|
||||||||||||
11-30-2009Around the Toy Aisle: Black Friday EditionLast Wednesday we kicked off the holiday weekend with a few store visits followed on Friday with a replay as we checked out the Black Friday deals. What did we find? Or, more importantly, not find? Read on for Around the Toy Aisle: Black Friday Edition. 11-25-2009Hasbro Diorama ContestHasbro and the fans have spoken and the winner of the Hasbro Diorama Contest is Craig Boyse from Michigan. His entry was the excellent carbon freezing chamber. Check out the press release from Hasbro below.
Following its launch at Comic-Con in San Diego this summer,
Hasbro’s STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS DIORAMA CONTEST attracted
hundreds of diehard fans, each recreating their favorite STAR
WARS scene in a unique diorama of their very own, using an array
of action figures, vehicles and accessories from the iconic toy
line. Contestants submitted amazingly creative, intricate and
thoughtful dioramas for a chance to win the Grand Prize — a
prize package of Hasbro STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS toys totaling
more than $1,000!
And without further adieu, Hasbro’s excited to announce that the Grand Prize Winner of the 2009 STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS DIORAMA CONTEST is Craig Boyse, from Clio, Michigan! Craig’s entry, “Captain Solo Awaiting His Fate In The Carbon Freezing Chamber,” was also selected the Fans’ Choice winner, via StarWars.Hasbro.com voting, giving him undisputed bragging rights throughout the galaxy. The entry will be displayed at the next Star Wars Celebration. "I really like Star Wars and I’m a creative guy, so this
diorama contest was perfect for me. Hasbro and Star Wars
together — it really piqued my interest," explained Craig Boyse,
winner of Hasbro’s 2009 STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS DIORAMA
CONTEST. "I was basically living in Congratulations Craig and thank you all for participating! PSWCS Toy DriveIt's almost December and that means it's time to help out Garrison Carida by donating toys that they will hand out in children's hospitals. The PSWCS club is holding two events this year. The first will be at the Steel City Con in Pittsburgh on December 4-6th. The second event will be held at The Toy Cave in Carlisle, PA on December 12th. It's expected that several fully-armored members of Garrison Carida will be attending both events. Head over to the PSWCS.com website for full details on both of these events as well as additional information on Garrison Carida and the 501st Legion. If you can't attend either event but would like to still donate, there is contact information on the site for mailing donations. 11-24-2009SARLACC Charity PinThe SARLACC charity pin that we reported on the other day is now for sale from their website, www.sarlacc.org, for $10 plus shipping. The pin is limited to 1,000 pieces and benefits the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. PSWCS Charity MedallionBill Cable, president of the Pennsylvania Star Wars Collecting Society, reported last night that the club is down to the final 47 medallions in the limited edition of 1,000. The Obi-Wan Kenobi medallion benefits Operation Ward 57 and sells for $10 shipped. Head over and order yours today before they're gone. 11-23-2009HasbroAfter Creature Cantina posted their Q&A last week we were pretty ticked that one answer included an announcement that the second Bespin Wing Guard had been cancelled. Well it appears that the answer was incorrect. GalacticHunter.com followed up with the powers that be over at Hasbro and got word back that the Wing Guard will be coming in the Expanded Universe wave which should be hitting shelves late this year or early 2010. Good news, especially since it appears they are sticking with the news that the Imperial Scanning Tech's variant figure will not be coming. Sometimes it's the little things. 11-22-2009Weekly SalesK-MartK-Mart is having sale on carded action figures this week, buy one, get one free. Their figures are priced around $8.99 each but that deal makes them affordable. The sale includes all three basic lines. Might be worth a stop on your toy shopping rounds this week. TargetTarget has a markdown on their exclusive Geonosis Arena 2-packs, $9.99 this week. Darth Vader's Lego TIE Fighter, set 8017, is also marked down to $20.00. The local store had them on an end cap as well as in the main aisle. GalerieGalerie has been making Star Wars themed candy and gifts for the last few years and can usually be found around Christmas and Easter at Target and K-Mart. This year they have two mug sets that we believe are new. Both were spotted at K-Mart but may be sold at other retailers as well.
