Phil Roberts 
Phil reveals the struggles of Mafex action figure addiction and the sinister nature of friends in this tongue-in-cheek review…
Having a Toys & Collectables column here at Future of the Force has its benefits. Thanks to his incredible reviews, our Senior Collectables Correspondent Thomas Storai has given our readers the opportunity of taking a closer look at some of the most incredible action figures and collectables on the planet. Whether your tastes run to Hasbro’s immensely successful Star Wars: The Black Series collection, or the amazing figures from S.H Figuarts, or Sideshow Collectables’ intricately produced premium Hot Toys range or even the incredible range of action figures from Medicom Toys, Future of the Force has the review for you.
Being the editor of this fantastic website has afforded me the privilege of overseeing every single one of these masterful reviews and despite assurances to my long-suffering wife to keep my collecting restricted to The Black Series and 3.75″ Star Wars range, I have found myself being drawn to the dark side.
Being an avid fan of all things DC Comics, the incredible collection of Justice League action figures from Medicom Toys has been calling to me ever since I edited Thomas’ first review. The Ben Affleck Justice League Batman action figure was nothing short of spectacular and the urge to import him from Japan was overwhelming, but I managed to resist. Similar reviews of Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Cyborg and Aquaman all followed, and they were complemented by the second Batman figure from the Justice League movie which depicts him sporting his Tactical Suit.
Somewhere along the way, my resistance crumbled, and I ordered Batman. Since his purchase, I have added Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Batman (Tactical Suit), The Joker (Suicide Squad), Harley Quinn (Gold Dress – Suicide Squad), Captain Phasma (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Kylo Ren (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), and Boba Fett (Star Wars: Return of the Jedi) to my collection.
So extraordinary are these action figures that my urge to expand the collection rises by the day. This week I plan to order both Deadshot (Suicide Squad) and Cyborg (Justice League), and these purchases arrive hot on the heels of pre-ordering Bruce Wayne (Justice League) and Aquaman (Aquaman Movie Version).
I admit it…I am hooked. So much so, that I have promised to buy my Wife the Mafex John Wick action figure for Valentine’s Day (because she’s a John Wick nut!) and therefore, enticing her over to the dark side. If that wasn’t enough, my brother Carl Roberts has now been lured by the power of Mafex and has had his head turned by the glorious Imperial and First Order Stormtroopers from the range.
One would think this ever-expanding collection would be enough…but no!
In the last few days, Medicom Toys has announced the imminent arrival of not one, but two new action figures from the pages of Marvel Comics which just so happen to be two of my all-time favourite characters.
The X-Men.
That’s right, Medicom has turned its attention to the mighty X-Men. Deciding to focus on their popular depictions from the comic books and animated series from the late nineties, the Mafex range will soon be bolstered by two of the X-Men’s most iconic warriors. Not only are they producing an action figure of Jim Lee’s Cyclops (AKA Scott Summers), but the range will soon see the debut of a character adored by millions of fans around the world…. Wolverine (AKA Logan). The adamantium-clawed, bad-tempered Weapon X will be arriving in his famous yellow and blue spandex suit and comes with an abundance of changeable heads and claws.
The press release images alone have been enough to invigorate my already over-active impulse to enhance my collection, and I am proud to admit I have already pre-ordered Wolverine who is expected to arrive at vendors in late November.
With so many great action figures making up their collection, Medicom Toys have filled a hole in my collection I refused to believe was there. In truth, my fandom has never been defined by just one entity. I am a lover of both Star Wars and Star Trek, Marvel and DC, Aliens and Predator and so on and have always collected action figures and accessories from them all. What the Mafex collection excels at is delivering intricately detailed and customisable action figures of some of the biggest characters from many of these famous franchises…and they are incredible.
If it was not for the fantastic reviews from Thomas Storai, I would not have the privilege of owning these wonderful action figures today, a fact that I take pride in frequently reminding him of and will often find me revealing his culpability to the world. Thank you, Thomas, for introducing me to the Mafex range. You have cost me a small fortune and I will never forgive you!
Wolverine is expected to arrive at import vendors in late November.
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Phil Roberts is the owner, daily content manager, and editor-in-chief of The Future of the Force. He is a huge fan of Star Wars, Batman, DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, King Kong, and the Ray Harryhausen movies.
If he’s not in the cinema he’s probably streaming something equally awesome!
