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The release date of end of May, early June 2016, is getting closer for the first three of the 12 inch scale Marvel Legends figures from Hasbro. The following promotional images have just been released to further whet our appetite. Captain America, Spider-Man and Iron-Man will each have their own exclusivity deal in the US, one for each of the key retailers. Captain America will be a Toys R Us (US) exclusive, and can be pre-ordered in the UK via Forbidden Planet at £58.99 Spider-man will be a Walmart exclusive and therefore MAY translate to Asda here in the UK. Iron-man will be a Target exclusive

Mezco have just unveiled the full details of their One:12 Collective Punisher figure, as well as opening up the US Pre-order via their site. US price sits at $80. UK customers will need to expect to pay circa £70-£75 once he hits UK stores for pre-order. Scroll down for full details and a full gallery of images Source : Mezco When veteran war hero Frank Castle's family is slain in front of him during a mob related shootout, he vows vengeance and becomes the Punisher. Waging a one-man war on crime, the Punisher utilizes his vast military skills to brutally serve justice to those he deems deserving. An expert in hand-to-hand and weapon-based combat, he is an unstoppable force. Meticulously developed to capture the intensity of the character and outfitted on a newly designed One:12 Collective body, the figure has impressive details. The final product creates a "real world" look reflecting the character's severity. THE ONE:12 PUNISHER FEATURES: Hyper-realistic portraits 1:12 scaled, highly realistic fabric uniform with special silk screening applications Detailed sculpted costume accents, including belt, gloves, harness and boots Gauntlets with magnetic attachments Super articulated body with over 32 points of articulation WHAT'S IN THE BOX: Standard portrait Alternate Portrait 1 Alternate Portrait 2 Fists (L&R) Holding hands (L&R) Grappling hands (L&R) Posing hand (L) Karate strike hand (R) Armored skull load bearing vest with belt and knife sheath Combat knife 9mm automatic pistol with extra clip Machine gun with extra clip Grenade launcher with six grenades Submachine gun with extra clip Display base with posing post The Punisher is packaged in a deluxe, fifth panel window box with translucent acetate slipcover. Designed for collector convenience, the packaging allows for both maximum protection as well as ease of removal for display.

In the same vein as the Civil War images, this promotional shot of the Marvel Legend Punisher figure has also been circulated. The Jim Lee Punisher is due to be a Walgreens US exclusive, alongside Namor. Again there is no exclusivity mention or company logo on this image. The image also appears to be rolling this figure into the Spider-man themed releases, badged as Spider-Man series 3.5

This promotional image has surfaced showing 6 inch scale Marvel Legends Winter Soldier and Falcon as seen in Civil War. If you look closely enough, you can see Falcon will include his Red Wing drone as pack in accessory. These two figures, for those who remember our Toy Fair 2016 coverage, were down to be Walmart exclusives in the US. The interesting part of this image is the lack of any Walmart logo, and a reference to Captain America series 2.5

In a continuation of what we saw on Alien Day with celebrities announcing their own NECA figures, Wierd Al Yankovic has taken to Twitter to show off his new boxed 8" Retro Wierd Al figure "Awesome! Gonna spend the rest of the day playing with myself. #NECA" - Al Yankovic The figure comes with tailored cloth outfit, swappable heads, swappable hands, microphone and accordion. It is tentatively due to ship Summer 2016

We have known for a while that the UK and Europe will be receiving a "Best of" The Marvel Cinemactic Universe wave in May/June 2016. The wave contains repacks only, but is inclusive of figures which have been hard to find outside the US - particularly the Loki - but also the Hawkeye and Thor. This image has now circulated on social media (originating in the Far East) which indicates that the Hulkbuster BAF that is included in this wave seems to have an updated, and more screen accurate, paint job. We will have to wait for the wave to hit to confirm this for definite. But if it is true, then expect a volume of unhappy fans - both across in the US who aren't getting this wave, but also UK and Euro fans who have already bought a full wave of 7 to get the Hulkbuster originally You can pre-order the "Best Of" wave at Kapow Toys with a 10% deposit

The US have seen the release of the Disney Elite C-3PO and R2-D2 today, with stocks available in stores and online. There is, however, no corresponding release for UK or Europe. In a move that will frustrate fans, the decision has appeared to have been made to only offer the droids in the US. This is the same decision that came with the re-release of the original 8 Elite - including the Boba with cape. And yet in a complete contrast, the proto-type Boba Fett has made its way to UK stores. We await any more clarity from Disney as to why these figures are being held to US customers only.

