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Thanks to an unprecedented amount of Star Wars product hitting the market, I am left with a huge backlog of figures to review over the next week or so - the majority are Star Wars, but there are some others snuck in there to provide some variety CLICK THROUGH for the Black Series Wave 7-9 page The first job of the week is to start getting the Star Wars Black Wave 8 and 9 fully archived, so please find below links to the first of these - Leia as Boushh and Luke as Storm Trooper Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more news and reviews as well as store reports and price alerts

And here is the news that caught my eye this week. CLICK HERE for the news page And if you like what you see, please follow us on FACEBOOK and TWITTER for more of the same throughout the week

It's Sat-TOY-Day again, and time for the news that caught my eye - and for the 2nd week running it is Star Wars focused. CLICK THROUGH for the news And please follow us on FACEBOOK and TWITTER for more of the same every day

After a week of Star Wars, its been nice to get back over to the Marvel Universe and in a twist of fate I have reviewed both the Oldest and the Latest Marvel Select Marvel Cinematic figure this week CLICK HERE for the latest figure, Marvel Select Black Widow from Age of Ulton CLICK HERE for the oldest figure, the Origins Wolverine that started the whole thing Don't forget to follow us on FACEBOOK and TWITTER for more reviews, news and store reports

As the dust settles on Force Friday, we take a look with a Sat-TOY-Day news special - covering all the Star Wars Force Friday info that caught our eye over the past manic 48hrs CLICK THROUGH for the news And follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more of the same

It is 10.51pm on Force Friday, September 4th 2015. With just over an hour to spare I have opened up the Black Series 6" Force Awakens Archive - with two reviews of figures I literally picked up as Argos was closing today. CLICK THROUGH for the Force Awakens Page And please follow us on FACEBOOK and TWITTER for more news, reviews, price alerts and store reports.

Bandai's Darth Vader is my 5th Bandai Star Wars model after successfully building their Stormtrooper, R2-D2, R5-D4 and C-3PO over the past few months. Vader arrives in the standard Bandai box, which is not shrink-wrapped externally but is sealed inside with all the various sprues you will need. Once unpacked there is a large amount of black plastic as expected as well as some coloured instructions and two sets of decals - one stickers, one water transfers. As with any Bandai model the pictorial representations and the numbering system are good enough to get you through the model with ease. My hints are to watch out for where a decal needs applying mid-construction. You will also need a clear work area, some clippers, craft knife and a pot of glue handy for emergencies. After C-3PO, Vader was a breeze to put together. There were very few tiny pieces and everything clicked into place in usual precise Bandaii fashion assuming you had trimmed them accurately off the sprue. The only issues I had were the cloak, who didn't want to click into place on mine. And finding out that the hand had to be unassembled to add the lightsaber. Then there is the decals, which have been fine on other models I have built - but on Vader are so small they are (remember I have fat hands) almost un-usable on areas like the chest box switches. With a steady hand, tweezers and some good magnification you will be fine - but I took the alternative route and painted mine - which added a good £10 to the kit once the paint had all been purchased. You will need Silver, Green, Red and Blue. And if you want to paint the unmasked head you will need some pale flesh colours also. Excluding the painting Vader came together in about 90mins. Once built you can then admire the sculpt on this thing, which is exceptional. The helmet in particular is very nice, especially so when you compare side by side with the Hasbro Black Series version. However, the cloak is a poor job and doesn't look right at all - customisers should be looking at a fabric replacement. The whole thing is black plastic, so I can't comment on paint finish. He certainly needs the decals or paint applying - it is amazing how a drop of colour brings out the figure. The light saber is a bit disappointing as it is too dull compared to the more vivid colour of the Hasbro version Articulation is average. The head certainly looks left and right, but turn it too far and it pops off. The arms are the best bit, with good joints at the shoulder, elbow and wrist. He can certainly get in a 2 handed light saber pose or with outstretched hands for a force choke. There are a variety of hands supplied and they pop in and out easy enough. The legs do move, but not far so you wont be doing much posing with Vader. The cloak, which is in about 4 segments looks like it is meant to be articulated but doesn't move at all - a solid piece would have been better, a rubber or soft goods cloak even more so. I have already made comparisons's to Hasbro's figure. At essentially the same price point it would be difficult not to line them up side by side. Bandai's sculpt is better, particularly the helmet. Hasbro wins on articulation and I actually prefer the soft goods on the Hasbro version over the clunky Bandai cloak. The Hasbro light saber is nicer in colour, but the variety of hands supplied by Bandai allow for better poses. Bandai feels really light and he is relatively easy to knock over, where as Hasbro has a bit of weight about it. With pro's and con's on both there is no clear winner, other than perhaps if a clever customiser can kit bash a hybrid of the two. I always try and rate Bandai as an experience rather than just as a figure. In Vader's case the build is fine, but the decals are too tricky for average joe's like myself. In terms of a finished figure the Bandai suffers from a lack of weight, lack of articulation (with parts popping off) and that awful cloak. 2 out of 5 from me. Buy from Amazon UK Buy from Amazon US

