Tag Archives: The Black Series [Phase III]

With all that’s slowly getting leaked and revealed for Triple Force Friday, I can’t help but be reminded of a Season 5 Happy Days television episode whose plot point became a universal line of demarcation for something that changes so drastically from its original intent it becomes unwelcomed.

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The comedy that is called “Disney Star Wars Merchandise Embargo” adds another act to the play. Facebook User Richard Nash posted photos of a yet unannounced brand new Mandalorian figure variant on the Action Figures Collectors UK Facebook group! So on top of the “graphite” Second Sister we now also get a “carbonized” Mandalorian! If you head over to the Facebook Group you will see more photos of the box, this variant still has the number “94”. Will you get these paint variants? It seems these paint variants are not meant to be screen accurate, but rather chase variants for completionists? Will you get this figure? The box certainly looks better than the standard Black Series box. Click the photo below for a larger version!

Carbonized Mandalorian. Source: Action Figure Collectors UK / Facebook

While Disney has everything under embargo and Hasbro roll their eyes 360 degrees all day long, the rest of the world doesn’t care one bit about Disney’s confused Triple Force Friday strategy. Stores in North America ignore street dates (someone was able to buy the Mandalorian figure just very recently), things leak left and right on Instagram and Facebook… and now the first YouTube videos of the Triple Force Friday Black Series figures are released. YouTuber “Vern’s Hobbies” bought the figures from Hasbro’s great retail partner Walmart in Canada! “Vern’s Hobbies” has already unboxed and reviewed The Mandalorian, Cal Kestis and the Offworld Jawa, chances are the rest of the TFF figures will follow shortly, so maybe you follow his channel for updates, if you want to see videos of the figures.
Go to the channel, to see the videos! Thanks to Ondrej M for the alert!

These figures don’t exist. According to Disney.

Instagram user crimsondawn_collectibles posted a photo of the yet unrevealed and unnannounced brand new Jedi Luke figure from Return of the Jedi on Instagram! It looks as though he has a non removable plastic tunic and a soft goods cloak. So you won’t be able to easily transform him into a better looking Death Star duel Luke. This Luke comes without a gloved hand. It remains to be seen if an extra gloved hand is hidden in the box, but knowing Hasbro this may not be the case. The figure may or may not be a retailer exclusive. Thanks to cybereye for the alert!

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We knew the rest were inevitable; now we can see them all. Posted on The Black Series Facebook group are the rest of the First Issue figures for Triple Force Friday. For those of who can’t see the Facebook page, you can also find them on Instagram HERE. Special thanks to JTA reader Michael V. for the alert.

Wo! Hold the phone! You can order The Black Series [Phase III] general release Sith Trooper for only $9.99 at Repeme.com! Special thanks to JTA reader Bill T. for the alert! When I visited the page, there were only four left. Then I refreshed, and it showed seven left. It must be a marketing ploy, but I was successfully able to order two! Time will tell if this is a mistake or an incorrectly listed product. But I took the chance and ordered it.

We have a lengthy review on The Black Series Hyper Real Darth Vader, which will hopefully tell you everything you need to know about the brand new figure. Oh, and we also have a large photo gallery too! Check it out in our Research Droids Reviews today! Be sure to leave your thoughts in our comments section, vote in the poll or comment about it on our Facebook page. Click the banner below for the direct link to the review! As always, you can also send your review requests via email if you’d like to see something that we didn’t cover yet.

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. 

While browsing my local German Amazon shop today I stumbled upon a yet unannounced variant of the Sith Trooper figure: a so-called “First Edition” Sith Trooper that comes in an all white box and red background! I immediately tried to find the figure on Amazon US, but had no luck, so it seems that maybe Amazon Germany revealed something that they were not supposed to reveal yet.
But what is this? You can already pre-order the figure on Amazon.de, however availability is October 4th, which is Triple Force Friday! Is it possible that there will be more “First Editions” of other Triple Force Friday figures? Will Hasbro make box variants now? Are box variants or “First Editions” anything that interest you? As usual, we know nothing specific, I suppose Hasbro will eventually announce something. Until then we can speculate that the Black Series will see “Special Editions” or “First Editions” box variants. Actually, this “First Edition” box design with the circular callout was also something we saw in the leaked box photos of the Second Sister, which said “graphite”. Is it possible that “graphite” refers to the box here and is a special edition of sorts? Will you chase these box variants?

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The TBS6 Sith Trooper is up for pre-order over at Entertainment Earth. Click here for the pre-order page. 

