All posts by Jayson

Toyguide Update: Mandalorian Warrior (CW29)

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The Yakface Toyguide updates resume today starting a look back at some of the older Clone Wars figures that we have yet to add to the archives. We kick things off with the Mandalorian Warrior (CW29).

PROS: Collectors that had trouble tracking down this figure via the “Death Watch” Battle Pack, thankfully, got another opportunity to bolster their Mandalorian Warrior ranks. Like most Clone Wars figures of this era, articulation was abundant allowing for varied “actiony” poses and the sculpting and deco is top notch.

CONS: At the time of release, this figure wasn’t available in any great quantity, which is a shame considering their reemergence in The Clone Wars Season 5. It’s also disappointing that Hasbro didn’t see fit to reissue this figure in 2013 with a revised “Maul armor” deco or perhaps a sweet Obi-Wan-in-Mando disguise version.

Head to the toyguide for the full image gallery and to judge for yourself whether this figure is worth tracking down for your collection.

You can also weigh in with your impressions on the figures we add to our toyguide on facebook and in our forums.

A New Direction for Lucasfilm Animation

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After 5 years and 100+ episodes, the Official Site has updated today with the announcement that The Clone Wars is coming to an end. Fear not, The Clone Wars isn’t dead… not yet. They have also announced that they are continuing in the production on a few final episodes that will air (location/dates TBA) to conclude some of the arcs and stories that need to be told. These final episodes are promised to be the best in the series.

To read the full announcement, head to StarWars.com and watch a special video from Dave Filoni complete with awesome teaser footage.

Episode 384: Bishoujo and Jocasta Nu

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With few new Hasbro Star Wars toys showing up in stores, Star Wars collectors and podcast hosts Marjorie and Arnie must look online to build their collection.  On this week’s podcast, they review two new mail-order additions to their collection!  First, they review the Brian’s Toys exclusive Jocasta Nu action figure from Hasbro.  Then they look at the first statue in Kotobukiya’s new Star Wars Bishoujo line–Jaina Solo.

Star Wars Action News segment host Nathan P. Butler has also kept busy collecting the variant covers for Dark Horse’s new Star Wars #1 comic book.  How many covers are there and how far will Nathan go to get them all?  Listen to this week’s podcast to find out!

With a UK collecting report by Steve “The Gingerprince” and Johnathan giving tips on collecting the Yoda carded Clone Wars and Movie Heroes figures, it’s all on this week’s Star Wars Action News podcast!

Download the Regular Version or Enhanced Version

Toyguide Update: Captain Rex (CW04) (Yakface & JTA Collaboration)

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The Yakface Toyguide updates resume today with a special series covering the 2013 “foreign exclusive” assortment of Clone Wars figures. At first blush, you may think that we were only missing out on some simple repacks and repaints, but that is not the case – there is a fair amount of “new” to be had. We’ve teamed up with our friends at Jedi Temple Archives to run down the details and minutia of this final wave of animated series-style figures.

We continue on with the addition of Captain Rex (CW04) – who gets an articulation update, a revised deco as well as a brand new gun.

PROS: Hasbro has addressed one of the major complaint that collectors had about the previous version of this figure. The legs now feature ball-jointed knees making dynamic poses possible. Hasbro also introduced a new Z-6 rotary cannon accessory that is not only more to scale with the figure, but also features a (manually) rotating barrel and articulated handle and grip.

CONS: Despite it’s gain in articulation, the deco (for me) is a step backward as I like the battle-worn treatment the previous version had and the omission of some of the “kill marks” seems like a very unnecessary revision.

Head to the toyguide for the full image gallery and to judge for yourself whether this figure is worth adding to your collection and be sure to check out JTA’s full Research Droids Review for this figure as well.

You can also weigh in with your impressions on the figures we add to our toyguide on facebook and in our forums.

Toyguide Update: Anakin Skywalker (CW03) (Yakface & JTA Collaboration)

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The Yakface Toyguide updates resume today with a special series covering the 2013 “foreign exclusive” assortment of Clone Wars figures. At first blush, you may think that we were only missing out on some simple repacks and repaints, but that is not the case – there is a fair amount of “new” to be had. We’ve teamed up with our friends at Jedi Temple Archives to run down the details and minutia of this final wave of animated series-style figures.

