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Review : Lord Marshall The Chronicles of Riddick, SOTA Wave/Series : Series 1 (one series only) Released : 2004 Price : N/A 12 years ago Riddick, as played by Vin Diesel, got a follow up to his debut in Pitch Black. The Chronicles of Riddick picked up Riddick's story after his escape in Pitch Black. And like any good Action Movie, a range of figures were released to support the movie. The figures were about 7 inch in scale, and released by SOTA (State of the Art) Toys. SOTA had been making figures for about 4 years at this point, and would go on to be most famous for their Street Fighter and other Capcom licences. The Chronicles of Riddick figures were released as a single wave containing 5 figures. There was also a special exclusive release of Riddick in Necro armour with Hellhound. It has obviously been 12 years since these figures hit shelves, so buying them now is secondary market only and the majority of these now fetch at least double the £20 you would pay for a 7" figure. There are cheaper loose options, which is the route I have gone down, but watch out for missing accessories and some other "issues" which I will discuss over this course of reviews. So in this 2nd review of our retrospective look, we stick with the Necromongers and take a look at the Lord Marshall. All the Riddick figures were presented on a plain trapezoid card back, with blister front containing the figure. The front of the card depicts a monolith of the Necromonger on an orange, fiery sky background. The SOTA Toys logo sits in the top left aside the peg cut out. The blister, also Trapezoid in shape, contains the figure - surrounded by the associated accessories. An insert is placed into the front of each blister containing a head shot of the character on top of the Chronicles of Riddick log. Under this is the character name. Round the back, and all the card backs are identical. The card background continues the Necromonger theme on a fiery orange finish. The films logo sits on top, under which is the statement "Action Figures with 16+ Points of Articulation". Under this is a couple of paragraphs that sets up the plot of the film. Arranged in a V shape under this are the five key figures, with Riddick himself on the point of the V. The special Hellhound set then sits to one side in the bottom right corner as you look. Lord Marshall Zhylaw stands at 7 inches tall and comes packed with a helmet, staff (missing from our review figure) and a Necromonger axe. The sculpt is one of the stronger ones in the Riddick line, and a good match for actor Colm Feore who played the Lord Marshall in the film.The angular face is well painted, with particularly good paint application to the eyes. The hair, less so impressive, is almost a flat black on a particularly odd texture which tries to mimic the look in the film, but sadly fails. The armour, like Vaako, is well done with plenty of detail built into the chest plates, shoulder plates and indeed down the arms to the bracers. Like Vaako though, Lord Marshall also suffers from sticky plastic and attracts a considerable amount of dust and debris once loose. This will discolour the chest armour and the shoulder armour which start to bleach with a white colour. This is a shame, particularly when you look at the deep black and gloss colour on the arms and legs which would have been particularly impressive if it had been carried throughout the figure. That being said, Lord Marshall's paint colouring on the armour is much closer to the film props than Vaako. Articulation for these Riddick figures is pretty good considering the age. A ball jointed head rotates the un-helmeted head fully and he can look up and down. The shoulders, like Vaako, are on a ball joint but are held back a little by the shoulder pads which are move-able via pins front and back. The shoulder pad pins are very fragile, and my figure's right shoulder has already snapped under very little pressure. The arms continue with bicep swivels and elbow joints and finish up with rotating wrists. Any waist joint is locked and there is no movement, so the next articulation are the two way hip joints and these will allow Lord Marshall to do the splits but forward movement is blocked for some reason and therefore the figure will not sit down or kneel. The thigh swivels are still there, and don't add much to the figure other than making the legs look odd when you rotate the thigh as the armour all slides out of line. The knees are a single joint and hidden neatly by the knee armour, and these will go to the full 90 degrees. Finally the ankles and these are on rockers so will rotate and flex to either side to support the feet being flat to the floor. My Lord Marshall figure is much more stable than Vaako, but the hips do feel loose and the ankles not robust enough to support the weight of the figure - which is quite substantial as were most figures of that age (early 2000's). The axe is really nice, with a brushed bronze finish. It fits neatly into the right hand and can be cradled by the open palmed left hand if needed. The helmet is also really well done. Sadly it is in the same material as the chest armour and therefore is both sticky and bleaching to a white colour. It looks really good when fitted, and can be worn forward with face exposed, or backwards with the sculpted Necromonger mask looking out. But to achieve this it is extremely tight to fit and just two or three occasions of putting it on and taking it off will generate paint rub, particularly the hair, but also down into the eye brows and nose. Lord Marshall is one of the better figures in the Riddick range, and it is just a shame that the plastic chemical issues will cause any loose figures to degrade. Watch out for paint rub also and for those potentially weak leg joints which may well encourage shelf diving. All in all, and compared with the rest of the Riddick range and other figures of the era, I award the Lord Marshall a 3 out of 5.

