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5-31-2009Ralph McQuarrie
The CGSociety of Digital Arts has awarded Ralph McQuarrie their EXPOSÉ 7 Grand Master award. The CGS is an organization that supports digital artists. They've recognized McQuarrie for his contributions to Star Wars and other films as well as his technical background working for Boeing and NASA. For an interview with Ralph, a look at some of his artwork and more information on CGSociety and the award, head over to their website. Wizard World PhiladelphiaWizard World Philly runs from June 19 - 21st at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. This year is shaping up to be the best yet in the 7 year-old convention. The guest list is going to be huge! For Star Wars fans there are currently three guests of note; Ray Park (Darth Maul), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and Tom Kane (voice of "The Clone Wars'" Yoda). We here at the Holocron are also huge "Star Trek" and "Battlestar Galactica" fans and WW Philly is not letting us down on either front. Marina Sirtis from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" will be in attendance as well as Edward James Olmos and Michael Hogan who played Admiral William Adama and Colonel Saul Tigh on "BSG." If hot girls are your thing, and they are ours, be sure to look for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer's" Anya, Emma Caulfield as well as Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines' T-X, Kristanna Loken. Tickets are on sale now for WW Philly and we're just under three weeks away. Head over to WizardWorld.com for additional guest information, including a huge list of comic creators and artists as well as other actors and actresses. We'll be attending the con on Friday and will have reports over the weekend and will even make an effort for some live updates from the convention floor! 5-29-2009Reading MaterialThere are two interesting books for collectors coming later this year that may make great additions to your library. Super Collector's Wish BookGeoffrey Carlton is set to release the fifth edition of his "Star Wars Super Collector's Wish Book." Amazon.com is pre-selling this right now for $19.77 with a list price of $29.95. According to Geoffrey's website, StarWarsGuide.net, the book is going to press soon. Star Wars: 1,000 CollectiblesSteve Sansweet is also releasing a new book this year titled "Star Wars: 1,000 Collectibles: Memorabilia and Stories from a Galaxy Far, Far Away." This book is scheduled for October and is up for pre-order on Amazon.comm as well for $23.10 with a list price of $35.00. StarWars.com has a nice article on this book which will take a virtual tour through Rancho Obi-Wan, Sansweet's museum to all things Star Wars. For the fans that haven't seen photos of Sansweet's collection, this will be a good opportunity. It also sounds like we may see some photos of rare items that haven't been seen before. HasbroRed 2 X-WingJediDefender.com has a first look at a loose Wedge Antilles Red 2 X-Wing fighter. This has been rumored for a while and some promo photos have surfaced, but this is the first loose look we've had. I don't believe Hasbro has actually confirmed this so it's almost definitely going to be a store exclusive somewhere. We'll probably get more info about it at San Diego Comic-Con. I'm hoping for an affordable price on this as I could use another X-Wing. Luke & RancorrIf you're looking for the Target exclusive Luke Skywalker & Rancor, start hitting your local stores. Reports are in that these packs are finally hitting retail. According to Hasbro's most recent Q&A, these were pushed from Fall 2008 to Spring 2009 when Target no longer had space set aside for these at retail. Apparently they've been in the distribution centers for a while now, as well as on-line at Target.com, but they're finally making their way to the shelf. Sideshow
Figure Environments Figure EnvironmentsWith their newsletter last night, Sideshow announced a new collectible, 12-inch Figure Environments. These small diorama bases are designed to display with your 1:6 action figures. Shown in their teaser picture are two sets for their Indiana Jones line and one, Reactor Station, for their Star Wars line. Pre-orders should start next week with the release of the June 4th newsletter. No price has been announced and it doesn't sound as if these will have the limited edition sizes of their figures and statues. It's possible that some Figure Environments could be generic enough that they'll work with a lot of different action figures. Ask SideshowSideshow wrapped up their May Fantacular with a final Ask Sideshow feature and there were some interesting tidbits on future 1:6 and Premium Format figures. Among the items to look for in the future;
