Found: Star Wars Legacy Collection Comic Packs
Thursday, July 31, 2008

While Hasbro indicated these wouldn't be available until later, I spotted new Comic Packs at Target this evening. Enjoy hunting for Tol Skorr & Asajj Ventress, Anakin Skywalker & Durge, and Anakin Skywalker & Assassin Droid. (The latter of which is a repackaged release.) Happy hunting!

Posted byAdam16bit at 11:58 PM 0 comments  

Labels: , , , ,

Ad: Entertainment Earth Blow Out Sale

Ad: It's that time again! Entertainment Earth slashed prices on over 900 action figures, gifts, and collectibles, and over 80 Star Wars items remain. Choose from exclusive action figures, statues, busts, costumes, and more. Click through for pricing and availability, but hurry-- the sale ends soon!

Posted byAdam16bit at 9:13 PM 0 comments  

Labels:

Q&A: Post-Clone-Con Edition
Monday, July 28, 2008

It's Monday, so let's answer some questions! This week we look at shiny metal droids, more Battlefront figures, and of course, big ships. Read all about these and more in this week's Q&A!



1. Hey, after looking at the new Hasbro Clone Wars/Legacy figure poster I was curious as to which movie you think the Imperial Engineer is from. Is this the ANH version of the Imperial Gunner, or another ROTJ version w/ a new sculpt? I know in the past you made reference to a difference in the Imperial Gunner from ANH and the one from ROTJ. Thanks!
--Jeff

It's my understanding-- and it's entirely possible I'm not 100% correct here-- that the Imperial Gunners of Star Wars don't wear the armor, or gloves. However, Return of the Jedi Gunners do wear the gloves, and don't always wear the armor-- actually, all publicity shots I could find were armor-free. So it's possible they wear armor in Star Wars too-- it's hard to tell, now that I can't seem to find the evidence.

The upcoming Imperial Engineer action figure appears to be based on the 2006 The Saga Collection Gunner-- but it's not from any movie, it's from the Battlefront game series. It may or may not include new accessories. (At press time, they have not been revealed.) I sincerely hope they put something awesome extra in there, because otherwise, the fact that the "repaint" wave now consists of a figure I own with nothing more than a new name-- especially as it has a build-a-droid piece I want-- is annoying to say the least. I don't advocate in-store theft, but if I did, I'd be advocating it here.




2. Any idea why Hasbro has never made Rebel pilot Grizz Frix? I feel like he had more screen time than some of the other pilots they have made.
--Brian


I'm not going to sit and watch Return of the Jedi with a stopwatch to confirm this, but I can say that a lot of pilots are made for a lot of reasons. I personally can't figure out why I'm now the owner of a Kesin Ommis figure-- I didn't even know who he was until I got him-- but I think a lot of fans will say the same thing about any Rebel pilot who isn't Biggs, Luke, or Wedge. The film Return of the Jedi made no effort to give any significant lines or characterization to the Rebels in the Death Star battle, so anything you felt about them was probably a result from Expanded Universe materials or that fanboy gene that makes people think that Random Guy #2 is the most awesome thing ever.

One of the issues with Rebel Pilots is that they're mostly all very similar. There are some unique helmets, and a few new colors out there, but basically it's a guy with an orange jumpsuit, a new head, and possibly a repainted helmet. Since Hasbro has yet to make a truly great Wedge Antilles figure (the last one recycled a 1998 head sculpt), I personally won't be lobbying for any Rebel except, maybe, Ten Numb as he appears in ROTJ-- in a red costume during the Endor celebration sequence.

Grizz Frix fans, maybe there's going to be a chance for another Rebel Pilots Evolutions set some day. But I wouldn't be hopeful given we're getting two at the same time, plus a new Rebel Pilot in the A-Wing Fighter (Wal-Mart) and B-Wing Fighter (Toys "R" Us) vehicles. With a whopping 8 new pilots this year, well, anything else would be astounding. Odds are we'll start seeing Rebel Pilots treated more like Imperial Officers in that we'll get 1 or 2 token releases a year, now that Hasbro has invested in so many body olds from which to create even more pilots.



3. With the release of the BMF Falcon just a few weeks away, I am wondering...would it be wise to purchase this Falcon now, or should I risk it and wait later in hopes they might re-release it around Christmas time? I have heard from a friend who works at a big box store that they only got 10 in on their display and it was a non replenishable item, meaning what they got is all they'll get and they won't be getting anymore.
--Jeff

It's my understanding this item will be sold throughout 2008. I could be wrong, and your local stores may not necessarily all carry it at all or all year. If it's anything like the Butterscotch Pony, it should be sold for months. But since this has a much larger adult collector following than FurReal Friends, it may be tough to get, so I'd just suggest getting it when you see it if you want it. A lot of non-replenishable items sometimes find their way back to the store, be it in an exclusive repackaging, or just because the store's system may have had a hiccup. And if you can't get it, it's a pretty safe bet online stores will be selling it for as long as they can possibly get inventory. This isn't going to be a limited edition piece, its development costs weren't cheap and Hasbro has to make their money back.

I should also note (this paragraph was written on 7/27) that on my drive back from San Diego, we made a few stops, each of which had several Millennium Falcon vehicles waiting to be bought. As in, no shortage. Basic figures were long gone, and lots of other items sold through-- like most places had no AT-TEs-- but the Falcon was in ample supply. Does this mean Hasbro actually made enough, or that fans don't care/don't care to pay that? Time will tell.



4. As an employee of EE who [works with] exclusives, have you ever considered creating "new" vintage figures? I think that the way SW is heading (Clone Wars TV, Video Games, Live Action show coming) the OT is getting lost in the shuffle, and it seems that many long time fans have little to get excited for. I think that if EE created 3 new vintage figures, (Grand Moff Tarkin, Rebel Fleet Trooper and a Sandtrooper) packaged them in the VOTC clamshells, and sold them for 12-15 a pop, people would go nuts. The hardest part would be keeping the sculptors and painters form making them too detailed. The production wouldn't be too expensive, as they would only have the standard 5 points of articulation, and the packaging already exists. If this were successful, follow-up waves could be limitless.
--Mike

I've asked Hasbro if they would consider such a line, and ultimately, the answer was no. I think it could be cool for some collectors, but I also don't think the market for "new" vintage figures truly exists. A giant step backward in aesthetics seems hard to manufacture, inauthentic nostalgia just seems kinda weird. Getting someone to sculpt a 1980s-style Tarkin figure would be odd. "OK, start working on it, but don't do a very good job, and don't give it any articulation." A lot of the "style" we saw in the old Kenner line was a result of the time's technology, not because people in 1984 were crappy sculptors. The packaging most certainly doesn't exist, and in case you didn't know, sculpting a new figure costs a lot of money. There's a reason that shared tooling or repaints are frequently employed in exclusive action figure production, just because something is primitive doesn't mean it's going to be any cheaper.

