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4-30-2007Hasbro Q&AFriday's release of the 29th version of their Q&A series, as always, provided some new details on upcoming items. Hasbro confirmed that we'll see a pre-cyborg Grievous figure later this year when they answered a question about his articulation. They also confirmed that we'll be seeing a Baron Fel figure this year and that he's in the Rogue Squadron comic 2-pack. The exclusive TIE Interceptor from Toys-R-Us will have figured packed in but it won't be Fel. They have also said that we can look forward to those 2-packs into 2008 as long as they have fan support at retail. Baron Fel's name leaked when Hasbro posted photos of the figure stands that will be available beginning at Celebration IV. Following up on that info, Hasbro let's us know that the name stickers will be clear with silver lettering so that they'll match up with the printed stands that we've become used to with The Saga Collection figures. One of the downers, for some, is the announcement that the rumored Luke Skywalker McQuarrie figure in Wave 5 of TAC is not true. There will be no Luke Skywalker McQuarrie figure in the regular release, you're going to need the Celebration IV figure. The Wave 5 McQuarrie figure will be announced at CIV, however. Also on the McQuarrie front, it appears there are no plans for a Princess Leia in the line. Republic Gunship
I took the opportunity this weekend to add some new photos to the Republic Gunship page. I took some loose photos of the newest 3" Titanium vehicle as well as the loose Transformer figure I picked up a couple weeks ago. I have to get some photos of the new Ultra Titanium version from Toys-R-Us but I'm having problems getting boxed pictures and I'd like to do that before I open it. I'll see what I can do this week. Collector's ProfilePSWCS member Bob Raspet has an article coming in a collectibles magazine and we have a preview. I've asked Bob for some more details on the magazine and I'll update when I get those. This is a big download, about 11MB, and it's in PDF format. Master ReplicasToday at Noon EST Master Replicas Collectors Society members will be able to put in their pre-orders for the new A New Hope Stormtrooper helmet. If you're not a Society member then your pre-order will be tomorrow, May 1st. 4-27-2007Target ClearanceThe local Target store had 30% clearance prices on all of their Battle Packs ($13.98), the TAC Darth Vader w/ Coin Album ($6.98) and Star Wars and Transformers Attactix boosters ($3 something). They must have pulled all of the Battle Packs out of the back room because the normal shelf spot was full and there were more on a back endcap. It's an odd clearance as far as the Battle Packs are concerned because none of them are exclusive and I thought that Target, and other stores, would be carrying them all summer. SideshowSideshow had two announcements last night. The first is that they will start processing the Celebration IV orders next week. The second is the announcement of two San Diego Comic-Con exclusive items. In the 1/6 scale they will have a holographic Darth Sidious with mechno-chair as seen in Episode 1 and the Clone Wars cartoon. They will also have a Black Hole Stormtrooper VCD. Neither have prices listed yet but I'd guess the VCD will be similar to the past releases. The Sidious I'm not sure on. If it's an accessory like the Dejarik set it'll probably be around $50 but more if it's larger. ) Kustomz Scout Trooper Gentle GiantGentle Giant has finally shown photos of two new items that were originally shown to attendees of Toy Fair back in February. The first is a Han Solo animated maquette. Priced at $80.00 it's in the style of the previous OT maquette releases. The second is from a new line of rotocast vinyl figures called Kustomz. The first entry, priced at $69.99, is a Scout Trooper on Speederbike. Also announced is a Han Solo statue, priced at $175.00, which will be 1/6 scale. No photo is shown so we'll be looking forward to that. All of the items are slated for a late 2007 release. 