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Happy #SatTOYday! CLICK HERE for this week's issue The countdown to San Diego has reached its final two weeks, and in our next issue we will be bringing you the early news from San Diego. In this weeks issue we have a few more reveals ahead of SDCC including two new Marvel Legends exclusives for the show. We are also treated to some new DC Collectible figures, albeit with a catch, and a better look at the SH Figuarts Infinity War Hulk. NECA are also in full swing with new packaging revels for a couple of their horror licences. There big reveal in the past couple of weeks adorns our cover with the reveal of their 7" scale Fugitive Predator from the upcoming 2018 Predator movie. In reviews we stick with Star Wars Black Series and this issue we've got our grubby mitts on the highly impressive General Veers. www.facebook.com/mephitsu www.twitter.com/mephitsu www.issuu.com/mephitsu #SatTOYday #news #newsletter #actionfigures #toys #startrek #starwars #marvel #diamondselect #neca #hasbro #SHFiguarts #Mafex #TwinSuns

Pros : Excellent likeness. Cap, Helmet and Armour are well engineered and fit perfectly Cons : couple of paint blemishes on uniform and armour. Factory fault on shoulder joint The release of a Star Wars Black Series General Veers came as somewhat of a surprise, particularly as it hit UK and Far East sellers just a few weeks after the release was confirmed. The figure is exclusive to Walgreens in the US, and around the rest of the world is available as a shared exclusive to most retailers. Being exclusive the figure is not numbered, but everything else about the packaging is identical to the Phase 3 releases. I am not overly impressed with the Titus artwork on this box, ironically the figure has a better likeness. This artwork is repeated on the rear of the box alongside the bio text. The text talks around Veers as a cold and efficient officer. It then gets very specific, confirming Veers involvement in the Imperial Assault on Hoth. The white sticker you see on our review figure confirms it as supplied by Hasbro's Far East distributor. It is not easy to remove. Out of the box we get General Veers in his inner tray. Be warned that this is the first figure for quite some time that has twisty ties around the arms & legs - I pulled him straight out not expecting them and risked damage to the paint. To the side of the figure is the Helmet, Blaster and the Chest Armour. I mentioned the likeness on the figure was, for me, better than the Titus artwork. It uses the face print technology and that gives the figure a very strong likeness to Julian Glover - although it is not a dead on look. The figure is wearing his Imperial Peak Cap out of the pack which is decorated with a single silver button. The look of the uniform is excellent, a flat grey with glossy black boots and black gloves. The belt is black with a silver buckle and either side of the chest there are those canisters to his left his Imperial ranking insignia. The colouring of the uniform is a plain grey but does have a few blemishes which is a shame - they look like watermarks as though the figure got wet before the paint dried. Thankfully they are not overly visible. I guess once one Imperial Uniform has been sculpted, Hasbro were enabled to bring us multiple officers. The legs and arms have come originally from the Krennic figure from Rogue One, and have gone on to be used for Tarkin, Veers and I would assume the upcoming Piett figure. The chest section is not a direct reuse but I suspect some molds were tweaked. The peaked Cap is removable, and once off the likeness to Glover is