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9-29-2007Saga LegendsWell, my fears were partially held up when the vote count on the latest Saga Legends wave was tallied up; four out of five of the figures will be Troopers:
I'm disappointed to see that neither Graxol Kelvyyn nor Ephant Mon were in the top five and the lone astromech droid, R3-A2, didn't make the cut either. In my opinion, this doesn't prove that there is an endless desire for more Troopers, the winners, all exclusives, just prove to me that collectors don't like premium priced action figures and unique pack-ins. Unfortunately, a wave that includes 3 EU figures and 4 Troopers will not, in my opinion, be a big seller at retail in all stores. Hasbro has argued against entire cases of Troopers before and if this wave ships mainly these 5 new figures it'll be as good as a full case. We'll see. HasbroEntertainment Earth posted photos of the first wave of 2008 and it will include some repacked figures as well as new. Included are figures we've already heard about including Clone Commander Gree, Kashyyk Trooper (with flip-up visor), Tri-Droid, 2-1B and Po Nudo. The other new, and surprise, figure is a Mustafar Panning Droid. They're also throwing in the Clone Wars Anakin (from the recent wave 5 of TAC), Clone Trooper with Poncho and the upcoming Jango with Poncho and a red suited Clone trainee. Unfortunately they're also putting in an Obi-Wan figure. You'd think that seeing as the first wave of 2007 TAC figures included Obi-Wan, and it's STILL ON SHELVES, they'd give us a break. Apparently not. 9-25-2007Master Replicas
If you enjoy the scaled helmets then Wednesday and Thursday of this week are the days for you. Beginning on Wednesday, September 26th at 12:00PM EST, Collector Society members will be able to place their pre-orders for scaled replicas of three different Clone Trooper Helmets. All three offered are the Revenge of the Sith design and will come in plain white, 501st Legion blue or Commander Gree camo. Each will ring in at $49.99 and will ship later this winter. No edition size has been listed but as these are close to the end of the scaled helmet line they may go quickly. Non-Collector Society members tune into the Master Replicas website on Thursday the 27th at noon EST to place your orders. KubricksJediDefender.com has a photo and list of Series 8 Star Wars Kubricks. I believe this will be the first prequel set and includes Darth Maul, Qui-Gon Jinn, Anakin, C-3PO, Queen Amidala and a Battle Droid. As with all Kubrick lines, look for chase figures to round out the set. Look for them in March 2008.. HasbroAnother set of three Tins was announced at Celebration Europe and was originally believed to be a European Toys-R-Us exclusive but RebelScum.com has posted photos and info that the sets will be coming to the US as a K-Mart Exclusive. As with the previous sets the figures are basically repacked figures. The three sets are from Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith and Return of the Jedi. AcmeIf you haven't ordered up your Durge Character Key yet there's still time. As of this writing, CharacterKey.com is still taking orders. According to Morly the keys should ship out in about a week. While we're on the Acme front, Sandtroopers.com did an interview with Acme and one of the artists, Peter Ferk mentioned that he'd just finished Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Character Keys and is working on Han Solo. Since they're leaning towards original trilogy now I'm assuming that the Obi-Wan Key is probably from A New Hopee. 