Tag Archives: The Black Series
Hasbro completely ignores Star Wars Visions, the anthology series showcasing different takes on the Star Wars universe by Japanese anime studios. Whether you liked the shorts or not, you certainly won’t deny the fact that various character designs or even smaller things like the different lightsabers that more resemble traditional katana are visually striking and would make for excellent (action) figures. But this is a world where Marvel’s “What If” animated series can get a dedicated figure line in Marvel Legends (by the very same company that also has the Star Wars license), but Star Wars Visions gets nothing and things like The Bad Batch and even The Mandalorian get the bare minimum. Japanese toy company Banpresto is now the first to offer at least something for fans of the Visions aesthetics. You can buy three vinyl statues, the main characters from the short “The Twins” and Ronin from the episode of the same title. Why is the support of new Star Wars entertainment by Hasbro so lackluster and seriously lacking in almost any respect? Check out the Visions statues after the jump and let’s also discuss the appaling lack of support for new Star Wars series and movies by Hasbro.
Ronin vinyl statue from Banpresto
Tags: Hasbro, Star Wars Visions (Disney+ Series), The Black Series, The Vintage Collection
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The Black Series Rancor HasLab was launched 9 days ago. One day after the Rancor the very first GI Joe HasLab followed. And while the GI Joe HasLab is quite different, it’s much cheaper, it may still be interesting to compare the two. So where is the Rancor after 9 days and how does it compare to the GI Joe Skystriker? Click through for more info!
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Let me preface the following discussion by saying that I have nothing against the concept of deluxe figures. If a figure receives many more paint apps and/or accessories, if a figure requires extensive new tooling and many parts (maybe because of size) then a “deluxe” label is deserved. All these things cost money and when production costs are increased because of all the extra effort put into a figure then it’s only ok to ask for more money. However, I argue that Hasbro does nothing of the sort with their Black Series deluxe figures. Let us take a close look at the newly revealed Cobb Vanth figure to see why I think Hasbro’s version of “deluxe” is a scam and rips off collectors by asking for extra money without putting the extra effort in it. Click through for more!
Hasbro’s idea of a deluxe figure
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Hasbro revealed several new things for the Black Series in their Star Wars Pulse Con panel. Mandalorian fans have more figures to look forward to and Original Trilogy fans get a few more figures in the pipeline.
Mandalorian figures:
- Mandalorian Maldo Kreist build-up pack with Grogu and Ice Spider
- Migs Mayfeld Trooper Disguise
- Boba Fett Nomad Outfit
- Cobb Vanth Deluxe
There will also be three all new exclusive Galaxy Edge sets!
- First Order Pack with Hux, AT-AT Driver, Mouse Droid and an Imperial Astromech
- Droid Depot Pack with a KX-series droid, BB unit, Battle Droid and Babu Frik
- Creature Pack with two Kowakian Monkey Lizards, Mynok, two Porgs and Bogling
Three figures were revealed for the pipeline, so expect them much later in 2022!
- Figrin Dan
- Leia in her Ewok Village outfit
- Republic Security Droid (Mandalorian)
Check back later for updates!
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JTA reader Derek H. came across an interesting find at his local Target. These were available for a limited time online, so it’s likely a return. It’s interesting to see a convention exclusive in a retail store, however.
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Hasbro, there are some collectors who like the Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary The Power Of The Force “2” packaging. That’s fine. But if you must release figures in it, can you please get it right? Princess Leia (Ceremonial Outfit) (not “Yavin IV”) came in the final unique packaging of the Kenner/Hasbro The Power Of The Force “2” line, in “starburst” FlashBack and CommTech packaging, not the original red/green card backs. This version of Leia was also part of “The Princess Leia Collection” but that was different packaging too. Are you familiar with the different original modern toy line looks? Do you perform the appropriate research? It’s probably too late to fix, but you should, at the very least, know the error of your ways.
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Today’s livestream offered little new things for The Black Series, instead it would be more appropriate to call it “The Exclusive Repaint & Repack Series”… Click through for all the reveals!