much stronger. The hair is sculpted but is very flat to allow the Cap to sit in place. The Cap is made of a soft rubber and it is well engineered to sit so flush to the head and not look oversized - a problem with a lot of figures with removable head gear. You don't need your Imperial Officers to do much in terms of action posing, but despite this Veers still has the usual 16 points of articulation. The head is ball jointed, as is the waist which rotates and pivots forward and backward. Arms are ball jointed shoulders, rotating single joint elbow and pivot peg wrist. Legs are ball jointed hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees and ankle rockers. Veers thankfully stands easily. I was concerned he may be a touch unsteady as the legs are from Krennic, a figure that falls over far too easily with its floppy ankle joints. It is worth noting that Veers comes with a factory fault on his right shoulder. There is a pull or something in the mold that causes this unsightly defect, and this seems to appear on all the originally released figures. If this bothers you then you may want to wait for later stocks and hope it is corrected - or at least check your Veers if you can to see how bad it is on that particular figure - there are varying degrees of damage. Now up to this point the Veers figure has really not been the one we have seen on screen, although he was seen briefly in his dress uniform whe Vader ordered him to ready his troops, We are of course more used to seeing the General in his attack armour leading the AT-AT assault on Echo Base. This armour is supplied as a separate piece that is cast in hard plastic on the armour with soft plastic belt and holster. The armour first goes over Veers head and then there is a black flexible belt that goes round his waist and clips into a socket underneath the holster. The second part is the helmet which like the Cap is a well engineered piece that slots snugly over Veers' head. The chin strap is flexible that wraps under the trim. Like the uniform, there are a few paint niggles on the armour. The details are neatly done with a repeat of Veers' rank insignia as well as led and controls down at the base. To the side of this however is what looks like patched up paint. Veers comes with a blaster and this is cast in a black plastic with no other paint or details. This slots into the right hand with a trigger finger slotting into place. When the blaster is not in use it can be fitted into a working holster. The holster works similar to the one that comes with Han Solo. The weapon slots into place and then a strap goes over the top of the blaster and slots into a socket to hold it in place. The fit is tight but with no paint on either blaster or holster you needn't worry about paint rub. Veers looks awesome, but even more so posed with the Imperial Hoth Troopers like the AT-AT Drivers and Snowtroopers. I predict a rush on these Imperials now Veers is out so collectors can build an impressive force for their Hoth assault. General Veers is essentially two figures in one, and Hasbro could have released the basic figure and a second with armour as a later exclusive. Instead they have given us both, albeit at a little premium to normal - which I think is acceptable. The figure likeness is great and the uniform, even with the reuse, looks great. My only problems with the figure are the odd few paint blemishes on the uniform and amour, and that disappointing. shoulder fault. I score General Maximillian Veers an almost there 4 out of 5. #starwars #blackseries #hasbro #veers #general #imperials #empire #empirestrikesback #actionfigures #toys #reviews

