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Love or hate Funko's Reaction line of figures, you can't deny they have released figures from some interesting and obscure licenced properties. Rumours of Funko bringing Dark Crystal to the Reaction wave started about 2 years ago. Since then we have seen the Dark Crystal Pop! figures revealed, and finally images and details are starting to emerge that the Reaction line will also release Dark Crystal figures. Hasbro had originally lined up a Dark Crystal range of figures in the 1983 to coincide with the movie's release, but it was pulled at the last minute and no figures were ever released. These new Funko Reaction figures will almost be an homage to these 1983 figures. The prototype images and behind the scenes shots you can see below indicate the range is going to be quite deep in terms of character. They are being sculpted by Tim Clarke, who actually worked on some characters in the original film and then a number of the unreleased Hasbro figures - Tim has been sharing lots of images in the past couple of weeks via his Instagram page. It seems some of the new Reaction figures will use Tim's original 1983 Hasbro sculpts. From the following images - taken from the social media and Tim Clarke's instagram - it looks like the following characters are in line for release as well as a build-a-crystal feature. - Jen - Kira - Fizzgig - Aughra - Skeksil, the Chamberlain - UrSol the Chanter - Land Strider

NECA have released full details of their next DC Quarter-Scale figure, Catwoman from Batman Begins. This 18" figure will come with alternative heads, hands and taser and whip accessories. She is due to ship in October 2016. Introducing our second action figure from Batman Returns! We are proud to present this 1/4 scale rendition of ‪#‎Catwoman‬, featuring the authorized likeness of Michelle Pfeiffer, whose unforgettable performance in the 1992 movie still defines the character. The figure stands nearly 18" tall and features 30 points of articulation and a movie-authentic sculpt, detailed down to the loose threads hanging from her homemade costume. Catwoman comes with two interchangeable heads (one calm; one angry, with synthetic hair escaping from a battle damaged mask) and interchangeable hands, plus ‪#‎Taser‬ and ‪#‎whip‬ accessories. This incredible figure is an absolute must-have for ‪#‎Batman‬ fans! Starts shipping out to retailers in October."

NECA have released this prototype image of the Predator Clan leader. The Clan leader was announced in February and will be based on the Kenner figure from the 1990's. He will weigh in at 8.5" high, the tallest Predator to date, and will come with removable mask. He is due to hit shelves in October 2016. "Some early work on the blister layout for the jam packed Clan Leader ‪#‎prednesday‬ first look ‪#‎kenner‬ ‪#‎retro‬" - Randy Falk via Twitter

Chinese seller flyqiong87 has listed this very interesting set of 3.75 inch Marvel figures today. The seller is well established for selling a number of Hasbro and other properties at reduced prices - most likely factory seconds or similar. The set has since been removed from sale - although the listing still exists at time of posting. The set contains Howard the Duck, The Collector, Lockjaw, Cosmo the Spacedog and Moon Boy - a reasonably obscure set of choices, but perhaps perfect for a limited SDCC release - which is now the common train of thought as to where this set will turn up. We await further (official) details.

We saw the website listing for a Bandai 1/12 Clonetrooper kit a few weeks ago, and then about 3-weeks ago we saw a display model at a Trade Show in Japan. Now, in the latest Product News from Bandai, we get a clearer look at the figure and the options it will include. It was already confirmed that the figure would come with both Phase 1 and Phase 2 helmet options. It also seems that as we spotted on the Trade Show picture, the kit will include a phase 2 helmet scope. There is also two weapon options. The figure is listed on Hobby Link Japan as a June release. But as with any of these 1/12 kits, the licence allows them to be offered for sale in Japan only - you will have to seek out import options if you want one of these.

in August 3025 Icon Heroes announced their intention to produce 6 inch scale Action Figures based on the ABC fantasy show, Once Upon a Time. Today, Icon revealed the first of these figures - Hook and Regina "From the hit ABC television series Once Upon A Time comes the Hook action figure! Measuring approximately 6 inches tall and fully articulated, Hook comes with an additional hand and his cutlass!" "From the hit ABC television series Once Upon A Time comes the Regina action figure in her Evil Queen outfit! Measuring approximately 6 inches tall and fully articulated, Regina comes with additional hands, mirror, heart, and apple!" Both figures will ship 20th December and be priced in the US at $24.99, Icon themselves only ship within the US, but it would be logical for these to go out on a worldwide release via overseas distributors.

