And with 12 minutes to go, one last update: Nabrun Leids made it! Color me surprised, that's great news.
Another evening update: With an 1:07 to go, the Cantina needs to sell 600 units in order to hit the Nabrun Leids goal - not impossible if it keeps going at the current rate and a few more large orders are there.
Evening update: With 1:45 and 952 playsets to go to hit Nabrun Leids, it seems unlikely but not impossible to hit the next stretch goal. If you're waiting, now is the time - they need to sell about 9 per minute to make it.
Hasbro's Cantina HasLab project just hit the first stretch goal with 11 hours remaining, unless they decide to extend the funding period. (There would be no shame in doing this.) This is the first all-new Greedo in this size in over a decade, but long-haul collectors no doubt have several different incarnations at this point including up to three that were perfectly designed to sit at a table.
With 11 hours to go, it's worth noting that the Cantina seems to not sell much faster than 1 unit per minute. With 660 minutes to go, it is unlikely it will hit another milestone today without massive dealer support, but even then if they sell 5 units per minute it will only get us to Nabrun Leids. Nabrun Leids was previously sold at the end of the POTF2 era and recolored in silver in 2007 as a Walmart exclusive - so at least you've got the ability to buy one. Arleil Schous has never been made as a figure and, presumably, never will be if this doesn't go through today.
Sunday update: 9,684 9,934 10,024 and going up by a couple every time I hit reload. When I post on social it looks like some people weren't aware this project was happening yet - so you might want to post about it if you have the ability to do so and want those stretch goal figures. It seems to be selling at a rate of slightly over one per minute as I write this, which is insufficient to hit all the goals without more orders.
Saturday update: 9,246 and counting. Tell your friends.
They said it could be done - and it was! Hasbro's STAR WARS The Vintage Collection Mos Eisley Cantina hit its first funding milestone early Friday morning, and ends Monday evening. That means if you want Greedo (which you probably have), Nabrun Leids (of which you can get either POTF2 or The Saga Collection versions today), or the all-new Arleil Schous, it needs to sell a bunch more units. Is it possible? Sure. Is it likely? Only if you and several thousand others (and/or dealers) were waiting to put in an order. You can click here to order one for the next few days, if you are so inclined.
Mostly I'm just surprised the Tonnika sisters are actually getting figures after fans started asking for them regularly in the late 1990s. That's a long wait!
Over on eBay, sellers are already using HasLab Cantina as a term to sell the related figures - so if you're looking to fill out the bar with the figures you missed, that might help.
As of right now, the STAR WARS The Vintage Collection Mos Eisley Cantina stands at 7,673 backers. It needs to hit 8,000 to happen, and complete stretch goal werewolf power is at 17,000 units sold.
I don't think it's impossible to hit either goal if people back today or early tomorrow.
If this thing hits its goal today or early on Friday, there's a chance of people spreading the word and the dealers, flippers, fans, and collectors of the world will jump on in a hurry because FOMO becomes real once the playset is guaranteed to be made - and people will want those extra figures for the fence-sitters. Not everybody has $400 or $500 right now, but they might have $800 or $1000 in a year.
Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: Doikk Na'ts (Dorenian Beshniquel, The Vintage Collection). The set is still available on the secondary market, and the reason we're reviewing it today is because the HasLab Cantina is still going and ends Monday. It's at 7,659 backers - it needs to hit 8,000 to be made, and the sooner it does the sooner people will probably hop on it for the stretch goals. But this is a nice band figure, and you'll want it for the bar. Read on!
Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: Krrsantan (The Retro Collection). It's still not in any stores I've been to, and it came out late last year. It looks like a remixed Chewbacca figure, with things you didn't see in the 1980s like big armor and hands that can grip a blaster. In other words, it's pretty good - and hopefully you got one if you wanted one. Read on!
Hasbro Pulse put up a new video today showing some behind-the-scenes painting of its Cantina Playset on HasLab. And here it is!
The video does not include some key information, like the fact that this is a crowdfunded playset, you can see it on the Hasbro Pulse HasLab page, and as of now you have under one week to sign up for one. It's over 6,800, so - plus or minus the long weekend - I'm confident it should glide past the 8,000 unit funding mark. I have no idea if dealers and flippers will swoop in at the end to buy units to carve up for individual sale later, and am generally unsure fans are going to remember to back it before they leave for burgers and barbecues and whatever kind of "bang" they're going for this weekend.