Welcome to a new feature here on The Mephitsu Archives, the Sunday Deals section - where we trawl the Amazon Warehouse deals section and bring you a tasty selection of Action Figure bargains. For those who are new to Amazon Warehouse Deals, then click through the header for the full breakdown - but in essence Warehouse Deals are reductions on products which have damaged or missing packaging, or minor cosmetic damage on the item itself. All are still sold by Amazon and have the same return policy as any other item on the site. For any of the deals - click through the image. If the deal is not shown then check the USED option which sits just under the Available Seller line to the right of the photo, warehouse deals are listed as a USED option. If the deal is still not showing then it will have sold out... NECA Robocop 2 with Jet Pack & Assault Cannon, £10.58 8-Inch "Friday The 13th Jason/Classic Video Game Appearance" Clothed Figure, £12.76 Star Wars 6" Black Series Tie Fighter (minor cosmetic damage, damaged packaging) £64.37 6" Black Series First Order Storm Trooper, £14.37 DC Direct DC Comics Arrow Black Canary Action Figure, £11.32 DC Comics Arrow: John Diggle Action Figure, £9.60 Diamond Select Diamond Select Gotham Jim Gordon, £11.26 Diamond Select Gotham Penguin, £8.97

Review : Sammael Hellboy (Mezco Toys) Wave/Series : Previews Exclusive Released : 2004 Price : N/A Sammael, The Desolate One, was one of the prime antagonists from the 2004 Hellboy movie. He was initially excluded from the subsequent figure range from Mezco, and then released as an exclusive via Previews. Like the other larger figures across the Hellboy range, such as the Angel of Death and Wink, Sammael commands a premium currently on the secondary market - more so fully packaged with the exclusive sticker. After bagging Johann Krauss recently I believed my Hellboy luck was out for another few months, but I then stumbled across this loose figure of Sammael. The figure we are reviewing does have a couple of issues - including a broken tusk on his left cheek and loose hip joints, hence the stand used in our images. If you find Sammael carded, then he arrives in the clamshell packaging in the same style as the other figures from the 2004 basic releases. With the figure and blister offset to the right, the left hand side of the card bore the Hellboy logo and a picture of Red himself. The figure name was picked out in a grey insert at the base of the blister, and for Sammael an over-sticker indicated his exclusivity to Previews. Sammael was not packed with accessories, so if you are buying loose your only concern needs to be the condition of the figure. The card back is standard across the Hellboy 1 figures with a group shot of the released figures and an image of Sammael hovering over them. Across this to the right is a paragraph detailing the films basic plot. Sammael stands almost 9 inch tall and is a hefty weight in hand. The sculpt is amazing with a mountain of detail from head to toe. Starting at the head, the sculpt captures Sammaels's gaping jaws and his 4 eye sockets. It is worth mentioning here that I believed one of my eyes was missing on the figure, but research has shown that this intentional to mirror the film. From the head a series of head tails snake away and flow over his shoulders. These are cast in a flexible plastic so that they move easily with the head. If you work your way down the body you will see the skin is a textured almost bark affair, with swirls and patterns painstakingly carved in - none of this is paint work, its all sculptural. Some of this detail is almost runic, there is no repetition. The back is particularly impressive with an exposed spine working its way down to his stunted tail area. Under the head around the neck area is another texture, again all sculptural and almost looking like coral. The hands end in huge 3 fingered claws, with the right hand having what looks like an additional extra long digit. This is actually Sammael's ulna (forearm) which he can extend outward of his body to use as a club when needed. This club isn't an ultra brittle plastic, but I would check that this is not damaged if buying loose. The whole figure is painted with a green colour scheme, starting with a pale green and over this a darker wash which has settled in all the sculpted effects to bring out the design. On top of this is some degree of drybrush. Areas like the knees and shoulders have a lighter finish, while the chest and hands are much darker - and it is this variation that tops off a wonderful paint job. Articulation on the figure gets off to a great start with a ball jointed head AND an articulated jaw which means Sammael can be posed with mouth wide open, mouth closed, or anything in between. The shoulders are ball jointed and move out fully to the side and above the head. The shoulders are then supported by a bicep swivel, and a well done one at that as it is shaped in with the muscle of the arm not just a flat cut that you quite often see. Elbows are a pinned joint and can be bent at 90 degrees. The wrist is a similar joint allowing the hand to pivot back and forth, although there is no option to rotate. Even the right hand Ulna-club is articulated and can be bent back and up against the forearm if you want to hide it from view. There is no chest joint, but the waits can swivel - although doing so pushes the stomach and spine detail out of line and looks a bit odd. The hips are ball jointed, and are sadly a weak spot in terms of not being ratcheted and able to support the weight and bulk of the figure - watch out for this when buying loose as I had to drop my Sammael onto a Kaiser stand to put him on display. Just under the hips is a thigh swivel - not as well done as the bicep, but its not as ugly as others I have seen. There is a single knee joint and the same at the ankle, which allows Sammael to be stood fully upright, or with bent knees and hunched forward - with both options still letting the feet be flat to the floor. Sammael is a big, bulky, heavy and very impressive figure and if you are a Hellboy fan don't let the age put you off. Even though he is 12+ years old now, he still holds his own against anything being done today by Diamond or even NECA to a degree. Be aware he will set you back as his stock has risen considerably since release - more-so due to his exclusivity. Loose is obviously cheaper, depending on your collecting focus, but watch out for damaged digits, head tails and the cheek tusks. On the flip side don't forget the eye is supposed to be missing. Watch out for loose joints at the hips (may be inevitable considering the figures weight) and be prepared to invest in a good stand for him. Scoring Sammael, I have very little choice other than to give a top score of 5 out of 5. The sculpt and paint job are really well done and the articulation is great - with more than you would expect in terms of the jaw and club. Nice work Mezco.

