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Pros : Good Sculpt further enhanced with the face print technology. Good weathering wash on the jacket Cons : Boots might have been better dirtying up. Blaster is prone to bending in pack. Wave 16 of the Black Series arrived in April 2018 and was the debut of figures from the 2018 standalone Solo movie. The first wave brought us the key characters of Han and Lando, with a Range Trooper as the third release. Han is number #62 in the phase 3 packaging which shows no sign of abating He arrives in the standard black box with a very moody looking Gregory Titus interpretation of Alden Ehrenreich illustrated bottom right. Following suit with Black Series to date, there is no movie specifics only the name Han Solo. The side spine on the right is bright red with the bold black numbering and character name. The other spine which includes part of the window wrap around has a very small name text for Han Solo and faintly in the background a grey zoomed in version of the same text. On the rverse we have a larger version of the Titus artwork ad a few lines about how Han reinvents himself after leaving his old life. The figure is accessed via the top or bottom flap, both of which are taped and sealed closed. The figure sits into the inner tray with his blaster to the side of his head. There are no twisty ties. The whole thing then sits in the bold red cardboard inner tray which acts as the cardback. 2018 sees the start of Hasbro using the face print technology to the Black Series. Han uses this technology and the result is wonderful with subtle shading to the face sculpt and a set of very realistic and expressive eyes. While this may not be an absolutely nailed on likeness of Alden, it is in my eyes a young Han Solo. Han is wearing the outfit he is dons following his escape from Mimban. The Nerf leather jacket is a rubberised pece with padded shoulders. It carries some neat sculptural detail with a good stretched leather texture and seams and pockets. The ID storage tag is painted with a tiny red dot. There are the two black shoulder panels also painted and there is just a touch of paint bleed on the edges. The whole jacket is very slightly washed in a darker brown which weathers it nicely. Under the jacket is a plain black shirt, Where the shirt is split by the torso joint there is a touch of finish variation with the bottom half being a bit glossier than the top. The trousers are plain dark blue with the red Corellian bloodstripe painted down the side. The boots are plain matt black and thanks to the ankle joint have the faintest overhang at the ankle which can look odd in some posings. The gunslingers belt is the same one he wore in the original trilogy but it is not a re-use from the Harrison Ford A New Hope figure. Young Solo has 16 points of articulation starting with a ball jointed head. The best part of this particularly joint is the ability to pose Han with that cocky head to one side gesture we see him use in Solo and later in the Original Trilogy movies. Under the head is the torso ball joint. This rotates but can't move much in other directions, it almost seems like the top part blocks the bottom parts movements - I think a waist swivel would have worked better and not caused the variation in colouring I mentioned earlier. The arms are ball joint shoulders and then single jointed rotating elbows. These elbows, while still as single joint, are rounded and engineered to bend past 90 degrees which gives a much better bend than normal, without the need to add a more intrusive double joint and a supporting bicep swivel. The legs are ball jointed hips, which can be moved despite the belt which moves with them. There is a thigh cut swivel followed by double jointed knees and ankle rockers. All of the joints are tight and Han is a an absolute delight to pose both in a neutral stance, but also in a number of more dynamic posings. Han has a single accessory, his DL-44 with its custom Zoltwen D3x Macroscope. The DL-44 is a new cast, smaller and sleeker than the original Han weapon. Being thinner it does suffer from mis-shaping and the barrel in particular is prone to being bent. The DL-44 is cast in black plastic with a very slight gunmetal sheen to it. The grip is painted in a brown colour. The weapon sits into the right hand of Solo most comfortably. Here there is a separate slightly flexible trigger finger which locks into the trigger. You can start to see on these images how the extra "bend" in the elbow joints allows some neat posing when Han is toting his blaster. When not firing off at Crimson Dawn or Imperials, Han can holster his weapon in the working holster on his belt. The fit is very tight and because of the shaping around the leg having the blaster in the holster can make the warping on the barrel worse. Once in place there is a strap that comes down over the grip and slots into a socket to hold the whole thing in place - identical engineering to the A New Hope Han from 2014. Han scales really well with the rest of the Black Series line, and looks great with Lando and the Range Trooper in the fledgling Solo range of Black Series figures. I can't wait to add Chewie when I can get him at a reasonable price, as well as Qi'Ra. There is virtually no negatives on this Solo figure. The issues I mention are me really nit picking and not really detectable unless you are examining Solo up close or under a camera lense. The face print technology is a massive game changer for 2018 and I can see a lot of figures bagging very big scores in our reviews - especially as at the moment these are coming in with no increase in pricing from previous 2 years. I score Han Solo a virtually perfect 5 out of 5. #hansolo #solo #astarwarsstory #hasbro #blackseries #lando #imperials #actionfigures #toys #review

