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The Thermal Image Fugitive Predator figure from NECA is confirmed as a late February 2019 release (approx). The details were in a listing from UK retailer Curibo who are taking pre-order deposits. The figure is based on the image from the 2018 movie poster and will stand 20cm tall. It includes wrist blades and shoulder cannon and will come in the window box packaging. We await full details from NECA. "From the new The Predator movie, directed by Shane Black! This special edition figure re-creates the Thermal Version appearance of the Fugitive Predator from the movie poster. The Fugitive Predator stands over 20 cm tall and features over 30 points of articulation. Includes removable wrist blades and articulated shoulder cannon. Comes in deluxe window box packaging with opening flap. "

Mezco have revealed a brand new One:12 Comic Book Iron-Man figure as an exclusive for LA Comic Con in November. The exclusive uses the existing sculpt, but with the black and gold of the Model 42 from the Marvel Now series. The figure includes metal parts and a light up feature for the arc reactor. It is also packed full of booster and blaster effects including an awesome clip on piece for the arc reactor which will look illuminated once connected. The figure was available briefly online via Mezco for $90 but has sold out and is on "wait list" "The One:12 Collective Iron Man: Armor Model 42 Edition features a light-up function that illuminates Iron Man’s arc reactor, the source of his power. Designed with real metal components, the armored Avenger’s comes equipped with a range of booster and blast effects, including a chest beam repulsor that lights up when attached to the arc reactor. Powered by numerous Repulsor Tech cores, the Armor Model 42 was developed by Tony Stark initially for testing new technological developments but was later upgraded for battle. Featuring modular abilities and new A.I., the Armor Model 42 adds to Stark’s impressive armory of Iron Man suits."

NECA have revealed the packaging design for the upcoming 2-pack of Dark Horse Predators Bad Blood and Enforcer. This is an Ultimate release and therefore the figures include alternative head sculpts with new heads sculpted for this release. There are also a selection of hand options and weaponry. The set is due for imminent US release. Expect UK stocks around November / December. "It’s another NECA first – an “Ultimate” action figure two-pack! We’ve upgraded our first action figures from Dark Horse’s Predator: Bad Blood comic book series and given them new Ultimate bodies and new exclusive accessories (in addition to all previously released accessories). Ultimate Bad Blood and Ultimate Enforcer each have two interchangeable head sculpts: Bad Blood has a new masked head and Enforcer has a new unmasked head. Figures stand approximately 8″ tall and feature new, less stylized deco and over 25 points of articulation."

Across 2016 and 2017, Diamond Select Toys released three exclusive Ghostbusters Select figures of Ray, Peter and Winston covered in Marshmallow from the end of the 1984 movie. These were offered as exclusives in the main, and as single releases with no diorama pieces. Now it has been confirmed that we will finally get a Marshmallow covered Egon to complete the set. Infinite Earths broke the news that the new Egon was on its way and confirmed it would be a Previews exclusive available via comic book stores and independents. At present there is no release date. "A Diamond Select Toys Release! The 1984 horror-comedy classic Ghostbusters is as beloved now as it ever was, and this action figure captures one of its most iconic moments! The most serious and strait-laced of the Ghostbusters, Egon Spengler gets covered with marshmallow in this 7-inch scale action figure inspired by the film's final scenes. This figure features newly sculpted parts and 16 points of articulation, plus alternate hands, proton pack, neutrino wand and display base. Sculpted by Gentle Giant!"