When any Star Wars figure range is launched C-3PO is going to be one of the characters in the top 10 wants from collectors, possibly even top 5. He is an icon within the Star Wars universe and therefore it is bizarre that after almost 2 years and numerous promises, Hasbro has yet to bring him to retail in their 6" Black Series. They have therefore left the door ajar for Bandai to come and kick in in with their C-3PO model kit. Unlike the other Far East manufacturers, like Revoltech, Bandai are keeping this range priced competitively vs the Black Series, albeit supplying them as snap together kits. 3PO came in at just under £18 shipped from Hobby Link Japan to the UK and took about 10 days to arrive. For those who don't want the hassle of importing, then keep an eye on Amazon.co.uk as a number of retailers have been selling these kits direct through Amazon - although be warned they still ship from Japan in most cases - with the seller having to absorb any custom fees as part of their sellers agreement with the UK Amazon site. This will be my 3rd boxed kit from Bandai. and certainly looks the most complex when it is unboxed. For any one who is new to these my recommendation is to ensure you have a pair of craft clippers, a sharp craft knife and a decent work area - well away from any nooks and crannies where stray pieces can get lost. For some parts on this, and on the previous R2/R5 kit I would also have a touch of glue to hand. The instructions are in Japanese, but pictorially are easy enough to follow. Be aware that within the kit there are numerous options to include on the model. These are a dented head, retraining bolt chest piece, eye socket hanging out from Jabba's palace and two versions of the arms - one fixed, one articulated. Although it is possible to swap and change some of these afterwards my advice is to ensure you are clear which finished version of 3PO you want. The build took me just over 2 and a half hours, and is relatively straight forward. There are a couple of ridiculously small parts which are very hard for fat fingers like mine - so you may want a pair of tweezers. And unlike the prior kits I had to trim lots of parts from where it came off the sprue. Watch out for the stickers/decals you need to apply during the build - these are the eyes, the tummy wiring and some wiring at the back of each knee (this one you can swap out for a metal version). Once built 3PO is a thing of beauty and perfectly scaled to fit into a Black Series display. The vac metal finish is very shiny and some people will want to dirty him up with black wash. For me I have left him as he came out of the box, and he is therefore probably close to his appearance at the Medal Ceremony at the end of A New Hope. The stickers are limited on this model and are mainly around the tummy wiring. The tummy wires are moulded, which means you can paint them if you want, but the stickers work really well once applied and then locked in with a couple of coloured parts. Articulation is very very limited. There is some rotation in the shoulders and if you have built the articulated arms the elbows do bend to a degree. The head rotates, just, and there is a tiny amount of movement in hips and ankles. The widest movement is in the knees but without supporting articulation there is no a lot you can achieve by bending the legs. Don't let this put you off as the real C-3PO doesn't have too much movement anyway. It looks like Bandai have really got one over Hasbro with getting 3PO into 1/12 collectors hands early and like I said with the R2/R5 review it would be nice now for Bandai to use the mould and get out some other droid variations. If you have the patience to build him, and aren't worried by a lack of articulation, then this IS the droid you are looking for and gets a solid 4 out of 5 from me. Buy from Amazon UK Buy from Amazon US