First up is a Movie Scene mug which includes cherry fruit blast candy. It's priced around $9.99. The second item is a gift set of mugs with cocoa and cherry candy. One mug has Chewbacca graphics and the other has Darth Vader. It's priced about $14.99 but is on sale this week for $11.99. 11-20-2009Imperial HolocronThe Legacy Collection checklist has been updated to reflect some new information that came out in this week's Hasbro Q&A. We've also added a new feature, Legacy Collection Build-a-Droid Part Matrix. This matrix lists the the Legacy Collection figures, by wave, and what droid parts they include. Figures new to the wave and those that have been reissued are noted. We'll look to update this list as new information is released. If you have any additions to the Droid Part Matrix, or have feedback on, please send us an 11-19-2009Toys-R-UsToys-R-Us stores are having a two day Door Busters event this week. Friday from 3:00PM - Midnight and Saturday from 7:00AM - 1:00PM. All basic Legacy Collection, Clone Wars and Saga Legends figures are 2 for $11.99. They're also offering 20% off on all Star Wars video game accessories. That sale is all day Friday and Saturday. If you are a Star Trek collector then also look for a 50% off coupon for all figures, playsets and accessories for Friday and Saturday as well. Thanks to Jayson at the JediDefender.com forums for the heads-up. You can head to toysrus.com to see the advertisement. SARLACC Charity Pin SARLACC Charity Pin The Seattle ARea Lucasfilm Artifact Collectors Club, better known as SARLACC, will be selling a pin to raise funds for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The pin is 1.5" square and features the Millennium Falcon and the Seattle Space Needle in the clouds of Bespin. The pin will have an edition size of 1,000 pieces and sells for $10 plus shipping. Final details and ordering information will be posted on SARLACC's charity pin page. SARLACC's web page has additional information on the charity, pin (including design sketches) and donation that the club looks to make. Ordering is not up yet but keep an eye on the site as they should be available soon. HasbroCreatureCantina.com posted their Q&A with Hasbro yesterday and there was some troubling news in one of the answers; the second Bespin Wing Guard figure may be cancelled. CC.com asked about figures such as the beardless Hoth Trooper, Wing Guard and Ugnaught and Hasbro finally confirmed that none of the alternate Hoth Trooper figures actually made it into cases. They went on to say that "the second Bespin Guard will likewise never make it out either." The grey Ugnaught is shipping and has been found at retail already. On top of the comic pack cancellation news, the demise of the Bespin Guard is really just a kick in the nuts. TargetStart checking your Target stores as this week they should be setting a new end cap with their holiday exclusives. Spotted over the last day or two are the Red 2 X-Wing (which has been our for a while), the new Shadows of the Empire TIE Fighter and two Clone Wars Battle Packs; Assault on Ryloth and Ambush on Abregado. If you're a G.I. Joe or Transformer fan then the same end cap will have the G.I. Joe Past and Present set along with a couple TF sets (we didn't stop to get names). Gentle GiantGG will be running another of their sales this week, offering up a long list of older busts and statues. If you are a PGM member, the sale will start on Friday at 7:00PM EST. Make sure to check the website for a full list of items but the following were sent out in the email announcement last night.
11-18-2009LegoSeveral new Lego sets for 2010 were reported back in August and now, thanks to Amazon.com, we have photos of four of them.
These are scheduled for January release but Toys-R-Us usually gets new sets just before the new year. Pre-orders are available from Amazon or you can wait till they hit your local retail outlets. Gentle GiantPhotos of Gentle Giant's 2010 R2-D2 statue have been hitting the web over the last couple of days and he looks great. R2 will be 1:6 scale so he's in scale with the mini busts and other statues from GG.
