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3-31-2008

Around the Toy Aisle

I figured I'd round out the month with an Around the Toy Aisle post.  I ended up heading to Elmira in search of some new Star Wars toys and found them along with some other things I'd been looking for.  As usual, I tried to take a peak around to see what else the aisles held.  Read More...

Indiana Jones

Lucasfilm is launching a new Indiana Jones on-line store on April 1st.  Opening day will see a 10% off sale on every thing in the store.  The url for the site is www.indianajonesshop.com.

Some of the stuff that will be up for sale will be pre-order items but it might be worth checking out if you're a fan of the films.

And no, this isn't an April Fools joke.  At least I hope not, they sent out an official looking e-mail...

3-28-2008

Acme Archives

Acme announced the final Clone Wars Character key and it's Roron Corrob!  Morly posted this teaser photo last night and while no exact date or edition size has been given, it should be out before San Diego Comic-Con.

Keep your eye here and we'll post as soon as this key goes up for sale.

Hasbro

The newest wave of Order 66 2-packs are scheduled for Target during the week of 4/13 but it looks like they've popped up in a few stores.  And some collectors have gotten them out of the back so if you can't wait two more weeks, it might not hurt to stop by Target and see if you can score them early.

If you are a fan of Kyle Katarn then you'll be happy to know that 2009 is the year we'll see a new figure of him.  CreatureCantina.com got confirmation of Kyle in the 2009 comic 2-pack like in their latest Q&A session with Hasbro.

3-26-2008

Hasbro

Jedi-Con

This past weekend was the Jedi-Con Convention in Germany and by all accounts it was a pretty good show.  RebelScum.com has some coverage if you're interested in photos and whatnot (Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3).

Like most other large conventions, Hasbro had an exclusive 2-pack of figures (I think I posted about this when they were first announced).  It includes a Shadow Trooper and Shadow Commander/ARC Trooper.  The set is now up for sale for $16.99 plus shipping on ShopStarWars.com.

Head over and put in your order if you're interested in this set.

Saga Legends

If you're waiting on the final wave of Saga Legends (at least in its current incarnation) you better start hitting stores.  The figures have been found in California, at least.

If you recall, this is the wave that we voted on last year to be our final wave.  It includes Zev Senesca, Commander Ney, Utapau Shadow Trooper, Shadow Stormtrooper and Covert Ops Trooper.

Coin collectors will want to pick up one of the two Shadow troopers, at least, to get the black EU coin.  The EU coin packed with the Covert Ops Trooper is gold like it was with the Darktrooper last year.  I was so hoping for a silver version.

Gentle Giant

Premier Guild members that signed up last year should be getting renewal notifications in the mail pretty soon, if they haven't gotten them already.  It appears that a lot of early joiners are due by 3/31. 

Well, one thing that the renewal emails don't point out is that if you don't log into your account before it expires you will be automatically renewed!

On top of that little undocumented feature, GG has decided that costs have gone up so much that this year's members will be charged shipping to receive their free gift which is a Classics Clone Trooper bust.  If you renew or are automatically renewed you are agreeing to not only pay the $50 membership fee but also authorizing an as yet unannounced shipping charge.

The text of the renewal emails is included below in case you haven't seen it yet (I removed the date and link to renew):

As I said, the email doesn't mention anything about the auto renewal and neither I nor anyone that's posted on the forums I read, has said that they've heard of or seen the auto renewal feature.

3-22-2008

Disney

EndorExpress.net is showing off some photos of the new 2008 Disney figures and toys based on Star Wars and Indiana Jones characters. 

The Mickey Mouse as Indy figure is the one that catches my eye but the SW figures aren't bad.  Also looking good are the Padme and Leia Figural Dress Sets.  Head over to their site to check out all the photos.

Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination

Back on February 9th a bunch of PSWCS members invaded the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia for the debut of the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit.

I took a lot of photos, which I'm still planning on posting, but never got around to doing the write-up.  As I may have mentioned, I came down with a bad case of the flu right after getting back and by the time I recovered, well, a lot of time had passed.

But fear not; fellow PSWCS member Jeff G. took some awesome photos and copious amounts of notes at the exhibit and over the past few days he's uploaded a three part article on the exhibit for YodasNews.com. 

Rather than reinvent the wheel, head over and check out the great article that Jeff put together.

Since he did such a great job on the article I'll spare you my thoughts but will put up a photo album, as promised weeks ago, as I'm sure we ended up with some different pictures and perspectives on the various items. 

There's also still plenty of time for you to make the trip to the FI yourself and as extra incentive, the PSWCS has been invited to give a presentation on Thursday, April 24th at 7:00 PM.  If you're going to be in the Philly area, stop in!

