Ralph McQuarrie, the visionary artist responsible for what we’ve come to know as the look and feel of Star Wars, passed away yesterday at the age of 82. Visit StarWars.com to read a note from George Lucas on his passing and be sure to visit the official Ralph McQuarrie website to view many of his magnificent works.
Barely a month after new product hit the shelves, some Wal-Marts are already putting some of Hasbro’s new line on clearance. It seems like some retailers are realizing that vastly inferior repacks from a decade ago aren’t in demand; especially at inflated prices – how long before Hasbro realizes this too?
For more details on what was found marked down in the St. Louis area today, click on the image above.
We would like to remind all the customizers out there of a tribute we are running in honor of a good Yakface friend who passed away last summer – a multi-site customizing event that was in the works by a collector know around the forums as MercuryArtStudios. We were shocked and saddened last summer when he tragically lost his life in a car accident.
Mike Martinez left behind a great following in the customizing community and touched a lot of people. In his memory, we wanted to see through an Evolution style themed customizing contest that he had been planning – so we have teamed up with two other sites he was active at to make this happen. We are proud to work with the great folks at Echo Base News and Imperial Shipyards to host this customizing event.
To help encourage participation, we’ve also gathered a great pool of prizes – for more information and rules of entry, click here!
Our friends at Jedi Temple Archives have posted their annual special report comparing the original Kenner Vintage figures with their definitive (or in some cases not) modern counterparts. Head on over to read what figures are due for a modern upgrade or need to be represented in the “modern era” of collecting.
Despite the weakened economy, LEGO announced today that with the help of the Star Wars and Harry Potter licenses, their profitability and market share for 2011 surpassed it’s main toy competition Hasbro and Mattel. You can read their full press release at LEGO.com
For your review, we’ve also added a gallery showcasing the “Lost Line” cardbacks which will be exclusive to figures at SDCC then available later as “chase” cards at retail. Click through for all the images and then weigh in with your thoughts on this series in our forums.
The acquisition of the Toy Fair Presentation has given us a better look at those controversial Battle Packs. Click on through to check out high-res versions of each sets and continue the discussion in our forums.
Hasbro has finally released the Toy Fair 2012 Star Wars Presentation to all fan sites. Obviously you’ve seen everything by now but it’s still worth sharing. Click on over to our show coverage gallery for all the slides.
Entertainment Earth is also taking pre-orders for Clone Wars Wave 2 case assortment which features the new Republic Commando Boss and Phase II Rex. The case breaks down as follows:
1x Republic Commando Boss
1x Anakin Skywalker
1x Clone Trooper (Phase II)
1x Captain Rex (Phase II)
1x Obi-Wan Kenobi
1x Commander Cody (Flight Pack)
1x Plo Koon
1x Aqua Battle Droid
1x Savage Opress
1x Cad Bane
1x Yoda
1x Aayla Secura
Entertainment Earth has updated tonight and is now taking pre-orders for the delayed Vintage Collection (Evazan, Wedge, Nom Anor, etc.) case assortment which breaks down as follows:
1x VC75 Qui-Gon Jinn (Phantom Menace)
1x VC77 Ratts Tyerell and Pit Droid (Phantom Menace)
1x VC92 Clone Wars Anakin Skywalker
1x VC93 Darth Vader (Episode IV)
1x VC95 Luke Skywalker (Hoth)
1x VC87 Luke Skywalker (Lightsaber Construction)
1x VC58 Aayla Secura
1x VC59 Nom Anor
1x VC60 501st Clone Trooper
1x VC56 Kithaba (Barada)
1x VC57 Dr. Cornelius Evazan
1x VC28 Wedge Antilles