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6-30-2012HasbroOver the last week, Sandtroopers.com began turning up information about another round of Target exclusive 3-packs. First a new Droid Set was shown with R5-D4, Death Star Droid and a newly sculpted Power Droid figure. Following that, a photo of the back of the packaging revealed a new Snaggletooth figure coming in a Villain Set with Boba Fett and a Sand People figure. Today, JediTempleArchives.com brings it home with a photo of the actual figure, in packaging. A reporter from the Philippines sent in photos of the two three packs which were found in a Toys-R-Us store. The third set in this round of releases is a repack of the Android Set which includes R2-D2, C-3PO and Chewbacca. Celebration VI Autograph DetailsOfficial Pix updated their website with pricing information for the announced autograph guests at Celebration VI. Most of the guests will again be $20 which will also include an 8x10 lithograph. Additional 8x10, 11x14, 10x20, 16x20 and 18x24 photos can be purchased with the low end starting at $5 each. Several of the special guests will have their own ticket and are priced higher than $20. They include Ian McDiarmid ($125), Carrie Fisher ($60), Anthony Daniels ($50), Kenny Baker ($40), Peter Mayhew ($30) and Tem Morrison ($30). Most guests will be there all four days but Ian will only be there Friday through Sunday and Carrie Saturday and Sunday only. Ashley Eckstein, who we believe hadn't been announced previously, will charge $20 per autograph but will only be signing on Thursday and Sunday, as we're assuming she'll be busy with the Her Universe booth. Ticket pre-orders will be available at a later date and some signers, including Ian and Kenny, will have limited ticket amounts available. We'd recommend pre-ordering tickets for any of the special guests just in case they sell out before the show. According to details on the Official Pix website, crowd control will be handled with numbered wristbands again this year and photo opportunities will be through Froggy's Photos. For full details on the autograph hall at Celebration, be sure to visit the Official Pix Autograph Program Overview website. Celebration VI - Guest AnnouncementsStarWarsCelebration.com announced another round of autograph guests for Celebration VI and while it's nice to see Tom Kane and the Jensen brothers, we're especially happy to see Robert Watts and the other Original Trilogy actors that will be making an appearance.
Sideshow - Bossk)
Bossk As part of their online San Diego Comic-Con coverage, Sideshow posted photos and the pre-order for the next release in The Empire Strikes Back line of bounty hunters; Bossk. The exclusive edition runs $159.99 and includes an extra "snarling" head that can be swapped out with the normal head. The regular edition is also $159.99. Both releases offer Sideshow's payment plan and if you order two or more of the regular edition, there will be a non-refundable deposit of $16 charged to your credit card. The edition size has not been announced for either release but he's due in December Bossk includes two sets of hands and feet and comes with his signature V-10 grenade launcher and outfit from his appearance in The Empire Strikes Back. Celebration VI - Artists AnnouncedFive more artists were announced yesterday and examples of their prints were shown. Included in this week's release were Dave Dorman, Steve Anderson, Scott Erwert, Ken Lashley and William O'Neill. Three of them haven't locked down the price yet so that info will be forthcoming. Links to the art on the Celebration VI Art Show page. 6-28-2012Celebration VI - Guest Announcement
Artist Eric Maruscak will be returning to Celebration and bringing his unique brand of chalk artwork to the floor of the Orlando County Convention Center. Maruscak debuted Savage Oppress at Celebration V, seen above, and has attended many conventions, including Wizard World Philly and both San Diego and New York Comic Cons. Look for Eric to start his mural on opening day of Celebration, Thursday, and have it completed by Sunday afternoon. Head over to StarWars.com for the full article. Sideshow - C-3PO & R2-D2)
