Hasbro

We couldn’t help but notice a few trends with regards to The Vintage Collection. We’ll just say, “What a coincidence!” (more….)

You’ll have to guess who the monkey and the organ grinder are.

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The NYCC website updates the day and time of the Hasbro panel. It will be Sunday, October 6th at 1:15 PM at the Javits Center. We’ll likely learn a lot more about what will follow Triple Force Friday then. I am not sure how much new could be revealed after what shows up on eBay from now until then. Time will tell.

Here is something else the Hasbro Star Wars brand doesn’t need to rot at retail. Another line like this only hurts their bottom line and irritate shareholders. I have never heard of this line myself, but JTA reader mic windu found a super-sized 10″ line of Galactic Heroes called Mega Mighties. Look for it at your closest clearance aisle in a couple of weeks.

Another leak, this time VC155 Knight of Ren makes its way to eBay. The auction has ended, but you can check it out right here. Thanks to JTA reader Ruari for the alert! Click the thumbnail below for a larger view. Minor spoilers apply!

Let’s enter fantasy land for a few moments. If given the opportunity, what would you ask the 2010-2013 Hasbro Star Wars Team about The Vintage Collection that you never got answered? What irritating features on figures never got updated that still bug you today? What TVC figures do you feel need to be re-released to meet collector demand? Do you still want VC66 and VC67 made available to those who missed out? Do you have any questions on why a specific figure was approached the way it was instead of another way? Whatever your inquiry or complaint, please leave it in the comments. Be sure also to reference the figure you’re talking about with its VC number, otherwise, we might not know.

WOW! BREAKING NEWS! Thanks to The Heroes and Villains Facebook group, we have carded images of the newest The Rise Of The Skywalker The Vintage Collection figures! There are important things to note! Hasbro must have listened to us whining about the name pills. Heck, we posted enough articles on that disaster. Both the font and style have been updated! Amen! Glory! Hallelujah! Also! There is some strangeness here too. Why is Poe Dameron on a The Rise Of Skywalker card back? BIZARRE! Not everything is perfect, but there are obvious strides of improvement! Check them out by clicking the image below. And don’t forget to comment! Special thanks to friend Josh M. for the alert!

The Black Series [Phase III] Sith Trooper and 6″ vintage Kenner Boba Fett sold out almost instantly. But you can still get the Luke Skywalker Jedi Destiny Special Action Figure Set at Hasbro Pulse. They don’t make enough of these things. Ever.

As expected, figures are starting to show up early. Stop by Instagram user @kylocollector to check out 8 (90-97) of the upcoming TBS6 figures. Minor spoilers apply. These were pulled from the online shop Offer Up. 

Cool! Bossk’s Bounty reveals the card back of the new TVC Luke Skywalker (Yavin) figure revealing images of new upcoming TVC figures! Check it out!

Source: Bossk’s Bounty YouTube Channel. Also check out Bossk’s Bounty Homepage!

Source: Bossk’s Bounty, click for much larger version!

Have you fully processed that the Hasbro The Rise Of Skywalker toy line will be the first without a range of 3.75″ figures outside of The Vintage Collection yet? It’s true. And you could say that this means that The Rise Of Skywalker is initiating the decline of 3.75″!

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Instagram reveals another new Hasbro The Black Series [Phase III] 6″ figure. This time the Jedi Fallen Order Second Sister Inquisitor is now revealed! Thanks to kylocollector on Instagram.

The Luke Skywalker (Yavin) listing that showed up on Walmart a couple of weeks ago is now visually confirmed thanks to Instagram. And it’s clearly not a straight repack as assumed by some collectors. Check it out! Thanks to JTA reader Ruari W. for the alert! Also, it’s definitely some type of retailer exclusive as evidenced by the assortment number. As Ruari and I both noticed, it looks like Hasbro is correcting their sin of placing the subtitle to the right of the figure’s name to underneath of it like it should. I am glad we whined about that now. Let’s hope they’re consistent with this fix! Original image from Tim at Bossk’s Bounty.

So what about that white “unicorn” in the room? If you don’t know, the Unicron HasLab project got a whopping 30+ day extension (obviously done with the hopes that the extra time will push the required target over the threshold). But how do you feel about this? I have heard opinions from ALL sides on this. Some feel it’s “cheating.” Some feel it DESTROYS the urgency and participation of future HasLab projects (people will think Hasbro will continue to extend projects if they don’t have the money then and there to back a project or within the timeframe to order.) Does it also make the Jabba’s Sail Barge HasLab campaign unfair to those that needed a little more time to raise $499.99 for it? I am sure many Star Wars collectors only needed 30 more days to save, or order, or whatever. Yes, Transformers is Hasbro’s IP. They might have leeway that we don’t understand with this project. But what are your thoughts about changing the parameters of a HasLab campaign in the middle of it? I don’t have a strong opinion either way, but I feel the potential of a dangerous precedent is being set here.

