The New York Toy Fair will be held from 10 - 13 Feb. Ahead of proceedings, Hasbro has released information on some of the new items they will be showing. Of interest to SW fans: ANGRY BIRDSTM STAR WARS® JENGA® RISE OF DARTH VADERTM GAME May the Force be with you as you battle the dark side in the new ANGRY BIRDS STAR WARS JENGA RISE OF DARTH VADER GAME. Slingshot your JEDI birds from the LIGHTSABER LAUNCHER to defeat DARTH VADER and the evil SITH LORDS and win the game! Players can also unlock ANGRY BIRDS STAR WARS in-app content with a special code in each pack. (Ages: 8 & up/Approx. Retail Price: $29.99/Players: 1-2/Available: Fall 2013) STAR WARS®ANAKIN TO DARTH VADER™ ACTION FIGURE Hasbro introduces a breakthrough action figure innovation to celebrate the DARTH VADER character with the STAR WARS ANAKIN TO DARTH VADER figure. Standing at 13-inches tall, this figure changes from ANAKIN SKYWALKER to DARTH VADER by attaching the helmet and armor, and includes iconic phrases, sound effects, and a LIGHTSABER that changes from blue to red. (Ages: 4 & up/Approx. Retail Price: $24.99; Available: Fall 2013). You can see the full press release here on Rebelscum. If you have Toy Fair news or comments, feel free to post here!
Live Twitter/Facebook feeds from SirSteve's Guide, JediNews, and Yakfacecom. - since I got these from multiple sources there is some repeat news but sometimes they gave a bit more info...hence my adding both quotes: Black 6" Line Hasbro teamed with Gentle Giant to product the 6" black series line X-Wing Luke... Gentle Giant did a lot of sculpts. 6" line... Wave 1 - X-Wing Luke, R2-D2 with lots of accessories, Darth Maul with dual lightsabre and cloak and Sand Trooper (Orange Pauldron) The Black Series - an iconic design process and emotional connection to years gone; scene specific to moments in the films. Gentle Giant did a lot of the 6" sculpts. All new figure collection: The Black Series 6" in 2013. Yakface.com @yak_face 6" Boba Fett with Han in Carbonite SDCC Exclusive #toyfair2013 Black 3 3/4" Line Replacing Vintage line - remains Adult Collector focused 3.75" figures - The Black Series Wave 1 features Clone Sergeant, AOTC Anakin, Clone Pilot, Bespin Vader, Luke ANH Ceremony - no more Vintage - The Balck Series replaces Vintage!!! TBS 3 4/4" Wave 1: Anakin and Clone Trooper Sergeant, Biker Scout, Darth Vader (Bespin Trap) with 2 hands, Clone Pilot, Luke Yavin, Padme (Geonosis Arena), Biggs Darklighter. 3.75" figures - The Black Series Wave 2 features Mara Jade (Winner of Fan's Choice), Stormtrooper, R2-D2, Pablo Jill, Luminara Unduli and 41st Clone Trooper Wave 2... Mara Jade, Pablo, Luminara, Stormtrooper and they went fast with the slide. Mara Jade, Padme (Arena Battle), Pablo Jill (Jedi) #toyfair2013 Design Brief: Capture that iconic, scene-specific shot and bring it to life in a new scale. Figures should resonate with SW fans and collectors, and create and emotional connections back to the scenes that inspired them. Saga Legends 3 3/4" - Playline figures $5.99 - Wave 1 5 Pts articulation (aka limited like original Kenner Vintage) Saga Legends will continue but figures will only have 5 points of articulation (Kenner inspired like two of last year's Battle Packs) at a new price point of just $5.99 - includes Mace Windu, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, R4-D4, Yoda and Super Battle Droid Saga Legends - reduced articulation (5 POA) and price $5.99 MSRP Yodas, Shock Trooper, Mace, Obi-Wan R4-P17, SBD Mission Series 3 3/4: Wave 1 coming Mission Series 3-3/4" two packs - limited articulation figures $9.99 Mission 2 Packs - Vader & Seeker Droid, Anakin & 501st Clone Trooper and Jango Fett & Battle Droid Vehicles MS Class II Vehicles includes Anakin's Jedi Starfighter New Class II Jedi Starfighter (Yellow) for Anakin TVC X-wing Fighter coming. TVC ROTJ TIE Interceptor (no figures included) Store Exclusives: Target: Darth Vader Origins… includes 4 figures and operating table Target Exclusive Origin of Vader Playset K-mart: Scanning Crew Pack 1 and Vintage Ewok Catapult. Kmart Exclusive Ewok Catapult and Imperial Scanning Crew 2-packs #toyfair2013 Amazon.com exclusive: TVC ESB Slave I (no figures) but does come with Han Carbonite Amazon Exclusive Tie Inceptor and Slave I #toyfair2013 TRU Exclusive Battle of Geonosis (Vintage Republic Gunship) with Yoda, Clone Trooper Pilot, Clone Trooper with Turrets that swing out. TRU Exclusives: Vintage Republic Gunship with turrets TRU VIntage X-Wing with Biggs 12" figures - Kids line: Wave 2 will include Obi-Wan ROTS and Vader 12" Figures - ROTS Obi Wan and Darth Vader shown as well as the Anakin to Vader electronic figure shown at the UK Toy Fair 12" Scale Anakin-Vader Anakin to Darth Vader figure... Electronic. Sounds and Lightsaber goes from Blue to Red when you put on the Vader Helmet. Other Jedi Force… new adventure packs: DS Escape and Jabba Palace Rescue New Jedi Force figures in 5" scale No mention of Fighter Pods beyond series 4 Angry Birds Star Wars line was a BIG success and will continue in 2013 with new collector centric sets and Wave 2 of the blind bags as well as more Jenga and some games Here are some pics from a German Toy show that took place last week and previewed some of these goodies to hold you over until pics from NYTF come out. And here are some NYTF pics!
Couple of Rebelscum reports of Hasbro presentations which probably overlap with PLJ's news but there are pics: Angry Birds SW Hasbro Showroom
Splitting the line into two separate focuses is long over due IMO. Over the last few years the difference in the price point between the "basic" line and the "vintage" line shrank from $2-3 to zero. By cutting the price of the basic line nearly in half you make the figures more attractive to parents, and the fact that they have reduced articulation is actually a good thing since the s/a figures tend to be more flimsy and not up to the play demands of your average kid (I'm using my 4 year old nephew as a test case ). And the so-called "Black Series" 3 3/4" and 6" lines will continue to appeal to the adult collectors who make up such a large portion of their base, with the 6" line finally offering something new for those of us who have 3 3/4" figures in the triple digits. However I'm not crazy about the internet (Amazon) exclusive vehicles. The boxes are the primary selling point on these and Amazon's track record for secure and careful packing of such items is a bit suspect.
Information on the Uncle Milton Booth from Rebelscum is here. No pics yet but they should be up soon.
I know there have been some online exclusives, like the final wave of TVC last year, but this is the first time I can recall Amazon getting any. I'm not too happy about it either, since the Slave I and Tie Interceptor are the two I'm most interested in. When you factor in the S&H they figure to be a bit pricey, not to mention you won't really know what kind of condition they'll be in.
Still no word on what they'll retail for, but Rebelscum has hi-rez pics of the three upcoming TVC exclusive vehicles; X-Wing, Slave I and Tie Interceptor.