Star Wars Black Series : Wave 1 It was a bold move to move the well established Star Wars characters from 3.75" to a new 6" scale, but in 2013 that is exactly what Hasbro did as they launched The Black Series, highly articulated and detailed collectors figures. The Black Series included the traditional 3.75" figures, but a brand new 6" scale which brought Star Wars in line with Hasbro's Marvel output. Wave 1 was released in 2013. The interesting element of wave 1 was a choice of characters that didn't include Darth Vader or a traditional Storm Trooper. Instead Hasbro went a little left field and delivered what, even today, are some of the jewels of the line. The honor of #01 went to Luke Skywalker, which is predictable, however they released him in his X-Wing outfit from a New Hope. An odd choice you may think, but unlike a lot of Luke's costumer this figure allowed Hasbro to show what they could do with the Black Series. Luke comes with a removable X-Wing helmet, blaster and lightsaber. With a wealth or articulation you can pose him to your hears content and represent a number of looks - my favorite of which at present is the "Top Gun" pose holding his helmet under his arm. #02 is a Darth, but was Maul rather than Vader. Maul comes packed so he can represent both his cloaked Tatooine gear and uncloaked Naboo Duel. The cloak effect is sculpted which to me works for this figure as opposed to the soft good route. His head is sculpted into the cloak and to un-robe him you swap the head with the alternative version provided. Maul comes with his dual lightsaber, which comes apart into two separate sabers and can also be used without blades (unlit). His final accessory is a pair of binoculars. Maul does suffer a little with articulation compared to Luke, particularly when in his cloak. #03 is a Sandtrooper, Orange Pauldron. It really showed us early on what a Stormtrooper sculpt could look like in the Black Series, but by making this the Sandtrooper they got to include more accessories - which included the back pack (which does sit a little high vs what we saw on the film) and 3 separate guns/rifles. Sandie also includes some specific "sandtrooper" elements in the sculpt vs a standard Stormtrooper including a knee pad, and paint variants on his helmet. #04 is a companion piece to Luke, and is everyone's favourite droid R2-D2. R2 obviously lacks a lot of the articulation due to the nature of his design. But this is overcome with a box full of accessories and arms that allow you to have an Artoo for any situation including the leg boosters from Revenge of the Sith to the Lightsaber launcher from Jabba's sail barge. Artoo also comes with the 3rd leg which can we wound up or down by turning the head. He is a little small scale wise if you look at him on-screen, and whether this becomes a bigger problem will depend on when C3P0 is released and how the two look together. Wave 1 set the benchmark for Black Series. It contained 4 interesting figures with great articulation and each with a real good depth of accessories. Although it would be Wave 2 and the arrival of Boba that lit the match for Black Series, Hasbro would not match what they did in wave 1 in any future waves with accessories and options being significantly scaled back. Wave 1 remain, at the time of writing, the rarest figures of the range to date. None of them have had a re-release, and with many collectors jumping on board at later waves, making these four launch figures highly sought after.

This massive vehicle is an homage to a classic Kenner vehicle from the 1993 Predator toy line. When fully assembled, the Blade Fighter is over 2 feet in length and accommodates most 6″- 8″ tall action figures! (Figures sold separately.) This is a must-have for Predator fans and will come in gorgeous closed box packaging featuring original art and illustrations like the classic toy lines of yesteryear. Features: –hinged cockpit –ball-jointed cannons –spring-loaded projectile –spring-loaded detachable 19″ long blades –removable wing guns (can be hand held by your Predator action figures) –areas for extra weapon storage –clips for holding an extra Predator mask

The 12th series in our most successful and longest running figure collection introduces our first ever Predator from Dark Horse’s Predator: Bad Blood comic book series, along with a new and improved Elder Predator from Predator 2 and an all-original NECA creation: Viper Predator! Enforcer Predator makes his action figure debut and is based on the series by Evan Dorkin and Derek Thompson. First seen way back in Series 3, Elder V2 features additional articulation, a shoulder cannon, new straps and belts, and new feet, all upgraded and improved from the original version. Viper Predator, pilot of the Blade Fighter vehicle, is an original design featuring deadly wrist blade gauntlets on both forearms, a removable mask, and 2 pairs of hands. Figures stand approximately 8″ tall, feature over 25 points of articulation and come with character-specific accessories.

