Search this site

It seems the Guardians of the Galaxy 2 figures from Diamond Select are finally on their way to stores. Diamond have released these packaged images of the two sets - Star-Lord & Rocket and Drax and Groot. Based on usual timings this means these are less than 4-6 weeks away from stores. The packaging doesn't really reveal much more than we knew already, although some fans may be disappointed to see what looks like just one blaster for Star-Lord? There are no diorama bases for either set - something we suspected considering there are essentially two figures per pack. And of course Star-Lord will not come with the unmasked Chris Pratt head that was originally shown, albeit in error. The packaging itself is very visual and I love the use of the Guardians/Ravagers badge. We await the arrival of these two sets eagerly - and if you want to guarantee a set, then our good friends Toys in the Attic are taking pre-orders.

For the 2nd year, we are getting behind the Cash for Kids Mission Christmas Appeal. This festive fundraiser collects toys and gifts for disadvantaged kids across the UK and delivers them for Christmas. We've just dropped off our gifts - and you have until the 17th December to do the same. If you want to help? The principle is simple - either buy a toy and drop it off at a collection point at your nearest WICKES store or BAUER radio station. Or, you can make a cash donation online by visiting the DONATION page. Here at the Mephitsu Archives we have over 1000 followers on Facebook and Twitter, and over 1000 visitors to our website each month. Imagine the difference we could make if we translated that into £1 or 1 gift from each of them? "With 1 in 4 children across the UK living in poverty this December, for many families Christmas is simply a luxury they can’t afford. This year’s Mission Christmas aims to beat last year’s fundraising total and help make sure it can help as many children as possible."

Review : C-3PO Star Wars 6-Inch Hero Series Wave/Series : Aldi Exclusive (UK) / Walgreens in US Released : December 2017 Price : £6.99 Pro's : Great sculpt, good basic colouring and fits in with Black Series range Con's : very limited articulation. Hollow and lightweight. As well as producing the successful 6" Black Series range of Star Wars figures, Hasbro do produce and distribute a budget series of 6" figures. These limited articulation figures share similar qualities to the 12" Hero series. They were predominantly made for the Far East market as well as discount stores in the US and of course the UK, where Aldi stores have become the retailer of choice. These first hit UK stores in 2015 in line with The Force Awakens release. The first set of figures included Stormtroopers, Snowtroopers, Finn, Kylo Ren and a Darth Vader. A second set was released in December 2016 as part of the Rogue One merchandising, but didn't contain any Rogue One figures - instead we got figures of Rey (Force Awakens), Return of the Jedi Luke Skywalker, Darth Maul, Han Solo and Kanan Jarrus. The only Rogue One figure we are aware of is a Deathtrooper which has only been circulated in Canada. In 2017 we have a new set, this time just the four figures, and these went on sale in Aldi on the 10th of December for the £6.99 price tag which is unchanged since 2015. In the US these have been on sale in Walgreens since September. The 2017 set includes re-releases of Rey and the Stormtrooper. We then get two new figures - Captain Phasma and C-3PO. Like the previous two years, the figures are packed in a small window box. It uses the white backdrop and red highlighting as is used for all The Last Jedi product - but there is no direct reference to The Last Jedi. All four characters are due to appear in the movie. The box front includes a half window, through which we see the top half of C-3PO against a red card backdrop. Under this sits a large red Star Wars logo and then a black section wraps the bottom of the packaging. This carries the character name as well as the age rating and the Disney and Hasbro logo's. The left hand spine of the box carries a further red Star Wars logo and a nice illustration of C-3PO. While a nice picture, it is not as dynamic or eye catching as the illustrations that were included on the 2016 releases. The other spine is made up with various notifications and safety markings. This is the same on the bottom half of the box back. Above this is a red section which contains some basic text about 3PO - very reminiscent of what we see on the Black Series. This text appears unique to this release, although it does use the same first line as the Walgreens exclusive Black Series C-3PO. The box top has a hanging tab attached. This appears to be factory installed rather than at the retailer - particularly as Aldi and Walgreens both merchandise these on shelves or in baskets and not on pegs. The figure is accessed by the top flap which is taped down at either side. The figure slides out attached to a three sided backing card. The ties round the figure are elasticated rather than being twisty ties. There is a printed safety notice which sits behind the figure. Threepio is a pretty impressive figure considering he is part of the budget range. The gold colour is as good as we've had from Hasbro and the head and body all feel well sculpted and proportioned. The tummy wiring is a sculpted element, not just painted and has some paint detail on selected wires - three in red and one in white, although the white one is a touch messy. The eyes are a nice yellow with a central black dot. The figure comes in full gold colouring, there is no silver leg or red arm. There is also no head dent, although this was missing on the Black Series version also. By all accounts this appears to be the look Threepio sports in The Last Jedi. His weight is noticeable in hand, he is very light and almost certainly a hollow hard plastic - this could make him brittle and not particularly robust for play. It does however make him a great base for custom painted Threepio variations or other protocol droids? I expect Aldi will sell out of this figure before the others. Articulation is not a strong point of these figures and you get four points of articulation across the figure. Interestingly the head is ball jointed and not a simple rotating joint, this means you can mimic the head movements of Threepio - tilting it to one side or having him look down. The arms are articulated at the shoulder only, and these simply rotate round. The 4th joint is hidden under the chest section. This allows the upper torso to be rotated. You can see what a good job has been done on the colouring and sculpt when you compare the 6" basic figure against the Black Series C-3PO figure. The height is the same and the sculpt is pretty similar. Ignoring the obvious articulation advantage of the Black Series, I would be hard pressed to choose my favourite on the looks alone. This means Threepio can be slotted into a Black Series display without drawing attention to himself as an "inferior" product. For £6.99 this release is a good option for that Last Jedi Threepio - and as I said earlier, for customisers it is a great base for further Threepio versions or other Droids? In summing up, what we have here is one of the nicest basic 6" figures released to date. It fits in well with the Black Series and will be a great base for other figures if you are into customising. When weighing up the price and value for money we have to consider that the price has not changed in 3 years, while the Black Series has gone up by a fiver. However, we've also been spoilt with Black Series figures in Home Bargains for less than the £6.99 this figure costs and that has perhaps skewed our view of price vs product. If you are going to pick up one figure from Aldi this Christmas, then get the C-3PO. And don't hang around as I suspect this figure will disappear sooner than any of the others. I score the budget range 6" Threepio a 4 out of 5.