He has eight accessories and can be displayed with or without them attached. They include a periscope, saw, computer interface arm and even Luke's lightsaber from Return of the Jedi. Head over to StarWars.com for more photos and details. R2 will retail for about $140 and he's currently available for pre-order on some websites. Razor's Edge Collectibles has him listed for $139.99 and you can reserve yours now with a $19.99 deposit. 11-17-2009HasbroThe comic line is done. Hasbro delayed their weekly Q&A session till yesterday but that delay couldn't stop them from dropping the bomb on the comic line. In responses to questions from several websites, including SWCollector.com, JediTempleArchives.com and BanthaSkull.com, Hasbro let us know that they have a couple general release waves coming up late this year and one wave for Spring 2010, and the Walmart exclusive wave should also hit, but that's it. The only other hope would be the odd exclusive. Per the answer to JediTempleArchives.com, there are five packs due up later this year and the answer includes the names and numbers. They also told JTA.com that the Camie & Fixer comic pack will come out next year as a convention exclusive. It was mentioned in the 10/3 Q&A session that the Visionaries Maul, which was shown in an "Insider" article, would be the San Diego Comic-Con exclusive so could it be possible that the Camie & Fixer pack would be the Celebration V exclusive? NY Comic-Con? We'll update when we know more. As part of the comic pack answer on SWCollector.com, Hasbro also mentions the end of the Legacy Collection/Droid Factory line around February. That fits with other info that's been rumored about a card change next Spring. In a second question from JTA.com, Hasbro was asked about future Droid Factory 2-packs at Walmart. According to Hasbro, future plans for that line have been cancelled due to poor performance of the current wave. If you are a fan of the Star Tours ride at Disneyland, and enjoyed the droids previously released, then Raving Toy Maniac has some info you'll be interested in. Hasbro confirmed that there will be some non-droid figures next year to celebrate the ride. Remember that Darth Vader Funeral Pyre that Hasbro showed off at Comic-Con? According to Han's Hideout, Hasbro is looking at this as an exclusive if they can find the right outlet for it. We've got our fingers crossed. Fans of the Galactic Heroes line will be happy with the news out of Yak Face, the AT-AT that was shown off earlier this year at the UK Toy Fair should be out for Fall 2011. Yes, that's a long time away, but it should be well worth the wait. I believe that it's already been confirmed for 2010, but if not, it is now; Jabba will be coming out next year. Yak Face, in their second question, gets that confirmation along with another piece of info; there is no new Tauntaun in development for next year. TargetKeep an eye on Target if you're looking for the new Clone Wars Freeco Speeder or Dooku with his Speeder Bike. Both were spotted on the pegs of the local store last night. The Freeco Speeder is an exceptional addition to the deluxe vehicle line. 11-14-2009ToppsSince the release of the Galaxy Series 4 trading cards it's been rumored that a Series 5 was in the works and we now have new details. Previews offered Series 5 for order with a release date of 1/13/2010 (which will probably slip based on previous releases). According to the Previews synopsis, the set will have 120 cards and include the following chase sets;
They'll have the standard 7 cards per pack with 24 packs per box. The MSRP for the single packs is $3 again. TargetThe local store finished resetting the Christmas seasonal area and stocked with a lot of new product. On the Star Wars front we have three Lego sets that we mentioned the other day; 8031 V-19, 8033 General Grievous' Starfighter and 8028 TIE Fighter. They're $3.99 each. Funko has released three new Christmas themed bobbleheads; Yoda, C-3PO and Darth Vader. Each bobble is $5.99. 11-13-2009ToppsSome retailers may have gotten their cases a day early, but today is the scheduled release day for the new Topps Clone Wars Widevision set. There are two releases for this set, retail and hobby. Both sets have 80 basic cards and share four chase sets; 
Widevision Clone Wars
The hobby set adds Widevision sketch and autograph cards. The sketch cards will be done by artists we've seen in previous sets along with cards from animators on the Clone Wars cartoon. The autograph cards will include voice actors from the cartoon and there are seven of them. They are;
There are two additional chase levels that should be in both hobby and retail boxes. They're both parallel sets, one silver and one gold. The silver cards have a ratio somewhere around 1:17 packs while the gold cards are a ridiculous 1:2220 or thereabouts. This new set also has a binder. Look for that in the Topps store along with a promo card. The packs should include a coupon for the binder and promo card. Gentle GiantFans of Gentle Giant who frequent forums on the various collecting sites will know VinylSquirrel as a GG employee who posts updates and information about upcoming products. Last night on her Twitter account she posted a new photo of the gold Darth Vader helmet that is in production.