Review : Vaako The Chronicles of Riddick, SOTA Wave/Series : Series 1 (one series only) Released : 2004 Price : N/A 12 years ago Riddick, as played by Vin Diesel, got a follow up to his debut in Pitch Black. The Chronicles of Riddick picked up Riddick's story after his escape in Pitch Black. And like any good Action Movie, a range of figures were released to support the movie. The figures were about 7 inch in scale, and released by SOTA (State of the Art) Toys. SOTA had been making figures for about 4 years at this point, and would go on to be most famous for their Street Fighter and other Capcom licences. The Chronicles of Riddick figures were released as a single wave containing 5 figures. There was also a special exclusive release of Riddick in Necro armour with Hellhound. It has obviously been 12 years since these figures hit shelves, so buying them now is secondary market only and the majority of these now fetch at least double the £20 you would pay for a 7" figure. There are cheaper loose options, which is the route I have gone down, but watch out for missing accessories and some other "issues" which I will discuss over this course of reviews. So to kick us off in this retrospective series of reviews, we will take a look at the Vaako figure. All the Riddick figures were presented on a plain trapezoid card back, with blister front containing the figure. The front of the card depicts a monolith of the Necromonger on an orange, fiery sky background. The SOTA Toys logo sits in the top left aside the peg cut out. The blister, also Trapezoid in shape, contains the figure - surrounded by the associated accessories. An insert is placed into the front of each blister containing a head shot of the character on top of the Chronicles of Riddick log. Under this is the character name. Round the back, and all the card backs are identical. The card background continues the Necromonger theme on a fiery orange finish. The films logo sits on top, under which is the statement "Action Figures with 16+ Points of Articulation". Under this is a couple of paragraphs that sets up the plot of the film. Arranged in a V shape under this are the five key figures, with Riddick himself on the point of the V. The special Hellhound set then sits to one side in the bottom right corner as you look. Moving onto the figure now, and our Vaako was purchased as a loose figure. In the gallery therefore he is missing his helmet. Siberius Vaako stands 7 inches high and like other figures of his era (Hellboy for example) he is pretty weighty vs more modern counterparts. The sculpt is really good, with the head bearing a decent likeness for Karl Urban. The head does feel a bit too small though, particularly when he is lined up with other Riddick figures. The head does sport Vaako's very interesting hair cut, and even has flexible dreadlocks on the back. The head is painted quite flatly, with a single skin tone, although there is good detail in the eyes and mouth - and a fairly successful attempt to represent shaved hair to the sides. The hair has a bit more colour applied to bring out the texture. The armour is really nicely sculpted, with plenty of ridged detail and intricate carving. The shoulder pads are particularly impressive, as are the bracers on the fore arms and the shins. Sadly there are issues. First and foremost is the issue of stickiness. Nearly all of the Riddick figures suffer from a sticky feel, caused by chemicals in the paint/plastic leeching out. In reality the impact of this sticky finish is the figure attracts dirt and dust like a vacuum cleaner. Any any loose figure you buy will be in a pretty nasty condition. They can be improved by soaking them in a washing up liquid solution (absolutely at your own risk) for a good 12 hours, and then lightly scrubbed with a toothbrush. Once my figure was cleaned, the secondary issue presented itself. The armour is painted quite badly, with very odd patches of brown over a dark grey almost black base. The paint works in some areas, but in others it looks like big brown stains. The whole thing is also too light and too brown vs the look of Vaako in the film, and this is apparent if you stand him next to the Lord Marshall. Moving onto articulation, and this starts at the head which uses a ball joint. This means the head can rotate fully and look up and down. Onto the arms, and the shoulder pads are articulated separate to the arms. The shoulder-pads are pinned front and back, so they will move up and down with the arm. The arm underneath is on a ball joint, and this will be able to achieve a full range of movement. unfortunately the shoulder pads, even with this joint, can't move far enough to let Vaako get his arms anywhere near being over his head, or in a weapon striking pose. The shoulder pads are also a distinct area of weakness with the pins prone to snapping and leaving your pad hanging loose. Just under the shoulder joint is a swivel bicep, and this is needed as further down the arm the elbows are a single 90 degree joint with no swivel. Thankfully utilising this bicep movement means Vaako can get his weapon into two hands. The arms finish with a simple rotation on both wrists. The waist on Vaako is jointed, so the whole torso can swivel round. The legs are then jointed at the hips with one of those T-shape joints that can swing the leg out front or to the side. The forward movement is blocked after a while by the skirt of the armour, so the legs will be held to wider action poses only - no kneeling. These hip joints are also really loose, and Vaako is really hard to stand up. A split thigh swivel sits a few mm's under the hip, and although it works well enough it does throw off the lines of the armour when used. Under here is a single joint knee that moves to 90 degrees and no more. Then we end with a rocker ankle, and this like the hips is far too lose and won't hold the weight of the figure. A complete Vaako will come with a Necromonger helmet, and this is made of a softer plastic material that does allow it to be fitted onto his head really well. Being tight though it will start to rub the paint after a while. Vaako also comes with his pretty impressive three bladed axe. This itself is 7 inches in length. It can be held in either hand, or with some adjustment in a two handed offensive pose. The axe is painted well enough and there is a lot of sculpted detail in the blades, perhaps more so and better defined than the armour - or at least better painted. Sitting here and thinking about scoring a figure that was made some 12 years earlier is really difficult. Without a time machine, I am restricted to what is in my hand and other figures of the era like Mezco's Hellboy figures, or the early McFarlane Movie Masters. Vaako is a decent figure, but he does have flaws in the head size, the armour and his ability to stand. The sticky paint is also a really concern and will mess up any Riddick figures once they are out of the box. I am going to score Vaako a 2 out of 5.

