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Welcome to our review of the 2015 release of John Diggle from Arrow by DC Collectibles. John was the 9th figure in the DCC Arrow figures, released alongside Arsenal and Felicity Smoak. Packaging 3/5 The DCC packaging for John Diggle is made up of the plain white box with angled side panel. The window wraps round this paneled section, and the character name (John Diggle) is printed directly onto the window. As an Arrow release, the Arrow TV show logo sits under the window. There is then a green band wrapping the bottom of the box into which sits the various warning messages. The figures number is in an arrowhead symbol on the corner piece and John is number 9. The side panel to the left of the box as you look at it carries an art panel and this is a shot of John Diggle from the TV show. Oddly this image shows John in a black tank top, not the shirt and jacket he is wearing as a figure. Under this the green bar wraps and stretches upward and has a further Arrow logo (now in white) with the character name and numbering repeated. On the rear of the box we have a third, and now larger, Arrow logo and beneath this the three figures from the wave positioned against a window overlooking a city scape. Each figure is numbered and named, but there is no background text or character bio. The figure is released via either of the two side panels and slides out in an inner cardboard tray with the same cityscape as the rear of the box. John is secured in place with three twisty ties, and these can rub paint of the figure so be careful when removing. Similarly the hands are taped over with sticky tape and this can also remove the paint type DCC use on these figures. Paint & Sculpt 1/5 The immediate likeness to actor David Ramsey is pretty good, one of the better ones on these DCC Arrowverse figures. The skin tone is good with a wash to bring out the definition around the eyes, lips and nose. The eyes are painted neatly and realistic and the cropped hair has a texture and is not just painted onto the head. The big issue is that the head is far too small for the body. The head is almost the same as you'd find on a 1/12 Marvel Legends figure - but the body is made to a 6 3/4 inch scale, somewhere between 1/11 and 1/10 scale. The proportional issues don't stop there sadly. The body has problems too with a giant pair of feet and arms that are a touch too short. Arms should, on most humans, be touching the mid thigh not the waist? And to top it off we then have tiny hands to further worsen the figures position. The outfit itself, if you ignore the proportions, is well done with a purple shirt complete with buttons and creased detail. Over this is his grey jacket, complete with dry brushing to give it some depth and dimension. The trousers are a dark blue, but again with some washed detail to bring out the sculpt. Articulation 2/5 Diggle has 15 points of articulation, which is fairly consistent with the other Arrowverse figures. The head is seated on a ball joint so it can rotate as well as look up and down a few degrees. The arms are ball jointed at the shoulder and can be raised and rotated fully. The elbows are disappointing with a single joint that only just gets past 45 degrees when bent, this joint is also terrible for paint wear with flakes of grey paint coming off the first time you bend it. The arms end with plugged hands that rotate. John comes with two other pairs of hands on top of the fists he comes fitted with. While the gripping hands make sense for the weapon the other set, a wider pair of gripping hands, have no use at all and there inclusion is therefore an odd one. There is no waist or torso joint, so the body remains fixed when posing. The legs are a little more mobile with T-joint hips that swing out to the front and the side. Beneath these are a rotating thigh and the double jointed knees. While the knee movement is great, the ankle joint is far from useful being a rotation joint only with no rocker. That means while Diggle can get in crouched and action stances thanks to the hips and knees, his giant feet are often not planted to the floor and look even worse. Accessories 2/5 John has one accessory, a basic black plastic cast handgun with no discernable paint apps. It fits in either of the two gripping hands we saw earlier, both of which are designed with trigger fingers that slot in place. With limited arm articulation the firing poses for the weapon are slim, and there is no holster or anywhere to keep it when not in use (other than the bits box). Summary I must admit I had avoided John Diggle for some time in the Arrowverse figures and was concentrating on the more visual "heroes in suits". John came up in a Sale recently for a fiver including postage. We must remember however this is a £20 figure when released at retail and while I can look past the articulation issues on these DCC figures, this one is so disproportionate I am almost embarrassed to have him on display. With the paint job and likeness I can stretch to a two star review, scoring John Diggle a disappointing 2 out of 5. One for completists only.

The McFarlane / Skybound 5 inch Walking Dead action figures have been in most B&M stores for a month or so now. It seems these are now being reduced to clear to £8 each for both the standard packs and the GI Joe inspired Real Apocalypse Hero carded figures. Look out for them in various places around stores depending on the volume left. I found them on main toy aisle, on a clearance aisle and on the end of an aisle on a pegged section.

For anyone who wants to venture into Hawkins Bazaar, there are some DC Collectible figures reduced to £13 in their current clearance. The figures are a bit of a mismatch and include DC Comic Essentials Wonder Woman, Designer Series Terry Dodson Cyborg, Icons Aquaman, Icons Superman, Designer Series Darwyn Cooke Harley Quinn and Batman Arkham Knight Commissioner Gordon.