Getting an individual figure exclusive at $12-$15 may be tricky. The fan club's have been closer to $17 as of late. As such, I wouldn't expect an item like this to be particularly cheap, and as it has limited appeal, it'd be a dangerous exclusive to do unless it had tremendous fan support and, I hate to say it, support at regular retail as well. They'd need mass exposure to hit the right audiences, a lot of hardcore vintage fans don't read up on the new stuff and may never hear about it.

It wouldn't shock me to see Hasbro create fake "vintage" figures down the road as we really start to see them run out of potentially good ideas, maybe as a "chase" figure 1 per case, but I hope it doesn't come to that. Let's leave the past in the past, we have two new TV series and an entire Universe to explore.




5. Regarding the build-a-droid campaign, do you know if all of the various droid parts are interchangeable? Are the attachment pegs all the same so that, for example, C-3PX's torso could be used with another protocal droid's limbs? I ask because as with most waves of figures, there are some that I don't really want and don't plan to buy, so I won't be able to build all of the complete droids. However, I would be totally okay with building some frankendroids from mismatched parts, so I hope that will work. Put a few of those outside a sandcrawler with some Jawas, and you got a pretty nifty display IMO.

Are any of the upcoming astromechs (either complete figures or as build-a-droids) the same as the ones released in the EE sets a while ago? I'm thinking not, but it's hard to tell since the names aren't always consistent with those guys.

Any insight on the supposed vac-metal R-3P0 from the Wal-Mart sets? I see the one you got is regular paint, is a running change planned?
--John

OK, let's start...

You can switch some droid parts. So far, it appears C-3PX's arms can fit into the sockets on the sides of the Astromech bodies-- at least, the ones I have. The Astromech limbs did not easily fit into C-3PX's body, nor did the C-3PX legs fit on an astromech body particularly well. I don't know yet what kind of sockets the RA-7 droids will sport.

Right now, only a few build-a-droids have been revealed, and none of them were previously sold as Entertainment Earth exclusives. R4-D6 and R4-I9 are very similar to the point of R4-I9 seemingly actually being the right name for R4-D6, and the figure we know as R4-I9 might be the result of bad photography. That, and Hasbro has said that they don't plan on rereleasing exclusives while the original exclusive partner still has stock of an exclusive, and as of today, Entertainment Earth still has a few sets of droids left.

Finally, Hasbro confirmed the vac-metal R-3PO was basically a test thing and not currently planned for mass production. There ya go!



FIN

I went to San Diego's Midnight Madness event with Mike (from the site). We got there at 11:30, and were allowed in the door at 2:00 AM. A lot of the basic figures were gone, but there was no shortage in the $100+ items, which is a curious sign. The reaction from the fans regarding the large vehicles seems to be "that's great, I've got nowhere to put it," making me wonder if we're going to see a lot of collectors hold off for a sale, or if the sheer girth of the line and year after year of 50-75 basic carded figures has finally got to a point where fans really and truly no longer can make just a little more room. The AT-TE seems to be selling better than the Falcon if bare shelves are a legit indicator of sales, and I'm not entirely clear if they are.

I also went to Comic-Con, and it was fairly grueling. For the first time, we left on Saturday and it wasn't a day too soon. Here are my pictures, which as I write this, are still uploading. Many are still missing descriptions and names... but hey, there were a few hundred of them.



www.flickr.com




There was quite a bit to see. It was an interesting mix of amazing newness and dreadful sameness. "New" toys are far and few between as the line gets bigger and bigger, and we're seeing dozens of new figures with maybe one or two out of every ten being something other than a twist on something one already has. The awe-inspiring Pit of Carkoon set is simultaneously amazing and one of Habsro's least inspired sets. Sure, you get the Skiff. Yes, you get the pit, finally, for the first time ever. But it's packaged with 5 figures which were already packaged together in a Battle Pack a few years ago, none of which collectors were particularly clamoring for. As such, it's a triple-dip and I can't say that's entirely welcomed. I know certain things have to be done to maintain tooling costs, but c'mon, we just bought this set.

Got questions? I bet you do. Email me with "Q&A" somewhere in the subject line and hopefully I'll get to yours in the next column!

Posted byAdam16bit at 3:29 AM 0 comments  

Labels:

Q&A: Street Dates, More Street Dates, and 7/26
Monday, July 21, 2008

Dejarik! Street Dates! Launches! We've got a one-track mind this week, with a few diversions to other tracks. With so much stuff hitting stores and selling, our attention naturally goes to the whole 7/26 launch and how it is-- and isn't-- working. Click through to read the whole article!



1. While stopping by Walmart today to see if they had finally decided to restock their Star Wars pegs, I was taken by surprise when I saw a slew of new figures; Vader with the cool 2-piece mask, the new Ewoks, the whole "sand storm scene" bunch, Yarna, and many more in the new "clone face" packaging!

I was very excited to be seconds away from purchasing them, just because I haven't seen "new" figures in a while, and I was pretty thrilled about the build-a-droid concept too! (Finally, a useful pack-in!) BUT, to my dismay, as I presented them to the cashier (who at least was courteous & sympathetic to my situation), the scanner simply said "Do not sell".

I thought it must have been some sort of joke! They finally put out new figures, but wouldn't sell them to me! The lady tried, and tried to scan them, but no price appeared, only "do not sell"!

Has this happened to anyone else? I have already wrote-off Target for raising their prices, now Walmart is playing tricks on me. I'm very discouraged now.

Even if they were put out before the release date, which I've found stuff ahead of time in the past, but I've never seen a "do not sell" come up.

Is this something new Hasbro has created to ensure stores comply with release dates? It just feels so unfair to be "toyed" with like that!
--BJ

This does indeed happen-- I've even had a similar problem with a Transformers exclusive a few years ago. I read it's available at a specific store on a Transformers forum, and after work, I go there to get it. There's a big sign for it, a price thing for it, and piles of them. And they refuse to sell it, despite the fact someone bought one earlier and shared the receipt with the world. So what can you do?

