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It is Sat-TOY-Day , but not as we know it! In fact we are rebooting our Sat-TOY-Day news page as of today as we launch our PDF version of the Sat-TOY-Day news round up. The newsletter will now be published online each Saturday as normal, with older issues archived via Google drive for accessing at any time. This means you can now also download the document if you wish for reading offline on most devices with a PDF reader. We will also be providing the document via email to subscribers, so if you would like the document to pop into your inbox each Saturday then sign up as instructed on the news page. CLICK THROUGH for the News Page which includes the sign up process and archive links. Of course you can also continue to follow us over on FACEBOOK and/or TWITTER for daily news as well as reviews, price alerts and store reports. You can also enter our contributor draw by submitting your own stories.

It is Sat-TOY-Day and we've reached November already. This month will see a lot of activity on deals both on the high street for Christmas and online, particularly around Black Friday. We start to touch on that this week, as well as bringing you some more SH Figuarts Star Wars images, this weeks NECA reveals and a summary of all our reviews this week CLICK THROUGH for the News Page Follow us over on FACEBOOK and/or TWITTER for daily news as well as reviews, price alerts and store reports. You can also enter our contributor draw by submitting your own stories.

CLICK HERE for the full archive review and gallery After a couple of years of virtually nothing, the Character Options 5 inch Dr Who range is back with a bang. New figures at Forbidden Planet, a new range on the shelves at Toys R Us and to top it off two exclusive figures only available from the Character Options Website. The Missy figures were announced by Al Dewar via a YouTube presentation back in late September and pre-orders have now been dispatched and received by collectors. Both figures remain in stock at time of this article via the link HERE . They are limited to 4000 units of each. As the figures share much of the same sculpt and articulation I am going to look at both of them during this review. Missy arrives in the newly established boxed collector packaging, with its blue to red vortex background, white Doctor Who logo and blue flash character text. However, this is still different to the other 12th Doctor releases as it doesnt come with a clear side window, and on the Missy figures there is a Victorian Scroll design around the window - all of which will drive MIB collectors mad. The sides of each box are simply a repeat of the Dr Who logo and the character name in the blue flash, alongside a QR code. The rear of the box is taken up with a couple of paragraphs of text about the character Missy and a quote taken from the series 8 two part finale where Missy made her debut. The text and quote are identical on both releases, the only variance being the image which depicts the figure itself - either the black or purple. The obvious miss on the packaging is any mention of its exclusivity, In other ranges this is often tackled with a stamp, logo or even foil type badge and feels like a miss considering the premium price on this for its exclusivity. Inside each pack is the cog and clock-working cardboard background, and unlike the blue of the Doctor, this one is red. Missy herself is strapped into the perspex tray alongside an umbrella and her "Missy Device". MIB fans will be really frustrated with the amount of fabric ties used to strap Missy in place, and the choice of these being white rather than black that really stands out. As this figure is an exclusive and sold only online I see no need for the ties as I believe that in the main they are a theft deterrent (Hasbro stopped using these on the Black Series a good while ago). At this point let's look at each figure in isolation. The first is the black version, which is a representation of how Missy was dressed in "Heaven" or the "Nethersphere". Starting with the head sculpt, and this figure is probably the slightly weaker sculpt. The idea is to capture Missy's "manic" grin and to the most part they have achieved that, it is just ever so slightly off and from some angles looks more like a grimace. That being said it is a good resemblance, at this scale, to Michelle Gomez and the hair on this version is really nicely sculpted in a very intricate design. Down to the outfit and this is quite plain on the black version. CO have sculpted a base figure for both versions, and the key difference is the rubber over coat. On "Heaven" Missy this coat is very plain with a couple of pockets to either side and 4 fairly softly sculpted buttons on the front. The arms are sculpted with a clothing seam down the rear and finish in a further 3 buttons. Both hands are sculpted very well and sport rings which is a nice touch that could have easily been left off. The coat runs down over a long skirt which and the figure is finished in high heel lace up boots, which are sculpted fully up to her knees under the skirt, and the upper thighs are also sculpted - these may or may not be a re-use from an older female figure like Astrid, Clara or perhaps Jo Grant? The alternative Purple outfit is identical other than the coat which has an extra trim down the buttoned front and round the hems. It is also added to the coat pockets and around the sleeve of the arms - which then explains why on the black coat the sleeves seem to have a weird shiny band in this exact same location. The head on the Purple version is the better sculpt as I mentioned earlier. The neutral look is much cleaner and a good likeness to Michelle Gomez. The hat sits