Tomorrow night, many of us will be seeing the highly anticipated new film, but what’s the retail situation looking like with only about a week before Christmas?
Our focus on this post is really around what’s on the pegs at Wal-Mart, due to their exclusive rights to the 3.75″ Black Series line that most collectors (and yes, even many KIDS) want to get their hands on… we’re seeing reports come in across the continental U.S. that even Wave 3 is showing up in some areas, but sadly, it appears that some Wal-Mart stores have declined to carry this line past the initial wave… even removing space for the figures.
What’s the scoop in your area? Share your experiences (good and bad) after the jump!
PROS: A big selling point of this version of Kylo Ren is the treatment of his unique lightsaber – which is far superior to the original Black Series design. Instead of relying on a removable blade to contain all three blades, the cross-guard lightsaber is cast all in one piece and collectors are given a separate unlit hilt as an accessory. The deco of this figure is much improved over the #03 release as tighter paint apps have been used on the helmet. Although, the snow effect applied to the soft goods may be a little heavy for my tastes. Kylo Ren has been given a unique “force gesture” left hand which is very expressive in its tooling and excellent for recreating footage we’ve seen thus far. The interlocking base included in this set is a section of the Starkiller Base’s snowy terrain which works very well. It features deep depressions to hold Kylo’s feet rather than foot pegs to keep him stable. If you’re a non-opener, the overall presentation of this exclusive is perfect for on-shelf display with a nice window box presentation and a cool forest background for the figure that sets it apart from other exclusives in the line.
CONS: There are reports that several people who preordered this through Kmart.com have had their items cancelled without warning. It is unknown at this time the official reasoning behind this but customers are left empty handed in some cases. Kmart as a chain of stores has been steadily diminishing over the past several years so acquiring one of these first hand may prove difficult.
Head to the toyguide for our detailed image gallery and to judge for yourself whether this figure is worth adding to your collection.
Most of us want to see the 3.75″ SA figure line continue, right? But does it really have to cost this much? Especially when nearly everything else of comparable size/articulation costs consumers way less?
Is this really Hasbro’s only option to keep a decent articulated line going? Or instead of full SA figures, why can’t they have the baseline articulation be around 10 points, and have a unified line with a MSRP around $8.99 (such as similar quality to THIS)?
Is a beyond 5POA line that’s more affordable too much to ask for? Share your thoughts in the forums.
All across the world, fans had their first crack at toys from the upcoming film… and from early reports, there wasn’t a whole lot of 3.75″ figures to go around in some areas. Some places didn’t even receive a single 6″ figure in time.
But, many people also went home happy with their scores – how about you? Happy? Mad? Will kids even have a shot at this stuff this weekend if distribution is as bad as this first night was in some areas?
If you caught the brief glimpse of this figure in the behind the scenes video, you’ll recognize this latest figure called the “Guavian Enforcer” that leaked on Twitter.
UPDATE: here is a description from the box bio: “The security soldiers of the Guavian Gang wear high impact armor that makes them stand out among other deadly criminals”
Hasbro has release official details for figures revealed during the Star Wars The Force AwakensGlobal Unboxing Event.
STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES 6-Inch Figure Assortment (Ages 4 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $19.99/Available: Fall 2015) The most anticipated film of the year, STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, comes to life with STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES for the ultimate collection! Each new 6-inch scale figure is highly articulated and exceptionally detailed. Characters include FINN (JAKKU), REY (JAKKU) with BB-8, KYLO REN, CAPTAIN PHASMA (not shown), FIRST ORDER STORMTROOPER, CHEWBACCA and more. Each sold separately.
JediInsider has posted a rumor of another potential exclusive item heading to Toys”R”Us for Force Friday. They claim the discovery of a 6″ Black Series Special Forces Desert TIE Fighter with Pilot – a deco variant of the 6″ scale TIE Fighter revealed at SDCC last month.
As you are likely aware, Target stores are marking down basically everything in their older Star Wars inventory prior to the Force Friday launch September 4.
Some stuff is down 50% now, including the 6″ scale deluxes at some stores for just $12.48 per forum member TVC15’s report (recall Target lowered the everyday price on these a while back once it became apparent that there wasn’t enough demand to move them at full retail of $39.99).
Personal Note: If you’ve been holding out on these, the 6″ deluxes are pretty good, so passing on this price could lead to regret down the road...
Several sites at SDCC were been able to secure Q&A sessions with Hasbro’s global marketing team for the Star Wars brand. Check them out below and be sure to share your thoughts back here or at the respective sites.
If you’ve been able to get your hands on Hasbro’s latest 3.75″ Han Solo, chances are you are wondering how they could have given this otherwise flawless figure such a poorly sculpted (and painted) head.
There’s a quite simple fix though, as thankfully back in 2006, Hasbro “got it right” with Harrison Ford’s likeness.
This is a simple head swap for everyone, and takes no customizing skills whatsoever – head on over to the forums for a closer look and to share your thoughts!
