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Thanks to the "release" of a Hasbro catalogue on a Spanish website we are now one step closer to seeing exactly what Hasbro have planned for the Star Wars 40th Anniversary. Starting with the 6" Black Series, there is then a 40th Anniversary Early Bird set. This can't be anything but a 6" version of the original Early Bird set which was made up of Leia, Luke, Chewie and R2-D2. This will come with a diorama base, most likely a blown up version of the original stand and backing board. We will also be getting a 40th Anniversary wave of figures, these will seem to be standard releases but themed around A New Hope. My expectation would be to base these on the original 12 Star Wars figures which can then go on the diorama that comes with the Early Bird set. While most of the original 12 exist in 6" scale already (released or announced) Hasbro would have to bring us a Jawa and a Death Star Trooper to match the 1978 wave. The Black Series as a brand will also be expanded further, and this is where the rumoured Die-Cast figures come in. These will be smaller 3.5" figures and each will feature articulation and come packed with a two sided diorama. While the 3.75" figures are not directly mentioned, it would seem odd if these don't get some form of representation. We also know that on release of the Rogue One Bluray, there will be a collectors pack that will come with three figures, one being an exclusive. We have to assume these are 3.75" rather than 6" to keep the set reasonably affordable. There are no images of any of these yet. It seems Toy Fair (18th - 21st Feb) in New York will see the press reveal of some or all of these.

When the first Guardians of the Galaxy film was released in 2014, a decision was made somewhere along the line that Diamond would not release any movie based figures in their popular 7" scale. This was the first Marvel Cinematic Universe film to not have a movie based figure from Diamond since they took up the mantle for Iron-Man 2. When Guardians Vol. 2 was announced, Diamond have been bullish about bringing us 7" scale Guardian figures and also talked about doing the full team - something that felt a big ask consider the limitations of Diamond's licence. We've since found out that for GOTG2 we will be getting MCU figures of Starlord and Drax. And within those releases they will pack a Rocket with Starlord and a baby Groot with Drax. Who would have therefore predicted this HUGE announcement that ON TOP of these MCU figure, Diamond and the Disney Store have teamed up to bring us a full set of Guardians of the Galaxy comic book figures. This set of four is made up of Starlord, Drax, Groot and Gamora, with the latter being packed with Rocket. They will be packed with a diorama base that will connect to make up a larger display. Each figure will come in with the standard 16 points of articulation What is always great about these Diamond / Disney Store releases is that they are in stores in a matter of weeks from the day they are announced, and these should hit Disney Stores in early March. And US collectors can pre-order now via Marvel Shop with a 27th of February release date. US RRP is $24.95 while the UK price should stick at £19.99 Read on for more on each character and the full gallery line up... And don't forget to let us know what you think over on our Facebook feed, or via the Disquss link at the bottom of this page. Starlord "Hot footed" The music-loving leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy comes hot foot from saving the universe to the roster of Marvel Select figures. Star-Lord's large collection of accessories include a pair of jet-flame boots. Includes interchangeable masked and unmasked heads, two Element Guns that can attach to his hips, an interchangeable hand that can hold a stolen crystal, and a pair of boot-jet flame effects, which can plug into the soles of his shoes Drax "Strong favorite" The musclebound member of Guardians of the Galaxy is all set for battle. This poseable Drax Action Figure by Marvel Select includes two weapons, additional hands, and detailed environment base. Includes trench knife with spiked knuckle guard, and large energy axe. Three sets of interchangeable hands are also included Groot "Branching out" The towering twisted member of Guardians of the Galaxy plants his feet as this poseable Groot Action Figure by Marvel Select. Includes interlocking detailed environment base Gamora and Rocket "Four armed" Two of the Guardians of the Galaxy team up in this Marvel Select action figure set. Gamora is paired with Rocket Raccoon, and both come with an impressive arsenal of weapons with which to save the universe. Gamora comes with three sets of interchangeable hands, sword, knife, laser rifle, and two laser pistols. Rocket comes with two blasters

Happy Sat-TOY-Day everyone! CLICK HERE for this week's issue. It seems after the Christmas and New Year lull, the Action Figure news has woken up and we have a bumper issue this week. From Character Options we have a full press release of the new 5 inch Doctor Who figures. From NECA we have new Alien, Terminator and Predator teases. There is a load of new SH Figuarts images. And as we enter the 40th Anniversary year for Star Wars, rumours and leaks are abound as we wonder what we can expect from Hasbro. www.facebook.com/mephitsu www.twitter.com/mephitsu www.issuu.com/mephitsu