We continue on with the addition of Anakin Skywalker (CW03) – who gets a new coat of paint and new parts as well.

PROS: Hasbro tweaks the previous release of Anakin (again), upgrading the head sculpt to a more series-accurate profile  and, in a strange move, retooled both forearms as well. This retooling along with a significant redeco of the outfit result in the best animated Anakin Skywalker (so far).

CONS: Obviously, availability is an issue with this figure, but also my sample has a awful paint job with several instances of overspray/paint bleeding. Hopefully this is a fluke and not a wide spread problem throughout the production run.

Head to the toyguide for the full image gallery and to judge for yourself whether this figure is worth adding to your collection and be sure to check out JTA’s full Research Droids Review for this figure as well.

You can also weigh in with your impressions on the figures we add to our toyguide on facebook and in our forums.

Toyguide Update: R2-D2 (CW05) (Yakface & JTA Collaboration)

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The Yakface Toyguide updates resume today with a special series covering the 2013 “foreign exclusive” assortment of Clone Wars figures. At first blush, you may think that we were only missing out on some simple repacks and repaints, but that is not the case – there is a fair amount of “new” to be had. We’ve teamed up with our friends at Jedi Temple Archives to run down the details and minutia of this final wave of animated series-style figures.

We continue on with the addition of R2-D2 (CW05) – not a simple repaint here…. this is an all-new mold (for him).

PROS: For this latest iteration of R2 from the Clone Wars, Hasbro has repurposed the Build-A-Droid/Droid Factory sculpt first used on the 2011 R7-D4 figure. The result is a far better representation of Artoo from the series and a far better sculpt overall. Since it utilizes the build-a-droid platform there are plenty of customizing opportunities thanks to its parts cross-compatibility with other B.A.Ds.

CONS: For R2-D2 collectors or fans of astromechs in general, not having this figure as part of your collection may hurt a bit. Thankfully, his availability on the secondary market shouldn’t be as scarce as with some of the other figures in the assortment.

Head to the toyguide for the full image gallery and to judge for yourself whether this figure is worth adding to your collection and be sure to check out JTA’s full Research Droids Review for this figure as well.

You can also weigh in with your impressions on the figures we add to our toyguide on facebook and in our forums.

Toyguide Update: Obi-Wan Kenobi (CW01) (Yakface & JTA Collaboration)

2013_CW01_preview

The Yakface Toyguide updates resume today with a special series covering the 2013 “foreign exclusive” assortment of Clone Wars figures. At first blush, you may think that we were only missing out on some simple repacks and repaints, but that is not the case – there is a fair amount of “new” to be had. We’ve teamed up with our friends at Jedi Temple Archives to run down the details and minutia of this final wave of animated series-style figures.

We continue on with the addition of Obi-Wan Kenobi (CW01) which gets a much-welcomed articulation upgrade for 2013.

PROS: Hasbro has taken the 2012 figure and improved on it greatly by way of a revised deco from top to bottom and, most importantly, the addition of swivel wrists – a must for most Jedi figures. They went so far as to retool the forearms and hands making this figure markedly better than the previous version.

CONS:  It appears that the addition of the POA (points of articulation) and revised paint apps has eaten into the accessory allotment for this release as Obi-Wan only includes his ignited lightsaber. I, for one, would have loved the inclusion of his Rako Hardeen helmet or how cool would an Obi-Wan in Mandalorian Super Commando armor figure have been. Missed opportunities all around. Due to the figure’s exclusivity (i.e. not available in the US) tracking one down may required a bit more effort and be prepared to pay twice the MSRP when all is said and done.

Head to the toyguide for the full image gallery and to judge for yourself whether this figure is worth adding to your collection and be sure to check out JTA’s full Research Droids Review for this figure as well.

You can also weigh in with your impressions on the figures we add to our toyguide on facebook and in our forums.