stocks and it seems like the Newt figure from a couple of years back - the UK collectors, and those worldwide will be left with only the secondary market (and inflated prices) if they want to add this figure to their collection. Looking at the figure, John comes with two head options - the bandana head being taken from the Universal Studios Battle Across Time Ride. There is also a a very cool Terminator Endoskeleton arm in glass tube, an accessory I am surprised we haven't had already in the line. He also comes with his Dirtbike and I will be interested to see how this stands for display as it is unclear in the promo images. His accessories are rounded out with his handy "cash machine" access device - for when he needs that easy money. We could do with one of those to afford the eBay prices and shipping to the UK. Update 31st May 2019 : Several Twitter users have followed up this announcement with Randy Falk and the response has been there is currently no plans for a general release of this figure - sad news and a real disappointment to fans of the franchise considering this was promoted on the packaging of a general release figure and the initial announcement made no reference to it being exclusive. "From Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the young John Connor joins NECA’s Ultimate line! This collector’s version of the boy who will become the leader of the future resistance features an authorized likeness of Edward Furlong and his iconic dirt bike which comes with its own display stand. The 7” scale figure has over 25 points of articulation, and also includes 2 interchangeable heads, removable backpack, hacking device, and Endoskeleton arm in display case. The box packaging, featuring Edward Furlong, has a display friendly window with an opening flap. John Connor is a fantastic addition of the Terminator 2 Ultimate line and he’ll be for sale at the NECA booth at SDCC with a retail of $50. Considering his many accessories, two heads, the low exclusivity and adding in a big dirt bike, we think the value is “easy money” to collectors."

Ronan the Accuser, in his first appearance from Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), was the 6th release of the Marvel Legends 10 years of the MCU releases in 2018. The series revisited films from the first 10 years of the MCU and gave us single, double and three packs of figures that were not released at the time of the initial movie release. Ronan the Accuser filled a considerable gap for Guardians of the Galaxy - and also (if they choose to) gives Hasbro a basis for his prequel appearance in Captain Marvel. Packaging 5/5 The First Ten Years packaging for Marvel Legends is a thing of beauty and moves to a uniform box rather than the scalloped side of the standard releases. The base colour is black with red bordering and carries both the Marvel Studios and the Movie logo around the figure window. Down the left spine is a data card design carrying the synopsis of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie. "SENT ON A MISSION BY THANOS TO RECOVER THE MYSTICAL ENTITY KNOWN AS THE ORDB, RONAN DISCOVERS THAT THE TARGET HE SEEKS IS IN FACT AN ALL-POWERFUL INFINITY STONE. RONAN USES THE STONE TO DESTROY THE NOVA CORPS FLEET, BUT IS ULTIMATELY DESTROYED BY HIS OWN GREEN WHEN THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY TAKE THE ORB BACK AND USE IT TO ENTIRELY OBLITERATE HIM." Round the back we have an image of the movie poster with a further text piece, this time specifically about Ronan - and unlike a lot of the MCU Legends and their non-spoilery text, this one may be short but covers some detail about Ronan and his motivation. "An avid loyalist to the Kree whose family was killed in the Kree-Nova War, Ronan agrees to a partnership with Thanos in order to take down the Nova Corps on Xander once and for all. The other spine of the box carries a series of images from the MCU and all of the initial ten releases can be lined up to create a larger figure montage. There is a further series of MCU panels on the inner card, this time in greyscale. Paint & Sculpt 5/5 The sculpt for Ronan is, as I've come to expect from the First Ten Years series newly sculpted figures, excellent with a great likeness to Lee Pace and a face printed face to give both texture and shading to his face and that black face paint. The body is also well executed, with the dark metallic armour in various shades and the red paint daubed across the chest. Whenever I had seen Ronan in the packaging I thought he was undersized. Thankfully that was a trick of the oversized box and Ronan stands an impressive 7 inch tall. Accessories 3/5 Ronan has a single accessory, his hammer. This seems to have been cast as two pieces. The head is good with textured sides, grooved pattern and there is even a "grain" for want of a better word in the plastic. There is a single bit of paint applied on the Power Stone, there is an attempt to show the stone glowing outward with some additional purple lines snaking out from the centre - but these don't work. The handle of the hammer is cast in a silver plastic and has some good definition around the handle piece, but is otherwise nondescript and is also warped out of the box and difficult to straighten. Considering the part already existed, it might have been nice to see Ronan come with the Orb containing the Power Stone too. When you look at the various parts included with the single release Red Skull vs Ronan - and at the same price - Ronan is sold a little short. Articulation 3/5 Ronan has 19 points of articulation Head - ball joint with pivot Body - mid-torso T-joint 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 The arms and torso joints work really well, and Ronan can achieve some two handed weapon stances. The legs are restricted by the skirt sections - but this is Ronan and all he really has to do is stand and look menancin. And stand well he does with all the joints coming tight and secure. The issue is how Hasbro have tackled the neck joint. The head turns fine on the neck peg but it takes the entire hood and shoulder section with it. Of course this looks ridiculous. While hooded figures are difficult to articulate at the head I would argue no articulation would have been better than this solution which absolutely no-one will use. Summary Ronan is one of my favourite MCU villains to date, and I am so pleased to get him into my Legends display. The execution of the sculpt and paint is excellent on the figure, just a little lacking on the hammer. The articulation is good, and the figure can be posed exactly how you would want to pose Ronan, there is just a very odd choice of execution on the neck joint. I score Ronan the Accuser a solid 4 out of 5. See more Marvel Legends MCU figures