9-24-2007TargetThe Target sale kicked in yesterday and most of the Star Wars toys were on sale. The action figures, comic 2-packs and vehicles were all on sale but so were the Galactic Heroes, Titanium, Unleashed and role play lightsabers. As with the action figures, they're all basically 10% off so you'll save yourself about a $1 depending on the starting price. If you haven't already been to Target this week keep in mind that Monday is usually a truck day. AcmeToday is the sale day for Acme's latest Character Key, Durge. Look for the sale on CharacterKey.com at about 2:00PM EST. 9-22-2007AcmeLook for the next Acme Character Key, Durge, to go on sale on Monday, September 24th at 2:00PM EST. Look for this on CharacterKey.com. According to Morly from Acme, other retailers will have the piece but not before that time. SalesBoth Target and Toys-R-Us are having sales on Hasbro Star Wars toys starting Sunday, September 23rd. Target will have about 10% off several items including action figures for $6.29 and $5.97 for TAC and Saga Legends respectively. Comic 2-packs will be $8.99 while the Starfighter line will be $17.99. If that sale isn't good enough for you, head over to TRU for Buy 2 Get 1 Free on action figures. I don't see where they're offering sales on other Hasbro toys but it's worth a look. Gentle GiantGentle Giant has listed some new products on their web site including a new astromech trash can. Joining R2-D2, you can now purchase an R4-P17 version of for $125. The can is limited to 500 pieces and is only available from Gentle Giant. 9-20-2007) The Battle of Hoth HasbroA RebelScum.com forum member, cjranck, posted a picture of a Target exclusive Battle Pack called The Battle of Hoth last night. It's packed with an AT-ST, Turret and 7 or 8 figures and rumored to be priced either $49.99 or $59.99. Seems this could be the big Christmas exclusive like the Shuttle was last year. Star Wars Reunion II)
Reunion IIMedallions Besides the Boba Fett medallion, fans can look forward to two additional medallions at the convention in October. There will be one medallion each representing the 501st French Garrison and the Rebel Legion French Base. From the Babel Fish translation of the web page, it sounds as if the 501st and Rebel Legion medallions will be given out randomly during "mini-plays" put on by the 501st and Rebel Legion during the convention. No edition size is given on the site but is rumored to be 500 each. We do know that MintInBox.net will have 500 of the Fett medallion. For Hasbro fans, both the Luke Skywalker and R2-D2/C-3PO McQuarrie figures will be available in the convention store. New card backs have been printed for the release but no word if the coins are different or if they'll be the CE version. The Hasbro poster showing the 2007 TAC line will be given out to those buying the figures as well as all VIP pass holders. Also available will be the Top Trumps Starship cards and a Clone Wars set not sold before in France. Also in the store will be an exclusive T-shirt, poster, lanyard and two lightsaber keychains. Head over to the Reunion II website for more information. 9-19-2007WiiLucasarts announced yesterday that the Force Unleashed game will be coming to the Nintendo Wii next year. Up till now I believe the game was only confirmed for XBox and PS3. Good news for the wand-waving Nintendo fans! Acme Look for an announcement, possibly today, on the release of the next Clone Wars Character Key, Durge. The Key should go on sale first thing next week and will be available on CharacterKey.com so keep your eyes on that site for ordering information. The key is limited to 1000 pieces and is the next to last Clone Wars piece. Family GuyDon't forget that Sunday, September 23rd's season premier of "Family Guy" will be their "Blue Harvest" Star Wars episode. The one-hour episode will be entirely dedicated to the Star Wars theme. For more info and an interview the director of the episode head over to the official website. HasbroSaga LegendsJust an update on the Saga Legends waves that I've been spotting locally the last few days. It seems that I was incorrect in thinking that I was only seeing wave 1 when most of the stores were actually up to wave 2. Boba Fett, Chewbacca, 501st Clone and the other six figures from that wave have been at the local Wal-Mart for over a week now and I believe I also saw them at most of the stores I reported on in Monday's Around the Toy Aisle report. I didn't go back and update the article but for those that checked it out I wanted to clarify that. Wave 3 has been spotted in