Bill Cable - Convention Hopping Über Artist

Bill Cable of CreatureCantina.com fame attended All-Con in Dallas the weekend of March 7-9 as a guest of event organizer and "Star Wars Super Collector's Wish Book" author Geoffrey Carlton. 

Between hobnobbing with hot girls, Hollywood stars and the assorted rich and famous, he found time to snap some photos and post a recap.  Head over to CC.com to read Bill Cable's all-encompassing All-con report!

Star Wars Animation

Star Wars Cartoons: A Good Idea?  Sure, I think so, but Dalton Ross over at ew.com wonders, based on the 1980's cartoons "Droids" and "Ewoks," if the upcoming "Clone Wars" cartoon is such a good thing.

3-21-2008

Hasbro

It's been a pretty slow news week but Hasbro helps us out with the newest Q&A session answers.

Answering a question about the Legacy Collection sandstorm figures, there's no Leia planned for this year but they do have a new Slave Leia figure planned a new 2009 ROTJ wave.

While we may have to wait till SDCC to see them, Hasbro confirmed two new Transformers for this year; General Grievous/Grievous Starfighter and TIE Pilot/TIE Bomber.  Sounds cool!

Titanium fans can rejoice in the announcement of three cool new vehicles scheduled for 2009 including the E-Wing, Republic Carrier and UT-AT.

JediTempleArchives asked for photos of two pieces, one in the previous Q&A of the SDCC Vader and Emperor holo and this week the V-19 Starfighter with wings in flight mode.  Hasbro came through with both!  Check out the awesome looking Vader and Holo set and then take a peek at the V-19!

One of the biggest announcements is about the new Saga Legends line that will be re-launched this Fall.  It's going to be the third line (Clone Wars and The Legacy Collection being the other two) of figures that we've heard about.  Per Hasbro's answer, it'll be filled out with repacked figures that will complement the Clone Wars line.  Expect to see a lot of Clone Troopers as well as main characters like Yoda, Obi-Wan and Anakin.  Yay?

Sideshow

The Padme and Nexu diorama that was announced the other day is now up for pre-order.  Head over to Sideshow's website to check out a better photo and place your order.  The dio is $199.99 and FlexPay is available.

Target

I spotted the new Target exclusives last night on an end cap at the back of the action figure aisle.  If you're after Aayla Secura's Jedi Starfighter, the The Force Unleashed Attack on Kashyyyk Battle Pack or the two Galactic Heroes sets you might want to check your local store.

The Kashyyyk Battle Pack is actually pretty nice with two well articulated Stormtroopers and the giant Wookiee Warriors.  Although you have to suffer another Darth Vader repack figure.  Overall not bad for $20 though.

I can't really get excited over another Jedi Starfighter re-paint but as exclusives go, it's not a bad release.

3-17-2008

Target

Target is having a sale this week on several Star Wars items from both Hasbro and Lego.  Most, if not all, of the Lego sets are about 10% off this week which makes several of them really good buys, especially some of the $10 army builder sets.

Select Hasbro items are also about 10% off including the role play lightsabers, Starfighter line of vehicles, key chains, Unleashed, Transformers and Titanium.

The regular figures and comic 2-packs were not on sale and neither were the bobble heads or Mighty Muggs.  At least there were no signs for them and I didn't scan them.  I don't recall if the Battle Packs or Evolution sets were marked down but since there was nothing new it wasn't of much importance. 

But, combine the sale with the $5 Target coupon that's out now and you could get some good deals.

The Force Unleashed

I found the two of the figures from the new The Force Unleashed wave this week; the Evo Trooper and Juno Eclipse.  The Evo Troper is really a nice figure.  Plenty of detail and articulation, especially in the hips, that works much better than on other trooper figures.

The Eclipse figure is the same sculpt as the Deena Shan figure from the comic packs so while it's a nice figure, nothing earth shattering with it.  Too bad both characters were blonde as now they're basically the same figure with different color outfits.  A head change or something would have been nice.  The Eclipse figure does have a better paint job on the eyes and lips, however, making it the slightly better figure.

These were found at Wal-Mart pegged among a huge assortment of Saga Legends figures and a handful of 2008 TAC figures.  Not sure if I missed the rest of the wave or if they only stocked what would fit.  I'll be keeping my eyes open for the rest of the wave. 

3-14-2008

Sideshow

In last night's newsletter, Sideshow posted a link to a preview of their latest polystone diorama; Padme vs Nexu.

Look for additional information and ordering info in upcoming newsletters.

