Summer Rocks
June 1, 2007 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 390
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  Today at Galactic Hunter we start with a look at the clone trooper commando Fixer, part of a gift set that was actually quite hot. If you didn't buy one yet, should you? Read on!
--AP
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Zoidberg Mii How-To
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  While the whole Mii thing has left us somewhat cold, we can't fault creativity, nor can we ignore things with Dr. Zoidberg from Futurama. Today, Game Stooge has an article showing how to make your own Zoidberg. You know you have to.
--AP
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Spider-Man: Target Exclusive Clearance
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  Target released an exclusive Spider-Man Hasbro two-pack back in March for $19.99. It had Spidey, Sandman, and a unique package that felt like sandpaper-- it's quite cool. The weird thing is that yesterday, Target stores started marking it down with a sticker that said "Was $12.99, Now $9.08." Bugwah? It was never $12.99-- perhaps Target systems had it priced that in error and it was always meant to be $12.99, which is a sensible price for such an exclusive? We don't know. But we're totally going to hold our breath to get one of these for like five bucks, which, we assume, is in two or three weeks.
--AP
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Transformers: Big Launch Weekend
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  While it seems every big store broke street on the Big Rig Blaster, Deluxe Figures, Voyager Figures, and damn near half the line, there are several new exclusives, main line items, and more being released to stores this weekend. If you are interested in the movie toys, this is going to be a very exciting and expensive weekend for you. Happy hunting!
--AP
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 Entertainment Earth Podcast (powered by 16bit.com)
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Podcast #49: June 1, 2007
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  Celebration IV Continued! This time, we look at more Star Wars news, specifically the exclusive action figures offered at last weekend's Celebration IV. With more news on Transformers, G.I. Joe, Marvel figures, and much more, this podcast is loaded with toy collecting goodness- listen in today!
Click here to visit the Episode #49 page at Entertainment Earth.
--AP
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How to sign up
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For starters: You do not need an iPod to hear a Podcast. Podcasting is just a fancy word for "hack job internet radio show," which is exactly what we're aiming to produce here.
If you have iTunes 4.9 or above: You can subscribe to it for free. Just search for "Adam Pawlus" under Podcasts in the iTunes music store, or just go to "Subscribe to Podcast" and paste in "http://www.entertainmentearth.com/podcasts/podcast.xml". And you should be all hooked up.
If you're using an RSS reader: Subscribe to this feed: "http://www.entertainmentearth.com/podcasts/podcast.xml".
If you are using Safari: click here.
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More Than Meets The Wallet
June 4, 2007 |
Star Wars Q&A Updated at Galactic Hunter
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 Galactic Hunter has posted a Q&A column by yours truly. Read on!
Also, Figure of the Day has been updated! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of the 30th Anniversary Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!
From left to right: Jedi Knight (Twi'lek), Tusken Raider (from Bantha), ARC Trooper (Red). Go to Galactic Hunter for the next update, with the 394th installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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Final Fantasy II for PSP Screenshots
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  The re-release of Final Fantasy II for PSP has many people interested in seeing things like these four pages of screen shots at The Magic Box. It's 2D, but moreso. We'd be lying if we said we didn't like the visuals-- the gameplay we didn't much care for on previous rereleases, but this doesn't look at all bad. If they do Final Fantasy III (the Famicom one) like this we'd probably buy it too. A US release of Final Fantasy is expected June 26, give or take, with Final Fantasy II due in late July.
--AP
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Transformers Movie: What Launched, What Didn't, What's On Sale
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  It seems every major store had some sort of launch this weekend, even though most major stores had already been selling some if not all of these items for weeks. We hit up a number of stores over the past few days, and here's what we saw by chain that was worth noting. (Although we should note that while it's shipping, the bulk of "wave 3" products like Voyager Optimus Prime & Megatron and the Robot Heroes sets of Optimus & Unicron and Thundercracker & Jazz were nowhere to be seen. Although we do have the latter two in hand now and saw the others at work a few weeks ago.)
 We hit up two Wal-Mart stores. One shot their wad over the past several weeks and we were greeted to virtually empty aisles, with a few Voice Changers and Big Rig Blasters left, and a couple of Deluxe toys and a handful of other items. The other Wal-Mart we went to had the big Transformers signs up, but no product out at all-- the Spider-Man 3 aisle was still present and full, with Optimus Prime and friends nowhere to be seen. Also, the Robot Heroes Decepticon Sneak Attack exclusive set announced last Friday was nowhere to be seen, most likely, we think, because it wasn't ready for the stores yet. As such, at least here in Los Angeles, Wal-Mart was a tremendous letdown which is surprising considering they've been the place to beat for the Star Wars prequel launches. (Or at least Episodes II and III.) There's really no good excuse for empty shelves for a launch like this.
 By and large, Target did good. Most stores we visited on Saturday were well stocked with exclusives and regular product, as well as non-Hasbro odds and ends like keychains, "educational computers," and other miscellaneous items that, while not notable to us, were neat to see. There was a good variety of items to be seen, nice clean displays, and by Sunday, it seemed stores were already running low on the "regular" products like deluxe toys and regular movie stuff.
SALES: Target stores are running a big sale as well, which is being reported incorrectly on other web sites. Select items are marked down while everything else is 10% off. Voyager toys are $17.99 ($2 off), Unleashed Bumblebee is $19.99 (was $24.99), Leader toys are $39.99 ($5 off), Deluxe toys are $7.99 ($2 off), the exclusive Robo Vision Optimus Prime is $19.99 ($5 off, we bought one, it's OK but not stellar), and that's pretty much that.
 Not surprisingly, Toys "R" Us stores had the biggest and most well stocked displays, although the variety of the stock wasn't quite as great as Target. Their few exclusive sets were neat to see, but not really exclusive-- just two regular toys in a new box for $5 off. (Which isn't bad if you want Blackout and Scorponok. We didn't.) The stores were flush with Optimash Prime, Robot Heroes, big toys, small toys, and lots and lots of other items.
SALES: For one week only, you get a free "Real Gear" toy with a $25 purchase. Which isn't bad, as those little Real Gear toys seem like a lot of fun.
 We didn't hit Kay-Bee yet, but we did hit two Kmarts this week. One had their stuff out earlier in the week, the other put very few items out on Sunday. No sign of the Kmart Exclusive Bumblebee Unleashed (with comic book), but hey, that's just our neck of the woods.
So what did we buy? If you're cranky geeks like us, we advise the following:
Robot Heroes. We got all 8 two-packs, which has everybody from Optimus Prime and Grimlock to Shockwave and Ultra Magnus. It's a great sub-line of old cartoon characters done as modern toddler toys. If you liked Galactic Heroes or Superhero Squad, these are must-buy items. We'll buy all non-movie characters and maybe even some movie ones if the price is right.
Optimash Prime. Mr. Potato Head with Optimus Prime parts. What's not to love? Totally worth it.
Robo Vision Optimus Prime. This is the $19.99 Voyager-class Optimus Prime, but it's a Target exclusive and in brighter colors. It includes a "Robo Vision Decoder," is packaged in robot mode in a very nice clear window box, and is more or less a good toy-- we're just not fans of this "Automorph" crap that is hard to get right.
But yeah, we're loving this whole "Galactic Heroes" concept being spread elsewhere. We bought some of the Jurassic Park Jr. toys (the forerunner to Star Wars back in 2001) and loved those too. We're hoping to see more in this line, like maybe G.I. Joe. Cobra Commander, mainly. We'd say Baroness but that'd be kinda creepy. If Hasbro had the license we'd be doing cartwheels over a "Pirate Heroes" line with a kid-friendly Captain Jack Sparrow, but we're not that hopeful.
--AP
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Vast Format Experiments
June 5, 2007 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 394
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 Today at Galactic Hunter we start with a look at the pre-cyborg Darth Vader, a cheap-o figure packaged with the Mustafar playset from 2005. You're probably going to want the playset, but does this figure bring anything to the table you haven't seen with other Anakin figures? Read on!
--AP
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Wii Virtual Console This Week
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 From the Genesis: Toejam & Earl: Panic on Funkotron, where it is funky and panicked. From the NES: Nintendo's Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. It's awesome-- and if we didn't have it on the NES, GameCube, and GameBoy Advance, we'd buy this one too. Also from the NES, Hudson's Milon's Secret Castle, which we didn't like but we know people who love it. From the TurboGrafx-16: Dead Moon. We hear it's a lovely shooter.
--AP
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A Closer Look: Target's Robo Vision Optimus Prime
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 A long time ago we made it a point to photograph things to show here so people could get a look at new toys as a fun diversion-- we stopped posting as much because everything became a ridiculous photographic orgy with 20-70 pictures per feature. We're trying to do more "hey look at this" things but with far fewer images and less time spent on it.
 The stats: Available now as a Target exclusive. $24.99 (but on sale through this Saturday for $19.99.) Repaint of another Voyager-class Optimus Prime toy. Includes exclusive Robo Vision decoder which activates stuff on the web site. Firing rockets, light-up eye ports. Also has a nifty "holographic driver" feature where a little cowboy (presumably Peter Cullen) disappears when you open the driver's side door.
The toy is about 10-inches tall, has two firing cannons, is colorful, and more or less looks good. A silver paint has been added to the toy which makes it look more expensive, which is smart given Target believes it's worth $5 more than the standard release (available now but in limited numbers.) The robot mode has about 16 or so meaningful points of articulation. The truck mode has spinning wheels and a "battle mode" which has guns pointing forward, which, we guess, is OK. There's an "automorph" feature which has spring-loaded moving parts involved in the leg transformation, but it's more annoying than practical. We were worried the spring popped out and we were doing it wrong because a similar mechanism was employed on a toy in 2002 and the spring did in fact eventually pop out, making the toy broken and therefore no fun.
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If you want a movie toy, this is a nice one-- it's colored like most traditional Optimus Prime toys and that's a good thing. It's also sized similarly to other Prime toys of the same price point. You may as well get it if you see it. It's certainly very nice, although it does feel a little overly complicated for a toy that should be easily accessible to all and it does feel a little fragile in spots-- but, we're told, nothing compared to the $40-$50 toy.
We do miss the more simplistic transformation of earlier toys where, in maybe 20 seconds, it can go from one mode to another. This toy takes a little bit longer than that, which seems like a bit much given that both are based on very similar truck modes.
This is one of many exclusive toys for the movie line launch. Toys "R" Us has a metallic repaint two-pack of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee for Titanium, as well as a boxed set of Blackout and Scorponok. Target has repaints of Arcee (Energon), Hardtop (Cybertron), and Signal Flare (Energon). Other stores have other items on the way as well, but so far Target's exclusive items for this movie have been the most notable/interesting/different looking.
--AP
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TV: NewsRadio Reruns are Back on TBS
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  For fans too cheap to buy DVDs, set your TiVos to record NewsRadio, now airing again on TBS. It's a good show and you should watch it-- consult their schedule or the guide on your DVR for additional information.
--AP
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This Is a Recording
June 6, 2007 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 395
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 Today at Galactic Hunter we look at the hairy J'Quille, a mighty bruiser of an alien from 2004. Do you like Jabba's Palace? Then you probably need to know if you want this figure. And how can you find that out? Read on!
--AP
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Xbox 360 Gets Pac-Man Mega Hyper Sequel 26 Years Later
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  The site Joystiq posted impressions of the new Pac-Man Championship Edition, the first truly 2D Pac-Man in years with brand new maps and, seemingly, very fancy crappy graphics. Despite being a whopping $10 download, it looks like fun if you're a Pac-Man Fan, as the series has provided countless minutes of enjoyment for gamers born after 1979. It looks interesting, though, and we admire the attempt to do something new with old brands like this.
--AP
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Music: New Shellac Album Out, Cheep at Best Buy Online
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  While we wouldn't say we're snobs, we're very particular about our music, and most of the time, where we buy it. This is why it somewhat pains us that here in Los Angeles, there really isn't a convenient record store to hit up in the wake of Tower Records' demise, leaving us to either have to trek out to Hollywood (no thanks) or order online (ugh). In Phoenix, we visited snooty little record stores and tiny chains, and if anyone was singing the praises of the new Dave Matthews, we walked out. This is why it pains us to admit we ordered the new Shellac at Best Buy's web site, as it was on sale for $9.99 with free shipping. We have no idea how much of that $9.99 is going to misters Albini, Trainer, and Weston, but we hope it's a good amount.
We'd make it up by buying a t-shirt or something but they don't exactly do any merchandising, which is either awesome or infuriating. Anyway. New Shellac. If you liked the old Shellac, odds are you'll like this one. We'll let you know when it comes in the mail, dammit, as we wanted it yesterday.
--AP
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Ad: Marvel Legends Wave 3 at Entertainment Earth
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 Over at Entertainment Earth, the fine purveyors of toys and the salaries at our day jobs added Marvel Legends Wave 3 from Hasbro, now available to pre-order. This case of 10 exciting Action Figures brings you the following individually packaged characters: 1x Bucky, 2x Captain America, 1x Marvel Girl, 1x Black Knight, 1x Hyrdra Soldier, 1x X-Men 3 Colossus, 2x Cyclops, 1x Danger. Oh, and the build-a-figure is a very ugly sucker from The Brood. Surely you need to click through and see this mighty case, no? Clicky clicky.
--AP
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There Is No Sponsor
June 7, 2007 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 396
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 Today at Galactic Hunter we look at the dull Otoga 222 Pit Droid, a "bonus" figure of sorts from 1999. If you just adore podracing and Episode I as a whole, you need to get this. But if you don't, should you care at all about this dull-looking pot-bellied robot? Read on!
--AP
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Revealed: Target's (We Think) Transformers G1-Inspired Movie Repaints
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 While found through part of the Target.com Transformers "Robovision" promotion, TFW2005 has a lot of pictures of some new exclusives-- or so we think. One is Jazz in G1 colors, and he's joined by Starscream. Exciting, no? (Or: Exciting? No. Take your pick.) Either way, click here to see more.
--AP
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Ad: Exclusive Star Wars Unleashed ARC Heavy Gunner Trooper at Entertainment Earth
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 Over at Entertainment Earth, the fine purveyors of toys and the salaries at our day jobs added Exclusive Star Wars Unleashed ARC Heavy Gunner Trooper from Hasbro, an exclusive 7-inch statue figure based on the popular Clone Wars cartoons and due in stores this Fall. It's $25 and comes in a big honking box. Want to see a bigger picture? Clicky clicky.
--AP
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It's The End of Radio
June 8, 2007 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 397
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 Today at Galactic Hunter we look at the shiny silver repaint of Nabrun Leids, a figure from the Episode I era which has since been significantly improved to the point where, if you have the old one, you should set fire to it and throw it away. Could it be possible that just a little paint really can make all that much of a difference in the quality of an action figure? Read on!
--AP
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Indiana Jones Date, Actors Revealed (Licensors, Not So Much)
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  Everyone's other favorite trilogy featuring George Lucas and Harrison Ford will see its fourth installment in theaters May 22, 2008, so says their official site. While that's all well and good, we want to see some buzz about licensed products now. Toys, specifically. (As you all know you need Indiana Jones Galactic Heroes more than you need air or water. Or at least we do.) Click through for the newest casting announcements and the release date at IndianaJones.com.
--AP
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Wal-Mart Exclusive Transformers Blaster Repaint
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 Need evidence that there's a big demand for product this year? Hasbro is dusting off their Energon-era Optimus Prime roleplay blaster and giving it a new coat of paint. It's going to be a Wal-Mart exclusive, and from what we hear it's a decent toy. (Most of Hasbro's NERF-dart firing guns are a lot of fun.) As such, there you go, one more thing to consider buying.
--AP
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Wal-Mart Gets Exclusive Pirates, (Dead Man's) Chest
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  We didn't buy one, and we can't seem to find pictures of it, but Wal-Mart has a new exclusive Captain's Chest exclusive boxed set for $14.96. It's actually rather nice-- it's a great big pirate's chest (although not really the Dead Man's Chest) which includes Captain Barbossa (ooh), Davy Jones (aaah), and an exclusive gold repainted Jack Sparrow. Why anyone wants a gold Jack Sparrow is beyond our capacity for rational thought, perhaps they're taking a cue from Star Wars.
The box itself looks kinda like the infamous Dead Man's Chest but unfortunately we don't have the toy here to compare it to the prop from the movie. Still, hey, pirate's chest toy box for the kiddies. $15 well spent. (Note: picture is of the Master Replicas prop replica, which is $300.) We saw this earlier in the week but keep forgetting to post about it.
--AP
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Joe Club Previews Anniversary Hero Set
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  Last year, it was all about classic Transformers. Next year, we expect it to be all about Indiana Jones or the new Clone Wars show. But for now, we're jazzed about the 25th Anniversary line of G.I. Joe and have the whole first mess of them on order. G.I. Joe Club.com has a page up with pictures of the set's packaging (inside and out) as well as the loose figures. To get a look at the box, it's worth clicking and looking, just keep in mind the layout is a little wonky.
Also, on eBay, seller SPX_Toys is selling single carded figures right now-- not necessarily worth your money, but it's neat to look at and a good sign that they're on the way. We plan to get an extra Cobra Commander to keep in the package around the office just because it's cool.
--AP
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Ad: Mara Jade, A'Sharad Hett, Jedi Leia at Entertainment Earth
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 While announced a while back, Entertainment Earth now has the new Star Wars Expanded Universe Figure Comic Packs Wave 3 from Hasbro available to order. You've probably seen these but it includes the first-ever action figures of A'Sharad Hett (Tusken Padawan) and the Dark Woman (meh), as well as new and arguably interesting versions of Mara Jade, Leia, Darth Vader, and Luke. Is it worth $104.99 for a case of 8 2-packs? (Probably. We mean, Tusken Jedi.) Check 'em out.
--AP
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We Want the World, and We Want It Now
June 11, 2007 |
Star Wars Q&A Updated at Galactic Hunter
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Galactic Hunter has posted a Q&A column by yours truly. Read on!
Also, Figure of the Day has been updated! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of the 30th Anniversary Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!
From left to right: R5-J2, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Vilmarh Grahrk. Go to Galactic Hunter for the next update, with the 401st installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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Raiden IV for Arcade Screenshots
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 Over at The Magic Box are new screenshots of Taito's upcoming shooter Raiden IV which we don't expect to see in the USA unless it comes out for a PlayStation or Xbox or some such. It looks pretty slick for a top-down, 2.5D (we think) shooter. We'd love to play it, so we will if given the chance.
--AP
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On the Subject of 25th Anniversary G.I. Joe
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  There's little we at 16bit.com enjoy more than a good, ridiculous retro line-- ridiculous as in "vast," not as in "stupid." It looks like Hasbro is going to come through once more with a relaunch of its 4-inch scale Real American Heroes, due in stores, if the word on the street is right, any week now. The line will premiere with 2 5-packs, and 5 more individually packaged action figures. More will follow over the coming months, but what can you expect? We compiled this handy checklist breaking down all the confirmed items, rumors, and what we hear from store's leaked computer data so far. A few additional waves of data were leaked over the past week, so if it's legit, you'll want to read the checklist to see if your favorites are coming.
 Each figure will be about 4-inches tall, give or take. This is a slight increase over the traditional 3 3/4-inch scale used for classic G.I. Joe and Star Wars back in the 1980s, but isn't necessarily going to be a bad thing unless we're treated to vehicle rehashes and the figures won't be able to fit-- but let's not get ahead of ourselves. So far Hasbro hasn't committed to any vehicles or playsets, which is a bit of a bummer-- we're really hoping for a new Cobra Bunker, Cobra HISS, or if we're feeling sassy, the Cobra Pogo. (Honestly, Team Joe really doesn't much matter to us-- we just like Cobra. And ninjas. Robots are nice too.)
While the future of this line is somewhat hard to see, it looks like they'll be taking a page out of the retro handbook and stick to characters fans know and love-- as well as characters non-fans probably can at least recognize, which makes sense. Your average 27-year-old fan will probably recognize Cobra Commander, Flint, Duke, and Destro. The Oktober Guard, not so much. As such, this line seems to be designed to be a real treat for those of us who didn't have a lot of these figures as kids, as all the big guns are being brought back with modern toy technology. We, of course, will be buying at least the whole first wave just 'cuz and if it's any good we're going to likely stick with it. (Hasbro has a knack for finding ways to get our money.)
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Right now, the biggest wild card is the second Cobra Action Figure set-- Hasbro has let at least one retailer (the one we work for) in on a second set of Corba figures which has been up for months with no photos, leading us to wonder if it's actually going to come out. (Fingers are crossed.) The set is said to include "Cobra Commander 2004" (we assume this means black Valor vs. Venom deco), "Storm Shadow 2004" (we have no idea), "Cobra Trooper Comic Book Deco" (done like comic pack, "Cobra Stinger Driver" (grey repaint of Cobra trooper), and "Cobra Jet Pack Trooper" (again, no idea.) We'll be watching this one because we're quite curious to see what it is.
 As of today it's unknown if this line will eventually replace the 8-inch line. As a collector, we hope it doesn't-- frankly, we don't want to see the line blow up and be this huge orgy of plastic men because we already do Star Wars and if Joe stay small, we'll buy 'em all. If it grows to a 50+ figure-a-year-line, we're going to get real picky real quick. Although we can see ourselves holding on to the odd figure or two to keep carded just because the packaging seemingly looks really nice.
According to most sources, the line will begin shipping in June (that's this month) or July 2007. Hasbro has been advertising for it in toy magazines for a month or two now, leading us to believe it could show up at retail before we know it. This currently has our attention for Most Exciting New Line of 2007, of course, remember that the Most Exciting New Line of 2002 was Mattel's Masters of the Universe relaunch... and look what that got us. It's also worth noting we consider to be the 1982-1995 G.I. Joe action figure line to be the greatest of all time-- it's not our favorite (that distinction goes to Star Wars), but there's no denying that Hasbro created something truly spectacular with the Real American Hero line, with diverse and nifty items like a 7-foot aircraft carrier and legions of robot troopers. If they can ever figure out a way to shoehorn Skeletor into the line and have him team up with Cobra Commander, it has the chance to be our new favorite. (You know, when Hell freezes over. But we'd totally like to have Cobra Commander and Skeletor in the same scale high-fiving or something.)
Hasbro has been running a series of polls on this page asking what themes and troopers we want to see as fans, and we're pleased to see our favorite no-chance-in-Hell theme, Street Fighter II, is winning. We totally want a new Joe-scaled Blanka. If you hate Blanka, go vote.
Our disposable income is in your hands yet again, Hasbro. For now at least.
--AP
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This Is My Farewell Transmission
June 12, 2007 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 401
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 Today at Galactic Hunter we look at the best-described-as-adequate Holographic Princess Leia, a figure that used a less-than-optimal mold in less-than-optimal-colors at a not-too-good-price. So why did we buy it anyway? Read on!
--AP
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Wii Virtual Console This Week
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 From the Genesis: Sonic the Hedgehog 2, a game once considered great before the endless parade of successively less fun games and more creepy fans ruined it for everybody. From the NES: Hudson's Lode Runner. We love the game but never played the NES version. Also from the Genesis, Sega's Golden Axe 2, which isn't Golden Axe 1 but may provide a cheap thrill to fans of the genre and the era.
--AP
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2-Disc Labyrinth, Dark Crystal DVDs Coming
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  Fans of Jim Henson's two big fantasy properties The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth are in for a treat, so says The Digital Bits this week. Apparently on August 14, loaded deluxe editions with more extras are coming out, which we think means that this is the third or fourth DVD edition of each, at least, at this point. We hear these are big sellers for the studio so triple- or quad-dipping makes sense, from a business standpoint, although this sort of crap is what had us cut back our DVD purchases from 4-8 per month to about 2 in 2007 so far. Seriously, enough of the repetition already.
--AP
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Raise the Dead: MOTU Statue Wave 6
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  Our pals at Action-Figure have shots of the next three NECA statues of He-Man figures. The good news: they're doing them. The bad: well, they ain't action figures, are they? This batch includes Battle-Armor He-Man, Mosquitor, and Jitsu, which, we guess, are exciting to someone somewhere. The funny thing is if these were actual toys, we'd be paying whatever the asking price was. These are expected later this year, and will likely be about $20-$25 a whack.
Call us bitter-- it's just sad that a new Battle-Armor He-Man is a statue, and not a figure, given that what made the figure interesting was the battle armor feature that, when hit, the armor flipped over and became "dented." Otherwise it's just a blond guy in a dippy sleeveless metal turtleneck.
--AP
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I Was Born With No Pants (BE PREPARED)
June 13, 2007 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 402
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 Today at Galactic Hunter we look at the transport-friendly Clone Trooper with Speederbike, a figure based on an abandoned movie concept that makes for a toy worth reading about. So should you buy one? After all, this was the first mold to feature a removable helmet Clone Trooper. Read on!
--AP
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Soul Calibur, Ivy's Rack to Next-Generation Receive Upgrade
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 It used to be Tecmo's Dead or Alive had the dubious honor of being the best-known fleshy fighter. It appears Bandai Namco wants in on the action with the new Soul Calibur Trailer, which shows the Ivy of the future before she gets serious back problems. This Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game should be out... "in the future..." whatever that means. But hey, there you go. The series is usually awesome and this should be just as fun.
--AP
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Ad: 2007 Star Wars Vintage Line IN STOCK at Entertainment Earth
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 Our corporate masters have received a massive new shipment from Hasbro including the new and nifty Star Wars 2007 Vintage Action Figures Case, which has new versions of the Snowtrooper, Bespin Luke, Hoth Han, Endor Leia, and more. It's pretty ESB-heavy and can be yours until they run out. The Snowtrooper is exceedingly hard to get and as such, it might be worth ordering a set online. Or not. Whatever.
--AP
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5 Things We're Looking Forward To This Summer
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  We're big dorks. And as such, we look forward to things-- it's very important for us to be aware of things we can waste our money on, so we can be in line to do so. Some very exciting things have come and gone already, but there are still some super-groovy things coming out over the next few, very hot months.
5. G.I. Joe Relaunch 2007. Last year, we were stupid excited for Transformers Classics, a fun little line that, all said and done, brought us remakes of 11 classic toys plus a few repainty exclusives, leftover molds, and other redeco toys. This year, we're looking at 15 new mold Joes stuffed with the kind of ninjas and Cobra figures we love-- in theory. We need to mess with these in person still to see if they're going to be any fun, but we assume they are. We're not sure what Hasbro can give us next-- 2005 was Revenge of the Sith, 2006 was Transformers Classics, so what's 2008? A decent line of Nintendo action figures? (Actually, yeah, that'd get our attention something fierce.)
4. Patton Oswalt's new CD/DVD set. We just love the self-described "little lesbian" comic. He's great. We've been to his shows and will probably watch next to anything he's in, like Pixar's upcoming Ratatouille. Depending on where you check, Oswalt's new CD is "Werewolves & Lollipops" and is due in July. Should this man be depressed to be on a list with action figures for children and video games for cranky nerds? We say "yes." But we still love him.
3. Final Fantasy for PSP. This defies logic-- we've played through the game on the NES and the GameBoy Advance, and yet we find ourselves oddly drawn to this all-redrawn remake for the overpriced Sony portable. It's gonna be $30 and in stores June 26, 2007. That's like in two weeks. We'd preorder it but eh, it's not like the PSP has a userbase that will provide what the kids call "competition" when the game comes out.
2. Animated Debut Boba Fett. Our likes and dislikes often exist outside the realm of logic and reason, and this blue-and-yellow repaint of Boba Fett with a cattle prod is oddly exciting because it's an artifact from 1979 or 1985, depending on your fandomonium, and will be awesome. We don't see many "new" versions of Boba Fett that don't include some goofy giant accessory, so a recolored version of the bounty hunter is surprisingly exciting. And speaking of recolors...
1. "Pimp Daddy" Destro 2007. Hasbro looked into its archives and realize that there's a very marketable gaffe-- this oddly painted action figure deco will be applied to the brand new Destro mold, and sold at Comic-Con 2007 for about ten bucks a whack. It's goofy, but call us stupid-- we love this stuff.
--AP
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REAL!
June 14, 2007 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 403
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 Today at Galactic Hunter we look at the Target exclusive Battle Droid, a figure based on an Episode I mold, colored for Episode II, and sold as part of a big accessory set with extra guns and lightsabers. You need one, right? Read on!
--AP
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Sam & Max: Freelance Police Coming to DVD
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  According to the Shout! Factory Forum, the Fox series Sam & Max: Freelance Police is in development for DVD release... eventually. Neat-o.
--AP
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New Mario Merch Coming to Japan
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 Japanese game importer NCS has lots of new Super Mario Bros. stuff up for pre-order from Banpresto, including two vinyl Mario figures for about $20 each and a mix of plushies with sound effects for $25 per. We're somewhat interested in the 21-cm Mario figures which, in American, are under 10-inches each. Or really, about 10-inches each.
--AP
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YoJoe! Looks at new Cobra Commander
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 Over at YoJoe.com, the lucky ducks got ahold of the new 25th Anniversary Joes early. We're jealous, but we're elated they're posting impressions and pictures of figures like Cobra Commander over the next two weeks to share the wealth, as it were. Click through for more.
--AP
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Ionize the Air
June 15, 2007 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 404
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 Today at Galactic Hunter we look at the Mustafar-specific Obi-Wan Kenobi, a figure low on articulation and low-ish on detail. As a playset freebie, it's pretty good, but does it stand out as a great toy in its own right? Read on!
--AP
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Spider-Man 3 Target Exclusive: Final Markdown!
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Either good or bad news, the Spider-Man 3 Battle Pack featuring Spidey and Sandman is now on final markdown at some (if not all) Target stores. We picked one up yesterday for the insane price of $3.24; the product was initially released at $19.99. The set of figures are just repaints from the main line, but Spidey is metallic (and cool) while the Sandman is extra sandy, plus the box has this really cool sand texture on it. We're really quite taken with it, especially for the price.
We firmly expect Target's Robo Vision Optimus Prime to be next. We dig it, but damned if we don't feel stupid for paying full price for any Hasbro-made Target exclusive since about late 2005.
--AP
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BotCon Box Revealed
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  Over at Botcon.com, the fan clubbers put up the box art for the Games of Deception box set.
--AP
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Entertainment Earth Podcast (powered by 16bit.com) |
Podcast #50: June 15, 2007
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Vintage Star Wars Action Figures Reviewed! This week we look at some new fast food toy offers, Big Lebowski info, news on two more Entertainment Earth exclusives, and some pretty amazing other stuff.
Click here to visit the Episode #50 page at Entertainment Earth.
--AP
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How to sign up
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For starters: You do not need an iPod to hear a Podcast. Podcasting is just a fancy word for "hack job internet radio show," which is exactly what we're aiming to produce here.
If you have iTunes 4.9 or above: You can subscribe to it for free. Just search for "Adam Pawlus" under Podcasts in the iTunes music store, or just go to "Subscribe to Podcast" and paste in "http://www.entertainmentearth.com/podcasts/podcast.xml". And you should be all hooked up.
If you're using an RSS reader: Subscribe to this feed: "http://www.entertainmentearth.com/podcasts/podcast.xml".
If you are using Safari: click here.
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The Mating Call of the Adult Male Mud Shark
June 18, 2007 |
Star Wars Q&A Updated at Galactic Hunter
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Galactic Hunter has posted a Q&A column by yours truly. Read on!
Also, Figure of the Day has been updated! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of the 30th Anniversary Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!
From left to right: Jawa, Gragra, and Yaddle. Go to Galactic Hunter for the next update, with the 408th installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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Big Lebowski Talking The Dude Coming to Comic-Con 2007
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  One of our all-time favorite movies is getting its first talking toy. Bif Bang Pow! and Entertainment Earth are teaming up to sell you this Bobble Head with eight phrases from the film, many of which are packed with the foul language we love so much. From the description on their site: "Man, if my ******* ex-wife asked me to take care of her ******* dog while she and her boyfriend went to Honolulu I'd tell her to go **** herself." "Man, if my ******* ex-wife asked me to take care of her ******* dog while she and her boyfriend went to Honolulu I'd tell her to go **** herself." "Yeah well, the Dude abides." 1,000 pieces are going to be made and sold at the show-- and that's it. (Although you can get one ordered for home delivery if you care for such things.)
Here's hoping the future holds a talking Johnny Depp as Hunter S. Thompson. As that would be, well, just as awesome if not more so.
--AP
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Xbox 360 Katamari: Exclusive, Videos
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 Over at The Magic Box loads of new pictures of the Xbox Live Arcade Beautiful Katamari, with a big fat fancy video showing gameplay over at GameTrailers.com. Seeing as it's apparently a Microsoft exclusive, it appears the little engine that could out of Redmond is going to get a lot of our money very soon via the Xbox Arcade. We suppose the game will be $10 or so based on previous downloadable titles.
--AP
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G.I. Joe Con 2007: Exclusives & More Revealed
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 If you're anything like us you've been wondering why the Hell you haven't seen any 2007 G.I. Joe Convention exclusives yet. Well, wonder no more-- Master Collector is doing a fan wank of a set of 3 3/4-inch figures, including female Cobra Troopers (WOW) and a number of popular-ish characters we first met in 1982 who haven't seen a lot of action in plastic lately, like Doc, Clutch, Flash, and more. For 12-inch fans, it's all about Action Team, and that underwater-themed set sounds pretty awesome too. We're curious to see what this "giant clam plant" is that they discuss. Still, fun fun!
--AP
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Pixar 2008: WALL*E Trailer
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 Over at Apple's site there's a little teaser for the 2008 Pixar flick, WALL*E. It has a cute little robot in it and looks like it might be fun-- click through to see more.
--AP
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We'd Make It Much Bigger
June 19, 2007 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 408
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 Today at Galactic Hunter we look at the nifty Imperial ranking officer known as Admiral Motti. How does this mix and match of old and new parts stack up in the year 2007 A.D.? Read on!
--AP
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Spider-Man 3 Target Exclusive: Was it worth the three bucks?
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Sort of. Usually when we pick up something on Extreme Clearance, we feel as if we'd got ourselves a real bargain. When we get super-cheap Playmobil, you get a big box of stuff for pennies on the dollar. When you get super-cheap LEGO, it's just freaking impressive. And more often than not, Transformers and action figures bought on uber-clearance make you feel as if your dollar is getting stretched in ways you wouldn't ordinarily imagine.
With this set, we're not so sure how to feel.
When we first saw this at $20, our reaction was "wow, this is a really nicely boxed item. Wow, the figures look totally cool, too." It was a little more expensive than we'd have liked (honestly, two basic figures would be about $15-$16 so this was about $5 too much), so we waited-- and boy are we glad we did. Sandman is, at best, OK. The arm mechanism works like this: you position his arms up. Then, you push a button on his back and gravity does the rest. It's not a very sharp mechanism, and it's easy to accidentally goof up or throw off balance, thus rendering it pretty worthless. We usually don't go on about how spring-punching action would make a figure better, but this is one of those rare exceptions where it would indeed be an improvement. Also, the face sculpt looks kinda crappy-- much like Mattel's recent Superman and Batman offerings, only not quite that bad.
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The star of the movie fares a little better in terms of his mechanisms-- each spring-loaded web launcher works about as well as we would like, although there's no button or "marble" to hold the projectile in place-- once you pull it back and let go, it fires. You get decent distance off of them, and they can easily knock poor Lowell/Ned over. The figure's decoration is nothing short of stunning-- when we first saw the metallic blue and bright red, we knew we had to have it. And now that we have it, we can see that bright colors, exquisite sculpted sand deco, and what looks to be decent articulation means exactly jack squat when the joints tend to not stay where you put them, causing the figure to fall over if you try to stand him up on a table.
So, was it worth the $3.24 plus tax? Ultimately, we're thinking no. These figures will probably end up in one of countless boxes, to be trotted out in 3-4 years or when we move and then we'll say "we got quite the deal on these. Too bad they sucked." Spider-Man also has a very square ass for reasons we can't determine. So if you want a good basic movie Spider-Man, we'd advise you to keep looking-- the toys really aren't very fun to play with, don't stand up too well, and just don't sizzle once you take them outside their packaging. Although if you leave them in the packaging, this is one heck of an awesome exclusive-- so if you can get one cheap, leave it in the box, you'll be happy you did. It really is a pity, the previous Toy Biz Spider-Man stuff we bought didn't disappoint in the slightest.
--AP
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Polysics signs to MySpace Label for US Distribution
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  For some reason, MySpace signed the awesome Japanese band Polysics to their label in the USA. We weren't even completely aware that MySpace had any real label to speak of in terms of distributing music, but odds are they can't be much worse than Tofu was for the trio/quartet. Asian Man Records did a decent job of getting their releases in stores, but, well, apparently not good enough. The first release, according to the band's site, will be "Polysics or Die!!!! Vista" and we have no idea if this means there will be new tracks from the previous release of Polysics or Die!!!! from a few years ago. (But it's a must-have album if you don't already have the band's Japanese releases, despite the fact that, for reasons unknown to us, the song ENO cuts off at under a minute and is a few minutes on other albums. So that kinda blows, maybe they'll fix it for this release.)
--AP
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McFarlane Toys Got Halo 3 License
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  It seems Todd McFarlane got another game license! After doing great work with Metal Gear Solid and acceptable-to-good stuff for Soul Calibur and Devil May Cry, the AZ-based toy company now focuses its efforts on the adventures of Master Chief on the Xbox. The green armored hero is said to measure in at a mere 5-inches tall (as large as your old Kenner Animated Batman figures), but boasts a hefty amount of articulation. At least eight unique toys are in the works, and you can read more about them on Spawn.com.
--AP
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Wii Virtual Console This Week
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 From the TurboGrafx-16: World Sports Competition, an Olympics type game, and Bloody Wolf, a basketball simulator, we'd wager from the name. From the NES: Nintendo's NES Open Tournament Golf. In short, you could skip this week entirely, or go download something tasteful on the Xbox.
--AP
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People I Don't Know
June 20, 2007 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 409
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 Today at Galactic Hunter we look at the supremely narrow San Hill. He's thin, had a minor on-screen role in the saga, and is only available as part of a boxed set. So should you track down this evil space money man? Read on!
--AP
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Transformers Animated: And You Thought We Hated The Movie Designs!
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 Apparently some licensing magazine is giving an early glimpse at the logo and early (or final, who knows) design for Optimus Prime from the upcoming "Transformers Animated" program supposedly airing in the Fall to capitalize on the brand's newfound momentum that only a big movie can bring. Our guess is that this will be shown at the big licensing show this week and it's probably pretty close to final-- for the cartoon. It seems unlikely that transforming toys would adapt this line exactly, and for all we know it'll be a fun show with great toys. We'll be keen to see more. If weird animation designs mean good toys and (crossing fingers) no more 5-episode arcs devoted to a damn race planet with the same crap again and again, we might even get excited to watch the show again. Which really hasn't happened since we watched every last week of Beast Machines.
--AP
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Hasbro/Marvel Official Q&A #1
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  For some reason the people at Hasbro's PR firm contacted us and said "hey, do you want to ask Hasbro some Marvel questions?" We said "sure, but we wanna ask about GI Joe and Star Wars too." (Hey, we can try.) If you have questions, please send them to us with the subject line "MARVEL QUESTIONS FOR HASBRO." We also hope that we can get in on this other action as well, because, well, we actually collect the other stuff in big numbers. The answers are italicized for your ease-of-reading, and our snarky comments are, of course, not. (Hey, if we're gonna join in on someone's corporate PR machine, we're can't not comment on it.) We should also say that we, without sarcasm, freaking love Hasbro's products as you can see in our news archives over the past several years-- it's why we're here, more or less.
We're amazed that someone is taking us seriously, too. Amazed and frightened.
16BIT.COM: Will there be an expansion of comic-style Spider-Man figures in the Superhero Squad line? So far, it looks like there's comic-style artwork and a comic-deco repaint of Spidey in the upcoming Marvel Superhero Squad Collector's Pack gift set, but not much else.
HASBRO PR: We think you'll be very happy about the 2008 Squad lineup.
16BIT.COM: Hasbro expanded its 7-inch unleashed line to include Transformers as well as Star Wars this year. With the interest in high-end Marvel collectibles, will we see some of these budget-friendly figure statues for Marvel/Spidey?
HASBRO PR: Possibly. We have Spider-Man Unleashed 360 figures coming out this Fall featuring 8-inch scaled articulated figures - they look amazing!
16BIT.COM: Has the Attacktix brand been killed? We've seen lots of nifty items for it posted to Hasbro.com and at conventions for not only Marvel/Spidey but also Star Wars and Transformers, yet it seems after several months (if not a year) none of these have shown up for pre-orders or in stores. Please tell us these awesome firing figures still have a future!
HASBRO PR: We love Attacktix and we currently looking at future possibilities for this line!
EDITOR'S NOTE: As we work in marketing, we know a diversion when we smell it-- for those who haven't been watching this closely, Hasbro has revealed products for Transformers Movie Attacktix, Series 2 of Marvel, Series 5 o Star Wars, Series 2 of Transformers, and tons of other one-off products since Comic-Con 2006 last July with some being shown as recently as Star Wars Celebration IV last May-- and none of these have hit yet. This "we love it and are looking at the future" answer is very similar to what Hasbro PR told Zoids fan sites in, if memory serves, around late 2003, and when we attended New York Toy Fair in 2004, we were told by the showroom staff that they "were not familiar with that line." As such, we're taking this to mean Attacktix is dead for at least the year and more likely permanently-- of course, as you can see above, this isn't official, just our (somewhat?) informed opinion.
16BIT.COM: Are there any plans to integrate media (comics, DVDs, etc.) in with the Marvel products?
HASBRO PR: We've revisited the classic comic concept several times over the last year. To be honest, it's a trade off - comic vs articulation/decos. There are pros and cons to each. In the end, we felt our efforts would be better spent on product features. We think the majority of collectors and fans of the Legends line would agree.
16BIT.COM: When will we see some sort of mail-in offer with your Marvel lines?
HASBRO PR: There are no current plans for a mail-in offer... the information age has stolen a little "Pizazz" from the traditional "Mail Away". I'm still waiting for my 1982 Mail Away Cobra Commander... I dropped like 5 flag points in the mail 25 years ago! Where is that thing?
EDITOR'S NOTE: While we're sure his comments were in jest, we get a lot of email from fans about how Hasbro drops the ball on mail-in offers-- just so you dear readers know, Hasbro actually wants you to contact them if the defined date range (usually 90 days, or 6-8 weeks, or some such) has passed and your mail-in figure or other item has not yet arrived. (Also, Hasbro isn't shying away from mail-ins for Star Wars or G.I. Joe, so we're a little disappointed that they aren't going to give us another toy to look forward to in the mail for Marvel.)
We comment because we love-- Hasbro and your PR house, we salute you for putting up with our crap yet again and we look forward to the next installment in July! Fans, send in your questions!
--AP
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Indiana Jones: Licensees!
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According to this big piece of corporate fluff Indiana Jones.com's new announcement, it looks like we're finally going to get some new Indy toys and stuff. Outside of Disney park items, there really haven't been many plastic toys since Galoob did some Micro stuff around 1996, if memory serves. According to this list, the two most exciting companies to do stuff are going to be Hasbro and LEGO, with lots of other companies doing things like food premium tie-ins, books, and more. All in all, it looks like a decent batch of stuff, we're quite keen to see what "action figures and vehicles" gets us especially if they're compatible with Star Wars or G.I. Joe. We can't wait for more-- we're suckers for this kind of stuff and we hope someone shows something off in the not-too-distant future.
We saw no mention of busts, prop replicas, or high-end collectibles as of yet.
--AP
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Boston Chocolate Pretzel
June 21, 2007 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 410
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 Today at Galactic Hunter we look at the supremely narrow San Hill. He's thin, had a minor on-screen role in the saga, and is only available as part of a boxed set. So should you track down this evil space money man? Read on!
--AP
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Kill Bill: 4-Disc Mega DVD
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 Over at The Digital Bits, there's a posting with news surrounding Kill Bill - The Whole Bloody Affair, a 4-disc, 247-minute orgy of awesomeness and chicks and swords and everything you love (or hate) about this kind of movie. Apparently it's coming in November if this is a legit listing, which we question as there's no price. Pretty cool if it's real though.
--AP
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Ad: Much New Hasbro Star Wars at Entertainment Earth
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 Over at Entertainment Earth, there's seven new cases of Hasbro Star Wars figures up for order plus new plushes, backpacks, exclusives, and much more. Tons. Like, holy crap, you should click through and see some of this stuff-- if you like Star Wars, otherwise don't bother. This is your first crack at the 30th Anniversary Collection Wave 6 & 7, plus the Ultimate Galactic Hunt figures with gold coins. As these are first-come, first-served, just remember that ordering today puts you at the front of the line, while waiting means you'll be at the end. If this matters to you. (It's in your best interest to order early since you can cancel your order with no penalty.)
And as always, buying through these shameless plugs means we get a nickel or two, and we appreciate your shined nickels and loose change.
From left to right: 30th Anniversary Wave 6, Wave 7, EE SDCC Exclusive Bobble Head, 30th Ultimate Galactic Hunt Waves (there are four of them). Click through for pricing and availability. Thanks for reading! (But mostly stuffing our coffers.)
--AP
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G.I. Joe 25th Figures: Baroness, Destro Profiled
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 Two of the many new figures coming out shortly have been profiled (reviewed and... archived, we guess) over at YoJoe! By and large, we're happy with what we see. (Well, although it looks like they twisted Destro's arms all funny so his armpits are where his shoulders should be.) It seems they did a bang-up job putting extra details into Destro (which is nice to see given he has no chrome head), and the Baroness ain't half bad either. Check 'em out!
--AP
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Entertainment Earth Podcast (powered by 16bit.com) |
Podcast #51: June 22, 2007
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Star Wars 30th Anniversary Wave 3 Action Figures Reviewed! We examine more Summer convention fun, new movie releases, upcoming action figures, and other fun stuff. Oh, and loads of DVD release dates for you disc fans out there.
Click here to visit the Episode #51 page at Entertainment Earth.
--AP
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How to sign up
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For starters: You do not need an iPod to hear a Podcast. Podcasting is just a fancy word for "hack job internet radio show," which is exactly what we're aiming to produce here.
If you have iTunes 4.9 or above: You can subscribe to it for free. Just search for "Adam Pawlus" under Podcasts in the iTunes music store, or just go to "Subscribe to Podcast" and paste in "http://www.entertainmentearth.com/podcasts/podcast.xml". And you should be all hooked up.
If you're using an RSS reader: Subscribe to this feed: "http://www.entertainmentearth.com/podcasts/podcast.xml".
If you are using Safari: click here.
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Any Caller At All
June 25, 2007 |
Star Wars Q&A Updated at Galactic Hunter
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Galactic Hunter has posted a Q&A column by yours truly. Read on!
Also, Figure of the Day has been updated! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of the 30th Anniversary Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!
From left to right: Luke Skywalker, Kashyyyk Trooper, Battle Droid, Kabe. Go to Galactic Hunter for the next update, with the 415th installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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Video Game Sales Of Note
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 Depending on where you shop, some of the chain stores (OK, just Toys "R" Us) have some notable deals this week. If you buy an Xbox 360 at Toys "R" Us, you get a $50 gift card to use on your next purchase. If you buy 2 Nintendo DS games, you get 1 free. Obviously, visit the store for details, but hey, good news.
Also, PSP Final Fantasy is supposedly coming out on Tuesday. We'll probably have to buy it because we're stupid like that.
--AP
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Masterpiece G1-ish-Accurate Starscream Coming?
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  If you believe the hype-- and we do-- you'll want to see this eBay auction before it closes to see what seems to be a factory sample of the Masterpiece Edition Starscream, but in the cartoon colors. According to speculation, this is for the US market. Given what little we've seen in terms of retail SKUs for it, we're going to assume it's somebody's exclusive. If it comes out in the USA we're totally going to buy one.
--AP
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Look, do you want to hear about this goblin or not?
June 26, 2007 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 415
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 Today at Galactic Hunter we look at the Geonosian War Chamber edition of Count Dooku. He's got a long face and a big hand to hold the Death Star accessory-- so should you go get one of these? Is it so cool that you need yet another figure of Christopher Lee in the same freaking outfit? Read on!
--AP
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25th Anniversary G.I. Joe Wave 2/September Wave Revealed
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 From Entertainment Earth (and other stores): Wave 2 has been revealed! Coming this September are such classics as Beachhead, Buzzer, Lady Jaye, Cobra Trooper (different SKU from Cobra Officer), and of course, Serpentor. This new batch of basic figures brings the basic figure breakdown from the first two waves to 5 Cobra figures and 5 Joe figures. (Counting carded Storm Shadow as a Joe.) Not a bad ratio so far, eh? We loves the Cobra. Click here to pre-order/see the case for yourself, or check out our updated checklist.
--AP
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Wii Virtual Console This Week
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 From the Nintendo 64: F-Zero X, a game which we really, really dig-- seriously, it's a lot of fun. From the Super NES: Capcom's Super Street Fighter II Turbo. You know the drill. Also from the TurboGrafx-16, it'ss China Warrior, which nobody cares about because nobody knows what it is and it's probably a waste of your six bucks.
--AP
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Wal-Mart's Robot Heroes Exclusive Set Arrives
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 While Hasbro posted on their web site that this would be available on June 2, well, nobody actually found one. Until yesterday. In LA, we hit two separate Wal-Mart stores and both carried the Decepticon Sneak Attack gift set for under $10. Each store had a full endcap of them, along with the Optimus Prime Blaster (repaint of an Energon toy). However, we're here to talk about the robot heroes as those are actually pretty cool.
As you can see in this high-quality picture of it on our computer desk chair, it has an embossed Transformers logo on the top and a small diorama inside made out of cardboard, just like the Star Wars sets. It includes five repaints, with two new characters (Cliffjumper & Skywarp), two "supermetal" figures (Optimus Prime & Megatron), and one "invisible" character (Mirage). For the price, it's excellent-- and if you're collecting the line, it's a very nice gift set to add to your collection.
--AP
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Just A Wild Stab in the Dark
June 27, 2007 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 416
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 Today at Galactic Hunter we look at the green repaint (or at least one of them) of the Clone Trooper. He's in the 442nd Siege Battalion from Cato Nemoidia, but we know and you know it's just the orange Utapau Clone, with the orange swapped for green. But it's still good, right? Read on!
--AP
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Transformers Movie Robot Heroes Revealed
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 We're enamored with the whole Robot Heroes concept, but when it comes to movie toys, well, not so much. We may have to revist our stance after seeing this cardback scan at TFW2005 which shows eight of the upcoming mini-figures. We rather like Optimus, Jazz, Bumblebee, Barricade, and Frenzy. But Megatron? Not so much. Still, we gotta get at least that Optimus. Click through for more.
--AP
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New Spider-Toon Coming
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 Everybody and their brother is reporting on the new Kids WB show, so we're going to link to the Superherohype.com story with image. It's called The Spectacular Spider-Man, will start this Fall, and should help sell more toys. (That's the point of a cartoon these days right?)
It looks decent. There were two other Spider-Man shows in recent history that were actually pretty good. In the 1990s, we had the Fox Kids show with cruder-than-acceptable animation but overall entertaining stories. MTV had its own show animated by Mainframe (the Reboot/Beast Wars people) which was pretty decent, but very strange looking. Who knows what this new series will bring? We'll be watching!
--AP
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Out The Window
June 28, 2007 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 417
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 Today at Galactic Hunter we look at the Yavin Ceremony version of Princess Leia Organa. As one of the final figures of 1998, how does she hold up? Is it time to go back and redo her for the ultra-modern collector? Read on!
--AP
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Transformers News Round-Up
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 We start off this chunk of news with Target's new exclusives, as revealed by their own website for a change. New scout repaints include Elita One, Armorhide, and Air Raid. News to us!
Over at Botcon, which is this weekend, they're starting to get some new news out. For starters, there's an attendee-exclusive clear Classics Mirage, which may be the best ever guest-only freebie we've ever seen. It's cool enough so if you got one, you'd like it, but not so new and different that if you missed it, you'd be crying. We still want one, but we're realistic. You can see it at TFW2005, where they also have info on the do-it-yerself customizing class exclusive Overkill, modeled after the cassette Decepticon and the Grimlock mold.
More will be coming over the weekend, so we can't wait to see it all!
--AP
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New Wii Smash Bros. Images
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 Several new images of Super Smash Bros. Brawl are up at The Magic Box, including shots of Princess Zelda, Pit (Kid Icarus), and an unarmored Samus Aran from Metroid. Well worth a look!
--AP
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What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse
June 29, 2007 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 418
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 Today at Galactic Hunter we look at a bookworm of a droid with JN-66, part of a two-pack of Jedi research droids from 2003. Finally, robots that can do your homework! Why should you get this digital poindexter? Read on!
--AP
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Transformers News Round-Up, Again
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 First up, the Botcon people put up a page with the show exclusives you didn't see before, like Springer, Huffer, and... well, just go see them.
Also, this site from Asia has a blocky Optimus Prime toy that's worth a look. We don't know the story, but it's fun to see.
Finally, Hasbro is bringing Pepsi Optimus Prime to its summer conventions. Word on the street has it that it'll sell for $25. You can see pictures and more here.
We'd write more but we're busy playing video games before bed.
--AP
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Click Here For News From May!
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