naturally on her head, tilted forward and creating some shadow on the face, which then looks more menacing than the manic grin. The hair remains the same as the black version, albeit cut away at the front to allow the hat to be seated. The heads are designed to be interchangeable, allowing up to 4 looks to be achieved if you own both figures. The heads do pop off and pop on OK, but perhaps need a bit too much force and I suspect doing this too often will not only rub more paint on the neck, but also see wear on the paint of the head itself where you will grip the figure. Paint on both versions is neat and well applied. The black outfit is by its nature naturally monotone, while the purple has the trim edge neatly picked out in a black finish. Both have a cameo brooch buttoning up her blouse at the neck, and this is neatly painted so you can pick out the silhouetted art-deco head. The faces are both done neatly with eyes, eye-brows and lipstick all in the right place. They have also been quite subdued with the blusher which is there on the cheeks but not too much so that she looks like a clown, or someone who has just been slapped. The hair has the only real paint effect with a brown base colour and a darker wash followed by a lighter dry brush. On the hatted version the front floral display is picked out with at least 4 colours. My only paint gripe is on this hatted figure and round the back where I have a white patch in the hair, this may be paint, un painted plastic or more likely glue when the hat was added. Articulation on Who figures has always been limited, but these 2015 figures have now reached 18 points of articulation - sadly on Missy not all are serviceable. The heads are on a peg system rather than a ball joint, so simply rotate at the joint. Like a lot of earlier figures, the hatted version is already showing signs of rub on the neck where it catches on the collar of the costume, this will look unsightly if you continue to move the head and why I prefer ball jointed heads onto fixed neck's. The arms are now on both a swivel and a pivot joint so that they can both more outward from the body to either side, but also rotate fully. With the bicep swivel this means you can have Missy stood with hands on hips if you wish, which is a pose she often takes up in the show. The elbows bend at a standard joint, but now also rotate too in a similar design to the newer Star Wars 6" figures. The arm articulation finishes with a wrist swivel. A waist joint under the coat does allow a bit of movement in turning Missy's torso to either side if you wish. Under the skirt you can see a hip joint, thigh swivel, knee joint and a rotation at the top of the boots. All of this is really redundant as its all blocked in by the skirt, it could have even been left off and maybe saved a few quid on development costs (my simplistic thinking - it's certainly not that easy I would assume). Unlike many of earlier female figures, particularly those on heels, Missy stands really well and is very solid standing. Both figures come with the same accessory. First off is an umbrella, which on both of mine arrived bent due to the packing position. This fits neatly enough into the right hand, but most fans would have actually loved to see an open umbrella rather than the closed one - giving the ability to hit that iconic Mary Poppins pose. The Missy Device is quite small and fiddly, and although it would balance in the left hand I recommend putting it into the more secure right hand. Both accessories are painted with a gold tip on the umbrella and some red detail on the device. There has always been some disparity in heights with the 5 inch range, but Missy looks spot on and stands the same height as River Song and therefore shorter than her nemesis, the 12th Doctor. When it comes to scoring you have to bear in mind the value for money of this figure. Unlike the new Toys R Us range which has an RRP of £14.99, this one is retailing at £19.99 - which is comparable to what you would pay for a more detailed NECA 7" figure, or a better articulated Hasbro 6" figure - be it Star Wars or Marvel. Sculpt is good, paint is neat, the variant outfits are cleverly done and the only grumble for fans will be the lack of an open umbrella and any mention of exclusivity on the box for MIB collectors. To that end and with the value for money aspect I am going to score Missy 4 out of 5

CLICK HERE for the full archive review and image gallery I start this review with the fact that this figure is 2 years late! This is not strictly true of course, but this is the figure that Dr Who figure collectors were clamoring for in November 2013 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary and the Day of the Doctor special. It would have been a perfect release back then, dropping into stores after the 23rd November so as not to spoil the ending. We first saw blurry images of The Curator at SDCC in July 2015, and it was eventually announced as a Forbidden Planet Exclusive with pre-orders fulfilled in November. The Curator is what we would probably call a Deluxe release in this new world of the 5 inch collectors series. He arrives in a larger box than the standard single figures, although retains the overall design features like the blue to red vortex background, the white Dr Who logo and the blue flashes which contain the character name. The two box ends repeat the logo and character name as well as an image of the Curator figure itself. On the back this image is expanded to show the Gallifrey Falls No More painting and there are a couple of paragraphs explaining the Curator's appearance in Day of the Doctor. Once opened the background card is coloured in a beige design to represent the British Museum with its