Happy #SatTOYday CLICK HERE for this week's issue And not long to go now before the big man arrives.... yes, in less than 5-days we will be saying hello to The Last Jedi at cinema's and getting our first look at Supreme Leader Snoke in the flesh. In anticipation of the new movie, our review slot this week is an indepth look at the Star Wars Black Series Snoke. The news is dominated this week by a lot of product from the Far East. As well as official press releases for new Star Wars product - we also have a lot of new reveals courtesy of the Tokyo Comic Con. After a short hiatus the NECA news is ramping up again, and for fans of the DC Justice League movie - checkout the lovely Mezco Tactical Suit Batman www.facebook.com/mephitsu www.twitter.com/mephitsu www.issuu.com/mephitsu

Pros : Figures are very well sculpted and articulated well Cons : Flesh tones on both are too glossy. All weaponry is flimsy and arrives bent and mishapen Marvel Legends did a pretty decent job of covering off the key Thor Ragnarok characters with a wave of basic releases covering Thor, Loki and Hela and a BAF Hulk included with them (and a few comic characters). This two pack added Valkyrie to that list - and gave us a variant Thor as seen towards the climax of the movie back on Asgard. While being a 2-pack, this set still holds on to the key design traits of the current Legends line with its scooped rounded sides and large window. It also carries the same electric blue colour scheme as the Ragrarok single figures. Thor sits to the right with Valkyrie on the left. They are separated by Heimdall's sword down the centre of the pack. The side panels are decorated in artwork fromm the movie, but in a single colour scheme - electric blue. The left hand spine has an image of Thor, while the right had Valkyrie. Round the back of the box we get an image of the figures themselves and a short piece of text which talks about "these Asgardian warriors proudly defend the legacy of they realm". The box opens by either of the two side panels and the inner tray slides out. The figures are pushed into and held within the inner clear tray, there are no fiddly twisty ties. We will look at Valkyrie first and she has a very good likeness to Tessa Thompson - a testament to the facial printing that Hasbro are using to good effect on the Legends figures at present. The head carries the same white facial paint that we see in the movie around Valkyries eyes. it doesn't however go up far enough onto the forehead. The skin tone is glossy that does detract ever so slightly from the finish overall. The figure represents Valkyrie as we see her in the first half of the movie. This armour is very well replicated onto the figure and there is a nice degree of detail in the specific armoured components. The belt in the centre is a loose piece that can be moved up and down. The cloak is cast from a similar flexible plastic and this hangs loose from a glued socket on the shoulder. The legs are quite plain in contrast to the upper body. They have thigh holster strapped to each leg. While the knife hilts to protrude from these holsters, they are for show only. Valkyrie has a standard 16 points of articulation. The head is ball jointed and an rotate fully with the hair able to flex as required. There is a torso joint that grants a lot of forward and backward motion - but with an annoying "click" as you do this as though something is catching within. The arms are ball jointed at the shoulder and can be raised all the way up with a very satisfying ratchet click with each movement. The shoulder armour even flexes with the arms as they hit the highest point. The elbows are then a single rotating joint and we get a rotating pivot at the wrist. The legs are ball jointed at the hips with a thigh swivel and double jointed knees. The skirt of the armour poses no issues to leg movement as it moves with the legs. The ankle rockers are tight and ratcheted too - standing Valkyrie is not a problem. Valkyrie comes with her sword and a sheath to keep it in. Sadly it arrives warped and is made of an extremely rubbery plastic. The blade is a translucent blue colour while the hilt is