Chewie is a big hitter that many have been waiting for and he is one of the reasons that Hasbro turned to the new box. Originally Chewie should have been the elusive #13 from wave 4, but was pulled due to the ridiculous pose he had to pull to get in the old style box. Chewie is a big lump of plastic and towers over other figures as he should. I agree with others that he perhaps looks a tad too tall but I can get over that. Paint apps were good and I actually quite like the sculpt of the face with the open mouth. Chewie has nowhere near the pose-ability of Luke. In face after some playing I can only really get him into a neutral stance, everything else looks a bit odd. Chewie comes with his bandoleer and man-bag, which are very well done and can be removed if you wish. He also comes with his bowcaster, which comes in two pieces in the box and actually breaks down to 3 as the sites can be popped off. For me the bowcaster is terrible as not only is it really difficult to get into Chewie's paws, but more frustratingly the bow part will not stay on the gun. I spent a good 10 minutes trying various options before packing the gun back in the box for now and posing Chewie unarmed. Granted you could glue the bowcaster, but I shouldn't have to and this accessory is a big fail I am afraid. For shelf presence, sculpt and paint job I would give Chewie an 4, but he drops 1 point due to the bowcaster so he comes out at 3/5 for me.

Liz Sherman appeared in both Hellboy movies, but it was Hellboy 2 in 2008 that saw her Action Figure added to Mezco's 7" releases. Liz comes packed in a standard clam-shell packaging. The front panel is decorated in a bronze/gold colour with the HB2 logo and the cog's that symbolise the Golden Army. The backing card includes a blown up view of Hellboy himself, and the reverse includes a plot outline for the movie as opposed to a bio of Liz's character. The rest of the back is dedicated to images of the other figures from the range. Out of the packaging and Liz comes packed with a two alternative hands. The alternative right hand is sculpted holding her BPRD revolver, whilst the alternative left hand is sculpted with a blue flame effect. Considering this figure is now 7 years old, the sculpt holds up really well. The head is a close likeness to Selma Blair and the hair is style is sculpted and layered nicely around the head. The leather jacket contains a tonne of detail, from the "Cantona" collars to the pockets and buttons, which are all sculpted into the design. Beneath the jacket, and Liz has her crucifix on a choker around her neck. The arms follow a similar sculpt of folds and ruffles and stop just after the elbow joint. It is a this point that the lower arm and hands pop off to be replaced with whatever combination you wish to use on display. Liz has a belt that is a separate piece to the figure, although not removable. The belt contains a selection of pouches and a larger over-sized belt buckle which is emblazoned with the BPRD fist holding a sword hilt symbol. If there is any criticism of the top half of Liz it is that she is a little comic in proportions with a ridiculously tiny waist which then isn't helped by the oversize belt. The lower half suffers a little with the hips where looks have been sacrificed for articulation, it gives Liz a little bit of an odd look where her thighs seem to be much wider and away from her waist. Like the top the textile of the cloth for the trousers is well executed and the legs finish in some suitably Gothic looking biker boots with three fastening buckles and a chunky sole. Paint is pretty well executed throughout. The head is neatly done with eyes and lips picked out really well. There is a tad too much "blusher" on her cheeks which do look like Liz has just come in from the cold. The crucifix is picked out in a plain black, and this is a tad messy as the skin tone has bled into the necklace in places. All the clothing is well detailed with bronze and silver used to pick out the buttons and buckles. There is some subtle dry brushing on the black outfit as well that brings out the folds of the cloth. The only downside is that the whole outfit looks like one jumpsuit rather than the leather jacket and black jeans as used in the movie. The paint effect used is great for the jacket and works really well but I would have liked them to do a darker flatter black for the trousers to break up the figure and match the movie costume a little better. Articulation is pretty decent, but no where near as good as what we would expect nowadays. The head is on a ball joint and rotates fully round as well as looking up and down. Liz can also cock her head to the side. The shoulders are on ball