Pros : Excellent sculpted screen accurate armour and helmet. Very articulated arms with double jointed elbows. Multiple weapons. Cons : Leg articulation is a little restricted. Paint errors around the joints. Backpack sits too high and allows you to see it is hollow inside Our first Imperial Trooper in the Black Series was not your standard obligatory Stormtrooper, instead Hasbro threw us a curve ball by giving us the Sandtrooper from A New Hope in the first wave alongside X-Wing Luke, R2 and Darth Maul. The figure was packed in the phase 1 matt black packaging with orange highlights and name text. The figure was number #03 in the line and was simply titled "Sandtrooper" later releases such as the variant black and white pauldrons make it necessary to now refer to this as the orange pauldron Sandtrooper. Out of the box and the figure is hefty but does have an immediate feel of a few joint wobbles. The helmet is really well proportioned and in the main neatly painted with those deep black eye lenses, silver breathing filters and blue tear drops either side of the head. The black rim around the top of the helmet is gloss black - but on the first of these that I purchased there was a scratch on the strip - frustrating, but it gives him character and battle damage. The rest of the body is as well proportioned as the head. It is also nice to see that Hasbro haven't simply gone with a single Stormtrooper body and dirtied it up. This is a Sandtrooper with the slight tweaks we see on screen like that altered knee panel, the chest armour and stomach panels and the belt which doesn't have that canister on the reverse and black pouches and not white. Being a Sandtrooper the base white armour, which is cast in white plastic, is weathered with a glorious mottling sandblast effect. To this day it remains one of the best weatherings we have had on a figure The only gripe to be found on the body is around the joints where the white plastic is painted black. This does leave some very untidy lines and on the side of the knees we have a white peg in a black section. The other huge difference for the Sandtrooper vs the standard Stormtrooper is the backpack. This is packed as an individual piece and it is cast in a softer black plastic. There are painted details in white and grey, but not weathering which does make the backpack look a touch too clean vs the armour. It slots into a hole on the Sandtrooper's back, there is then a flexible pouch that can be hooked over the shoulder. The fit is quite good but over time the softer plastic can lead this to getting looser. The backpack does sit a little too high on the figure vs what we see on screen. The top section should be in line with the shoulder. The back pack is cast hollow, most certainly to balance the figure rather than sticking a big weight on the back. By sitting the backpack too high this hollowness also becomes visible when on display which does spoil the look a little. The Pauldron is an additional part sitting under the head. This is a rubberised piece cast in black with the orange painted on top. The orange paint is bold and bright but is a little ragged at the edge. I really like the added detail of the clasp where the part is sculpted to look like it is being stretched where it fastens front and back. As was common in the first few releases on the Black Series, the Sandtrooper comes with a whole armoury of weapons to choose from. This multi accessory format, along with the fact more than one appeared on screen, inevitably leads to Army Building and the Sandtrooper was one of the first figures to disappear off store pegs in the early days. Weapon one is the T-21 Light Repeating Blaster Rifle. This is a hefty piece and comes cast in black with a flexible rubber strap attached. Paint details are added like the brown stock and grey and gold details around the barrel. The weapon fits into the troopers right hand, with a flexible trigger finger slotting into place. While the strap is flexible, it will only hang a certain way so if you pose your T-21 in other angles it starts to look unnatural with the strap sticking out. This strap does however make the T-21 the one weapon the Trooper can "shoulder". Weapon two is the DLT-19 Heavy Blaster Rifle. This again is cast in black plastic. The paint apps have been scaled back on this one with only a touch of silver dry brushing towards the barrel. Like the T-21 this fits into the right hand. Being a slimmer barrel this weapon can also be gripped by the left hand in two handed poses, a much nicer pose for a Sandtrooper on patrol looking for Droids. And finally we have the trusty E-11 Blaster. This would go on to be re-released with the standard Stormtrooper as well as a number of other releases until it was recast for the Rogue One Imperials. This is a simple black cast, no paint whatsoever. It too sits in the right hand with trigger finger in place. The articulation on the trooper is good, but as with any armoured figures the amour does work to block certain movements. The Sandtrooper gas 18 points of articulation, one of the biggest counts to date thanks to upgraded elbow articulation. The arms are ball jointed at the shoulder but are restricted by the shoulder armour which halts the movement about 45 degrees out. The extra articulation comes in here with a bicep swivel and then a double jointed elbow which really helps with weapon and action posing - including the two handed weapon grips we have seen. The head and torso sit on a ball joint so that the head can be turned and cocked slightly and the waist/torso can swivel and lean all round. The legs are where the movement is most restricted, with the ball joint hips locked in place with those extending thigh armour pieces. Just under this armour is a thigh swivel allowing the legs to be swung out to aid feet positions. The knees are double jointed and the ankles on rockers. While I mentioned that feeling of loose joints early on, this isn't an issue when you start posing and moving your Sandtrooper. Nearly all the joints are ratcheted, and while they feel a touch loose between each tooth of the ratchet, they are absolutely stiff and solid as you make each movement. Even after 5 years of posing my Sandtroopers still stand perfectly well. For the Black Series, this is the original army builder. I have three of these, and of course with how the range has grown I now have most of these surrounding Luke's Landspeeder. The numerous weapons and the way the backpack is designed (so it can be left off if you wish) gives this figure multiple different options for display and therefore any army/squad builds can be varied. Articulation has never got any better than what we see here in terms of number ad types of joints, and the only way the armour issues restricting movement could have been improved would be by sacrificing the look of the figure. The weathering too is impressive, but not the overall paint job with some errors and poor transition between black undersuit paint and the white of the armour. I score the Sandtrooper a 4 out of 5, he is a few paint strokes and a readjusted backpack away from being spot on. #starwars #anewhope #sandtrooper #tattooine #imperial #empire #stormtrooper #actionfigure #blackserie #hasbro

