5-30-2007

Celebration IV

We're back from Celebration IV with a ton of photos, video and updates big and small.  It's going to take a day or so to get all the photos organized and posted but I'll be doing smaller updates as I'm working on them.

Make sure to stop back all this week as we load new features and photo galleries!

5-21-2007

Celebration IV PSWCS Freebies

If you're attending Celebration IV this coming weekend make sure to stop by the PSWCS.com booth in the Fan Fair hall for your chance to win a raffle and pick up your exclusive CIV patch.

The patch is limited to 500 pieces.  Each member of the PSWCS will have an allotment of patches to give out so if you miss it, stop back later for another shot.

Also, while you are at the booth, enter to win a custom carded, vintage Luke Skywalker.  The raffle is open to everyone and it's free.

5-20-2007


Wave 5 TAC

Hasbro

EntertainmentEarth.com scoops everyone, including Hasbro themselves, with photos of the 5th wave of 30th Anniversary figures. 

This wave is has a ton of great stuff in it including three each Clone Wars and Expanded Universe figures, a McQuarrie concept and a much-requested original trilogy Jabba's Palace alien.

Hermi Odle makes his first appearance in the Star Wars line and he looks really great.  This is one of the last aliens I really had on my "must have" list.  Backing him up from the Jabba scene is a nice looking C-3PO with a Salacious Crumb figure that appears to have some nice articulation.

The three Clone Wars figures, Anakin, Roron Corobb and Yoda, all look well done.  Anakin, at first glance, looks to be based on the Jedi vs Sith battle pack from 2005 (and returning this year) but I don't know for sure.  If it is, it's had a lot of retooling done.  I expected Roron to be based on the 2006 TSC Momaw Nadon figure but after looking at him he appears to be all new, including his head sculpt.  Can't tell on Yoda but one thing is for sure, the kybuck is new and looks brilliant.

Moving on to the Expanded Universe we get the Fan's Choice Darth Revan along with Malak, both from "Knights of the Old Republic."  The third is a pre-cyborg version of General Grievous when he was called Qymaen jai Sheeelal, I believe.

The McQuarrie figure is Starkiller Hero.  This was originally rumored to be Luke Skywalker but instead is the female character from McQuarrie's art that showed our 5 heroes in their original incarnation.

Rounding out Wave 5 are Darth Vader and Stormtrooper, both added from an earlier wave (Possibly Wave 3).

Overall this is an extremely well done set of figures.  I'm totally impressed and can't wait to see them.  We weren't expecting to see these figures till Celebration IV but we all know how that goes.  Still, I'm looking forward to seeing Wave 6 and, possibly, Wave 7 at CIV so hopefully we'll get a look at the McQuarrie Snowtrooper and Han Solo as well as the A-Wing pilot and some Ewoks.

Celebration IV

It's almost here!  I'll be leaving on Monday afternoon for the trip while our flight actually leaves at 7:00am on Tuesday.  I may sneak in one more update for tomorrow but look for updates to the CIV Blog from Los Angeles beginning on Tuesday evening. 

If everything works right we're prepared to bring both photos and updates from the con floor beginning Thursday so stay tuned!

Around the Toy Aisle

Remember to stop by your local Target store if you're looking to stock up on the Order 66 2-packs.  They're at 30% off right now in a lot of stores and if they're anything like mine, they pulled a bunch of cases out of the back.

The newest wave of comic 2-packs are starting to hit shelves and, hopefully, we'll be seeing more regular updates of TAC Wave 2 and the new vehicles, V-Wing and Sith Infiltrator.

5-18-2007

Target

If you're looking for discounted Order 66 2-packs at Target you may be in luck.  Last night I found an endcap at my local store with well over 100 sets marked 30% off or $6.98. 

I picked up openers of Thire, Airborne Trooper and AT-RT driver.  I'll probably snag 3 more AT-RT drivers this weekend just so I don't miss out while I'm at CIV.

Hopefully when I get back they'll have some marked at 50% off, or greater, and they'll have some Windu/Galactic Marine sets left.  I'd love to get about a dozen of those troopers loose.