joints so can straight out to the side or above her head, this allows you to pose Liz in a firing pose with her gun or a charging pose with her flame effect. Elbows are a basic bend and there is no swivel at the elbow or upper arm. By the nature of the swap-able element for the fore arms these rotate in their peg socket and are easy enough to swap over. By being designed to slot in at the sleeve of the jacket the joint is also well hidden. The swap-able parts work, and you must assume this was a cost saving decision considering other figures of the era come with separate weapons that can be slotted into the molded hands. Zero movement at the waist and there is no torso joint either so Liz is pretty fixed in her upper body position. The hips, as discussed, have a good range of movement with articulation chosen here over looks. Sadly the hips are quite loose, even on a new figure directly out of the packaging and I would guess Liz will eventually become difficult to stand in time. There is a well hidden knee joint to allow Liz to kneel if needed or assume a seated position. There is then an ankle rocker, which works really well to ensure Liz is stood flat to the floor when posed. It is always hard scoring a figure of this age as you just can't judge it against the standards of say NECA's new releases. For a 7 year old figure, Liz stands up really well in terms of sculpt and her articulation is still reasonably comparable to say what we are getting from Diamond. My gripes are around the over-sized belt which looks ridiculous, the lack of paint variation between jacket and trousers, and those horrible hips and thighs which just look plain odd. Put on the positives, the swap-able arms do work and Liz looks awesome posed up with Hellboy and other figures from the range - and in fact doesn't look overly out of place with other 7" figures in my collection (she has aged well). I am going to give Liz a 3 out of 5, a solid result just not as good as other figures from the same movie.

My movie collection is pretty eclectic at the moment and ranges and I try to stick to main characters for the films I really like from both my youth in the 70's and 80's to more recent releases like the Avengers figures from Diamond Select. All my Grail items are currently from this 7" Movie side of figures, and one of the big ones I had always yearned after was the Mezco 7" scale Hellboy from 2004-2007. Until recently I wasn't really aware of Mezco, and was also unaware they, or anyone, did figures from the Hellboy movies. These figures got limited UK exposure and now, some 10 years later, come up very rarely for sale and command a reasonably high premium on the secondary market. I attended my first large scale collectors Toy Fair recently at Bolton's Macro Stadium and amongst the usual model train and model car stalls were a good smattering of stalls doing action figures. I had to take a second look as I was passing one as at the back of the stall was what looked like a Hellboy figure. Upon closer inspection it was the 2004 Hellboy in trench coat with Ivan the corpse, and was what I believe is the harder to find closed mouth version. He was pretty clean aside from a bit of dust and his gun was still in its holster. I was expecting the worst on price, but when I found out it was £20 I was sold and Red came home with me. Hellboy stands just a bit over 7" a perfect size match for both Neca and Diamond Select. This figure is based on the first movie and depicts Hellboy in his black trousers and vest with trench-coat. For a 10 year old figure the sculpt is amazing, as is the painting and detail - with some lovely intricate painting on his coat and belt. The eyes are also something special as they almost seem to be glass as they reflect the light. Red is fully articulated, including 3 points of articulation on his tail. He comes with a gun, which can be held in a holster under his coat, or placed in his normal left hand. In keeping with the film, Red comes with a corpse accessory which is basically another half a figure - comprising of a head, torso and arms all of which have basic articulation. The Corpse can be slung over Hellboy's back via its own rope & noose to represent scenes from the film. I may be over invested in this figure, but I cannot find any major downsides to this release. Even at 10 years old it stands up to anything Neca or Diamond are doing at the moment and for any comic/superhero/movie fans I would highly recommend this for the collection. I give Red 5/5 and I am even keeping an eye out now for maybe a couple of companion figures. I really like the look of Wink but price on this is even more than Hellboy. Perhaps I will get lucky at the next fair.