TARDIS-esque roundels set to one side behind the Curator. The base of the insert is a wooden floor effect, and this would make a decent enough backdrop if you had the time and patience to secure it to a more robust background. Let's look at Tom Baker first. Over the years I have lost count of how many 4th Doctor figures we have had, but this is obviously Tom has he is now in his 80's and the face captures this really well whilst retaining that little twinkle that the 4th Doctor always has in his eye. Gone is the big hair, and replaced with a nicely sculpted and more refined grey hairstyle. The Curator is wearing a sculpted shirt, over which is a rubber outer blazer. The blazer is quite plain in sculpt, with no real texture or any folds in the fabric. They have included a handkerchief in his top breast pocket and a couple of pocket flaps down by the waist. Like the jacket the arms are very plain and this is also the same on the trousers which lack any real detail. The figure is finished with a pair of shoes which like the rest of the figure lack any form of detail, no laces, buckles or even a significant sculpted definition change between shoe and sole. While the body sculpt remains very plain, they have tried to fill in the detail with the paint applications. The coat is very neatly painted with blue and red check to represent the tweed. Sadly, although quite precise, it doesn't work as the pattern is too large and needs to be on a textured base such as the one they did with the Brigadiers sweater in the Axon pack. The shirt is a bit better with a tighter pattern of brown and beige and again very precisely applied. The trousers are left in a plain burgundy finish, with the shoes painted a very high gloss brown. Yet they have certainly not scrimped on the head which is painted really well with pale blue eyes and a muted mouth colour. The sculpt is enough for the definition of the face to stand out, but it would be interesting to see what a wash and/or drybrush would do to the face sculpt. The hair has a base colour of an off beige and then drybrushed in grey which is a much nicer finish to say that of the recent 12th Doctor. Articulation is pretty standard for this figure. The head rotates on its peg, the arms are jointed at shoulder, bicep, elbow and wrist - although I can't see anyone wanting to put Tom into anything more than a neutral pose. There is a very stiff waist joint under the coat and leg joints at the hip, thigh, knee and a little bit of ankle movement My key issue with the articulation, and I don't think it is isolated to my figure is the quality. Out of the box my Curator has a very loose almost ill fitting joint between thigh and lower leg and the arms pop off too easily at the bicep swivel, particularly as the shoulder joints are excessively stiff. The other niggle is that for some reason 81 year old Tom is actually taller than all the other figures that CO have put out of Baker as the 4th Doctor. The only accessory included aside from the painting which I will get to in a moment, is a walking stick. This fits really well into Tom's right hand, and is thankfully the right length to touch the floor (how many have we seen that are too short). You kind of wish the release had stopped here, and The Curator had been presented as a single release. But they went on and added the lenticular painting.... We've seen these before in the City of Death and Silver Nemesis releases, with the lenticular aspect being used on the Mona Lisa from City, and also showing up on Sil's tank from Vengeance on Varos. Let's look at this oversized painting, as named Gallifrey Falls no More in the episode. First the frame is nicely done in a good solid plastic with intricate scroll work and a paint application to add a striped design to the outer edge. The lenticular part is a fail though. It may be my eye site but I can't make out anything in the image and I would have actually preferred them to drop the lencticular aspect and just give us a good quality print of the painting from the episode. The other bug bear on these paintings, and particularly with this one, is what do you do with them as a collector. Ideally I want to be hanging these somehow in my cabinet and although the frame here has been sculpted and case to have four sockets on the back for the ties to keep it in the box, they didnt both giving it a hanging peg to allow you to wall mount it. The other option would be to include a stand. In fact in the show when the 11th Doctor looks at the painting it is actually on an easel rather than the wall, and it wouldn't have taken much to throw this in for collectors. So yeah, I don't like the painting, or rather I begrudge paying what I perceive as a premium for the painting to get the figure. This box set will set you back £29.99 which is double what you will pay for a 5 inch figure now at Toys R Us. For that price I would have preferred a 2nd figure, even a repack of say the 11th Doctor, or a much better job of the painting with its own easel, wall hanging bracket and maybe even the lenticular dropped altogether if the look wasn't crisp enough. If you sit back and remove the giddiness of getting a new Tom Baker figure from the 50th Anniversary, and line the Curator up against other releases then the score isn't going to be particularly high. The value for money aspect is a big problem, I think the painting is missing some aspects to make it worth the extra. The figure also has a wonderful head sculpt, and then a very un-detailed body and it screams out for some texture on the jacket at the very least. This one is certainly for die hard fans only, and for me gets a 2 out of 5, which is probably quite controversial. Let me know what you think over on our Facebook page?