Happy Sat-TOY-Day, I hope everyone is well and enjoying what is lining up to be a great year of Action Figures CLICK HERE for this week's issue. We lead this week with the 12th Dr Who Sonic Screwdriver (it's not a figure, but I am a HUGE Who fan) and click through for our review of an advance copy of the Sonic. NECA also has the usual wealth of news, hints and teases - this week for Alien, Predator and Rocky! Over in the Far East, are Bandai planning a new Battle Droid addition to their 1/12 Star Wars kits? And we finish up with a retro review, heading back to 2008 to look at the Hellboy Johann Krauss figure from Mezco. www.facebook.com/mephitsu www.twitter.com/mephitsu www.issuu.com/mephitsu

Review : The 12th Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver Character Options Wave/Series : Role Play Replica Released : 2016 Price : £14.99 As seen in the Series 9 episode 'Hell Bent' The 12th Doctor has finally upgrades his Sonic Screwdriver from the one he inherited from the 11th Doctor. This new screwdriver has now joined the expansive Character Options line of replica / role-play Sonic's. The Screwdriver arrives in a clear plastic product tube about 11 inches high, the type of packaging also used on the 11th Doctor screwdriver release. The graphics and art have been updated to match the current theme being used across the Character range - with a orange/red vortex design that fades through the colour spectrum to a star field. The logo, presented in white at the base of the tube, remains based on the font established in the titles and merchandising for the 11th Doctor, but without the central TARDIS icon. Under the logo sits a blue flash insert that details this as the "Twelfth Doctor's Second Sonic Screwdriver" and with the sub heading "Electronic Sound & Lights FX" Around the windowed portion of the tube sits diamond inserts that talk about the "static flashing & chase light & sound FX", "Green and Blue Light Modes" and an image showing a rotating arrow? - it is certainly whetting our appetite at this point with all these promised features. Round the back we have the usual safety & legal notices and next to this is a couple of paragraphs talking about the Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver - and in particular the 12th Doctor's use of the screwdriver, and his period of moving to hands-free and using the "Sonic Shades". Back to the front and the whole sonic is clearly visible through the windowed portion of the tube packaging, and behind it sits another star field, framing the screwdriver beautifully. This will certainly please Mint in Box collectors who can leave the Screwdriver as is for their collections. So time to get into the box and see what this Sonic can do... and at this point we welcome Mini-Meph (age 6) who will be helping us review and road-test this new Sonic and give his perspective from a play-ability point of view. Once the tape has been removed from either the top or bottom of the tube, the cap slides off and the screwdriver will slide out in its insert tray. A word of warning if you are contemplating opening your Screwdriver for a play and then want to put it back in the tube - the Sonic is an extremely tight fit into the tray and you almost certainly crease the tray getting it out. Out of the box and the Sonic is about 9 inches long, and is a decent enough weight in hand. Mini-Meph thinks "it looks a little weird", he is comparing it to the other Sonic's he has seen on screen across all the Doctor's new and old. The base colour of the main parts are an electric blue, and then around these are panels of silver, including some very complex looking clamps near the emitter. There is also some gold details near the base, centre and just under the emitter. All of the paint is crisp, neatly applied and with no bleeding between parts. There are no other paint applications to weather the Sonic or bring out any details. The emitter is the business end, and is made up of four LED tubes which are slotted around a square frame, and then this is brought up to a point with the end of the LED tubes also pointing forward, along with a further circular led emitter right at the end. To access the batteries, you will need to twist the lower half of the Sonic clockwise and pull down. This splits the Sonic in two and gives access to the battery panel, which is screwed in place. Three button cell (watch) batteries are already included - but these are for demonstration and will not last long, so worth stocking up with a spare set for your budding 12th Doctor if this Sonic is going to do lots of door opening and fighting Daleks. There are no instructions included in or on the packaging on how to