As seen in the Dark Horse Comics series Fire and Stone, beginning October 2014! In his prime, Ahab took deadly trophies from countless worlds, his scars a proud record of glorious battle. Now an elder of his tribe, he leaves small game to the next generation as he looks to his final hunt. Following a lifelong obsession, Ahab searches for a creature more formidable than any Predator has ever faced before. The 7″ scale figure features over 25 points of articulation and comes with removable backpack, removable mask, and spear staff accessory.

When I was planning my Avengers setup I chose to go down the Dark World Thor route for my collection. Having now been dragged into filling in all the gaps on the Movie Select figures I found myself with a difficult job tracking down the original Thor figure, but finally here he is. Thor was released in 2011 along with the much sought after Loki, with the two of them being released with a connecting Bifrost base to bring them together in a display. Thor arrives in the standard Select packaging, with a nice panel on the side of Thor "The Mighty Avenger". On the rear is a stock image of the figure, along with a paragraph about the character and an image of Loki. Once out of the box Thor stands a touch over 7 1/4" high and comes with Mjolnir and the gold circular bifrost base. I think Thor suffers from being difficult to photograph and he is one of those figures that is actually a lot better in hand than any image. The face is a very good likeness of Chris Hemsworth and their are plenty of detail in the armour, the chest being particularly impressive. The arms are done in chain mail and this is a little soft in terms of sculpt but is passable. The legs, like Loki, are a bit plain but there are some sculped knee armour and decent boots. Thor's cloak is done in soft plastic, and hangs pretty well off the shoulders. Mjolnir itself is a bit of a let down as its also done in some soft plastic and the handle is bent on mine, and the strap is then not soft enough, or moveable like it is in on the DW Thor, so hangs at an odd angle in a lot of poses. Paint is crisp and with no obvious paint bleeding. The face is nicely painted with Thor's piercing blue eyes. The hair is a little basic but is shaded and with highlights - although this is a bit amateur and could be done much better. The armour is nicely done in silver, but not too bright to detract from the detail and there is evidence of some darker wash on the chain mail. The red is bright on the cloak and on the trim on the arms and legs. All good so far. But then we talk about articulation, and it is here that Thor loses points in a big way. Starting with the head, it is clearly on a ball joint and can rotate a full 360 degrees. The hair however stops any movement forward or backward to allow Thor to look up or down. The arms are terrible, with a ball jointed shoulder that doesn't allow the arms to go anywhere close to being flat at Thor's side. Nor do they go up very far so you can either get a wierd "chicken impression" pose or the arm being 90 degrees from the side of the body. The elbow is then jointed and can swivel, as can the wrist - but without a full range of movement in the shoulder you absolutely can't get Thor into the lightening summoning pose many collectors would love. Like most early Select figures there is no torso joint, but there is an articulated waist. The waist however cannot move more than a few mm due to the armour. Hips are ball jointed but barely move, even with a significant amount of force - the joint is just too small to move the legs any distance. The knees are meant to bend, but don't, and the best movement is on the ankles which pivot and swivel. So without any movement in arms or legs, you aren't going to be able to do much with Thor other than a neutral pose. And that is where the biggest design flaw comes in as the cloak hangs down longer than Thor's feet. This means the cloak pushes him forward and stops him standing. You could trim the cloak, or drag the cloak back a few cm away from the body - which looks a tad odd but allows him to stand. Onto the base which is pretty plain. It is simply a 7 1/2" gold disk, with a smaller 5" disk on top. The dais is in what looks to be 4 pieces, but as far as I am aware it comes assembled in the packaging (mine was bought loose). Without the Loki piece (and you try finding that) the base is irrelevant and doesn't add much to the figure - I would have preferred Select to do something like a stand-alone Asgard base for the figure - but I do appreciate that as a business DST are using the interconnectable bases as a selling tool for collectors to get all the figures, a business model that continues today with the 2015 releases. So let's not beat about the bush. Thor is a nicely sculpted piece, but is more statue than figure with almost zero practical articulation. The cloak is an oversight which is a shame and the base is a bit boring until you can get Loki's piece to go with it. DST certainly massively improved Thor with the Dark World version, which is bigger and bulkier but perhaps not as good a likeness for Hemsworth, I am going to risk the wrath of Asgard and award Thor a 2 out of 5.