CLICK HERE for the full archived review and gallery This two pack was revealed on Force Friday, turning up in the Argos Star Wars brochure for the event and revealed as a UK Argos Exclusive, and due in November. It would later to go on to be confirmed as a US Exclusive in Target, and also be put up for sale by a number of independents who would order direct from China. Roll on 2-months to the 3rd of November and stocks hit the UK and I was luck enough to pick this up on day of release. The pack is named "Escape from Destiny", although this isn't denoted on the box, only on the Argos website HERE . What the name means is unclear, and until the film is released we will be left to ponder. The box is essentially double the size of a normal Black Series box and other than that is identical in design. The black trimmed front holds a dual line drawing of Poe and the Storm Trooper. The sides are both red, but without the numbering system we see on the standard releases. On the reverse the bio's are split into two. Poe's bio is word for word identical to his wave 2 pilot release, while the Storm Trooper text is a new paragraph and details this Trooper's role as Riot Control. I will start with the Storm Trooper first, and essentially this is the same model that was first released as an SDCC exclusive, and then released in wave 1 of the Force Awakens figures. Without going over old ground I would recommend you hop over to my original review HERE and once done press the back button and carry on with the rest of the review - see you soon. The differences on this Trooper are basically the accessories. As a bonus he still comes with both weapons that the standard version is packed with. This means that if you aren't a fan of the riot gear you can simply tool him up as a standard trooper. The shield comes ready strapped to the arm, and although it would probably come off with some wriggling and a bit of force I have left mine alone for now. The shield is a solid accessory, shaped and decorated on the front with 4 spike studs and a triangular panel which may or may not be a viewing slot. Round the back the two arm straps sit neatly on the troopers left hand and with the articulation of the arms the shield can be positioned in a number of poses. The baton is a slight disappointment. First off it doesn't fit easily into the right hand as the hand grip is too big, that leaves the baton falling out easily. I am not sure why an alternative hand couldn't have been swapped out or the handle simply made a tad thicker. The other issue for me is the baton just looks odd. I am sure it is screen accurate, but it kind of looks like some kind of futuristic hedge trimmer. The final gripe that I want to throw in here is the joints on this Storm Trooper are wildly loose vs the original wave 1 figure. Out of the box the ankle joints were flapping around, so much that this is one of the few 6 inch figures I have had to drop onto a stand for support. On to Poe Dameron, and he is of course a bit of a rehash of previous parts, but again obviously relevant to a scene in the film. The head sculpt was a big issue with the original Poe figure ( SEE HERE ) or rather the paint applications on top of the sculpt made him look nothing like the character. This one is painted much better, and you can start to see the sculpt is not a bad attempt. He still doesn't photograph very well and looks a tad glossy in our gallery, but I think most collectors will be much happier with this Poe. The inner shirt looks very "Han Solo" ish and I wonder if this will one day make a come back in a Carbonite Han. The jacket is a re-use of the one that came on wave 1 Finn. Obviously this is either the same jacket (will have to wait till December) or a uniform jacket for the Resistance. The insignia and red panel are crisp and painted neatly and I prefer the wash and slightly duller paint job on this coat vs the Finn version. The trousers I think may be the same as those coming with the wave 3 Resistance Trooper. These are painted really well and we do get some weathering and paint effects to dirty up Poe a little. The figure comes with another new type of weapon, a larger rifle of similar design to that packed with wave 1 Finn. This is cast in a silver gun metal plastic and has some bronze dry brush to weather it up. Like the other resistance weapons we have seen so far, they do look overly clunky and large - again probably more to do with the film than the sculpt. The other accessory is the X-Wing helmet which is the same sculpt and design as wave 2 Poe. This time it is a white and blue design, and much more reminiscent of the Original Trilogy helmet, in fact it comes with a nice rebel decal on the visor section. All the paint apps on the helmet are neat and well finished, but the fact remains this is over-sized to get it to fit on Poe's head, and therefore looks odd when worn. The visor doesn't quite come down over the eyes, and the rear of the helmet looks massive and bulbous. As I said in the original Poe review, I would have preferred a swap-able helmeted head. Articulation is pretty standard on Poe with ball jointed head, articulated shoulders, swivel and jointed elbows and pegged wrists. There is a torso joint nicely hidden beneath the jacket and the hips do allow for Poe to sit down if needed if they ever decide to give him a 1/12 scale X-wing. Knees are double jointed and the figure finishes with ankle rockers and unlike his box companion he stands really well. So is this set worth it at the £39.99 RRP. Well in reality this is two 6 inch figures for £20 each. It is also a good exclusive choice in that it contains an army builder and a tweaked figure which obviously hasn't cost a lot of money to develop vs a brand new figure. It would have been nice to see some stickered or branded exclusivity on the box for MIB collectors. And with this being Argos MIB collectors will also have to contend with those box stickers. The "floppy" Storm Trooper is a shame, and I hope this was isolated to my box (let us know via our Facebook page).Poe's head sculpt and paint is an improvement, but still not what we expect for a "collectors range", although the jacket and trouser paint applications are much better with more depth than figures in wave 1 in particular which were very flat in colour. I am going to score this pack as a 3 out of 5. It's not going to blow anyone away, but it also does a job and gives us our 2nd version of Poe and a variant Storm Trooper without taking up any wave slots. It will be interesting to see if this sells out at its £40 price and if Argos will judge it a success and work with Hasbro on more exclusives. It will also be interesting to see how the name of the box set fits within the film, which we will find out in December.