While revealing their Marvel Legends SDCC Defenders set, Hasbro has also shared the following image of what appears to be another SDCC 2018 set. The set is titled as Red Skull & Electronic Tesseract. It uses the same logo and design as the First Ten Years Legends sets. With the upcoming Red Skull figure in this line, it seems like this could be an advance release of that figure - packed with either some 1/12 scale diorama of the Tesseract that lights up OR packed with a 1:1 scale Tesseract which would also make sense considering that these prop replica's also sit in the Legends brand. We await more details. #marvel #legends #redskull #captainamerica #tesseract #hasbro #sdcc #2018 #exclusive #toy #actionfigure

The leaked SDCC 2018 Marvel Legends exclusive has been officially unveiled by Hasbro, and it is ieven cooler than we first thought. The set is based on the Netflix Marvel serie, specifically the Defenders. Daredevil is a re-release of the Marvel Knights figure but now comes with an additional unmasked head. Jessica Jones comes without her jacket, in her vest top. Luke Cage is the same sculpt as his 2-pack standard release, but is in a red T-shirt. Coleen Wing is a brand new figure, as is Danny Rand (Iron-Fist) who is dressed in his grey suit with trainers and a glowing fist. We would expect Danny and Colleen to be released more generally in the near future. What is cool about the set is the packaging which is designed to look like a New York Subway train. The figures are then positioned into the carriage as though they are riding the Subway. The set is on sale at San Diego Comic Con at the Hasbro booth for $124.99, any remainig stock will go up on Hasbro Toy Shop for US collectors after the show.