Last week we saw Hasbro confirm the full 8 figures line up of their X-Men Marvel Legends wave, and that the Build-a-Figure would be Juggernaut (click here) although at the time of the announcement the only image of Juggernaut was the BAF head packed in with Wolverine. Hasbo has, as promised, now revealed the Juggernaut figure in all it's glory - again via the Hasbro Pulse website. "Granted super strength, durability and unstoppable momentum by the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak, Juggernaut first debuted back in X-Men #12 (1965). Since then Juggernaut has clashed with the X-Men on many occasions, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. Marvel Legends fans can collect the X-Men Marvel Legends 6-Inch assortment this Fall to build their very own Juggernaut figure!" - Hasbro Pulse

Review : Loki Marvel Select (Diamond Select Toys) Wave/Series : Thor : The Mighty Avenger (MCU) Released : 2010 Price : N/A It is safe to say, that some 6 years after his release the Loki figure from Diamond Select is one of the hardest (or rather most expensive) figures for collectors to pick-up. He represented the first "villain" in the cinematic series - and one of the few villains released full stop in the 7 years or so the line has been going. He also fit into corresponding films like Avengers and The Dark World, making him desirable for collectors entering the Select collectors world at varying points. This is my 3rd Loki believe it or not. The original was loose and smelled heavily of smoke, and this one was eventually replaced with a cleaner, but also loose and incomplete version. The missing Rainbow Bridge accessories always bothered me, so I never stopped looking for a complete version. so finally I have now picked up this version that includes the parts I needed. This therefore gives me a great opportunity to revisit the figure and give him the full review treatment. Loki comes in the oversized blister pack that has become a trademark for Diamond's Select figures. At the point of his release, Loki was one of the figures that laid down the template for future figures - moving from the film wording logo on the left hand art panel to a full image of the movie character. The box art is presented in a crisp blue colour, with the word Loki emblazoned in bright white. Above this sits the Marvel Select logo, and beneath it the log of the Thor movie. As mentioned the side panel contains a full image of Tom Hiddlestone as Loki from the movie and this is overlaid with the movie logo at the base. These logo's on the side would disappear as the line progressed. Round the back and we get a promotional shot of the figure itself, alongside a couple of paragraphs explaining Loki's position in Asgard (and the movie) without giving much away about the plot. Underneath this and to the right is an image of the corresponding Thor figure with the text "collect them all". Fans may have been disappointed that the image of Loki shows the full Rainbow bridge diorama, with no mention that you will need to buy both Loki and Thor to assemble the two. Out of the pack, Loki is packed into an inner clear plastic tray with his staff in hand. To the left as you look at him are the Sword and Pillar from the Rainbow Bridge. Loki stands 8 1/2 inches from feet to the top of his horned helmet, Loki himself would be around 7 1/4 inches high. The likeness to Hiddleston is not the greatest, but there is a resemblance and it certainly looks better from the side rather than face on. The face may not be the perfect likeness at this scale, the outfit is beautifully done. The helmet sits neatly around Loki's face, with the two horns sweeping backward from the crown. The armour in intricately captured across the chest area and down the arms. Underneath the armour sits sculpted material sleeves and these include the usual folds and creases, but with the armour straps sculpted on top. The trousers are a little plainer, with just a decorative panel to the side of each thigh. Paint work across the armour is really neat, with no bleed or messy spots. The armour is a dull bronze colour and a purist may have wanted it to be shinier? The clothes are then a dark brown with a lighter muddy wash over top to bring out detail. Sadly this is applied over the armour straps which loses their definition. Loki's cloak is plain, but striking green and is moulded in a rubberised material. The cloak sweeps naturally off the shoulders and thankfully is the perfect length for the figure (the one on Thor is a little long and can impact how he stands). The flesh areas are a flat flesh colour, with just a touch of pink on Loki's lips. The eyes are neatly done with clearly defined eyeballs. Above these the eye brows are a touch too heavy. Loki comes with his spear, as seen in Thor and not to be confused with the sceptre used in Avengers. At 10 inches long, its an impressive piece and is painted in two tones of metallic paint. The top half is a bronze, similar to the armour on Loki, where as the staff part is nearer to a gold colour? All of the staff is washed to bring out the sculpted details. Articulation, at this point in the Select timeline, was restricted - but Loki is probably one of the best of that era. The head is on a ball joint, but with the helmet and hair it can then only rotate and look down slightly when facing forward. Shoulders are ball jointed and can move out to the side and more or less over Loki's head, something that the corresponding Thor figure struggles with. Elbows bend and rotate, but don't quite make it to a 90 degree bend. The wrists rotate and all of this will allow Loki to both hold his spear in one hand, planted to the floor - but also in two hands in a more dynamic pose. The chest sports a joint, and this means you can twist Loki's top half to either side. There is no waist joint to speak of, and the figure has the old round ball jointed hips. These hips rotate and bend slightly, but no where near to letting Loki kneel or sit - plus his cloak would restrict that. The joints do however allow for some varying stances and don't seem to have the issue with loose joints that is apparent on some later figures. The knees are double jointed, but as we mentioned above on a cloaked figure and with those hip joints, the knees will get little movement and are a tad unnecessary. The figure terminates with ankle rockers that do allow the feet bend forward and back but not to the sides and you will use the hip rotate to move the feet outward rather than the ankle joint. This can mean that on a wider stance, Loki can look like he is balancing on his out-steps not flat footed on the floor. The other noted point is that Loki is a very heavy figure, he feels solid and well built compared to other figures in this scale and of this era. This allows him to stand really well and he would take some serious shelf vibrations to bring him crashing down. Moving now to the diorama, the piece that has made me re-buy Loki.... Packed in with Loki are the Sword of Heimdall, and it's stand. The sword is an impressive piece, sitting at 6 inches long, and is a crisp design with well executed paint applications on the various metallic shades from the hilt down into the blade.. The stand/plinth is intricately detailed and painted in a white inner section, and then trimmed on the outside with gold trims. The sword fits neatly into the stand, and the whole thing will stand on it's own. It is of course designed to join up with the larger base section supplied with the Thor Select figure. Thor's base comes assembled, and you would expect the Loki section to slot into the hole on the top. It is a little more complex, and some instructions wouldn't have gone amiss. In actual fact you have to pull the Thor part into two halves, and then line up the Sword Stand into the corresponding grooves - locking the two halves together around the stand. Once built is is a lovely centrepiece for Loki and Thor to battle round, and the completist in me is happy to now have the full diorama on display. Having now looked at Loki in his entirety from packaging, and with the full accessories, I am still going to hold with the score I gave him originally - a 4 out of 5. As a figure he only really suffers from a soft likeness and a few niggles on articulation. The fact that he regularly runs to £50+ on the secondary market shows how highly regarded he is amongst collectors.

