Sold in both 40th anniversary packaging and the new standard The Black Series boxes, Darth Vader (The Black Series 6-Inch) is partially new parts and partially old parts from a few years ago.  No respect, I swear.  Read on!

Because time no longer has meaning and this disease-ridden temporal vortex has enslaved us all, you may be curious to hear that 1980's The Empire Strikes Back, an indie film that we do hope you someday make some time to go see, has returned to drive-ins and something we think we have once heard of called "movie thee eighters."   According to Deadline it's on track to add another $400,000 to $500,000 to its domestic tally this weekend thanks to a generous lack of alternatives.   It made $175,000 just on Friday! 

"The Force is with you, young Skywalker, but you are not a Jedi yet." This new Movie Heroes action figure, with that light-up lightsaber, captures that scene so amazingly well. It geekily inspired me to load up "Clash of the Lightsabers" on my iPod and photograph him on the POTJ Bespin playset to capture the essence of that scene and…wow...THAT's it. If you're a Vader fan, or even a passing Star Wars fan, you owe it to yourself to pick this figure up.

When Hasbro bragged during their speedy presentation at this year's Toy Fair that these new Battle Pack figures are the best they've done of these characters yet, they were somewhat correct... from a certain point of view. The regression in articulation has caused much controversy and debate in the collector community since. Yes, these figures feature excellent sculpting and awful POTF2 era poseability. No, it doesn't have to be this good and that bad.

Hasbro had a few iterations in the modern line of the Hoth Rebel Trooper, but collectors wanted an updated version of the Kenner figure with the tan vest.

Sideshow gives a quick production sneak peek of the upcoming 1:6 Scale Bossk figure and its shaping up to be fantastic! 

It appears white is in vogue these days, especially when it comes to iPhones, ninjas, and bounty hunters. The mailaway figure for 2011 gives tribute to another sidestory in Star Wars production lore; that of the first "prototype" white Boba Fett. While the figure itself is a repaint of the most excellent 2005 VOTC Fett and holster from the TAC Animated Fett, it's not as accurate to the prototype design as we'd like it to be. However, the overall presentation is superb. For $6.99 and 5 UPC codes, you can own one and don't forget you only have until March 31st!

Hasbro finally delivers a Han Solo in Bespin outfit that we can truly term as the definitive version so far. The dead on facial likeness, super- articulation, and even the "Han-ness", that cocky swagger, is evident in this figure. Sure Hasbro. for their own reasons. didn't include the leg strap, but it doesn't diminish an otherwise excellent execution.

(NEW YORK, NY) For a few years now, Kotobukiya has been known for their magnificent PVC ArtFX statues that stunningly display Star Wars characters in stylized form. They introduced a 1/10 scale version in 2009 that features a tad more poseability in swappable parts, yet doesn't sacrifice on the detail.

This Stormtrooper, while recycling some parts from 2007's 30th Anniversary Collection version (head) and 2009's Sandtrooper packed in with the Walmart Dewback (body) is a pretty good effort. It  suffers from loose helmet syndrome and the cardback wrongly depicts its first issue on an Empire Strikes Back card, but you can do far worse for $9 to $10 bucks. It will be interesting to see how this figure sells next to the lingering Vintage Sandtrooper.

While the head sculpt is "New Hope" Chewie, being originally released as part of the 2005 Early Bird Kit promotion, Hasbro spattered some slightly distinguishing paint apps for the Hoth treatment. The body itself, with its awesome sculpt and mostly masterfully hidden articulation, not to mention the almost perfect scale, originated from VOTC Chewie in 2004. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Just repaint it. It certainly applies here.

Hasbro's latest print ad spotlights their new Vintage Collection and The Empire Strikes Back wave featuring Han Solo and Princess Leia recreating the Hoth Rebel base evacuation.

Irvin Kershner, the much praised director of The Empire Strikes Back, passed today at 87 years old. Star Wars fans know well the important role of the man behind the vision of  what is almost universally regarded as the best of the six Star Wars films. May you be one with The Force, Kersh. Read the full story here.