some areas as the Fan's Choice Dark Trooper is out. HasbroToyShopIf you don't want to wait for those Legends figures to hit store shelves, HasbroToyShop.com has been stocking them this week. Every time they go up on the site it's a mad dash to snag them but keep an eye open and you might get lucky. Also keep in mind that as of right now CATWEB10 and MARVEL10 codes should save you 10% off your order. Shipping and tax, even with the discount, still puts your price-per-figure average around $9, however. Wave 5 and 6 of the TAC figures are also on HTS.com with most of wave 6 listed as "Coming Soon." 9-17-2007Around the Toy AisleReports of wave 5 of the TAC figures hitting Wal-Mart this week prompted me to hit some local, and not so local, stores Saturday to see what was available in NY. Total trip was about 5 hours, 110 miles and included 3 Wal-Mart stores, 2 Target, TRU, K-Mart and KB Toys. I even managed to hit a fourth Wal-Mart and second K-Mart on Friday which I tossed in at the bottom. Full Story continues >> HasbroThe Question and Answer session for September 14th had a couple of interesting tidbits of information including the fact that Hasbro is skipping the Vintage line for 2008. Their reasoning for this is to concentrate on the Evolutions sets. The other piece of info is that Hasbro and Sideshow have apparently been talking over the idea of having Sideshow create action figure-sized playsets. Apparently someone asked about this during a Q&A with Sideshow at Dragon*Con this year and Hasbro has now confirmed it.. While it was mentioned before, Hasbro has again confirmed that the coins will be replaced by TSC-style stands beginning with the first wave of 2008 figures. Hasbro also confirmed that 2008 will see a "Legacy" comic pack with Imperial Knights Antares Draco & Ganner Kreig. They've been in talks with the artists and writers on the series and hope to do more but this pack will be the first. If you're planning on putting together a full run of 30th Anniversary coins, better buy the figures. Hasbro confirmed in two different answers that they have no plans to offer them as a promotional set.. Finally, there are no more concept figures on tap for the 2008 line however Hasbro "hopes" to get back to those types of figures in the future. SideshowMy Dejarik Holochess set came in on Friday and it's one of the most awesome pieces I've picked up in a while. The base is huge and heavy and the metal pieces are well detailed and well painted. I haven't had any Sideshow pieces on display recently but this one's going on the shelf pretty quick. If you haven't picked one up I'd suggest heading over to Sideshow and ordering it. I don't think you'll regret it. 9-13-2007ShopStarWars.com
"Sith Circus" bundlee Star Wars Shop is offering a cool deal on two posters, one being the new "Sith Circus" by Matt Busch and the other a reproduction of the 1978 Style D poster. For $34.99 you get both posters which measure about 27"x40" each. The first 500 Hyperspace members to order will also receive a concept sketch of the "Sith Circus" poster. If that's not incentive enough, 15% of the run will be signed by Busch. Head over to ShopStarWars.com today and place your pre-order for an October delivery.. Gentle GiantConvention ExclusivesThe summer convention circuit is over and Gentle Giant will begin the last raffle for the summer exclusives later this week. Check your inbox or the GG blog for the raffle announcement. This is the first time that the Luke and Han Stormtrooper Bust-Up set and R2 & Yoda maquette will be offered by raffle as they were traveling exclusives over the summer. The Bust-Up 2-pack will have 600 pieces available while the maquette will have 400 pieces.. If you pre-ordered either of those items for the conventions this summer you won't be eligible for the raffle. Probably the most anticipated item, though, is the Commander Bacara bust that was sold at last week's Baltimore Comic-Con. Bacara will be limited to 200 pieces for the raffle and, again, if you pre-ordered for pick-up at the convention you won't be eligible. 
