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Review : Rey with Lightsaber and BB8 (The Force Awakens) Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro) Wave/Series : Figure #02 (Phase 3 Wave 4 amended re-release) Released : Jan 2016 in US / June 2016 in UK Price : £22.99 Rey, packed in with BB8, was the #02 figure when the red phase Black Series debuted on Force Friday (4th September 2015). At that stage The Force Awakens was still not released, and we knew very little about the character. Roll on another few months and the #02 Rey found itself in very short supply, and the figure was repacked in both the 3rd and 4th waves. It is the 4th wave however that is of interest to us in this review as the figure underwent some pretty significant changes in this re-release. First up was the inclusion of Luke's Lightsaber, a plot point that had been held back until after the films release. But Rey and BB8 both got paint upgrades, improving both figures now end. This newer version of Rey was never re-numbered and sits as #02 with no immediate packaging changes and arrives in the gloss black packaging with the striking red spine and character backing insert. On the left side panel the character name is picked out in small red text and then much larger, but very discreet, grey text. The bold red stripe on the right side shows the numbering system for these figures, while the back has a multi-lingual bio of the character. This too is unchanged from the original release. Into the packaging and the figure comes in the usual clear insert tray, with the newly added lightsaber presented to the side of the staff which is still included. Rey herself is very well sculpted, although the head perhaps feels a little featureless - a common issue in sculpting younger female faces in particular. Her hair sits in a very (dare I say Leia-esque) complex style with trailing pieces and tie backs which leave her with 3 pony tails. The outfit is relatively simple, but again captures the look of the original trilogy when you compare it to what Luke wore on Tatooine in the 1977 original. You can clearly see in comparison images that the paint on this re-release is much more defined and brings out the sculpt that was originally hidden under a rushed paint job. The re-release is not perfect however, and the figure I am reviewing here suffers with some significant paint errors on the hair with the flesh tone showing through in a few patches. Under the wrapped gown are a upper tunic and some knee left trousers, and her arms are wrapped in a similar bandage type material down to some leather braces around her wrists. Slung round her waist is a belt, which contains a pouch or bag of some kind around the rear. Boots are ankle high and fairly featureless, although there is some pattern when you get up close. While the face was updated in terms of painting, the rest of the outfit remains pretty much the same - although the waist bag on Rey's belt looks darker and better defined. The clothing is painted very nicely with no noticeable paint bleed or errors. The under garments are picked out in a very light off-white, while the outer robe is a more tan shade. Hasbro did miss an opportunity to weather the costume a little more for this re-release - as I said the first time round I would have expected some wash and highlights to bring out the depth in the outfit and weather it a bit considering what we have seen of Rey on Jakku. Articulation, and we start at the head which is on a ball joint. It rotates a full 360 degrees, but there is almost no movement up or down which leaves Rey looking straight ahead in all poses. The shoulders