Star Wars Collectible News, Photos, and Reviews

Star Wars Action News hosts Marjorie and Arnie have reported many times on the Toy Man Toy Show in St. Louis, MO. Sunday, May 19th, was the most recent show and had Star Wars represented from all era, from 12-Back carded vintage figures to the most modern of Hasbro toys. Listen to find out if you should visit St. Louis for the next Toy Man show on July 14th!

For many, the joys and pains of collecting can be summed up in one word--exclusive. A hard-to-obtain, limited piece can be the prize of a collection both as a rarity and as a memory of a trip. But obtaining these exclusives often is difficult for many either involving expensive trips or high premiums on the secondary market. But as the 2013 convention season commences new exclusives are being announced every week. Last week came news of Hasbro's San Diego Comic-Con exclusive Han in Carbonite and Boba Fett Black Series 6-inch figures. Now on this week's Star Wars Action News podcast Marjorie and Arnie look at exclusives announced for Star Wars Celebration Europe 2. From T-Shirts to posters to pins, the first round of exclusive merchandise offers some collectibles with a vintage style and others with a more modern and German flare. Join their discussion and start your shopping list now!

Tomorrow a new era in Star Wars Expanded Universe novels beings with the release of Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void. Written by Tim Lebbon and based on the Dark Horse comic series Dawn of the Jedi this book tells of Force users twenty-five thousand years before the battle of Yavin. It's the first Star Wars novel set so early in the timeline, and also the first Star Wars novel by Lebbon. On this week's Star Wars Action News podcast Arnie talks to Tim about the process of writing this novel and the themes throughout.

This past weekend was the C2E2 convention in Chicago, Illinois. In its fourth year, C2E2 has grown to fill an entire hall at McCormick Place. With no major stars like Val Kilmer and John Cusack to headline, the star wattage was a little bit dimmer, but that doesn't mean there wasn't tons to do at the con. On this week's Star Wars Action News podcast, hosts Arnie, Marjorie, and Johnathan are joined by Chris, Sarah, and Yakface.com's Jayson live on the C2E2 floor! Listen as they run down their impressions of the convention, with tons of Star Wars collecting! From vintage finds to modern, high end and low end, plus custom items like coffee mugs and art, they discuss it all.

Star Wars fandom in early 2013 is full of highs and lows. While Hasbro idles, awaiting the release of new product later this year, and Disney continues to restructure their new purchase by closing LucasArts, other Star Wars licensees continue on! On this week's Star Wars Action News podcast, Marjorie and Arnie look at a couple of Star Wars collectible makers that offer exciting new products in this slow period of collecting.

Gentle Giant's Premiere Guild Memberships for 2013 started recently with two exclusive Premiere Guild Member mini-busts, a holographic Darth Vader and an Episode III Mace Windu. As they ponder their gift for 2013, Marjorie and Arnie look back this podcast at two mini-busts for PGM members in 2012, the Rebel Trooper from A New Hope and a white Republic Commando from the Expanded Universe.

The stores are full of the same ol', same ol', not because there are no new Star Wars action figures but because the stores are so full of 2012 figures that Hasbro is only shipping the new 2013 figures to other countries. If you want the 2013 Yoda carded Clone Wars and Movie Heroes figures American Star Wars collectors need to buy from Canada or Germany at considerable expense in shipping and surcharges. Is it worth it? Marjorie and Arnie have the final wave of Clone Wars figures in hand from a Canadian seller, and review each figure on this week's Star Wars Action News! Listen to find out if these repacks, repaints, and retools are worth your bounty.

With few new Hasbro Star Wars toys showing up in stores, Star Wars collectors and podcast hosts Marjorie and Arnie must look online to build their collection. On this week's podcast, they review two new mail-order additions to their collection! First, they review the Brian's Toys exclusive Jocasta Nu action figure from Hasbro. Then they look at the first statue in Kotobukiya's new Star Wars Bishoujo line—Jaina Solo.

For fans of Star Wars 3.75-inch figures the news is bad. No new figures will be shipping for months, rumors of Target removing all Star Wars items from their toy aisles abound, and the last wave of Clone Wars figures can only be found in Germany and Canada. On this episode of Star Wars Action News, your hosts Marjorie and Arnie run down the state of collecting, and discuss how far they are willing to go in search of these new figures.

While Hasbro has held the biggest focus coming out of Toy Fair 2013, there were plenty of other companies presenting and revealing new Star Wars items for 2013. On this episode of Star Wars Action News, Marjorie and Arnie report on all the rest, from Kotobukiya with their lines of statues and Bishoujos to Uncle Milton's science-based Star Wars items, from Fantasy Flight Games with their Star Wars card, mini, and role-playing games to Diamond Select with their bust banks. Plus LEGO with a slew of new sets for all price ranges! Hear it all in this week's Star Wars Action News podcast!