Black Friday is coming, and we will be bringing you details of any key deals in the Action Figure category via our FACEBOOK page. The majority of deals will be from US retailers, but many do delivery internationally and where possible I will confirm the approx UK price for delivery and if custom costs may apply (guide only) The Amazon US deals in Toys & Games are accessed via the following link - so check back daily to see what is upcoming...

Argos now have the Poe Dameron / Riot Control Storm Trooper in stock. CLICK HERE for the product page to reserve yours, or arrange delivery for £3.95 If you can, reserve and buy today (November 3rd) as there is currently a Toy Offer which reduced this from its £39.99 RRP to £29.99 (saving 25%)

CLICK HERE for the full archive review and gallery Labyrinth didn't do particularly well when it was released in 1986, but has since reached cult status. In 2008 NECA turned their attention to Labyrinth for a stand alone range of figures, badged under the Cult Classic Umbrella. The first release was that of Jareth, The Goblin King, and he would be repeated in a variant costume 2-pack alongside Hoggle. Sadly, the range never went any further and we have so far been deprived of Ludo and Sir Didymus. As it is Halloween, it is a perfect time to have a look at the Goblin King himself. Jareth comes in the larger blister pack that Cult Classic collectors will be familiar with. The card has the figure blister on the right with an insert at the base of this blister showing a head shot of David Bowie in character and the character name. The left hand side contains the full graphics starting with the Cult Classic logo that runs over a larger head shot of Bowie holding a crystal ball of Sarah. The panel ends with the Labyrinth logo. Flip the box round and the rear of the card is taken up mostly by an image of the head of Jareth, this time the image is the figure itself. Behind Jareth are images of Sarah, Ludo and other characters from the movie, and to the left is a short paragraph covering the plot of the film. Once opened Jareth is a fair weight in your hand, and he stands a touch over 7" tall. Cult Classic figures will never have any significant articulation, and Jareth has just a few points of movement - the widest being at the elbows to amend the position of the hands. The legs are fixed completely, and the only other hint of movement is in the head which moves a tad to either side. To counteract the lack of articulation, what NECA do so well is design a figure to come straight out of the box in the iconic pose you remember from the film. The sculpt on Jareth, and bear in mind this figure is now 7 years old, is stunning. The face isn't quite a perfect match for David Bowie, but it does capture elements including the angular cheek bones. The hair is sculpted in individual strands and this gives the volume needed and has it flow down in the right proportions. It is the outfit though that out-shines the head sculpt as it is just covered in detail and varying textures. We start with the cloak which starts with a brown shiny collar and down into the shoulders with almost a skeletal design. Where this finishes, the larger cloak emerges. This is cast in a transulcent material that whips round the figure at both side and is tattered, almost like a cobweb. Under the outer cloak is a bold blue under cloak which starts to add a streak of colour to the figure. Beneath this and the top of Jareth is an intricately designed shirt with more high collars and decorated in a number of goblin symbols. The trousers start with that famous cod piece and are skin tight down to a pair of slim boots. Paint applications are perfect, with each element of the outfit decorated in a different colour and then washed and drybrushed and the detail picked out. The face is quite flatly painted, but the eyes and mouth are done well and the thick eye brows add to the look. The hair has loads of depth having been done in a darker finish first and then brought through to the sandy final colouring. The only accessories that come with Jareth are his crystal ball and an alternative right hand. The first hand, the one that comes fitted, is shaped to hold said crystal ball, while the other is a closed fist. They swap over reasonably well, but I wouldn't recommend doing it too often. My one criticism with the figure I picked up (after a number of years searching) is that the left hand is in the wrong position and is also fixed in place - and no end of heating and twisting can persuade it to move. Jareth is one of those bitter sweet releases. A stunning figure, but one that if you didn't buy it in 2008 will cost you quite a bit more now, and that is assuming you can find one as there are very few on the secondary market. It is also one of those figures that you get and wish that the range had carried on a little longer to get more characters out to fans. As always with Cult Classic releases, I will be rating him vs his contemporaries of the time. Yes, the articulation is severely lacking vs modern NECA releases, but he really doesn't need it The sculpt is as good as anything on shelves today, and the paint applications are near on perfect. Jareth avoids the Bog of Eternal Stench and walks away back to his Labyrinth with a respectable 4 out of 5.