It seems pretty clear now that Hasbro have some big things planned for the Star Wars 40th Anniversary, and that includes the 6" series. We've seen placeholders at Walmart.com for a 40th anniversary wave of Black Series 6" figures. And now this placeholder has popped up on a European wholesaler for a Black Series Early Bird Set. The original Early Bird set from 1978 contained Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca and R2-D2 - all as seen in A New Hope. All four of these figures exist in the Black Series so we assume these will all be re-releases. Where this set may appeal is the reports that this may include some form of retro style display base and background which will hold these 4 figres, and then the other figures that make up the first 12. It would therefore logically fit that the 40th Anniversary wave would include the other 8 figures on retro cardback or similar. If we follow this train of thought then the only new figures we will see are the Death Star Trooper and the Jawa. The Tusken Raider is due in the next set of releases. Going back to the price at Intrafin, this is € 99.99 which we think is the whole sale price. That would equate to £85 / $106. Once this hits retailers you would assume similar pricing to the other 4 packs we have had - therefore around the £100 mark.

We saw a mock up of NECA's proposed Aliens Marine Weaponry set before Xmas. We've now got a much better idea about what the Aliens Special Edition UA 571-C Automated Sentry Gun will look "3 weeks until Toy Fair...bringing the big guns along. #facehuggerfriday #aliens" - Randy Falk, NECA (via Twitter) The accompanying tweet indicates we will see the full layout of this set at the US Toy Fair.

Contains Minor Spoilers.... Hasbro has circulated a number of images for their planned Spider-Man Homecoming range of toys and Action Figures. We had already seen the Marvel Legends Vulture a couple of months back. While these figures are mainly 6", they are not Marvel Legends but rather the limited articulation Marvel figures we have seen recently for the animated Spider-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy series from Disney XD. In the 6" figures we will get The Vulture and two versions of Spider-Man - one of which is a potential spoiler for the film. And you will be able to play with these 6" figures in an enormous Playset entitled the Mega City Playset. This thing stands nearly 4 feet tall. Other products include a Spider-Car with what appears to be a Nerf firing feature. The figure here is likely 3.75". While a Spider-Car could be included in the movie, this feels more like some toy-istic licence by Hasbro to add play features and gimmicks like they have done with Civil War last year and with some of the recent Star Wars releases.

There is some interesting snippets coming out of the UK Toy Fair regarding McFarlane's plans for their 7" Color Range of figures. Up to now these limited articulation, highly detailed figures, have stuck closely to solid McFarlane franchises like The Walking Dead and Assassins Creed. They have also been stacked heavily around Anime and Video Game licences. These licences will continue in 2017 with more Anime figures planned for Attack on Titan, Naruto Shippuden, Tokyo Ghoul and One Punch Man. There is also talk of a Ghost in the Shell figure called "The Major" like the Assassins Creed figure from 2016 we expect this to be a figure from the live Action Movie of 2017 starring Scarlett Johannson as "The Major". Other Video game licence releases will be Gears of War, Mass Effect Andromeda, Borderlands and Destiny. The staple of The Walking Dead will also continue to expand in 7" across the year. The exciting news though is the plans for McFarlane to create 7" Color Tops figures from two HUGE 1980's films. The two Jim Henson movie's of Labyrinth and Dark Crystal are being worked on with the initial plans to release Jareth The Goblin King from Labyrinth and what we assume will be a 2-pack of Jen and Kira from Dark Crystal. There were no figures, just mock-ups, in London. This could mean they are very early on in development. Or, they could be holding back for a larger scale reveal at New York Toy Fair next month. Either way, 2017 looks to be exciting for McFarlane collectors.

The FN-2187 MAFEX figure from Medicom was first revealed back in late September 2016 at a Japanese trade show. The figure now has some official details, including these stunning promotional shots. FN-2187, in his Storm Trooper amour, will come with the Storm Trooper blaster as well as a removable helmet which is blood smeared after the battle on Jakku. The paint application of this blood smear looks particularly well done. FN-2187 will start to ship in May 2017 and will be 5800 Yen. That is £40 in UK / $51 but expect to add a bit more for import and delivery.