Hawkeye first appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Thor, and then returned to play bad guy at first in Avengers (under Loki's control) and then coming good to take his rightful place as an Avenger for the climax of the film. This Marvel Select release is Hawkeye as seen in 2012 in the Avengers. Hawkeye looks lost in the huge box that Diamond uses for all his figures, and arrives with the usual box artwork and write up of the figure and the film. Hawkeye is packed in with a bow, one loose arrow, and a base piece which we will talk about later. Hawkeye stands 6.5 inches high, putting him as the smallest of the Avengers released so far by Diamond. I am not sure if this is actually two small, and need to put him alongside the upcoming Black Widow to be sure. The sculpt is pretty good all round, with a decent facial resemblance for Jeremy Renner. The first issue with the figure crops up straight away though as Clint comes without his iconic sunglasses. Granted in the film he is without them most of the time, but the sunglasses look was used in a lot of the film marketing. Having supplied other figures with two heads, it wouldnt have hurt to give fans an option of a sunglasses head. Hawk's body armour is nicely done with a SHIELD logo sculpted into the chest piece. His bare arms are sculpted similar to Thor's with some muscle definition., The legs contain some nice strap detail and the boots are also nicely done with various straps and buckles. My only gripe is the usual articulation over look, with the articulation they have used on his hips making them look a bit odd in that his thighs suddenly shrink where they meet his groin. Onto the hands and in particularly the left one which is sculpted with the shooting glove. This is right I hear you say, which it is absolutely - but then have a look at the position of his quiver? The quiver is positioned as though Hawkeye would draw with his right hand and hold the bow with his left. Pretty poor attention for detail. Thankfully the quiver, nicely sculpted as it is, is a separate piece and with some heat it can be twisted to face the right way (as it has been on all my pictures below). The right hand and wrist itself is also missing the strapping that Hawkeye wears in the film, replaced instead by what looks like a single sweat band Articulation includes the head swivel, and he can actually get almost a whole 180 degree motion with his head to look both left or right. Shoulders are jointed and then go into a bicep swivel and elbow joint, finally you can rotate the wrists - this means that with some patience you can get Clint into a half decent arching position, well at least stringing an arrow if not looking like he is about to let one fly, There are ball jointed hips and knee articulation but no thigh swivel on this one. He also comes with the ankle rockers to help stability. I cant find any paint issues, with nice skin tone and nice detail to the armour with a degree of shading. The zips, belts and buckles are also all picked out nicely in silver even down to lace holes in both boots. The bow is pretty nice and fits in either hand. It is plain black, but with some red detail around the hand grip. The sole arrow is a nice touch. Although you cant get Hawk to hold it securely you can prop it into a "stringing my bow" position and can get him into a pose where he looks like he is drawing that arrow from his quiver - but only if you keep the quiver on the wrong side. Hawkeye comes with another of Diamond's scenery pieces, this time with what is meant to be an iron railing. It's OK, but it isnt brilliant - and a trick was certainly missed not making it wall hangable and a bit wider so Hawkeye can actually stand on it properly and aim his bow. The piece links up to an identical piece that comes with the Chitauri to make a larger scenery piece - the issue here (not pictured) is that the Chitauri piece is painted differently so they look really odd when placed together, I am really pleased Diamond gave us Hawkeye and that they are brave enough to go with secondary and even tertiary characters. It would have been dead easy for them to use one of their Avengers slots in 2012 for another Cpt America or a re-released Thor. I would love to score Hawkeye highly, but you have to look at the flaws like the hip joints and the quiver position. That drops Hawkeye to 3 out of 5.