I have steered away from a number of the Japanese 1/12 scale Star Wars products that have been landing over the last 6-months. In the main these have been two expensive to justify importing to the UK and in many cases I have not been a fan of the stylised look a number of these have been given. Bandai have been the exception here, offering their 1/12 figures in kit form and at a price that means you can have them brought over to the UK for less than you would pay for a Black Series 6" figure. My first order placed, via the brilliant Hobby Link Japan, was a pre-order for the 2-pack of R2-D2 / R5-D4. I then went back and dropped in an order for their Stormtrooper which landed last week. Price wise, you will never be 100% what you are paying via HLJ. The Yen conversion of their Stormtrooper pack is around the £10.50 mark - but shipping is calculated just before dispatch on the weight and size of the item. My shipping for this came in at £6, so the whole thing cost £16.50 delivered and as it was under £15 on the goods was exempt from any custom costs. On arrival (about 10 days from dispatch to receipt) the item was as packed as well as it needed to be, having been shrink-wrapped to a stiff board to prevent movement. Once unwrapped the box is a bit flimsy, and reminiscent of those old Airfix kits any kid of the 80's will remember. Once the lid comes off you are a bit overawed. I knew this was a kit, but didn't appreciate how many pieces and processes their would be to build this. It comes across 4 plastic sprue's. The first is a black dull plastic containing the black (obviously) pieces of the armour. The second sprue is very gloss white plastic containing the armour. The third is a rubbery plastic that makes up the joints. And the fourth is another black sprue holding the base for the figure. The instructions fold out, and there are about 15 processes in building the kit. The instructions are all in Japanese, but are pretty well illustrated and numbered and I found them easy enough to follow. When I first started posting my build on Facebook the main question asked was do you need glue? The answer is no, the whole kit is clip together. However, I do urge you to have a pair of clippers, a sharp craft knife and a well lit work area before you start. The parts need to be clipped off the sprue (hence clipper) and in some cases cleaned up if you leave a bit of flash behind (craft knife). However this kit is very well engineered, and I did not find a single part through the whole build that didn't fit precisely. You will need time for this build. I started mine, believe it or not, in a hotel while I was away with work for a couple of days. I then finished it off at home, and all in it took about 3hrs in total. You also have to think ahead towards the end to decide what side you want the gun holster and then what hands you want to use (they are interchangeable after completion). The decals come either as stickers or water transfers. I chickened out of the transfers and used the stickers which all went on really well, I recommend using a cotton bud to aid smoothing. The one criticism I had was that on some of the really small stickers they were really hard to get off the backing paper. Once built the model can go on the included stand, or will stand pretty well on its own. It lines up very well in terms of scale with the Black Series Stormtrooper and can achieve a number of poses. So is it worth it? For me I still prefer the Hasbro version for overall looks. The Bandai version may have shinier armour, but the head/neck area still looks a bit too short so he has a hunched appearance. The Bandai version is also quite light, so if you use without a base expect a stiff breeze to rattle him on any shelf. The Bandai version also doesn't come with anything significantly different to the Hasbro one, so there is no real point of difference. The benefit of the Bandai one is the interactive build. For the same price as Hasbro I got a full 3hrs of "fun" building the thing, so there is a degree of satisfaction over breaking open a box and sticking a figure on display. Bandai are also well placed here to use these kits going forward with more customisable options. Imagine if you will a basic Clone Trooper kit that contains both Mk1 and Mk2 heads and varying options like weapons, pauldrons, kama's etc. It's tough to score this as a figure as it is so much more. But in terms of overall build, the finished article and value for money it is a 4 out of 5. Checkout the images below to see what this kits entails, or via the YouTube video HERE Buy from Amazon UK Buy from Amazon US

