collectorscantina.com | A wretched hive of Star Wars collecting

Tue, 02/14/2012 - 15:17 I scruffy_nerfherder

Report:

The 2012 Toy Fair kicked off Saturday afternoon but instead of starting out at the Javits Convention Center, we were a few blocks north at Hasbro's showroom for an exclusive presentation and sneak peek at their 2012 offerings from several of their more successful lines, including Star Wars.

After entertaining presentations from the Transformers and GI Joe teams, the Star Wars team took the stage and kicked the show into high gear. First up, they revealed the winner of the 2012 Fans' Choice figure poll. While many in the audience were positive that highest vote-getter was going to be the Expanded Universe character Jaxxon, the fans' pick was instead Mara Jade Skywalker (Jedi). Another offering Hasbro gave us a first look at was this year's exclusive for the upcoming San Diego Comic Con. Based on the success of last year's multi-packaged figure set, the crew at Hasbro is over a six figure set with unique packaging inspired by concept art created back in 1977. The set will include one iconic figure representing each of the six movies. Another exclusive, which many thought to be an early April Fools Day trick is a carded Jar-Jar Binks figure…encased in Carbonite!

Once the upcoming exclusives were revealed, the representatives from Hasbro moved on to what we can expect from the new and returning toy lines. To kick that off, we were finally given our first official look at what every Star Wars collector knew what was coming…the MTT Vehicle. This beauty features electronic lights and sounds, firing projectiles, and motorized droid deployment. It also includes 20 Battle Droid figures and an Obi-Wan figure. Expect to see these hitting the store shelves this coming Fall, just in time for holiday shopping.

The big news on the action figure front is that starting this year, ALL Jedi and Sith figures from the Movie Heroes line will feature light up Lightsabers! Other figures in the line will feature other new play features including action movements and electronic sounds. The Clone Wars line will feature a combination of new figures as well as some retooled figures including new sculpts of Anakin and Obi-Wan. In the Vintage line Not only will we be seeing new figures added from throughout the six-film saga, we will also be getting figures from the animated Clone Wars series sculpted in a more realistic form. As always, each of these figures will be offered on packaging reminiscent of the original 1978-1984 Kenner packaging.

Besides the previously mentioned MTT Vehicle, a handful of smaller Class I and II attack vehicles will be offered. Many of these, including Anakin's and Sebulba's Podracers, Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter and the Torrent V-19 are already available at most retail outlets.

A couple of new toy lines were also unveiled. The Star Wars Fighter Pods, which hit the shelves a couple of weeks ago offer fans of the Saga a new twist on both collectibles and gaming. More than 100 of these micro Fighter Pod figures are currently available from all six films AND the Clone Wars series and offered at several different price points. From a two-figure Mystery Bag all the way up to a 12 Figure Pack and the AT-AT and Snowspeeder Pack. Each set, not matter the size will feature at least one figure exclusive to that price point.

The other new line for this year is the Star Wars AMP'D line of customizable vehicles. From STAPs and AT-RTs to the X-Wing and TIE Fighter set, each will come with an exclusive figure (or two) and up-to 33 pieces to mix and match to create a custom vehicle that is both uniquely yours and uniquely Star Wars! Certain figures including Darth Maul and Obi-Wan will be available individually as well.

Other items available this year include new Ultimate FX sabers for Obi-Wan and Darth Maul. The Maul saber comes with a unique adaptor that allows you to create a Darth Maul double-bladed lightsaber. Also available are a line of electronic helmets including General Grievous, Darth Vader and Darth Maul. Each of these helmets includes signature sounds and phrases.

And with that, the 2012 Star Wars portion of the presentation wrapped up with a promise of more goodies to be seen later this year at the San Diego Comic Con.

Tue, 02/14/2012 - 15:19 I scruffy_nerfherder

Report:

Sunday morning started bright and early with a 7:00am breakfast and presentation at Hasbro's showroom located inside the Javits Center.

After a quick bite to eat, we attacked the Star Wars portion of the display with cameras blazing. The biggest news of the day is that Lego and LucasFilm recently agreed to a 10-year extension of their business arrangement meaning another generation of Legomaniacs will get to recreate their favorite characters, ships and environments from the saga in brick form.

This year's offerings feature several new sets as well as old set brought back and improved upon in both size and detail. Some of the older sets getting a make over include the Skiff from Return of the Jedi, This time around the set includes four mini figures and a Sarlacc Pit to place beneath the skiff's plank. Another new-and-improved blast from the past is the Gungan Sub which comes with four mini figures including an all-new version of Padme Amidala. The best of the rereleases might have to be the Jabba's Palace set. Scheduled to come with ten mini figures including Carbonite Han Solo, Leia as Boushh, and Salacious Crumb.

