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8-30-2009Gentle GiantThe sale on Gentle Giant's website went quickly on Friday night as collectors logged in to pick up limited numbers of long sold out busts and maquettes. There were only a handful of various items and by 6:00 they were all gone. Gentle Giant added ten items to the sale that were not in the initial email that was sent out on Thursday. For a complete listing of the items up for sale on Friday, check out our chart. GG plans on running weekly sales of this nature through the month of September. HasbroIf you're looking for new Hasbro toys then you're in luck, a few new items have been hitting retail over the last week or so. First up is the new Clone Wars Y-Wing. This has been showing up at Target and TRU stores and should be making its way across the country. Also being found are the Corporate Alliance Tank Droids in the Starfighter vehicle line. These have actually been hitting sporadically for most of August, but more reports are starting to come in. If exclusives are your style, then start hitting your Toys-R-Us and Target stores as their exclusive Imperial deco V-Wing and X-Wing fighters, respectively, are landing. Finally, be on the lookout for the new comic 2-packs. Starting to hit now are Kyle Katarn & Yuuzhan Vong, Luke & Lumiya and Darth Krayt & Sigel Dare. These are wave 2 of the 2009 comic packs, not counting the Wal-Mart exclusive wave, and are shipping with several re-packs of the early Marvel releases. 8-29-2009LegoFriday night on Cartoon Network, Lego showed a new cartoon, "Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2." It aired during the first two commercial breaks of the 9:00PM EST show. The cartoon features a lot of the new Lego Star Wars sets but also has a fun story behind the search for a lost R2-D2. I don't see it posted to Cartoon Network's website or either StarWars.com or Lego.com, but it is on YouTube. Check it out below or head over to YouTube.com where there is an HD version available.
8-28-2009SideshowSideshow posted a new Ask Sideshow feature last night and there were a couple of Star Wars questions answered. When asked if Count Dooku, Yoda or a Return of the Jedi version of Darth Vader were in the works for their 1:6 scale line Sideshow answered yes to all three. They went on to say that one of them is currently in development. A second question asked about accessory packs for Clone Troopers rather than waiting for single figure releases, Sideshow said that they had discussed accessory packs but decided against them at this time. Per Sideshow's answer, they are looking to release weapon variations and accessories with Troopers over time and that will cover the various styles of blasters, pauldrons and other such accessories. Gentle GiantGentle Giant sent out an email last night listing several warehouse finds that they will be offering up for sale to Premier Guild members today at 5:00PM EST. There is a mix of mini busts and maquettes in the email and include both regular releases, some with low edition numbers, and artist proofs. Prices for the mini busts are $60 and the maquettes range from $90 - $120. GG will send out a list including more items prior to the sale start time and will set up a blog page with links for ordering. Among the items sure to be hot are promos and artist proofs of such busts as Darth Malak, Count Dooku and Jango Fett, while there are low edition numbers of the exclusive Clone Trooper Pilot bust and the elusive AOTC Yoda mini bust. According to the email, GG will be holding sales like this over the next several weeks as they clear warehouse space for new product. 8-26-2009LucasArtsLucasArts launched their newest web feature yesterday to promote the new Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes game. The game, which takes place between season one and two of Star Wars The Clone Wars, is scheduled for an October 6th release. LegoJediNews is reporting a rumor list for seven new sets in 2010.
