Thursday, January 22, 2009

First look: 'Star Trek' toys boldly go nouveau



By Mike Snider, USA TODAY

A new Star Trek film without new toys would be, as Spock might say, highly illogical. So action figures and other items are beaming down to stores in advance of the J.J. Abrams-directed film, opening May 8.

The Playmates Toys' products, in stores starting April 19, are part of a marketing mission that includes Mattel Barbie collector dolls (Kirk, Spock and Uhura), trading cards, radio-controlled spaceships and board games.

The action figures re-energize a franchise that "helped prove figures based on science-fiction properties not directly created with kids in mind were a viable market," says Cliff Annicelli of Playthings magazine. "They paved the way for the development of what today is a cottage industry for collectible toys targeted primarily towards adult males."

The starring triumvirate of Kirk, Spock and McCoy will be available in 3¾-inch ($7), 6-inch ($9-$10) and 12-inch ($30) models. Also available will be figures of the original Spock, who meets the young Spock in a time anomaly. Other crewmembers will be available in the smaller sizes. Playsets include the Enterprise Bridge and Transporter Room.

The goal: to "make the brand more accessible to not only existing fans but to a new generation," says Liz Kalodner of CBS Consumer Products. "It's important to us that we honor the iconic property for what it has contributed to American pop culture."

"Since this is a whole new take on the franchise, we followed (Abrams') lead with a new approach including collectible features, new figure and vehicle scales, and new materials," Playmates' Paul Fish says.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

More new Legos!

Awesome shirt!

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Thursday, January 15, 2009

Look, they made Gay Darth Vader

I saw this at Target last night, in a comic-book two-pack with a bland Leia-in-combat-fatigues. The comic story in question is a "what if?" in which Darth survives the events of ROTJ and fights for the good guys afterwards.

I must admit I'm slightly tempted to have a white Darth Vader, but I avoided the temptation last night.

I'm hyperventilating





Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Micronauts commercial

Meh, new packaging design for Star Wars figures


From starwars.com, Fans and collectors will soon see a new packaging design across all Star Wars merchandise, courtesy of design agency Pilot as well as Lucasfilm's own Licensing team.

The timing of the new packaging design is intended to correspond roughly with the second season of The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network and to celebrate the launch of all new episodes. "We collaborated with Pilot just like we have in the past," says Lucas Licensing Director of Global Product Development Stacy Cheregotis. "We look to them for cutting edge design and creativity, and they look to us for direction about what we want to accomplish with the packaging."

Cheregotis says that there are several questions raised when approaching a new design: "Do we want the change to be revolutionary or evolutionary? Are there particular color palettes we want to work with? Are there elements of the new shows that should be reflected in the design? Are there lessons we learned from the last round of packaging?"

From these questions, Pilot is able to produce several design concepts for consideration by the Licensing team, which they review together. "We'll discuss our likes and dislikes, and that usually leads to a second round of design that is much more narrowed down," says Cheregotis. "And then it is a process of fine-tuning to arrive at the final designs."




[JPX] Man, I miss the good old days when Star Wars figures looked like the above samples. It sucks to get old.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

I like the new Snowtrooper

From rebelscum, For your viewing pleasure, here's a look at the Saga Legends Snowtrooper figure, which has just started showing up in stores, right after the New Year.

More Star Wars figures I will never own

From sirstevesguide, Be a part of the legacy! With dozens of movies, countless comics, and an entire library's worth of books and games, the Star Wars galaxy continues to expand!

The Legacy Collection brings back some old favorites as well as some new faces, bringing the fun back in a whole new way. These 3 3/4-inch scale plastic action figures each include accessories and feature tremendous detail, and you'll find such distinguishing touches as articulated wrists, removable helmets, and much more. This case includes 12 individually packaged action figures:

1x Captain Needa
1x Luke with new prosthetic hand
1x Emperor Palpatine
1x Ugnaught
1x Hoth Rebel Trooper
1x Princess Leia Medical Frigate

Monday, January 05, 2009

Terminator Salvation Action Figures


From slashfilm, /Film reader Evan K sends over these photos of Playmates line of Terminator Salvation action figures, and boy do they look ugly.

I’ve included more after the jump because they contain potential spoilers. And by saying potential spoilers, I mean that if you weren’t able to put 1 and 1 together when John Connor was yelling at Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) in the trailer, all is revealed here. I’ve actually been told that actual footage of this chatacter bruised and battered will be included in the pre-release advertising, so it technically shouldn’t be considered a spoiler at all.

Potential spolier here