Mello Smello

Mello Smello will have 4 exclusive posters available for sale at CIV.  They're $75 each but if you buy two you get a third for free.  Mellow Smello is known for their 3D or flip posters that have multiple pictures depending on how you tilt them.

I'll have to check them out but at that price I think I'll be passing on these.

Master Replicas

On the heels of their announcement that their license for Star Wars will expire at the end of the year, MR yesterday announced that they will not have a booth at CIV.

That's huge news.  The scheduled exclusives will now be offered on-line rather than at the show.  They are still holding their party Saturday night and will include the lightsaber duels rather than have them included during the regular show activities.

Disney

Star Wars Weekends at Disney this year will have five very cool exclusive figures, the Cantina Band!  Each figure will be individually carded, come with their instrument and a base that plays the cantina band music.

This looks to be a very cool set!  I'm undecided if I want a set carded or if I want them as openers...I'll have to think about it.

5-16-2007

Master Replicas

Huge news last night, Master Replicas, now a part of Corgi, has notified Lucasfilm that they will not be renewing their license at the end of this year.

That's huge news what with MR just obtaining the Riddell mini helmet molds and getting into the scaled blasters last year to go along with their scaled lightsaber offerings.

And don't forget that they're hosting a party on Saturday night at Celebration IV.  Apparently Lucasfilm and Corgi couldn't agree on a contract and just like that it might be over.

Lots of speculation on what might happen with announced items that were scheduled for later this year.

Hasbro

RebelScum.com received a report yesterday that the VTAC figures have been found in a Phoenix Target.  Hope you weren't expecting a break in the hunt.

5-15-2007

Celebration IV

One week from today is when we leave for Star Wars Celebration IV.  We fly out of Philadelphia Tuesday morning to get things running in LA.

With all of the work going into the final details I'll only have a few updates here and on the blog.  For the latest announcements about Celebration keep an eye on StarWars.com.

And don't forget to hit the blog beginning next Tuesday when I should begin posting live updates from LA as we get started on all the festivities!

Acme Archives

Whether you are attending Celebration IV or not, Acme Archives has good news for you on the Grand Moff Tarkin Character Key.

Today, Tuesday May 15, non-attendees will be able to purchase keys from an allotment of 200 that are set aside for them.  The pre-sales go up at 1:00PM EST.

If you are attending CIV then you can pre-order beginning Thursday, May 17th, also at 1:00PM EST.  Any keys not sold during these pre-sales will be available at the convention.

The pre-orders are on their own page which can be found here; Celebration IV Exclusive Grand Moff Tarkin Character key.

Saga Legends

RebelScum.com reported last week that there will be a running change to two of the figures in the 2007 Saga Legends line.

The first is the 501st Clone Trooper.  The initial run will be using the AT-TE Gunner figure and then change to the ROTS-41 Super Articulated version.

The Sandtrooper will also have a change.  Initial figures will not have the Evolutions sculpt, I think it will be the TSC sculpt.  It will change to the Evo sculpt along the way.  There is also another change as well.  Both the white and orange pauldron figures will be coming out.

Lego

It seems to have been confirmed that there will be a new AT-AT set coming later this year.  The set number is reported as 10178 but no other details are out yet.

Titanium

Be on the lookout for the newest wave of Titanium vehicles which include re-paints of the B-Wing, ARC-170, Turbo Tank and Obi-Wan's Starfighter.  The wave also includes the new V-Wing and Plo Koon's Jedi Starfighter with Hyperdrive ring and it's been found in the wild.

Hasbro

Last Friday Hasbro chimed in with more answers to questions and, as usual, a few new tidbits were released.

