Rants & Raves

Hasbro, you have treated 6″ collectors very well with the four-decade celebration of 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope. The collection of vintage Kenner-inspired card backs was an interesting take for The Black Series line, but it worked out well because collectors bought them up. Sadly, you provided 3.75″ super-articulated collectors with a paltry line of 3.75″ Titanium figures that were both terrible and a slap in the face. So, can we ask you to do something special for us for 2020, please? (more….)

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Hasbro, there is an AWFUL rumor circulating (NOT FROM JTA) that all of the straight repacks you announced this past weekend WILL NOT come with Photo Real deco. We don’t see how that’s possible. You said that all figures released going forward would have Photo Real on them. On the contrary, we’ve also heard they WILL COME with Photo Real deco. At this point, we’re not sure what’s happening with them. But if you don’t include Photo Real deco, it will be one of your most egregious mistakes to date. (more….)

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I am trying my best not to have an aneurysm after learning today’s news that Hasbro is re-releasing the plain white infantry Clone Trooper (VC45) figure from The Vintage Collection, another one of their many repacks for the line we discovered today. I’m shaking my head in disbelief. You have to wonder if they have any understanding of the line, or if they really listen to us after claiming they do. If they decided to re-release this figure’s sculpt, then why the heck did they not choose to go with the Clone Captain (red) or Clone Commander (yellow) that we’ve been waiting a decade to receive? Hasbro, if you have any mercy on our nerves, PLEASE skip the all-white Clone Trooper and get these Clone Officers out in the line first. It’s a stat emergency! It’s an action figure CODE RED (and YELLOW)! It’s way beyond the threshold of pain that we’ve been waiting for these figures. What’s the issue?

Two brand new The Black Series [Phase III] 6″ figures ALWAYS means two to four The Vintage Collection straight repacks. Sigh. When do you think Hasbro will catch on that they’re destroying the line? But maybe not all is lost if they do a couple of things differently. (more….)

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Hasbro, we have to chat. Thank you for providing us definitive updates of the Luke Skywalker (Yavin) and Princess Leia Organa (Yavin) figures. You did a fantastic job on them, and the enhancements you made to the figures are appreciated. But did you realize you produced these characters as they appeared at the very end of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope? You forgot to update these characters in their outfits at the BEGINNING of the film. We made it easy for you. We provided images of the figures you neglected to update. Click through for more!

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Yes. This one is going to be a doozy.

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With all that’s slowly getting leaked and revealed for Triple Force Friday, I can’t help but be reminded of a Season 5 Happy Days television episode whose plot point became a universal line of demarcation for something that changes so drastically from its original intent it becomes unwelcomed.

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Have you fully processed that the Hasbro The Rise Of Skywalker toy line will be the first without a range of 3.75″ figures outside of The Vintage Collection yet? It’s true. And you could say that this means that The Rise Of Skywalker is initiating the decline of 3.75″!

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OK, perhaps “Hasta la vista!” is a BIT of an exaggeration, but what’s going on at retail when it comes to The Vintage Collection? TARGET has nothing beyond wave 1. And every Walmart near me has flat out removed it from the microscopic Star Wars section it maintains, which currently just has cheap roleplay lightsabers and Solo-era TBS6 figures.  Clearly, The Black Series 6″ is faring no better. Yes, we’re gearing up for Triple Force Friday, so we’re likely in a transitional stage, but how can collectors vote with their wallets if there is nothing out there to purchase and support? Goodness, gracious me.

Yes, I’m beating a dead horse again. Deal with it. And we’re probably TOO MANY years deep into Hasbro’s current approaches where the current direction is impossible to change back, but I still think it’s worth mentioning. (more…)

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The Junkman is a huge Star Wars fan and on his Star Wars YouTube channel he posted an epic 18 minute rant about how fed up he is with not being able to ever find anything he wants in stores. The Junkman has some inside knowledge and in the video he talks about how stores usually never get orders fulfilled by Hasbro. And he wonders why that is so.
What do you think? Do you feel the same as The Junkman? Does it annoy you that it’s virtually impossible to find things you want in stores or how so many things are exclusives and that you have to jump through so many hoops to get something? Or that even online pre-orders get cancelled (only to become available again later, of course)? Does Hasbro really make it too difficult for fans to give them their money, as The Junkman repeatedly says in his video? Or do you think he’s going somewhat over the top here and things are not as bad?
In Germany I have all but given up to buy anything Star Wars related in stores. The toyline is virtually an online exclusive here (or I buy from Amazon USA). If I want to have a good laugh I go to the toy section of a huge German department store chain and see how they try to sell TBS TLJ Poe or Finn for 35 euros or Force Link Rose Tico for 15 euros, they never received (or ordered) any new figures. But at least I can usually get whatever I want online, even all the US exclusives. At insane prices, of course. Watch the video and leave your thoughts in the comments! One word of warning: the video contains some strong language, but nothing too bad!

The Walmart exclusive TVC Jabba’s Palace (Adventure Set) is the hybrid of many perfect things. It’s why it’s selling out the moment it goes back in stock. And it’s why we are still talking about it after so many posts. But today I noticed something that concerns me. (more….)

