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NECA have released a bunch of new gallery images for their upcoming Ultimate Gremlin figure. This release includes a new Gremlin sculpt and a bunch of accessories so you can display this Gremlin (or a gang of them) getting up to all kinds of mischief. Accessories include wearable pop corn bags, sweets, a mug, some playing cards, 3D glasses and more. It is due for release in December 2018 To honor the first appearance of a Gremlin in our Ultimate line, NECA has completely re-sculpted the original 1984 Gremlin body! Any fans of the Gremlins movies knows the rules: keep them out of sunlight, don’t get them wet, and never feed them after midnight. Break them and your fuzzy, friendly little Mogwai will turn into a scaly, savage Gremlin, like this deluxe 7” scale figure (stands approximately 6” tall). The all new body features over 25 points of articulation, including ears and jaw. This Ultimate edition comes with popcorn bags that can be placed over the ears like in the movie, assorted candy, mug, playing cards, 3D glasses and more.

The full details have been released for the SH Figuarts Revenge of the Sith Count Dooku 1/12 figure. Dooku will be a Webstore Exclusive in Japan, but looks to be getting a US release via Bluefin. Dooku will include 4 interchangeable hands, two head options, two sabers and force lightning effect. The figure is due for release in April 2019.

NECA have released images of the packaging for the Series 18 Predator figures. This wave will include Broken Tusk and Horn Head Predators, along with the first female Predator figure - Machiko The card design is consistent with the Predator series with Machiko and Broken Tusk being a golden colouring and the artwork is from the 1990s Alien vs Predator comic series. Hornhead gets a steel type finish with artwork from Predator : Life & Death by Dark Horse. The figures are tentatively expected in late October / early November. UK fans may have to wait a little longer. NECA's longest running action figure line continues with an entire series dedicated to Dark Horse Comics Predators! Series 18 features three action figure debuts that are some of the most requested by fans: Hornhead, Broken Tusk and the first female Predator, Machiko! Hornhead made his first appearance in Predator: Life & Death, and is a great companion piece to the Ultimate Ahab Predator, also from the currently running comics. He utilizes the new Ultimate Predator body, and comes with a removable mask and sword accessory that fits in a sheath on his back. Broken Tusk originates in the classic 1990s Aliens vs Predator comics, and his epic story arc also includes Machiko Noguchi, a human colonist who performs the incredible feat of earning his respect and joining his tribe. Broken Tusk utilizes the new Ultimate Predator body and comes with gun and bladed weapon that measures over 12 inches in length! Machiko has a removable mask, extra interchangeable hands, and rifle accessory. Neca has paid close attention to detail to make these as accurate to the comics as possible. Hornhead and Broken Tusk stand 8 inches tall while Machiko stands 6.5 inches tall. Each has between 25 to 30 points of articulation and come in blister card packaging.