Happy #SatTOYDay This week we have a huge amount of reveals courtesy of Tokyo Comic Con, predominantly from the Tamashii Nations stable. It has also been a busy couple of weeks for NECA with more product and packaging reveals as they run up to Christmas. The Marvel machine is starting to grind into gear again with trailers for Captain Marvel and Avengers End Game, and that means new figures with some more details for the Marvel Legends Captain Marvel wave (beware spoilers) In reviews we are very excited to review a pre-release Doctor Who 13th Doctor figure courtesy of Character Options. CLICK HERE to read the latest issue, or visit our archive of older issues #ActionFigure #News #Hasbro #NECA #McFarlane #Mezco

Welcome to our review of the Character Options Doctor Who 13th Doctor 5.5 inch Action Figure. This release of Jodie Whittaker's 13th Doctor heralds a new era of Doctor Who product and with it comes a redesigned blister card and artwork. Thank you to Character Options and to Evolution PR for this advance copy of the figure which will be released in January 2019. You can pre-order the figure via Character Toys or Forbidden Planet. Packaging 4/5 After a few years in window box packaging, there is something refreshing about seeing a Doctor Who 5 inch figure back on a blister card. The packaging is a complete re-design and uses the principles already laid down in the 12 inch Doctor figure and Sonic Screwdriver. The colour scheme is predominantly blue with the bright new Doctor Who log across the card top. Atop this is the BBC logo and to the side the age guide of 5+ The figure sits inside a shaped blister and is accentuated with a bright yellow sunburst backing to that portion of the card. To side of this the TARDIS pokes out from behind the figure blister. The TARDIS imagery is repeated to the side of the blister where a door of the Tardis is wrapped around the curved side, making it look like the door is being opened. The rest of the blister wrap includes the name of the figure, written as "The Thirteenth Doctor" and subtitled with "Action Figure (5.5"/14cm Scale)". Above this in a sharp pink insert is the further text "with sonic screwdriver accessory". If you flip the package over at this point to look at the base this insert wrap comes round to cover the base and includes the barcode and contents list. Rather than have a shaped peg cut out at the top, an adhesive peg label is affixed at the top of the card. The figure is stable enough to sit on a shelf if required. The card back mirrors the front with a Doctor Who and BBC logo at the top. The TARDIS peeks in again from the left, and the right is coloured yellow. On this yellow panel sits the "also available" items for the 13th Doctor from Character - the aforementioned 12 inch scale figure and Electronic Sonic Screwdriver. Just above this and below the Doctor Who logo is some text that positions the 13th Doctor "One of the most iconic sci-fi characters ever has returned in her thirteenth incarnation for all-new adventures across space and time. Exploring the universe in her time-travelling TARDIS, sonic screwdriver in hand, the Thirteenth Doctor is ready to sort right from wrong and save civilisations throughout the galaxy." The blister is glued to the card, so the one draw back from the previous window boxes is the fact you wont be able to open this figure and then return to the package for display. Once released the figure is strapped into an inner section with two elasticated clear ties - easiest snipped from the back. Her Sonic sits to the left under a length of sticky tape. Sculpt & Paint  5/5 In hand and the face sculpt for Jodie Whittaker is impressive, an excellent likeness with some real character to her face. The skin tone is single tone and the eyes are neat and very realistic. The lips too are neatly painted and a good colour. The eye brows are also neat, although a little too out of line at one side. The hair carries a good amount of sculptural detail and flows naturally either side of the off-centre parting. The colour is good, but the paint is a touch heavy handed and the graduation from the darker roots to the blonde hair is a bit severe. The costume and body is well proportioned and accurate to the on screen look. The T-shirt is a dark blue with five neat and tidy rows of colour across the chest. From an accuracy point of view the colours aren't quite right as the real prop T-shirt runs (in simple terms) yellow, red, black, green and yellow. The