Labyrinth didn't do particularly well when it was released in 1986, but has since reached cult status. In 2008 NECA turned their attention to Labyrinth for a stand alone range of figures, badged under the Cult Classic Umbrella. The first release was that of Jareth, The Goblin King, and he would be repeated in a variant costume 2-pack alongside Hoggle. Sadly, the range never went any further and we have so far been deprived of Ludo and Sir Didymus. As it is Halloween, it is a perfect time to have a look at the Goblin King himself. Jareth comes in the larger blister pack that Cult Classic collectors will be familiar with. The card has the figure blister on the right with an insert at the base of this blister showing a head shot of David Bowie in character and the character name. The left hand side contains the full graphics starting with the Cult Classic logo that runs over a larger head shot of Bowie holding a crystal ball of Sarah. The panel ends with the Labyrinth logo. Flip the box round and the rear of the card is taken up mostly by an image of the head of Jareth, this time the image is the figure itself. Behind Jareth are images of Sarah, Ludo and other characters from the movie, and to the left is a short paragraph covering the plot of the film. Once opened Jareth is a fair weight in your hand, and he stands a touch over 7" tall. Cult Classic figures will never have any significant articulation, and Jareth has just a few points of movement - the widest being at the elbows to amend the position of the hands. The legs are fixed completely, and the only other hint of movement is in the head which moves a tad to either side. To counteract the lack of articulation, what NECA do so well is design a figure to come straight out of the box in the iconic pose you remember from the film. The sculpt on Jareth, and bear in mind this figure is now 7 years old, is stunning. The face isn't quite a perfect match for David Bowie, but it does capture elements including the angular cheek bones. The hair is sculpted in individual strands and this gives the volume needed and has it flow down in the right proportions. It is the outfit though that out-shines the head sculpt as it is just covered in detail and varying textures. We start with the cloak which starts with a brown shiny collar and down into the shoulders with almost a skeletal design. Where this finishes, the larger cloak emerges. This is cast in a transulcent material that whips round the figure at both side and is tattered, almost like a cobweb. Under the outer cloak is a bold blue under cloak which starts to add a streak of colour to the figure. Beneath this and the top of Jareth is an intricately designed shirt with more high collars and decorated in a number of goblin symbols. The trousers start with that famous cod piece and are skin tight down to a pair of slim boots. Paint applications are perfect, with each element of the outfit decorated in a different colour and then washed and drybrushed and the detail picked out. The face is quite flatly painted, but the eyes and mouth are done well and the thick eye brows add to the look. The hair has loads of depth having been done in a darker finish first and then brought through to the sandy final colouring. The only accessories that come with Jareth are his crystal ball and an alternative right hand. The first hand, the one that comes fitted, is shaped to hold said crystal ball, while the other is a closed fist. They swap over reasonably well, but I wouldn't recommend doing it too often. My one criticism with the figure I picked up (after a number of years searching) is that the left hand is in the wrong position and is also fixed in place - and no end of heating and twisting can persuade it to move. Jareth is one of those bitter sweet releases. A stunning figure, but one that if you didn't buy it in 2008 will cost you quite a bit more now, and that is assuming you can find one as there are very few on the secondary market. It is also one of those figures that you get and wish that the range had carried on a little longer to get more characters out to fans. As always with Cult Classic releases, I will be rating him vs his contemporaries of the time. Yes, the articulation is severely lacking vs modern NECA releases, but he really doesn't need it The sculpt is as good as anything on shelves today, and the paint applications are near on perfect. Jareth avoids the Bog of Eternal Stench and walks away back to his Labyrinth with a respectable 4 out of 5.