I personally feel that if something is on the shelf on the floor, that's an offer to sell it. The average consumer is unaware of things like toy street dates, and if you stumbled on a DVD or game early, you can be damned sure that they'd sell it to you. Unless, of course, there's been a recall, or the item has a clear warning on it like "This is alcohol, and you are not 21." I don't like to be a hassle for toy store employees, but when it comes to stuff like this, I have no problem being a total pain in the ass. Once the item is made available to you, you need to be allowed to buy it-- period. If they don't sell it to you, they need to make it up to you. These are outcomes to this experience which I have personally experienced or have had relayed to me over the past nine years of writing this column:
1. Befuddled employee looks at you and says "how much is this supposed to be?", rings it up, and lets you have it.
2. Store refuses to sell item and won't explain why. Customer moans and demands to see the manager until satisfied, which may result in a free in-store gift card, being allowed to get the item to shut them up, or nothing at all.
3. Once item is scanned at price scanner, an employee rushes out of nowhere and immediately begins dumping stuff in cart as if some alarm went off somewhere so nobody else gets it.

When it comes to getting items out of the back, I can understand why stores have their policies to not root through cases until they find the figure(s) I want. But once it's on the store? You don't have to take any crap from anybody. It's not your problem, it's an offer to sell you a product-- and if nothing else, I would say you need to demand a gift card or sale of the product.

Of course, I have an agenda-- I think street dates for toys are a load of crap and need to be done away with. Stores will always-- ALWAYS-- make a mistake and items will get out. Movie, book, music, and video game release dates have been consistent for years-- new stuff is typically put out on Tuesday. Toy release dates happen, generally, no more than once or twice a year. And I can also say that a lot of the cases for these products are not marked with any date restrictions. How is an employee supposed to know he can't sell me Wave 2 Titaniums if, nowhere on the box, does it indicate they shouldn't be sold?

I know some of you have told me you like release dates. You're in the wrong here. This whole thing is a PR stunt so people can write stories about it for the paper or local news and we can be used as part of the marketing for our own hobby. These sort of things place a level of importance on this sort of consumer product which, frankly, it doesn't deserve. It's also worth noting I went to 3 Targets on my drive home on Friday, 2 of which had nearly complete Clone Wars displays set up and filled with product. Not everything, but a lot of things. This is yet another reason why street dates do not work.



2. im just kind of concerned about getting the at te and falcon on july 26th the reason is , i gave the dpcis for target and now they say the street date for there stores are 8/3/08 which kind of shocks me because i thought all major retail was suppose to get them on7/26. I believe toysrus midnight madness might be alright to track them down but i dont know why Ma and Nh targets are saying thats when the'll be put out i dont know if thats the same everywhere or is just target stores. Do you know anything about this? Im hoping toysrus in manchester Ct will have them both. I spoke with a employee and over the phone and said there suppose to have the falcon that event.
--Paul

The Millennium Falcon started being sold by Toys "R" Us Canada a month ago, and I found AT-TEs in a Wal-Mart on July 9. It's possible some stores may not have all the toys on 7/26 (lord knows this always happens) so you may need to stop at multiple locations of a store or multiple stores to find everything you need on 7/26. Some employees will make up a date to screw with fans. As such, go to the store anyway and if they refuse to sell it to you, let them know that Wal-Mart and other stores will be happy to take your money.



3. Any idea why there's so much stuff getting repacked for the 7/26 Clone Wars launch? I can't remember this ever happening with the line debuts for the other movies. In fact, unless I'm compeltely mistaken, I don't think there were ANY repacks for the prequel midnight madness events.
--R. J.

There were very few. For Episode I, Hasbro repackaged the STAP in new packaging-- the line itself was a complete reboot and no new Original Trilogy products were sold for several months. The Attack of the Clones/Saga relaunch was also a total reboot, and the repacks didn't come for a while-- but a few items, like the Jedi Starfighter, were still available. Revenge of the Sith had a lot of retools and repaints, but very few repacks.

This time around, it seems Hasbro was blindsided by the theatrical release of The Clone Wars as it came a little late in the development cycle. Much like the Original Trilogy Collection of 2004, it seems (key word: seems, I haven't confirmed this with Hasbro) that the company was in a rush to put together an entire line for a summer release date and this is what they came up with. Given Legacy Wave 2 was delayed from this Spring, and we saw no new products released for months, this seems to be what happened here.

It is extremely baffling as to why they want to include Legacy as part of a launch event for a new film. Considering the press and hype for the Falcon, I can get why that one item is getting special attention. But Luke in a scarf? Really? It would seem that while it makes no sense to us, it has to do with trying to keep things simple for retail-- just hold back everything, and that way, stuff from the new project won't get out early.

Unfortunately, it's always-- ALWAYS-- possible to get this stuff early if you try. For Saga, I was driving around a month before the release and picked up several figures early. For Revenge of the Sith, numerous Wal-Marts just put the stuff out and don't care. This time around, I'm seeing scores of items at Wal-Mart and Fry's Electronics, of all places. While I personally agree with the idea that repacks make the line look bigger, and it's great to give the new people coming in a shot at some of this stuff, it's a safe bet a lot of it is going to clog pegs quickly.

...well, maybe not. I mean, the Saga Legends line does OK, and the 4 repacks in the build-a-droid waves-- Battle Damaged Vader, the EVO Trooper, Commander Gree, and the Kashyyyk Trooper-- all have been consistent sellers around my neck of the woods. I'm sure it'll probably be just fine, for now at least. In short, it all boils down to kids not knowing what half this stuff is and it's all new to them, and the fair-weathered collectors who only collect at these Midnight Madness things because they have no idea there's more new stuff to come. I've been in stores and heard people ecstatic that they were finally making Star Wars figures for the first time in years... uh... what?



4. You know what would be awesome? A wave of figures based on the Dejarik holochess creatures. Or beast packs, whatever... The could be designed as actual characters in the same scale and style as regular figures. Hasbro could even include (or reissue as a repaint) a version that was translucent so you could make your own actual size holochess set. Good idea, huh? Tell them to do it.
--Antoine

Well, I've been lobbying for this for a while-- at this point I'm going to need fans to assist me so they won't think it's just the ravings of a single madman hoping to get his favorite figures made again. So step up, fanboys and fangirls, be sure to mention the Dejarik monsters-- specifically the Mantellian Savrip-- every chance you get.




5. After a long drought of Padme figures, there is a good number of them coming out this year, with a few more rumored to be on the way. But in a recent Hasbro Q&A, Hasbro stated that they are want to get out one per year from now on. I think that if Obi-Wan, who has one costume, gets 3 or more figures a year, Padme, with almost 40 costumes, deserves the same number if not more. What do you think about Padme? Does she deserve more figures, and if so which costumes would you like first?
--luedersb

From a fan perspective, it always makes sense that a company go and make every unique outfit. From a production perspective, sales are king-- and it makes sense to follow the dollars. Despite being pretty much all the same, Hasbro has managed to crank out multiple versions of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the exact same costumes year after year, and they are consistently big sellers. Kids know Obi-Wan, as do fans, and will shell out the money to get him. Padme, on the other hand, tends to not do as well but it's hard to say entirely if this is customer's fault or Hasbro's fault. When faced with poorer sales, Hasbro would say "well, people aren't buying up Padme figures, so we better not make as many per year."