Welcome to my review of the Princess Leia Bespin Escape 6 inch Black Series figure from Hasbro. This Black Series release is an exclusive to Target stores in the US, and a shared exclusive across the rest of the world - meaning it is not numbered and is available to numerous retailers outside of the states. Leia is wearing her outfit from the end of Empire Strikes Back as she works reluctantly with Lando to escape Cloud City and hopefully rescue Han Solo on the way. Packaging  4/5 Leia sits in the standard Black Series phase 3 box with gloss black colouring and red figure backdrop and side spine. Her character name is also picked out in red text and unusually for the Black Series Leia gets the Bespin Escape sub title in brackets to confirm her outfit. Being exclusive there is no numbering system so the gloss red side spine has a black shaded square instead. The Gregory Titus artwork is a side shot of Leia with her Bespin jumpsuit and hair style. This is blown up on the reverse and sids underneath the basic bio text. The text is identical to the blurb used on the #30 Princess Leia from A New Hope. "Princess Leia Organa was one of the Rebel Alliance's greatest leaders, fearless on the battlefield and dedicated to ending the tyranny of the Empire. With her quick-thinking and inspired leadership, Leia ranks among the galaxy's great heroes." ​​ Sculpt & Paint  3/5 The likeness to Carrie Fisher from the Empire Strikes back is stunning on this figure - utilising the face print technology fantastically well. It is another female likeness knocked out of the park by the face printing across both Star Wars and Marvel licences. The eyes are hyper realistic and the skin tones are gradual around the eyes and the features of the face. The hair is well realised in the looped plaited style, although it is painted a plain brown. The rest of the body is well proportioned, but is essentially a white jumpsuit. There is patterning in the sculpt but all of it is cast in white plastic with zero paint application. The body also suffers from having originally come off the Hoth Leia figure which is wearing a body warmer. Without the coat section there is quite a gap around the shoulders and again in the waist, particularly when they are posed. Interestingly these wider gaps around the two joints do have a benefit to articulation as we will see. Articulation  4/5 The flip side of those gappy sections around the shoulders and waist is a wider range of movement in the articulation. Leia has 16 points of articulation and as you pose her you can see why the decision has been made over those wide gaps at the shoulders and waist. The arms start with a ball joint shoulder, the wider gap allows that to come in more than usual and this helps in two handed weapon poses later on without adding a butterfly joint and/or double jointed elbows. The elbows stay as rotating ball joints and the wrists as a pivot peg. The head is a ball joint with full movement, and the same applies to the waist. Bending this does reveal more of this rounded waist and leaves gaps, but it again helps in action poses. The legs are the usual layout of ball jointed hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees and ankle rockers. This leaves Leia able to squat, sit, run or adopt a wider action stance - with appropriate stand where needed. There is one kicker when you do this as there is an ugly great copyright notice in silver text on the inside of one leg - why can't these go out of sight Hasbro? Accessory  3/5 Leia is armed with the E-11 Stormtrooper blaster, which is of course screen accurate to the Bespin Escape scenes. The gun is well used as a cast, with this being the original E-11 and not the tweaked version from 2016 that came with a number of Rogue One troopers. It is cast in black plastic with no paint apps added. It fits into Leia's right hand and with some coaxing a trigger finger will slot into the blasters trigger. The arm articulation allows for two handed posing, with the left hand cupping the barrel securely. This leads to the best poses for Leia, recreating the oft used shot of her running down the Bespin corridor with the blaster. Summary Bespin Escape Leia gives us probably the best Carrie Fisher likeness so far in the line, and alongside the Bespin Han she looks great. Some may argue the red dress outfit is more iconic, but I almost guarantee that is in the works for a carded Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary line in 2020. The body is a bit plain, although I am not sure what else could have been done other than a very subtle off white wash to add depth. The gun is a re-use, but is screen accurate and it is good to see the articulation lends itself to the two handed pose she uses during much of the chase. ​​ With only a couple of gripes around the shoulder and waist joints, I score Bespin Escape Princess Leia a solid 4 out of 5.

Happy #SatTOYDay And welcome to our bumper New York Comic Con issue. In Issue 89 we catch up on all the news from the past 2-weeks, including a look at all the exciting announcements from New York. Hasbro dominate the news as usual with new Star Wars and Marvel product unveiled for 2019. We also get news of new licences for Diamond Select and an interesting development over at McFarlane who are returning to where they left off with some of their iconic figure lines in the early 2000's In reviews I take a look at Moloch, the latest "big figure" release in the Star Wars Black Series CLICK HERE to read this weeks issue, and to visit our archive of older issues