The Mark 42 suit was released by Diamond in 2013 and was the first DST Movie Figure I purchased - so this is the figure that started that arm of my collection and hence it has a place close to my heart. Despite this emotional attachment I will aim to be objective in this review. Out of the box the figure stands 7 1/2" high, a tad taller than the Mk6. He comes supplied with an alternative unmasked head, alternative hands (one set open palm, one set fist clenched) and the Stark Hall of Armour alcove. Sculpting on this suit is top notch, there is just detail after detail built into the panels. The standard head is much meaner looking than the Mk6 and the unmasked version has a cleaner sculpt for Tony. Although this could be paint applications, I would expect they at least tweaked a 3 year old sculpt on this release. Paint is where this armour fails. Unlike the Mk6 (official and knock off) which is shiny and pretty, the Mk42 is just a little dull. The paint is metallic, just not bright enough and that becomes more evident if you stand the Mk42 next to a Mk6. The other element that I don't like is the joints which are a painted a pretty flat part-metallic grey and to me almost look like they have been "missed" when the factory painted the model - the hip joints being the most prominent Articulation is vastly improved on the Mk6, well done DST. The head has a wider range of movement as do the legs which are now clear of any armour that used to foul the movement at the hips. But this clearing of the hip joints and the grey paint as mentioned above does make the hips joints stand out onb this model as a bit "odd". The knee joints on the other hand are brilliantly done with a covering panel that hides the joint really well. Ankles remain jointed but are also on a swivel - no rocker movement. Back up to the arms and they are done in the same way as the Mk6 although this time the shoulder panels are much more securely attached and move a lot cleaner. The head and hands are a bit stiff to swap around too much, but not impossible - I recommend a bit of heat from a hair dryer or some boiling water before changing parts, just to be on the safe side. The base piece that comes with the Mk42, and with the War Machine / Iron Patriot released at the same time, is one of the first scenery pieces that I really like in this range, pick up a couple and you can start to build a hall of armours - in face I just wish that DST would have done some more of the IM armours over previous years. Perhaps we will get a surprise Mk43 for Age of Ultron as a Disney Exclusive or a new figure next year for Civil War. Mk42 improves on a number of areas vs the Mk6, but whilst taking 3 steps forward it also takes a couple of steps back with the paint application. Mk42 scores a high 3 but doesn't deliver quite enough to get to a 4 out of 5 or beyond.