Welcome to our look back at the Star Wars Black Series Wave 3 Luke Skywalker in Bespin fatigues from 2014. The figure was released alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi and a Stormtrooper, with a repack of Han Solo from the previous wave. Packaging 3/5 The original Black Series Orange Line packaging was finished in a more matt cardboard and was susceptible to shelf wear. The design is of course iconic and the orange stripe running through the packaging and the grey lined artwork would be carried on to later waves. While we know this as Bespin Luke, the character name was given only as Luke Skywalker and he was #11 in this first releases of the Black Series. The rear of the box uses a grey lined scene from the movie to sit below the basic background text. "Luke battles Darth Vader on a narrow platform in cloud city and rejects Vader's urging to turn to the Dark Side and rule the Galaxy With Him" "You'll find I'm full of surprises" Sculpt & Paint 3/5 The figure is obviously well before face print technology so the likeness to Mark Hamill in Empire is passable. The skin is one tone and quite glossy and there is only colouring applied to the eyes and eyebrows - the lips go unpainted and are left skin coloured. The hair has some level of lighter brown highlights and is a good reflection of the messy hair Luke sports in Episode 5. The body is the beige jumpsuit and this has a texture in the sculpt with seams and pockets sculpted on the jacket, down the arms and into the trousers. The whole thing is a beige colour but a dark wash has been used on top which then accentuates the sculpting lines and also weathers the body nicely - after all he has just come from a swamp. The boots are a darker grey and also washed. Luke is sporting a belt which is a separate piece that is glued together around the waist and that also straps around the thigh. This is cast in a brown rubber but it has painted silver detail on the clasp and rivets. It too gets a wash, with a dark wash over the top and left to settle around the fastenings. Accessories 4/5 Luke is armed with a DL-44 blaster. This is cast in dark plastic and has a painted silver barrell and a dark brown handle. The plastic is a touch soft and the barrel can be slightly warped. This is designed to fit in Luke's right hand where a flexible trigger finger can be slotted into the trigger. When not in use the DL-44 can be holstered in the working holster on the side of Luke's belt. The fit is snug and a thin strap wraps across the blaster handle to hold it in position. Accessory two is Luke's blue lightsaber. This is the same saber as was included with the Wave 1 X-Wing Luke and comes in two parts. The hilt is painted silver with black around the grip and a red button near the emitter. The blade is cast in translucent blue plastic and it clicks neatly into the hilt when you want an ignited saber effect on display. Like the blaster, the hilt is a little soft in the plastic used and can warp. If you would rather have your saber slung, then there is an inconspicuous hook on Luke's belt that allows the loop at the end of the saber to hang on and stay in place. Articulation 3/5 Luke has 16 points of articulation starting with a ball jointed head complete with pivot - which can be slightly unsightly from certain angles. There is a waist ball joint just above the belt which allows Luke to lean forward and backward as well as turning to the sides. The legs are ball jointed hips, with quite a gap between hip and groin to allow full movement. Below this is a thigh swivel, double jointed knees and ankle rockers.Being a loose part the thigh strap for the holster moves with the leg and does not' restrict any movement. The arms are ball jointed at the shoulder with full movement, but sadly the elbows are just single rotating joints. While these can get into a two handed saber pose - it is quite stiff and not any kind of action stance. Below the elbows is a wrist pivot. For some reason the ratchets in Luke's ankle rockers don't quite line up to having flat feet in a standard pose. I find Luke is difficult to stand naturally and the feet are never quite both planted on the floor. Summary Considering this is now nearly 5 years old, the figure just about holds up along side more recent releases. The head sculpt does stand out as being quite basic - but he body sculpt, shape and paint are still pretty impressive. Accessories too are similar to more recent standards, and articulation too hasn't moved on massively since these 2014 figures. Luke is ripe for an Archive revisit with an updated head / face print technology. And doing so will also allow for a variant Dagobah Luke if Hasbro wish to go with the re-release of Yoda. As it stands, this version of Luke scores a just above average 3/5 for me and is as good at present as any other Luke on your shelf from a likeness perspective.