Problem is, very few have been made as of late and it's hard to say if that's really an issue of "the market has spoken" or Hasbro just not making enough great products. By my count, we had preggers Padme in 2005 (which didn't sell all that great and was brought back in 2006 and can still be bought today), and this pretty much ruined things. The much more colorful, eye-catching costumes haven't been around in ages and one of the things Transformers designers always go on about is the importance of color. Kids see a figure and say "I want the green one" or "I want the blue one" a lot of the time. If the only individually carded Padme figure available over the past three years was a pregnant, oddly painted, earth-toned release, it seems we're dealing with one of those fancy-pants self-fulfillng prophecies. To make things worse, this year's only confirmed Padme figure is a resculpt of a Target exclusive that went on such extreme clearance that I could have bought dozens of the entire Battle Pack she came in for under $5. Sadly, it seems less like Hasbro is ignoring fan requests, but is ignoring the fact that their choices for figures aren't exactly the best possible ones to inspire sales of the character.

To armchair-quarterback things, I'd say Hasbro should crank out at least 1 or 2 "gown/dress" Padme figures to see how those do before putting her in the one-per-year category. It seemed to me the Amidala figures from Power of the Jedi did well, and were quite distinctive. The weird make-up, unique dresses, and (somewhat) interesting colors made these figures really stand out, especially the super-cool Theed one which I still hold as one of my all-time favorite action figures. If Hasbro wanted to do well with Padme as a character, they would need to be slightly better about which outfits get released, and how they get released. As it is, it seems that this year's selections may very well continue the character's position as a poorly selling release. Which is unfortunate.



FIN

It seems a lot of stores have thrown up their arms over the street dates issue-- stuff is selling, and briskly. Wal-Marts and Targets here in Los Angeles are putting stuff out, as are Fry's Electronics. Everybody-- and I mean everybody-- put out Transformers Animated early as well, so maybe we're seeing stores basically say "screw it" and move on. (I will say, too, that some cases are not stamped with 7/26 markings-- I've seen at least a few Titanium assortments with no such restrictions.) I just want people to sell stuff, period. Of course, this probably means I've already missed the 7/26 exclusives, and since I'll be at Comic-Con, odds are if I ever get Commander Fox or Holo Grievous, it'll be down the road after fan interest-- and prices-- are reduced greatly. Ah well.

Speaking of new stuff, I spent about three or four hours Saturday trying to get one of my toy display areas in order. I haven't really done a good job keeping on top of it since 2005, and we're about due for a cyclone of new stuff to hit. So, with any luck, I'll have it more or less in good shape soon. I won't, but it makes me feel good to think I will.

I spent a chunk of the weekend getting ready for next week. As the only regular poster on Galactic Hunter at Comic-Con, uh, well, I don't know what to tell you to expect in the way of coverage. Odds are I'll do some bits and pieces for you but I'm going to be in a lot of meetings and doing podcasts for work (you see, as someone who works in the industry, I don't get to go to shows to cover/enjoy them except as an afterthought). So you might be seeing more up-to-the-moment coverage elsewhere, but if you want to know what I saw and why I hate it, be sure to check this very site over the coming weeks.

I also spent a lot of time looking for more tackle boxes. I found another brand I like, finally, and it's priced right too. So yeah, wasn't easy, it seems someone is beating me to the stores and cleaning most of them out before I buy them all. (If you weren't aware, nothing is better for storing action figures than a clear plastic tackle box-- if you can find the right make and model. I thank/blame current/former? SW fan Ryan Silva for this knowledge.)

Got questions? I bet you do. Email me with "Q&A" somewhere in the subject line and hopefully I'll get to yours in the next column!

Posted byAdam16bit at 12:13 AM 0 comments  

Labels:

Star Wars Galactic Heroes Exclusives Return, No Longer Exclusive
Sunday, July 20, 2008

Since stores are ignoring street dates, we're getting an advance glimpse of the returning Galactic Heroes "scene" sets. We've spotted two former Target exclusives at Wal-Mart and, of course, Target. One includes Jabba the Hutt and his palace, with Bib Fortuna, a new Luke figure, and all the other guys you had a chance to buy late last year. The other features the X-wing Fighter as well as Luke, R2-D2, Leia, and Biggs-- which is just Wedge with a moustache. If you missed these, stop paying a premium for them on eBay because they'll be in a store near you this week. Unless you live somewhere Hasbro hates, in which case, good luck.

Posted byAdam16bit at 5:21 PM 0 comments  

Labels: , ,

Blank Mighty Muggs figure from Hasbro
Saturday, July 19, 2008

Mighty Muggs fans, take note: Hasbro is now selling what they so eloquently call a MIGHTY MUGGS Blank White. For $9.99, it's blank, it's white, and presumably, you can use it to make any character your talent allows. Neat!

Posted byAdam16bit at 3:53 PM 0 comments  

Labels: , ,

Variation Watch: Evolutions Boba Fett
Friday, July 18, 2008

A few months ago, Hasbro informed us that The Fett Legacy action figures would return later, in new packaging, with a fixed paint job for Boba. The missing chest logo was to be restored, which it was-- sort of. While I have a corrected one in my collection right now, I saw at least two with the original, incorrect, missing logo at Target this evening. As such, be sure to examine any The Legacy Collection Mandalorian-based sets before making a purchase if this variant matters to you. Happy hunting!

Posted byAdam16bit at 8:40 PM 0 comments  

Labels: , , ,

Eyes On Target: The Clone Wars

Target stores, surprise surprise, are ignoring the big 7/26 street dates. I've seen Commander Fox dress-up kits, entirely full endcap displays, and tons of figures, vehicles, blasters, evolutions packs, and more. If you want stuff, and were going to wait until next weekend, don't-- start hunting now!

Posted byAdam16bit at 8:38 PM 0 comments  

Labels: , , , , ,

Padme Amidala Legacy has Weird Garment
Thursday, July 17, 2008

Do you know what this is? I sure don't.

I lucked out and got a Padme Amidala Legacy set in the Evolutions line tonight. I like it-- it's pretty nice. It includes a pre-Senate Gown figure (shown holding the garment), a dressing gown figure with one of the best Padme head sculpts ever, and a pretty awesome remake of the white jumpsuit from Attack of the Clones. But the thing is, I can't figure out what this cloth bit is for. It's a little small and seems hard to put on any of the figures. Is it supposed to be a hospital gown? Am I supposed to use this to recreate Padme in labor from Revenge of the Sith? I really have no idea, and the packaging is of little help. I don't even know which side is the front, to show you how astute I can be when shown a new figure. It doesn't fit them easily and I'm not even sure who it's supposed to go with.