What makes the photo interesting is not only the helmet, but several unreleased busts pictured in the background; including one bust that is only hinted at by a few parts sticking out from behind the helmet. The bust shows part of a hand holding what appears to be a lightsaber, the back of a head with hair, and part of a shoulder and arm. Speculation is that this will be the Tatooine outfit version of Luke Skywalker that GG teased us with via a concept drawing a couple months ago. Also in the photo are busts of Oola, Darth Talon, Battle Droid and Mynock hunt Hoth Leia. A small Yoda statue is also shown that we believe is the upcoming bronze. Just sneaking in on the left is the Han Solo Hoth bust as well. Make sure to check out the full-sized photo on VinylSquirrel's twitter feed. 11-11-2009Veterans DayWe would like to wish all of our military veterans well today, Veterans Day 2009. If you would like to make a donation today that would directly benefit veterans currently in the hospital recovering from injuries sustained while on duty overseas, we would ask you to consider donating $10 to Operation Ward 57 by purchasing one of the PSWCS medallions currently for sale.
There are currently less than 100 medallions left. All proceeds from the sale will go to Operation Ward 57 to directly benefit our soldiers. 11-9-2009Build-A-Bear WorkshopBuild-A-Bear Workshop is offering four new outfits based on Star Wars characters and one that makes a pair of Star Wars themed set of pajamas.
The outfits run from $12 to $15 for the outfits to $35 to $40 for a complete bear with the outfits on. You can buy them on-line and we would assume they would be available at some stores as well. LegoThe Christmas section at Target stores should have three small Star Wars sets again this year. Repeating their Easter release, 8031 V-19 and 8033 General Grievous' Starfighter are back along with 8028 TIE Fighter. Not sure if the TIE Fighter has been available in the US before, it was a UK exclusive in 2008 at Tesco stores. 11-7-2009Kurt S. AdlerrHallmark isn't the only game in town when it comes to Christmas ornaments with a star Wars theme, Kurt S. Adler has been doing ornaments for several years now. Quite often found in Target stores, among other retailers, the ornaments usually range from blown glass ornaments to snow globes to nutcrackers and stockings. Target is starting their Christmas seasonal reset and we've started to see several new items this year including Vader and Yoda glass ornaments, Yoda and Captain Rex stockings and a Yoda tree topper. We've also spotted a new Clone themed metal hanging ornament and rope lights with both R2-D2 and Yoda.
Make sure to stop by the seasonal section of Target or your other favorite retailers that sell Kurt Adler ornaments. GnomesBeginning next week, StarWarsShop.com will be offering a new exclusive, a Jawa Garden Gnome. Teaser photos were released earlier in the week and a not-yet-final version of the little guy made an appearance on the official Star Wars Blog as he arrived at Skywalker Ranch.
No price yet but look for this next week on the website. 11-6-2009HasbroIf you recall, Hasbro is running a diorama contest on their website with the winner receiving toys and the chance to display his or her dio at Celebration V. The initial contest ended in September with the deadline for submissions. Those submissions have now been narrowed down to five finalists by Hasbro and it's your turn to vote for the winner.