UPDATED with photos and additional info and commentary!
I put a new teaser image here to celebrate the occasion!
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This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, JTA may receive a commission if you click and make a purchase.
Amazon has some pretty good deals on some in-stock The Vintage Collection and The Black Series figures today. Thanks to JTA reader Mike R. for the alert! Here are a few of interest…
- TVC Zutton ($9.99)
- TVC The Child ($10.99)
- TVC Greef Karga ($6.49)
- TBS 40th Princess Leia (Hoth) ($11.99)
- Retro Collection The Mandalorian ($9.95)
There are others listed, just scroll through their deals to check out the rest.
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The Black Series was launched in 2013 and was originally meant to be the definitive action figure version of beloved Star Wars characters. A lot has happened since then, so where is the line now, in 2021? The general feeling among many collectors is that exclusives are taking over and that repaints or kitbashes dominate the line now. But is any of that true? So I looked at the numbers to see how they really add up. Click through for an overview of the Black Series in 2021 and let’s have a discussion about whether or not Hasbro has taken a wrong turn.
Lazy repaint
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Since collectors seem to like carbonized figures Hasbro is making more of them. The official Star Wars site revealed earlier today that the Black Series will get three new carbonized figures from The Mandalorian. Available in spring 2022 will be Paz Vizla (formerly known as Heavy Mandalorian), a Shoretrooper and a Scout Trooper! All three figures will be TARGET exclusives. Happy hunting next year!
Will you add the carbonized Mandalorian figures to your collection or will you skip them?
Head to the official Star Wars site for the reveal!
More carbonized figures for the Black Series! Source: starwars.com
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Hasbro accidentally revealed what the upcoming Black Series HasLab is going to be: a Rancor. Now the big question is: is a Rancor all that exciting or actually kind of underwhelming? All the previous Star Wars and Marvel HasLab items impressed with their sheer size, how does the Rancor fit in here? So let’s look at the sizes of a few HasLab items to see how a Black Series Rancor would compare!
Update: after yesterday’s slip up Hasbro has now officially confirmed that the Rancor will indeed be the next Star Wars HasLab! The official Star Wars site has the announcement! And Patrick may get no dessert for the next month or so.
Rancor in Return of the Jedi
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A long time ago, we received intel that a 6″ The Black Series Rancor was in the works for the HasLab program. We couldn’t reveal much and had to play it off as a “fantasy” to protect our sources then, and the uncertainty that the Khetanna created for this new platform put the project on hiatus. Today, during a Q&A, Hasbro let it slip that it’s coming. Check it out!
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The leaked Black Series and Vintage Collection sets have now been officially revealed as exclusive Hasbro Pulse Con sets! Prices have also been revealed. And the Black Series will get yet another exclusive not revealed earlier today on Instagram: Dave Filoni’s Trapper Wolf character from The Mandalorian! Click through for a short discussion!
UPDATE: More photos added!
More exclusives
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The announcement of a very first Black Series HasLab was certainly a surprise! Patrick would not reveal any details, of course, other than that the item will not be a vehicle! So what could it be? It more or less boils down to a creature and/or figures. Unless it’s a diorama piece / playset? So what would you like the very first Black Series HasLab to be? A Rancor? Jabba’s Palace playset? Or maybe a set of Cantina aliens? Leave your suggestions in the comments!
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A ton of new and not so new Black Series figures were revealed in Hasbro’s livestream today! And a Black Series HasLab was announced! Click through for all the details!
UPDATED: Photos and additional info added!
Completing the Rogue One team
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Some Black Series figures are prone to falling over. This is just a fact of life. You learn to live with it. But now, in the span of just a few weeks, something broke when two figures decided to take a nap. Is that a common occurence or am I just very unlucky? What are your experiences? Click through for more!
About to break
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The Target Exclusive TBS Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary commemorative The Clone Wars figures are starting to arrive at brick and mortar. Daniel from the Georgia Alliance of Star Wars Collectors found these at his local Flowery Branch, GA Target.