Paul will certainly review the figure soon, but in what is a rare event, the upcoming exclusive Clone Wars Obi-Wan figure is already available in Germany! And while I will not review the figure, I will tell you a few things most likely not covered by Paul’s review. Including a comparison with other figures! So click through for a first look and some very general thoughts about the figure!

Hello there!

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If you’re looking for cheap Cassians, Jyns, Reys, and Finns, look no further than Walgreens who is running a sale on Hasbro’s TBS6 line. The promotion for the figures is $7.99 each. Something tells me these figures won’t even sell at these prices. Special thanks to JTA reader Tusken Raider and Craig F. for the reports!!

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!

OK, perhaps “Hasta la vista!” is a BIT of an exaggeration, but what’s going on at retail when it comes to The Vintage Collection? TARGET has nothing beyond wave 1. And every Walmart near me has flat out removed it from the microscopic Star Wars section it maintains, which currently just has cheap roleplay lightsabers and Solo-era TBS6 figures.  Clearly, The Black Series 6″ is faring no better. Yes, we’re gearing up for Triple Force Friday, so we’re likely in a transitional stage, but how can collectors vote with their wallets if there is nothing out there to purchase and support? Goodness, gracious me.

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!

JTA reader Paul B. snapped a shot of the latest Walmart planogram. Check it out. NO spots for TVC on this page at least.

Begun the leaks have! Over on Reddit a list of the upcoming Black Series figures for Triple Force Friday was posted. Since Disney won’t allow Hasbro to promote anything, let us try to step in and show you what’s coming for TFF. Click through for more info!

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According to this ad, it appears that Ollie’s will have new The Black Series [Phase III] 6″ figures for a low $5.99, a remarkable 54% cheaper than The Vintage Collection figures at your local Ollie’s beginning August 8th. Let us know of your finds! Special thanks to JTA reader and friend Scott K. for the ad and news.

The Sith Trooper is very red. But will the character have an important role in The Rise Of Skywalker? See the figure in our Research Droids Reviews today! Be sure to leave your thoughts in our comments section, vote in the poll or comment about it on our Facebook page. Click the banner below for the direct link to the review! As always, you can also send your review requests via email if you’d like to see something that we didn’t cover yet.

I don’t think that Hasbro mentioned it at the SDCC panel. But the 3D render of Luke Skywalker (Dagobah Training) shows that Hasbro has re-engineered Black Series figures once again. Click through to find out what is new!

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UK etailer Robot Kingdom has apparently begun to ship the Amazon USA exclusive Emperor Palpatine with Throne Black Series set. JTA regular Matthew Cohen found the photos in a Facebook group and sent them to us. Thanks for that!  So click through for a few in hand photos of the all new Emperor with his throne!

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OK, let’s play a game. This is fantasy, not a subliminal message of what’s coming. Many collectors were ecstatic over the possibility of a 6″ scaled Rancor when they saw it in Hasbro’s diorama during SDCC? People disagree with me, but I could have sworn the Rancor featured was a styrofoam maquette. Others claim it was an articulated “prototype.” I still think it was made out of styrofoam. Anyway, let’s say that Hasbro felt they wanted to make a 6″ Rancor, but they also felt it wouldn’t make sense as a general or exclusive retail released item. Let’s pretend that Hasbro decided to offer it through HasLab. To be fair, let’s use the same target of 8K backers (since Jabba’s Sail Barge reached that amount). What would you be willing to pay to back this thing via HasLab? Something tells me if it was HasLab item, it would be hundreds of dollars, not less. Regardless, if you’re a 6″ collector, what would deem the most to back this item via HasLab?

Wo! Kids Warehouse also have inexplicably cheap The Black Series [Phase III] 6″ figures too, many listed more than $50% off! Too may available on discount to list!

The Fwoosh has just posted an article that is quite an exciting development of sorts. The author of the article noticed that there are MANY various head sculpts/portraits “hidden” throughout the rocks of the SDCC display. Are these future TBS6 figures? Is it a way of paying homage across the Star Wars saga? Is it nothing at all like the Heart song? You decide and let us know what you think in the comments!! Special thanks to Michael H. for alerting us to this news.

No matter your level of understanding and acceptance about what Hasbro could and couldn’t show at the SDCC presentation, there was no way anyone could argue how disappointing it is. Most of us are knee-jerk complainers, and that’s something that probably won’t change until we’re dead. JTA reader Michael H. also was angry but decided to engage a Hasbro employee about the state of collecting and why they showed so little. This is all from JTA reader Michael’s perspective. We have no way to corroborate what was said, but we think it’s a fair overview of what transpired. Click through for more.

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