We reported Luke's Landspeeder a little over a week ago but the other six sets are new. It'll be interesting to see if these pan out because nearly half that list would be repeats of previous sets, although probably updated. Speculation is the Slave I will be Boba's Empire version as next year is the film's 30th anniversary, but Jango's Slave I is still a hot set as I believe that's still the only way to get the Jango Fett minifig. We'll post more info as it becomes available. 8-25-2009Gentle GiantSomehow it looks like we missed this back during San Diego Comic-Con but GG will be issuing a Holiday Bust again for Premiere Guild members. It was reported by RebelScum.com in a con recap that the bust would be based on the new Yak Face bust that was debuted at the show. A rep from GG posted to the RS forums last night that they would be making the announcement soon so stay tuned for photos when they show up. Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 2StarWars.com updated yesterday with an article about season 2 of The Clone Wars. It will start on Friday, October 2nd with an hour long show starting at 8:00PM EST. To read the full press release, head over to StarWars.com. And while you're there, catch the season 2 teaser video. 8-21-2009Hasbro UpdateJediDefender.com asked an interesting question about the $5 Clone Cash coupons that are being found in Clone Wars figures. Per Hasbro, the coupons were packed in with 200,000 Clone Wars figures. The coupons were not included in any of the Saga Legends or Legacy Collection figures. The Private Universe asked for and received a new photo of the upcoming Major Panno action figure. While Hasbro's photo is of the paint master, he looks great. Very detailed sculpt and he has a soft goods cloak. HasbroI'm not sure what Hasbro's new schedule is for their Q&A sessions is but after having a session a week ago, we got new answers last night. JediTempleArchives.com asked about the chances of a new or re-release of the AT-RT now that it's been featured in the Clone Wars cartoon. Per Hasbro, they are designing a new AT-RT that is a little smaller than the 2005 ROTS version and will be more in line with the Clone Wars art style. Look for this in the Deluxe figure and vehicle line in early 2010. A lot of people were a little baffled at Comic-Con when Hasbro showed off their new Nien Nunb B-Wing pilot figure after having told us that he would be Ten Numb. RebelScum.com asked about the change and Hasbro, in a candid answer, explains how a mix-up on their part led to this figure being Nien Nunb. Y-Wing fans will be interested in an answer given to Sandtroopers.com. Asked about a possible new sculpt OT Y-Wing in the new midsize line (CW Y-Wing and ARC-170 out now), Hasbro answered that we could see an update to the current OT Y-Wing mold for next year. It would come in cheaper than the current midsize price and Hasbro implied there could be changes to the droid socket, landing gear, weak wing plastic or possibly the cockpit. During Toy Fair back in February, Hasbro showed off photos of a Ratts Tyerell figure that was slated for the Legacy Collection line. As we know now, that was postponed and replaced with Clegg Holdfast. Hasbro said that they would look to slot Ratts back into the line eventually but yesterday, in an answer to Han's Hideout, Hasbro confirmed that while he is coming it won't be till 2011. A couple of sites, including Sir Steve's Guide, asked about the second Utai figure that was spotted in some photos from Comic-Con back in July. According the answers Hasbro gave, the Utai figures were originally slated to be a 2-pack which was dropped for cost reasons. Since the Utai that is coming in the next ROTS wave is only slated to ship in one wave there will be no running change. That leaves the second Utai figure without a home. Hasbro, in their answers, hinted at seeing this figure down the road if the carded Utai figure does well. 8-18-2009LegoTarget is having a sale on some Lego sets this week. Not everything was marked down but Anakin's new Y-Wing and Jedi Starfighter sets were on sale. The sale is about 10% off but worth a stop if you're interested in Lego. 8-14-2009The Empire Muggs BackDon't forget that today is the last day of the Empire Muggs Back auction. Make sure to get your bids in if you are interested in any of the Mighty Muggs that are up for sale. HasbroOver the last couple of days a few more websites have posted the answers to their latest round of questions. There were a few more interesting pieces of info announced so we though it would be good to post it. Snowtroopers.ca asked how long the Build-a-Droid promotion would last and if we would see an R2-D2 figure using the R4-G9 figure mold. The answer to the first question, Build-a-Droid figures, is that they should continue into the near future, probably at least the first quarter of 2010 just based on the waves we know that are coming. Specifically, Hasbro mentions a possible continuation of the Walmart exclusive Droid Factory line. At $17 per 2-pack, that might be a tough sell. On the R2-D2 front, Hasbro stated that they have a figure based on the R4-G9 sculpt coming this Fall. That's probably the R2-D2 Jawa Attack figure that will be in wave 6. SWCollector.com asked two questions that had interesting answers. The first question was about nostalgia for the vintage Kenner Star Wars, Droids and Ewoks lines and if Hasbro would look to do some type of salute to them. The angle of the question is about retro packaging similar to the Vintage lines of modern figures. Hasbro replied that they are "looking" at some of the options SWCollector mentioned and that there would be some surprises next year. The various forum posters take that as a confirmation that 2010 will see a black and silver vintage style cardback, which has been rumored for a while. While the answer's not that specific, it's always a possibility. The second question that SWCollector asked is a little more clear. They asked a follow-up question about the Force Unleashed wave of figures that will become an exclusive in early 2010. Hasbro announced that we should see two 5-packs of figures. They also drop some info on what will be in them, including "several trooper variants, including a jump trooper with newly added jump pack," and "there will be two versions of Galen Marek, Proxy, and a twist in Juno." There have been rumors since 2007 of other TFU figures that Hasbro was looking at but nothing concrete yet. If these still come out in the first quarter of 2010 it's probably just a matter of time now before photos and figure names start to pop up. LegoThere have been a couple of reports of new 2010 Lego sets. Some of the information has come from the German Amazon website so the info should be pretty good. No details beyond set names and numbers for right now.