Following the release of Wolverine from the X-Men Origins film, Iron Man was released in 2010 to coincide with the release of Iron Man 2. He has the honour of being the first Marvel MCU Movie figure released in Diamond's Marvel Select range, kicking off what would become a highly sought after sub-line in 2010. I must admit that Movie Iron Man figures have been a bit of a mystery to me until recently, having seen a variety of different flavours both in the Select packaging, but also loose and from Far East sellers on eBay (more on these questionable figures in a bit) With in-depth studying (Google) my research has concluded, and please contact me if I am incorrect, that as of writing this review (June 2015) Diamond has put out 4 Movie Iron Man figures, one of which has then been released on two separate cards. The first figures from 2010, in conjunction with Iron Man 2, were the Mk6 armour, and a Mk4 armour which was exclusive to Borders. Both of these came on IM2 packaging and the series also included a Mk1 War Machine. These were all packed with a 3D scenery piece representing a door from Hammer Industries - silver in colour for the Iron Man figures and a bronze colour for War Machine. The Mk6 was later repacked in Avengers packaging. The Avengers packaging release is the more common figure, but as with most Select Movie figures the secondary prices are constantly rising. For Iron Man 3 in 2013, DST gave us the new Mk42 armour (along with a War Machine Mk2 and an Iron Patriot) and they also released a battle damaged Mk42 which was exclusive to Disney stores. These figures for IM3 were released with a scenery piece which depicted an alcove from Tony Starks Hall of Armour. The Mk42 is reviewed a little further down, but for now we will focus on the Mk4 and Mk6 Tony stands 7 and 1/4" high in this armour and in comparison to the later Mk42 is much stockier and painted in very shiny metallic finish. The detail on the armour is pretty good with the panels nicely defined and the hydraulic joints built into the joints on the figure itself - particularly visible at the elbows and the rear of the knees. Tony's face is sculpted reasonably well behind the mask which is removable by the use of two pins.This is the first downside to the figure as the mask sits nicely when up, but when down doesn't quite sit right and leaves two pretty big holes in Iron Man's head. I guess this is why they went down the alternative head route in future IM figures. Paint is nicely done, in my opinion better than the later Mk42 as it holds a much shinier metallic finish but it does lack a decent wash on the armour to bring out the detail. The paint apps on the face are a bit basic, but they pick out the eyes and beard and it's a pretty good likeness. The arc reactor isn't as bright as I would like it. On the Mk4 in isolation, the gold colour is more muted than the Mk6. This gold is used much less but has a tendency to rub very easily on the thigh panels. Articulation is limited by the armour. The head can turn but only a few degrees either way. The shoulders are on a ball joint so have full movement which is supported by the shoulder plates being on a small joint so they move with the arm. There is an elbow joint and the hands not only rotate, but can be replaced so you can have open palm or closed fist on either hand. There is a chest joint to allow a bit of side to side movement - but as with a lot of Select figures, no waist joint. The hips are articulated but don't move loads due to the armour, knees are on a pivot joint and there is the same on the ankles - but not the rocker joints seen on future models. Because of the details DS have sculpted into the hips and the panels around the joint the figure can't really achieve any stance other than a "feet together" neutral pose which can look a bit odd when you consider the wider stance that IM takes in the movies. DST resolved this issue in the later Mk42 by slimming down the joint - but this is where the argument between looks and articulation kicks in. It is also worth mentioning the two flaps on the rear of the suit which are articulated on a small ball joint - but are prone to dropping off. The figure comes packed with a 4 piece background display which represents a piece of Hammer Industries. Once assembled the base has a peg onto which Ironman can be placed. Unlike a number of MS backgrounds, this one is very functional and although a bit plain in terms of mould and finish, it does make the figure look great in a display. This was essentially the figure that started off the Movie Select Line, so when reviewing it we have to consider this is now 5 years old. The paint finish is great and adds a real shine to the figure, particularly the Mk6, which is missing on the later version. The articulation is enough, but not dynamic enough to get Tony into many poses other than a neutral stance. The downsides are the face plate, I would have preferred an alternative head, and there are parts that are included that in my opinion are unnecessary (rear flight flaps). As the Mk4 and Mk6 are essentially the same figure, with a tweaked chest piece and paint variants I a going to mark them together. I am going to give Tony a bit of kudos as the start of this range and up him to a 3 rather than a 2. Please note that the first Mk6 I bought turned out to be a fake from the far east which used the same mould but the plastic and paint was much lower quality. The fakes can be identified by the flat black paint on the biceps and knees which are a metallic colour on the genuine model. The gallery below includes the genuine and fake Mk6 so you can compare differences. Worth looking closely at any you are thinking of buying before parting with the cash.