If you're interested in more information on the recently shipped Premium Format Biker Scout, head over to Sideshow's web site and check out the March 11th podcast.

3-13-2008

Hasbro

Hasbro was scheduled to do a Q&A session last Friday but it was pushed back until yesterday.  As always, some interesting news.

According to an answer about figure count for this year it seems we can expect 55 figures between the TAC and new The Legacy Collection (TLC) coming in July.  There are two waves of TAC figures plus the first two waves of TLC that were shown at Toy Fair.  The rest, 24 figures, have not been seen yet but will include at least one re-paint wave which replaces a wave that has been pushed to 2009.  The Droid Factory waves will include four astromech droids and four protocol droids.  It's going to be a busy second half of the year.

Per Hasbro, retailers such as Toys-R-Us are looking at plans for a possible midnight madness type promo for the debut of the new Clone Wars figures on July 26th.  Stay tuned for additional info.

Also cleared up, lightsaber blade colors for the Imperial Knights from the Legacy comic pack coming later this year.  While they were shown with red blades at Toy Fair they will actually come with clear/silver blades which is more accurate to the comic.

Thanks to a comic 2-pack question by ActionFigs.com, Hasbro has confirmed that within a year we should see an Exar Kun figure.

Following up on a JediTempleArchives.com question about Vader and an Emperor hologram, which was then confirmed at Toy Fair, Hasbro announced details on this San Diego Comic-Con exclusive.  It will be an existing Vader figure with a new holo Emperor bust.  It comes on a base with light and sounds.  It's a HasbroToyShop.com exclusive and will be available after the convention online.

Editorial

I'm going to take ActionFigs.com to task on a question they submitted this week that concerns the realistic vs animated style of figures in the new Clone Wars line.  In this week's Q&A,  ActionFigs.com (AF.com) asked why Hasbro decided to go with a more animated style when they've "said in the past that you were done with animated figures."  Hasbro answered that they had referred to the previous animation style of the figures based on the Tartakovsky cartoon when they said no more animation. 

AF.com then added an editors note quoting answers from Hasbro on 6/9/06, 6/16/06 and 4/17/2007 where Hasbro said they would use realistic styling for any figures based on the Clone Wars cartoon in the future.

What AF.com failed to do was note that each of those answers were specifically directed at questions about the Tartakovsky Clone Wars style and not the 2008 Clone Wars style.  In fact, on 8/17/2007 the question was asked by The Phantom Universe:

That's the only question I could find where Hasbro directly responded to the style of the 2008 Clone Wars action figures.  I'm not sure what AF.com was trying to imply by adding that editor's note; were they trying to show that Hasbro had changed their stance or that they had caught Hasbro in a lie?  Something else?

With the failure of a lot of collectors to recognize the difference between Hasbro's answer to the Tartakovsky-style figures and the new ones, it's even more of a head scratcher that a fan site would post something like this that can do nothing but fuel misinformed reader's disappointment (even anger in some cases) over a perceived slight by Hasbro on the Clone Wars line.

I've never been one to give Hasbro a blanket pass on crappy figures, toys or line decisions but the anger over what some feel was a lie about the style of the new Clone Wars line is completely misplaced.  I'm not sure if this miscommunication is due to a lack of reading comprehension by fans posting on forums, editor notes such as the one at AF.com this week or just pure fan anger over not getting what they want this year.  I do know that Hasbro never lied to us and as far as I can tell, never mislead us into believing we were going to get something other than what was shown at Toy Fair.

Personally, I love the look of the new figures and I'm happy to see Hasbro take a gamble on Clone Wars.  I can't wait to see these figures in retail stores.

Target

Target stores are scheduled for a new end cap set beginning the weekend of March 23rd.  This end cap should hold the new The Force Unleashed battle pack, Assault on Kashyyyk, as well as Aayla Secura's Jedi Starfighter and two Galactic Heroes Cinema Scenes, Endor and Mustafar.  I'm not positive if the The Force Unleashed Rancor BP is going to be part of this end cap or not.

But, don't wait till the 23rd, as the Starfighter, Assault on Kashyyyk and the GH Cinema Scenes have been found in a few places already.

Starting this coming Sunday, March 16th, Target will also be having a sale on select Star Wars toys including the The Force Unleashed lightsaber and Lego Hailfire Droid set. 

3-12-2008

Hallmark

The 2008 ornaments from Hallmark have been announced and it looks like we're getting more dioramas. Well, one anyway; Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker from the final duel on the Death Star II.

The others include an Emperor seated on his chair, also from Return of the Jedi, an Imperial Shuttle and a mini pack with a Death Star II and Star Destroyer.