Toy Fair 2013 is here and Star Wars Action News is your podcast source for Star Wars collecting news coverage! On this podcast, Marjorie and Arnie recap and review the Hasbro Fan Media presentation. From the Black Series 6-inch and 3.75-inch collector oriented figures to the new 5 points of articulation sporting Saga Legends figures, Angry Birds, Fighter Pods, and more! Click through for more! (Lots of great Toy Fair questions answered!)

JTA affiliate SWActionNews.com is auctioning off the PGM exclusive Republic Commando Mini Bust for the American Lung Association. Click through to find out how you can help to make a difference. If you need some prodding on why you NEED this piece, let our RDR on this piece do the work for you! (There are only 950 of these. This might be your only chance to secure one.) Special thanks to our friends at SWAN for the philanthropy.

      

Marjorie and Arnie are back, in black with the new Black Series of Star Wars figures coming from Hasbro! On this week's podcast, the hosts of Star Wars Action News discuss Hasbro's reveal of new, collector-oriented, highly articulated 6-inch Star Wars figures. Is this a lightspeed jump for figure collectors, or a desperate retread? Listen to find out their opinions!

For many collectors the question is not "do I buy it" but "how do I display it after it's bought". Those who follow Star Wars Action News on Facebook and Twitter have seen Jerry share some of his unique, inventive ways of displaying vintage Kenner dioramas, and now Jerry shares his methods with you on the podcast! If you want to hear a new method to display your Star Wars toys, this is a show not to miss!

Star Wars Action News is back with its first show of 2013. Join hosts Marjorie and Arnie as they discuss the big news revealed by Hasbro last week--the Droid Factory line of figures, slated for early 2013, has been cancelled. Where does this leave action figure collectors, and what will the long-term impact be to the line? Listen to find out their thoughts!

In addition to all the toys collectors added to their shelves this year, it's been an amazing year for Star Wars expanded universe fans! From a return to the X-Wing book series to the conclusion of the Fate of the Jedi series, books from the Old Republic to the New Republic, comics, Clone Wars, and so much more it was an expansive year for Star Wars fans. In this week's Star Wars Action News, Nathan and Brock reflect on the year in Star Wars Expanded Universe, then the rest of the crew weigh in with their favorites. With high-end collecting in 2012, and their favorite collectibles of the year, it's all in the last Star Wars Action News podcast of 2012!

For Star Wars toy collectors 2012 has been exciting and frustrating in equal measure. Some of the best figures in the history of Star Wars were released, but most collectors had trouble finding them. Astromech fans had a dream come true with Disneyworld offering build-a-droid sets, and the frenzy for parts left many little droids without a third leg or a hat. Taking in all that was Star Wars toy collecting in 2012, Marjorie and Arnie are joined by other collectors reflecting on 2012 in this week's second part of the Star Wars Action News year in review!

It's been a great year to be a Star Wars fan. The year started with Star Wars once again in theaters as The Phantom Menace kicked off the Star Wars 3-D conversions, the summer ended with a bang at Star Wars Celebration VI, and then the dreams of Star Wars fans worldwide came true when it was announced that there will be more Star Wars films, the first just 3 years away! Looking back at the year that was, listen to Star Wars Action News hosts Marjorie and Arnie are joined by a number of friends and show hosts to look back at what 2012 meant to Star Wars fans.

It's the holiday season and for Star Wars Action News hosts its a time to reflect back on childhood, getting an AT-AT under the Christmas tree, holiday shopping for an Empire Strikes Back Yoda and more. But many children today won't have memories like those, but organizations like Toys For Tots are there to help. On this week's Star Wars Action News podcast, Marjorie and Arnie take you on a toy run unlike any they've recorded before, where they're buying toys not for their own collection but to donate to a Toys For Tots that's much in need. Listen, then donate some toys!

Eventually it will happen to all collectibles: they break, yellow, decay, or degrade. The passage of time eventually will cause all collectibles to lose their mint condition. Ask not for who's collectibles the bell tolls, it tolls for thine. On this week's Star Wars Action News podcast, Marjorie and Arnie discuss what happened to one of their Star Wars holiday snow globes, and how it changed their entire view of the collecting hobby! Click through for more.