2016 was always going to be a year of expansion, and following our branch into Youtube - the video reviews were a natural next step to explore. I am proud therefore to present the first Video Review courtesy of the Mephitsu Archives. This is a trial at this stage, and is a narrated version of the written review we published earlier in the week. Enjoy the Northern Dulcit Tones...

Welcome to the Sunday Savings, where we delve into the Amazon Warehouse deals and see what we can find... Amazon Warehouse is their clearance zone for items that have packaging damage or very minor cosmetic damage - and therefore the savings can be really good. The links below should take you directly to the discounted price. If they don't, then click on the BUY USED option which sits below the main description - look then for the sold by Amazon Warehouse price. These items are in very limited, often single quantities, and were in-stock at time of publication. Prices quoted also exclude delivery options Star Wars Comic Packs #24 X-Wing Rogue Sqadron Baron Soontir Fel and Hobbie Klivian £6.54 NECA 1:4 Scale Man of Steel Superman Suit Figure (Black) £45.54 Gotham Select Oswald Cobblepot Action Figure £6.63 Star Wars The Force Awakens 12-inch First Order Flametrooper £5.11 Star Wars: The Force Awakens Battle Action Millennium Falcon £62.90 HALO 5 10-Inch "Guardians Spartan Locke DLX" Action Figure £7.50

Happy Sat-TOY-Day everyone! CLICK HERE for this week's issue. Turtles dominate this weeks issue with SDCC news from NECA, and some new promo images from SH Figuarts. NECA are also bringing us new Freddy figures, and still in the horror Genre - Mezco confirm their One:12 colletive will be expanded to Pinhead, Ash from the Evil dead and (wait for it) GHOSTBUSTERS! Our review this week is the NECA Terminator Genisys T800 Guardian www.facebook.com/mephitsu www.twitter.com/mephitsu www.issuu.com/mephitsu

In the autumn of 2015, Character Options released the first new Doctor Who 5 inch figures for some time with two versions of Missy going on sale exclusively via their website. This week, Forbidden Planet International have now listed these Missy figures on their website - with the Purple version seemingly to have undergone some significant tweaks. As you can see by the comparison image below, with the new Forbidden Planet figure on the left, the differences are quite distinct. Including a brighter overall purple dress colour, a change to the blouse colour, a change to the design of her broach and some additional markings on the dress. The Forbidden Planet figures are showing in stock now for £14.99 You can still buy the original figures via Character Options Missy (S9 Purple Outfit) Missy (The Master) is a Time Lady and like the Doctor, she’s from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. The two were friends in their youth and both chose to ignore their people’s policy of non-intervention with other species, but unlike the Doctor, Missy chose to travel the universe causing chaos and revelling in wickedness on an epic scale. Throughout all their encounters they usually showed a respect towards each other and on the occasions when they were forced to work as a team it was clear they made terrific allies. These two rogue Time Lords – so different but so very similar – facing the world on their terms with gusto and enormous talent. S9 Purple outfit Missy is presented in Underground Toys collector box packaging. Contents: Missy (S9 Purple outfit) Action Figure Umbrella Accessory Missy’s Device’ Accessory