Product UpdatesLast week GG also announced two edition sizes for animated maquettes. The Han Solo and Chewbacca statues will both have 3,000 pieces. Look for the Dengar mini bust to start shipping to retailers this week. The store was updated with photos of the Admiral Ackbar mini bust along with the deluxe Tusken Raider. The Tusken bust comes with both rifle and gaderffii and arms to pose him with either weapon. HasbroDon't forget that you have till this Friday to put your vote in for the final wave, in 2008, of the Saga Legends figures. Head over to Hasbro.com and look for the link at the bottom right of the page. You'll have to register to vote, but it's quick and painless. Keep you eyes open for wave 5 of the TAC action figures. Reports are hitting the web that they've been found California and at least one report has them in Alabama. Master ReplicasIf you haven't stopped by the MR website lately you might want to keep your eyes on it. Over the last couple of weeks they've been offering some insane deals on in-stock items. This week, for example, they have some .45 scaled lightsabers for $15 while they're also blowing out about 100 Clone Trooper helmets for up to 60% off for Collector Society members. They're also offering a Revenge of the Sith Scaled Replica Jedi Pack of lightsabers, with case, for $59.99 and free shipping. The set includes lightsabers of Yoda, Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi. With December 31st being the last date that MR can sell items, look for them to hold more sales to clear out stock that they still have left. But it's not only older items that you should be on the lookout for. This week it was announced that we should still see three scaled mini Clone Trooper helmets before the end of the year. Word is also that there will be one or two more 1:1 helmets coming. 9-10-2007Concept General Grievous)
Concept General Grievous
The ShopStarWars.com exclusive General Grievous figure is now available for order. The site actually says "out of stock" but it did allow me to add one to my cart and check out with it. This concept is based on art by Warren Fu, comes with a 30th Anniversary coin and protective case. It's priced at a slightly ridiculous $16.99 and it appears that Hyperspace discounts don't apply. Head over to ShopStarWars.com to put your order in if you're interested. 9-7-2007HasbroThe Saga Legends vote at Hasbro.com is now live. Look for the link in the lower right of the page linked above. Two changes from the list posted the other day; VOTC Han Solo has been replaced by R3-A2 from the TRU Hoth battle pack and the Bespin Security Guard is now listed as a straight repack of the POTJ figure. The top 20 (listed alphabetically):
You have to register on Hasbro's site, it's free, in order to vote. The vote will be available for 14 days so head over and put your vote in! 9-6-2007Star Wars Reunion II) Reunion II Medallion Not to be left out of the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, France will hold Star Wars Reunion II on October 27th and 28th. The first Reunion show was back in 2005 in celebration of Revenge of the Sith. To make Reunion II even more special, a 25th Medallion will be given out at the show and will depict Boba Fett. Sponsored by MintinBox.net, the Medallion will be limited to 500 pieces. Mattias Rendahl, who designed the Celebration Europe Medallions, also designed this one. It's been produced to the same standards as the Celebration IV and CE Medallions. For additional information about this medallion and Reunion II, stop by StarWars.com. SonyAs I mentioned back in July, Sony will be releasing a PSP 2 Star Wars bundle this fall. Here's a couple new details on it. The SW pack will include Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron and the game unit will be white with an image of Darth Vader silkscreened on the back. It will retail for $200 and should be in stores on October 9th. Later in the year there will also be A/V cables available that will let you connect your PSP to a TV. Those cables should run $20.  Palpatine & Sidious SideshowDon't forget that today at 1:00PM EST is the pre-order for the Palpatine 12-inch Figure Pack. The set comes with both figures, interchangeable hands, lightsabers, a Senate cam droid, Sith Holocron and two stands. The Sideshow exclusive comes with a scaled replica of one of the statues from Palpatine's office. Both figures use the new short body so they should be in scale with your Mace and Anakin figures. 9-5-20077SideshowTomorrow, Thursday, September 6th is order day for the new Palpatine 12-inch Figure Pack. Look for the sale to go live about 1:00PM EST. MattelComing on the heels of August's toy recall, Mattel issued a new recall yesterday on several more items due to lead paint. This recall includes the GeoTrax Engine, It's a Big Big World, and several Barbie accessory sets. Mattel has posted a Voluntary Safety Recall Facts page on their web site which includes lists of all the items they've recalled this year as well as a message from Robert Eckerd, CEO of Mattel. Luckily, so far, the lead paint issue has not spread to Hasbro products which includes the Star Wars line, Transformers and G.I. Joe. ) Koto ARTFX Statue Yoda vs Palpatine KotobukiyaKoto has announced a new ARTFX statue of Yoda vs Palpatine from Revenge of the Sith. The statue is due in February of 2008 and is rather large, measuring 15 inches long by 11 inches tall. For additional information head over to the official site, StarWars.com. 9-3-2007Home Shopping NetworkThe first show of the day aired at 2:00AM and they featured several cool items, most of which were on flex pay.