Welcome to my review of the Exclusive "Big Fig" release of Moloch from Solo, A Star Wars Story. Moloch is the second "big fig" released by Hasbro in their new $30 price point (circa £35 here in UK) following on from the successful Gamorrean Guard figure. Moloch is exclusive to Target stores in the states, while for the rest of the world he is what they are now calling a shared exclusive - meaning it is accessible for most independents to order and sell. Packaging  4/5 Being a new bigger format, Moloch arrives in a larger format box. It retains the same height as the standard Black Series packaging but is deeper and wider to accommodate Moloch's bulk. The design principles remain the same with the gloss black colouring and red character text and bright red side spine. Being an exclusive there is no numbering for Moloch. The Titus artwork is a little sterile showing Moloch with his mask in place. This image is blown up and made a touch brighter on the back along with a short bio text. "Moloch wallows in authority over the lesser thieves of his gang. Like all White Worms, Moloch is very sensitive to natural light and must wear special gear when outside his dank lair" The figure is accessed the same way as normal, through the top or bottom flaps. Be warned that for the first time in a while, Moloch was held in by some elasticated clear ties that need cutting before he can be extracted. ​ Sculpt & Paint  5/5 Moloch comes out of the box with his head sculpt partially exposed behind the front part of his mask apparatus. The face plate pulls down to reveal that there is a full Grindalid head sculpt under there complete with varying skin tones and devious blue eyes. Where as the Gamorrean was a bulky figure, Moloch brings the height to this "Big Fig" release and he stands 7 inches tall. The body is a wonderful sculpt starting with that enclosed head piece that then flows down to grey robes. The head piece is beige in colouring with some inlaid darker beige panels. It is then weathered with a grey drybrush. The face plate is gunmetal silver with further beige panels and pipework. The outer robes are patterned, particularly the lower section, and are also weathered with a grey muddy colour splash pattern. Under these outer garments are a darker grey inner set of robes, also weathered. And wrapped around these are a gunslingers belt and holster and some pipework for the helmet piece. The hands are a black padded glove affair with brown panels. If you are brave enough to look under Moloch's robes you can see that Hasbro didn't just leave the body as a plain plastic piece and Moloch's lower slug like body is sculpted for quite a way under the robes completed with appendages and skin texturing. Accessories 5/5 In the movie, Moloch has to don a fully enclosed head piece to venture outside into Corellia's sunlight. The full face mask look is achieved by means of an accessory piece packed with the figure. This cast piece is the visor section that fills the gap between the upper helmet and the lower face plate. It is cast in a softer plastic and painted gunmetal silver with beige panels to the sides. The two rear sections have a ridge that slots into the gap between the headpiece and the head and then this then slides the whole face piece into place making it look like a seamless single helmet - very clever design by the Hasbro team. Accessories don't stop there as Moloch is also armed with a blaster and his trusty staff. The blaster is the "Snubble Special" as seen in the movie and is a cast piece with gun metal colouring and brown handle. It fits into Moloch's enlarged right hand really well, with a trigger finger slotting in place. When not in use the gun can also be holstered in the holster on the belt. The fit here is not overly tight and it is easy for the gun to fall out during posing (playing). The final part is the staff, and this is a wonderful sculpt reflecting the carved handle section from the movie that is depicting writhing scum rats. This top piece is painted in bone colour with darker brown wash that flows into the sculpting to bring out the detail. The shaft is plain brown plastic. The staff arrives perfectly straight, so no warping issues that we've seen on other Hasbro products recently (Marvel mainly). I thought this staff was a little short at first, but when you compare with the reference images it is spot on. It fits in either hand and really finishes off the look of this character. ​​ ​​Articulation  4/5 The articulation on Moloch is reflective of his character and species, but of course is way less than we'd see on a standard humanoid release. I count 7 joints in total - 6 in the arms and a final ball joint around the waist which affords some upper torso movement. The arms are basic ball jointed shoulders with a rotating single elbow joint. The wrists are then pivoted and can rotate. I am not sure where else articulation could have been added, and you assume the cost saved on articulation went into the decor, accessories and engineering of that head piece. Scoring this was difficult but I went with 4 out of 5 for articulation on the basis he gets pretty much what he needs for his body type. If I was being critical then double jointed elbows might have been nice so he could be posed adjusting his faceplate a little better. ​ Summary I admit that Moloch was not a character that I was immediately drawn to in the movie, or when announced as a figure. Seeing image of him from other collectors did pique my interest and I am so glad now to add him to my collection. In a line dominated by human and humanoid creatures, Moloch stands alongside Jabba the Hutt as a real point of difference. He is also really well executed from the sculpt to the paint work and the articulation, through to the accessories. He may be a touch pricier than normal but assuming you can get him for circa £35 I don't think you will be disappointed. I score Moloch, the White Worm Enforcer, a glorious 5 out of 5