Robotkingdom have posted details of the 2nd wave of the 3.75" Star Wars Vintage collection which will include the wonderful Enfys Nest from Solo. Also included are Rey, Kylo and a First Order Stormtrooper from The Force Awakens - and Supreme Leader Snoke from The Last Jedi.

Shout Factory have announced a brand new exclusive Blu Ray Steelbook release for Night of the Demons, and as an added bonus a brand new 8" NECA figure of Angela is included. The set is due to go on sale in the US on the 23rd October, and US collectors can pre-order now. It is extremely limit to just 2000 units. It's Halloween night and Angela is throwing a party ... but this is no ordinary Halloween party. Everybody's headed to Hull House, a deserted funeral home, formerly the home of a mass murderer. But when the partygoers decide to have a séance, they awaken something evil ... and these party crashers have a thirst for blood. Now it's a battle to survive the night in Hull House. William Gallo (Crash), Amelia Kinkade, Cathy Podewell (Dallas), Jill Terashita (Sleepaway Camp III) and Screen Queen Linnea Quigley star in this '80s splatter-fest directed by Kevin S. Tenney (Witchboard). The 8” clothed Angela action figure by NECA is exclusive to this set! The figure is fully poseable and comes in window box packaging.

Hasbro Pulse has confirmed, as we expected, that the Red Skull pack leaked a few days ago is an SDCC exclusive for 2018. The set includes a 6" scale Red Skull with Tesseract accessory. You also then get an electronic 1:1 scale Tesseract. The whole set is presented in a special presentation box. Price at the show is $59.99 and we'd expect there to be some residual stocks on Hasbro Toy Store for US customers after San Diego. #marvel #legends #hasbro #redskull #sdcc #actionfigures #captainamerica #tesseract #toy

Dorkside Toys have shared a few new images of the next wave of Star wars Black series - Bespin Han Solo, Beckett and The Rebel Fleet Trooper. Wave 18 is due for imminent US release. The figures are numbered as usual with Tobias Beckett at #68, Rebel Fleet Trooper #69 and Han Solo Bespin #70 #starwars #Blackseries #hasbro #hansolo #beckett #rebels #actionfigures

NECA have shown the packaging for their 7" scale Evil Dead 2 30th Anniversary 2-pack. The set should start shipping in the US in late July. The set includes Ash and a Deadite as well as a raft of accessories including two additional heads for Ash and one for the Deadite. We also get the laughing deer head trophy and a book of the dead. The wait is almost over! Available later this month is the Evil Dead 2 (30th Anniversary) Ash vs Deadite Ed 2pk and we are happy to show the final packaging shots before their release!

Pros : head sculpt and facial printing with real character and expression built in. Awesome articulation.Exceptional Cons : very few. Couple of colours missing on his blaster The third and final Solo release within Wave 16 is Lando Calrissian, numbered #65. Lando is packed in the standard packaging with one of the smoothest looking Gregory Titus illustrations showing Lando with a smug look and cape thrown casually over his shoulder. Like all Black Series figures there is no film specifics with the character name, so the package simply reads Lando Calrissian. Round the back and the bio sector talks about Captain Lando and his plan to retire from smuggling to become a full-time gambler. Our Lando figure was purchased at Disney Store and they had sadly applied a security sticker smack bang on the back of the box. This is OK for me as I unbox my figures, but something to watch if you are a boxed collector purchasing at Disney Store - or ordering from them online. Like normal the figure slides out of either the top or bottom flap in its red cardboard tray. The figure is set into the inner plastic tray with the blaster to the side of Lando's head. The likeness to Donald Glover on the figure is spectacular, a triumph for the new face print technology. It creates real definition in the face with shadows and lines, but where it excels is facial hair. Landos manicured moustache and beard are really natural and not a block painted colour and harsh lines, but rather they fade naturally at the edges. The eyes are also exceptional and I love the cheeky raised eyebrow look they've given him. The outfit Lando is wearing is the one we find him in at the Sabac table at The Lodge. The cape is a solid rubberised piece that drapes around the shoulders with a stiff raised collar to frame the head. This collar is painted a black gloss in contrast to the matt black of the cape. Under this we see Lando''s bright yellow shirt with black lining and around his neck is his scarf. Trousers are plain