Welcome to our review of the Marvel Legends Erik Killmonger, part of the Okoye Build-a-Figure Black Panther wave from 2018. Killmonger was released alongside MCU figures of Black Panther and Nakia, as well as comic book figures of Black Bolt, Namor and Iron-Man. All but the Iron-Man figure included parts to allow you to build an MCU Okoye 6 inch figure. Packaging 5/5 Killmonger is packed in the standard scooped side packaging. The Black Panther colour scheme is really striking with a golden backing card that contrasts well with the black of the packaging and the black colouring of the Killmonger figure. To either side the artwork is draw with blue and black hues and it also brings in the gold with some highlights on the helmet and claws. On the rear of the packaging is a picture of the figure, albeit with a slightly odd pose with one of his weapons. To the side of this sits the usual short bio text "A warrior of physical and mental strength, Erik Killmonger slashes into battle with unrivaled intensity" Sculpt & Paintwork 3/5 The figure on the whole is cast in a dark plastic with a good amount of sculpted detailing around the suit and the head. These intricate patterns are very impressive at this scale - but the painting of them is pretty poor as you can see from the images below. The gold is almost dry brushed on rather than painted neatly to match the pattern. The eyes are also not quite right with one not fully painted. Beneath the paint the head is a good shape and a decent match to what we saw on screen. The necklace piece is painted much better and is bright and bold with those silver teeth segments. There are a couple of other gold highlights around the waist and wrists and these quite a bit neater to the head thankfully. As you handle the figure more you will als start to see the body is not quite what it first appears. While the body parts are cast in a dark plastic there is a pattern painted on top with black and this gives him another dimension in terms of mimicking the fur of a Black Jaguar and its striped patterns in very subtle dark shades. Articulation 5/5 Killmonger includes a second set of hands in the pack, allowing you to have two clawed hands or two holding hands - or indeed a combination of both. These slot in and out of the wrist segments really well with a satisfying click. The figure boasts an impressive 21 points of articulation, a couple more than the standard male buck. The head is ball jointed as usual with a good range of mobility thanks to the pivot on the ball peg, There is a ratcheted chest section which bends forward and back, and then the waist will rotate. The legs have ball jointed hips, thigh swivels, double jointed knee joints and ankle rockers. The arms see the extra joints having had two butterfly joints added next to the shoulder which allows the shoulder and arm to be pivoted forward or backward. The arms then go into the usual ball joint shoulder, bicep swivel, double jointed arms and wrist pivot. Accessories 4/5 Killmonger comes with two of the tribal weapons he arms himself with at the climax of the movie when he is about to face down Black Panther. These are cast in slightly softer plastic which does make them very prone to warping in the pack and coming out a bit skewed. THe spear is very well sculpted with wound twine round the handle and blade. This is painted a sandy brown while further trussing on the blade is a dark brown tone - the blade is then silver. All the paint apps are neat and well executed. The blade is a little plain in comparison being made up of a large hatchet type blade in silver, and a black handle. Upon closer inspection the handle is a similarly wound twine effect. The weapons can fit in either of the two gripping hands provided so you can adjust how Killmonger brandishes the weapons. The grip is not overly secure so there is a bit of work needed to hold them in the position you want them to be in. It might have been good to have a way of mounting the weapons on Killmongers back when not in use - this is how we see them in the movie, albeit at that point he is not using the Golden Jaguar suit. With the articulation and these weapons you wont be short of posing opportunities for Erik. My favourite is to get him on a flight stand (not included) and have him leaping into battle. Summary Erik Killmonger is first and foremost a well sculpted and well articulated figure with a huge array of display options and posing - using either the alternative hands or the weapons provided. The head however is a let down with messy gold paint on what should have been the most detailed part of the figure. I'd have liked to see more care taken over this. Looking at the 2-pack version with Everett Ross (released after this one) the paint seems to be crisper, so if you aren't chasing down the Okoye BAF then that might be the one to go for? I score Erik Killmonger a just above average 3 out of 5. Great sculpt, body decor and articulation spoiled by the messy head decor.

TK Maxx are currently stocking newer Star Wars 6 inch Black Series figures with prices ranging from £6.99 to £9.99 TK Maxx break down cases at the distribution centres and then send to stores -so different stores will get different figures. Found so far are Max Kanata, Praetorian Guard, Island Journey Rey, Rose and Snoke. Online there is also a listing for the Range Trooper from Solo at a brilliant price of £6.99. Delivery on top is £3.99 or for £1.99 you can get a click and collect which is the option that will make this cheaper than the £11 in Entertainer stores