8-12-2009Acme Archives)
TIE Fighter Acme debuted their latest Sketchplate at the San Diego Comic-Con last month but now it's on sale for the rest of us at CharacterKey.com. It rings in at $35 and has an edition size of 1,000 pieces. It's scheduled to ship on our about August 21st. While the previously released X-Wing Sketchplate, which was based on Ralph McQuarrie concept art, the TIE Fighter is an original sketch by Joe Johnston and looks more like the TIE Fighters we saw in the films. Uncle MiltonIf you've been looking forward to the new Star Wars products from Uncle Milton since they debuted at Toy Fair, your wait is about over. New items from Uncle Milton have been showing up in Target and Toys-R-Us stores over the last two weeks or so. At the local Target I've spotted the Optical Command Unit and the Darth Vader Robotic Arm. If you're interested in the science side of Star Wars as much as the story and characters, then the offerings from Uncle Milton are right up your alley. Check them out at your local retailer or head over to the newly-launched Star Wars Science website. 8-11-2009Hasbro Q&AEven though yesterday was a Monday, Hasbro dropped a round of answers on us. Not all of the regular sites have their updates done yet so we're expecting more news over the next day or so. Imperial Shipyards did have a good answer to a question; they asked about an update to the tauntaun now that we have a new Hoth Rebel Soldier that looks as though he could ride one. Per Hasbro, the Rebel Soldier wasn't designed to ride a tauntaun, however, they have plans for one in 2010 and it's possible that it would be an exclusive. 8-6-2009Figure PortalIf you're looking for up-to-the-minute news in action figure collecting, head over to the newly-launched FigurePortal.com. Figure Portal covers all aspects of action figure collecting including news on new releases and figure reviews as well as letting us know about upcoming deals on the collectibles we love. HasbroCostco will be carrying several Hasbro exclusives for the holidays this year and, along with several Transformers items, they will have two Star Wars sets. The first is a role play set listed as "Star Wars Clone Wars Commander Helmet and Blaster." The set is $49.99 and the helmet is listed as being Commander Cody. The second item is the Turbo Tank for $79.99. No information is available on the Tank yet, if it will be the same release as normal retailers or if it will have special packaging and additional pack-in figures. For the Christmas holiday last year, club stores had an exclusive AT-TE in window packaging that included several Clone Wars figures. The Cody helmet is also an interesting announcement. We're unsure at this point if this is the voice changing helmet like those being sold now or some other configuration. There is a Captain Rex helmet coming later in the year but Cody may be a new announcement. We'll have updated info when it's available. Sideshow
Today at 1:00PM EST you'll be able to place your pre-order for the exclusive edition of Sideshow's "The Circle is Now Complete" diorama. The exclusive is a backdrop of the Millennium Falcon in the Death Star hangar bay. The exclusive price is $314.99. Or, if you want to save a few dollars, you can order the regular edition right now for only $299.99. Both editions are set to ship in the first quarter of 2010. FLEXPay is available for both editions as well. 8-4-2009Incoming - New Hasbro ToysTargetTarget stores are in the middle of their Fall resets and the toy aisles are starting to produce new Hasbro toys. In the last few days the new Imperial ARC-170, Turbo Tank, Battle Packs and remote control R2-D2 have been found. New red and white packaged Clone Wars action figures have been spotted as well as new Saga Legends. WalmartThe 2009 edition of the Droid Factory 2-packs are hitting stores with mixed reception. The price has jumped to a whopping $17.00 per pack. While the build-a-figure, Phase III Dark Trooper, is huge, the price has turned many off. |
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