Hasbro’s theoretical street date of Jan. 30 continues to be ignored. We’re receiving reports daily of collectors finding new products at their local Target and Walmart stores. In fact, today I managed to score myself the entire Vintage TPM wave and New Clone Wars assortment at Walmart. Remember, persistence pays off sometimes, but it also costs an arm and a leg too.
It seems that this wave, though barely unofficially out (let alone officially), already has variant packaging. Cases of the The Phantom Menace wave have hit Walmart without the Darth Maul Giveaway/Promo sticker nor do they include the mailaway entry forms packed in the bubble. You can check out a shot of this in our forums courtesy of member Jedighost009.
Street date? What street date? Forum member AaylaSecurasMan found the new 2012 assortment of battle packs today at his local Walmart. This set includes the Republic Troopers, Geonosis Arena and Rebel Heroes Battle Pack. Head into our forums for a closer look.
Following a report by JediTempleArchives.com regarding leftovers of the 2010-2011 pegwarmers from The Vintage Collection being marked down on clearance at Wal-Mart, I came across markdowns as well here in St. Louis.
Markdowns may vary by store (or at all) but it might be worth your while to still keep your eyes peeled for some good deals before the official release date of January 30.
The Yakface Toyguide updates resume today with the addition of the Walmart Exclusive AT-RT Walker with ARF Trooper from The Clone Wars Collection.
PROS: After a delayed release, this set finally makes it way to retailers just in time for Christmas. A decent, if not odd, deco on the ARF trooper – kind of the Star Wars version of digital camo I guess. AT-RT Walker is a great, episode specific, repaint of the ’09 mold.
CONS: Availability is hit or miss right now. The lack of a Captain Keeli or Master Di on the pegs (or in the foreseeable future for that matter) makes for a lonely ARF Trooper and/or poor retail planning.
Head to the toyguide for the full image gallery and to judge for yourself whether this figure 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.
The Yakface Toyguide updates resume today with the addition of the Walmart Exclusive BARC Speeder Bike with Clone Trooper Buzz from The Clone Wars Collection.
PROS: After a delayed release, the set finally makes it way to retailers just in time for Christmas. Decent deco on the trooper (which recycles the “Jesse” sculpt). Fits well on the speeder nicely due to the ball jointed hips. Look great with the other 41st Elite clones released thus far.
CONS: Availability is hit or miss right now. Some might not like the sculpt selection for the figure and the fact that the figure and speeder included does not match the sculpts shown on the back of the packaging.
Head to the toyguide for the full image gallery and to judge for yourself whether this figure 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.
Our friends at Jedi Temple Archives and GalacticHunter are reporting that some new exclusives that have had very little Hasbro publicity have shown up at Wal-Mart – check out their report by clicking on the above image!
The Walmart Exclusive Clone Wars Ultimate Gift Sets have started showing up at store across the countr, and while there is nothing new in this set, it might make for a great gift for some collector this holiday season. Thanks to our friend Dan at SWCollector.com for the report.
The 4th wave in The Vintage Collection never seemed to reach full distribution, but some cases now appears to be making their way through the pipeline finally. Our friends at Jeditemplearchives are reporting sightings of this wave at Wal-Mart, and I saw the same thing today at a St. Louis area Wal-Mart.
So if you’re in the hunt for any of these figures still (and some are really good), keep your eyes open for this wave.
And remember to keep sharing details of your Recent Acquisitions in the forums!
With each passing week, we’re inching closer to the new Wal-Mart exclusive Discover the Force line being released, which to the delight of collectors has several all new sculpts included in it.
This wave is tied to The Phantom Menace promotion, and we’re curious to see what figure is the most anticipated by Yakface readers.
If you’re registered in our forums (and why wouldn’t you be by now?) cast your vote and share your thoughts after the jump!