figure has yellow, purple, black, red and yellow. Either side of the shirt are the braces. The straps on these are painted a yellow, but the fasteners are painted black and not hugely different from the shirt base colour. From a distance therefore it looks a bit odd as they seem to end quite a way from the belt. The trousers are cast as high wasted and include some fabric folding and creasing into the sculpt. The are a single blue colour. They end just above the ankles where a bit of flesh is on show. We then have the Doctor's boots and blue socks. The boots initially look black, but on closer inspection are a washed brown to imitate the weathered leather of the real props. Over all this sits the coat which is an individual piece in rubberised plastic. The lining inside is a dark blue while the outside and the sleeves are a light blue. The hem of the coat is trimmed at the base in blue, and at the sides of the upper lapels with more rainbow striping - this time accurate to the red and yellow piping on the coat used on screen. The final bits of piping on the coat are around the sleeves and the pockets - both neat and well placed. Articulation 3/5 The 13th Doctor comes in with 14 points of articulation, that two less than a usual Character 5.5 inch figure. It is great to first see a ball jointed head as the previous releases have all been head and neck pieces plugged into a torso. This means no ugly cut in the neck area, but also allows some extra head movement as the head can be cocked and tilted to add some more expression. Arms remain the same as usual with a rotating shoulder plugged into the torso - there is no extra pivot here so the arms simply rotate and can't be raised outwards. Beneath this is a bicep swivel. Like many recent releases this is very soft and the arms pop out if turned too hard. Turning this joint also ruins the lines of the arms and I'd rather see this joint be lost in favour of the shoulder pivot. The elbow is a single joint with a visible peg straight through the centre. The left hand arm bends fine on our figure, but the right was solid with too much glue around the pag ceasing it up. This was soon released with a touch of hot water (be careful). The final arm joint are the two hands which are plugged in place and can rotate. The waist remains a swivel joint and we then have T-joint hips allowing the legs to swing out to the front and to the side. We lose the thigh swivel and move straight down to another single peg joint for the knee. While you'd expect there to be an ankle joint, particularly when the thigh swivel is missing, there is not and the boots and lower leg are all one piece. What this means is that when the legs are posed outward the feet can be rotated and the stance can look a bit odd. That being said the legs are restricted within the coat tails anyway so the point is a little moot. The Doctor stands reasonably well but it takes a bit of practice to get the feet planted securely. Accessories 3/5 The sole accessory is that of the Sonic Screwdriver. For its size this is pretty accurate and you can see the sweeping organic look. It is cast in silver with orange painted parts, although the orange used is a bit dull and dirty. It is designed to fit in the Doctor's right hand only, and slides in snugly. The hand isn't posed to be aiming the sonic though, so while it looks fine at her side when the arm is raised it sits up in the air - the pose she usually has when taking a reading. Summary It is pleasing to see the figure scale well with the previously releases. I indulged a little capturing some pictures of the 13th Doctor with some of her earlier selves. This new 13th Doctor figure is first and foremost brilliant news for 5.5 inch collectors that the line lives on from Character and there is a desire, albeit reduced perhaps, to give us new product from the current series. A 5 inch figure in the current market is very keenly priced at £12.99 and while the joints are a little dated, it packs quite a punch in terms of articulation and sculpt at a time we are paying £10 for a 5POA Star Wars figure. The sculpt and paint are top notch for the price point, and the articulation only let down by the lack of a swivel point on the legs - and a stuck arm due to paint application. I love the new packaging too and I would hope that maybe, just maybe, we might get a few more figures in the line and it would be great to see them on toy shelves again I score the 13th Doctor a 4 out of 5.