Whatever you think about the movie itself, the visuals and design of the various members of the Suicide Squad have been generally well received. Harley Quinn is the one that appears to topped the popularity poll, and it is therefore not a surprise that Mezco have chosen her as the first DC movie "bad guy" to join their One:12 Collective. Harley will ship in Summer 2017 and will come with the usual 30 points of articulation, real cloth soft goods tailored clothing, swap out hand options and she will also be packed with three head options so you can display her with a standard look, a laughing head and even a bubble gum popping head. What do you get when a secret government agency forms a super team comprised completely of bad guys? “Worst. Heroes. Ever!” Straight from the DC Comic's blockbuster movie Suicide Squad comes Harley Quinn, the deranged and extremely dangerous poster girl formally known as Dr. Harleen Quinzel; now villainess girlfriend to the psychotic Joker. Debuting our premiere female body, the One:12 Collective captures every aspect of Margot Robbi's celebrated portrayal of the dangerously unpredictable Harley Quinn, crafted with detailing and outfitting never seen before at this scale. THE HARLEY QUINN ONE:12 COLLECTIVE FIGURE FEATURES: Three (3) newly developed, detailed head portraits featuring Margot Robbi's likeness including: Standard portrait Laughing portrait Bubble gum popping portrait One:12 Collective body with over 30 points of articulation Hand-painted, authentic detailing Approximately 16cm tall Five (5) interchangeable hands including: One (1) pair of posing hands (L & R) One (1) pair of baseball bat holding hands (L & R) One (1) gun holding hand (R) COSTUME: Choker collar Four (4) spiked bracelets Satin “Property Of Joker” jacket "Daddy's Little Monster" t-shirt Red and blue hot pants Harness/underarm holster Fully loaded studded belt Haute couture boots ACCESSORIES: One (1) baseball bat One (1) revolver (fits in shoulder holster) 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.

NECA have confirmed that they are releasing a Quarter-Scale T800 Terminator from the Terminator 2 : Judgement Day This figure, which will stand around 18" tall, will arrive in May 2017. It will come packed with a range of weaponry allowing you to recreate the Cyberdyne Systems showdown scene with the options to arm Arnie with the Mini-Gun and Ammo-Bag or with the Grenade Launcher and ammo belt or simply with a pistol. As a build on the 7" version, Arnie will come with removable sunglasses to give him too distinct head options. Based on previous 18" figures, the RRP for UK collectors will be around £90 - £100 From Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the deadly T-800 arrives in our 1/4 scale action figure line! This 18” tall version of the machine from the future features the likeness of Arnold Schwarzenegger and has over 25 points of articulation, including ball-jointed neck, shoulders, elbows, torso, hips, knees and more. The Terminator comes with removable sunglasses and a veritable arsenal of accessories: removable grenade belt, Minigun, ammo bag, ammo belt, grenade launcher and pistol.

As the 17th Series of NECA's Predator figures gets ever closer we are now treated to the packaged view of the Youngblood Predator. "Carded Youngblood from Predator Series 17 coming soon! #prednesday" - Randy Falk, NECA (via Twitter) With the Elder and Serpent Hunter already unveiled, the Youngblood image completes the set. These figures are listed on the NECA page as a first quarter release (by March) where as some UK retailers are quoting as late as June?

Homecoming Spider-Man has been pretty much confirmed by Diamond for a number of weeks now, and we have now got a hint of what that figure will entail today when Big Bad Toy Store added a silhouette outline of the figure and this description After his eye-opening appearance in Captain America: Civil War, making a figure of Spidey for Spider-Man: Homecoming was a no-brainer, and this 7" tall figure features 16 points of articulation as well as interchangeable parts. Packaged in display-ready Select figure packaging, with side panel artwork for shelf reference. Sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios! If Diamond follow suit with previous figures, then the interchangeable parts are almost certainly going to be hand and web options. It is unlikely for this general release to come with an unmasked Tom Holland head, that will most likely end up as the Disney Store only exclusive. The ETA on the figure is listed by BBTS as July 2017. This seems ambitious as the general practice for previous movie figures from Diamond is them hitting 3 months after the film premieres (this was the case most recently with Civil War and Doctor Strange). With Homecoming due for release on 7th July, then October seems a more likely release window - although we would love to be proved wrong.