Anyway, the set is pretty cool, but dang if I know what to do with this thing. Junk drawer, ahoy!

EDIT: Apparently it is the ROTS hospital gown, but it doesn't really fit at all. Well, how wonderful.

Posted byAdam16bit at 11:44 PM 0 comments  

Labels: , , ,

Star Wars Legacy Collection Poster Revealed

Site StarWars.sg just posted a poster showing all of The Legacy Collection through what seems to be wave 4. New confirmations (which we've seen leaked) include:
Clone Trooper (Coruscant)
Yaddle & Even Piell
Jodo Kast
Saleucami Clone Trooper (repackaged Commander Neyo)
Holographic Count Dooku
Imperial Engineer (repackaged Death Star Gunner)
Stass Allie
Commander Faie
General Grievous
Bail Organa
Breha Organa
FX-6

Click here to see it.

Posted byAdam16bit at 7:44 PM 0 comments  

Labels: , , ,

Hasbro The Clone Wars: Revealed!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008

No, really! This isn't stuff you've already seen at retail! (OK, so a lot of it is-- but there's new stuff too!) It may even be vaguely spoilerish as it reveals new characters appearing in The Clone Wars, so click through to starwars.hasbro.com at your own peril. The whole site has been redesigned, and there's information on some new exclusives. Trust me, that part, you're going to want to see. (But again, beware spoilers.)

Posted byAdam16bit at 7:29 PM 0 comments  

Labels: , , , ,

Diamond Exclusive Star Wars Crimson Empire Action Figure Set Exists
Monday, July 14, 2008

Color me surprised! But just be sure to color me. Diamond has posted word of a new exclusive gift set, this time focusing on the Crimson Empire flashback scene in which we see Kir Kanos and Carnor Jax in training. Click through for a look at this item at Entertainment Earth, who has posted pictures, pricing, and availabilit.

Posted byAdam16bit at 7:50 PM 0 comments  

Labels: , , ,

Q&A: Droids, Mighty Muggs, and More!

So you like Mighty Muggs-- is Hasbro in danger of running out of A-grade characters for the line? Did you make a mistake by not buying Force Unleashed Figures now that they're all on sale? And is it true that vintage figures are a ripoff? (Answer: yes.) All this and more awaits you in today's Q&A!



1. I like the Mighty Muggs. I've collected the core characters from the OT and they make a nice little niche collection. Once there is a classic Obi-wan and possibly an Artoo mold I don't see myself collecting the line any longer. This is a problem for Hasbro! What can they do keep me buying Muggs??? The answer is Mini Muggs! These would be half the size, half the price, and possibly blind packed. The possibilities are endless for chase figures and variants! I don't have the space nor desire to collect all of the Star Wars universe in Mighty Mugg form, but if they were mini I would love a Bossk, Wicket, Ponda Baba, and many more. I think this is a great idea for Hasbro to exploit us! (If you use this idea, Hasbro, you owe me a case or two!)
--Rob

Mighty Muggs as a concept seems to be a way to bridge the whole Urban Vinyl craze with pushing people who aren't normally toy buyers to buy into toys. As such, Hasbro's key here is to focus on major characters from all of its licenses, or even new ones. It's a great low-cost product to develop, as many of the figures use no new tooling and rely on new paint from release to release.

I admit these turned out to be much more popular than I expected, and turned out a lot nicer too. Minor characters would be great, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Admiral Ackbar act as a test for more minor characters. Additional bounty hunters seem like a sure thing for a future exclusive, if not the regular line. I'd expect to see the line go at least another year or three, but hopefully they'll slow down a little and keep the majors in circulation because really, why the heck not sell more Darth Vaders? Ponda Baba might be a tough sell, but I don't think I'd pass up a chance to buy, say, a Jawa. There's a lot of opportunity here and I sincerely doubt Hasbro is going to ignore it. (But blind packed? Mini figures? Man, I hope not.) Size isn't a huge factor to cost, but deco, tooling, articulation, accessories, things like that can add a lot to a figure. You can make a 24-inch rotocast figure and retail it for about the same price as a 6-inch convention exclusive. While volume can have an effect on freight costs, the size of a figure doesn't have a huge impact on the price of the figure, but the little complex bits of it certainly do. I think a $10 Mighty Mugg is a good fit, a "mini mugg" would probably cost $7-$8 and be significantly more irritating to collect.



2. So I haven't bought any of The Force Unleashed figures (except the rancor) on the off chance I don't like the game. Are these going to be available in later waves around the time the game is released?
--Nils

First of all, run, don't walk, to Target. Numerous stores (but not all of them) have basic figures for 30%-50% off, and this includes a number of the Force Unleashed basic line. You won't get a lower price on these, so you should track them down today. Seriously, as figures go, they're pretty cool-- and for four bucks, you can always throw them at a sibling if you decide you made a bad buy.

It's possible Hasbro will release more in the future, but so far we've only seen Darth Vader (damaged) and the Evo Trooper in Legacy Collection packaging. It doesn't mean we can't expect more-- frankly, I'd be shocked if they didn't double-dip the Secret Apprentice-- but it's hard to say what will ship. As Hasbro is not officially releasing that information just yet.



3. In reading the most recent Hasbro Q&A, Hasbro states we are well over a 1000 figures and as such it is too late for a 1000th figure. Is it possible, and even more importantly appropriate, we could get an 1138th figure?
--DARKPOWERS

Depending on how you count-- and Hasbro's counts have been very inconsistent-- we're long past 1,400. Sometimes Hasbro included multi-packs, and sometimes not. It's something Hasbro could celebrate, but I think as the numbers go up it isn't in Hasbro's best interests to remind people just how big the line is. Saying to collectors "buy this to celebrate the 2,000 other figures you've bought" seems like a recipe for disaster. 300 isn't bad, neither is 500... but saying "oh yeah, you've got 1,000 of these" seems like it might remind fans how much money and space is going to their hobby, which may cause them to rethink their hobby. I think it'd have been cool to do, but a 1138th figure is very in-jokey. Granted, it's a big in-joke which most fans get, but since Hasbro sells tens or hundreds of thousands of these things, it may not be the best move for their budgets.



4. I'd really like to collect the VOTC figures to display in their carded and cased glory but some of the first releases were so poor I cannot bring myself to really get going on it (Obi-Wan, Tatooine Luke.) Do you think it's possible that Hasbro would just do a mulligan on those, ignore they were ever made, and make better ones and release as replacements with the same card and all?