While technically they didn't announce anything, if they're willing to name names my money is on them getting to these characters eventually. Maybe not this year or even 2010, but before they're done. I'm not collecting Sideshow at the moment, but I may have to spring for an R2-D2 figure if they really do him up with all the bells and whistles (no pun intended). Toys-R-Us Buys FAO SchwarzIt was announced yesterdayy that Toys-R-Us has purchased FAO Schwarz. The plan is to keep the NY and Las Vegas stores open while closing out the FAO shops in Macy's stores around the country. I think this is probably a good move for TRU as it gives them another worldwide brand to sell through. Hopefully the added buying power that TRU brings to the table will allow them to be a little more competitive on the run of the mill toys while still offering the high end items that FAO was famous for. 5-24-2009HasbroAlthough they didn't come out of the Q&A session, it looks as though we have some more confirmed figures. Thanks to the POTF2.com forums, we have a new photo of the previously announced Kyle Katarn and also a new character, I-5YQ. From the Clone Wars line, five new figures:
The photos are just preliminary so no release information yet. Thire was mentioned earlier in the month along with Gree and Bly so that's not a big surprise. It would make a really packed end of the year for the Clone Wars line if these made it out before then so I'm thinking early 2010 is a better bet. Something to look forward to at SDCC, though. 5-23-2009HasbroHasbro answers fan submitted questions about every three weeks and yesterday was the day for a new batch. As we get closer to San Diego Comic-Con Hasbro tends to get more evasive on direct questions for figure release info and pictures and this week's Q&A reflected that with a conspicuous lack of hard info. There were a couple gems and there are still a handful of websites that have not reported in yet with their answers. I'll update later as the other sites update, and if they have any more interesting info. But, right off the bat, one of the first sites I checked had some great news. CollectionStation.com has a scoop on two figures; Jacen and Jaina Solo. Jaina was hinted at in a previous Q&A without Hasbro coming out and actually saying it, but yesterday, buried in a question about fan involvement in line development, Hasbro gave up the info about the Solo twins. Of course, now the speculation begins about what source they will be based on. Mentioned, however, was the 2006 Toy Fare Fan poll and the top 25 characters selected. With the Solo twins on the way, we now have 22 of the 25. Han's Hideout asked about the Han Solo figure slated for the second A New Hope wave this year, tried to nail down what version of the character we'll see. They asked if he'd be in his Death Star escape out fit or from Yavin. Per Hasbro, he's not from Yavin, he's from the Death Star. I'm assuming it'll just be a regular Han with a Stormtrooper belt but we'll probably see him at San Diego Comic-Con. Q&A EditorialEvery once in a while a question will be submitted to Hasbro that has a journalistic flair to it. A question that seeks to pull back the curtain of the toy industry, in general, and Hasbro in particular. Questions that get Hasbro to speak about tooling and sourcing of materials, costs balancing on action figure waves and maybe a little about what it's like dealing with foreign manufacturing. Of course, getting information about an upcoming figure or toy that we didn't think we'd ever see or one that is so unexpectedly cool that it takes the community by storm is great. But it's still those hard hitting journalistic questions that provide answers with meat on the bone that I love and look forward to. Then there's Sir Steve's Guide, which tries to ask those journalistic type questions but they usually just come off as being a bunch of dicks. This week, for example, their third question begins with this gem; "The gauzy material used to make black capes and other soft goods is intolerable." They go on to point out soft goods problems with various figures before asking Hasbro, scratch that...before calling Hasbro out about what they're going to do about this travesty. Hasbro's response; "Thank you for you [sic] positive and insightful feedback." Zing! Hasbro goes on to explain the reasoning for using the fabric they do in the 4" figure scale and I have to admit, their reasoning is sound. But I'm a