NECA have started their SDCC teases as we start to count down towards the convention. More Quarter Scale Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle product had been talked about, and this image seems to indicate an 18" scale Foot Soldier from the 1990 Turtle movie will be one of the reveals at the show. "Excuse the mess. We’re trying to get him & many others ready for the big show in a few weeks...#sdcc" This is the look from the 1990 Movie that NECA are replicating in this highly detailed quarter scale figure.

DC Collectibles have announced a new line of animated DC hero figures, the catch is that the figures are part of the incentive to join the new DC Universe subscription service. DC UNIVERSE is a first-of-its kind digital subscription service that gives fans access to exclusive content and experiences not available anywhere else. With membership, fans will enjoy all-new original live-action and animated series, classic TV series and films, a curated selection of digital comic books, breaking news, an expansive DC-centric encyclopedia, and access to exclusive merchandise. Additional fan features include opportunities to connect with others in the DC community, earn premium rewards and participate in sweepstakes and contests. As a signed up paid member of DC Universe you will then have access to shop exclusive merchandise such as these DC Justice League animated figures. The set includes Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter. Being exclusive within a subscription service doesn't make these limited in terms of release, but they will be harder to get and there will be a big markup from sellers onto the secondary market. The DC Universe Subscription is US only at the moment. #DC #Universe #JusticeLeague #ActionFigures #Toys #Subscription #News