black and the shoes a glossy black. Like his Empire Strikes Back version, Lando's cape is removable. It slides up and off the body and now reveals its turquoise inner lining, perhaps a nod to the colouring of Lando's cape on Bespin. This gives us a much better look at the shirt which is quite bright and lacks any shading whatsoever - Lando will certainly stand out on a display. The turned collar and pocket are painted black and there is then an orange/red belt around the top of his trousers. Under this sits the gunslingers belt with three loops that stick out from the body. If we are going to be really picky this belt is not quite screen accurate as the props actually had a second strap that went round Lando's thigh to lock the holster in place. While it initially looks like it is fixed in behind the neck, the scarf is also a removable piece - allowing Lando's look to be further customised. Like the cape this is cast in a rubber plastic and shaped to go into the neck. Its painted gloss black with white detailing. Lando is exceptionally well articulated, boasting more than the usual Black Series with 17 points of articulation - more on the extra one in a minute. We start with the legs which are ball jointed hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees and an ankle rocker. All of this allows some great action poses, and if you really wanted him to he could also kneel and sit. He stands fine once those ankle rockers are positioned to match the pose. Arms are ball jointed shoulders and the only quibble here is the visible joint in the shoulder is a darker yellow than his shirt. The elbows are single jointed and rotate, but like the more modern figures they do bend beyond 90 degrees and are less intrusive than double joints and a bicep cut. The torso is jointed half way down the shirt, which does impact the cut of the figure and costume. This joint is highly mobile giving Lando the range to rotate fully and lean forward and backward. The final two joints are in the neck and head, and this is where joint number 17 comes in. This is the first appearance of a neck that is jointed at the bottom of the neck within the torso, and then again as a ball joint where the head connects. This gives expansive movements, and these really help to accentuate Lando's cool and charism allowing the head to be cocked or looking down, perhaps admiring his Sabac hand? Lando's choice of weapon is a BlasTech SE-14r and this is replicated in the pack with a weapon painted in high gloss silver. This is accurate to the prop which Lando has apparently had lated in brushed chromium. It could have done with a few black panels like and the handle is meant to be mother-of-pearl so it would have been nice to paint this differently. The weapon can be holstered on Lando's hip by means of the black gunslingers belt we saw earlier. THis initially looks an odd design compared to say the one on Han's figure. It is however accurate to the way Lando holsters his weapon on screen, via three loops down his belt - no doubt to keep the custom piece on display. This is a little fiddly to achieve, but once in place it holds well enough. The SE-14r fits in the right hand as the best fit, allowing the trigger finger to lock in. There is also the option of putting it in the left hand, but there is no trigger finger here. The barrel that comes fitted on the weapon pulls off, this is a silencer of some kind. With the arm articulation, Lando can actually hold the blaster in two hands, as though he is assembling the silencer or taking it apart. Lando as a figure is both impressive and expressive, I've never had so much fun posing him with the various gestures I've seen him use on screen in both old and new movies - and many more poses I can imagine him doing. It is one of those figures you can't stop posing, and even though he is an individual character (not an army builder) I am toying with buying another one so I can pose him with and without his cape. He looks brilliant with the other Solo figures to, and I can't wait to team him up with L3-L7. In the meantime he and Han are getting into mischief while they wait. I know I've got a good figure when I get to the end of a review this excited and having taken so many pictures and posed the figure for much longer than I would normally spend on a review. Lando is exceptional and the only faults I can pick are the paint apps on the gun and a slightly off colour joint in the shoulder. The face print technology is shown off at its best here, and that extra neck joint adds so much character. I score Lando an impressive 5 out of 5. #Solo #StarWars #Story #Lando #Calrissian #Smuggler #Sabac #ActionFigure #BlackSeries #Toy #Review