Welcome to our review of the 2015/6 Hulkbuster Build-a-Figure. The Hulkbuster was first released in 2015 as part of an Avengers wave of figures which included an MCU Warmachine alongside comic book figures of Angela, Blizzard, Marvel Now Iron-Man, Valkyrie, Vision and Doctor Strange. A year later and Hasbro repacked the Hulkbuster in a European wave of MCU figures and this time round the Hulkbuster had a darker red and arguably more accurate paint colouring. This MCU wave was made up of Avengers & Avengers Age of Ultron figures including the same Warmachine and also Iron-Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Loki, Hulk and Captain America. The wave also had a Thor included, but he didn't come with any BAF parts. The Hulkbuster has gone on to get a third release in 2018 in the First 10 Years sets from Hasbro, packed alongside a possessed Hulk figure. Packaging  N/A As a build-a-figure, Hulkbuster has no packaging as such and is split out across the other figures in the wave as broken down below. Sculpt & Paint 3/5 The Hulkbuster stands an impressive 9 and a half inches tall, one of the biggest Legends figure to date and a definite centrepiece in any display. The sculpt is pretty accurate to what we see on screen in Age of Ultron. The plastic is cast in red to give the figure the colouring, and in places you can see imperfections in that plastic with stress lines visible on certain areas. The red is perhaps not as metallic as I would like, but to be fair it is consistent with how Iron-Man has been executed in the Legends line - and the metallic finish is something more suited to the higher end market. The gold is painted on top of the red plastic in places, while others are cast in a gold plastic and this can lead to some variations in colour. We also have grey and silver parts across the body particularly the joints on elbows and knees. The whole piece feels like it is missing a final level of paint detail - a wash would have brought out the panel lines and weather the figure. But there are also parts that have gone unpainted like the boosters on the back which are left plain gold. If you are going to chase down a Hulkbuster then I would recommend to go after the darker MCU wave version. As you can see in these comparison shots, the original figure is a paler red tone - although the gold seems to be darker and more vibrant? We do not have the First 10 Years Hulkbuster to compare at this stage, but that release does offer an easy route to add Veronica to your collection. Articulation  4/5 Despite its size, Hulkbuster comes with 18 points of articulation, comparable with most 6" Legends figures. We start with the head which connects to the body on a ball joint which is also pivoted. The head therefore rotates as well as sliding up and down the neck peg to be posed looking forward at the top of the neck or posed looking down at his own feet. Within the main torso there is a ball joint between chest and midriff. This is can be leaned forward and backward easily, but the sideways movement on mine feels like it is spring loaded and it always pings back to the central position. The arms start with a ball joint shoulder and a bicep swivel built between the armour parts a little further down. The elbow is a single joint and due to the bulk of the armour it wont bend too far, but it also rotates adding some options in the arms. The wrist is a joint, but with virtually no movement other than being able to bend the pivot to move the dist away from the gold side piece. The legs are ball jointed, and there seems to have been a conscious decision here to make the top of the legs a little slimmer to allow these legs to move more freely. Just beyond this piece is a thigh swivel and then a set of single knee joints. These knees barely bend, but do enough to plant the legs in an action stance. As the knees bend the ankle rockers do then kick in to keep the feet flat to the floor. Thanks to the size of the feet, the ankle joints and the sheer weight of the figure there is no issue in standing Hulkbuster. When you work out the extent of the movement you will also find some pretty good action poses into which Hulkbuster can be placed. Accessories  N/A Hulkbuster comes with no accessories. Summary You cant argue with the sheer size and value for money of Hulkbuster as a build-a-figure. It truly is a centrepiece release, and I dont think we will see anything in that size and scale again in the BAF format. Yes, you can argue the paint is not metallic and it does need a wash - but it is consistent with the other Iron-Man figures. Articulation is impressive for a big boy and there are some good posing opportunities, including some "fighting" poses with an appropriate Hulk figure. I score the Hulkbuster BAF an impressive 4/5 assuming you go for the darker red version.