The biggest news is that the McQuarrie figure slated for wave 4, originally mentioned as Luke, will actually be the female character from McQuarrie's artwork also depicting R2, C-3PO, Chewy and the Han Solo-type character.  She will be named "Starkiller Hero."  Also, it appears that there will be 12 total McQuarrie figures so it seems we may be seeing more exclusives, probably at San Diego.  There are 8 figures confirmed for regular release: Stormtrooper, Boba Fett, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, Starkiller Hero, Snowtrooper, Han Solo and Rebel Trooper.  Add Luke at CIV for 9 and depending on how you count, R2 and C-3PO could be 10 or 10 & 11.  So we should see one or two more figures.

4-LOM will be an all new figure this year and we should see new details at Celebration IV.

There are plans for a classic Battlestar Galactica vehicle for the Titanium line but we won't see it this year.  The Galactica line of vehicles is doing well for Hasbro so we should continue to see vehicles sprinkled through the Titanium line.

Finally it looks as if the SA Qui-Gon Jinn and Bothan spy that have been mentioned have been pushed out to 2008.  I've waited 8 years for a decent Qui-Gon figure, I can wait one more year but, please, don't screw it up Hasbro!

5-8-2007

Hasbro

Since the Force Unleashed wave of figures originally slated for this year were pushed back till 2008, Hasbro has developed a replacement wave of re-paint figures.

RebelScum.com reported on them yesterday after the list was leaked in the forums. 

There  are seven figures in the wave and four of them constitute new characters.

  • Holographic Darth Vader
  • R2-B1
  • Clone Trooper (brown deco)
  • Naboo Soldier (red suit)
  • Rebel Vanguard
  • Clone Trooper (Animated Clone Wars)
  • Pax Bonkik

Pax Bonkik, Clone Wars Clone Trooper, Rebel Vanguard and the Naboo Soldier are the new characters.  R2-B1 is a repaint of the R4-G9 body, the brown deco Clone is a ROTS-41 version of a figure released in ROTS Clone Trooper Army 3-pack and the Vader is a POTJ Dagobah repaint.

I updated the TAC Checklist and added these in at the end as they'll probably be the final wave of the year rather than releasing in November when the Force Unleashed wave was originally slated.

Target

Target was flooded with new action figures last night.  There were multiple cases of the first wave of TAC figures.  I counted 8 or 9 McQuarrie Stormtroopers and over 16 Galactic Marines...I didn't have the heart to count the R2-D2 figures, though.

Not only did they stock a butt load of TAC figures they also packed out the TSC pegs with refreshed product.  They had been selling down TSC figures and I believed that they were getting ready to phase them out in favor of expanding to more than 2 pegs for TAC.  I guess I was off base.

There were multiple Elite Clone Troopers, Darth Vader, Combat Engineers and Luke Skywalker (with poncho) figures mixed in with Mars Guo and Dud Bolt, holo Obi-Wan, Yarael Poof, Apo, Battle Droids and R4-K5 droids.  I think I saw some early Han Solo figures in there as well a lone Scorch and several Utapau Clones.  The Clone Sergeant and 442nd Siege Battalion were both out again but only one figure each. 

I picked up two Elite Clone Troopers and the 442nd figure.  I could have used those extra Utapau troops as well as the Combat Engineers but passed.  I was hoping for another Firespeeder Pilot as I probably should have picked up a couple more when they were available.

I was pretty happy seeing the Elites again as I needed a couple more.  I wished there had been more 442nd Siege Battalion troops, though.

I rounded out my purchases by picking up a Vader/Bow Order 66 2-pack to open.  I bought the set at retail but I'm kind of hoping for clearance on them in the next week or so as I want to  open at least two Obi-Wan/AT-RT sets and I'd love to add about an even dozen of Mace's Galactic Marines.

5-7-2007

Around the Toy Aisle

Several cool things popped up over the weekend between the local Target and Wal-Mart stores. 

I found the V-Wing and Infiltrator at two different WM stores and at Target.  All three stores also stocked the newest wave of Transformers including the Republic Gunship and new Jedi Starfighter with Hyperdrive ring.

I also found the second wave of Thirtieth Anniversary Collection figures at Wal-Mart.  They only have Han, Luke and the Death Star Trooper but I picked them all up.