huge fan of soft goods no matter the form they take. Granted, some choices have been shaky, but I'll take a cloth jacket bottom (See the new Hoth Rebel Soldier) over a molded version on any random figure and twice on "action oriented" figures. Sir Steve's question is the perfect reminder that Hasbro produces toys and that the $7 to $8 price point only allows for a certain amount of realism. If you want a perfectly sculpted, perfectly tailored outfit on an action figure, pony up the $100 Sideshow is asking for their 1:6 line. You're not going to get it on a $7 toy that's meant to be tossed in the sandbox just as much, if not more, than it's meant to be slabbed and hung in your toy museum. 5-19-2009Happy Anniversary
On May 19, 1999 theaters began showing Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace at 12:01AM. The first new Star Wars film in 16 years opened in over 2,900 theaters and made $28.5 million dollars in it's first 24 hours. While several records that it set for earnings have since been beaten, The Phantom Menace still currently sits at number 6 for all time domestic gross. Depending on who you ask, the film has very mixed reviews from fans but it can't be denied that it threw the entire Star Wars saga back into the limelight in a big way. So today, raise a glass of your favorite ice cold beverage and salute Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace as it turns 10 years old! More FandomIt's fitting that today is the 10th anniversary of The Phantom Menace because it's also the release day for Fanboys on DVD. While the trip to release was long and rocky, Fanboys did finally get a theatrical release. However, if you're like us here at the Holocron, and didn't have a theater anywhere in the same area code showing the film, the DVD will have to suffice. Make sure to hit up your favorite DVD-selling establishment and pick up your copy. HasbroIf you like vehicles then start keeping your eyes on the local stores as the Magnaguard Fighter and Vulture Droid have been found in a couple retail stores. Mostly on the West coast for now but they should be making their way across the country. These new ships showed up in the blue and white packaging. No red and white packaging just yet. Word is August 1st is about the time we should start seeing that in stores. 5-18-2009JediDefender.comJediDefender.com posted a news release yesterday announcing new management. Chris Berry, who has run the site for over six years, has passed on ownership to Paul Mundheim and Jeff Smentek. Head over to JediDefender.com for the press release and be sure to keep checking back as the new owners shake things up. HasbroThe Clone Wars line isn't the only one getting a boxed set this year. Photos showed up on eBay over the weekend of a Legacy Collection set called Clone Trooper Squad that has repacked figures of Obi-Wan Kenobi, ARC Trooper Commander, Scuba Trooper and Quad Cannon Clone Trooper.
These are all repacks from the 2008 wave 2 series, Clone Wars, and are based on the character appearances in the Clone Wars animated micro series. As with the Legends of the Clone Wars pack, this is a good set for kids or collectors that missed out on any of the figures in the set. The Scuba Trooper has been somewhat difficult to find since last year while the Obi-Wan figure is actually a nice rendition of a popular outfit from the micro series. Not sure if this will be a store exclusive yet but since it's pictured in the new packaging look for this year, expect it some time after August. 5-16-2009HasbroCommander PondsJediDefender.com has another scoop for the weekend, a photo of a possible Toys-R-Us exclusive figure; Commander Ponds. Rumor is this may be out for the DVD release of the first season of the Clone Wars cartoon. Check out the photos over at JediDefender.com and make sure to check out their site this weekend as they will have some news concerning future changes to their website. Legends of the Clone WarsRebelScum.com turned up a photo of a new Clone Wars figure multipack titled Legends of the Clone Wars. This may be a store exclusive somewhere this year but details aren't in yet. We do know, however, is that the set contains the following six figures:
All of the figures look to be straight re-packs from their single carded release. Clone CommandersPhotos also showed up about a week ago of three new Commanders for the Clone Wars series. They are:
All three have either removable helmets or swappable helmets, like Obi-Wan from wave 1. Not sure yet if these will be regular release figures, part of a set or store exclusives. 5-14-2009HasbroJediDefender.com comes in with a great scoop; a newly upgraded TIE Fighter with large wings and a new cockpit. Sideshow