4-26-200730th Anniversary Celebrations) If you live in the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania and can't make it to Celebration IV, don't worry, you can still celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars with your friends. On the weekend of May 12 and 13 at the Sellersville Museum, local PSWCS member Brad Kulp will be displaying a portion of his large collection. Admission is free although the museum does accept donations. The display will be open from noon till 4:00 P.M. Look for vintage and modern toys, props games and all sorts of R2-D2 memorabilia! Father's Day 2-packRebelscum.com has hi-rez photos of the new Father's Day 2-pack of Vader and Luke. I'm not overly impressed with the set. It has terrible Saga Vader and Luke figures, the packaging is kind of boring and looks nothing like the rest of the 30th Anniversary stuff on shelves now. Well, actually the front art is kind of nice, but still... Go check it out. HasbroThe newest issue of Lee's Toy Review has photos of three new comic 2-packs including A'sharad Hett w/ Dark Woman, Vader w/ Leia and Luke with a new Mara Jade. They look really well done and I'm in for all three sets! The Force in the FleshShane Turgeon's book "The Force in the Flesh," a coffee table book on Star Wars tattoos, is done and ready for pre-order. It will be officially released on May 24th at Celebration IV. Check out Shane's web site for more information on the book. 4-25-2007Master ReplicasI forgot to post this but if you are in the market for the new .45 scaled helmets, based on Riddell's old molds, the first wave is now on sale. Included in this wave of ordering are Boba Fett, Luke Skywalker and the Stormtrooper. These three are the most popular, and expensive, from the Riddell line. The MR versions look to be very similar but may have updated stands. They are up for pre-order now for $49.99 each. HasbroThings are looking good financially for Hasbro. They turned in a 34% revenue jump for the first quarter of 2007. That adds up to $625.3 million. Spider-Man 3 gets the nod for most of that increase but the entire Marvel license will probably help them out with Fantastic 4 still to come this year. Other good producers include Littlest Pet Shop, Playskool, Nerf, Play-Dog and board games. No mention of Star Wars but with Christmas over and the 30th Anniversary Collection not up to speed yet I'm not surprised. We'll have to look back when the second quarter is done to see if it picks up. ToppsThe new issue of Previews magazine has the first promo for the new 30th Anniversary card collection. It looks to be a cool photo of Vader as he first enters the Rebel Blockade Runner at the beginning of A New Hope. I'll have to hit the bookstore this week. The Making of Star WarsJ.W. Rinzler's newest book, "The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film," is now on sale. There are two editions, a hard cover for about $75 and softcover for $35. Amazon currently has the hardcover edition for $45 with free shipping. Mad MagazineIt's a good time for book and magazine collectors! Mad Magazine is putting out a book this fall that contains all of the Star Wars spoofs that have been in "MAD Magazine." Amazon has a pre-order up for it but no photo or much info on it yet. Look for this in October. 4-23-2007TargetThe local Target store finally restocked the Star Wars Titanium vehicles. There was a case of the wave which included Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter with Hyperdrive ring, Maul on Speeder, Grievous' Starfighter, the Rebel Blockade Runner and Anakin's modified JSF among others. I'm not sure if I'd seen the Blockade Runner before but it looked well done so I picked it up. I had the rest of the vehicles that I wanted from that wave so I passed on them. Also new to the shelf were the Hailfire Droid, white TIE Fighter, Vader's Jedi Starfighter and AAT Tank. Someone also hit the figure pegs hard this weekend. They sold through a bunch more of The Saga Collection figures as well as some of the Unleashed Battle Packs. Not much movement on the 3.75" figure Battle Packs. I need to pick up one of the Capture of the Tantive IV sets, though, for the Stormtroopers and Rebel Fleet Troopers. Yoda's NewsIf you're looking for up to date news, contests and links to some of the better e-tailers then head over to YodasNews.com!
