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12-31-2009Gentle GiantBack in July, at San Diego Comic-Con, Gentle Giant previewed a Lando Calrissian mini bust and a new Jango Fett scaled helmet. Earlier in the week some websites, such as Razor's Edge, began taking pre-orders for Lando and now they're also listing the Jango Fett helmet. Now, Gentle Giant has released product details for both items, along with new photos. Both are due in the Summer and no edition sizes have been set at this time. Lando represents his Empire Strikes Back appearance on Bespin and runs from $49.99 to $59.99 depending on where you order. The scaled Jango Fett helmet also starts at $49.99 from on-line retailers and looks to be the undamaged version from Attack of the Clones.
Besides the two Darth Vader helmets, San Diego Comic-Con's Brest Cancer Research pink version and the Premier Guild's gold plated version, the Jango helmet is one of the first scaled helmets to be released by Gentle Giant since they picked up the license in 2008 from Master Replicas. 12-30-2009Marauder "Gun-Runners"Marauder makes a wide variety of 1:18 scale weapons and accessories for collectors and now, they've added a new product to their inventory called the Marauder IDS (Interlocking Display System). The IDS figure stands have two pegs, one for most modern 1:18 scale lines such as G.I. Joe, Star Wars, or Hasbro's Marvel line. The second peg is larger and fits figures such as vintage Kenner Star Wars or Hasbro G.I. Joe.
The unique feature to the stands is that they can fit together sort of like a puzzle. That gives you the ability to arrange action figures facing off in battle, lined up in patrol formation or assembled in ranks for inspection. You can even turn them on edge to simulate a figure jumping or in flight.
We received a promo set to review and they came in black but Marauder is also now offering the stands in a clear format. Jesse at JediDefender.com did a nice review on these stands a couple weeks ago, as did GeneralsJoes.com. Marauder is offering the stands as singles for $0.75 or in lots of 10, 20, 50 and 100. Head over to their website to check out the stands or any of the other excellent products they offer. HasbroTwo photos showed up yesterday showing a Scout Trooper and speeder bike as well as a Battle Droid and STAP. These are in the Deluxe packaging and have Toys-R-Us exclusive stickers on them. The interesting thing is that up to this point the Deluxe line has been reserved for the Clone Wars characters and Hasbro has said in Q&A sessions that they had no intentions of adding realistic movie characters to the line. Apparently that doesn't apply to exclusives. No price point or release date yet. 12-29-2009SideshowFor the 6th day, in their "12 Days of Sideshow," Sideshow announced an Aurra Sing Premium Format statue for next year. The statue represents Aurra as she appeared at the pod race in 1999's Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
Head over to Sideshow's site to watch the video for Aurra, as well as the Yoda vs Sidious diorama and all the other video announcements that have gone up over the last week. 12-28-2009PSWCSBill Cable sent out a press release on Friday to announce that the 2009 Operation Ward 57 medallions had sold out, along with information about the final donation to the charity. I think we can call it a success! Operation Ward 57 medallion - Sold Out!
The Pennsylvania Star Wars Collecting Society is pleased to announce that we've sold through our entire run of Operation Ward 57 charity medallions. We mailed out our final donation to Operation Ward 57, bringing the total money raised to $6214.54. We are thrilled with the success of our first charity fundraiser, and would like to thank all of the web sites who helped publicize this effort. We would also like to thank everyone who supported Ward 57's wounded soldiers by purchasing medallions. So from all of us at PSWCS, thank you and Happy Holidays! SideshowSideshow is in the middle of their "12 Days of Sideshow" event where they are debuting new behind the scenes video features of new product for 2010. The "12 Days of Sideshow" began on Christmas Even, December 24th, and runs till January 4th. Of note so far is Saturday, December 26th. The video for Saturday debuts a new Star Wars diorama, Yoda vs Darth Sidious. This depicts their duel in the Senate Chambers during Revenge of the Sith. No pre-order announcement yet but head over to Sideshow's website to watch the video, and stop back to their site for the rest of the week as they reveal more videos.