Han & Luke Stormtrooper Remember that today is pre-order day for the Han and Luke exclusives for San Diego Comic-Con. Today at 1:00PM EST is the sale time for convention attendees. Non-attendee packages go on sale tomorrow, same time. The set will be $189.99 for attendees and $199.99 for non-attendees. The set is limited to 2,000 pieces and 1 per person. I'm betting it's headed for a sell out so you may want to jump on this early whether you're attending or not. Head over to Sideshow's website for some photos of the duo and all the accessories, including insanely detailed helmets, that they'll be sporting. 5-10-2009)
Corporate Alliance Tank Droid HasbroOver the weekend on the Toy News International forums, a picture popped up of a prototype of the Corporate Alliance Droid. I'm not sure that Hasbro has confirmed this yet but it has shown up on some rumor lists. Apparently this may be on it's way later this year or early 2010 if the proto is any indication. The rumor on this points to the Clone Wars collection for its release but, as with the other vehicles coming for that line, it should be compatible with the movie figures as well. )
Oola Gentle GiantGentle Giant announced an Oola bust for later this year and Friday night they finally gave us a look at the painted version. A preview was put up a month or so ago and this one is slightly different. Most notably where the bust starts on the base. The first version included a little more of the legs, probably in order to keep her in scale with the other busts which are about 1:6 scale. But, it doesn't look like the changes make much of a difference. This is still a good looking offering from GG. 5-8-2009Acme Archives)
Luke Skywalker Character Key Acme has announced their next Character Key and it's Luke Skywalker in his Bespin outfit from Empire Strikes Back. The Key is limited to 750 pieces and will go on sale Monday, May 11th at 2:00PM EST. This key belongs to Acmes collection of animated versions of film characters and is the 10th in the series. The estimated shipping schedule for this has it going out around June 23rd. The key will be sold on CharacterKey.com on Monday. In the sale announcement for this key, Acme announces their new Character Key packaging but no additional details were in the email that I received. We should know more when the pre-order goes up on Monday. 5-5-2009Happy Birthday!Yesterday, which has become known as Star Wars Day, my good friends Bill and Melissa G. welcomed their first son into the world. William Lee was born at 4:49AM and weighed 8lb 11oz. Congratulations Bill and Melissa! Focus Collection AdditionsAT-AT Driver)
artbox Real Mask Magnet Back in January 2008, Kotobukiya released Series 4 of their Real Mask Magnet collection to the Japan and Asian market. The Series had eight magnets including a secret mask, Admiral Ackbar. Beginning this year, artbox is releasing the Real Mask Magnet line in the US on blister cards. Series 1 from artbox is the same as Series 4 from Koto and includes Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker (X-Wing), Figrin D'an, Zuckuss, IG-88, Nien Nunb, Admiral Ackbar and the AT-AT Driver. Thanks to RebelScum.com forum member Stewbacca, I was able to pick up a carded example of the AT-AT Driver to go along with my loose Koto release that I got last year. Republic GunshipEarlier this year I picked up a couple of the new Revell easykit pocket Republic Gunship models. I finally got around to assembling one last night and it turned out to be a pretty nice representation of the Republic Gunship. The model is small, about 4" from rear gun tip to front gun tip and has a 4" wingspan. It's pre-painted and snaps together so you don't need any glue. Some of the parts, like the side turret guns, are pretty small and delicate and a few parts are kind of fiddly, but overall it's a relatively easy build. If Revell has a scale in mind for this ship I haven't seen it published. It's a little larger than a Titanium ship and probably also a little larger than a release from F-Toys might be. The easykit pocket models run about $8 (5.00 GBP) and are sold in the UK and probably some other European countries. The Gunship is in one of the newer waves, released at the tail end of 2008, but I have seen some earlier ships in the US at Walmart. Those earlier ships include the ARC-170, TIE Interceptor and Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter. I don't know if the Gunship will make it to the US or not so I thank the UK collectors for helping me secure these.
