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This week in Q&A - Unproduced playsets! And Conventions I wasn't at! Also Why you'll probably never see Star Wars action figure comic packs again.
Also Fan's Choice and other ramblings from this weekend.
And send in your questions for next week. Read on!
And if that weren't enough, surprising no one, Hasbro will make good use of its Imperial Officer body types to bring you Grand Mofff Tarkin later this year. It will include the Interrogation Droid, and look menacing.
If you're enjoying stomping the pavement to find R5-D4 at GameStops this weekend, good news - you can do it again in November! For a couple of bucks north of $20, the Imperial TIE Fighter Pilot variatnt Inferno Squadron Pilot should be up for grabs in November. It's like the TIE Fighter Pilot you have but with more red.
Last year at San Diego Comic-Con, Hasbro confirmed the winner of the Fan's Choice vote for the 6-inch The Black Series line - and it was Jaina Solo! She was in most of the novels since 1991 in some form or another. And that Jaina Solo had a massive, not remotely suspicious last-minute massive vote bot of sorts. Well. Anyway, we're getting her and here she is in a black pilot's suit. The Star Wars character was retconned out of the continuity with the Disney takeover, so don't be totally shocked if this happens again this year.
Grand Admiral Thrawn is coming! I know, Thrawn just left the building in Star Wars Rebels, but a 6-inch action figure melding his classic novel cover look with the uniforms of Star Wars Rebels is on the way. A normal version is coming for retail stores, and his art collection comes with the deluxe San Diego Comic-Con edition. It's worth noting that the exclusive version will be $49.99 this July, while the normal The Black Series one will be in the usual $20-$25 range. Ask yourself this - why should your toys have a better art collection than you do?
Historically Hasbro has had "plussed up" toys sold at San Diego Comic-Con International - better accessories or variant deco are frequent upgrades. This time around Hasbro will offer two different versions of Luke's Landspeeder. A $59.99 mass retail version will be made, with a $89.99 one with weathered paint, an engine, and seemingly more gear for the big convention. Which should you get? Whichever you can find.
Our pal Shannon sent in some images from Orlando at Star Wars Celebration confirming Hasbro will be un-retiring The Vintage Collection yet again in Spring 2018. (It'd go nicely with the new Han Solo movie.) For those of you who are old, you may recall this is the fourth time Hasbro has relaunched the faux-1978-1984 format. The only confirmation I have (not being on the floor) is that of Rey on a The Force Awakens cardback - so if you missed the figure now on markdown at Walmarts for $5.86, you're in luck! All we know is that the Fan's Choice line is coming and, I hope, the format will return for a good long time.
Update: It's over! We're back with Fan's Choice! Hasbro has asked for your input on the next new 3 3/4-inch The Vintage Collection action figure. It's going to be just like last year - you can leave a comment below or email me at this address, and I'll tally the results. Last year the ballot box got stuffed for Jaina Solo, this is your chance to vote for a future 3 3/4-inch The Black Series action figure.
Note: Please do not request figures that have already been released or announced. Please do not send duplicate entries. Please do not send a list of characters - only one will be counted.
Here are the rules per Hasbro:
A few years ago we got a glimpse into a pretty cool Starspeeder 1000 from Disney, showing that they can make vehicles for the theme parks when Hasbro wasn't so inclined. Now according to Jedi News on Twitter, it looks like they're going to do a Sandcrawler. Start saving, it's going to be an expensive year for droid fanatics.
Secret #droidfactory playset coming soon to the #disneyparks With figure. Can you guess what it is??? #starwars https://t.co/Qkh1sPjjU4 pic.twitter.com/tEc6rUehw2
— Jedi News (@JediNewsUK) April 13, 2017
More! It looks like D-23, Halloween, Christmas, and whatever season BB-8 represents will be getting more exclusive figures at Disney parks and events. According to Vinylmation World, D23 will get R5-D23. Halloween gets a killer clear green R3-B0017. BB-8 will show up at Disneyland during D-23. R3-H17 is this year's Christmas Day of the Robot. Vinylmation World has more in a tweet.
Upcoming Astromech droids coming to Disney Parks #swco #disneyparks #StarWarsCelebration pic.twitter.com/ydlsOjxhjL
— Vinylmation World (@vinylmationworl) April 13, 2017
Adam gets another ulcer! New Protocol Droid Factory announced at Hollywood Studios! Vinylmation World posted some interesting stuff in the last day, including this tweet showing a new series of Protocol Droids launching, apparently, today! Exactly how many and which parts are there remain to be seen, so if anyone can catalog everything available so we can beg friends to help us out, that would be greatly appreciated.
Build a Protocol Droid launches tomorrow at Hollywood Studios #waltdisneyworld #swco #StarWarsCelebration #disneyparks pic.twitter.com/tNapHwzRyy
— Vinylmation World (@vinylmationworl) April 13, 2017
The info just keeps rolling in! Hasbro's PR department informed us that Commander Gree is coming to Toys R Us as an exclusive. When? We don't know, but the 6-inch The Black Series figure looks pretty sharp.
More information as we have it - and it's nice to see the prequels getting some love out there.
Tonight, the world can now see Star Wars: Forces of Destiny. If you're familiar with Monster High, it's kind of like that - a new line of Adventure Dolls joined by short animation, but with the added benefit fo many of the original players voicing the characters. We've got pictures, a video clip, and a full press release. The line focuses primarily on the women of Star Wars, mercifully expanded beyond two roles thanks to the animation of the 2000s and the new Disney-era movies, as well as their adorable sidekicks.