Welcome to our review of Thor from Avengers Infinity War. This new version of Thor, and his new hammer Stormbreaker, were released as part of the Marvel Legends 2nd wave of Avengers figures in 2018. He arrived alongside Black Widow from the movie, as well as Ant-Man and Wasp from their standalone film. The wave was finished with comic book figures of Malekith and the Black Knight. The Build-a-Figure is Cull Obsidian, part of Thanos' Black Order from Infinity War. Packaging 3/5 The packaging retains the usual shape for Legends with the scooped sides. The colour scheme is a little confused with a yellow backdrop to the figure and the Infinity War logo, but then with purple tones on the character name and on the two side illustrations. The side art is very good with an imposing view of Chris Hemsworth as Thor all drawn in purple shades with a touch of yellow in the backdrop. The rear of the box shows an image of the figure, and this is obviously an early promotional image as it is not a great match to the actual figure in hand. The armour on this image looks silver and the head sculpt does not look overly impressive. There is also an odd choice of showing Thor with Stormbreaker in his left hand - when he actually wields it in his right hand. The text on the rear is quite brief and reads "When the state of the universe is thrown into chaos, Thor sets out to protect Earth and beyond". This is obviously generic and worded not to give away any spoilers. Sculpt & Paint 3/5 The Marvel Legends team had struggled to give us a particularly good Chris Hemsworth likeness until the Ragnarok figures, which were pretty good - and yet they haven't tweaked that sculpt here and have created a new one for Infinity War.. The figure still uses face print technology, but like Captain America from Infinity War, it doesn't give us a good likeness. From the front the likeness is OK with good shading obvious around the nose and eyes. The eyes are actually painted to look different - reflecting Thor's new "eye". There is also scarring around the eye which would be natural from the injury Hela gave him - although it wasn't too pronounced on screen. From the side the jaw juts out a bit too much and the beard looks abit false - not helped by the fact it is not painted the same as the hair which has a lot of depth and darker areas. For those who like to tweak figures I can confirm that the head for this release is interchangeable with the Infinity War Eye-Patch Thor and the Ragnarok figures - which means you can play around with what head looks best for your display. The costume is spot on and a good match for the onscreen appearance. The trunk of the body is cast n black plastic with the chest piece having gun metal added to the circular discs. There is similar colouring on the front of the boots. The two arms are chainmail and painted silver, and work down to two wrapped bracers on the wrists. The cape is a darker red than we've seen previously on Thor figures. It is cast in a harder plastic and hangs well off the back of the figure - although by doing so it impedes articulation as we will see shortly. The figure shares parts with the 3-pack Thor released at a similar time. The legs are a direct re-use while the torso is shared, but retooled to affix the cape. While I initially though the arms were from the recent Dark World Thor, they are different. Articulation 4/5 Thor has 18 points of articulation. The main bulk of the torso includes a ball jointed and pivot head and then another ball joint in the chest section. Arms are ball jointed shoulders followed by a bicep swivel. The swivel then allows the elbows to be double jointed, and we end with pivot wrist joints. Legs follow the same pattern with ball joint hips, thigh swivel, ball joint knees and ankle rockers. The cloak does sadly make much of he leg articulation difficult to use and pose. Once you go beyond a wide stance the cloak simply starts to impeded the posing. Accessories 5/5 After losing Mjolnir, Thor arrives in this release with his brand new hammer - Stormbreaker. This is the first inclusion of Stormbreaker in any Marvel Legends release. It is a brand new sculpt and a very good one at that with a crisp and angular axe head and a shaft that looks like timber with wraps around the axe head. The plastic is not overly soft and there is no issues with warping. The paint on the head is good with a gun metal finish. The wooden shaft might have benefitted from a dark wash to bring out more detail. The axe fits in either hand,and with the arm articulation double handed posing is also possible. Thor also comes with a lightning FX piece that is designed to wrap around Stormbreaker. We saw a similar piece in the Ragnarok Thor 2-pack and this is cast in a similar translucent flexible plastic. It is cleverly designed to wrap around Stormbreaker and hold in place without the need for any plugs or hooks. While these pieces are not everyone's cup of tea, it is good to have the option included and an option that can come off without impacting the weapon underneath. Summary This Thor is a brilliant figure from the neck downward with a brilliant accessory and an FX piece that works really well if you like displaying your figures with them. What lets it down is the head sculpt which doesn't quite look right thanks to the very light beard and the dark eyes. Had there simply been a re-use of the Ragnarok Thor head here with some adjustment for the eye colour and scarring then we would be talking about a top scoring addition to our Marvel Legends collection. As it stands, I score this Thor a 4 out of 5. The head does let it down, but the rest of the figure is impressive and who doesn't love a giant axe/hammer with lightning effects.