Pros : Well designed to give us two significant looks for Maul. Head sculpt is excellent. Face marking paint are very crisp Cons : Articulation is a little limited, particularly the arms. Saber hilt a bit oversized and miss-shapen The Star Wars Black Series launched in the Summer of 2013 with the four brand new 6" scale Action figures from across the Star Wars Universe. Alongside the established Original Trilogy figures like Luke and R2 was the prequel favourite Darth Maul. The first phase of the Black Series was the impressive mat black box with a window that wrapped round the right hand side displaying the figure and accessories. The figure cardback was also black, which did mean a figure like Maul didn't particularly stand out when boxed. The colour was added via the lighting strip which was orange, the same colour was used for the figure name and numbering. Round the other side, the spine was plain black. The rear of the box had a neat image from the Phantom Menace of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon facing Maul, but this had been converted to a stylised black and grey image. Above this sits a few lines about Maul confirming he was "the evil Sith Apprentice". Out of the box the figure was sat in an inner plastic tray, that itself sat in the inner cardboard backing card. Maul had his sabers sat to his side, with an alternative head above his shoulders, and his macrobinoculars at the other side of his head. Out of the pack and the sculpt on Maul is impressive, even by the standards today some 5 years later. The facial markings are bold red and neatly painted. The eyes are suitably menacing with the orange iris and black pupil. This first look for Maul is from Tatooine where he was wearing his all encompassing cloak. The cloak is cast in a black rubber and the hood is part of the sculpt and is fixed to the head. There is no paint apps, but the depth of the sculpting of the folds does add some natural shading and highlights. It is in these robes that we would expect to see Maul using his macrobinocular as he searches the Tatooine desert for his quarry. Despite their size the macrobinoculars are very well painted with at least 4 individual paint colours being used including some tiny red and black buttons. The macrobinoculars sit into either hand, but are easiest to fit in the right. The elbow articulation sadly doesn't allow them to be raised up so Maul is looking through them. The unique thing about this Maul figure was the way Hasbro tackled giving him a second look. The head and the cloak are all attached, so as you pop off the head the cloak comes off with it, revealing Maul's inner robes and outfit beneath. This is where we now bring in the second head, this clips into the ball joint left by removing the cloaked head. This operation is smooth and a tight fit once the new head is in place. Like the first this sculpt is very impressive, an extremely faithful representation of Ray Park as Darth Maul. Again the red and black markings are neat, despite the small lines especially around the chin. You can now also see Maul's horns which are painted in a bone yellow colour. The outfit revealed by removing the cloak is more black sculpted plastic, but in a variety of finishes. While the top half and legs are a matt black the wide belt is a gloss finish as are boots and gloves. There is even some soft goods black cloth built into the skirt for another differing texture and to aid articulation. In the cloaked version Maul didn't have a great deal of movement. Without the cloak the figure is much more maneuverable and has 16 points of articulation. The head is ball jointed, as is the waist so that it doesn't just rotate it also leans the upper body back and forth. Arms are ball jointed shoulders followed by a single elbow and a pivot wrist. The single joint elbows are the biggest hindrance on the figure as we saw when posing the binoculars and as we will see in some fighting stances in a little while. Maul's legs are ball jointed hips with a thigh swivel and double jointed knees. There is then an ankle rocker. These do allow a wide range of movement and poses, including kneeling. However because the trousers are so baggy the stance on Maul is always very wide and the hips are quite loose and want to slide apart into a much wider stance. The ankle rockers are also ratcheted and as they click into position this doesn't quite match up with what the rest of the legs are doing so often Maul is posed with his feet off the ground at one side. These issues do make posing difficult. Maul is armed out of the box with two light sabers. Of course we know that in the movie these were connected and he only wielded these towards the end of the Phantom Menace when the double bladed saber was snapped. Each saber blade is removable from the hilt so you can choose to pose with or without blade(s) ignited. The hilts then connect together by means of a plug and socket to create the larger hilt piece. When connected, but used as a single saber hilt as seen on Tatooine - the hilt is very large, and out of scale to the figure. It should be much slimmer and shorter. It is cast in a grey plastic with some slim black lines and red buttons down its length. The saber can be held in either hand. However, the lack of double joints in the elbows makes fighting stances a little more difficult. While Maul can hold the saber with both hands these tend to be quite relaxed poses rather than offensive ones. My favourite look is probably the broken saber where Maul can wield a blade i heah hand. When not in use there is a hole on Maul's belt which corresponds to a notch on one of the saber hilts. That means the saber can be hung on the belt, but I would only every use the half with the peg in it as hanging the full double hilt on the belt looks a bit odd. As a debut figure for the Star Wars Black Series, Maul was hugely impressive. While he still holds up with the current line in temrs of looks he does have a few niggly issues like the oversized saber hilt, the wide leg stance and limited articulation and the lack of double jointed elbows ina figure who is reknowned for his extreme action poses. Maul is amongst the most sought after figures to date, and has also been "knocked off" by a number of Chinese sellers - so make sure you are getting the a genuine article if you are buying a Maul on the secondary market. I score Darth Maul a 4 out of 5. #starwars #blackseries #hasbro #episode1 #phantommenace #darthmaul #actionfigure #review #toy

While Toys R Us may be no more in the UK, and on the verge of closing in the US, it is still going strong in Canada - and are apparently stocking a brand new Star Wars Black Series exclusive. The "Quicksilver Baton" Captain Phasma see's our favourite chromed First Order Captain get a new release with added battle damage as seen in The Last Jedi. While the body is likely a re-use, we now get a soft goods cloak as well as battle scorched armour and a battle damaged and melted mask with what looks to be a very impressive face printed eye underneath. Also included is her rifle and the quicksilver baton. The images shared this evening show the shiny Toys R Us logo in place on the front window. We would hope this gets a more general release outside of Canada, otherwise this could be a very hard to find figure. #starwars #blackseries #captainphasma #lastjedi #exclusive #toysrus #actionfigure #hasbro

Checkout the packaging reveal of NECA's next Friday the 13th Ultimate Jason from Friday the 13th Part 2. The set is due for release towards the end of July 2018. We couldn't wait until September to show off the final packaging shots for our Friday the 13th Pt 2 Ultimate Jason. In fact, he'll be shipping in the beginning of July! #Friday13th #Jason #Part2 #neca #vorhees #actionfigure #ultimate #actionfigures #news #toys