are ball jointed, with her left getting up to a full 90 degrees to her body while the right sticks a little due to the shoulder sculpt. Elbows bend and swivel and there is both a swivel and joint on the wrist. This all means a good wide range of arm movement and the ability to hold her staff in both hands if needed (and probably a blaster too if she needs to). The waist is jointed, but moves very little - springing back to a central position. Hips are ball jointed and if needed you can use these and the knee joints to get Rey into a splits or kneeling position. However, the sculpted robe does restrict the leg movement and you could argue maybe should have been soft goods, but that will always be controversial and not to every ones tastes. Rey stands pretty well with articulated ankles. The staff is taller than Rey herself, and is cast in a brown plastic. Two "wraps" are sculpted onto the main body and painted in off-white. And a strap hangs off the staff and is sculpted to be hanging down when the staff is upright, leaving you with one real position for the staff when displaying Rey. Having now played with this staff for a second time you can sling it over the body of Rey, but it would have benefited from a more flexible strap to allow it to sit naturally. As it stands the strap loops up a little too much over the shoulder. The Lightsaber is the same as packed with the Luke Skywalker releases to date (X-Wing, Bespin and Tatooine). This makes sense as it is essentially the same weapon. The hilt is silver with the red ignition button painted. The blue blade is clear yet vibrant and can be removed if you want to pose Rey handing over the unlit weapon - assuming we ever get a new Episode 7 Luke? The figure has enough articulation in the arms to hold the saber in two hands, albeit at a lowered angle and not one of immediate readiness to fight. Over to the other accessory / figure and BB8 is a pleasant surprise vs what we thought we may get. He is very heavy and is obviously weighted like a weeble. The head is nicely detailed and then weathered (unlike Rey). The head rotates a full 360 degrees round the body and moves from side to side on a peg which goes into the main body of the droid. The original BB8's suffered from a lack of any detailing or weathering, and in a lot of cases the weathering was on his dome section only. The revised version gets a much more consistent application of black wash and this brings out the paneling and details of the round body and helps no end making BB8 stand out much more in a display. At £22.99 these figures are not cheap. The articulation and sculpt are perfectly good and the paint is adequate, but could be better. BB8 is a nice pack-in and his head shows that when they think about it Hasbro can apply good paint weathering to bring out a figures sculpt. In September 2015 when we first looked at Rey and BB8 I was probably over generous in awarding 4 out of 5, particularly with the state of the paint job at the time. Since then Hasbro have thankfully upped their game and therefore with the moving standards it is still probably fair to award a 4 out of 5 score for this release and downgrade the original to a 3. If you want/need a Rey for your collection, then track this one down as it is streets ahead of its original (and in my opinion rushed) release. Beware, however, when buying online and confirm with the store or seller which version you are getting. On the flip-side of this improved release, there was also a wealth of pretty shocking figures, suspected faults, released in Winter 2016 via Toys R Us and Home Bargains in the UK. Buy from Amazon UK Buy from Amazon US