4-19-2007HasbroLast Friday we had some answers from Hasbro that were kind of interesting. The first bomb that dropped had to do with the CIV exclusive figures. Per Hasbro, the R2 and C-3PO 2-pack will be turned over to GenCon for distribution. That means that we won't know if leftover stock, if any, will be available on-line after the con. Since Hasbro controls the Luke figure he may be available, but Hasbro hasn't committed to that yet. Some single packed Galactic Heroes figures will be available later this year at stores like Family Dollar and Big Lots. No currently shipping characters will be included. Hasbro all but green lit a Captain Needa figure sometime in the next two years. SideshowIf your ordered the Endor Rebel Soldiers then you're in luck, they are shipping now. The Yavin Luke Skywalker figure, which is a CIV exclusive, has sold out. If you didn't get your order make sure to get on the wait list for it. With an edition of about 6,000 I don't think he's going to be a hard piece to add, though. Gentle GiantIf you like those robed scavengers from Tatooine then you'll be happy to know that the Jawa bust 2-pack will have an edition size of 7,000 pieces. They're going to retail for a little higher price than a lot of other busts. With an edition size that large you might want to wait for these to come down. ToppsTopps is getting ready to release what looks to be a really nice set of cards to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Star Wars. The hobby sets will include autograph and sketch chase cards and the set will have 120 cards. It looks to be a cool set and I may even order a box. FunkoIf you like bobbleheads then you're going to be happy that Funko, the king of the bobblehead, now has the Star Wars license. Look for 7" wobblers and 12" Bobble Banks. There will also be some Bobble Ships which are vehicles with a bobblehead driver sticking out of the top. Rancho Obi-WanIf you've been enjoying Steve Sansweet's tours of Rancho Obi-Wan then head over to StarWars.com to download part 6. In this part Steve looks at school supplies from around the world. 4-18-2007Toy RunOn Saturday I made a few stops around Binghamton, NY to see what was around and I thought I'd recap. Target had all of wave 1 of TAC figures except the McQuarrie Stormtrooper. TAC Vader with coin album was also there. They also had a couple Titanium vehicles and the non-exclusive Battle Packs. Some older Transformers and one or two packs of Galactic Heroes. Some of the new TAC Unleashed Battle Packs were on the shelf but I think they were all wave 1. Plenty of role play blasters and lightsabers (in both electronic and non-electronic format). They also had multiples of all 6 of the Order 66 Battle Packs. Wal-Mart was pretty picked over on figures but they did have 1 each of the TAC Lava Miner and Obi-Wan. The TSC figures left on the shelf were almost all the Naboo soldier. They had some vehicles like the white TIE and Saesee Tiin's JSF, role play items, Vader TAC w/ coin album and some older Transformers. No Galactic Heroes. More wave 1 TAC Unleashed Battle Packs and a bunch of Titanium vehicles that date to about the Invisible Hand wave (including two Paploo on speederbike). There were a few of their exclusive 2-packs of TSC figures but they all had lame figures in them like the 2006 Gungan, Endor Soldier or the Pod Racers. TRU had probably the best picking other than action figures. They have Endor AT-AT vehicles, Dagobah X-Wing and TIE Fighters. Galactic Heroes Battle Packs, $20 vehicles like Hailfire Droid, AAT Tank, white TIE and sever different JSF vehicles. They had both wave 1 and 2 of the TAC Unleashed Battle Packs, plenty of Attacktix boosters with the ROTJ figures like Scout Trooper, ERG, etc. A lot of Titanium vehicles were on the shelf from the wave with Invisible Hand, Grievous' Starfighter and the Dewback, Maul on speeder, Paploo on speederbike and even an ERG TIE Interceptor. They also had some of the Classic Viper from the Battlestar Galactica line. No new Ultra Titanium exclusives, though. They had the non-exclusive TAC Battle Packs in abundance. On the figure front it was extremely disappointing. They had 1 TAC Obi-Wan Kenobi while for TSC figures they had over a dozen Naboo Soldiers and 1 Death Star Gunner....and that was it. I did make my best score at TRU, however. They had 1 each of the new wave of Transformers so I bought the Republic Gunship! It's actually a pretty nice vehicle compared to some that I've seen like Grievous. I don't even know how TRU could have ordered enough cases to get that many Naboo soldiers but there they were. Overall the hunting was a little