My Shiny Toy Robots

Release Date: 2015 (Original Release), January 2021 (Archive) RRP: $19.99/£19.99 One of the least enjoyable things about toy collecting is seeing how much certain figures you're missing end up costing on the aftermarket. Since I only jumped into collecting the Star Wars Black Series line a few years ago naturally I had a lot of catching up to do, and as a Clone Wars fan Black Series Clone  Commander Cody was near the top of my wish list. However with the figure now going for around four to five times its original value, purchasing him wasn't likely to happen any time soon. Clearly there were many other collectors that felt the same, because when  Hasbro asked fans what they'd like to see in the next wave of Archive  releases (a sub-series dedicated to re-releases of older figures), Obi-Wan Kenobi 's clone commander in arms was a landslide winner.

Release Date: August 2020 RRP: $29.99 With all seven of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers available through the Lightning Collection’s main range, one has to wonder where Hasbro will continue to go to keep the MMPR hype train going. Sure there’s plenty of other instalments in the Power Rangers franchise to draw inspiration from, but it’s always going to be MMPR that makes the big bucks. In recent months we’ve seen Hasbro turn their attention towards monsters with deluxe $30 figures, but on top of that fans were also treated to a Lightning Collection Mighty Morphin Zordon & Alpha 5 set as a Walmart exclusive . Despite not receiving that many figures over the years no MMPR collection feels complete without the rangers’ wise mentor and his robotic assistant, so it’s great to see the line get to these characters so early in its lifespan.

Release Date: December 2020 RRP: $19.99/£19.99 There’s no better way to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Transformers: The Movie than with a whole line of figures based directly on it, featuring many of the brand new characters that would replace the original 1984-85 cast and go on to be the leads in subsequent seasons of the show. Among those characters is of course Kup , an old Autobot war veteran with plenty of war stories to keep the young un’s entertained (or not so much in Hot Rod ’s case). Fun fact - he also happens to be my favourite Autobot in the whole franchise. I have a lot of love for the TakaraTomy Legends figure from 2017, but a more cartoon-accurate version directly referencing the movie? Studio Series 86 Kup was an instant preorder.

With Hasbro now in full control of Power Rangers , the future of the franchise feels pretty uncertain from the perspective of a fan. We know that a new movie is on the way, along with a whole reboot universe being crafted by writer/director/producer Jonathan Entwistle ( I Am Not Okay With This , The End of the F***ing World ). An exciting prospect for sure, but how this will all take shape - as well as what it means for Power Rangers being an adaptation of Super Sentai , is all unclear. That's still all a fair way off in the future though, and after Power Rangers Beast Morphers ushered in a transition between Saban Brands and the toy giants it's time to see what they can really do with Power Rangers Dino Fury . Adapted from Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger and the fourth dinosaur-themed Power Rangers series, Dino Fury is the first to be produced by Entertainment One - which Hasbro also purchased in 2019.

Release Date: January 2021 RRP: $49.99/£49.99 The Studio Series range has been providing Transformers fans with fantastic representations of live-action movie characters for a good few years now, but there’s always been one film from the franchise that’s been off its radar. With 2021 marking the 35th anniversary of Transformers: The Movie , there’s no better time for Hasbro to unleash Studio Series 86 on the world. As a longtime fan of Transformers first big screen outing, a toy line truly dedicated to its cast is something both I and many other Transformers fans have dreamed of for some time. Sure there have been plenty of G1 figures and reimaginings over the years, but having them all in one place in an anniversary toy line is a very exciting prospect. Among this first wave of characters is Studio Series 86 Grimlock & Autobot Wheelie , the first Leader class figure to be released. The powerful but not so bright leader of the Dinobots is a prominent character in the film, making f...

Release Date: July 2020 RRP: 7800 yen If there’s one toy line that feels unrivalled when it comes to high-end comic-style superhero figures right now, it’s Medicom’s MAFEX line. Sure they don’t come cheap and long delays are often common, but when it comes to those perfect comic sculpts there’s no one quite like them. But as nice as they are, my previous experience with the MAFEX line has been mixed to say the least. Poor QC is something often on the tip of everyone’s tongues, and after having one figure have both wrist joints completely disintegrate 30 seconds out of the box (followed by months of exchanging emails with Medicom customer service in order to get replacement parts) certainly soured me on them somewhat. However so many of these figures just look so good it’s hard to say no, and MAFEX Batman ( Batman: Hush ) was just one I couldn’t pass up. Based on the caped crusader in the acclaimed 2002 story by Jeph Loeb (which was turned into an animated film in 2019), this is the...

Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Absolute Conspiracy is available both subtitled and English dubbed on Youtube When  Tsuburaya Productions released Ultra Galaxy Fight: New Generation Heroes   via their official  Youtube channel in 2019, it showed a dedication toward bringing the Ultraman franchise to global audiences that rival tokusatsu properties can't even begin to compare to yet. This wasn't just releasing the currently airing show with English subtitles - it was creating an all-new weekly miniseries especially for streaming on a free platform with two language choices. It's no surprise that an offer like that proved a hit, so of course TsuPro followed it up with a sequel. Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Absolute Conspiracy was released as a ten episode miniseries, with each individual episode averaging around ten minutes long. As well as leading into the beginning of Ultraman Z , The Absolute Conspiracy also begins a new story arc that will continue on into future Ultra Galaxy Fight ...

Release Date: November 2020 RRP: £19.99 2020 was the year that the B&M exclusive range of Doctor Who figures really kicked into high gear, and even after two impressive waves of releases Character Options weren't completely done yet. Just as the year was closing a further two sets were announced - one based on The Witch's Familiar from 2015 and another based on 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks . That latter release was the Coal Hill School collector figure set , featuring releases of both Seventh Doctor companion Ace  and a standard Imperial Dalek - two popular and now highly sought after figures.

Release Date: December 2020 RRP: $29.99 The Generations Selects line has become the perfect place to provide Transformers fans with all those obscure characters and old-school homages that the main lines can't accommodate, and when it comes to wacky colour schemes nothing beats the Generation 2 days. From 1992-1995  Transformers was home to the most outlandish colours you could see on a toy, and some of the catchiest adverts the franchise has ever had. While a lot of big name characters in the range were slight remoulds of their Generation 1 versions, the line still had plenty of interesting new releases too - with Megatron being one of the most notable. Gone was the silver Walther P-38 pistol, replaced with a giant gaudy green and purple tank that cried out "MEGATRON ATTACK" at the touch of a button. It was a thing of beauty, and began the trend of tank Megatrons that continues today. Now Hasbro celebrate his legacy with the Generations Select G2 Megatron , bringing tho...

As the Dalek drones of the TV21 comics  slightly changed colours so did the Black Dalek , and with my "Guard" Dalek drones now under the command of a  Red Dalek Leader , I felt it was important to also add a new Black Dalek   to the mix to complete the chain of command. This second version of the Black Dalek is another custom I've been looking forward to doing for some time now, and the increased availability of the Guard Dalek mould following the release of History of the Daleks sets finally made it an affordable possibility.