Review : Barbara Kean Gotham Select (Diamond Select Toys) Wave/Series : Series 3 Released : November 2016 £19.99 - £22.99 Barbara Kean is the 2nd female release in Diamond's Gotham Select range of figures, following the series 1 release of Selina Kyle. Series 3 is focused on the events of Season 2 Rise of the Villains. The Gotham Select packaging is an identical layout to the other Select ranges, but has developed it's own grim and Gothic style with dark tones and Gotham City skyline backdrop. The triangular front panel that cuts into the bottom left of the window carries an image of the Erin Richards on top of which is the character name and the subtitle "deluxe action figure with base". This same image is repeated on the side panel. The image is presented in shadow and is framed at the base with the Gotham logo and the sub-title Rise of the Villains. The back gives us a full size image of the figure itself, and to the left of this is a bio of Barbara and her role in the series to date. Sat under here are images of the other two figures in the three figure series - Victor Zsasz and Bruce Wayne. Out of the pack and Barbara looks pretty isolated in the huge inner tray, particularly when the large diorama backdrop is removed. Unlike most of the Gotham figures to date, Barbara does not come with any accessories or even other hand options. She stands a touch over 6 1/2 inches high and scales well to other Select figures - Gotham and others. The likeness to Erin Richards is not the best. The sculpt captures a passing likeness, but those high cheekbones are missing and the figures chin is a bit too pointy. The lips too are too thin, but the eyes are pretty nicely done and painted neatly. The skin tone of the head has been left as a single colour, and we know that Barbara is not one to be seen without make-up. I wonder what some highlights and blusher on the cheeks and chin would have done to the sculpt. The hair, which is sculpted well, has had a dark wash too many - so looks grimy and streaked. This may be deliberate to reflect Barbara's stay in Arkham, but when you compare it to screen shots it doesn't stack up well. As this figure is reflective of Barbara's stay in Arkham Asylum, she comes dressed in her striped Arkham prison dress. The top section is striped horizontally in black and white, and these stripes are well painted with no bleed. The white is not a pure white, but carries a grimy off white tint which for me adds a degree of realism. Barbara's prison code, A-15, is placed on the left side of her chest. This looks to be a decal with a clear yellow tinge beneath the lettering. There is very little sculptural detail in the top clothing. The v-neck sits above the chest beneath, with a couple of muscle details in the neck. The arms are a bit more flowing with some folds and bunching to an elasticated hem just under the shoulder. The arms are thin and cast in a flesh colour, but seem to be painted also as you can see some paint scrape round the joints. The hands in particular are thin and delicate, right through to the slim fingers which are presented on both hand as an open palm. The lower part of the dress is vertically striped and is a cast rubber section slipped over the articulated legs. Like the top there isn't much to talk about. There is some paint errors here with a couple of marks from the black onto that off white tone. Like the arms, the legs are painted flesh tone and mine had a bit more grime on them - possibly intentional as Barbara is of course wandering round in bare feet. These feet are not as neat as the slim fingers. You can see the toes picked out and toe nails but either the sculpt is soft, or the paint too thick, as the detail is not crisp. Articulation is the standard amount you find on any Select figure. However, for some reason there is very little you can actually do with Barbara in terms of posing. Her head is ball jointed, but aside from turning a few mm either side it is locked in by the hair piece. The ball jointed shoulders move out a full 90 degrees and rotate, but other than posing Barbara like she is about to be searched, you will most likely find the arms just sit down by her side. This is despite having a decent elbow joint that bends and rotates, and a particularly good wrist joint that allows the hand to be rotated and bent to nearly 90 degrees. The legs carry a hip joint, thigh swivel, knee joint and ankle rocker. But with the skirt a solid rubber piece only the ankle rocker is really of any value. With such delicate legs and a touch of floppy joint syndrome you will also struggle to stand Barbara up. I sat her on a Protech circular stand to help keep her upright. So the figure is a tad average, but what is packed with her is far from average. The Arkham Asylum gates that are supplied with Barbara almost make it worth paying £20 just to grab the diorama. It arrives in three pieces, two columns and an overhead arch. Assemly is not clearly illustrated anywhere (its rare Diamond ever pack instructions) but it isn't hard to figure out. The two posts are reversible rather than being right or left handed and each post carries four plug holes round the back. The central arch plugs snugly into the two of these four holes. Once assembled the gate is just over 13 inches across. It stands, at the highest point, 10 1/2 inches high. The two columns are similar in colouring to the Ghostbusters rooftop parts and have been washed to give a decent stone work effect. Each post also as an ornate lamp fitted part way up. These are in a very weathered metal colour with some top spikes and decoration - which is cast in a slightly flexible plastic to avoid breakages and injury, but this does mean they can be bent out of shape. The glass panels of each lamp is an off white colour. The top arch section is made up of rows of double pointed rods, with the Arkham Asylum wording on top. The painting of this is really nice, with the base grey colour washed with a metal colour, then some grey to dirty it up and then some slight touches of turquoise to give the effect of oxodised copper. The gate, width wise, scales really well to the 7" scale figures. The height for me could ideally be a couple of inches bigger so figures can walk under the arch without banging their head. This could be a relatively simple fix for a competent customiser. All in all, the gate is an impressive piece and a lovely back drop for the Gotham range or indeed any Batman figure. At circa £20, the Barbara Kean figure scores low as a figure, but over performs in terms of its packed in diorama. Barbara herself could have done with some accessories and perhaps a slightly better paint job at least on the head and hair. The diorama however is just 2 inches short of perfection. Together I will score them a 3 out of 5. Buy from Amazon UK Buy from Amazon US Buy from Forbidden Planet