12-24-2009HolidayWe want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! The Imperial Holocron staff will be taking a long holiday weekend but be sure to stop back next week as we close out 2009! 12-22-2009Hasbro Q&A - UpdateJedi News asked Hasbro about the 2010 packaging changes after the current red and white layout finishes up in the Spring. According to Hasbro, the leaked packaging images, mostly blue tones with Captain Rex, will be the standard scheme across all Hasbro lines. This seems to contradict an earlier comment by Hasbro that they would do more in 2010 to differentiate between the basic action figure lines, or at least the Legacy Collection and Legends. Hasbro Q&AHasbro wraps up 2009 with one last Q&A session and even had some good news for us on a couple fronts. BanthaSkull.com asked about future EU characters based on video games. Per Hasbro, we can look for an exclusive figure with the release of a new video game in Fall 2010 and there will be new multi-packs in 2011. Bantha Skull also scored a photo of an upcoming figure from the 2010 Force Unleashed multi-packs that are coming to Toys-R-Us. Not being familiar with the game, I think it's just a redo of Juno Eclipse, but could be wrong. While the proto photos leaked a couple of weeks ago, Hasbro confirms the 2010 release of the Cloud Car to JediInsider.com. The best part of the confirmation is that it will show up in the general release Starfighter wave meaning it'll be both affordable and easy to find. Jedi Insider (and JediTempleArchives.com) also asked Hasbro about their participation at Celebration V. Contrary to the RebelScum.com interview with Steve Sansweet, Hasbro says they do have two exclusives in the works for the convention. One is a comic pack that was cancelled from the main line and the second will celebration The Empire Strikes Back but may not "debut new characters." Our guess is that the Camie and Fixer comic pack, which has previously been announced as a 2010 con exclusive, will be one of the two exclusives. 12-19-2009Celebration VThe Celebration V hotel rates are now posted for various hotels near the convention center in Orlando. Unfortunately it looks as if some of the rates have gone up since the convention was first announced. Even the convention rates being posted are higher than some were able to book for back on the 3rd. For example, we used the Internet rate to book rooms a the Rosen Centre for $114 and Red Roof for $40. The convention prices are now $119 for the Rosen and $94 for Red Roof. Sometimes it pays to jump early to lock in deals. 12-18-2009Sideshow - UpdateThe Emperor and his throne environment are now available for pre-order. The exclusive edition of the Emperor will come with an alternate head sculpt and retails for $94.99 while the regular edition rings in at $89.99. Both are scheduled for second quarter of 2010. The Imperial Throne environment, also due in the second quarter, has a very affordable price of only $139.99. That is comparable to the price of Thrawn with his chair, but it could be argued that the Emperor's throne is a more key piece for many collections. Head over to Sideshow's website to pick up your Emperor and his throne today. SideshowSideshow put up their Coruscant Clone Trooper (41st Elite Corps) last night with the newsletter. The exclusive edition from Sideshow comes with an exclusive display base. The Trooper is $89.99 and is scheduled for the second quarter 2010. Edition size has yet to be announced.
And don't forget that at 1:00PM EST time today, Sideshow will offer up their new Emperor Palpatine and Throne Environment. Make sure to be ready for that one, it's probably going to be a hot item. The exclusive with Palpatine will be an alternate head sculpt.