As such, you may want to go ahead and back it right now before you forget. It's less than a week, it needs the support, and everybody is going to want those extra figures. Well, everybody who pledges will want the extra figures, everybody else has other things to worry about like getting potato salad together or whatever it is you're doing right now.
Last year, our San Diego Comic-Con exclusive was Krrsantan with a variant head and some extra gear at a big mark-up. While it wasn't sold on the show floor, you could buy it in an off-site exhibition with decades of Hasbro and Kenner toys on display. (Before you say "no it couldn't," yes you could, I bought mine there.) This year, your exclusive is a 6-inch Darth Maul with a Sith Speeder! It's not uncool, but there was another Maul in another figure 3-pack pretty recently. IGN posted a story showing it as well as Death's Head (for Marvel Legends and Transformers fanatics), Cobra Commander (in a new-to-toy format), and a 2-pack of Megatron and Orion Pax for Transformers.
One nice thing about this set is that it comes in a very 1999/2000-style red and black box. I don't know if there's a lot of nostalgia for it, but I quite liked it and had fond memories of the whole launch of the movie and its toys.
In case you forgot, GameStop got the 3-pack with Maul, Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon earlier this year. If you don't want the probe or the speeder, you might want to pick that up.
For those keeping track at home, these are new versions of existing characters, in some cases with new accessories - no character is debuting in this format for the convention, although hard core fans may appreciate some of the specificity and variations to be had. I was certainly surprised to see this specific Cobra Commander and this specific Death's Head finally, and I bet a lot of fans will really enjoy them.
Ad: Pre-order New Marvel Legends and Star Wars: The Black Series items from Hasbro! Odin and The Stranger make appearances today alongside Jessica Fletcher. New orders are welcome.
Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: RG-G1 (The Vintage Collection). You can still get it in a set from Amazon, and it's pretty great - they even gave him a new mold for the dome in addition to very distinctive deco. I like it. Read on!
Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: Nalan Cheel (Fanfar, The Vintage Collection). It's the same as Figrin D'an, but has a unique instrument - and you'll want the band boxed set for the HasLab Cantina. Read on!
Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: Luke Skywalker (Epic Hero Series). You can probably find him in a store now, and he's pretty good - he has a backpack for Grogu, and a lightsaber, and looks just like a decent toy. Get it if you have a few bucks. Read on!
Ad: Pre-order the new production of Star Wars: The Black Series Osha, Cal Kestis, Plo Koon, and The Acolyte The Retro Collection figures! New stuff, reruns, and more ThunderCats are on deck.
This morning Slashfilm surprised fans with their story The Acolyte's Osha And Adorable Droid Pip Are Now Star Wars Action Figures [Exclusive]. The big highlight is a six pack of figures from The Retro Collection with Osha Aniseya, Mae, Mother Ainiseya, Jedi Padawan Jecki Lon, Jedi Master Sol, and Yord Fandar.
From The Vintage Collection we also get a look at Osha, and pre-orders are coming soon on these figures.
I kid with the headline, but we've been asking Hasbro for Brea and Senni Tonnika since Galoob made one in Action Fleet in 1997. Or I have, at any rate. They're two of the includes (along with Wuher) in Hasbro's STAR WARS The Vintage Collection Mos Eisley Cantina. The base option is $399.99, the deluxe option adds another chunk of booths for another $100 at $499.99, and there are three stretch goals - a Greedo (read below for more on him), Nabrun Leids, and a real shocker, the missing wolfman Arleil Schous.
Is it all worth it? Will this be in a question and answer format? When should you backfill your missing alien stash? Buckle up, this one gets long. Read on!
Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: Cad Bane (The Retro Collection). Based on his appearance in The Book of Boba Fett, this Kenner-style figure isn't quite as Kenner-y as some others - he more or less fits in, but lacks the detail and distinctive body language of the old guys. But it's a $12 Cad Bane, and he can stand and sit, and has a swell hat. Also he's one of the few figures where a vinyl cape might have been good to serve as a coat - but in this case, the coat is molded to the figure so it doesn't get in the way of him sitting in your old vehicles. Read on!