It's Thanksgiving and once again Marjorie and Arnie are back with their special annual episode of Star Wars Action News running down all the Star Wars items on sale this weekend! From half-off vehicles and toys at Toys R Us to 8 figures for $25 at Wal-Mart, Dark Horse comics for under a dollar each, and so much more, listen to find out which stores you need to hit tomorrow (or tonight)! Click through for more!

At Five Below stores across the country an unusual figure is showing up. It was first reported at Jedi Temple Archives and has been spotted by many collectors, including Arnie and Marjorie of Star Wars Action News. It's a variant of the 212th Battalion Clone Trooper with a more detailed, more white helmet. But the odd thing is, the figure has seemingly been opened, then taped back shut. Have you found this new variant? Hear about the figure part swap on this week's Star Wars Action News podcast!

It's been exactly one week since the news broke: Disney buys Lucasfilm, Episode VII in 2015. It's a major change of course for a franchise that had long been declared dormant, and one that will have far-reaching impact on Star Wars collectors. On this week's Star Wars Action News podcast, Marjorie and Arnie take your voicemails, giving podcast listeners the stage to share their excitement and their trepidation about this news. Plus updates on new Star Wars collectibles for sale online. All this and more on this week's Star Wars Action News podcast!

Many Star Wars fans had to check their calendars today. Was it April Fools' Day? Were the folks at Lucasfilm and Disney joining to play a Halloween prank on fans? But slowly the news set in -- for over four billion dollars Disney has bought Lucasfilm, with the primary focus being the Star Wars franchise. More, they are immediately beginning preproduction on Star Wars Episode VII with a planned release in Summer, 2015.

For years many fans' holy grail for the Star Wars 3.75-inch collection has been an original trilogy vehicle never realized in either vintage or modern era—Jabba's Sail Barge. The scale and scope of such a vehicle has made it seemingly prohibitive, but at this year's New York Comic-Con the Star Wars brand team mentioned that they could possibly do it. This has caused Star Wars fan sites, including Star Wars Action News, to unite like never before with the Bring on the Barge fan site petition. With the lofty goal of 10,000 signatures by Jan 31st this petition is to show Hasbro that there is a huge base of support in the community for a barge. On this week's Star Wars Action News podcast, Marjorie and Arnie discuss the probability of such an item, and where it would fit in their collection. So listen to the show, head over and sign the petition, then come to the Star Wars Action News forums for their Poll of the Week and tell them how much you'd be willing to pay for the Barge.

New York Comic Con was a great time for Star Wars fans. From new toy reveals from Hasbro and their Angry Birds Star Wars to new collectible and product announcements from Hallmark, Kotobukiya, and more, and convention veteran Mitchell Hallock was on-hand to cover it all. Join us on Star Wars Action News this week to hear his recollection of the con, along with interviews with Kotobukiya, Hallmark, Comic Images, and a discussion of Star Wars toys with Toy Hunter Hembrough!

Last Saturday was the first annual Star Wars Reads Day, an event promoted by Del Rey and Lucasfilm to promote literacy in general, and the reading of Star Wars books in particular. Over 1,000 libraries and book stores across the country took part, with kits provided by Del Rey giving kids activities and crafts, and promoting Star Wars. Marjorie and Arnie of Star Wars Action News trekked to Roseville, MI for one of these events at Barnes & Noble with guests Troy Denning, John Jackson Miller, and Dan Wallace. On this episode of the podcast, they recap the events and share their hopes for next year's event to make it even better!

On October 6, 2012 is the first Star Wars Reads day. Across the country bookstores will be hosting events celebrating Star Wars books, both fiction and nonfiction. Many stores are having Star Wars authors speak and autograph books, including the Barnes and Noble in Roseville, MN where Star Wars Action News hosts Marjorie and Arnie will be going to see authors Troy Denning, Daniel Wallace, and John Jackson Miller.

Star Wars Celebration VI is almost a month behind us, but the memories are still fresh, as are the collectibles! From coast to coast Celebration attendees are receiving their Disney Carbon Freeze Me statues! Marjorie and Arnie got theirs in the mail last week, so listen to this week's hands-on review of these truly one-of-a-kind collectibles! They'll tell you if it would be worth a Disney trip if these return to the theme parks.

With so much anticipation it's hard to believe Star Wars Celebration VI is over, but with all the good times come good memories! On this week's Star Wars Action News, Marjorie and Arnie listen to recounts of some of the best times people had at Star Wars Celebration VI, from meeting celebrities to shopping to making friends to just partying, you shared your thoughts on this episode of the podcast.

Then Jerry comes with an unusual Vintage Viewpoint, looking at Celebration VI from the perspective of a vintage collector. From Celebration VI store items that harkened back to days of OT to some of the rare items seen on the show floor, Jerry recaps it all.