better than it has been locally, at least as far as items that aren't action figure related. I was most psyched to add the Gunship Transformer to my focus. I really need to update that photo section, maybe this coming weekend. HasbroThe figure stand packs that Hasbro has mentioned over the past couple of months are one step closer to release. We now have photos and a first glance at the sticker sheets as well as a breakdown of what stands will be in each set. Look at Hasbro's site for the latest. These should be on sale first at Celebration IV in May. I'll be picking up one or two packs probably. If you've been looking forward to the Darth Revan figure coming this year then you won't want to miss the high resolution photo on WizardWorld.com. The deco on this figure is insane. If the production pieces that hit stores look this good then we'll be in for a treat in 2007. I think this figure will definitely be on the Best list when wrap-up time comes in December! Misc.There were a few other things that hit the web since last Thursday that I'll have to catch up on tomorrow including more Hasbro Q&A info, Sideshow and GG updates and cool info on some upcoming trading cards and miniatures! 4-12-2007The Hits Keep ComingIf you like the nostalgia of the 1980's Droids cartoon then you'll like the newest StarWarsShop.com exclusive Boba Fett Mauette. Limited to 1,000 pieces, this maquette will be yet another exclusive to track down. SWS.com will have 700 of them at Celebration IV and 300 at Celebration Europe. Hit up StarWars.com for photos and additional information. HasbroToyWiz.com is reporting that this October will see the release of two multipacks of Battlefront 2 figures. One pack with have six Clone Troopers while the second will have seven droids. The Clone Troopers look to include sculpts for Galactic Marine, Commander, 501st AT-TE sculpt, Airborne Trooper, ROTS-41 and maybe ROTS-06. The droids will have Magna Guard, three different Battle Droids, Super Battle Droid, Destroyer Droid and Power Droid. They're gonna set you back about $40 each but ToyWiz is offering up a set of both for $75. TargetI added a Darth Vader and Commander Bow 2-pack from Target last night. I decided after picking up Obi-Wan and Mace to go ahead and get the set. I'll get the other three sets on payday. I think they look really great and the packaging is incredible! Hasbro really stepped it up for this release. The choice of Clone Trooper sculpts and paint deco is also very cool. Sideshow Today at 1:00 EST is the pre-sale for pick up at Celebration IV of the Ceremony Luke Skywalker. 4-10-2007TargetTarget stocked their exclusive Order 66 2-packs yesterday at my local store. I stopped in about 5:30 to find them on an end cap at the front of the store by the registers. They had all 6 sets but I only picked up Mace with Galactic Marine and Obi-Wan Kenobi with Utapau AT-RT Driver. All of the sets look really great, the packaging is beautiful on these figures. The only weak figure, in my opinion, is the Kasshyyyk Trooper with Yoda. I don't care for the paint apps. I was planning on opening them but haven't brought myself to that yet. As I said, the packaging is pretty awesome looking. I'm thinking I may end up with a set packaged instead of the two or three opened I had originally planned on. I'd love a pair of the AT-RT Drivers and a 6 to 10 man squad of Mace's Marines though! )
HasbroHasbro announced another CIV exclusive figure last night. Available at both CIV and Celebration Europe with exclusive coin will be a McQuarrie Concept Luke Skywalker figure. These will be available on the floor of the convention at the Hasbro Toy Shop booth. No word yet on price or purchase limits. Celebration IVAlso announced last night was another round of Collecting Panels. Check out the Blog for more information and links to the StarWars.com web site. SideshowIf you're after the 1:6 Luke Skywalker figure that Sideshow will have at Celebration IV don't forget that this Thursday is the pre-order for attendees followed by non-attendees on Friday. Toys-R-UsThe exclusive TIE Interceptor vehicle that's coming to TRU later this year appears to belong to the 181st Squadron per the update on their web site. It's up for pre-order now for $34.99 but no pictures are posted yet. JediDefender.com has posted some additional information on their site. 4-7-20072008 Rumor ListGalacticHunter.com updated yesterday morning with some interesting tidbits on possible figures for the 2008 line of action figures. Some have been on rumor lists since late in 2005. There might be a few no-brainer figures on the list but there are a couple of surprises.