Walmart will be selling an exclusive Jurassic World 2 Lost Kingdom multi-pack, allowing kids and fans to recreate the finale of the movie. The set includes tweaked versions of Blue and the Indoraptor with battle damage. The third inclusion is the Triceratops skull display from Lockwood Manor's museum room. It is unknown if the set will be a US only release, or if Walmart will bring this over to the UK via Asda? #jurassicworld #jurassicpark #dinosaurs #indoraptor #blue #raptor #actionfigures #exclusive #walmart #asda

Mezco have announced an exclusive version of their One:12 Collective Punisher figure which will be offered at SDCC and across other Summer Conventions. We've already had a number of versions of the Mezco One:12 Punisher, from the original release to the Mezco Exlcusive and the Previews version with red skull symbol. This "Special Ops" version of the Punisher has the white gloves and boots of the original exclusive, with updated armour panels and padding on the body. The Special Ops releases gets a third head option with a painted skull mask. Accessories are all but identical, but the duffle bag looks new as does the Uzi and Hand Grenades. The second muzzle flash FX piece also appears to be a new addition also, although this was included on the MCU version. The set was momentarily listed as $85 on the Mezco site, but the page is now showing Sold Out and the details taken down. There are also reports of lots of issues checking out the figure. Outside of this short lived pre-order, the set will be on sale at the Mezco booth at SDCC 2018. THE ONE:12 COLLECTIVE PUNISHER FIGURE FEATURES: One:12 Collective body with over 32 points of articulation Three (3) head portraits Hand painted authentic detailing Approximately 17cm tall Eight (8) interchangeable hands One (1) pair of fists (L&R) One (1) pair of gun holding hands (L&R) One (1) pair of posing hands (L&R) One (1) machine gun holding hand (L) One (1) karate strike hand (R) COSTUME: Fitted suit with body armor detail Three-quarter length gloves Duty belt with knife sheath Tactical boots ACCESSORIES: One (1) handgun One (1) sub-machine gun One (1) machine gun with grenade launcher One (1) mini-gun One (1) rocket launcher Four (4) hand grenades One (1) combat knife (fits into sheath on belt) One (1) large duffle bag Two (2) blast SFX Two (2) firing SFX Each One:12 Collective Punisher: Special Ops Edition figure is packaged in a collector friendly box, designed with collectors in mind. This Mezco Summer Exclusive is only available via our website and at the Mezco Toyz SDCC booth #3445, while supplies last. #punisher #mezco #one12 #marvel #collective #actionfigure #toy #news #SDCC #Exclusive

NECA have revealed their next Godzilla figure as the Shin Godzilla from the 2016 movie of the same name. This is the 4th form of Shin Godzilla from the climax of the film. Godzilla stands 6" tall and 12" long from head to tail. It uses some existing sculpt from the 2016 release but has a new head sculpt with wide opening jaw. The figure gets a new paint deco also. The figure is subtitled "Atomic Blast" and the release includes Atomic Blast effects that can be attached to the mouth and the tail. Articulation weighs in at 30 points of articulation, including a fully articulated tail. Shin Godzilla, Atomic Blast, is due for release November 2018 Godzilla - 12" Head to Tail Action Figure - 2016 Shin Godzilla (Atomic Blast) From the blockbuster 2016 movie that returned the classic Godzilla franchise to its roots! This version of the most famous kaiju in the world is based on Godzilla's "Atomic Blast" attack in the movie. The figure measures 6" tall and 12" long from head to tail. It features Atomic Blast effects that attach to both mouth and tail, all new paint deco, new head sculpt, and over 30 points of articulation, including an articulated tail! Shipping Date: November 2018 #godzilla #neca #shin #kaiju #atomicroar #atomicblast #actionfigure #news #toy