Bandai have confirmed their next Star Wars 1/12 figure kit as the Astromech R4-M9. This release is essentially a recolouring of the previous R4-I9 droid and will be released in September 2019. As with all the Bandai kits, these will have to be imported into UK and expect to pay around £20 - £25 per kit. R4-M9 appeared in Star Wars A New Hope, he was an Imperial Astromech stationed aboard the Tantive IV when it was attacked and disabled in orbit around Tatooine.

After releasing images of the single release Karate Kid 8 inch figures, NECA have now followed this up with full imagery of the All Valley Karate Championship 2-pack of Daniel and Johnny in their competition gear. The set also includes the Championship Trophy as well as a competition mat backdrop. It is due to start shipping in June 2019.

Are you a fan of old school video games from the 80's and 90's? And if so, do you love action figures too? If so, this new Kickstarter may be of interest. Piko Interactive, a Texas company who hold rights to a number of video game licences, are planning to launch an action figure division, Toyetico, with a kickstarter now underway to fund their first figure(s). The launch figure will be Switchblade from the 1989 Core Design video game. The base figure for the kickstarter will be the main character Hiro, with plans for other key characters if the team at Toyetico exceed their base kickstarter target. These include ManSnake, Cresthed, Reptilon and Flamehog. The figures are designed with 9 points or articulated and are sculpted in a retro style akin to the much loved retro licences such as Playmates and Toybiz. Assuming the team can reach their goal the first figures will be with backers in the 4th Quarter of 2019. Checkout the kickstarter campaign here, and read on for the full press release "Abstract – Retro gaming character to lead new Piko Interactive toy line. Thursday May 30th, 2019 – San Antonio, Texas – Piko Interactive, a company that holds rights to video game properties such as Glover, Shadow Madness, 40 Winks, and many more is launching an action figure line. Toyetico is the subsidiary that will handle taking video game characters from Piko properties into the real world with custom action figures. These figures are 100% original and created in a similar fashion as other action figures gamers grew up with. The first title in this new toy line is the Gremlin Graphics action game, Switchblade. Under the ownership of Piko Interactive, Switchblade has seen a port to the Atari Jaguar and the Sega Genesis consoles. This is a common occurrence for Piko when they acquire the rights to titles, they begin work on completing any incomplete portions of a game then put in development ports to other platforms. Piko Interactive has also embraced the digital marketplace as well as continuing to support physical releases. The Switchblade toy line will feature Steam keys for a copy of the game included in the package. Originally developed by Core Design (Tomb Raider, Rick Dangerous, Wolfchild) and published by Gremlin Interactive (Top Gear, Body Harvest, Zool) Switchblade saw release on many platforms and garnered a cult following within the gaming community. Toyetico’s Kickstarter for the new Switchblade action figure line starts with the protagonist from the game, Hiro, with stretch goals allowing for expansion of the line to include enemies. Switchblade’s Hiro figure features nine points of articulation as well as a similar size to familiar action figure lines of the 1990’s such as Toybiz, Playmates, and Hasbro. This gives the Toyetico line of toys an instant familiarity for fans and collectors. Each action figure will ship in standardized packaging – blister pack on card with graphics depending on how well the Kickstarter performs (if additional enemies are unlocked then graphics on all cards could change significantly). The minimum funding goal is $8,500 which will pay for 1,000 figures to be created. Creation of those figures requires tooling and factory setup. Estimated delivery to backers is fourth quarter 2019.

NECA reveal the packaging for the Deluxe Crash Bandicoot action figure, with Aku Aku Mask. He is due to start shipping in June 2019.

Checkout this new Avengers Endgame Marvel Legends Captain America, arriving later this year as an exclusive to Walmart in the US. Cap includes both masked and unmasked head, using the face print technology. The body has additional scaled sculpting to make it more accurate to the Endgame appearance. He comes with his shield which is still in one piece - but is weathered from his battle with the hordes of Thanos. The other accessory is Mjolnir - allowing you to recreate the epic moment in Endgame. As with all US exclusive we would expect this to be readily available via the UK independents either via import ahead of the US release, or afterwards via the Hasbro UK distribution channels. It is unlikely that it will translate to an Asda exclusive here in the UK.