There's no mention of a limited edition this year as there was last year with the Tusken Raider.  Look for these to debut in July during Hallmark's ornament premiere which is probably either the weekend of the 12th or 19th.

3-7-2008

Gentle Giant

Gentle Giant has updated their blog today with ordering details for the General Obi-Wan Kenobi in Clone armor mini bust.  For those of you that own the Obi-Wan statue you can pick this up from GG for half price as long as you fill out a form and send it in along with photos of the statue's edition number and Certificate of Authenticity.

All of the instructions and the form are on Gentle Giant's web site.  Owners of the statue have until September 30, 2008 to submit for their bust.

The edition size for the mini bust is 5,000 pieces with 2,500 set aside for the redemption program.  The other 2,500 pieces will be for sale directly from GG's web site and through their retail partners.

WizKids

March 5th was the official launch day for the new Order 66 expansion set of WizKids' PocketModels game.  The Order 66 set includes two Republic Gunship models and as I mentioned the other day I pulled one of them in a booster pack that I bought at Target.

The Gunship is ship card 09 and is from the 127th Gunship Wing.  The ship has some pretty good detail on it and it was a challenge to put together.  Matter of fact, some of the pieces on the ship are kind of fragile so if you're assembling these be careful with them and test fit the parts where possible.

I haven't been playing the PocketModel game so the stats for the ships are kind of lost on me.  Still, this was a fun ship to put together and it'll fit into the collection nicely.  There's a second ship, as I mentioned, that's card 16 of the set and is a rare so I'll be looking to trade for that one if possible.

AT-AT Driver

Besides the WizKids Gunship model I was also able to add an item to my AT-AT Driver collection this week.  Thanks to a fellow PSWCS member who helped me out, I now have a white bordered AT-AT Driver card from the Decipher CCG game.

I already had the black bordered and Japanese language versions of the card but it's always fun to add another variant.  I realized after I took the photos that you can't see the border very well but if you look at the top and bottom you can see it.  Big thanks to Pete for hooking me up with this card.

3-3-2008

Hasbro

If you're interested in the Galactic Heroes Millennium Falcon it's out now.  This is a Wal-Mart exclusive and I believe it was $34 and change.  I found it on an end cap at my local store but it might be stocked with the regular figures in other store.

3-2-2008

WizKids

The next release in the PocketModel TCG game is Order 66 and it's out now!  At least at some stores.  It's scheduled for a March 5, 2008 release but booster packs have been showing up in some Target stores.

I found a gravity feed display box last night at a Target in Elmira, NY and picked up a couple packs.  Some of the cards are cool, including the #60 card which is foil and has a picture of Yoda.  One of the ship cards I got was of a Republic Gunship, the main reason I bought the boosters, so I was pretty happy with that.

It doesn't look like either the WizKids or PocketModel Community websites have full set lists up yet so I'm not sure if there is more than one Gunship in the set or if the new stickers are used to make new squadrons.

But, if you collect the PocketModel TCG be on the lookout for these this week.

3-1-2008

Acme Archives

Acme has debuted three new pieces of art.

The first piece is a giclee from Sam Fout who also did "The Don" and "Mos Eisley Wise Guys."  This one is titled "Vader's Angels" and shows Boba Fett, Bossk and IG-88.  The print is limited to 350 pieces and is $95 or you can order it framed for $229.  As with many items direct from Acme, this print offers free shipping.

The other two pieces are from a new artist to Acme named Grant Searcey.  His first piece is a giclee on canvas called "Arrival" and depicts Yoda on Dagobah.  It's limited to 95 pieces and is $375.

His second piece is called "Droid Distraction" and is a giclee on paper.  It's limited to 150 pieces and is $175.

Neither of the Searcey prints have framed options.  All three prints are available for order now and all are listed as in stock.

Hasbro

Reports are in that the Saga Legends 501st Trooper using the ROTS-41 SA body has been found at retail.  Specifically at Wal-Mart. 

The Force Unleashed wave of figures is also hitting more widely.  Joe K. of the PSWCS reported finding them in Pennsylvania

Sideshow

Sideshow announced the edition sizes for two more items this week.  The first is the "Duel of the Fates" diorama.  It's edition size has been set at 1,250 pieces.  The new Darth Sidious 1:1 bust has been set at 750 pieces.

The most recent shipping notices have gone out for the Premium Format Scout Trooper and Padme Ilum.  Some people have already received their Padme figures so keep an eye out for that package to show up soon if you ordered one.

If you're interested in seeing more photos of the recently debuted General Obi-Wan Kenobi then head over to Sideshow's site for a new 360 QTVR feature.