So far Diamond have released two Thor figures based on his Movie appearances, with a third due in Summer 2015 as part of their Age of Ultron releases. This review relates to the 2nd Release, that of Thor as seen in The Dark World. It is also this release which will be repainted for Age of Ultron and supplied with a new scenic base. The figure is reflective of the revised armour Thor wore in his second solo outing, albeit with bare arms - Thor's arms were armoured for most of the film, particularly the action sequences. Diamond's packaging never fails to impress, and Thor is packed in the oversize blister with the usual high quality artwork to the side panel and a write up of the figure on the rear. In the box you get Thor himself, Mjolnir and half of a scenic base. Once out of the box Thor stands a commanding 8" tall, which is about 6' 6" scaled up, and puts him the tallest of the "Human" Avengers and second only to Hulk. The sculpt on this is one of the best I have seen from Diamond so far in the Marvel Movie releases. The head is one of the best likenesses, and captures Chris Hemsworth very well. The hair is sculpted into a number of braided elements and flows out reasonably naturally onto the back and shoulders. This Dark World version of Thor comes with non armoured arms, and these are sculpted with some muscle definition, but the arm articulation does impact this. There are sculpted bracers over each wrist and a detailed chest piece which runs into the chain-mail trimmed trousers and knee high boots/bracers. Thor's left hand is sculpted open as it summoning lightening, and the right is sculpted to hold the Hammer. Mjolnir itself holds some detail but is obviously two pieces joined together and the join is clearly visible. The Handle is ribbed and sculpted as leather and there is a leather strap at the end, but this is in solid plastic so sometimes hangs against gravity. Thor is finished off with his signature red cloak which is nicely sculpted from pretty solid plastic and hangs pretty naturally.. Onto articulation and Thor is standard fare from Diamond. The head is on a pivot, but the hair restricts almost all movement. The arms are jointed at the shoulders to allow a 90 degree straight out position, and everything in between. There is then swivel on the biceps and a join at the elbow. Finally the wrists rotate. All this means Thor can achieve a good number of arm poses, but unfortunately not the one everyone would want - arm straight up holding the hammer and summoning lightening. It's the cloak that puts pay to this pose as its hard fixed over both shoulders. Thor has a Torso joint which allows him to lean forward and backwards and twist a little from side to side. There is no waist articulation, so onto the legs which are jointed at the hips, but again are restricted in their movement due to the flow of Thor's armour. There is then a thigh swivel, knee joint and like most newer select figures there are ankle rockers to allow Thor to be planted flat footed into a pose. Paint is fairly good. The head and skin has nice definition with a couple of subtle tones. Thor's eyes are also painted a striking blue, and there is a natural look to the lips and the goatee. The armour is predominantly black but within this there are some tone changes, indicating a darker wash. The chainmail on the legs is painted silver, but not too bright. There is nice red trim to neck area of the armour and underneath both bracers on the wrists. The armour is trimmed in gold, and it's here we get the first significant paint bleed with some gold bleeding onto the black armour underneath. The cloak looks to be flat red, relying on the sculpt to bring out shadows and highlights. Mjolnir is pretty plain with a silver paint on the hammer and a brown handle with the hint of a darker wash. Thor, as mentioned above, also comes with a scenery piece which links up to that supplied with the counter part figure from The Dark World, Jane Foster. Combined the two pieces don't so much make up a base that you can stand the figures on - but rather a scenery piece depicting some fallen Dark Elves. This is nicely designed in terms of connecting together and is a half decent sculpt and paint job. The issue is, for me, it adds nothing - and I would have rather have seen some form of backdrop piece like the Cpt America Heli Carrier background - but obviously done in stone work with Asgardian decor. Thor is a chunky, imposing figure and fits nicely into an Avengers display as well as going well with the Jane Foster figure in a Dark World situation. The upcoming Age of Ultron version is just a repaint, but I do prefer the silver trim that this AoU figure will have vs the gold on this version. Sculpt is one of the best I have come across to date and the paint job is pretty good with just a few blips. Articulation seems to have been added but with little consideration of the poses Thor can realistically achieve once the hair, cloak and armour are in place. The Hammer accessory is a bit of a let down due to the visible joint. All in all Thor does enough to get above 3 and into a 4 out of 5 score.