Mezco has just confirmed the August 2019 release of a Previews Exclusive version of their One:12 Cable figure. This X-Men cable uses the general release Cable and heads, but with an upgrade to the classic X-Men yellow and blue uniform. His cybernetic arm is also updated and he keeps the light up features from the original. Accesso ies are virtually the same although one gun has been lost and a spear added. The stand is appropriately updated to an X-Men logo. The RRP for the figure is $100 and this should be available worldwide to independent stores via the Previews catalogue. "A PREVIEWS Exclusive! Cable was sent to the future in a bid to save his life when he was infected by a techno-organic virus. Using his formidable telekinetic abilities and cybernetic enhancements, Cable battles super villain foes in his quest for peace. The X-Men Cable One:12 Collective Action Figure features a light-up function that illuminates his plasma cannon and techno-organic eye in both of his head sculpts. The telekinetic mutant features a detailed cybernetic arm and is outfitted in a classic blue X-Men costume made from real cloth, along with flexible utility belt! Cable comes complete with a devastating arsenal of advanced weaponry: a plasma cannon with two removable magazines, grenade launcher with rotating carousel and handgun, spear, and separate handgun! Cable also comes with 4 sets of interchangeable hands and a One:12 collective display base with a stand featuring the X-Men logo!"

NECA have announced this wonderful Megadeth figure titled "Peace Sells... but Who's Buying". The figure is designed around Vic Rattlehead, the bands mascot, and this version is from the 1986 album cover of the same name. The action figure will be in the 8 inch "retro" format with an articulated body, sculpted head and soft good tailored clothing. He will be packed with a For Sale sign accessory. The figure is due for release in the 2nd quarter of 2019 (April - June) and will arrive in a window box which will also feature artwork from the album "Megadeth - 8" Clothed Figure - Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? This 8" tall action figure celebrates Vic Rattlehead, the mascot of legendary metal band #Megadeth! Straight from his appearance on the cover of Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?, Vic is dressed in fabric clothing and includes a "For Sale" sign accessory. Comes in window box packaging featuring artwork from the 1986 album."

