“You can’t stop change any more than you can stop the suns from setting.”
The past 24 hours have been rife with discussion on the advancing progress of Hasbro’s commitment to removing plastic from their packaging by the end of 2022. Yesterday’s Marvel Legends Livestream gave collectors their first official look at the redesigned packaging for several products that incorporate the windowless form factor. Star Wars Black Series collectors can expect something very similar to be implemented this year as well. Last year, we exclusively shared Hasbro-proposed designs for the Black Series and now sights are set on what will happen to the beloved Vintage Collection, Retro Collection and even the 6″ Kenner-style carded Black Series figures.
Hasbro’s 6” Value Assortment of $6 figures is getting 2 new characters: Bo-Katan and the classic Imperial Stormtrooper. The packaging is getting a slight tweak too. Grogu is now named (previously “The Child”) and the plastic window and hanger tab have also been removed for the “Plastic-Free Packaging” initiative.
An interesting observation was made regarding the packaging design for the new Black Series 4.0 assortment. Hasbro may be hinting at future accent color usage in the line as the top right tab on the packaging doesn’t match the overall color accent of the box.
BOX ACCENT COLOR / TAB ACCENT COLOR Kamino Clone (Yellow) / Red (used for AOTC) Teebo (Green) / Dark Brown (used for The Mandalorian) Ackbar (Green) / Tan ? Mandalorian (Dark Brown) / Light Pink ? Stormtrooper (Dark Brown) / Eggshell Blue ? Darth Vader (Blue) / Purple? (different from Rebels color)
Industrial designer Brad Harris has designed and printed this fully articulated Rathtar (via 3D printing) for the 3.75″ scale complete with Black Series style packaging. It is really a thing to behold. Head on over to his site to check out this impressive piece and more, like this 3.75″ Scale TIE Defender and Krayt Dragon.
Our friend, Justin LaSalata, from JediNews has posted this tweet regarding a brief glimpse he got of the packaging/style guide for Rogue One merchandise. Interestingly, this is a bit different from details I have for the branding, but admittedly my info is much older than this.
Preorders are now open for A New Proof: Kenner Star Wars Packaging Design 1977-1979 by Mattias Rendahl. This must-have book for vintage fans is limited to only 500 copies and features full-color imagery as well as interviews with the design team responsible for developing the signature Kenner line look. You can check out sample pages of the book at dearpublications.com.
For Celebration Anaheim attendees, Mattias will be having a panel on this book Sat., April 18, 1:30–2:30PM on the Collectors Stage (210AB)