Premium Format R2 & C-3PO The original announcement that Sideshow would be making Premium Format versions of our favorite droids can be traced back to late 2010, at least, but now they're here! Yesterday, as part of Sideshow's online San Diego Comic-Con event, a pre-order for both exclusive and regular sets went live with the exclusive promptly selling out. The Sideshow exclusive features a clean paint deco and a Yavin themed base and retails for $774.99 and requires a non-refundable deposit of $77.50. The regular edition runs $749.99, has a non-refundable deposit of $75 an offers a payment plan. Both versions include lights and R2-D2 even features a retractable middle leg and wheels. Hasbro - San Diego Comic-Con InfoIt appears that Hasbro amended some pricing for their SDCC exclusives since the first press release went public a week ago. The Star Wars exclusive is now going to be $79.99 and the G.I. Joe H.I.S.S. set went up about $5. The new released, dated 6/27, also mentions that "very limited quantities" will be available online after the show. They do not, however, mention what day. We're hoping they learned a lesson from last year's sale and stagger the releases over a couple of days. But we're not holding out breath... 6-26-2012Acme Archives)
Scout Trooper Acme posted pre-orders for pick-up of their San Diego Comic-Con exclusive Scout Trooper Character Key. The pre-orders opened yesterday and a will run until July 4th. Starting on July 11th, non-attendees will have a chance to order them. July 11th will also see the opening of pre-orders for the new Speeder Bike Sketchplate which is a convention exclusive but not limited to SDCC. Head over to the Dark Ink website for to place your order. Sideshow SDCC CoverageSideshow launched their online San Diego Comic-Con event yesterday and already have some pre-orders up. Nothing Star Wars related yet, but look for new reveals and pre-orders to pop up for the next two weeks as we lead up to the actual convention. Also be on the lookout for sales and discount codes as well as contests where you can win prizes. Gentle Giant - Convention ExclusivesBlue Snaggletooth)
SDCC Blue Snags One of the worst kept secrets on future Gentle Giant exclusive releases had to have been the Blue Snaggletooth Jumbo figure. However, where it was expected to be a Celebration VI exclusive, it turns out that instead they are offering it as a San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive. Yodasnews.com gave us a first look at the new 12" figure on Friday, when they released a video review and information about the exclusive. Blue Snaggletooth will have an edition size of 2,000 pieces and retails for $80. He's now available to Premier Guild Members as a pre-order that will ship after SDCC. Lando CalrissianDuring their review, Yoda's News showed off the insert card for the Snaggletooth figure. On the back was a photo of a Jumbo Lando Calrissian which was listed as the Celebration VI exclusive. No pre-order for Lando has gone live yet so we don't have an edition size or pricing information for him yet. That pre-order probably won't go live until two or three weeks after Comic-Con. We'll let you know when more information is released. Celebration VI - Art Show)
Brent Woodside "Tormented" On Friday, StarWars.com revealed artwork for seven more artists attending Celebration VI. We finally have a look at what to expect from Brent Woodside, Marc Wolfe, Jeff Carlisle, Tsuneo Sanda, Mark Raats, Joshua Smith (aka Hydro74), and Doug Cowan. Cowan's "Sith Arrival," which features Darth Maul, is one that stands out. Wolfe's piece is also interesting but it may be Brent Woodside's "Tormented" that stands out as the most emotionally interesting piece. We've updated the Art Show page with links to the photos and pricing information but you can always check StarWarsCelebration.com or the News page on StarWars.com for more information. Celebration VI - An Evening with Kevin SmithKevin Smith will be appearing at Star Wars Celebration VI to hold one of his "Evening with Kevin Smith" question and answer sessions. The event will take place Thursday night, August 23rd, and is a ticketed event. Tickets range from $15 and go up to $75. VIP attendees can arrange for complimentary tickets. The tickets went on sale yesterday but head over to StarWars.com to read the news post and then head to StarWarsCelebration.com to order your tickets. 6-22-2012Hasbro San Diego Comic-Con Exclusives)