Happy #SatTOYDay Issue 94 is our end of year special. We firstly wrap up the news from the past few weeks including a whole load of new reveals and teases from NECA including our cover image, Ripley 8 from Alien Resurrection. There have also been new reveals from Hasbro for both Star Wars and Marvel, as well as from Mezco, McFarlane, Diamond Select and more In the second half of Issue 94 I pick out my top 15 figures of 2018 as well as take a look at 2019 and make some predictions about figures we may see from various toy companies. CLICK HERE to read the latest issue, or visit our archive of older issues #ActionFigure #News #Hasbro #NECA #McFarlane #Mezco

NECA have tweeted two new images of their Alien Resurrection 7 inch scale Xenomorph. This new figure is part of the Resurrection wave coming in Spring 2019 that will also include the Newborn Alien and Ripley 8. This new Xenomorph looks to have the latest Xenomorph articulation, as used on the recent Ultimate releases of the 1986 Aliens Warriors. "The Resurrection Warrior is coming for you this Spring. #facehuggerfriday" (NECA, Twitter)

SH Figuarts have released the promotional images for their next Harry Potter 1/12 release, Professor Severus Snape. The Professor is dressed in his trademark black robes, although there is no flowing outer cape we see in some of the movies. There are two head options, both a great likeness to Alan Rickman, as well as hand options. His sole accessory will be his wand. Snape is due for a release in May 2019 and should be available on import to UK specialists for circa £50

Tamashii Nations have released the first promotional images of their SH Monsterarts figures from Godzilla King of Monsters. Making landfall first will be Godzilla. He is due to arrive in May 2019 and stands around 150mm / 6 inches tall. He is fully articulated and includes an atomic breath FX piece. Godzilla has a 7020 Yen RRP which works out at about £50. You will need to pay a premium on this for import to the UK. Dwarfing Godzilla at 250mm (nearly 10 inches) high and with a 600mm (almost 2ft) wingspan is King Ghidorah. The promo shots do show the wings to be self supporting, but you also get clear supports to use which indicates there may be some overbalancing issues. He is due to arrive May/June 2019 and has a price tag of 18360 Yen, that is £131.

For those who follow the site will know, for the past 4-years the site has been funded privately by myself. Recently we've teamed up with a couple of companies who contribute towards some of our costs in return for advertising space. We also work with a selected number of affiliates to earn commission on products our visitors may buy via a link on our site. As the site grows and hosting prices increase we now need to expand our site partners to cover our rapidly rising costs. I prefer to this with arrangements with companies who work in the UK Action Figure sector as opposed to going down the Google Adsense route, with any form of clickbait payments or by constantly pushing Affiliate Links. I have set up the Contributors page so any interested parties can see what they would get for their money - with options from simple "Directory" listings starting as low as £5, #SatTOYday advertising from £5 per issue up to full page sponsorship starting at £20 a month. If you are interested, then please visit our Contributors page to have a look at our options then feel free to drop us a line to discuss further. Any prices agreed in January will be fixed for the whole of 2019.

NECA unveil the packaging for their Bride of Chucky 2-Pack. The set, due for release by end of the year, brings us figure of Chucky and his bride Tiffany as well as an assortment of head and hand options. The pair also get an armoury of weapons and even a bottle of bubbly to toast their nuptials. The set, like all Ultimate releases, includes an opening front flap to reveal the figures.

As expected, Diamond have released details of their next Marvel Cinematic Universe release as Captain Marvel. The titular character from the 2019 blockbuster is only shown as a silhouette image and with accompanying text that states this will be Captain Marvel in her Starforce uniform - which is the green uniform rather than the classic red and blue. Release is tentatively schedule for May 2019, which may be optimistic when you consider the situation with the Infinity War releases. "A Diamond Select Toys release! It's official! The next highly anticipated release in the Marvel Select action figure line is none other than Captain Marvel herself, in her Starforce uniform! Measuring approximately 7" tall with approximately 16 points of articulation, this movie release will feature the likeness of actress Brie Larson and is sure to be the next sought-after figure in the line! Packaged in display-ready Select packaging, with side-panel artwork for shelf reference"

After a few teasers, NECA have now shared this image of their quarter scale 18 inch shredder figure from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The figure is likely to be a mid to late 2019 release.

Mezco have announced a new Green Lantern One:12 figure as a Previews Exclusive for 2019. This is Hal Jordan's Green Lantern as opposed to the John Stewart main release. The figure will share the Stewart body, but comes with two sculpted Hal Jordan heads as well as an updated uniform. The accessories remain the same as the Stewart figure, albeit the hands are now white in colour. These accessories include Lantern ring FX pieces as well as a Lantern with light up feature. As a Previews Exclusive he will only be available via specialists and comic book stores. He is priced at $85 and is due for an August release. "Intergalactic guardian of Sector 2814, Harold 'Hal' Jordan, is presented in his Green Lantern Corps uniform. Intricately detailed and featuring a 3D chest insignia, his fitted suit features wrist gauntlets, combat gloves, and mid-calf boots. Included is a real light-up Power Battery lantern as used by the Green Lantern Corps to recharge their power rings. Activate the light-up feature by placing the right fisted hand in the recess of the lantern. The One:12 Collective Hal Jordan features a One:12 Collective body that features 32 points of articulation and stands about 6.5" tall! He comes with eleven interchangeable hands that include smoke, star, shield blast and energy ball effects, plus two interchangeable heads and Power Battery with ring activated light-up function! Hal comes with a One:12 Collective display base with logo and adjustable display post for easy posing! Each One:12 Collective Hal Jordan figure is packaged in a collector friendly box, designed with fans in mind!"