BleedingCool.com has posted a link to the new Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 3D trailer. Head on over to check it out!
UPDATE: StarWars.com has posted the trailer officially.
Customizer Mega Spotlight
When the going gets tough for finding new product at retail, customizing can be a great way to add “new” figures to your collection! Check out the latest custom figures from several great customizers in the Yakface forums – if these were basic figures at retail, they would be hard to pass up!
First off, Incom shows off an amazing custom of Mandalorian Novoc Vevut – check it out here!
Next up, if you think Hasbro should give us a new Airborne Trooper, you’ll certainly like this one from forumite PackRatStudios!
Marcus Starkiller also joins in the fun with a cool Special Forces Rebel Sniper!
Last but not least, Fritzkrieg comes back to the Star Wars front with a very nice rendition of a Republic Commando!
Medicom Announces 12″ UU Han Solo
MedicomToy updates today announcing the 12″ Ultimate Unison Han Solo. This high-end piece features a highly articulated body, detailed outfit based on his appearance in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and includes his signature Endor Trench Coat and breathing mask. Look for this to retail for just north of $350.00 US.
Toyguide Update: The Search for Luke Skywalker Box Set
The Yakface Toyguide updates resume today with the addition of the Search for Luke Skywalker exclusive box set from Target.
PROS: While the figures in this set are pretty top notch, the real star of this set is the all-new tauntaun. It’s nicely articulated and has a decent deco. The price for this set is also attractive at $24.99 considering each figure would retail for about $8 bucks each. Han gets a nice (and necessary) upgrade here with ball-jointed hips and a soft good section of his coat both of which allow him to ride the tauntaun more naturally. The Rebel Trooper is essentially a straight repack save for a new artillery remote accessory that was teased way back when the Hoth Rebel Trooper was first announced in the Legacy Collection line in 2008.
CONS: The faults with this set are mininal but warranted. First, Han is a good figure overall, but the color of the coat is too blue, even for advocates of the “blue coat” theory. Also, Han’s removable cap is such a poor design as it doesn’t fit his head properly because of interference from the separate coat collar/hood accessory.
Head to the toyguide for the full image gallery and to judge for yourself whether this set 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.
What If??? TVC Search for Luke Set
With the new exclusives hitting the aisles at Target, one thing is for certain, Vintage packaging sells. I took it upon myself to create my own “exclusive” that could have/should have been released by Hasbro – and with no new tooling costs or over-inflated pricing.
In essence, it is the new “Search for Luke Skywalker” set but reworked to take advantage of the popular Vintage packaging design. This version switches out the new, super-articulated, Hoth Han for a more screen (and scene) accurate sculpt and it also drops the superfluous Hoth Rebel Trooper, remedying the fact that there isn’t a Hoth Luke in stores to tie into Target’s exclusive “Luke’s Tauntaun”. How’s that for poor retail planning?
By now you’ve heard or seen that both new beasts have the non-functional open belly plug, but with a little prying and some extra guts from the 2003 Toys”R”Us exclusive “Battle of Hoth” multi-pack, you can take Han’s cool new tauntaun and make it even better.
Hopefully Hasbro sees that with a little more planning and minimal development costs, it is possible to get more play value than you can swing a lightsaber at for kids and adult collectors alike.
Hasbro QnA Delayed… Again
Hasbro informs us that the answers for the questions we submitted back on 9/16, that were originally scheduled to be back to us on 10/13, then rescheduled for delivery after NYCC, have been officially cancelled. New questions were due to them this morning and those will be returned to us (hopefully) on November 7th. We’ll see…..
Feel free to keep submitting questions in our forums.
One Week Left in the Fans’ Choice Poll!
Star Wars Insider and Hasbro have opened up the official Top 20 poll for the next Star Wars Fans’ Choice figure! We are also happy to announce that Yakface (Saelt Marae) made the final list! Voting is open on the Star Wars Insider website until December 1st and the winning character will be announced at Hasbro’s 2012 Collector-Fan Media Day event at Toy Fair in New York in February 2012.
This may smell bad kid, but it’ll keep your…. feet warm???
Upon “playing” with my new Search for Luke Skywalker set tonight, I decided to perform abdominal surgery* on the new Tauntaun to see how roomy the interior might be should Hasbro decide to make an “open belly” version. I’m sad to report that unless they make him with removable legs, there will be no way to have the new Hoth Luke fit (convincingly) inside the steamy guts of the fell-beast. You can check out facebook page for a better look.
*The belly plug is affixed with glue in a few spots but, if you’re careful, you can remove it with little to no damage to the tauntaun.
Tauntaun Detective Work
Yakface forum member acklayhunter has shared a close up image of the new Tauntaun mold courtesy of Banthaskull.com – look closely by clicking on the image above… you’ll see there is a clear line there that Hasbro has apparently made as a “place holder” for what could be an eventual re-release with a split belly so you can keep your Hoth Luke figures nice and warm in native Hoth intestines!
Think this is coming later on down the line? Share your thoughts in the Yakface forums!
Legendary Scale Darth Maul Now Available
Sideshow Collectibles has updated today placing the Legendary Scale Darth Maul up for pre-order. Get your orders in today!