Carbonite Chamber Yesterday, Hasbro released a fact sheet for this year's SDCC exclusives which included pricing and information on each piece. As we already saw back at Toy Fair, the Star Wars exclusive this year will be a Vintage Special Edition Carbonite Chamber Collector's Pack. The pack includes seven Vintage Collection figures, six of which will be on a proposed card back from the Kenner days. The seventh figure, Jar Jar frozen in carbonite, will be on a regular Vintage Collection card. The set will retail for $69.99 at the convention. The full press release is below. STAR WARSSTAR WARS VINTAGE SPECIAL EDITION CARBONITE CHAMBER
COLLECTOR’S PACK Pretend to visit an alternate reality with this incredible package of seven 3.75-inch STAR WARS figures—one figure from each film in the Saga, and one figure only available in this collectible set. Each figure is individually carded with packaging that pays tribute to a “lost” line look that Kenner considered before going with their classic black-and-silver look! This Comic-Con special edition pack will be fans’ first chance to get the “lost” packaging, available this fall as variants in the STAR WARS VINTAGE COLLECTION line. In addition, this special collector’s pack will be the only place to get an exclusive treat for fans— a 3.75-inch carded JAR JAR BINKS in CARBONITE, which will be hidden in the center of the packaging and can be revealed by raising it through the “CARBONITE CHAMBER” top of the case. The other figures included are a standard JAR JAR BINKS (EPISODE II), CLONE TROOPER LIEUTENANT (EPISODE II), SHOCK TROOPER (EPISODE III), SANDTROOPER (EPISODE IV), PRINCESS LEIA (EPISODE V) AND DARTH VADER (EPISODE VI). 6-21-2012Gentle Giant San Diego Comic-Con Exclusives)
McQuarrie Stormtrooper If you've been paying any attention to Gentle Giant since last year's Comic-Con, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that they are releasing another mini bust based on Ralph McQuarrie's concept artwork at this year's show. Following the 2011 Snowtrooper is one of the most recognizable of McQuarrie's early works, the Stormtrooper. The bust has two different heads and can be displayed with and without the shield on the left arm. It also appears to have two right arms, with slightly different poses, but both with the lightsaber. It would have been nice to have a blaster available but the Stormtrooper with the lightsaber is classic. The bust is limited to 1,800 pieces and retails from Gentle Giant for $85. It's available now for pre-order to Premier Guild members (must be logged in) and the link is on the blog page linked above.
Also available at SDCC will be a Mars Attacks mini bust and a Pan's Labyrinth Pale Man Statue. The Mars Attacks bust is limited to 550 pieces and retails for $75 while the Pale Man statue is limited to only 300 pieces but comes in at the more substantial price of $225. As with the Stormtrooper, the Mars Attacks and Pan's Labyrinth pieces are now available for pre-order. And don't forget Admiral Motti, who was announced Monday. Sideshow Airborne Trooper)
Airborne Trooper Sideshow released a full set of photos for their new Utapau Airborne Trooper on Tuesday. And, as has become standard, the pre-order will follow later today with the launch of the newsletter. The Sideshow exclusive will include a base with the Parjai Squad emblem on it. The Airborne Trooper will come with several extra hands, two blaster rifles and two pistols along with a bandolier with grenades. Both the exclusive and regular release will set you back $134.99 directly from Sideshow.. 6-19-2012Gentle Giant - Admiral Motti)
Admiral Motti On Saturday, Sandtroopers.com dropped a photo of Richard Le Parmentier signing Gentle Giant certificate of authenticity cards for a new Admiral Motti mini bust. Yesterday the mini bust was confirmed on Gentle Giant's blog. The Admiral Motti mini bust is a 2012 convention exclusive which will debut at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Mr. Le Parmentier will be at the Con and will be available to sign busts live. The Admiral Motti mini bust is limited to 1,200 pieces and retails for $80. Premier Guild Members can pre-order the bust now (you must be logged in to your account) and have it shipped after SDCC. Links to the ordering page can be found on Gentle Giant's blog at the link above. Celebration VI - Art Show Losing ParticipantsAccording to a blog post on June 10th, Adam Hughes and Allison Sohn will not be appearing at Celebration VI. They join Randy Martinez who had previously announced his departure from