operate the Sonic, and the silly grown up (me) could only get two out of the four features to work at first. Mini-Meph pointed out "the whole fun is finding the secret" and after a bit more playing we worked it all out. The whole Sonic operates from a single half circular button slider which fits ergonomically in line with your thumb when you hold the Sonic. Pushing it up operates the solid green light and FX and pulling it down operates the blue light and FX. The green FX is accompanied by a higher pitched Sonic sound effect, where as the blue is a little deeper. Both sound effects have been used on previous Dr Who Sonic's from Character and as we haven't really seen the Doctor operate his new Screwdriver in the show we will have to wait to confirm accuracy. The other effects are operated by a double press of the button. Pushing upward twice in quick succession operates a green throbbing light and an alternative sound effect. Pulling down twice turns on a flashing effect, with each of the 4 LED tubes lighting up in a rotating pattern. The double push took Mini-Meph a bit to master, but he has it cracked now and he is off scanning for Cybermen to his hearts content. "Awesome" is his only quote at this stage. We finally interrupted Mini-Meph's adventures in Time & Space to get his thoughts overall... "It's the best Sonic Screwdriver I've had". He has had a few, including the 9th, 11th and the 3rd Doctors from Character. And I agree this looks and feels the nicest so far, and yet will still fit in with the collection as a whole. "The lights are really cool, because they make lots of different sounds. And yeah I like the colours. I still think it looks a bit weird, it looks a bit like a lightsaber". We asked Mini-Meph to give it a score out of a 100..... "a trillion" was his answer - we asked for that didn't we. But I guess that means he likes it and gives it a seal of approval. It is therefore safe to say that the kids will love this one, although parents may find the sound FX grating after a period of time playing. For me, and with any review I do, I look at the item and score it appropriately to its peers and its price range. Be clear that this is not a collectors grade replica, for that you would be paying £100+. It is however great value for money at the £14.99 SRP and still looks the part if you want it to keep boxed or lined up in a Sonic display. The kids obviously love it (well mine did) and my only gripe about missing instructions has been over-ruled by a 6 year old who has explained the "fun is finding out". I score this Sonic a 5 out of 5. Please check out the gallery and video below for full details, the video does show the Sonic in operation including all four effects. Order NOW from Forbidden Planet Review copy courtesy of Evolution PR on behalf of Character Options

NECA have revealed the following images on Twitter, confirming that these three ships will make up series 2 of their new Cinemachines line. The Narcissus lifeboat from Alien carries on the Alien theme from Series 1, but NECA have decide to hold back the other Alien vehicles so fans don't start to feel this is an Alien only range. These other Alien vehicles - Nostromo, Sulaco and the Special Edition Aliens Tractor - will be included in later waves. The other two ships in series 2 are based on the Predator movies, with the ship from the original Predator movie and the Lost Tribe ship from Predator 2. A lot of creative licence has been applied to the Lost Tribe ship which is only partially shown in the movie. "Had to fill in a fair amount of blanks. Not much material to pull from" Fans of Terminator may wonder what has happened to the two Hunter Killer vehicles we have seen teased over the past few months. NECA have said these will be held back to coincide with the 3D release of Terminator 2 later this year, pre-orders are likely to go up around Septemer "T2 vehicles need to be released around the 3D theatrical so that removed them from inclusion. They'll be offered sep" Get your Cinemachines from our affiliate partner, Forbidden Planet CLICK HERE "Introducing the second series in our brand new line of die-cast collectibles celebrating some of the most iconic vehicles from film and television! CINEMACHINES brings these supporting cast members to life in exceptional detail, ready to add to your collection. Each measures 5-6” long and is made from die-cast metal and plastic that’s carefully hand painted. Series 2 highlights vehicles and vessels from the Predator and Alien universes, and includes:" • Scout Ship with display stand (Predator) • Tribe Ship with display stand (Predator 2) • Narcissus shuttle with display stand (Alien) Source : NECA Online