Toybox REVIEW: Power Rangers Lightning Collection Dragon Shield Black Ranger

Release Date: September 2019

RRP: $19.99/£19.99

The Power Rangers Lightning Collection being comparable to other Hasbro toylines like Marvel Legends or the Star Wars Black Series doesn’t just relate to the quality of the figures themselves, but also the release strategies they’ll have. On top of the mainline figures and the odd convention exclusive here and there, specific store exclusives are another big avenue for figures and Hasbro have wasted no time bringing Power Rangers into that fold. The Lightning Collection Dragon Shield Black Ranger is the first of what will likely be many figures exclusive to Walgreens in the US (international distribution will be far more varied). Appearing in An Oyster Stew (the final episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season one), Black Ranger Zack Taylor takes this form after Green Ranger Tommy Oliver transfers over his waning powers so that Zack can break the spell of the Oysterizer. The form is also notable for being completely exclusive to Power Rangers, and does not appear in its Super Sentai equivalent Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger.

Toybox REVIEW: Power Rangers Lightning Collection Mighty Morphin Red Ranger & Zeo Gold Ranger

Release Date: July 2019

RRP: $49.99

If there’s one thing Hasbro know, it’s how to make a great convention exclusive. So when the company announced that they would be taking over the Power Rangers brand, naturally fans were eager to see what they had in store for San Diego Comic Con. They certainly hit the ground running with the Lightning Collection Mighty Morphin Red Ranger & Zeo Gold Ranger set, celebrating the forms of veteran ranger and original team leader Jason Scott Lee. The Red Ranger figure also depicts him wearing the Dragon Shield armour, passed on to him by Green Ranger Tommy Oliver following the loss of his powers.

Toybox REVIEW: Doctor Who The War Doctor & Dalek Scientist Set

Release Date: August 2019

RRP: £19.99

The War Doctor is perhaps one of the boldest concepts to have come out of Doctor Who since its 2005 relaunch, second only behind that of the Time War itself. An incarnation of the Doctor kept completely secret to viewers, willing to do the things that his previous incarnations weren’t and an instrumental part in the Time Lords’ war against the Daleks. Though he only properly appeared on screen in the 50th anniversary special The Day of the Doctor, prior to actor John Hurt’s death in 2017 Big Finish brought the character back for four special audio adventure sets that expanded on his exploits in the Time War. As another of their extremely significant contributions to Doctor Who lore, it’s only fitting that the War Doctor joins the Seventh and Eighth Doctors in Character Options B&M exclusive figure sets. The War Doctor & Dalek Scientist set is based upon the story A Thing of Guile, the second story of the War Doctor’s second Time War set.

Toybox REVIEW: Doctor Who Eighth Doctor & Dalek Interrogator Prime Set

Release Date: August 2019

RRP: £19.99

Although after the 1996 TV movie the Eighth Doctor wouldn't be seen again until 2013's The Night of the Doctor mini-episode, that doesn't mean that he was completely forgotten during Doctor Who's wilderness years. While he was initially expanded upon through novels and comics, arguably it wouldn't be until Big Finish came along that that he was truly defined. From his main range adventures to boxsets like Dark Eyes, Doom Coalition and Ravenous, Big Finish have made a huge contribution to developing a Doctor that has only ever had two onscreen appearances. So much so, that the direct namedropping of his companions in The Night of the Doctor has even made them canon for the most part. So when Character Options announced that they would be producing three Doctor/Dalek two-pack figure sets as part of their 2019 B&M Stores exclusive range, of course the Eighth Doctor would be included. Say hello to the Eighth Doctor & Dalek Interrogator Prime set, based on the story In the Garden of Death from the second Eighth Doctor Time War set.

An extremely limited edition variant version of this set was also made available from Bigfinish.com, with only 150 in existence.

Toybox REVIEW: Doctor Who Seventh Doctor & Axis Strike Squad Dalek Set

Release Date: August 2019

RRP: £19.99

The 2019 assortment of B&M store exclusive Doctor Who action figures was teased to be the most exciting yet, and all Character Options needed to do to confirm that as being true was utter two simple words - Big Finish. For the last 20 years Big Finish have been the company behind Doctor Who audio adventures, expanding the mythos for all of the classic Doctors as well as producing a number of spin-off series and pressing forward with more unexplored concepts from the relaunched series such as the Time War. As part of their offerings for this year Character have announced three sets based on popular Big Finish adventures, pairing an incarnation of the Doctor up with his deadliest enemy - the Daleks. This also marks the first time that the Dalek figure mould has appeared among the B&M exclusive assortments. The first of these sets we'll be looking at is the Seventh Doctor & Axis Strike Squad Dalek set, based on Gallifrey VI - the sixth entry in the Gallifrey spin-off series.