Also, regarding the VOTC figures, I find that the warning sticker right on the insider front of the case about small parts and what not ruins the aesthetic of displaying these and unfortunately the only way to peel them off is to bust into the case, probably destroying any value the figures might have if in 20 years I feel like selling them. Do you know what possessed Hasbro to put these in such a conspicuous spot?
--Phil

The vintage line was a scam. Charging $10 for a $7 figure-- and in some cases (C-3PO) the figure isn't even good enough to justify $7-- just goes to show that Hasbro can dress things up and we'll line up and fork over the cash. Seeing as we got Wal-Mart exclusives of Hoth Han (the vintage figure, with an extra droid and droid parth) and X-Wing Luke (ditto, plus superior paint on the costume), I really hope fans agree that they are a rotten deal. That said...

The 2006 and 2007 Vintage lines didn't do so great. I can still buy figures from both around my rounds, and I live in a fairly populous area. The line is a terrible value, especially when compared to the Evolutions pack or the $7 basic figure, and a lot of fans figured this out. The whole jewel-case-with-overpriced-figure-thing seems to have not worked, and it's my hope that retailers demanded they not bring them back. There's practically no long-term value here due to the hoarding and the fact that they shipped in mostly even cases, so it's not like any were really all that hard to get. Sales didn't warrant a 2008 line-- Hasbro rarely "rests" concepts that are a license to print money-- so I wouldn't expect much from Vintage in the near future unless the entire line took on a "vintage" look, like the spiffy 25th Anniversary G.I. Joe packaging. Which rocks, and is cheap.

If you're really that concerned about mucking up your existing figures for display, buy another set. They're really not that expensive on eBay these days. I can appreciate not wanting to damage a carded figure to present it in a pleasing way, but there's really not much you can do without slicing the tape/cutting the seals and going from there. I think Hasbro wanted to be sure to design the packaging so that fans wouldn't confuse it for a genuine 1980s product, but who knows. I'm glad the tray is there to distinguish them in a blink of an eye.



5. What do you think our chances are of Hasbro making a super articulated Episode 3 Darth Vader? I'm talking of course of the iron lung Vader. I know I'm in the minority of people that want this version (probably), but I really like the look of the suit used in Episode 3 and we have yet to get a screen accurate Episode 3 Vader with super articulation. I also know that we've been flooded with Vaders and most are more than excellent, but I know I'm not alone in my Vader obsession(Lucas could have told me the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker with sock puppets and I would have been pleased!!!). I just really want a Vader to display proudly on my Episode 3 shelf instead of the sub par version with the stupid action feature. You think the Big H will ever get around to this?
--Frank

Without a doubt, it's something we will one day see. Hasbro is really hard up for new Vader concepts, and seems to be milking its current tooling library to its fullest extent. Since 2004, we've seen a few molds milked nicely. The Vintage mold from 2004 has been reused at least 4 more times, the 500th Vader mold has been reused for no less than 4 more uses, the Evolutions Vader has been repackaged and tweaked many times, including the 2008 basic carded release. Eventually, Hasbro is going to have to do a new mold, and since those three basically cover the original trilogy we're going to need to see a super-cool Prequel Vader eventually. It's going to happen, but I don't know when they'll get to it.



FIN

I got some new droids. Perhaps you'd like to see them.



I must say, I really like these little buggers and hope they crank them out for a while. Providing, of course, they can cycle in new and old pieces so people can actually build all the droids. The most surprising thing to me were the extra sockets on the astromech body. Not only are there a pair for the normal attachment of the legs, but there's an extra set, so you can give the barrel-shaped body arms AND legs for a change. What's more, C-3PX arms will fit onto the body, which now means I kinda hope I can find some of those $5 Wal-Mart Droid Factory sets the kids are talking about for those extra arms.

Got questions? I bet you do. Email me with "Q&A" somewhere in the subject line and hopefully I'll get to yours in the next column!

Posted byAdam16bit at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels:

Price Increase Looming for Star Wars Figures
Saturday, July 12, 2008

If you weren't already aware, there's a price increase coming to most if not all stores for the upcoming Legacy and Clone Wars collections. Target stores, for example, will be upping the price to $7.99 each. It's entirely possible a price war may come up again like with Revenge of the Sith to drive prices down, but I'm not hopeful.

Posted byAdam16bit at 5:25 PM 0 comments  

Labels: , , ,

Target Clone Wars Commander Fox Exclusive Figure
Friday, July 11, 2008

What do you need to know about the new Commander Fox action figure?

1. This Target Exclusive action figure is expected to hit on or shortly after July 26, 2008 as a $12.99 Target exclusive.
2. Several pictures can be seen here.
3. The figure is seemingly the first animated kitbash. The head is the helmet head from Obi-Wan Kenobi*. The body is that of Captain Rex. The deco is, of course, unique to this figure.

*- Obi-Wan Kenobi from The Clone Wars does not have a removable helmet. Rather, he has a human head and a helmet head which can be swapped. The neck post is the same size on Captain Rex which should allow for easy customizing.

Posted byAdam16bit at 12:51 AM 0 comments  

Labels: , , ,

Q&A: Star Wars Legacy Collection Wave 1 Build-A-Droid
Thursday, July 10, 2008

After lots of speculation and questions as to who comes with what, I present to you the list. Each of Hasbro's new Legacy Collection Build-A-Droid action figures contain one part which allows you to build your very own astromech droid action figure. In future waves, protocol droids will be introduced. You've had a lot of questions, so let's answer them!

Q: Which droid parts come with which figures?

R4-D6
Dome & center leg: Battle-Damaged Darth Vader #GH3, Chewbacca #BD3
Body: Imperial Evo Trooper #GH4, Leektar & Nippet #BD4
Left leg: Han Solo #BD1, Commander Gree #GH1
Right leg: Kashyyyk Trooper #GH2, Luke Skywalker #BD2

R7-Z0
Dome & center leg: Darth Vader #BD8
Body: Bane Malar #BD7
Left leg: Ak-Rev #BD5
Right leg: Yarna D'al' Gargan #BD6

NOTE: So far all "first day of issue" foil variants I've seen correspond to the above list as well.

Q: Can I use parts from one droid to make another "frankendroid?"

Yes you can! Each limb is totally swappable, as is the dome. I also noticed additional holes which are big enough to fit protocol droid legs, and the "shoulder" sockets look like they can hold C-3PX' limbs. As such, if you wanted to build a protocol droid with an astromech center, that seems completely doable. Oh, and you can also add extra astromech droid to those lower holes I mentioned before, allowing the droid to stand taller, or walk on "all fours." There's a lot of potential for fun with this design.

