Exclusive ReAction Alien Nostromo Crew Figure Set for NYCC

From therobotvoice, Alien is still the best ReAction figure license, because it’s the only one actually based on old Kenner molds. Furthering the tribute, this special set mimics some of the earliest Star Wars figure multipacks, and gives us a sign that New York Comic Con is really starting to pick up steam in the exclusive toy department. I believe this is the first-ever action figure of Lambert, played by Veronica Cartwright in the movie and made here without likeness rights because it doesn’t have to look like her on a sculpt this basic. You may not see another, unless Reaction gets the Witches of Eastwick license and decides that a figure of her vomiting cherries is a must-have.

New 'Star Wars' toys to be unveiled on 'Force Friday' at Toys R Us, Walmart, more

From newsday, Force Friday" is upon us. Toy retailers are gearing up to launch new "Star Wars" products with midnight opening events, giveaways and more around the country.

Counting down to the release of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," major toy stores, such as Toys R Us, Walmart and the Disney Store are debuting hundreds of toys at 12:01 a.m. on "Force Friday," Sept. 4.

"When the first 'Star Wars' film and products were released in 1977, it represented, in essence, the birth of the modern movie-merchandising business," said Marty Brochstein, senior vice president, industry relations and information of the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association. "This marks the first time that Disney and LucasFilms have joined forces for a 'Star Wars' film and associated merchandising. The combination of these two powerhouses combined with the anticipation for the first new 'Star Wars' movie in 10 years makes this time around seem different and special. The unprecedented global plans for 'Force Friday' is something we have never seen before with a consumer products rollout and sets the stage for a marketing effort that will last through the mid-December film release -- and beyond."

Here's a rundown of what you can expect at a few major toy stores:

Toys R Us: The company's international flagship store, Toys R Us Times Square in New York City, will host a "Star Wars" toy exhibition leading up to the midnight opening, welcoming fans with costumed characters, signing events, giveaways and more on Thursday, Sept. 3. The NYC store will also include events such as an art class meet and greet with "Star Wars" and science fiction artist, Jeff Carlisle, "Star Wars" product demonstrations, including "Star Wars"-themed 3-D action figure creation with 3D Plus Me, video gaming and more, a Lego "Star Wars" make and take, a Light Saber Academy with members of the New York Jedi, a community of cosplayers, martial artists and teachers, photo opportunities with costumed characters, including Furbacca, a character versioned after the Hasbro toy that makes wookiee sounds like Chewbacca, Geoffrey the Giraffe and more, cooking decorating, trivia contests and much more.

At 12:01 a.m. on Sept. 4, Toys R Us locations in the U.S., Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the U.K. will open for eager fans. The first customers to line up for the debut will receive "Star Wars" giveaways, including an exclusive poster. All the U.S. stores will also open at midnight and families will receive special giveaways, including a limited edition Lego "Star Wars" Commemorative Brick and an exclusive "Star Wars" poster, while supplies last. Visit toysrus.com/StarWars for more information.

Walmart: At 12:01 a.m. on Sept. 4, Walmart will begin their "Force Friday" events in 2,900 Walmart stores. Customers will get their hands on new "Star Wars" toys, including items sold exclusively at Walmart. You'll also have the chance to preorder the Legendary Yoda and check out the "Star Wars" Galactic Connexions trading disc game by Topps. At the midnight events, Walmart will give away a limited edition two-pack of the discs. For more information, visit walmart.com/starwars.

Disney Store: The flagship location in New York City is also hosting midnight events. The first 1,000 guests will receive a free "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" D23 commemorative fan poster. In all Disney Store locations, "Force Friday" day celebrations on Sept. 4 include a galactic twist on the traditional "Unlocking Imagination" ritual. Other activities include a free pin to the first 100 guests who make a purchase on "Force Friday," R2-D2 crafts, "Star Wars" story time and more. For more details, visit disneystore.com/ForceFriday.

Additionally, you can get a sneak peek of new "Star Wars" products in the first-ever global live toy unboxing event on the "Star Wars" YouTube channel. Unfolding over 18 hours in 15 cities and 12 countries, the event will see highlights from the range of merchandise revealed. The live stream kicks off in Sydney, Australia at 7:45 a.m., local time on Thursday, Sept. 3 with a finale at Lucasfilm in San Francisco at 8 a.m. (11 a.m. EST).

"Force Awakens" Toys To Make Silly Money

From darkhorizons, The $4 billion that Disney spent on Lucasfilm is now beginning to look like a bargain.

With Disney and Lucasfilm set to unleash "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" related merchandise into stores around the world this weekend, a new report from Macquarie Securities analyst Tim Nolle to THR suggests that the new film could generate $5 billion in consumer merchandise sales in its first year of release:


"It's not clear how to model this as we can't name a similar such event. But looking at another successful Disney franchise, Cars 2 sold more than $2.8 billion worth of merchandise in its first year alone in 2011, and the original Cars movie sold approximately $10 billion worth of merchandise in its first five years of release.