12-15-2009LegoYakFace.com posted some new info about possible upcoming Lego sets for 2010. Included were photos for the following sets:
The minifigs included with Grievous' Starfighter, the Turbo Tank and Plo Koon's Starfighter look to be from the Clone Wars cartoon. Not sure on Palpatine's Shuttle but the Slave I and Wampa Cave sets look to be based on The Empire Strikes Back. The artwork on the boxes also includes the new Captain Rex art that was shown off a few weeks ago. No part counts or price estimates yet but we'll update when there's more info available. PSWCS Medallion - Sold Out Bill Cable, president of the Pennsylvania Star Wars Collection Society, sent an email to club members last night announcing the sell out of the 2009 Operation Ward 57 medallion! The medallions went on sale to the public on July 22nd which means all 1,000 sold in just under five months. The final total of the donation to Operation Ward 57 has not been announced yet but we should know in a few days. Personally, I'd like to thank everyone that purchased a medallion and helped to make this fundraiser a success. 12-14-2009Best and Worst of 2009We only have a little over two weeks left in 2009 so it's time to publish this year's Best and Worst list. What were the best action figures, toys, busts and events of 2009? We all have our own opinions but it seemed to be a mixed bag this year. While there were plenty of toys to buy, eventually, the economy had some impact but bad decisions by Hasbro in 2008 caused havoc at retail for much of the year in many places. It's not that we didn't want to buy toys, sometimes we couldn't. Gentle Giant took most of the year off but Sideshow and Lego seemed to keep it pretty even. Good, bad or indifferent, check out... Imperial Holocron's Best and Worst of 2009 12-12-2009Hasbro Q&AThe Private Universe posted the answers to their questions for this round of Q&A and Hasbro confirmed two figures for the early 2011 ANH wave they earlier confirmed with Jedi Temple Archives; Ponda Baba and Dr. Evazan. They also mention that Wuher is on their short list for an update when time allows. SideshowIt was a busy week for Sideshow as they had several new Star Wars product announcements as well as a pre-order for a new Premium Format Luke Skywalker. 1:6 Scale
On Thursday, Sideshow authorized retail partners began preorders for a new Sandtrooper Corporal 1:6 figure. The black pauldroned Sandtrooper will join the white pauldron Sandtrooper and orange pauldron Sandtrooper Squad Leader in the second quarter of 2010. Next week will be busy; with the launch of the Sideshow Newsletter on Thursday, December 17th we will be able to pre-order the new 41st Elite Corps Coruscant Clone Trooper. The Coruscant Clone Trooper will be mostly white with distinctive grey shoulder pads and deco. But the biggest pre-order will be on Friday, December 18th at 1:00PM EST. At that time the new 1:6 scale Return of the Jedi Emperor Palpatine will go on sale along with a separate, and incredible, Imperial Throne Environment. Premium Format
Premium Format and Luke Skywalker fans were treated on the 10th to a preorder for Sideshows new Return of the Jedi Luke Skywalker. Sideshow's exclusive version will include an alternate right hand which includes the blaster Luke used at Jabba's Palace. Both the exclusive and regular release versions will include a right hand with an ignited lightsaber. When you remove Luke's tunic, you have the Death Star duel version of Luke. Even his shirt can open to recreate the scene where he battles Darth Vader. The exclusive version of Luke is $299.99 while the regular release will set you back $289.99. Both are slated for a second quarter 2010 release and edition sizes haven't been announced yet. Ask SideshowSideshow posted three new Ask Sideshow features this week and each had some Star Wars tidbits in them. On December 9th, Sideshow fielded seven questions covering 1:6 all the way to life-size, including questions on a life-size Han in Carbonite (likely) and the likelihood of several creatures such as Amanaman, Hammerhead and Chewbacca. Thursday, December 10th brought another seven questions, mainly on the Premium Format and 1:6 lines. It's been rumored that Dooku will be on his way, probably sooner rather than later, and that seems furthered in the answers from this Ask Sideshow round. Also asked about were the chances of a Han Solo Hoth PF statue, 1:6 Grievous and where the droids are in the Sideshow line (they're coming). Friday, Sideshow closed out the week with good news for fans of the 1:6 environment sets (more on the way), Snowtroopers, and Bounty Hunters (they're going to get "much, much love"). Make sure to check out all the Ask Sideshow features to keep up on where the company is headed. 12-11-2009Hasbro Q&AYesterday the participating websites received the answers to their latest questions and there were some decent answers as usual. Today we round up some of the more interesting answers.
