All posts by Justin (Chewie)

Collecting News

Black Series Wave 3 at Kmart

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kmartscore

While many of us are losing more and more passion for the hobby due to Hasbro’s distribution problems, there is a glimmer of hope when you see a report like this, where forum member Jedighost009 just scored the latest wave of Black Series figures at Kmart.  Reports are also coming in more of these figures making appearances at Target the past week, so don’t give up and keep sharing those finds in the forums.

Personal Note:  Can you imagine if Hasbro had a better plan in place and had launched the first wave with what’s packed in Wave 3?  Geeze… it’s hard to not accuse of them being completely responsible for their own problems sometimes.

Collecting News

At this price, why not?

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MTT

By now you’ve probably heard reports of Marshalls and TJ Maxx stores marking down the MTT to ridiculously low prices – if you’ve been waiting for your local store to mark one down, better head out quick… the Marshalls in my area had four of these marked at $59.00 as recently as Monday, then last night I swung by and they only had one left, for $39.00.  So don’t delay, be on your way!

Reminder:  Your mileage may vary.  Just because many stores have marked these down doesn’t mean your local store has yet. 

Collecting News

Hasbro Consumer Survey

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hasbrosurvey2

Hasbro is attempting to get some feedback from their consumer base in terms of buying habits for their product lines.  They are mostly looking for more insights as to where consumers are buying Hasbro products, and why they are choosing online stores vs. retail.  If your email is on file at Hasbrotoyshop, chances are you are on the survey list.

So check those email boxes and share your thoughts in this study… and be aware there isn’t much chance here to share “open end” comments so if you want to explain the Star Wars hobby situation, take advantage of every open comment you see because we don’t get many chances like this to voice our concerns through “official research.”

Personal Note:  I think the survey is pretty dry, personally… I work in the research industry and don’t feel this gets to the heart of the matter… but that’s probably me being an unhappy collector and showing bias against the questions that are actually asked.

Site News, TV / Movie / Book / Audio News

Star Wars Pre-Show Short Film

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blackangel

Yahoo Movies has posted an interesting article regarding a short 25-minute fantasy epic that was shown for a brief time back in 1980 in some overseas theaters before fans viewed The Empire Strikes Back.   According to the article, George Lucas had instructed 20th Century Fox to create something that would complement the dark nature of this Star Wars film.

This is a pretty fun read, and the short film sounds interesting.   You will even see some trees that look a bit like the ones on Dagobah here – check it all out after the jump!

Note:  It also sounds like there may be a chance that this short film could be included as a bonus feature  on an upcoming re-release of The Empire Strike Back on DVD/Blu-ray.

Artwork, Customizing

The Adventure Continues…

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indy

Forum member and photonovel genius Lance Quazar returns to the scene with the beginning of an adventure for all you Indiana Jones fanatics… Indiana Jones and the Mayan Secret!

This storyline is all part of a contest he has entered at The Indy Cast, and regardless of how this places, it’s a fantastic start to a new ongoing series that looks very promising.  So kick back for a few minutes and appreciate the hard work he’s put into this – because I’m guessing if you do, you’re going to enjoy the ride.

Artwork, Customizing

More Diorama Bits Available!

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cubecrates

Forum member Raylen continues to deliver great 3.75″ scale diorama items, offering collectors a way to fill the void that Hasbro has ignored for almost 20 years now.

If you like what you see, your orders can be placed here, and you are welcome to brag about how you have cooler dioramas than before now thanks to the various items he is offering in our forums.

Artwork, Customizing, Site News

Customizer Mega Spotlight

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030314spot

Those of you active in our customizing forums have likely been keeping up on the great work of our forum members, but with all the Toy Fair news in recent weeks, even I sometimes do the unthinkable… I miss some great custom updates from our forum community contributors…

So without further delay, customizing legend Incom has recently created some fantastic custom figures are part of a commission project – I’m certainly envious of his Rachi Sitra Twi’lek custom, and I expect many of you will be too after you take a closer look.

After that, be sure to check out how Evilivo has restored a busted up X-Wing fighter, including sculpting the R2-D2 into the socket – just amazing work!

Forumite Customjedi also has created something that seems like a complete no-brainer (and easy money!) for Hasbro… a C-3PO using the superior Build-A-Droid sculpt.  Why the heck hasn’t Hasbro made this yet?

Last but not least, tokiravensky has made a fun take on Han Solo following the events of Return of the Jedi… along with some other cool works definitely worth checking out.

Artwork, Collecting News, Customizing, Podcasts/Streaming

Forest Village Set Podcast March 13

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podcast

Our good friends at Imperialshipyards.net will be hosting a podcast with Twelfth Parsec, the folks who are working to deliver the upcoming Ewok village playsets.  Click the image above for more details, and you can even submit questions you would like discussed during the podcast on March 13.

You can also participate in their campaign to get this project up and running here.