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The 3.75″ Star Wars collecting community is divided on the Retro Collection. So, I am going to give you a reality check.

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Without a doubt, the best The Vintage Collection reveal for me is the convention exclusive Luke Skywalker three-pack. This set is the treatment the greatest hero of the Star Wars saga deserves. But I can’t help but think one way this set could have been improved. (more….)

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While rummaging through some stuff in my shed this week, I came across a series of two-paks from the 30 (77-07) line. These six Walmart exclusives offered very little newness to the line (the buildable C3PX notwithstanding), and it got me thinking about what’s missing with the Hasbro line post-2014. (more….)

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The dust has mostly settled with Jabba’s Sail Barge (The Khetanna). Those who received damaged product are set to receive a replacement. Orders are placed for missing parts. And Hasbro is organizing all the damage to Yak Face to see what can be done with those issues. But one thing I cannot understand is some people criticizing those who are selling their “extras” for profit. The criticism is beginning to boil over now. (more….)

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The headline of this article pretty much sums up what I think The Vintage Collection would say right now if it could speak. As someone who doesn’t swear, nor condones swearing, I apologize for the “crude” expression, but I can’t think of any other metaphorical saying that suits The Vintage Collection better. (more…)

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Did you ever wonder what will happen to your collection when you become one with the Force? I often wonder if people deep down inside feel that they’ll have their collections with them “on the other side.” And I also wonder if the generation that needed to have them all is but a remnant of who they once were. ABBA, whining, super-articulated Star Wars action figure collecting, and dying – it’s all ahead. (more….)

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If you would have asked me whether the return of The Vintage Collection would be the most exciting event of our lifetimes as collectors after Hasbro’s “Is Paul Harrison still conscious” Star Wars Celebration Orlando presentation announcing it was coming back, I would have told you that it was. And almost two full years of getting one repack announcement after another, I could honestly say to you that although I was disappointed, I still kept the faith. (more….)

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Paul talks about The Walking Dead from time to time here on JTA, so I thought, heck, why can’t I go off topic too, at least once… Also, it’s Friday night, things are usually slow now, not much going on, why not talk about something completely different? Let’s talk about Star Trek! That other franchise, right! However, I will also touch on Star Wars in my, let’s call it “rant”, so it’s not as off-topic as Paul’s TWD articles. Click through for my rant!

“Spock” (or is it Ash Tyler???)  kisses Michael passionately

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Everybody hates Chris, but no one more than me today. My good friend relayed to me in a conversation yesterday that wave 1 is hitting en masse all over Walmarts and it’s taking over the country. I had no clue because I am indifferent to Star Wars collecting at the moment. Also, I can’t remember the last time I entered a Walmart store, So my insatiable curiosity got the best of me and would only be quenched with a (gasp!) toy run. Well, to my utter disgust, wave 1 was indeed falling off of the pegs. There are so many figures hanging now that it looks like how the Solo line look launch should have looked in April. AND IT’S DECEMBER! (more….)

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It feels like The Vintage Collection is getting sucked into The Black Series 3.75″ vacuum. In what we thought would undoubtedly be a triumphant return, The Vintage Collection is plagued by what some might describe as significant problems. (And those problems have few solutions at this point.). Before we itemize all of its problems, it’s important to note that the rebirth of the illustrious The Vintage Collection line is something no collector should take for granted. It was in and of itself a miracle. After Hasbro gave up on the 3.75” super-articulated line and threw it out like a baby in bathwater by giving to Walmart, it felt like some divine intervention was at play that inspired Hasbro to take another chance at this fan-favorite line. (more….)

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You’d have to have your head buried in the sand not to be aware of the discontent brought to fans of the Hasbro Star Wars Brand, most notably The Black Series 6″ line and The Vintage Collection line and its availability at retail (all types). To ask how we got here is something that requires time, debate and discussions that encompass a whole gamut of factors. And if we utilized all of these angles to form a proper understanding, we probably would continue to debate it. There are too many “bad” things going on these days. (more….)

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This weekend for giggles I went on my first toy run probably since the “Solo” product launch. (For the record, I found nothing of importance on Wookiee Weekend either.) What I found on shelves this weekend disappointingly didn’t surprise me. I am so used to a letdown in the toy aisles of my local TARGET and Walmart stores that if I did find something of interest I might need a defibrillator. I couldn’t even muster up enough energy to take the cell phone from my pocket to snap a picture of the shelves so I could post an article about how badly the state of Star Wars retail is in this current era of collecting. Maybe I don’t have to do that anyway. I get plenty of reports from our readers. But if you post too much truth, you get a reputation for always posting “the sky is falling” and that your site doesn’t post “positive” stories. (more….)

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This past weekend a realization wouldn’t leave my mind. So, I wanted to address it with you. I was wondering, if Hasbro turned 2019 into a year that directly mimicked the Golden Age of Collecting (any time in between 2006 and 2012), would it reinvigorate your passion for the brand again?

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