Among collectors, particularly those of classic movies and horror, the Cult Classic range from NECA brought about some of the most iconic movie characters and anti-heroes to life as 7" figures. Running from 2005 through to 2008, many of these Cult figures are now highly sought after and worth much more than their original RRP. In this review we go back to 2005 and series 1 and take a look at The Crow. The Crow is arguably one of my favourite movie characters and this series 1 release depicts him in his most iconic look from the movie with the long tattered coat. NECA's early figures lacked any form of usable articulation so let's get that out of the way first. Eric comes with a head joint which allows for some side to side movement until the hair stops any further movement. The arms are on a rotating shoulder joint and simply let you raise Eric's open armed pose either higher or lower, once you are happy with the arm position you can then swivel the wrists to allow the hands to match the pose. A waist joint is visible, but doesn't move. The legs are then also on a swivel joint and although they move they do nothing as the stance is fixed in the sculpt. To help Eric stand you can rotate the feet, and if you have the complete figure can match the peg hole on Eric's boots to the peg on the graveyard stand. Sadly as Eric's feet are close together and his arms wide apart he has a tendency to lean, even when on the stand, so for my display I have dropped Eric onto a Kaiser stand which locks around the waist of the figure. So articulation isn't great, but the sculpt on the other hand is stunning. The head captures Brandon Lee perfectly with the hair sculpted around the face with individual strands coming off the fringe to dangle in front of the face. The jacket, which is a separate piece in soft rubber, flows beautifully down Eric's slim frame and flares out at the bottom. The coat is designed to include damage and there are large holes and a couple of tears in the rear. The wrists are wrapped in black ribbon and that stretches onto the hands. Under the coat is the ripped vest and waist wraps and down into the skin tight black trousers. The figure is finished in large unfastened boots which include intricate elements in terms of the laces and numerous lace holes. For a figure in essentially an all black outfit, the paint applications are particularly good. The trousers, top and then jacket are all done in a slightly different finish of black so all three don't look the same and work as individual pieces of clothing. Buttons on the trousers are picked out in a bronze colour, whilst the lace holes int he boots are silver - this is brilliant attention to detail as many would have done both in the same colour. The head is the true work of art with the face paint replicated really well so that it looks like face paint - what I mean by this is you can make out skin tones underneath and there are variations in colour rather than a flat white. The eyes are the smallest detail on the figure, yet stare out at you behind the black eye make up and from beneath the strands of hair. As I mentioned earlier, if you are lucky enough to pick up a complete figure he comes along with a graveyard stand into which you can peg the figures feet. Into this then slots a head stone. The headstone is a great piece on its own - textured to feel like stone and with the cross a relief sculpt and the name ERIC DRAVEN actually carved into the finish as is the cherub head and wings. The paint is a grey, but then dry brushed in a lighter tone and with then green dry brushing towards the base to represent moss. The base itself is a little plainer, but is well done in grass and mud tones - its just a pity the figure doesn't want to stand up all to well when pegged on the base. Eric is also packed with The Crow itself which slots into a hole on Eric's shoulder. The crow is well sculpted but doesn't sit all too naturally on the shoulder, in fact NECA left it out of a lot of promo shots which may tell a story in itself. I display Eric without the crow. The one omission that was not included on this series 1 figure, but was later packed in to a shirtless Eric in 2008's Hall of Fame releases, is Eric's guitar. In the gallery below be advised I have added the McFarlane Crow Guitar to my figure. If you want to display your long coat Eric Draven with a Guitar then you will also need to get the older McFarlane version, or the aforementioned shirtless 2008 version of Eric. All in all, Eric Draven from The Crow is a stunning piece that will look brilliant in a collection of Horror, Cult or just movie 7" figures. Yes, the articulation is lacking - but even had this figure had all the movement in the world, most of us would still have displayed him in the pose NECA chose anyway. Sculpt, considering it is 10 years old, blows a lot of the modern stuff away, and the paint is perfect and with nice touches of detail like the variation between buttons and lace holes. If you don't have this figure, I suggest you track him down. Prices continue to rise and it is unlikely this franchise will ever be revisited like others in the Cult Classic range have. I score Eric Draven a 4 out of 5.