5-4-2009HasbroFriday was Q&A day with Hasbro and there were a few highlights that may be of interest. BanthaSkull.com asked Hasbro about repainted Battle Droids for the Clone Wars line and Hasbro mentions that there are more variants "already on the way." JediInsider.com asked about the price and availability of this year's San Diego Comic-Con figures. Per Hasbro, both figures should be about $12.99. Luke Skywalker in X-Wing outfit will be sold by HasbroToySHop.com both at the show and online. Stormtrooper Commander will be sold at SDCC by Hasbro Toy Shop but will be online both at HasbroToyShop.com and ShopStarWars.com. Both figures are on the new 2009 red and white card, which is slightly smaller than the current card, and both will come in clamshells. A couple of sites asked about the Deluxe line coming to the Legacy Collection. In all answers, Hasbro says that the Deluxe line of figures and small vehicles will only be released for the Clone Wars line. They have no thoughts of bringing this price point to the Legacy Collection. Still, many of the vehicles we've already seen for this line started life as movie vehicles and should work will with existing figures. RebelScum.com asked about the "demise" of both the Titanium and Mighty Muggs line. When answering, Hasbro mentions that "both lines are winding down." While not a specific statement saying that the Muggs line will end, I think it's pretty clear from that statement, and the fact the Muggs line is going to be a Toys-R-Us exclusive this Fall, that we're getting close to the end for that line of toys. One of the biggest questions on collector's minds was the Titanium line. Several sites asked about why the line was ending and if there was any possibility of a return. Hasbro's main reasons are cost of tooling, retail price and lack of sales. While the line is going on "hiatus," as Hasbro puts it, I didn't see an answer that mentioned a possible return. SirStevesGuide.com specifically asked about the 2009 lineup and what we can expect. There will be the requisite re-paints and, unfortunately, no Gungan Sub, but we should see the following:
While on the topic of Titanium, CollectionStation.com asked about the possibility of seeing the Droid Gunship and Hailfire Droid again. In answering the question, Hasbro gave us two good pieces of info; one, both of those will be back in the last wave of the line. Second, that last wave will come in October or November. ToppsWhen the Galaxy 4 card set was released earlier this year there were several card errors including about a dozen that had the text on the back of the card cut off. Not cut off by cutting the cards, but just not on the card, like they forgot to resize the text box in their publishing software or something. Anyway, Topps has added a page to their website that includes the corrected card backs from the set. It would be nice if they did a mail-in of wrappers or something in order to get a set of the corrected cards, but I guess that probably isn't in the budget. 5-3-2009Remembering The Phantom MenaceTen years ago today was the official marketing launch of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The first Star Wars Celebration had just ended, it ran from April 30 - May 2, 1999, in Denver, Colorado and at 12:01AM on May 3rd we had our first Midnight Madness event. I figured today would be a good day to post a look back at The Phantom Menace, the nearly all-encompassing marketing blitz, and the legacy that it left us. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Celebrates 10 Years 5-1-2009SideshowSan Diego Comic-Con
Han & Luke Stormtrooper If you had looked at last week's preview photo of Sideshow's 2009 San Diego Comic-Con you probably saw what most others did, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo in Stormtrooper gear. With the release of last night's newsletter they were confirmed. This year's set will be a 2-pack of Luke and Han. Pre-orders for convention attendees will begin on May 14th at 1:00PM EST with non-attendee sales on May 15th, also at 1:00PM EST. Along with Luke and Han, there is also an exclusive Cobra Commander in his crimson outfit (also kind of obvious from the teaser pic), Hot Toys Gunmetal Grey Iron Man Mark III, Lord of the Rings diorama and a few other pieces. It's a big year for exclusives from Sideshow. You can see the teaser photos and order dates on Sideshow's Comic-Con Exclusives page. Count Dooku Premium Format
Premium Format Dooku Last week's newsletter had the teaser photo for their new Count Dooku Premium Format statue and last night, with this week's newsletter, his pre-order went up. Dooku runs $299.99 and scheduled for a 1st Quarter 2010 release. That's a long wait for the Count. One nice thing about this release is that Sideshow is offering their FLEXPay option. Fantacular 2009May 1st is the first day of the 2009 Fantacular event at Sideshow. During the month you can get free swag with qualifying in-stock orders directly from Sideshow. Their Fantaculat 2009 web page is now up and running so head over for all the details on the promotion. |
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