painted silver. The sword fits into the hands really well, and with the articulation in the arms you can get poses where Valkyrie is drawing the sword from the sheath as well as the standard action poses. When not in use I expected the sheath to slot into the armour somewhere? Sadly not, and instead the best you can do is to tuck it into the flexible belt. This actually holds it well, but due to the shape of the back of the figure will further warp the sword blade. Moving on to Thor now, and the face sculpt here is probably more impressive than Valkyrie. It captures Hemsworth pretty well especially the eyes. The beard is perhaps a touch too heavy and the hair isn't great as there are big gaps around the back where it would have been easier to have the hair meet the line of the head. This is Thor was we see him on Asgard, so much of the Sakaar armour has been lost. We still get the shoulder amour with the blue sheen and red paint. This red paint continues down the armour and onto the left leg also. A loose strap crosses the chest and holds the top of the deep crimson cloak in place. The other end of the cloak then plugs into a socket on the figure's waist. My one criticism is that Thor has perhaps had his upper torso over exaggerated by the sculptors and the shoulders seem very broad and then come in sharply to a disproportionately thin waist. Thor carries a couple of extra points of articulation vs Valkyrie. 19 in total when you count them up. We start with the head which is ball jointed, and also on a pivot so the head rotates and looks up and down. There is then an ab crunch mid torso in the familiar Legends style. Most of this joints movement is leaning backwards, but it can bow Thor forward a touch. And below this ab-crunch is a waist swivel for more upper torso movement. Arms are ball jointed at the shoulder and both of these can be raised fully - the left arm does come up against that shoulder armour, but the amour flexes with the arm. The elbows are double jointed and because there is no rotation a bicep swivel sits above them. The wrists are then a pegged pivot - and here we have a couple of extra hand options to swap in and out depending if Thor is wielding the sword or summoning some lightning. These hands pop in and out easily. The legs start with ball jointed hips and move down to a thigh swivel and double jointed knees. The ankles are pivots and like Valkyrie, Thor is easy to stand and pose. Thor comes with Hofund, the sword usually wielded by Heimdall to open the Bifrost. It is quite ornately sculpted with engraving across the hilt. Sadly the engraving is lost by a very basic paint scheme - it needs a wash - and the final look is cheap and nasty. The plastic is also very flexible and Hofund is warped on arrival. A more impressive accessory is the Lightning effect. This is cast in translucent rubbery plastic and wraps itself around either of Thor's forearms to look as though he is summoning the lightning power. I would have preferred a couple of lightning pieces - perhaps even at the expense of Hofund. You can start to see the dynamism they add to Thor when in use. I guess the other ask, in a similar vein, for the god of Thunder might have been a secondary head with the electric blue eyes? For those who follow my page and reviews - you will know my usual Marvel collection is from Diamond Select and not Hasbro. This purchase was made to suplement my Select display with Valkyrie as thankfully Hasbro have made her oversized - as they have done with Hela. You can see some comparison pictures in the gallery below. That being said, I am pretty impressed with the full package here from packaging through to the figures decor, that face printing technology and the articulation. The weapons are less than impressive and are too flexible and poorly painted for my liking. The other issue for UK collectors is that this set has not been a mainstream release anywhere other than the US - meaning you will be paying a small premium to get this from your independent supplier. I score Thor & Valkyrie a 4 out of 5. As individual figures we score them as follows Thor Valkyrie Get your Marvel Legends fix at