Q: Do the build-a-droid figures hold together well or will they fall apart easily?

From the samples I've played with, they seem to hold together nicely. I can't say for sure if they will continue to do so after lots of plugging and unplugging, but so far they fit nicely.

Q: Is it true that Hasbro will be phasing out the droids after each wave?

Based on their Q&A answers which they send to fan sites, it seems that way. This would probably help push out pegwarmers, and would mean really popular figures could potentially come with a half dozen different pieces over the course of the line. I'm not particularly fond of this because, frankly, I wouldn't mind having lots of spare R7 domes to add to R4 bodies to make even more droids.

Q: What comes in a case?

So far it seems enough pieces to build three complete droids. It's unknown if this will change as time goes on, or as case ratios change. Hasbro's Q&A indicated it wanted to ship enough pieces for several complete droids, but it's possible if extra Darth Vaders ship in a case, there may be extra domes. Oh, and in case you didn't notice above, in wave 1, 2 of the 3 domes come with a Darth Vader figure.

Q: How are the droid pieces packaged?

Almost exactly like the 2006 The Saga Collection holographic bonus figures-- there's a little white tray on the back of the card, plus some tape and two tabs holding it in. This makes it harder to rip open and steal the piece without causing a scene, and it's not supremely easy to slice it open. Hopefully this will discourage in-store pilferage.

Q: Am I going to want the droids?

If you went ga-ga over Wal-Mart's recent repaints, yes, very much so. If droids are boring to you, you can save your money. I think most collectors are going to enjoy them, especially the colorful ones appearing in wave 2 later this year.

Posted byAdam16bit at 11:40 PM 0 comments  

Labels: , , , ,

Ad: FX Lightsaber In Stock, Halo 3 Wave 2 Available, & More!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008


Ad: Lots of new goodies are at Entertainment Earth! Order the new Diamond exclusive TIE Fighter, and EE's own Mystery Figures! Don't miss the FX Lightsaber Construction Set! And just arriving now are Halo 3 Series 2 and coming soon are action figures of Barack Obama and John McCain! Click through for pricing, images, and availability. (And don't forget the new G.I. Joes!)

Posted byAdam16bit at 9:06 PM 0 comments  

Labels: , , ,

Clone Watch: AT-TE & More!

In today's toy run news, I spotted the AT-TE, electronic blasters, $20 vehicles, Galactic Heroes, and more at a Los Angeles-area Wal-Mart on retail shelves. What kind of broken street date finds are you seeing? Let us know!

Posted byAdam16bit at 7:56 PM 0 comments  

Labels: , , , , ,

Q&A: The Clone Wars, Pack-Ins, Clones Galore!
Monday, July 7, 2008

How long until Hasbro runs out of Clone ideas? Which new vehicles' pack-in figures are unique? And will Hasbro make enough clones to stuff your AT-TE? All this and more in this week's Q&A!



1. Can you possibly tell me which of the following figures, to the best of your knowledge, are either straight repacks, retooled, kitbashed, or repainted in any way:
1) Darth Vader from the SDCC Disturbance in the Force exclusive set
2) Clone Trooper pack-in(from the AT-TE)
3) Han Solo and Chewbacca(from the BMF Millenium Falcon)
--Chris

Why yes, yes I can!

Long-time fans will recognize the Darth Vader as having been sold in 2004 as the Vintage Original Trilogy Collection version of the character. And again in 2006 as the version in the collector tin. And again, also in 2006, with Target's exclusive Imperial Shuttle. Oh, and in 2008, with the Attack on Kashyyyk Battle Pack. In short, you probably have this one.

The AT-TE Clone Trooper is, as far as I can tell, a slight redeco from the normal animated style Clone Wars release in that it has an extra few marks on his side. I haven't got a really good look at it in person yet, but from the pictures I can tell that there seems to be something on it. Which, of course, may change.

Han Solo and Chewbacca from the new Millennium Falcon are each repacks. Han is based on his 2007 carded release, while Chewie is the 2005 Early Bird Kit version.



2A. Looking at the photo of the CW gunship, it appears to have closed up sides, without the big bay openings that all the other releases have had. Could Hasbro be adding a couple of pieces on each side, to close up the ship for this release? From an in-universe perspective, I would guess this version could be used outside the atmosphere, dropping from an orbiting star destroyer (or whatever the Republic called them). Pure conjecture, but I bet the new sides would likely be pop-in/pop-out and be molded to serve as side ramps when removed. Just a thought.
--Georgia Jedhead

2B. What are the chances that the newly announced Gunship exclusive to Walmart will be available online through their page? I get the feeling I know the answer to this one, yet I am hopeful. I just HATE going there (and out of principle have stopped purchasing anything Star Wars related there).
--Jorge

So far, only the packaging has been revealed, and that has a computer generated illustration on the front of the box. Since the 30th Anniversary Collection, Hasbro has taken a shining to using altered images of the toys, or digital models loosely based on the toys on the front of the box. This lead to much speculation that the 2007 releases of the Darth Vader's TIE Fighter and the various Jedi Starfighters would be new molds or retooled, and this was not the case. You'll also notice that the Darth Maul's Sith Infiltrator vehicle doesn't have all the moving bits and mechanisms on the illustration on the front, either. So at this time, it seems extremely unlikely that we will see new tooling used on the upcoming exclusive Wal-Mart Republic Gunship.

As to the website, that remains to be seen. Wal-Mart has taken a pretty scattered approach to what exclusives get sold online, but I think what you really need to do is remember that in the store or online, or even from a scalper, Wal-Mart is still ultimately getting your money. If you have one in your area, and you want it, suck it up and shop there-- if you buy it from a scalper, or from their web site, you're still ultimately shopping Wal-Mart and giving them the money.



3. Alright, I think Hasbro's love affair with the Clones has finally reached the
point of ridiculous. I came to this realization after seeing the new pics over
at JediDefender. The Commander Fox figure is fine; we've at least got some new
troopers (with interesting designs) for him. However, the pictures of the 212th
and 501st trooper actually made me laugh. The 212th clone is semi-excusable,
since we haven't gotten a Phase-I clone with orange paint. The 501st trooper, on
the other hand, is nothing short of ridiculous. I'd personally just save myself
the money and scrape the blue dots off of a clone lieutenant figure. What do you
think of all this? And how many clones is too many?
--Jake

Fans have been saying this for years, and so far, the free market says that fans love them. True or not, you've spoken with your dollars, and every Clone you buy says to Hasbro "yes, please, sell me more!" As long as they're new and interesting, and Hasbro's way to cash in and recoup costs while developing other, more interesting figures with new sculpts, I think they can probably safely crank them out for a while. Fans can rationalize them as different enough up to a point, although if it weren't for the transition to this new animated style, we might be starting to run out of ideas. Of course, the problem here is that it's a safe bet that anything that comes out in the cartoon style will be asked for, if not outright demanded, in movie style.

