|
|||||||||
1-27-2012Sideshow)
STAP w/ Battle Droid S.T.A.P. and Battle DroidSideshow put the S.T.A.P. and Battle Droid set up for sale last night with the release of the newsletter. As we told you the other day, the set is priced at $174.99 and if you order two you'll need to pay a non-refundable deposit. No edition size announced yet, but the listed release is third quarter 2012. Aayla Secura Premium Format
Aayla Secura Sideshow teased us with a new Aayla Secura Premium Format statue last year during San Diego Comic-Con but last night they put up the first preview photo. There will be a product reveal next Tuesday, January 31st, and she'll go on sale with the newsletter on Thursday, February 2nd. From the photos, she looks hot. In our opinion, probably the best looking PF statue since Darth Talon. We'd advise you not to wait on this one if you think you're interested. People that waited on Talon are definitely having second thoughts now that the secondary market prices are so high. 1-25-2012HasbroThe UK is holding its yearly Toy Fair this week and Jedi News, along with a few other websites, has been covering Hasbro and other companies, including Lego. The biggest news out of the show is confirmation of the MTT as the large 2012 vehicle from Hasbro. Jedi News also got the scoop on three new Vintage Collection figures; Nikto, Galen Marek and Shae Vizla. The Nikto figure is another update of a vintage Kenner release while the other two are Expanded Universe characters from The Force Unleashed and The Old Republic respectively. Head over to the Jedi News website for photos and information on them. If you're looking for more information on the MTT, including box photos, then Jedi Temple Archives is where you want to be. Called the Trade Federation MTT Droid Carrier, advertising on the box lists the vehicle as coming with 20 Battle Droids. Initial reports from the UK Toy Fair is that only 4 of them will be articulated but we're waiting for further information on that. Another rumor out of Toy Fair is that this may be an exclusive. However, since this is the UK show, it's possible that it'll be an exclusive release there but doesn't necessarily mean it will be in the US. Pricing has also been leaked but, again, we're going to wait until we have more info from Hasbro. 1-24-2012Sideshow
STAP w/ Battle Droid Sideshow updated with photos and more information on their upcomign S.T.A.P. and Battle Droid offering. Pre-orders will go live this Thursday with the release of the weekly newsletter. The S.T.A.P. and Battle Droid set will cost $174.99 and will have the FLEXPay option available. If you pre-order two sets then you will also be charged a $17.50 non-refundable deposit. One of the cool parts to this set is that the S.T.A.P. is on a stand that allows for some articulation to mix up your display. MTTA couple of reports are hitting today that the 2012 "BMF," or large vehicle, from Hasbro will be the Episode 1 MTT. As seen in The Phantom Menace, the MTT delivered the Battle Droid army to the Naboo battlefield during the showdown with the Gungans. Word from the UK toy fair is that it's large and will include 20 Battle Droids but only 4 of them will be articulated. The other 16 will be pre-posed, probably folded. There will also be an Obi-Wan Kenobi figure included. The MTT will have a droid delivery mechanism and is also rumored to have electronics. We don't have photos of the actual toy at this point but if none surface, we'll see this at New York Toy Fair on February 11th. 1-22-2012Sideshow)
Bossk Sideshow has said that 2012 would be about bounty hunters, IG-88 is already shipping and Boba Fett will be coming up soon, and now we have a new teaser. In a Production Peek video released Friday, Sideshow gives us an early look at Bossk. The video includes some quick looks at the sculpt for the feet and legs, the uniform and, most importantly, the head sculpt. From the short video it looks as though Sideshow is up to their usual standards on aliens so this should be a fun release. Make sure to head over and se the full Production Peek video. 1-20-2012Sideshow
S.T.A.P. and Battle Droid During San Diego Comic-Con last year, Sideshow wowed us with a lot of new 1:6 scale action figures, including a huge assortment of Battle Droids. With their first 2-pack already out, the next offering will be a Battle Droid with an incredible S.T.A.P. Sideshow posted a teaser photo last night and you'll be able to check out a full set of photos next week with pre-orders going live on Thursday, January 26th with the release of the newsletter. We should note that the preview page lists January 22, 2011 as the reveal date for the photos, but also has a calendar page showing January 24th. We're assuming they'll be posted on Tuesday, January 24th, as Tuesday has been the standard day for Sideshow to release photos in the past. We'll keep you posted. 1-18-2012Gentle GiantGentle Giant put up two new pre-orders today, one for their latest 12" retro figure and one for a dart board sporting some cool Adam Hughes artwork.