Bandai have confirmed two new Action Figure Kit sets for Star Wars, The Last Jedi. First is a new Captain Phasma. She most likely be a revision of The Force Awakens version She comes with her new staff/spear weapon. The other release confirmed is this R2-D2 and C-3PO kit. This is the first time the iconic pairing have been boxed together with C-3PO having been a single release and R2 being packed first with R5-D4 and then with BB8. Both kits will retail in Japan for the equivalent of £15 / $20. Due to licencing agreements they are not officially allowed to be sold outside of the Japanese market. That will leave collectors relying on imported goods - and that means a bigger price ticket. For me, the best avenue for these models in the UK appears to be 3rd party sellers on Amazon.

While most collectors might be spent up after the recent half price deal on Star Wars at TOys R Us - there are bargains still out there for those who are still looking. For 6" Black Series collectors, The Entertainer has an arguably better deal than the aforementioned Toys R Us offer with their Black Series figures at just £11 each. This appears only to be Wave 13 figures - made up of the Praetorian Guard, Leia, Maz, Poe, Finn and with repacks of Kylo. the Snowtrooper and AT-AT Driver. For 3.75" collectors or Xmas shoppers who want the repacked Tie Fighter with Forcelink technology - it has now gone to Half Price at Asda, just £15 vs the original list price of £30. Happy Shopping!

For anyone who remembers those baby turtles that NECA displayed at SDCC 2017, we finally have details of how NECA will be bringing these to stores. The set contains all four baby turtles and these stand 4 inches high and are articulated. They are scaled to fit in with NECA's quarter-scale turtles. We also get a couple of accessories - a half eaten Domino's pizza in box and some Corn Snacks. The bonus inclusion, for those who own the figure, is a new hand for the 1:4 Michelangelo. This hand comes with a cool nunchuks spinning action. The RRP on this set in the US is about $50. We assume the same licencing issue is attached to these as was attached to the 1:4 turtles, and these cannot be sold or distributed officially outside of the US. The set is due for release in March 2018. After wading in a puddle of radioactive waste, these radical reptiles are transformed into New York City's greatest crime-fighting quartet! The Baby Turtles are still tiny but ready to train with their master Splinter. These detailed, poseable figures stand 4-inches tall, making them perfectly in scale with NECA's 1:4 scale TMNT action figure line, and they come with plenty of accessories (sold separately). The set includes 4x Baby Turtles, pizza box, 4 slices of pizza, and bag of corn chips, plus a cool bonus-nunchuks and alternate nunchuk-spinning hand for the 1:4 Scale Michelangelo Action Figure (sold separately). The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie Baby Turtles 1:4 Scale Action Figure 4-Pack comes in window box packaging

Mezco have put their next Justice League One:12 figure up for pre-order - the Tactical Suit Batman. Bat's comes with the usual cloth costume, overlaid with the armoured panels. The cape is soft goods, but has an underwired system allowing it to be posed. There are two head sculpts, and two sets of goggles - one to wear over the eyes, the other to wear on the forehead. We have seven sets of hands, for varying poses and for holding the included accessories. The accessories are made up of the Grappling Gun with three hooks - one of which has the rope attached. There are also three grenades and three batarangs. And Bats also gets the Parademon rifle. The whole thing can then be displayed on the standard logo base with display post. The figure is due to ship between June and August 2018 and will cost $80. Pre-orders are now open for US collectors direct from Mezco with a $20 non-refundable deposit. We await the UK pre-orders, and once up expect to be paying around £70 Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman's selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists newfound ally Diana Prince to face an even greater threat. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to recruit a team, a Justice League, to stand against this newly awakened enemy. Revealed for the first time in Justice League, the figure showcases the never-before-seen Tactical Batsuit with visible upgrades. The One:12 Collective Tactical Suit Batman has two head portraits and a newly designed, film-accurate tactical suit. Designed for combat, the tactical suit was created to handle combat situations with super powered adversaries, like the immortal Steppenwolf. The One:12 Collective Tactical Suit Batman also comes equipped with 2 pairs of goggles for display in up or down positions, a Parademon rifle, a trio of Batarangs, three grenades, and a grappling gun with three assorted hooks. He also includes a display base with logo and adjustable display post along with a cape clip with posing wires for dramatic displays. THE ONE:12 COLLECTIVE TACTICAL SUIT BATMAN FIGURE FEATURES: A One:12 Collective body Two (2) head portraits. Over 30 points of articulation Hand painted authentic detailing Over 17cm tall Seven (7) interchangeable hands including One (1) pair of posing hands (L&R) One (1) gun holding hand (R) One (1) pair of fists (L & R) One (1) pair of Batarang holding hands (L & R) COSTUME: Sculpted cowl (affixed to head portraits) Leather look cape Sculpted body armor with shoulder and bicep armor, elbow pads, and thigh armor Sculpted gauntlets and gloves Sculpted utility belt Sculpted boots Fabric screen detailed undersuit ACCESSORIES: One (1) pair of goggles to be worn in up position One (1) pair of goggles to be worn over eyes One (1) Parademon rifle Three (3) Batarangs Three (3) grenades One (1) grappling gun with Closed hook grapple Open hook grapple Open hook grapple with attached rope One (1) One:12 Collective display base with logo One (1) One:12 Collective adjustable display post Cape clip with posing wires for dramatic displays Each One:12 Collective Tactical Suit Batman Figure is packaged in a collector friendly box, designed with collectors in mind there are no twist ties for easy in and out of package display.