Some pretty obscure characters there but the pilot figures could be simple re-paints with new heads while the Tusken Raider and Jawa could be straight repacks/re-paints with new accessories. Ak-Rev with the second half of the drum that's coming this year with Umpass Stay would make a great figure and, I think, pretty much complete Jabba's band. Other figures mentioned:
On the Battle Pack front we could see new packs similar to the current Treachery on Saleucami set. Could include IG Lancer Droids vs Clone Troopers, Durge vs Obi-Wan and possibly a new Speederbike. We'll have to wait an see how it goes but GH has been pretty accurate in the past and, per Hasbro's own announcements, the 2008 line is pretty much set so this could be a leaked list. I expect we'll see confirmation on a couple of these at San Diego Comic-Con if not sooner via a Q&A session. I doubt we'll have much if any info on the 2008 line at Celebration IV. 4-5-2007Gentle GiantThe good news (insert eye roll...) from GG just keeps pouring in. Announced last night on their blog is additional information on each of the Commander busts this summer. The first big news is that the Commander Bacara bust will be coming to the Baltimore Comic-Con on September 8th and 9th. My first question; What about Wizard World Philly which hasn't had an exclusive yet while it's the second longest running WW show? Whatever. Moving on, the news gets better... (ha!) Gree and Cody, the first two US releases, will be pre-order for pick-up while an allotment will be available for first-come, first-served customers at the con. What's held back or left over will be up for raffle after the conventions. Bacara will also have pre-orders and on-site sales with a raffle afterwards. The twist is that some retailers will have a shot at this bust as well. Look for the pre-orders about 2 weeks before the conventions. Neyo and Bly, which are going to Japan and the UK respectively, will have details posted later. However, leftover and held back pieces will also be available via raffle. The final 500 5-packs will have matching edition numbers, which probably means low numbers, and will be raffled off at the end of the convention circuit this year. Also, to clear up some other info, the Spirit of Yoda bust will be a CIV piece along with Darth Malak and Gree. The Yoda and R2 maquette is for all conventions as are the Luke and Han Stormtrooper Bust-Ups 2-pack. It looks as though exhibitors, volunteers and professionals will not be able to buy busts on the floor till the last day of the convention. Badges will be punched for those that order pre-order for pickup and they will not be allowed to buy additional busts. The raffle sales for the Commander busts is the most disappointing piece of news next to the low edition sizes. Having said that, I joined the Premiere Guild yesterday in order to take a shot at those busts as I'm really interested in Cody. But, Baltimore isn't that far... SideshowToday at 1:00 PM EST is when the Space Slug Enviorama goes on sale for pick-up at Celebration IV. 4-4-2007Gentle GiantDislike the exclusive Commander busts at this year's conventions? Wait till you get a load of these edition sizes:
Other editions announced:
We should also see some information coming this week on the Gentle Giant World Tour. Master ReplicasMR announced yesterday that they will be partnering with Acme Archives to offer limited edition lithographs and Giclées. They're kicking off this new partnership by offering a free Giclées with the new Limited Edition Stormtrooper helmet that will go on sale next week. TargetI hadn't seen this posted anywhere, although I didn't check the various forums, but Target is apparently having a sale on action figures and accessories this week. Carded figures were marked down to $5.97, Unleashed Battle Packs were $8 and change and I believe the $20 Starfighter wave is also on sale. My store was out of vehicles but there were rain check tags on the shelf. I think Galactic Heroes were on sale and maybe some of the role play items but I wasn't paying that close attention. The Battle Packs were not on sale though they did have the Tantive IV set on the shelf. Target is also continuing its streak of no new Titanium vehicles for the Star Wars line. I have no idea why but they've had 4 empty pegs for over 4 months now. SideshowDon't forget that this week is the priority pre-order for the Space Slug Enviorama at Celebration IV. Attendees can pre-order on Thursday, April 5th from 1:00PM EST. Non-attendees will have a chance to pre-order on Friday the 6th. 4-3-2007Acme Archives)