Tags: Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary, TARGET, TARGET Exclusives, The Black Series, The Clone Wars
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Hasbro’s May 4th Fan First Tuesday livestream just concluded and several new Black Series figures were revealed! A focus was The Bad Batch which will receive three new figures. Click through for all the reveals!
The Bad Batch will get several new figures
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This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, JTA may receive a commission if you click and make a purchase.
Head to Amazon if you want to pick up The Black Series 4-LOM and Zuckuss set for a discounted price of $29.99. Thanks to JTA reader Scot for the alert!
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Not even toys are exempt from politics it seems. As you know, Hasbro plans to phase out all plastic packaging by the end of 2022. They make that bold statement, but then they qualify later as “wherever possible.” But the question begs to be asked. “Will this have any future impact on The Vintage Collection?” At the moment, The Black Series 6″ packaging could easily transition to an environmentally friendly packaging style, but this isn’t true for TVC. PackWorld.com has an excellent article on this matter. Interestingly, none of the partnered brands are mentioned specifically to receive any packaging changes, but who knows if that will change? While we sure anything helps with unwanted plastic waste, it’s ironic that Hasbro’s whole existence is based on producing environmentally harmful products: plastic toys.
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In recent times a new category of figures is on the rise in The Black Series: Kitbashed figures. Due to the nature of the all-new scale there were hardly any kitbashed figures for the first few years since each figure was all new and no tooling existed. But eight years later The Black Series has accumulated quite a number of sculpts and it seems Hasbro is greatly increasing their reuse of existing tooling for all new figures. So the question is: are you ok with that or would you rather have more figures will all-new tooling again? Click through for a discussion!
Basically Luke Skywalker with a rabbit head
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This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, JTA may receive a commission if you click and make a purchase.
We are updating and adding pre-order links to today’s reveals as we find them Here’s the complete list of both The Vintage Collection and The Black Series reveals that are up for pre-order today. Head over to Entertainment Earth or Amazon to pre-order! Direct links to the product pages will be added soon…
The Vintage Collection
- VC22 Admiral Ackbar (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
- VC62 Han Solo (Endor) (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
- VC95 Luke Skywalker (Hoth) (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
- VC105 Emperor’s Royal Guard (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
- Heavy Battle Droid (Battlefront II) (Entertainment Earth)
- Shadow Stormtrooper (The Force Unleashed) (Entertainment Earth)
- Scout Trooper (Jedi Fallen Order) (Entertainment Earth)
- Electrostaff Purge Trooper (Entertainment Earth Exclusive– You can get free shipping if you order 6)
The Black Series
- General Lando Calrissian (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
- Aurra Sing (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
- Tech (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
- Zero (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
- Koska Reeves (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
- Wedge Antilles Helmet Prop Replica (Entertainment Earth)
Tags: Entertainment Earth, Gaming Greats, Pre-Orders, The Black Series, The Vintage Collection
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We have looked at 6-inch scale Rey figures before, so it’s only logical to look at the other sequel trilogy main character: Kylo Ren aka Ben Solo. What is the best Kylo Ren 6-inch scale action figure? Is there an ultimate 6-inch scale action figure of him even? Click through for a retrospective of all available Kylo Ren action figures!
Would a Kylo Ren action figure cheer him up?
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Here are some quick pics of the Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary line of Kenner-inspired The Black Series 6″ figures, something Hasbro said they would never do for 3.75″ collectors despite constant begging, but have done it for 6″ collectors. Whatever. Enjoy the pictures courtesy of friend and JTA reader Alientek. They’re awesome figures!
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It’s time to continue the 1/12 scale Star Wars action figure retrospective! Today I want to focus on four prequel characters and their figures. Darth Maul, General Grievous, the Battle Droid and Padmé Amidala. Are any of their figures an ultimate version? Which of the available versions is the best? Click through for today’s battle of the 6-inch action figures!
Should Anakin talk about action figures instead to improve his chances?
Tags: BD-1 Battle Droid, Darth Maul, General Grievous, Padmé Amidala, S.H. Figuarts, The Black Series
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