In an interview at NYCC 2018, Todd McFarlane has confirmed that the company are "going back to their roots" in 2019 and returning to two of their biggest successes of recent years - Movie Maniacs and Tortured Souls. Movie Maniacs was a series of 7" scale limited articulation figures, predominantly from the horror genre including Freddy Krueger, Ghostface, Leatherface etc. Each figure came with a skeletal stand containing an appropriate movie poster for each figure. In the current market a lot of these licences are held by NECA for the same 7" scale, so it will be interesting to see which figures McFarlane can and will bring to market. Tortured Souls was a series created by Clive Barker and was made up of two waves of figures under particular forms of torture (adult themes). There was also a Novellete written by Barker included with each figure. It is unclear at this stage if Barker will be part of the new additions? You can read the full details via IGN

As the new series of Doctor Who premiered in the UK and simultaneously in the US, Mattel announced this new version of Jodie Whitakers 13th Doctor in their Barbie line. "Introducing the all-new #DoctorWho Barbie doll inspired by the iconic series’ Thirteenth Doctor. With her signature suspenders, lace-up boots and sonic screwdriver, this #Barbie doll is ready to time travel into your collection! Available Monday 10/8 at http://Barbie.com" Forbidden Planet is the UK stockist of this (update) but this has now sold out Collectors and sci-fi lovers will rave over Doctor Who Barbie® doll. In honour of the latest regeneration of Doctor Who, Barbie® celebrates one of the most influential sci-fi series of all time. Doctor Who Barbie® doll’s design draws inspiration directly from the Thirteenth Doctor - exploring the universe from her time-traveling TARDIS, she wears a rainbow-striped T-Shirt paired with cropped trousers and a trench coat. Additional true-to-character details include Doctor Who Barbie® doll’s signature braces and lace-up boots. Sonic screwdriver in hand, Doctor Who Barbie® doll is ready to overcome evil forces and save civilisations throughout the galaxy. This collectible Barbie® doll is fully posable and sculpted to the likeness of her onscreen character.

Image taken from Jedi Business Live Feed of the Hasbro Panel Hasbro launched the Archive Collection concept for Black Series at SDCC 2018 and we saw the first packaged samples at one of their earlier panels at NYCC 2018. Hasbro have now confirmed the line up for Wave 2 will be Anakin Skywalker, Yoda and an Imperial Biker Scout. Anakin will come with the same two head options, both of which will now be done using face print technology. The same will apply to Yoda with Hasbro's Steve Evans commenting that he was never happy with the decor on the original release. The Biker Scout confirms that as well as older hard to get figures, Hasbro will also look at figures they released in other sets or multi-packs for inclusion in the Archive Collection. Wave 2 will be release in Autumn 2019

The Sunday panel from Hasbro also unveiled two more Vintage collection figures for the 3.75 inch line. These would join the line up for Spring 2019. Up first from The Last Jedi is Jedi Master Luke Skywalker on Crait. Luke will include his lightsaber lit and as an unlit hilt. Then to support the Hover Tank vehicle we have the Imperial Tank Commander from Rogue One. Good news also for International customers (and for any US vendors that want them) Hasbro are going to make restocks available of some key Vintage collection figures from 2010-2010 retained on the same card and with same numbering as their original release. This will allow new collectors access to some important characters particular overseas where distribution was sparse. This re-release wave will be made up of Darth Vader, Leia (Hoth), Han Solo (Echo Base), Boba Fett and Luke Skywalker (Endor Capture).

A new listing on eBay in the US has revealed this lovely looking Disney Elite diecast Gonk Droid. The figure is packed in the standard Elite packaging, with the blurb on the back talking about a line of new Star Wars Elite scale droids. "In collaboration with Lucasfilm Ltd. Disney Store is proud to introduce a collection of droids within the Star Wars Elite series. This line of premium die cast action figures features iconic droids from the expansive world of Star Wars. Each droid was meticulously selected, engineered and crafted with Star Wars fans in mind". "GNK Power Droids understand rudimentary commands and generate power for mobile operations. They are often called "Gonk" droids in imitation of their simple vocalizations" The wider collection has been verified by Parks and Cons who have then posted a video showing off four of these new droids including the GNK but also a TC-14 from the Phantom Menace, R5-D4 and an R2-D2 with serving tray from Jabba's Sail Barge. We await confirmation on the availability of this line and if it will be a Worldwide Disney Store Release, or restricted to Disney Parks?