While my budget for travel basically covers trips to toy stores and the occasional bike ride to Wal-Mart, I'm seeing a ton of great coverage from  New York City at the Hasbro party before New York Comic Con.  New 6-inch and 3 3/4-inch Star Wars figures were shown, as are some nifty new Transformers toys.  Seeing as you can get all-new Leia Boushh figures in regular and extra-large sizes, clearly it's a great time to be alive.

UPDATED with more links to Mission Series and Saga Legends images.

UPDATE: Sold out. Note the DPCI and keep an eye on your local store!

There aren't many big exclusives left for 2014, but you can cross one off your list today! Target.com has the Star Wars The Black Series Imperial Shadow Squadron Pack in stock for $50.00 plus free shipping.  Unless you're up for playing a round of clearance chicken, you can save yourself a lot of post-holiday anguish by ordering yours now.

Steven Anne is the toy buyer for Walgreens, and on Twitter he confirms solid cases of 8 Concept Armor Boba Fetts are coming in November.  The 6-inch Black Series action figure is in circulation now, potentially mixed with other Star Wars characters like Luke, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, and a redeco Sandtrooper which should be in stores elsewhere real soon.  He writes:

Ad: The new guys are up for order!  Click here to order Star Wars The Black Series Wave 6 3 3/4-inch action figure sets or cases at Entertainment Earth The case features free shipping in the USA!

Characters include Starkiller, Darth Malgus, R5-G19, Hoth Luke Wampa Attack, Episode III Darth Vader, and Yoda Jedi Training.

The Walgreens Boba Fett (Prototype Armor) 6-inch action figure is out now - most stores are getting partial cases and you won't see a variety at all locations.  In the past 72 hours I hit up about 16 locations and generally saw no more than 1-3 Star Wars figures of any kind at each location - for example, one store had 3 Boba Fetts in Glendale, AZ and nothing else.  Another had 2 Darth Vaders and nothing else.  And another had a single Sandtrooper, and that was it.  Only 3 of the stores had any 6-inch Star Wars figures yet, but this is a new-to-them line.

With three eyes, Ree-Yees has been one of the more recognizable aliens form the Star Wars saga since his 1983 action figure debut. Kenner refreshed him in 1998 and this 2014 edition is the first new one in over a decade. He's a big upgrade on almost every possible metric, minus a new ball joint in the waist popping apart easily which means he pretty much can't sit. However, he does have sculpted trigger fingers which was nothing short of amazing. Go ahead and get one. Also note cameos by Boba Fett and the previous Kenner Ree-Yees figures in Six Second Toy Talk, after the break.

Tired of video previews of action figures that take a whole minute - or worse, several minutes?  In the amount of time it would take you to think "yes" to yourself, you could already be watching this Six Second Toy Talk: The Black Series Darth Vader Action Figure video - and almost done with it.  Check it out, after the jump.

He's good!  Ree-Yees is Hasbro's finest work in the field of Gran development.  If you need a figure to stand on a Sail Barge or Jabba's Throne Room diorama, there is none better.  I assume most readers of this site are not concerned about figures sitting, because trying to make him sit will cause his torso to blow open.  (It's easily remedied, like the ball-joint head on most figure necks.) Due to how this figure is likely to perform in your life, this is probably going to have to be rounded up to acceptable as there are no real vehicles for him right now.  Is this figure the go-to Ree-Yees you've been waiting for? Yes.  But read on anyway for more pictures!

It's Jabba's Skiff Guard!  Or Brock Starsher, or Sgt. Doallyn, or whatever - the important thing is that this guy, with this helmet, is now a thing you can actually own.  He looks like his cousins from The Legacy Collection and sports 2 neat accessories.  Is he exceptional? No.  Does it matter? Also no - he's a legit new character, without question, and as such a required addition to your toy shelves.  Read on!

Check out the new Wedge Antilles, Hoth-style.  It's good!  He has a helmet and two guns.  It's great - and I think you'll enjoy the new head sculpt.  Read on!

Almost the greated Darth Vader figure ever conceived is in today's Figure of the Day! The Episode III 2014 incarnation is so, so close - but the head falls off really easily.  The bend-and-swivel wrists, rocker ankles, and ball-jointed torso are perfection.  The ball-jointed hips? Wonderous. The sculpt is pretty good too - but if you turn the head, the helmet falls right off.  Still, diorama fans should snag it and carded fans too.  Read on!  (Also order yours at Entertainment Earth.)

The dark days of staring at the same old Black Series 6" Leia and Greedo appear to be over as stores are beginning to receive new stuff for Back To School. Stopped by the Chandler, AZ ToysRUs today and found the new TBS Deluxe Jabba and Biker Scout with Speederbike as well as their new and much maligned exclusive Battle on Endor set.

The ToysRUs exclusive Battle of Endor Battle Pack is now online for $99.99. The set features an AT-ST vehicle and 8 figures including Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, Imperial Officer, AT-ST Driver, Stormtrooper, and a couple of Ewoks. Click here to order.

As we pass a little over the halfway point of 2014, many collectors are wondering if this has been the worst year of collecting ever. While we’ve had some highlights for The Black Series, especially in the 6 inch scale, one can’t help but feel that 2014 is more of a “placeholder” year. A transition period that came as a result of the dynamic changes for the franchise in 2013 with Hasbro having to change up strategy and make quick realignments of their resources for Episode 7. It sure seems that way with the scarcity of product since the beginning of the year. But based on what Hasbro previewed during their annual Comic-Con Star Wars Day panel, we have some good things to look forward to for the back to school/holiday season and Q1 of  2015.

Hasbro provides us with official photos of their 2015 reveals from yesterday's panel. Click here to check them out!