Not yet confirmed, but this image is circulating online and seems to indicate that the Disney Store are going to repack the three key droids of C-3PO, R2-D2 and BB8 as a trio for 2017.

Happy Sat-TOY-Day everyone! CLICK HERE for this week's issue, brought to you in partnership with Toys in the Attic We might not be getting a Jackman movie Logan figure, but we've certainly got some great cartoon based options - including this weeks cover figure, the newly announced Mezco Old Man Logan. In other news we have more Walking Dead figures coming from McFarlane in three different scale options. We've also got new Star Wars Disney Elite incoming, but on the flip side there is some bad news for the Once Upon a Time 6" figures. And flip to the back half of this weeks issue for a very Strange review.... www.facebook.com/mephitsu www.twitter.com/mephitsu www.issuu.com/mephitsu * want to know more about partnering up with the Mephitsu Archives, drop is a private message here, or via Facebook/Twitter

As seen briefly at Toy Fair, the next 7" McFarlane Walking Dead figure will be Dwight. He will arrive under the Color Tops banner as #32 and hit stores in the Autumn. UK RRP will be around £20. It will be interesting to see if Dwight will fall under the new direction of the Color Top range as discussed at Toy Fair with improved articulation and a move to more specific themed packaging by licence.

Does anyone remember those 6" scale Once Upon a Time figures that were solicitated by Icon Heroes for a December 2016 release? Well it seems like the line has hit some snag or other and the revised release date for the figures is now Autumn 2017, a good 9 months later than originally planned "Action figures coming this Fall #Oncers sorry for the delay. Here's a peek at the packaging. #OnceUponATime" While the delay is a frustration, the newly revealed packaging does look pretty good and follows the current theme of going with a boxed design with window to display the figure. We can only assume the Regina box is significantly deeper than the others due to the skirt? And while five boxes are shown vs four figures announced - there is no hidden announcement here, with the box for Hook appearing twice.

As Logan takes cinema's by storm around the world, Mezco have announced a comic book Logan will be joining their One:12 Collective. The Old Man Logan will come with the usual soft goods tailored clothing that the One:12 figures are renowned for, and this will include removable overcoat. There is also a removable hat. Following the comic book story, Logan will come with a baby Hulk which will fit into the removable backpack. With it being Logan there are also adamantium claw hands alongside two other hand options. The figure is on pre-order in the US from Monday direct from Mezco at $80. UK collectors will need to wait for local solicitations. The figure isn't due until at least November, maybe even early 2018. In the alternate future of Earth-807128, Wolverine has aged. Now known as Old Man Logan, he lives with his family in a barren wasteland trying to maintain as normal a life as possible. When events turn against him Logan’s family and everything important to him is destroyed by the Hulk’s gang. Using his claws for the first time in years, Old Man Logan exacts revenge, sparing only the baby known as Bruce Jr. With his family gone, Old Man Logan heads off into the sunset with the baby vowing to set things straight. Old Man Logan joins the One:12 Collective with a detailed outfit and portrait sculpture. He also includes the baby Hulk who may be the last of the Banner bloodline. THE OLD MAN LOGAN ONE:12 COLLECTIVE FIGURE FEATURES: One (1) newly developed head portrait One:12 Collective body with over 30 points of articulation Real fabric outfit with intricate tailoring Over 15cm tall Six (6) interchangeable hands including One (1) pair of fists (L&R) One (1) pair of clawed fists (L&R) One (1) pair of posing hands (L&R) Baby Hulk COSTUME: Leather look overcoat White t-shirt Sculpted belt with decorative buckle Workman pants Sculpted cowboy boots ACCESSORIES: Baby Hulk Removable hat Backpack that holds baby Hulk One (1) One:12 Collective display base with logo One (1) One:12 Collective adjustable display post Each figure is packaged in a deluxe, collector friendly box, designed with collectors in mind; there are no twist ties for easy in-and-out of package display.