Images of a new The Black Series [Phase III] 6″ Yoda (Force Spirit) from Return Of The Jedi has surfaced on Instagram. Check it out! Special thanks to JTA reader Bryan V. for the alert!

Walmart polled kids this year to get an idea of what some of their favorite toys and brands are and what Wlamart should have IN STOCK for America’s Best Toy Shop. As you know, Walmart has grand plans to take over the world as the #1 toy shop. See if you can find what intellectual property and Hasbro brand DID NOT make the list. It’s no wonder so many locations have no Star Wars section left. Click the image below for the winners of the poll (a pdf document), but you can also read more HERE.

This is certainly not a surprise anymore. If you followed the Cookie Monster Haslab project you know it was off to a very slow start, and never picked up the pace it needed in the following days. In the end the Cookie Monster project only reached about 20% of the required backers – 624 out of 3,000.

Now what does that mean for Hasbro and Haslab? Click through for a few quick thoughts!

No Cookie This Time

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Same procedure as last year? Same procedure as every year! It seems street dates and embargos don’t mean very much when stores put product on shelves which we are not supposed to know about yet.

But TRU Canada put yet unannounced The Rise of Skywalker Galaxy of Adventures figures on shelves! And of course a Star Wars fan found them, took a picture of the figures in the box, and posted them, on Facebook of all things.

You will see Kylo Ren, Rey and the Jet Trooper, and the product packaging for the new Galaxy of Adventures line is revealed as well. The tubes are gone. And once more, these figures were found at Toys R Us Canada, in the wild, so the figures can no longer be considered top secret. Maybe they live in a different time zone up north and it’s already October 4th in Canada 😉 Thanks to JTA regular Matthew Cohen for the tip! So click through to see the three all new Galaxy of Adventures TROS figures, that you need to forget about again as soon as you see them!

Spoiler!

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We’ll have a final update on this once the campaign ends, but unless an eleventh-hour miracle takes place, and I believe in miracles, you sexy thing, the Cookie Monster HasLab project is a bust. Now, forgetting about your opinions on whether this HasLab idea was a good one or not, how are there not 3000 eager Sesame Street collectors out there to meet the rather modest target of 3000 units? In a related matter, Unicron is not faring too well either. But until the campaigns end it’s too soon to judge their fates. It’s important to note that I haven’t seen too much promotion for either current HasLab projects either. There were daily fan site posts encouraging readers to get Jabba’s Sail Barge over the threshold. If both projects end up failing, it should speak volumes to Hasbro about who their HasLab market is, and what they should focus on for future HasLab projects. (They’ll probably disregard this too.) Based on the performance of the three licensees represented in their first three projects, it appears that Star Wars is the only license that has an engaged and eager fan base that votes with its wallet as evidenced by the success of Jabba’s Sail Barge. If there were more numbers on the Unicron, I might include Transformers, but there isn’t enough interest to make me see this differently.

I know at best this will be an unscientific and anecdotal gathering of information, but I would like to see what collectors’ tastes are when it comes to how they collect Star Wars figures, focusing on one area of collecting. In the comments, please let us know what you obtain from the Star Wars Hasbro brand. (Don’t be ashamed of anything you buy! Please list it. Be a proud collector, no matter what it is! We’ll deal with any hecklers.) Then next to each type of figure or product focus, please put if you are an opener, both an opener and a loose collector, or strictly a loose collector as well as your area of focus. (more….)

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Hasbro has announced today that, beginning in 2020, it plans to start phasing out plastic from new product packaging, including plastic elements like polybags, elastic bands, shrink wrap, window sheets, and blister packs. The company’s ambition is to eliminate virtually all plastic in packaging for new products by the end of 2022. There is not ONE mention of the Star Wars line in the article. Perhaps they know this would never be an option for the collectors of this line. See the full story at Business Wire.

With Cookie Monster nearing the finish line, only a little more than 6 days are left, it’s time to take yet another look at this year’s two Haslab projects! So click through for a quick look at what’s going on and a few thoughts that go beyond current Haslab projects!

Imaginary Hasbro Haslab Manager Deborah D. earlier today

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The Black Series Sith Trooper & Boba Fett and the Vintage Collection Jedi Destiny set are listed on Hasbro Pulse! Click here to go directly to the listing!

Although priced with an MSRP for a The Vintage Collection figure, Walmart has listed a Retro Collection Boba Fett figure. With the runaway success of the first wave at TARGET and now Entertainment Earth, there’s no doubt the line’s continuing, but will Boba Fett be one of the figures in the next wave? Special thanks to friend Mark for the alert!

Finally, some benefit to being a premium member (besides free shipping)! If you haven’t snagged the recent SDCC exclusive figures, and are waiting for HasbroPulse, you may have a leg up on the scalpers if you are a premium member. You can get to the announcement/product page by clicking the image below. Is this enough for you to renew your membership next year? Let us know in the comments.

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Boy, The Vintage Collection is sure full of Luke Skywalker releases and updates. Walmart has added a product page for Luke Skywalker (Yavin Ceremony). Check it out! Special thanks to friend Mark for the alert!