Upon arrival, and very much like the Storm Trooper, Bandai's R2-D2 / R5-D4 kit is pretty daunting when you open the box. On the plus side, this new dynamic of getting a few hours of enjoyment building your action figure really adds another depth to the hobby. For the price of this kit you are getting a real value for money - getting two figures for less than you would pay for one Hasbro Black Series 6" figure. The kit is available readily from the far east, and will cost around £19 delivered (give or take the exchange rate). There is also some availability on Amazon, but dont expect to get this any quicker as these are still shipped from Japan. Assembly Once the box is opened you are faced with 6 sprue's of part and a 16 step fold out instruction guide. The instructions are all in Japanese, but are illustrative enough to follow. Watch out for the strange symbol that indicates making sure a piece is a certain way round. Also watch out for where you need to add stickers/decals during the build (on the droid bodies) which you didnt have to do on the Storm Trooper kit. The model is click together, and I recommend a pair of clippers and a craft knife as you go through. I did also need glue to repair a couple of bits. For the decals you will need tweezers and a cotton bud. The model builds both droids side by side, which is what I did. This is workable if you keep the parts for each droid seperate as you go. Alternatively you may want to tackle one, and then go back and do the other. Unlike the Storm Trooper, I had a number of issues on this kit. Firstly, many of the parts are a lot smaller than seen on the ST kit and therefore are easily broken, the aeriel on R5 for example more or less snapped when I looked at it. Secondly, there are a number of parts that are a tight fit and then others that are really loose. The tight ones will go with a bit of persuassion and making sure any flash is trimmed off. The worse of the loose ones are the panels on R2's head which are designed to be removed to add various attachments (same as the Hasbro version). I didnt want to display any attachments so ended up glueing these rather than risk loosing any. In about 4hrs I had both droids built, and probably took another hour for the decals. As with the ST, I went down the sticker route rather than the water decals. The stickers on the droids were much better at coming off the backing paper than the ST model, but many of them are increidbly small and even with tweezers I couldnt apply them. These smaller decals dont add a great deal to the model, but it is a shame that I had to miss out some details. Finished Model & Comparisons So when these are built, how do they stack up as an Action Figure? And more importantly how do they compare to Hasbro's own 6" Black Series Both droids are much better scaled than the Hasbro R2 which was always controversially undersized vs the film prop. R2 stands 3.5" high, and R5 a tad taller at 4" (excluding his antenna). This puts them much more accurate to the original trilogy and they stand up alongside the 6" figures much better. The sculpt and detail is very detailed, and the join's where the model went together are not really noticeble. Articulation is limited to what you would expect on an Astromech. The legs have full movement back and forth, and the ankle's (for want of a better description) are on a pivot. The head rotates, and by removing the head and pressing a square panel beneath the third leg drops down for posing either droid with the 3rd leg in use. Colouring (a better word than painting) is acceptable, but a bit too clean. I had also hoped the grey/metal areas would be more a metalised silver - you may want to spray the 2 grey sprue's before assembly (thanks for the tip Colin H). Details are obviously stickers/decals but do the job - although as above the smaller ones feel (to me) almost impossible to install. In summary these are great for the price point, and also give you a good 4hrs of build time before you can add them to the cabinet. For the more seasoned modeller and painter they will also be a great starting point for extensive modding - a good wash will bring out much more detail on both droids. Bandai are in a great place presently with their 1/12 Star Wars kits, and with this one now sculpted they have a real opportunity to release more Astromech versions if they want such as R4 from the prequals or some background droids from any of the 6 movies. Am not sure how much more extensive Bandai can get in terms of Star Wars releases, having only tackled droids and armoured troopers so far - but I look forward to the upcoming 3PO and then the Scout Trooper & Bike. Going back to R2 and R5, if I were rating these as figures straight off the shelf I would give them a 4. But as an overall experience I feel the need to take away a point for the fragile parts and the tricky decals (a better model maker wouldn't have these issues), Buy from Amazon UK Buy from Amazon US

Happy Sat-TOY-Day and welcome to the news that caught my eye this week - and obviously the countdown to Force Friday is into single figures and Star Wars news is dominating the headlines CLICK THROUGH for the news page Please follow us on FACEBOOK and checkout how you can get involved in our Force Friday coverage.

Taking a break from Star Wars and I was really pleased to get new Marvel Select Toys this week. As well as the standard Ant-Man release ( CLICK HERE for a tweaked Ant-Man review) I got my pre-order of Age of Ultron Thor CLICK HERE for the review And don't forget to follow us on FACEBOOK and TWITTER as we have more Marvel Select due very soon - in particular the long awaited Black Widow.