McFarlane have confirmed, via Comicbook.com, two new releases for the Walking Dead range. The first is in their 5 inch scale, exclusive to Walmart in the US. This three pack contains Michone, Rick and Daryl with accessories. While sold as a retailer exclusive in the US, the UK most likely route to market is via the independents - watch out for pre-orders going up. AMC’s The Walking Dead Hero 3-Pack The trio of Michonne, Rick, and Daryl have lead the other survivors through many perilous situations. Despite their very different backgrounds, the three share an unspoken bond protecting the other survivors, as well as themselves, from walkers and other enemies looking to thwart their livelihood. •Three fully posable 5-inch figures of Michonne, Rick, and Daryl from based off scenes from Season 7of AMC’s The Walking Dead™ •Features Michonne's katana and sheath, Rick's colt python assault rifle, and Daryl's crossbow and knife •Spectacular likeness of Michonne, Rick, and Daryl taken from 3D scans of actors Danai Gurira, Andrew Lincoln, & Norman Reedus •AMC’s The Walking Dead™ themed window box packaging prominently MSRP: $29.99 Available: June, exclusively at Walmart The second release is in the 10 inch "Legacy" range, with a brand new figure of Glenn. While listed as available from Walmart in the associated press blurb, the figure is not an exclusive. 10” Glenn – Legacy Edition Glenn Rhee, with his uncanny ability to move in and out of perilous situations, has become Rick’s “go-to-town” expert. Throughout the apocalypse Glenn has proven himself a vital cog to the survival of the original Atlanta group. Though brave and selfless, he often finds himself in situations that could spell his own end. • Spectacular likeness of actor Steven Yeun, taken from a full 3D scan of the actor himself • Figure comes with blood splatter paint effect • Figure features new arms holding Glenn's pistol accessory • Comes with a black circular base for dynamic posing MSRP: $34.99 Available: June at Walmart stores

Del, a former operative in a COG Special Forces unit, went AWOL with his comrade and best friend, JD Fenix, after their involvement in a classified military “incident.” This figure stands 7 inches tall and comes equipped with Buzzkill and Boltok Pistol sidearm. Figure also includes one Gears of War 4 Gear Pack, a downloadable code for unlocking spectacular in-game content, usable after October 7th. Stylized display base included.

Home Bargains stores have received more 6" Star Wars Black Series figures.. This latest delivery appears to be Wave 4 from the start of last year. This includes the harder to find Asty and Hux as well as the Tie Fighter Pilot, Snowtrooper, Kylo and Rey. The image, circulated via social channels, indicates the price is £5.99 each - the same as the last lot of figures sold. Let's hope these are not the same level of quality and are as good a quality as the Marvel Legends figures we saw pre-Xmas.

On Friday the 3rd of March 2017 we will be joining Action Figure fans around the world for the annual Action Figure to Work Day. The annual event is a celebration of Action Figure collecting, and encourage collectors to take a figure to work - snap an image and share it with collectors around the world. We will be selecting one lucky figure from the collection to come to work with us on Friday, and encourage all our readers to do the same. Remember to share your image via Twitter or Facebook and use the tag #AFWD2017 and tag us using @Mephitsu As an added bonus, Entertainment Earth are running a competition for any shared image using the #AFWD2017 tab To whet your appetite, have a look at our images from last years event.

B&M seem to be receiving and selling a huge raft of collectable action figures from DCC. Across a couple of stores today we found the 75 years of Batman set in two stores, this was priced in one at £29.99 and the other at £24.99 on a clearance section. A steal for this very impressive set. There are then the Batman Animated Series single figures at £7.99 each, these include some nice looking figures such as Killer Croc, Two Face, Mr Freeze and Bane. There is then a two pack of Batman and The Phantasm, from Mask of the Phantasm. This two pack is £16.99 Batman, the Dark Knight Returns, is a four pack of stylised figures of Batman, Joker, Superman and Robin. This is another bargain at £24.99 A similar Bargain is the Arkham set containing Bruce Wayne and four variant Batman figures. This is being sold at £29.99 The final set we found was a DCC Justice League 6 pack of Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Flash and Aquaman. This is a new addition to B&M shelves and is priced at £39.99, which is still a keen price for 6 DCC figures. Watch this dropping in price in the future.