Some of the new sets will include Pre Vizsla's Mandalorian Fighter from the Clone Wars series. This set, which is scheduled to include three mini figures will be offered as a Wal-Mart exclusive when it is released later this year. Other new sets include the 2012 Advent Calendar featuring a Darth Maul as Santa mini figure, Saesee Tin's Starfighter, a Fury Class Interceptor and General Greivous' command ship Malevolence.

The new line of mini-environments that include mini figure, mini vehicle and plastic planet will expand with a second series that will include a Yavin 4 set featuring an X-Wing Pilot mini figure and X-Wing Starfighter, a Bespin set featuring a Twin-Pod Cloud Car and Lobot, and an Endor set which will include an AT-ST and an AT-ST Driver.

The mooring was a great chance to not only see all the great stuff Lego has planned for the upcoming year, but to also meet in person Ashley Edwards, head of Media Relations for Lego's licensed products. We were able to show Ashley some concepts for our upcoming Lego Gallery and she was genuinely excited to see the final product and help us in any way she could.

Tue, 02/14/2012 - 15:22 I scruffy_nerfherder

Report:

While Hasbro and Lego may be the two heavy hitters when it comes to Star Wars product at Toy Fair, they are definitely not the only ones with new and exciting products for all to see. So in our third and final recap of the 2012 Toy Fair, we are going to focus on all the other companies who were kind enough to take a few minutes out of their hectic day and talk to us about what they were displaying.

First up was ScreenLife, makers of the popular SceneIt interactive family game. To celebrate their 10 years in the business, they are launching for the first time ever, a Star Wars version of their game. This will also be the first time they offer a SceneIt game that is not only limited to DVD. There is also an expanded online version of the game that can be played by visiting their website and entering the specific code you receive with the SceneIt game. This additional content can be played not us ton laptops, but smart phones, tablets and even wifi enabled televisions. The game also features and playing board that can be folded different way to allow for a quick game or for extended playing time. Priced in the $30 range, this great new game will be out in time for the 2012 Holiday rush.

Our next stop on the showroom floor was at the Uncle Milton booth where we go a private tour of their newest Star Wars themed products. Their line of wall-mounted Lightsaber room lights will expand with versions of Luke Skywalker's, Darth Vader's, Obi-Wan's lightsabers. There will even be a version of Darth Maul's Double-Sided lightsaber, but that version will NOT feature the remote control the others have. Another cool new product is the "Force Glove" which looks like something more belonging to Iron Man than a Jedi. Simply slip the glove on your hand and the magnetic devices imbedded into the palm and fingertips of the glove will allow you to "force push" the assortment of included battle droids and other props across almost any surface. Another new product Uncle Milton will be offering this year are the Anti-Gravity Balls. These super high-bounce balls will come individually packed and feature some great cartoon drawings of your favorite Star Wars characters.

We also stopped by one of our all-time favorite licenses, Funko to visit their mini-showroom and see what new products they were unveiling. In addition to their best-selling line of Wacky Wobblers, Funko will also be bringing collectors another line of their popular POP! Vinyl Bobble-heads. Some of the newbies hitting store this year include Jabba the Hutt, Luke Skywalker X-Wing Pilot, and Slave Leia. Funko will also be unleashing a Star Wars series of their line of BLOX collectibles. First up from the Saga are BLOX versions of Vader, Boba Fett and a Stormtrooper. Other items on display included their Mini Bobble-Heads Two Packs, MP3 Speakers, Computer Sitters, Wisecracks, Lamps and headphones.

Kotobukiya was also on the convention floor this year with their own mini-showroom. Most of the items on display were things they first unveiled at New York Comic Con back in the Fall. Still it was nice to see the latest offerings from this top-notch producer of Star Wars goodness. On display were their latest Silicone Ice Trays, Lightsaber Chop Sticks, and ArtFX statues. The most impressive items on display included their shirtless Darth Maul statue with light-up lightsaber, ESB Yoda ArtFX statue complete with two interchangeable head sculpts, and an Obi-Wan Kenobi from ANH ArtFX statue complete with light-up lightsaber! Also on display was concept art for the Jaina Solo Bishoujo (Japanese for Beautiful Girl) statue that will be available sometime later this year.

Other attendees offering Star Wars merchandise this year included Mimobot - makers of the ultra-cool Star Wars flash drives, Look3D - makers of the Anakin Skywalker Podracer 3D glasses given out at this past weekend's special AMC viewing events, Jazwares - makers of the super-sleuthy Star Wars spy gear, Diamond Select Toys, Think Geek and Underground Toys.