The talented Stephen Hayford has posted some excellent images of the upcoming Kmart Exclusive Imperial Scanning Crew set, paying particular attention to the scanning gear. Head on over to his Facebook page for a closer look.
Update: Canceled Droid Factory Figures Coming to Amazon
Hasbro’s panel at SDCC revealed that the canceled Droid Factory figures will be offered through Amazon.com. They will they will be released in the canceled packaging design as well. They will be sold as a set for $59.99 this fall.
Thanks to Galactic Hunter for the details.
UPDATE: This set is now available for pre-order – expected ship date is October 13, 2013 (Thanks to forum member Rune Haako for the tip)
Sideshow To Produce Life Size Yoda
Sideshow Collectibles announced during their Star Wars Collectibles panel today at SDCC that they have a life-size Yoda from The Empire Strikes Back in the works. Not word on price but it is sure to be impressive.
Star Wars Collectibles Panel: Twitter Feed
CurtoBurns Collectors Cast – July 2013
It’s time for July’s edition of the Curto Burns Collectors Cast recorded a few days ago! Join Dan and James as they talk about the Caravan of the Force, in association with Toys ‘R’ Us, the exclusives available at San Diego Comic Con and Star Wars Celebration Europe along with a quick round up of the latest news from your favorite Star Wars licensees. They also drop in on Steve Sansweet at Rancho Obi-Wan to determine where in the Galaxy the Rancho Obi-Wan Experience currently is and if it’s reached Germany yet as well as discussing the three exclusives currently available for pre-order and pickup at Celebration Europe too. It’s another action-packed show not to be missed!
Direct download link here
Sponsor News: Urban Collector
This week we are featuring new arrivals like the Batman B&W statue by Grampa, Dead Space ArtFX statue and Star Wars Chess set. Click on through for the complete listing!
Star Wars Figure Display and Diorama Project
For well over a decade, Star Wars collectors and kids alike have wanted Hasbro to make some sort of action figure display units (or even playsets) in the 3.75″ scale, but our pleas always fall on deaf ears.
But now the market might finally have a chance in the future to be able to spend our dollars on such items (and no, it ain’t through Hasbro). Head on over to the forums for more details.
CE2 Collecting Track Announces Swap Meet
At Star Wars Celebration Europe 2 the most rare items won’t be on the show floor, they’ll only be available AFTER DARK. The CE2 Collecting Track is excited to announce Collecting After Dark, a Star Wars Collector’s Swap Meet where fans from across the globe can come to trade their Star Wars goods. Bring your items to sell or trade or add some new stuff to your collection. From new to vintage, rare prototypes and more, you never know what you’ll find After Dark! So join us Saturday, July 27, 11:00 PM at the Atlantic Congress Hotel, just half a mile from the convention center.
The Swap Meet at Star Wars Celebration VI was the spot for collectors to obtain new gems, so don’t miss out in Collecting After Dark at CE2!
SDCC Exclusive Han in Carbonite Character Key
Acme Archives has announced via Instagram their secret SDCC character key – Han Solo in Carbonite.
Toyguide Update: TBS #01 Padmé Amidala
The Yakface Toyguide updates resume today with our first entry and the first figure in the The Black Series 3-3/4″ line – #01 Padmé Amidala
PROS: At first blush, you’d think this was a simple rehash of a prior figure with new parts, but when doing a side-by-side with the TLC/Evolutions figures, you’ll quickly see that this is a new figure from the ground up. A refreshing notion coming off of a nasty drought of quality products. The last version of this scene-specific figure was back in 2002 and it featured that wonky quickdraw (throw the gun across the room) action feature, so finally that one can be retired mercilessly. It is a solid figure all around with a nice sculpt and exacting details. Even the color of the outfit is better and isn’t so stark white as with previous iterations. The “nexu damage” applied to her back is well sculpted and is finished off with bloody scratches.
CONS: Was a total retool really necessary? For all the times that Hasbro sites tooling costs as a prohibitor for new figures, it seems that they could have retooled the torso and one arm to keeps costs in check. The likeness, while good, is a step backward from the previous (TLC) Geonosis outfit figure which looked more like Ms. Portman. One final issue is with the mismatch joint in her right arm . Yikes.
Head to the toyguide for the full image gallery and to judge for yourself whether this piece is worth adding to your collection.
You can also weigh in with your impressions on the figures we add to our toyguide on facebook and in our forums.