The focus of my collection is pretty much around 6 - 7" figures from my favourite movies, many of which came out in the 1980's. As I came to this quite recently I missed out on a ton of great older figures from the past 10 years and a number of these sit on my Grail list. A Grail list is a list of items that any collector see's as being really tough to get hold of. This might be because they are just so rare, or so expensive or both. My list contains a number of items such as Labyrinth Goblin King, Mezco's Hellboy and the Marvel Select Wolverine. Up until recently the Neca box set from Highlander was on that list, but thanks to a Buy it Now of an unboxed set on Ebay I can now tick them off. The set contains both Connor Macleod (as played by Christopher Lambert) and the Kurgon (Clancy Brown). Both come in their 16th Century outfits as opposed to the modern versions from the climax of the film. Looking at Macleod first the figure is a brilliant likeness for Lambert. The sculpted hair doesnt quite sit right, but beyond that the layered highland outfit is brilliant, well sculpted and painted. With the cloak left on, his articulation is limited, but he can achieve a great neutral pose with his hand on the hilt of his sword. I am reliably told the cloak comes off and allows for a better range of movement for wielding the sword - however knowing how fragile Neca figures can be, and considering this figure in the UK is pretty rare, I have left him as he came. Both Macleod and Kurgan come with sculpted stands, which is brilliant and makes for a lovely display piece. Onto the Kurgon and he is a real imposing figure and unlike Macleod is sculpted in an action pose. He comes in full armour with helmet and soft good, almost feather, trim. I am not overly convinced on this trim and it will certainly need some taking care of to stop it looking scruffy. Range of movement on Kurgon is limited, but I can live with that in a figure if the sculpted pose is strong. The arms have some movement at the shoulders and the head can turn. All in all this is a brilliant piece and what a movie pack should be all about - the good guy, the bad guy, posed well and well sculpted. For what it is I cant ask for more and hope Neca continue to go after what essentially are niche licences like Highlander

I grew up in the 1980's, the decade of numerous horror franchises like Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser and Friday the 13th. Sadly, and probably rightly, I didn't see any of these till much later in life - but the one film I did watch as a young teenager was 1988's Beetlejuice and it remains a favourite to this day. NECA released their first Beetlejuice figures in 2001. There was 5 figures to start with, including Adam, Barbara and Shrunken Head Guy. These are very very difficult to find and highly sought after by collectors. NECA returned to the Beetlejuice movie in 2008 as part of their Cult Classic range of Movie Icons. Beetlejuice was released as part of Series 7 in his white & black suit, the figure we are reviewing here. He showed up again in Series 8 in the less iconic maroon suit. Like most NECA figures, Beetlejuice was packed in a standard NECA clamshell with a promo shot from the movie. He was re-released in 2011 on a more basic blister card. At the time of receiving this figure and writing this review the figure is 7 years old, and yet the sculpt is one of the best I have seen on a 7" scale action figure. The likeness to Michael Keaton is uncanny and the prosthetic, particularly the teeth, have been captured in tremendous detail. The hair is sufficiently "all over the place" and is cast in a clear plastic which has then been partially painted, giving him a real ethereal look. The rest of the paint on the head is very crisp and clean picking out the eyes, which are looking to his left, and the teeth. The body is sculpted to give Beetlejuice the paunchy stomach you see in the film and the suit then hangs around this in a "messy" manner with the tie sloping off to one side. The paint on the suit is reasonably tidy but there is some bleed between the stripes, although in places ths almost looks deliberate to make the suit dirty and unwashed rather than crisp and clean which wouldn't be accurate at all. Both hands are sculpted in an open palm gesture and include mould, rings and long dirty finger nails, all painted really well. The outfit is finished with a pair of black boots, sculpted with the laces and straps all in place. So yes, this figure is a stunner. But back in 2008 the one thing NECA didn't get into their figures was articulation. The figure has 10 points of articulation. The head rotates at the neck, but is not on a ball joint. The shoulders are ball jointed and can extend out to 90 degrees from the body. Elbows just rotate rather than bend, as do the wrists - although here there is a bit of side to side play. The waist (and this is pushing the term articulation) there is a joint but the figure barely move on its mid-drift. The legs, like most NECA figures of this era are essentially static and the only leg articulation is a rotating joint on the top of the boots. You are never going to get loads of poses out of Beetlejuice, or indeed any NECA Cult Classic figure of that era. However, what NECA did very well is give the figure the right articulation to achieve some of the iconic pose from the movie, particularly the "it's showtime" stance - and it is here you realise how clever NECA have been in getting the eyes looking to the left to support this pose. The figure comes packed with three accessories. Two of them are snakes, these are simple one mould pieces that are painted as a green snake and a red & black serpent. Neither of these (that I have found) can sit on the body of the figure so do nothing but sit at his feet. The third accessory is a scaled version of the book of the dead. This is nicely sculpted, but be warned it is fragile on the corners if dropped. Like the snakes, the book can't be held by the figure - unless you manage to balance it on one of the open palms - so like the snakes this will sit on the shelf under the figure, or more likely in the general figure accessory box we all have. If you are a fan of the film, the 1980's, or both then I recommend this figure for any 7" collector. Don't get hung up on the articulation, it really doesn't need it as once you hit that pose you will probably never display him any other way. Articulation aside the only other niggles are the paint finish on the suit in areas and the accessories which don't add much at all to the figure. So there we have it, a solid 3 stars, and if you are going to get him I would act soon as the rumoured sequel will almost certainly send prices upwards. Sadly, getting hold of him isn't as easy as saying Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice...