Gift of the Galaxy Celebrates the Prequels!

This morning as part of Star Wars Gift of the Galaxy product program, Hasbro announced three new action figure sets. With 2024 being the 25th anniversary of the Prequel Trilogy, all of these sets slated for next year are PT focused. While the only Vintage Collection entry this week looks amazing, some have become frustrated over the pricing of this deluxe figure. The last time a super-articulated Jango was released in TVC (1) it retailed for $8-9 making this release 12 years later a 300% increase with just as many accessories. On the flip side, the Retro Collection comes in priced at a cool $60 for 6 figures, which returns the line to the 10-dollar-price-point. Hasbro has provided us with official images and press release [...]

By |2023-12-12T20:06:24-08:00December 12th, 2023|Categories: Episode 1, Episode VII, Retro Collection, The Black Series, The Vintage Collection|

Toy Armada with Aaron Archer

We are delighted to have discovered recently the new toy podcast Toy Armada with Aaron Archer! What makes this podcast unique is that Archer was a toy designer for over twenty years with Kenner and then Hasbro. This show provides behind the scenes of some of our favorite lines and figures.   The Toy Armada with Aaron Archer Episode 1 - Kenner Star Wars Power of the Force / Kenner Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace Behind the Scenes. We dive into the origin of Star Wars Power of the Force, the early beginnings of Star Wars Episode 1 as a toy line, why Comm Tech was used and the time line leading up to the Phantom Menace movie debut Hosted by Aaron Archer [...]

By |2022-04-02T20:00:08-07:00April 2nd, 2022|Categories: Episode 1, The Power of the Force 2|Tags: |

Blue Leader Paging R2-R9

In our interview yesterday with the Hasbro Star Wars Brand Team we asked which Astromech they suggested collectors use with recently announced General Merrick's X-Wing Fighter when it is released later this Fall. This question stems from the fact that this figure has never been released in the 3 3/4" scale nor any line in actuality, not even LEGO. So Patrick was kind enough to do some research and check with some Hasbro designers and supplied us with an answer: R2-R9   R2-R9 was first released in 1999 and was an exclusive figure packed in with the Episode I Naboo Royal Starship Blockade Cruiser/Playset. The droid was simply called an R2 Unit on the packaging and as you can see it features a red body [...]

By |2021-04-13T22:28:22-07:00April 14th, 2021|Categories: Episode 1, Rogue One|Tags: |

Fan First Friday Livestream Jan ’21 Press Release

Yesterday morning Hasbro Pulse held their "inaugural" Livestream event of 2021 on their official YouTube page. This Fan First Friday event revealed ten new items as well as showcasing three that were revealed yesterday on IGN. They also previewed a few figures in the works for both The Black Series and The Vintage Collection. We'll break down our thoughts about each of the reveals in a follow-up post. But in the meantime, the following are the official press release and images from today as provided to us by Hasbro: STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES LUCASFILM 50TH ANNIVERSARY 6-INCH QUI-GON JINN Figure (HASBRO/Ages 4 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $24.99/Available: Spring 2021) Commemorate the first 50 years of LUCASFILM with figures inspired by the STAR WARS prequel [...]

Still Celebrating Episode One

Before May slips away we are still having fun in our remembrances and nostalgia of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Our fun has been even more hyped with a special delivery from the Episode One hype-man himself, Monoah Crane! This beautiful patch captures perfectly the design and spirit of the mega-advertising campaign of the late '90s. We want to give our sincerest thanks to Monoah for this wonderful work of art. We are also very thankful to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Episode 1 with our special delivery from our friends at Hasbro as they delivered the Star Wars Celebration Chicago exclusives to us while we were at the show. These 6" replicas of the original Hasbro figures turned out to be extremely popular both at the [...]

By |2019-06-04T15:00:19-07:00June 4th, 2019|Categories: Episode 1|

Happy 20th Anniversary Episode One

It's hard to believe it has been 20 years since the debut of a whole new era of Star Wars! Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace debuted at 12:01 AM on May 19th, 1999 in theaters around the world. Fans finally got to see what their all of those characters they picked up at Midnight Madness a few weeks earlier were all about. The lines were long, the hype was at an all-time high and many fans had tickets to multiple showings on opening day.   The Episode One toy line which would only run until mid-2000 still holds up as one of the bests in the modern line when it comes to focus, character selection, vehicles, playsets, stands, technology inclusion, and great paint applications. [...]

By |2019-05-21T07:41:02-07:00May 19th, 2019|Categories: Episode 1|Tags: |

20th Anniversary of Episode One’s Midnight Madness

It is hard to imagine that 20 years have gone by since the release of Episode One toys and merchandise. The anticipation for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was beyond anything Star Wars had ever seen before or since. Toys 'R' Us bought into the excitement with their first of four Midnight Madness events in which the toy retailer opened at 12:01 AM the day toys were released to allow fans and collectors to begin their Episode One collections as early as possible. The expectation and hype surrounding the release of the toys for Episode One was very enthusiastic. Entertainment Weekly reported at the time, "when all is said and done, Phantom tie-ins 'will probably represent the single biggest event in the history of the [...]

By |2019-05-03T08:05:47-07:00May 3rd, 2019|Categories: Episode 1|Tags: |

Hasbro’s Star Wars Celebration Exclusive Details

We've received additional details from Hasbro about their upcoming 'Duel of the Fates" Star Wars Celebration Chicago exclusives. Both Black Series figures will retail for $24.99 and be available at additional conventions in the future. Press info is as follows: STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES DUEL OF THE FATES 6-INCH OBI-WAN KENOBI Figure (HASBRO/Age: 4 & up/Approx. Retail Price: $24.99 /Available at SWCC) Along with his master, QUI-GON JINN and QUEEN PADME AMIDALA, OBI-WAN KENOBI hopes to defend the planet of Naboo from invasion by the Trade Federation. As the battle rages between the Federation and the Gungan Grand Army on Naboo, young OBI-WAN finds himself locked in a vicious Lightsaber duel with the lethal Sith Lord, DARTH MAUL. Fans can imagine this moment and others from the STAR [...]

By |2019-04-08T20:11:49-07:00April 8th, 2019|Categories: Episode 1, Star Wars Celebration, The Black Series|

Star Wars Celebration Chicago Swag

With Star Wars celebration Chicago now just one week away we couldn’t possibly head to the biggest Star Wars party of the year without bringing a little swag. This year we’re traveling a lot lighter than we did last time but we are not headed to the show empty-handed. We are excited to celebrate the upcoming 20th Anniversary of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and to do that we’ll be giving away our very own anniversary button. Designed by our friend the incredibly talented seakae who infused elements from Hasbro’s Episode One packaging art in the design! The buttons will be exclusive to Star Wars Celebration Chicago and will be limited to just 25 per day of the show. Our next swag giveaway [...]

By |2019-04-03T23:05:57-07:00April 3rd, 2019|Categories: Convention Coverage, Episode 1|Tags: , , |

Celebration Exhibitor Lotteries

Starwarscelebration.com has opened their exhibitor lotteries for those who have already purchased tickets to Celebration Chicago. To enter the lottery for Hasbro, LEGO and/or Funko, fans must enter a virtual queue for the chance to purchase the convention exclusives individually. You can learn more about the Hasbro exclusives from our Hasbro press release. Fans have until 11:59 PM, April 3rd to enter to win a spot. Once you have entered you will receive a confirmation email. With 4,000 shopping opportunities and we are assuming Hasbro will allow 2 or 3 per person, there is a good chance 15,000 sets of Maul and Obi-Wan were created.     Funko and LEGO have a history of allowing just one of each item to be sold [...]

By |2019-03-27T21:16:35-07:00March 27th, 2019|Categories: Convention Coverage, Episode 1, The Black Series|
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