@travmoody
Revenge of the Fifth is right because I want want want the Star Wars Black Series Anakin Skywalker Archive figure as bad as he wanted Padme’s babies, but Luke’s young pops currently goes for more than double (and even triple!) the cost on EBay. This is the way. Sadly, but it’s not like I got any more trips to Japan lined up or any gas to pump into my SUV these days or anything…
It’s a Star Wars Holiday week, so we’ll see how the market goes. But before I lay down my Top 5 Hasbro/Star Wars Wants (that focus on the 6-inch line, since bigger is better and “that’s what she said”), let’s talk news and rumors. According to much-respected SW action figure news dude Yakface, there are some new Black Series (TBS) and Vintage Collection (TVC) figures coming out later in 2020. He’s hinted at the following, which really cuts down the chase:
- None are clone characters
- None are Jedi/or former Jedi characters
- None are members of The Ghost crew characters
- None are PT characters
- None are OT characters
- None are ST characters
- One item is TVC
- One figure is an alien
- One is a vehicle
- Two items have never been released by Hasbro before
- All five are related by their source material
Well, with all the no-no-no’s and today’s hottest Star Wars trend, the releases just scream The Mandalorian, and one comment geek (jedipatrick, and not our Star Wars Patrick, cause he’s in the 501st!) took it a step further. With SDCC, D23, NYCC, etc. exclusives out of the window, at least in the flesh, these are the almost all non-droids we may be looking for:
– Black Series Mandalorian Speeder Bike with Biker Scout
– Black Series Kuiil
– Black Series Moff Gideon
– Black Series Remnant Stormtrooper
– TVC IG-11
This seems accurate as heck. I mentioned in our Hasbro Fan First Friday report that I was disappointed that Moff (who has his own Pop now, see below!) wasn’t announced yet for the Black Series. I don’t usually do human figures, but who wouldn’t want a “Better Call Saul Gus Fring Cosplaying As A Bad-Ass Star Wars Dude” action figure?
Funko Pop Vinyl’s are a great indication of what’s to come, seeing how they’re much swifter to produce than a full blown, ultra-detailed action figure. The Mando Speeder is coming. Kuiil is a fan favorite (and alien!), but I see him warming up pegs; for whatever reason, non-Baby Yoda/The Child aliens don’t have much demand in the Star Wars toy world. The wants mostly come in the form of helmeted soldiers and troopers, with some vintage love for Luke and Han– hence jedipatrick’s educated guess for a Remnant Stormtrooper. I may pass on that if it’s too close to the Mimban Trooper (a Wal Mart exclusive that I own).
That leaves 3 strong options for The Vintage Collection, the 3.75″ line that is dying a slow death over at Hasbro: 1.) jedipatrick’s IG-11, 2.) The Child, because.. why not? Everything else is The Child nowadays, 3.) Beskar Armor Mandalorian. All three are great guesses for all the right reasons. But since I only collect the 6″, I’ll be passing anyway.
***THIS JUST IN*** from the Yakface Forums…
The long rumored third wave of figures in the 6″ Black Series TESB 40th Anniversary assortment have now popped up in the Walmart app. As you may recall, this wave consists of the Snowtrooper, Luke Skywalker (Dagobah), Chewbacca, Boba Fett and Darth Vader. The listing of these figures suggest that pre-orders will open in the near future.
What do you think of the hints and news from Yakface and these guesses for the next big TBS/TVC reveals from Hasbro? Leave an opinion in the comments below the article!
MOODY’S TOP 5 BLACK SERIES WANTS/NEEDS
5.) Jyn Erso (SDCC 2016 Exclusive) – Funny for two reasons: A.) Jyn (of Rogue One fame) has been warming pegs for a few years now– despite being completely bad-ass, beautiful and being in that rare Star Wars movie that’s nearly adored by all. B.) But, this is the Comic-Con version, and I lost it. Or my best friend lost it. Or my ex-girlfriend lost it. Either way, she’s gone and I want her back. And I almost got her last night, but the Ebayer wouldn’t budge on my offer.
A lousy $10 separated us, but sometimes you gotta draw the line. I already paid $25 for her at Comic-Con, so paying more than $20 over that price again is right at my limit. That means SDCC Jyn would wind up $70 total, but that’s about how much she goes for on the extra market anyway. She’s not a bad figure, but the packaging is where it’s at. And, I’d like something in my collection from Rogue One. That movie rocks.
4.) Clone Commander Wolffe – GameStop exclusives are the worst. Not only is it.. well.. GameStop.. but some of the very best releases in the line have been GS exclusives. Crazy! It’s especially the worst since GSTBS exclusives seem to be the hardest non-Con figs to get in the line. Hell, I’m surprised that The Force Unleashed Shadow Storm Trooper is still available for pre-order 12-hours after it launched.
Anyway, designate CC-3636 has some of the best color scheme armor in the galaxy and a cool ass scar over his left eye, fitting for his time heading the Wolfpack troupe. He currently goes for about $130 on EBay— if you can even find him.
3.) Clone Commander Cody – See above, but.. orange. Here’s how much you’d have to fork over for Triple C, who’s only available via the Blue Line. Bummer. I’m smelling a second Archive wave coming soon, though…
2.) Purge Stormtrooper (Jedi: Fallen Order) – Good fucking luck with that! All weekend I’ve refreshed this link, hoping the force would guide me to an acquisition of the hardest new figure in the line to snatch. Had I known Ebayers would be purging this Trooper from GameStops — yes, this bad boy’s an F’N GS exclusive again — I would have bought this special edition of Jedi: Fallen Order (complete with figure). Aw, well.
The good news is that the aforementioned placeholder was recently posted again on GS. The bad news is that the website has placeholders for a bunch of figures that have never/hardly been restocked again, so there’s that.
1.) Anakin Skywalker (Archive) – My faithful Sith! You may have seen my Facebook post yesterday on why I had no idea just how fantastic the Archive Edition of Anakin looked. While never a true hater of Anakin nor Hayden Christensen, I never cared to pick up a figure of his. But after marathoning The Prequel Trilogy yesterday, I’ve discovered a newfound respect for my boy Annie. Sure, he had some wack lines and questionable emotions, but there’s no questioning how dope he was towards the very end of Revenge of the Sith. And this character reflects that…
***THIS JUST IN!!!*** No joke, but I just bought him! Yeah! Copped Annie for $40 on Ebay with free shipping. My motto is: if a figure is that rare and you want it that bad, paying $20 over the cost ain’t too shabby. FYI, the Archive line was meant to prevent the original Black Series “Orange Line” figures from being only available on second-hand markets, but now a year/year-and-a-half later, all of the Archive joints are.. on the second-hand market. The price of pain, my brothers and sisters. The price of pain.
Hope you had a wonderful Revenge of the Fifth.
-Travis Moody