Pros : Big bulky well proportioned figure with gorgeous engineering in those Magnetomic Boots. Cons : Blaster is wrong colour, and there is a lack of weathering on the boots and the coat One of the big troopers revealed for Solo was the Range Troopers. By the time the movie came round to release these guys only got a fleeting appearance on Vandor, with the Imperials pretty much playing a supporting role to Crimson Dawn. That being said, the Range Trooper is a fantastic design and we are going to take a look at how that translates to a 6" figure in this review. Packaging remains consistent with Phase 3 and the figure is number #64 in the line. The Gregory Titus artwork is impressive as usual depicting the Range Trooper and its shaggy shoulder cloak. Round the back the bio piece talks about the Imperial Expansion and how the remote worlds are enforced by these Frontier Troopers. There is no specific mention to Solo or the planet Vandor. The figure slides out as usual via the top or bottom flaps. It is clipped into the tray with its weapon to the side of the helmet. As a look, the Range Trooper is unique in Imperial Troops but carries a lot of nods to other troop types. The helmet has similarities to the Rogue One Scarif Troopers and the Hover Tank Pilots. The chest armour is very similar to that of a Snowtrooper. The helmet is cast with extreme accuracy to what we see on screen and in an off white plastic. This is then decorated with the bronze eye lenses and panel lines round the rim of the helmet ridge, and round the back in the two vents. The whole piece is then weathered with grey/black dry brushing into the exposed lines. Other detail of note can be found on the chest unit with the red and blue switches across the various panels. With the figure in hand you can feel this is a solid and hefty piece. It is a bulky design and carries a lot of girth thanks to its armour on top of which is a coat. Each element of the outfit is a varying shade or white or cream - the armour for example is gloss white, while the coat is a creamier colour and more matt to the finish. The shoulder section is soft good fur which is a good choice as we will see later on for the articulation. It isn't quite screen accurate as it looks more like a cloak on the figure rather than the synth fur collar and lining of the coat - but it does the job it was designed for, moving with the figure as required. There is already some fluff coming off my figure after a couple of days, the fur material may not have a very long life. Weathering on the figure is limited to the helmet and a few patches of dirt on the chest armour. The coat, which in the movie and reference books is very dirty and battle worn, is a touch too clean. The boots, Magnetomic Gription Boots to give them their full name, are a masterpiece in sculpting and design. There are various parts all combining to complete the boot design. These are cast in the same off white colour with the only paint apps being some blue and red indicators on the inner face. These boots would have benefitted hugely from a wash of darker grey and the same weathering we see on the helmet and armour. While the Range Trooper is a bulky piece, it still carries the 16 points of articulation we are used to. The helmet is jointed with a ball joint and rotates, moving the synth fur trim with it as it goes. Using the fur allows the ball jointed shoulders full movement, had this piece been a sculpted rubber piece then the arms would be locked in place. Down from the shoulders is a rotating elbow joint and then a wrist joint. The wrists do have a pivot peg built in, but this is virtually redundant in the cuff of the coat. A ball joint waist sits where the armour meets the belt. It rotates the torso but has no discernable forward or backward motion. Under the hem of the coat are a set of ball jointed hips with a thigh swivel underneath. These can move as far as the coat allows, so wider action stances - but nothing more dramatic. The knees are a single joint, not the usual double, but with the hips being restricted by that coat double jointed knees would have been wasteful. And while those huge boots look like a solid piece, there is a joint built into the ankle which is suitably mechanical and almost robotic. The Range Trooper has no issue standing with those large boots and its solid mass. The Range Trooper comes with the Blastech E-10R blaster rifle. In design terms this is a wonderful mix of the Clone Trooper DC-15s and the more familiar E11, both also made by Blastech. This design nod helps ground Solo somewhere between the end of the Clone Wars and the start of the Rebellion The E-10R is cast in black plastic with no paint application at all. Sadly, this is the wrong colour as the E-10R was a white gun with grey highlights on screen, and this would have fitted the look of the Range Trooper must better. I love the design and thought that has gone into the Range Trooper, initially on screen and then in this figure representation. The engineering on the figures boots alone is worthy of star in our rating scale. Articulation overall is brilliant. The figure isn't without its flaws and paint apps is one of them. Considering the figure is all but cast in coloured plastic some weathering on the coat, a darker wash on the boots and getting the blaster colour correct would not have gone amiss. I score the Range Trooper a 4 out of 5. #Solo #StarWars #Imperial #Empire #RangeTrooper #BlackSeries #ActionFigure #Review #Toy