the Art Show. We updated the Art Show page with pricing information and previews for the 10 prints announced on StarWars.com last week. 6-16-2012Celebration VI - Art ShowStarWars.com posted a first look for 10 of the Art Show prints that will be available for sale at Celebration. One change this year is that Acme Archives will be offering a pre-order for pick up at Celebration VI. Individual artists who will have their own booths will also be offering pre-orders from their respective websites. We had speculated that Acme Archives would be more involved with the sale of prints outside of the convention since ShopStarWars.com is now out of business. After previous Celebrations, leftover prints were offered for sale online at SSW.com so we may see that again, with Acme taking over. One thing we are sure of, the serious art buyers should have an easier and shorter time picking up their prints this time around.. As for the individual prints, so far we are not overly impressed. It feels like we've seen these before because they're similar in style and theme to what the artists have released at previous Celebrations. Jerry Vanderstelt is offering a Return of the Jedi themed print which adds on to his theme of The Empire Strikes Back poster from 2007 but the Grant Gould piece is very similar to other works he's offered in the past. We were so certain some of these felt familiar that we spent some time looking over various art sources last night and found Russell Walks is reusing a piece of art that was first included in Star Wars Galaxy 5 release of trading cards from Topps (card 53). The Stephen Hayford piece also appears to be a larger, and slightly rearranged, version of a photo he has had posted on his website for some time. While we don't feel any of the artwork is subpar, we do with there was a fresher feeling to the subject matter and style. There are a couple of artists new to the Celebration Art Show family that we have yet to see prints from so there's still a chance we'll be blown away by something. Celebration VI - Guest AnnouncementWe've been getting a lot of guest announcements over the past few days and yesterday was no different. Coming to Star Wars Celebration VI will be Jango Fett himself, Temuera Morrison. Gentle Giant)
Republic Commando It's taken a while, but we finally have photos of the painted Republic Trooper mini bust from Gentle Giant. If you recall, this is one of three Star Wars gifts available to the Premier Guild Members this year. One of the cool features of this Republic Commando release is that it lights up. Gentle Giant has posted several photos to their blog. They also announced that you have until July 1st to register for the Premier Guild and lock in your choice of 2012 member release. SideshowUtapau Airborne Trooper
Sideshow teased us with a photo of an Airborne Trooper on their Facebook page way back in April and now we have the official announcement. The 1:6 scale Utapau Airborne Trooper will have a photo reveal on Sideshow's Experience page next week, Tuesday, June 19th. The following Thursday, June 21st, will see the pre-order go live with the release of the weekly newsletter. Chewbacca
On Thursday, Sideshow posted a stylized photo of Chewbacca to their Facebook page. The photo, as you can see, is made up of text so it's not known if this will be a 1:6 scale figure, Premium Format or some other type of release. We do know that Chewbacca has been on Sideshow's list of characters to do, but has been put off as they try to come up with the best way to release him. Darth Vader
Earlier in the month, Sideshow hit us with a photo of an upcoming Darth Vader release in 1:6 scale. Yesterday, on Facebook again, they posted a photo of Vader's helmet, hand and lightsaber hilt. We now know that this will be a Return of the Jedi release but no date has been set for pre-order or release. 6-13-2012Celebration VI - Guest AnnouncementsStarWars.com announced last night that sound designers Ben Burtt, Matthew Wood and David Acord will be attending Celebration VI. All three guests will be appearing on stage as well as in the Autograph Hall. Acme ArchivesAlthough San Diego Comic-Con is only a month away, we still haven't seen all of the Star Wars exclusives that will be available during the show. But we are getting closer with today's peek at Acme's two new items; a Scout Trooper Character Key and Speeder Bike Sketchplate.