Target finally restocked on the Galactic Heroes figures and they also have a decent stock of Unleashed Battle Packs.  Both Wal-Marts had plenty of TSC figures with a mixture of both early figures (Boba Fett) and late (Combat Engineer).  No 442nc Siege Battalion figures, though, or I would have picked them up.

Gentle Giant

If you are going to Celebration IV and are looking to pre-order your busts, rumor has it that Thursday, May 10th is the day.  More info as it becomes available.

Topps

If you like sketch cards then the newest set of Topps trading cards is for you.  The 30th Anniversary Trading Card set from Topps will have over 25 artists contributing cards.

StarWars.com updated late last week with a look at some of the sketch cards from one artist, Amy Pronovost.  Head over and check it out.

StarWarsShop.com

The SWS.com exclusive Lego Boba Fett Maquette has had its edition size set at 1,500 pieces.  You can see photos of it and put in a pre-order now for the maquette which will ship in September and rings in at $64.99.

5-4-2007

Hasbro

Found the new Sith Infiltrator and V-Wing Starfighter at the local Wal-Mart last night. 

I only opted to pick up the V-Wing for now and I have to say that it's a very cool toy.  Plenty of play features, the cockpit will easily hold a figure and the deco and detail is outstanding.

The wing mechanism works really well both with the wings folding out when the engine is pressed and when pulling them out from the body of the vehicle.  The firing missiles work smoothly although, as usual, they don't have very much power or distance.

The built-in Astromech is basically just a head...not overly exciting.  I'll have to look for some screen captured photos or some other reference shots later because there are two wings above the cockpit that just seem out of place and odd, for lack of better description.

Overall I think it's one of the best vehicles Hasbro has put out in a while.  For the $20 price of the Starfighter line there's a done of stuff going on with this ship.  I'm almost certain I'll add a second to the collection later down the road (after I get my hands on the Sith Infiltrator!).  Hasbro hit this one out of the park!

Now if they'd release a couple more grey ROTS Clone Pilots in a Battle Pack or carded then I could staff up my Gunships and the V-Wing.

Free Comic Book Day

Tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day so be sure to stop by your local comic shop and pick up some reading material.  There aren't any Star Wars comics this year but I believe that stores should have a small amount of Star Wars Wizards of the Coast minis to hand out.

5-2-2007


R2-D2 Kiriko
Glassware

Kotobukiya

Kotobukiya adds a really cool exclusive collectible to their Celebration IV booth, R2-D2 Kiriko Glassware.

The etched glassware uses a traditional Japanese technique called Kiriko.  The glass is limited to 200 pieces and will be available for $35 at Kotobukiya's booth at Celebration IV.

If you're stopping by for the ARTFX Yoda statue, snatch one of these up as well!

Hasbro

According to a report over at RebelScum.com Hasbro is bringing back a couple Battle Packs. 

On the positive front, one of them is the Jedi vs Sith pack which had three new figures of Asajj Ventress, Obi-Wan (with Clone armor) and Anakin Skywalker.  General Grievous and Yoda repacks round out the set.  It's not a bad set and was kind of tough to find back in 2005.

The other set, Jedi vs Darth Sidious, is kind of an odd choice as this set is currently on clearance at the local Target store.  Since everything in this pack, except for some Jedi robe accessories, was released on single cards in 2005 as well as the Battle Pack in 2006 it's a head scratcher.

5-1-2007

Episode 1 Mini Figures

Back in 1999 when Hasbro was flooding the market with Episode 1 figures they decided that some foreign (to the US) markets needed different offerings than the standard CommTech Chips.

That's what led to the Bonus Battle Droid and Pit Droid sets as well a very cool set of mini figures for the Asian market.  Sold mainly in South East Asia and Australia, the set consists of eight carded figures, a Naboo Starfighter set and a limited edition Gift Set.

After eight years of searching, I finally completed my set after purchasing a boxed Gift Set.  That set, limited to 25,000 pieces, was sold in Toys-R-Us and Big-W stores in Australia and other stores in Asia.

You can check out the full set on the Episode 1 Mini Figure Collection page.