An extremely limited edition variant version of this set was also made available from Bigfinish.com, with only 150 in existence.

Toybox REVIEW: DX Full Power Gridman

Release Date: May 2019, July 2019 (reissue)

RRP: 15,278 yen

When the SSSS.Gridman anime was first announced, one of the biggest questions for collectors was just who would be handling the toys. Whilst the Denkou Chojin Gridman toys were produced by TakaraTomy, Bandai’s domination of the tokusatsu market (as well as their more recent releases in the Ultra-Act and Super Mini-Pla lines) made them feel like a certainty. However while Bandai and Megahouse have both developed their own version of the titular character, studio Trigger’s links with Good Smile Company undoubtedly had a hand in them arguably leading the way when it came to SSSS.Gridman toys. But on top of their various Figma, Nendoroid and scale statue releases, the crown jewel in their offerings is the DX Full Power Gridman – a fully transformable and combinable set that includes both Gridman and his four Assist Weapons.

First Impressions: Kamen Rider Zero-One

The arrival of Kamen Rider Zero-One is more than just your usual Kamen Rider premiere. With new series starting annually fans are used to see Riders come and go, but rarely do they see one usher in a whole new era. Zero-One marks the beginning of the Reiwa era for Kamen Rider just as Kuuga did for the Heisei era back in 2000, and while this doesn't come after a long hiatus off the air it still aims to be just a significant a landmark in franchise history. Written by Yuya Takahashi (Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, Kamen Rider Amazons: The Last Judgement) and directed by Teruaki Sugihara (Lupinranger vs Patranger), Zero-One also sees legend Seiji Takaiwa pass the mantle of lead suit actor onto Yuya Nawata – whose previous portrayals include Kamen Riders Geiz, Cronus and Neo Alpha.

Series REVIEW: Kamen Rider Zi-O

Over the past 20 years the Kamen Riders have battled against the likes of the Grongi, Unknown, Fangire, Orphnoch, Greeed and so many more. They've been doctors, demon hunters, wizards and detectives. Some have journeyed through the decade and travelled through time, while others hail from parallel universes. But eventually all things come to an end, and as the curtain closes on the Heisei era a new one is about to begin. But before welcoming the Reiwa era with Kamen Rider Zero-One, Toei celebrated the longest consecutively-running period in Rider history with Kamen Rider Zi-O. As the 20th and final Heisei series Zi-O pays tribute to everything from Kamen Rider Kuuga all the way up to Kamen Rider Build, with plenty of guest stars and surprise developments to see the era off in style.

Toybox REVIEW: Star Wars Black Series 6" Clone Commander Obi-Wan Kenobi

Release Date: August 2019
RRP: $20/£20

The 2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars series has become both a landmark and definitive piece of Star Wars fiction, but for many fans exposure to the franchise's great conflict came five years earlier with Samurai Jack creator Genndy Tartakovsky's Star Wars: Clone Wars animated series. Despite only running for 25 episodes spanning around three hours in total runtime, the Emmy award winning series included many notable moments – including the proper debuts of both Asajj Ventress and General Grievous. Though it has mostly been wiped from official Star Wars canon, it remains a firm favourite amongst fans and its legacy continues with Hasbro's Black Series Clone Commander Obi-Wan Kenobi. This figure depicts Obi-Wan in the outfit he wore in the show's first season, and is a Walgreens exclusive release in the US.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Ultraman Victory

Release Date: June 2019

RRP: 6480 yen

Now that the Ultraman S.H. Figuarts range is truly in full swing, it feels like anyone's guess as to what could come next. For many years the line seemed to simply follow the pattern of covering an older Showa era series each year along with what's currently airing, but now it's also begun digging back into other areas of the back catalogue with releases like Ultraman Zero, Ultraman Belial and Ultraman X. Now it comes one step closer to completing that New Generation Hero line up with the release of S.H. Figuarts Ultraman Victory. Like X this is a significant release as the character was previously denied an Ultra-Act release, debuting just as the line was winding down prior to the franchise's integration into S.H. Figuarts