The Vader helmet and Falcon SS items were the centerpieces of the show while the FX sabers were really popular. The best value of the show might be the Litho set which has 60 lithographs (10 from each film), six patches representing all the films and seven pins with various characters such as Vader, Yoda and Stormtrooper. The show was hosted by Alan Skantz and his guest was Travis Allen from Master Replicas. Travis made a good showing, especially since most of the items were either by MR or imported by them. Skantz, on the other hand, is not cut out for this type of show. Highlights include him calling the Stormtrooper cookie jar both a "Stormfighter" and "Starfighter." More apparent, though, was his stumbling over character names or, more often, not calling them by name because you could tell he didn't know them. It's too bad since the previous hour was an NFL clothing show hosted by a guy that obviously new football, talking to his guest about teams and players as only a true fan can. There should be another show airing at either 6:00 or 7:00PM today, check your local listings. AT-AT DriverOver the last past couple of weeks I've added two new items to my AT-AT Driver collection. Cartamundi) Cartamundi The first item is the 4 of Hearts from Cartamundi's Villains card deck. Sold in sets of two decks, Heroes and Villains, these cards were released about the time of Celebration IV. I found them two weeks ago at the local Wal-Mart and picked up a set. Each card in the Villains deck has a photo of a different character from all six of the theatrical films. The Hearts suit also contains several other Trooper photos as well as Darth Vader who is the Ace card. Galactic HeroesThe second item I picked up is the Galactic Heroes figure. This came in a 2-pack with an AT-AT Commander and was also found at Wal-Mart.
While some of the Galactic Heroes figures have one or two points of articulation or removable helmets, this figure has neither. Still, it's a fun figure from a line that's growing to be almost as diverse as the 3.75" line. 9-2-2007Home Shopping NetworkThe Home Shopping Network will have two Star Wars shows on Monday, September 3rd. The first will air at 2:00AM EST while the second is listed as 6:00PM EST. Both times are per the TVGuide.com listings. The HSN.com web site lists several Master Replicas items such as helmets and FX lightsabers as well as Kotobukiya statues and a bunch of video games. I'm uncertain at this point if the shows will only include items that are currently on the web site or if they'll have additional items for the show. According to reps from Acme Archives, they will have art pieces featured on the show that will include some value added option such as framing and matting. Currently HSN.com is listing three Giclee items from Acme but, again, it's unknown at this point if additional items will be available for the show. HasbroSome of the local Wal-Mart stores have stocked wave 4 of the TAC line. The case I found at my local store appeared to the 00U case with UGH Boba Fett, McQuarrie Chewbacca and Airborne Trooper. I didn't find any of the UGH figures but picked up one of each of the other wave 4 figures available. M'Iiyoom, Elis Helrot, Boba Fett (Holiday Special), Umpass-Stay, and Luke Skywalker are all decent figures. The two corner pieces to the bar that come with M'Iiyoom and Elis are exceptional. The coloring on Fett is fun and unique and using the VOTC sculpt makes it a great figure. I was even impressed with the Jedi Luke figure which has great articulation and head sculpt. Umpass-Stay is my least favorite but it's not because of the sculpt or deco, both of which are well done, but his stance. He's kind of stooping like the Lava Miner was from wave 1, which makes it very difficult to stand him up without using any support or figure stand. The huge drum accessory makes up for that shortcoming and for $7 it's still a great figure. There's not loser in wave 4 in my opinion, even though I still haven't landed CZ-4 or the McQuarrie Darth Vader. Master ReplicasA few web sites are reporting that MR will release a Force FX Lightsaber Construction Set in time for Christmas this year. The kit will allow you to combine parts to make your own FX lightsaber. The set includes:
Evidently the lightsabers will emit different sound effects based on what color the blade is. The parts allow over 1,000 different combinations so you can truly customize your own saber. The set looks very interesting but there seems to be a lean towards Vader, Luke and Obi-Wan style saber handles based on the center bands that are included. I still would have loved for MR to have done an Episode 1 Obi-Wan Kenobi lightsaber before they wrapped up the license. |
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