NECA have confirmed the full details of their 7" scale Predator Bone Throne. This diorama piece will measure over 14" tall and be cast in resin with some plastic sections. It is designed to fit most of the NECA Predators. The release date is set for March 2018, but no pricing details are available at this stage. Predator – Bone Throne Diorama Element Add to your Predator collection or build amazing scenes with the new Bone Throne! Only the most powerful and respected member of a clan can be seated upon this throne, which is crafted from the bones of their most worthy opponents. The Bone Throne measures over 14” tall and is cast in resin with some plastic elements, such as the six Alien Movie UK Queen “fins” on the back of the throne that can be angled to your liking. Sized to fit NECA’s 7” scale line of #Predator action figures (will fit most figures 7-9” tall). Shipping Date: MARCH 2018

For the third year running, Aldi stores will be stocking a range of basic 6" Star Wars figures from Hasbro. The figures are made by Hasbro with each figure standing between 5.5" and 6" tall. The figures don't observe scale, and are rather made to the same height. This means Phasma will most likely be undersized vs the other figures in this basic range and against the 6" Black Series. Rey on the other hand is a perfect fit to the standard 6" line. You can read all about the figures released to date here in our archive. There are 4 figures down for release, all in new white & red packaging that matches the design for The Last Jedi packaging - even though the movie title is not specifically included. It is not clear if these follow a similar design to the 2016 packaging where there will be a character specific image on the left spine and some short background text on the reverse. Rey and the First Order Stormtrooper have been released before while Phasma and C-3PO are new additions. Sadly, there is no sign of the Deathtrooper which has so far not been released anywhere other than Canada. Each figure retails at £6.99 You can pre-order these from Aldi now for dispatch as of the 10th December. Or you can pick up in store. If you are wanting to add these niche items to a collection as boxed then I'd be tempted to pre-order or get down to Aldi as soon as you can on 10th - after that they will be thrown into those wire bins and rifled through. I personally love these figures, they are so quirky and yet some stand up really well against their expensive Black Series counterparts sculpturally. One of my hopes is that the 3PO scales well to the Black Series as that opens up a very cheap customising option for other protocol droids.

Aldi's store deals, commencing the 10th of December, will include a raft of Marvel 6" basic articulation figures. These are the same type of figures we saw last year, and that have been popping around between Home Bargains and B&M stores. The figures are made by Hasbro with each figure standing between 5.5" and 6" tall. Scale is not observed, so Hulk will be the same height as Iron-Man and so forth. They are also very limited articulation - usually just three joints across the head and shoulders. There are 10 figures due for release - Thor, Iron-Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, Hulk, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Loki, Kid Arachnid and Vulture. They come in quite tidy display boxes with some nice animated series type artwork on the front - individual to each character. The price on each is £6.49 You can pre-order these from Aldi now for dispatch as of the 10th December. Or you can pick up in store. If you are wanting to add these niche items to a collection as boxed then I'd be tempted to pre-order or get down to Aldi as soon as you can on 10th - after that they will be thrown into those wire bins and rifled through.