Taking into account the strength of the Star Wars franchise, which has altogether sold over $20 billion worth of licensed goods in its lifetime, we estimate that Star Wars: The Force Awakens could perhaps bring in merchandise sales of $5 billion in the first year."

That also just takes into account the one movie, and not the subsequent sequels or spin-off films. The report also says they expect the film to gross around $2 billion at the global box office, netting nearly $1.2 billion in revenue for the company and putting it behind only "Avatar" and "Titanic".

In related news, photographs of some of this merchandising over at Jedi Temple Archiveshave revealed two more alien characters set to appear in the film - one seems to be a Jakku scavenger named Sarco Plank, the other a Resistance pilot named Asty.

Also, EA and Lucasfilm have debuted a trailer for the upcoming mobile title "Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes" which you can see below. The game will be made available for iOS and Android devices later this year.

Pretty Much EVERY 3.75-Inch Star Wars: The Force Awakens Figure Has Been Revealed

From toplessrobot, Due to stores selling things early, the whole first wave of 3-3/4" figures has been purchased at various venues around the country. For the benefit of those who still want to try to go in to stores on Sept. 4th absolutely cold, I'm going to keep major details below - I figure showing a Kylo Ren face is safe because obviously a Kylo Ren figure was coming. With the sheer amount of reveals and photos out there, though, I'll be amazed if Hasbro still tries to keep it all a secret and doesn't release better official pics.

The bad news for collectors is that these figures only have five points of articulation - it looks like Hasbro has made the clear choice that only figures aimed at collectors get the full range of poseability. I wouldn't discount the chance that you'll see some of these new characters get 3-3/4" "Black" treatment later down the line, but how many will hold out for that?

The good news for those who want to avoid spoilers is that only two of the figures are characters I haven't seen before, and neither is one of the major players we have yet to see (no Andy Serkis or Max von Sydow yet, in other words). Some are original trilogy icons, who look like repacks, albeit with a gimmick.

The gimmick with these figures is that they come with oversized weapons that can combine to make small robots - a separate series of boxed 3-3/4 figures come with a large torso "armor" piece that functions as a mini-costume change.

And yeah, Captain Phasma is silver paint, not chrome. I'm just hoping the 6" line are more in line with what I like.

Will you be picking any of these up come Sept. 4th?

That Old Evel Knievel Wind-up Motorcycle Toy Is Coming Back

From toplessrobot, Every kid I knew had this growing up, and I cannot recall one ever actually working properly - he'd go sideways and fall off almost immediately. Not unlike his real-life canyon jump, it carried the expectation of coolness without much execution.

With Forever Fun remaking it from the original parts, with necessary tweaks for today's safety standards, can they tweak it to actually do what it oughta while they're at it? Once again, what looks cool may not deliver - but at $50, it's cheaper than some nostalgia toys.

Custom made Atari action figures

From chicagotoycollector, A lot of classic Atari titles received very little merch (or none at all), which is why some of these games have endured as classics, in my opinion. If Atari had been shoving merchandise down our throats for every franchise, maybe we all would've grown sick of these games.

Either way, if Atari had decided in the 80's to cash in on their popular games, this is exactly what their toys would’ve looked like (in my opinion). While the last batch of Atari figures I made were constructed from vintage GI Joes, these were made from vintage Kenner Star Wars toys, giving them a classic 80’s look.

And rather than make them only for myself, I made a few extra Missile Command figures and a few extra Berzerk figures to sell. They're all on eBay now for $50 each.

Click here to buy a Missile Command figure.
Click here to buy a Berzerk figure.
Click here to see a video of an idiot falling off a ladder.

Funko Reaction figures get some competition from Big Bang Pow!

No sooner was I singing the praises of Funko Reaction figures (see below) when I stumbled upon Big Bang Pow! and their upcoming Flash Gordon line!  Could this be the beginning of a 3"2/4 action figure revolution?!  Although Flash Gordon has been done before I am encouraged that others see jumping on the 3"3/4 action figure line.  I can't wait for Gene Simmons to meet Darth Vader...

I can't wait for Trek Reaction!

I've been really bored with the action figure scene for a few years now.  Star Wars figures have devolved into over-priced crap with characters based on the animated shows (yawn) and no-one else has been releasing anything interesting...until Funko Reaction figures!!!  Funko figured out what made the original Star Wars figures so much fun.  Rather than the over-articulated, cheaply made action figures of today Funko went back to basics and have released a ton of product in a short period of time.  What makes these figures special, aside from their compatibility with Star Wars figures is that the figures are sturdy, simplistic, colorful, and they come in my favorite scale 3"3/4!  For the first time ever I can have Spock meet C3PO, etc.  I have purchased numerous Reaction figures over the past few months including the Alien, Horror Movies, and Monster sets and I have been delighted with the quality.  I can't wait for future releases!

Hilarious custom Jaws "action figure" on Ebay