The retro figure is everyone's favorite defective astromech droid, R5-D4. R5 has the classic clicking head and will come with a Star Wars 20 back insert in the re-sealable packaging. He's estimated to ship in the third quarter and is priced at $80.00 from Gentle Giant. The second item is a wood cased dart board with Adam Hughes' "Last Daughter of Alderaan" artwork. If you recall, Hughes released the original print of this artwork as his Celebration IV exclusive. The dart board includes Star Wars graphics on the chalk boards inside and the set comes with six darts that feature Rebel and Imperial graphics on the fletching. Also scheduled for a third quarter release, the dart board will set you back $99.00 from Gentle Giant. 1-17-2012Lego)
30057 Anakin's Pod Racer If you're like us, you love the bagged Lego sets that pop up at Toys-R-Us, Target and other stores during the year. The latest offering is from Toys-R-Us and it's set 30057, Anakin's Pod Racer. The set is $4.99 and can be ordered online now. These sets usually become available in stores where they're sold or sometimes available for free with a minimum purchase. Reports are just starting to hit that the 2012 Star Wars Lego sets are showing up at retail so it may be worth a stop at your local store in the next couple of weeks. 1-16-2012Valentine's Day Merchandise)
Valentine's Day Target has their seasonal Valentine's Day section fully stocked now and there is a huge section just of Star Wars themed candy. The three foot wide section is 5 shelves high (we missed the bottom shelf in the photo) and contains boxed candy, M&M dispensers, mugs, bears and plush Star Wars characters with a variety of flavors and styles. The bottom shelf had M&M lightsaber dispensers a there was a heart shaped boxes on another display that also had Star Wars graphics. Target has at least four different sets of Valentine's Day cards geared towards kids to hand out in school. One set is just cards, one has cards and pencils and the final two are in boxes shaped like Darth Vader and Yoda. The graphics on a lot of the candy lean towards The Phantom Menace in design but there are plenty of Original Trilogy characters and artwork available. We apologize for the poor quality of the photo. It's probably time to upgrade the Blackberry to something better. 1-13-2012Hasbro Price IncreasesRumors have been popping up for the last week saying that we were going to see a price increase on Hasbro products due later this month. While some product that leaked early, specifically the Vintage Collection, was still ringing up for 2011 prices, the hike seemed inevitable. Now we seem to have confirmation via HasbroToyShop.com. HTS.com has always listed prices at Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) while brick and mortar pricing has fluctuated. Yesterday, HTS.com listed pre-orders for new 2012 product and carded action figures are up $1 to $9.99 for Vintage Collection and $8.99 for Clone Wars and Movie Heroes. Battle Packs are up $3 to $22.99 while the Starfighter vehicle line, now called Class II Attack Vehicles, are up $5 to $29.99. For now the Deluxe figure and vehicle sets, Class I Fleet Vehicles, are still listed at $16.99 but we won't be surprised to see these rise to $19.99. We're not sure yet how this will translate to stores such as Walmart, Target and Toys-R-Us but expect Walmart and Target will be in the same ballpark as HTS.com. We would not be surprised to see Toys-R-Us, which was already asking $9.99 for Vintage Collection figures and $27.99 for the Class II Attack Vehicles, go to $10.99 on the action figures and $32.99 on the vehicles. If prices don't jump before, look for them to go up on January 30th which is Hasbro's official launch date for the new 2012 product. 1-10-2011Gentle Giant)
Imperial Gunner Action Figure Express now has a pre-order up for their exclusive Gentle Giant Imperial Gunner mini bust. The bust is $64.99 and is scheduled for a second quarter 2012 release. While AFX is calling this the Imperial Gunner, the character is more commonly referred to as the Death Star Gunner. No edition size has been announced yet. Head over to Action Figure Express to place your pre-order. Mimoco
Mimoco has been releasing character flash drives for over 6 years and now, as CES 2012, they've announced a new product; MIMOMICRO. MIMOMICRO drives are smaller than their previous USB flash drives and use microSD cards to store data. They also act as memory card readers for microSD cards from cell phones, MP3 players and other mobile devices. The new line is showing off DC superheroes and five Star Wars drives including Yoda, Darth Vader, Chewbacca, C-3PO and a Millennium Falcon. For photos and the full press release, head over to the Mimoco website. No pricing was listed at this time. Star Wars: UnderworldCould that be the title of the forthcoming live-action Star Wars television show we've been waiting on? Maybe, maybe not, but that is, according to Jim McCallum, the working title for the scripts that have been written. While updates on the show are few and far between, and the last word was that the show would be too expensive to produce, IGN has a new interview with Mr. McCallum that sheds a few new details, including that title. Head over to IGN's website for the 6 minute video where McCallum discusses the costs of the show and the tough decisions about brining the show to a shifting television market. 1-6-2011Lego
Free Poster If you've been looking to get your hands on the new 2012 Lego sets, the wait is almost over. Lego Shop@Home has put up pre-orders for the first 11 sets. They will all ship on January 30th but if you order now you will also receive a free, two-sided poster that depicts the new TIE Fighter and X-Wing sets on one side and the new minifigures on the back. The new sets available are listed below along with the Shop@Home prices.
1-2-2011TargetTarget is starting their toy aisle reset and while our local store isn't done yet, the Star Wars section is starting to shape up. It looks like the center of the action figure aisle will have a Star Wars focus with signage and a new layout that deviates from the rest of the aisle. One odd thing we saw locally, the Vintage Collection only has 4 or 5 pegs dedicated to it now when they had 8 previously. Not sure yet what that means for the large amount of The Phantom Menace figures that should be on the way. And, for now, Saga Legends still has a place in the aisle even though that should be replaced by Movie Heroes by the end of the month. And, of course, with the first of the year and the aisle resets come clearances. So check your store if you've had your eye on anything that won't be carried forward into 2012. We already picked up the exclusive Luke Skywalker's Tauntaun set for $17 and we're sure some other items will be marked down also. 1-1-2012Happy New Year!We want to wish all our readers a very Happy New Year! Lots of great things coming up for Star Wars fans in 2012, including the release of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in 3D and Star Wars Celebration VI in August. | |||||||||
|
)
)