The whole thing is goofy. The Clone Wars' 212th and 501st Clones are orange and blue, respectively, and have the "incorrect" stripe-- you'll note that the action figures and Galactic Heroes of both are lacking the color on the foreheads. Interesting, no?

I'd expect to see Clones in a number of colors, as we haven't seen multiple shades of green, a black-striped trooper, or anything like that yet. Hasbro has a long way to go before it even has to come up with a new stripe pattern for the armor.



4. Do you think The Clone Wars is finally the avenue we need to get a full case of plan white clones?
If not how many times do you think they with reissue this figure, it looks great? I would think that if they say the new ATTE holds 30 figures then they certainly better make 30 of them available to buy right!

Here's a movie question for you, Why do you suppose this animated movie looks more like the classic Star Wars yet the prequels pale in comparison. What did this guy Dave say to George to convince him to, in my opinion make it look way better and a little bit more familiar to us old guys?
--Chad

It's extremely unlikely Hasbro will ever do a solid packed case of an army builder for the reason that depending on who you ask, it's likely to sit around in many markets. I'm sure in major cities with millions of people, it'd do OK, but a lot of the Stormtroopers and Clones sat in some smaller markets and are now reaching clearance, if those of you who write to me and tell me things are to be believed. As such, it isn't necessarily in Hasbro's best interests to sell them by the case, but given the ubiquitous nature of the trooper, it would make sense to sell more of them. Also, for those people willing to spend that much to fill the AT-TE, I have no doubt that Hasbro plans on collectors already having 30 Clone Troopers of some flavor around the house. (And I think it's 20, actually.)

As to the movie, uh, what? I respectfully disagree. Some of the designs are just as goofy as anything else you'll see in the saga, from the Wolfman at the bar in the original film to the army of teddy bears to Ben Quadrinaros. So far, everything we see looks fantastic, but you may recall everybody was really jazzed about the Phantom Menace teaser from 1998, which basically only showed really cool stuff too. Who knows what we aren't seeing yet? Maybe it'll be awesome. Maybe it'll suck. The good thing about TV is that as long as there's more good than bad, it'll still basically be good because there's always a new episode just around the corner.

...also, perhaps you've just gotten used to prequel designs. Most of the stuff I've seen so far seems to tie in much more closely to the most recent three movies, with the bulk of the characters coming straight from the last two flicks. The Jabba the Hutt tie-in is a nice touch, of course, but many of the vehicles come straight from the prequels or the previous Clone Wars series.



5. What do you think the chances are of Hasbro extending the Comic Pack line to novels? I really want an Admiral Daala figure and I'm thinking that although she was in five books, she never appeared in a comic and we won't get one.
--Keith

So far, Hasbro has been pretty set on the idea of Comic Packs including Comics-- not novels, not short stories, not DVDs with old cartoons or commercials or games, or anything else. It's two figures and a comic book for-- if my snooping around Target is correct-- about $13 these days. I would say if she appeared in more comics, Admiral Daala would be a pretty good candidate, but the performance of Deena Shan and Juno Eclipse have me thinking that we may have been quite lucky to get these two and future figures might be a tougher sell. But who knows what someone might get in a future exclusive, or in a new assortment, or as a character on a new TV show.

So I think novel 2-packs seems unlikely, unless Hasbro decides to some day drop the comic pack-in and just makes them some sort of figure 2-packs, which could happen some day. But I think the entire point is two figures and a comic, giving a visual representation of the character, and anything less wouldn't be quite as cool. Doesn't mean Hasbro can't ask Dark Horse to do up a comic with the characters of their choosing, though.



FIN

I did a lot of toy running this weekend (mostly as a result of a late-night "let's make video game characters out of LEGO session) and lo and behold, I found Clone Wars. Apparently lots of people are. I spotted Clone Trooper helmets at Wal-Mart and one or more cases worth of the new Galactic Heroes at Fry's Electronics. So once more, another stupid release date goes ignored by American shopkeepers with, frankly, other things to worry about. What kind of stuff are you guys finding? Any luck on the exclusive Clones? (Those are making me nervous.)

Got questions? I bet you do. Email me with "Q&A" somewhere in the subject line and hopefully I'll get to yours in the next column!

Posted byAdam16bit at 12:30 AM 0 comments  

Labels:

Legacy/Clone Wars Galactic Heroes Available
Sunday, July 6, 2008

Broken street dates, ahoy! Popular electronics chain Fry's Electronics has the new white packaged figures like Jar Jar Binks & Destroyer Droid, Slave Leia & R2-D2, and Anakin Skywalker & Clone Trooper in at least some of its retail stores right now for a mere $7.99 a pop. Continued happy hunting to you!

Posted byAdam16bit at 5:53 PM 0 comments  

Labels: , , , ,

The Clone Wars Clone Trooper Voice Changer Hits Early
Saturday, July 5, 2008

In my afternoon toy run, I spotted several Hasbro Clone Wars Clone Trooper Voice Changer Helmet toys at retail. Is it possible the 7/26 date is going to be ignored? The item had several phrases, all of which were activated by tiny, almost invisible buttons on the side of the helmet. It's shaping up to be an excellent toy!

Posted byAdam16bit at 5:21 PM 0 comments  

Labels: , , ,

Japanese Star Wars Nintendo Famicom Article
Thursday, July 3, 2008

The guys over at Nintendo Wii Fanboy posted a once-over of Namcot's (er, Namco) Star Wars game in their Virtually Overlooked feature. A few screen shots and box art await you, as well as a litany of complaints as to the game's design. But what you really want to see is the Darth Vader scorpion. Check it out!

Posted byAdam16bit at 9:03 AM 0 comments  

Labels: , ,

Toys "R" Us Launches Blog with News, Midnight Madness, and Non-News
Tuesday, July 1, 2008

In a move lots of people expected, Toys "R" Us posted a link to the few stores participating in the been there, done that "Midnight Madness" sale. In a move nobody saw coming, they posted it to a new blog which we figure will be abandoned in six to eight weeks. Click through for news on new LEGO exclusives, Hasbro exclusives they're claiming are new but are in fact available today, and a list of the stores doing the midnight thing.

Posted byAdam16bit at 11:08 PM 0 comments  

Labels: , , , ,

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)