The Scout Trooper Character Key will be a shared exclusive between SDCC and Star Wars Celebration VI and runs $39. The Sketchplate, which is not exclusive, will debut at Comic-Con and online on July 11th, for $35.00. Both pieces are limited to 1,000 pieces. San Diego Comic-Con attendees will be able to pre-order for pickup beginning June 25th and closing July 4th. Non-attendees can order their Key starting July 11th with the order window closing on July 15th or if the Key sells out. Orders for the Sketchplate will begin for everyone on July 11th. Head over to Acme's website for photos and ordering information and keep an eye on DarkInk.com where the pre-orders will be offered. 6-11-20122Celebration VI - Diorama WorkshopIt's become tradition for Frank Diorio to host the Diorama Workshop at Star Wars Celebration and this year is no different. While full details have not yet been posted, we do know that Celebration VI will see a return to Tatooine. Starting now, Frank is asking for help collecting enough action figures to populate the diorama which is being billed as the largest ever. Head over to Frank's newly designed website and check out the Return to Tatooine Action Figure Fund post. Gentle GiantGentle Giant sent out an email on Thursday with a shipping update for a few items, including three Star Wars pieces. The Logray and Tedn Dahai mini busts and new The Empire Strikes Back Darth Vader statue are on their way. They also posted photos of the Premier Guild Rebel Fleet Trooper and Republic Commando gift busts. The Trooper is a fully painted bust, however, the Republic Commando photo is still just a preliminary shot and not a final bust. Sideshow
General Grievous vs Shaak Ti Last Thursday night, with the release of the newsletter, Sideshow put their new "Hunt for the Jedi" diorama up for pre-order. Depicting a battle between General Grievous and Shaak Ti, the diorama is scheduled for a December release. Ringing in at $349.99, the statue requires a $35 non-refundable deposit but it also has the payment plan available. Head over to Sideshow's website for additional pictures and to put in your order. 6-10-2012Celebration VI - The Star Wars Collectors Archive PartyThe Star Wars Collectors Archive will be holding a ticketed party at the Rosen Centre hotel on Thursday evening during Celebration VI. The proceeds of the party will go to the Save the Manatee charity. The party will offer up five Manatee themed exclusives which you will receive depending on which of the four levels of ticket you purchase. All tickets will include entry to the party and food and there will be a cash bar available. For the exclusives, each level of ticket builds on the previous ticket so if you want all five exclusives you will want the Holy Grail Ticket. )
Amanamanatee Coin
The card backs are done in a proof card style and are riffs on the vintage characters Amanaman, Walrus Man, 4-LOM and Prune Face. Details on tickets sales will be in next months 'Chive Cast. The photo of the Amanamanatee coin is from the 'Chive Cast page on TheSWCA.com website and is a rough draft. Make sure to listen to this month's 'Chive Cast for all the details directly from Skye and Steve. Celebration VI - Guest AnnouncementsTwo new guests were announced for Celebration VI last week; Jon Berg and Lorne Peterson. Both men were model makers for ILM and helped create some of the most iconic scenes in Star Wars. They both attended Celebration V also, and if you've ever had the chance to hear them speak, you know how fascinating their stories are. 6-9-2012Lots to CoverDon't you hate it when work gets in the way of fun? That's basically this week in a nutshell. We have plenty of updates coming later today including new info from Sideshow, Gentle Giant and some Celebration VI news (parties and exclusives and guests, oh my!). Plus, if you're looking forward to the new MTT from Hasbro, good news, Jedi Temple Archives is reporting it's showing up on the shelf in the Philippines. And, if you're bored, check out our review of Prometheus. 6-7-2012Hasbro San Diego Comic-Con Exclusives
Yesterday, Hasbro released high resolution photos of all their San Diego Comic-Con Exclusives, including Star Wars, G.I. Joe, Transformers and Marvel. As you recall, Hasbro will have a Carbonite Chamber exclusive that includes six figures on card backs that were originally proposed by Kenner back in the '80's. The seventh figure is Jar Jar in Carbonite and he's on a Vintage Collection card back. While Jar Jar will remain an SDCC exclusive, the other six figures, one from each film in the Saga, will be available at retail later this year on both the Kenner card and the current Vintage Collection card. No new price has been released for this set but when it was announced at Toy Fair it was estimated to be about $70. This year's San Diego Comic-Con runs from July 12 - 15th. 6-6-2012Lego)