Dewback Patrol asked about 2010 line information including
films covered and a figure count. The Legacy line will end
after the EU wave in early 2010 and then be replaced in August
(leaving a several month gap again). The EU wave will end
the Build-a-Droid feature. The films covered in the Fall of
2010 include, per their answer, JediDefender.com asked about updated band members (Cantina and Jabba's Palace) for 2010 and Hasbro replied that Oola was in the plans for next year with their standard caveat; "if all goes according to plan." Jedi Defender's third question had some interesting information in it however, it also contradicts the Dewback Patrol answer. In Dewback's answer about 2010 waves, Hasbro mentions EPII, EPV and EPVI but in the Defender answer says that ROTS and ANH will be covered in the Fall. They follow that up by saying that all six films will have waves in late 2010 through early 2011. Mixed news in their answers. Whatever films are represented in the 2010-2011 line, after that we will see mixed waves rather than the current film based waves. That could be good news for EU fans but it could also cut down on the film based waves that are made up of less desirable figures. JediTempleArchives.com asked a similar question to Dewback Patrol about the line makeup for 2010 and the answer seems to be more clear. Per Hasbro, 2010 will see waves of figures for AOTC, ROTS, ESB and ROTJ with TPM and ANH being represented in early 2011. When taken with the answer to Jedi Defender, that would imply that following the two 2011 waves, we would see the line change again and we'll see the mixed waves rather than movie based waves. RebelScum.com asked about the future of the comic packs, and in line with what Hasbro told Dewback Patrol, the Fall 2010 wave which includes Tholme/T'raa Saa, Routine Valor Clones and the Black Hole Trooper should come out sometime in the Spring while the Spring line has been cancelled. It's also uncertain at this point if the Walmart exclusives packs we showed the other day will be released. If you like the Clone Wars figures then SWCollector.com has some good news, in 2010 we should see an animated version of R4-P17. YakFace.com asked about the missing accessories from the Toys-R-Us exclusive McQuarrie figure packs. Hasbro's answer is kind of odd in that they said they are "baffled" why they weren't included. Baffled? Didn't anyone check? We call shenanigans, especially when they ended their answer that since the packaging didn't state the accessories were included, they can't do anything about it. Talk about a CYA answer. Finally, in response to questions about the Force Unleashed battle packs coming in 2010, TheJawa.com received the response from Hasbro that the Galen Marek figures in each pack will be based on a newly sculpted figure. Both Jedi Temple Archives and Han's Hideout asked about 2010 and the lack of a new Bespin Han Solo (he's slated for 2011). Hasbro answered both questions by saying that there is a new ESB Han due next year but that it's a version of the character that we have not seen before. With part of Han's Hideout answer being that he'd have a new jacket, speculation is that it may be the Hoth version of Han where he has his brown pants on with the parka as he works on the Millennium Falcon with Chewbacca. 12-9-2009HasbroHasbro released new photos of the upcoming Walmart exclusive comic packs last night. These were originally scheduled for about September of this year but it's looking now like they won't make it before the first of the year now.
12-8-2009SideshowSideshow has posted new Ask Sideshow answers over the last couple of days and there have been some interesting Star Wars announcements. On 12/3, Sideshow mentions that they're looking at the Clone Wars cartoon for characters such as Cad Bane, Bossk and IG-88 for the 1:6 scale line. If revisiting previously released characters with the Prometheus body interests you you're in luck, while Sideshow isn't currently working on any re-releases, they say it's something they expect to do. Finally, photos of a 1:4 scale Premium Format C-3PO were released to ToyFare magazine and Sideshow further confirms that along with mentioning that the work on the PF will also help in the planning of their 1:6 scale figure. In the 12/4 article, Sideshow announced that they are planning a 1:6 scale Yoda for their 2011 lineup. They also said that it's a "safe bet" that we'll see a 1:6 Shadow Trooper based on the Stormtrooper armor. Also mentioned is the possibility of a basic white armored Clone Trooper that you could swap helmets on to create troops from AOTC, ROTS or the Clone Wars. Be sure to keep an eye on Sideshow's website for all the Ask Sideshow features. 12-5-2009WalmartIf you haven't been visiting your Walmart stores looking for new Star Wars toys, you may be missing out. It's not often that a wave of figures will hit just about every state all at once, but this week the Empire Strikes Back wave did just that as reports came in from all over that they're being found. We even found, and bought, the wave locally last night, a very rare happening. Some stores are also receiving a pallet display. The four-sided display has Saga Legends, Clone Wars, Legacy Collection and vehicles on it. The display includes the most recent wave of Clone Wars figures; Padme, Ziro's assassin droid and Matchstick as well as older favorites such as Ahsoka, Obi-Wan and plenty of Clone Troopers. ON the Legacy front, the cube mostly contains Revenge of the Sith figures but, as mentioned, the ESB has been hitting as well. Saga Legends is just more of the same. While prices have been bumped to $24.77 for a while now, the cubes at Walmart do include some of the newer vehicles such as the Republic Tank, Tank Droid and Anakin's Jedi Starfighter. Vehicles may be expensive, but there has been a rollback on carded figure prices. The pegs at the local store were all marked $6 last night and other stores are showing the same. This seems to be an advertised price so all stores should be the same, unlike other sales that seem to be more regional, or individual on a store by store basis. 12-4-20009HasbroBear78 on the RebelScum.com forums posted several photos of upcoming vehicles. They're all prototypes so the colors are not final. Although protos are a good sign, it's still not guaranteed that we'll see these next year. Included are shots of a new Cloud Car, Snow Speeder, Droid Gunship and Swamp Speeder. Also posted were shots of several new ripcord vehicles that are about 4" long. They look to be a new product for 2010.