Diamond Select Toys have shared packaged images of their 3rd Series of Pacific Rim Uprising action figures, these are hitting stores now. The wave is made up of Valor Omega, November Ajax and the Kaiju Drone. "Three new Jaegers are joining the fight against the kaiju menace, and each giant robot is cooler than the last! Joining the six Jaegers in Series 1 and 2, November Ajax, Valor Omega and the Kaiju-infected Jaeger Drone each measure between 7 and 8 inches tall. Each figure comes with interchangeable alternate hands, and each features approximately 16 points of articulation! Packaged in display-ready Select action figure packaging, with side-panel artwork for shelf reference. Sculpted by BigShot ToyWorks!" They've also shown us the first packaged image of the Kaiju Hakuja who is due for release, in their words, "very soon". "A Diamond Select Toys release! The Uprising is here! This year's highly anticipated Pacific Rim sequel, Pacific Rim Uprising, features more Jaegers and bigger Kaiju than ever before, and this vinyl figure is the first Kaiju in Diamond Select Toys highly detailed action figure line! Cast in vinyl with intricate sculpted details and paint applications, this approximately 12-inch long figure features multiple points of articulation and comes packaged in a full-color window box. Sculpted by Big Shot Toy Works!"

NECA have released the following images of the packaging design for their God of War, Kratos and Atreus action figure 2 pack. The design of the box is similar to that of the Ultimate series with two opening flaps to reveal Kratos on the left and Atreus on the right. The set should arrive in January 2019 "After a decade of bestselling God of War games, it is a new beginning for Kratos. His vengeance against the gods of Olympus far behind him, Kratos now lives as a man in the lands of Norse Gods and monsters. It is in this harsh, unforgiving world that he must fight to survive – and teach his son to do the same. This Ultimate 7” scale action figure 2-pack includes Kratos and his son Atreus. Kratos features a new aggressive head sculpt, new Mimir head on right hip, new gauntlets, new hands, new collapsed shield, new blades, and new fire and frost effects for weapons and hands, as well as 36 points of articulation. The all-new Atreus has over 25 points of articulation and comes with bow and arrows. Packaged in a display-friendly deluxe window box with opening flap."

Bandai are about to release their next 1/6 scale (12 inch) Star Wars action figure kit, the Shadow Trooper. The figure uses the existing Stormtrooper kit, but is now coloured the appropriate Black of a Shadow Trooper. The kit includes various hand and weapon options and a stand to keep the figure secured on display. It releases on the 8th of December and will cost 7020 Yen, which is around £50. There is no licence to sell these in the UK, so you will have to order direct from Japan.

Since 2005, UK toy company Character Options held the Worldwide licence for Doctor Who Action figures and have produced a wealth of 5 inch, 12 inch and 3.75 inch figures and sets for fans and collectors. During this time US toy company Underground Toys commissioned Character to produce some other figures which they then distributed in the US as well as back into the UK through Forbidden Planet. Recently the licence was renegotiated and Character Options now hold the UK licence. Underground Toys, now trading as Se7en20, hold the US licence and that means they are going to produce their own action figures independent of the UK line. Got that so far.... Well Se7en20 and their partner Toots Toys who will exclusively distribute these figures have unveiled their first figure, a 5 inch scale Jodie Whittaker 13th Doctor figure. The Doctor comes in her current outfit with long coat and rainbow striped top. Articulation seems to be comparable with the Character versions. She also comes with a sonic screwdriver accessory. 1000 units were initially released, and at the time of posting only 11 are sold. The figure is $14.99 (around £12) and Toots Toys will ship internationally. You will be paying around £17.50 for delivery into UK on top of figure, making it an expensive purchase. Comparison Image : Character Options (left), Se7en20 (right)

Bandai will be releasing an updated version of their 1/12 Darth Vader figure kit on the 29th December 2019. The kit will now include options to create an unmasked Vader/Anakin from the end of Return of the Jedi. There is also parts to build Vader with his severed hand. The other improvement on the original appears to be the inclusion of a second cloak option in a some form of soft goods. The original segmented hard plastic cape is still included if that is the one you want to use. There is no official channel for these as yet in UK and Europe (Revell are not making these available as yet through their new agreement to distribute these). You will therefore need to import direct from Japan.

Freed from his Tower duty, Cayde-6 now walks his own path, back out in his beloved frontier. Find him if you’re looking for fun and adventure, and of course some wicked loot. Highly detailed sculpt of the Cayde-6 modeled from in-game assets Figure comes with iconic Ace of Spades hand cannon Includes rare chase redeemable McFarlane Hellspawn emblem Customizable figure with 12+ points of articulation for dynamic posing Figure comes in window boxed collector packaging and featured on a disc display base