9526 Palpatine's Arrest Lego fans have another new set to look forward to this year; 9526 Palpatine's Arrest. Based on the scene from Revenge of the Sith, the set depicts Chancellor Palpatine's office along with a landing pad and a speeder. The set has 645 pieces and should probably retail for between $90 and $100 when it's released in the US. The set has six minifigures, including:
The set is already available for order in Europe but we should see this available later in the year in the US. Gentle GiantFriend of the Holocron, Joe K., pointed out an interesting page on Gentle Giant's website yesterday; a test page for a McQuarrie Stormtrooper Mini Bust. There's been a lot of speculation about this year's San Diego Comic-Con exclusive and a McQuarrie Stormtrooper bust would fit with the trend of the past three years. While there is no photo and you can't actually add the item to your cart, or be interested for $9,999, it's possible that this page gives us a good idea at GG's plans for SDCC, especially since we're only about a month away from that event. Celebration VI - Guest AnnouncementsThe StarWarsCelebration.com website updated yesterday with six new autograph guest announcements from both the Prequel and Original Trilogies. The new additions are:
We're really excited to see that Kenny Baker will be returning to the US for this event. He's been unable to travel outside of the UK for a couple of years now, so we're glad he's feeling well enough to come to Celebration VI. SideshowSnowtrooper
Sideshow posted two sneak peek photos yesterday of a new Snowtrooper. Sideshow has hinted at the Snowtrooper previously and from the photos it looks to be 1:6 scale so it's exciting to see we're getting closer. Shaak Ti vs General Grievous
General Grievous vs Shaak Ti On Friday, Sideshow gave us preview of their new diorama, "Hunt for the Jedi," featuring Shaak Ti vs General Grievous. Yesterday, as promised, they posted a photo gallery along with pre-order information. The diorama will go on sale this Thursday, June 7th, with the release of the newsletter. It's priced at $349.99 so payment plans should be available. There's no mention of a deposit but one may be required. 6-1-2012Celebration VI - Guest Announcement
StarWars.com announced yesterday afternoon that our favorite protocol droid, C-3PO, will be attending Star Wars Celebration VI in the guise of one Mr. Anthony Daniels. Mr. Daniels is scheduled to appear on stage as well as sign autographs for Official Pix during Celebration VI, which runs August 23 - 26. Sideshow - UpdatedGeneral Grievous vs Shaak Ti
General Grievous vs Shaak Ti Sideshow posted a teaser photo for their next Star Wars diorama release, titled "Hunt for the Jedi." The diorama features a battle from Revenge of the Sith between General Grievous and Shaak Ti. A full photo reveal will be posted next Tuesday, June 5th, which means we should anticipate a pre-order the following Thursday with the newsletter release. Darth Vader - Updated (now with photo)
Darth Vader This morning, on Twitter, Sideshow posted "Darth Vader Sixth Scale Figure coming soon...Prepare to join the Darkside" with the hashtag #SideshowComicConPrep. They also posted a link to their website but the page is blank at this time. Sideshow had hinted previously that they were developing another sixth scale version of the Dark Lord, and that it would feature his armor from a film other than A New Hope, which is how he was released in 2009. We'll have more information for you when it's available, otherwise, keep an eye on Sideshow's website. San Diego Comic-Con is just over a month away and Sideshow always previews excellent pieces. Star Wars 1313
A couple of weeks ago we started to hear about a new property from Lucasfilm, Star Wars 1313. Speculation ranged from the long rumored TV show to a new video game. Last night, during an Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) teaser show on Spike TV, it was finally announced: LucasArts is developing a new 3rd person adventure came called Star Wars 1313. The game will allow you to play a bounty hunter working on Level 1313 of Coruscant, where the criminal element of the city planet run the show. The game will carry a Mature (M) rating which is a first for a Star Wars game. There will be more information released during E3, including video, but the StarWars1313.com website is now live, as well as their Facebook page (registration required). You can also read the full press release on the LucasArts website. |
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