Celebration VRebelScum.com posted some information about Celebration V that they learned during a phone interview with Steve Sansweet. Some of the information included why it took so long to announce the dates and city for the convention along with some ideas for what we'll see next year in Orlando. One interesting thing of note is on the topic of exclusives. While Sansweet said that there will be exclusive product offered at Celebration V, it appear that Hasbro will not be offering an exclusive figure like they have in the past. Not sure what that means for the con as we'd be surprised to see Hasbro skip offering anything. More info is definitely on the way so we'll keep you up to date as we hear anything. 12-3-2009
It seems to be official; Star Wars Celebration V will be held from August 12 - 15, 2010 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Stay tuned to StarWars.com and StarWarsCelebration.com for additional information. UPDATE: The official press release is now on StarWars.com. 12-1-2009SideshowSideshow answered several Star Wars related questions in their Ask Sideshow feature yesterday. Included is some good news for both the Premium Format and 1:6 scale lines. Check out the Star Wars related answers below and head over to their website to see what they had to say about some of their other top lines.
Q: Are you able to hint at when a Premium Format of a
Stormtrooper or stand alone Clone Trooper will be made and when
it would be released? Also would the armor be sculpted or would
it have separate pieces, like the Scout Trooper PF?
A: We’ve previously confirmed that both Stormtrooper and Clone Trooper Premium Format figures are in development (and not necessarily in that order), but we’re happy to say it again. We’ll share some sneak peeks with you soon! Q: What about the option to buy clothes/base bodies/accessories for your Star Wars line? I would be stoked at the option to customize a Jedi, Rebel, or Imperial character and not have to buy things piecemeal on eBay to do so. They could be small runs of clothing and male/female nude bodies that people could choose from. Heck you could even bring in more Hot Toys Truetype bodies (or Sideshow bodies) if you were so inclined and just offer the clothing items you already have. A: We love you - you’re cut from the same cloth as our design team. Customize, enjoy, and PLAY. We would love to offer more options for accessorizing and redressing your Star Wars figures, but we feel that the best way for us to do that is to bring more and more new characters and figures to market. You’ll have to continue to piecemeal them, but you’ll have a greater variety to choose from. We may offer more Sideshow body styles independent of other figures - it’s an active discussion at Sideshow HQ. Q: We all know Sideshow has Premium Format versions of Jedi Luke and C-3PO in development, but can you give us any information on other fan favorites, such as Stormtrooper, Chewbacca, R2-D2, are they in development for the PF line? And if so when can we expect them? I would also love a PF Snow Trooper & PF Hoth Han Solo (you could even sit him on a Tantaun for a truly epic PF to rival the PF Speeder bike). Also if and when you do release R2-D2 it would be great if you could released a Duo base that allows C-3PO & R2-D2 to be displayed together, like you did with the Frankenstein & Bride PFs. Thanks Sideshow - keep ‘em coming! A: We’d be happy to! The Stormtrooper, R2-D2, and others are currently in development. Your other suggestions (and they’re well within the realm of likely) are duly noted. Q: I have a question, as do so other many collectors out there. Will we being seeing any bounty hunters in this 1/6 scale line? Also, any droids R2-D2 and C3-PO anytime down the road in 1/6th? And will you finish off the Jedi’s, like Agen Kolar and Yoda (of course!) in this awesome 1/6th scale line? And Count Dooku? I just love this series! I’m glad your sticking with the 1/6th scale line and keep up the great job on these special figures! A: Most definitely - bounty hunters are an essential part of the Scum and Villainy line! Yes, C-3PO and R2-D2 are coming in 1:6 scale from both Medicom (soon) and Sideshow (later), so you’ll have an excellent selection of droids to add to your collection. Yes, we are looking at other Jedi candidates - we’ve felt their recent absence and hope to add some momentum to the Jedi Order in 2010 and into 2011. Dooku - definitely and sooner than later. |
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