The Rebel Fleet Trooper from wave 18 of the Star Wars Black series has been found in North America. This our first look at the figure in packaging and the nice surprise is that the figure comes with the Death Star plans. Wave 18 contains Bespin Han Solo, Tobias Beckett and he Rebel Fleet Trooper Photo from Brian Metz, Star Wars Black Series Group #starwars #Blackseries #hasbro #anewhope #rogueone #tantiveiv #rebelfleet #trooper #deathstarplans #actionfigure

Pros : The parts of the outfit that exist are sculpted neatly Cons : Looks under-scale. Head sculpt is not great. Articulation is lacking. Soft goods don't sit or flow naturally. One of the most contentious figures of Wave 1 was the first Princess Leia figure in the Black Series. While there were plenty of safer choices of outfit, Hasbro went bold and brave with the iconic Slave outfit from Jabba's Palace in Return of the Jedi. The outfit and the fact this figure did have the word "Slave Outfit" on the packaging did cause some offense among some parents, with campaigns to have it removed from toy store shelves. While some of the Phase 1 figures still hold their own some 5 years later, the Leia figure hasn't aged as well. In fact it looked out of place to the other releases when it arrived with a pretty generic likeness to Leia, made worse with some basic paint apps. The skin tone across the figure, and there is a lot, is quite glossy and one tone. The outfit is then sculpted on top and is pretty intricate, but not painted sufficiently to pick out the detailed scroll work on the belt for example. The figure has a soft good skirt. This is quite a thick material than hangs a touch too straight. It also has some frayed edges out of the pack and suffers from threading. Leia comes fitted with a short chain and neck ring. This can be removed if you wish by popping off the head. The head is ball jointed and moves really well in all directions. The long braid of hair is flexible enough to move with the head, but doesn't sit too well against the body and in most poses ends up looking like it is sticking out of its own accord. Leia has just 14 points of articulation, starting with that ball jointed head. There is a chest ball joint hidden neatly under the bikini top but it only really allows some side to side rotation and not much in the way of forward or backward lean. The arms are ball jointed at the shoulder, and with such a slim arm the movement is extensive. The elbows are a single joint that rotate and these bend to 90 degrees. The wrists are pivoted and also rotate. The legs start with ball jointed hips, a thigh swivel and double jointed knees. There are no ankle joints but there is no impact on getting Leia to stand perfectly well. With a bit of work she can also be sat down with her legs out to the side, a la her position on Jabba's throne. Doing this is messy though and throws out a lot of the joints and that thick cut cloth still doesn't sit well. Leia comes with two weapons, the first of which is the electrostaff that she uses in the Boushh disguise. This is cast in a soft grey plastic with the detail being quite soft in the sculpt, and the whole thing being too short. It is also misshapen out of the pack. It fits in either hand, with the elbow and shoulder articulation doing enough to let Leia grip this elctrostaff with both hands. When Leia is released later in the series in her Boushh outfit, this staff gets a full overhaul to a more substantial piece. The other weapon is the vibroblade. This is a more contemporary piece to the outfit as its the weapon she grabs on the deck of the sail barge as our heroes make their escape. Like the electrostaff this arrives in a softer plastic with soft sculpting - none of the lines are crisp or too well defined. There is a bit of paint apps applied here with a silver blade painted onto of the metallic grey base plastic. Again this fits into either hand, or into both in a fighting position. The final issue with Leia is her size and scale. She stands just 5" tall and while this is an accurate conversion in 1/12 scale to Carrie Fishers height of 1.5m the figure just looks and feels out of scale alongside anyone else in the line. Future Leia's have moved away from the actor's height and made taller to fit the other figures - and from visual perspective that is probably for the best. Leia was the first "miss" in the fledgling Star Wars Black Series 6" line. It wasn't so much it was a terrible figure, but it didn't stand up to the standards of articulation, paint and sculpting we'd seen on other releases like Maul, X-Wing Luke and the Sandtrooper. While it may have been sculpted to Carrie Fisher's height, it still looks undersized against the other figures. With all the controversy of the figure I doubt we will see this figure ever again either as a re-release or a "do-over". While it does the job on a Jabba the Hutt palace display, it is lacking and for me I score it a sub-par 2 out of 5. #PrincessLeia #StarWars #BlackSeries #Hasbro #Wave2 #JabbatheHutt #ReturnoftheJedi #Review #ActionFigure #Toy

Both Walmart and now Amazon in the US have dropped the price of the Black Series Dewback to $40 For UK customers the Amazon price means you can get this shipped over to UK in about 10-days with tax covered upfront for about £50, that's at least a tenner cheaper than most options at the moment Click HERE or the image below to go to the product page on Amazon.com *Price is accurate as of time of posting. The links to Amazon are affiliated links #StarWars #Hasbro #BlackSeries #Deal #Amazon #Price #Bargain #Dewback #ANewHope #ActionFigures