Chris from Acme Archives updated the forums last night with a preview of the Celebration IV exclusive Grand Moff Tarkin Character Key. Limited to 1,250 pieces, there should be a pre-sale coming in the next few weeks. No price has been listed yet but I'd assume $30 as most of the recent keys have been priced at that amount. Celebration IV
It's now official, even though we've had rumors for a couple of months that McQuarrie concept figures of C-3PO and R2-D2 would be the CIV exclusives, StarWars.com updated last night and confirmed it. The figures will be on TAC-style cards and will come with a coin that has the CIV logo on the back. Extending the collectiblity on these, they'll also go to Celebration Europe where the coin will have a CE logo on it. While the figures are listed being for "initial retail price only at Star Wars Celebration IV," I hope that they remain exclusive. I have a feeling people will be able to pick these up later on-line which I still don't agree with. HasbroHasbro also announced the second wave of comic 2-packs yesterday. Coming later this spring we should see Quinlan Vos w/ Vilmarh Grahrk, Stormtrooper Luke w/ R2-D2 and Obi-Wan Kenobi w/ ARC Trooper Alpha. I'm in for the Vos and Alpha sets making them the first comic sets I'll buy. 
JediDefender.com reported last night that wave 2 of the TAC figures have been found in Southern California. Hope you didn't want a break. I'm not entirely sure how I missed this announcement but coming later this year in the Galactic Heroes line is a 2-pack with an AT-AT Driver and General Veers! How freakin' cool is that? I figured it was only a matter of time before we saw the AT-AT Driver but I'm really happy to finally see it listed. 4-1-2007HasbroStopped in a Wal-Mart that I don't visit often and found not only the final 5 TSC exclusive figures but also most of the first wave of TAC. They also had the Treachery on Saleucami Battle Pack which I picked up. Titanium was well stocked including Paploo o Speederbike, Jabba's Sail Barge, Maul on Speeder, Grievous' Starfighter and Invisible Hand and Anakin's Clone Wars Jedi Starfighter. Both the classic Viper and Cylon Raider ships were there as well. Not much on the vehicle front but there was one of Saesee Tiin's JSF vehicles. No Unleashed Battle Packs that I recall but there were a handful of Galactic Heroes figures which I just glanced over. Being able to find the exclusive battle pack was awesome as it catches me up again since the only other thing out now that I need are vehicles and they're a wide release. Hasbro Q&AFriday saw the release of the 27th edition of the Hasbro Q&A and, as usual, here are some of the highlights. Episode I fans will be happy to know that Hasbro said "yes" when asked about more representation of that movie's characters in the Galactic Heroes line. Look to Celebration IV for news. The Death Star Briefing and Delta Squad sets sold well enough that Hasbro will do similar sets in the future. Hasbro has confirmed, again, that the UGH figures this year will have gold coins. Look for them some time around July. The announced variation on the TRU Bantha Battle Pack will be darker red/brown colored robes. Think of this as a different clan of Raiders. The Force Unleashed figures have now been pushed to 2008 to coincide with the game and multimedia release. It's unknown at this point if they'll be on TAC cards but Hasbro says that they don't think they will include coins. However, they are still committed to 60 coins for 2007. Does that mean we could see a new wave of TAC figures that so far is unannounced? I guess they could swap release of the early 2008 figures with the TFU figures to get it done. The C-3PO with Salacious Crumb figure (TAC#30) will have a newly sculpted Crumb and C-3PO will have his eye hanging out of his socket recreating the ROTJ scene. The Titanium Battlestar Galactica figures have been cancelled as well since they shipped with the Star Wars figures. |
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