All five are now posted on Hasbro's website for you to view and submit your vote. Head over to check out all the photos and cast your vote. Voting runs till November 16th and the winner will be posted on November 20th. 11-5-2009Star Wars: Year by YearGet ready to clear another spot on your bookshelf, in 2010 DK will publish a new book titled "Star Wars: Year by Year - A Visual Chronicle." It's written by Gus Lopez, Pablo Hidalgo, Dan Wallace and Ryder Windham and will cover the history of our favorite saga from the early 1970s till the present. As the title implies, the book will have a lot of photos and not only cover the films and collectibles, but also the impact the films have had on history. Check out the full story on StarWars.com. The cover art is not final and the book is listed as a summer release. 11-3-2009Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 1
Don't forget that the first season of Star Was: The Clone Wars finally comes to DVD and Blu-ray today. Prices should be in the $30 - $40 range depending on what store you shop at. Make sure to check it out. 11-2-2009Imperial HolocronWe've been making a few updates to the site over the last few days in anticipation of a much larger redesign. If you notice the menu up at the top we now have two new top-level items, Collection and Checklists. Collection is where you'll find links for the AT-AT Driver and Republic Gunship collections as well as a link for general collection photos. Checklists is just what it sounds like, checklists for Hasbro, Gentle Giant, Sideshow, Acme Archives and others. Right now there is a link for the 2008 Hasbro Indiana Jones line and we anticipate a Lego checklist in the near future. We also have plans for adding some specialized checklists. At the top of the home page you have a new feature that will point out recently updated pages and new features or events that we want to highlight for a few days or weeks. As we mentioned, these updates are in anticipation of a larger update to the site that will include new features, updates to the AT-AT Driver and Republic Gunship pages and new checklists. It's also our plan to update the collection photos in their respective sections. Plans are for some new ongoing features in the future and the site redesign will help with those. Till then, please check out the site and stop in for your daily news updates. If you have any questions or feedback, please fell free to . 11-1-2009SideshowSideshow wrapped up their 2009 Spooktacular event yesterday but not before putting out another Ask Sideshow feature. Two new Star Wars answers were included and fans of Ewoks and Jawas take note, if Sideshow has their way they'll both be showing up in the line someday. Q: Now that the Clone Wars series has made it’s way into
Sideshow’s 1/6 scale Star Wars line, will there be any pre-orders
to coincide with the start of season two (”Rise of the Bounty
Hunters”)? If so, can we have a hint of how many and who? I would
love it if there was an Ahsoka with a back pack for little Rotta!
A: The first few episodes have been awesome, have they not? Cad Bane is certainly catching our attention. The new season has given us a few ideas, and we are continuing development on Cody and Rex and a few others that may surprise you. Stay tuned! Q: Are there any Ewoks and Jawas in the near future? A: Yes, Ewoks are certainly going to make an appearance. We’ve had several ideas for working Jawas into the plan, and you will see Jawas within the Sideshow lines at some point. Toys-R-UsToday is the first day for the sale prices in Toys-R-Us' latest Big Book sales flyer. Included in the sale is the new exclusive Republic Gunship for $49.99 (normally $69.99) and the Turbo Tank at $79.99 (normally ($99.99). Fans of the role play toys can pick up the new Captain Rex Clone Trooper helmet or Ultimate Blaster for $29.99 each or the Duel Action Lightsabers for $24.99. Lego fans can pick up the exclusive Home One Mon Calamari Star Cruiser for $99.99 (originally $109.99). Anakin's Y-Wing Starfighter is down $6 to $54.99 and the Venator Class Republic Attack Cruiser is marked down $20 to $109.99. Toys-R-Us is also offering an exclusive Lego X-Wing Fighter with Luke Skywalker Lego Maquette for $59.99. This sale also includes one of the Holocron's new favorite collectibles, Uncle Milton's Force Trainer for $79.99 (down from $99.99). The Toys-R-Us Big Book sale runs from November 1 -26, 2009. Head over to your local store and check out the Star Wars sale prices along with everything else they have to offer. |
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