Revell, the German owned model kit company, has today announced that it is now the official distributor for the Bandai Star Wars kits in Europe "Bandai Star Wars: Now exclusively at Revell! Revell is exclusively and officially bringing you the best Star Wars kits from the Japanese manufacturer Bandai to Europe" The first kit coming via the new Revell route to market is the Perfect Grade 1/72 Millennium Falcon. This is priced at €399 (£350) plus delivery. That is comparable to the £340 currently on Amazon UK The move is an exciting for UK and European collectors as it potentially allows Revell to supply the entire Bandai Star Wars Model back catalogue into stores including the 1/12 model kits. Pricing will remain key with this as there are still avenues to get most kits direct from Japan at reasonable prices - we will watch this story develop with interest. Star Wars by Bandai : Models from a far, far away galaxy finally for at home "Numerous collectors have eagerly awaited the release of the Bandai Star Wars model kits. The combination of Revell Modellbau and Bandai Star Wars combines precision, great attention to detail and innovative technical implementation. In 2014, the Japanese manufacturer Bandai announced that it had acquired the license to produce Star Wars Collectibles. With the high demand on the model construction of the company Revell, the experienced model builder can exclusively enjoy the Stars Wars Collectibles, which are available for the first time in Europe."

There has been some murmurings about a 5 inch Jodie Whittaker 13th Doctor figure for some time. We have known that US licence holder Seven20 have a figure in the works, and this will be sold exclusively at Toots Toys in the states. We now have confirmation that a Character Options 13th Doctor figure is also incoming with a listing on the Who Shop and a tweet by TARDIS Tales. The TARDIS Tales tweet indicates the figure is due in early January and can be ordered through Galaxy 4, although as yet there is nothing on their website. The price indicated is £9.99 "Character Options today have confirmed that they will be releasing a 5.5inch Jodie Whittaker figure! Due to be released 9th January 2019 and preorder is open from Galaxy 4 Priced £9.99" (TARDIS Tales) We then have a post from The Who Store who are taking pre-orders for the new figure for £12.99 with a December release date. "The 5" 13th Doctor Action Figure is available to pre-order NOW" (Who Store) So far there are no images, but with release under 4-months away then we can't be far away from a reveal.

Our affiliate partner Bargainmax have got some new Marvel Legend figures in stock for immediate delivery. While stocks still remain of some of the Black Panther and Avengers wave figures - they've now added some of the Best of MCU figures (Gladiator Hulk BAF) and the Deadpool wave (Sauron BAF). The figures are priced at £18.99 with free delivery.

Cable, the next Mezco One:12 Collective Marvel release, is up for pre-order on the Mezco website. He is due to ship out between May and July 2019 and has a US RRP of $100. The extra $20 on the RRP is due to the light-up function on his chest armour and on his eyes on both of the included head sculpts. Also included are two futuristic weapons - a grenade launcher and plasma cannon. There are then various hand options to help him wield these and the included handgun and knife. The usual stand with X-Men logo is also included. Watch out for UK pre-orders going up shortly for what we expect will be around the £80-£90 mark. The One:12 Collective Cable figure features a light-up function that illuminates his chest armor and techno-organic eye in both of his head sculpts. The telekinetic mutant features a newly sculpted cybernetic arm and is outfitted in a sleeveless shirt with chest armor, duty belt with gun holster, and a leg holster with knife sheath. Cable comes complete with a devastating arsenal of advanced weaponry. 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.