Hasbro Unveils 'Star Wars: The Black Series' Line

[JediTricks]

This reminds me of that Titanium series of figures.... I may be wrong, but I seem to remember the only Luke in the line was either X-Wing or Snowspeeder pilot, and there was a sandtrooper but no stormtrooper.

Snowspeeder, and that's quite an interesting comparison I wouldn't have thought of, very good point. I wonder if that choice is conscious or unconscious on Hasbro's part.

Which makes me think that Boba Fett, Bossk and Darth Vader aren't very far behind. IG-88 seems like an almost sure thing as well.

It seems like someone at Hasbro has a definite liking for Sandtroopers, X-Wing Luke and Bossk. Which is great, because I have a definite liking for those characters as well.

I would hope they'd have a longer game in mind here, but you're probably right. This is one of the problems with a "definitive characters only" line though, it's easy to run out of steam with A-listers before you get through the worthy B-listers.

It's Hasbro. You're practically guaranteed Bossk, Greedo, Aurra Sing, and Momaw Nadon in the early waves.

Ugh, really hope they don't expect to make money off Aurra Sing figures.

Greedo was a pretty crappy 12" figure too. His pistol was molded into his hand.

I've read some complaints on how we used to only pay $20 for 12" figures and now we gotta pay $20 for figures half the size. But I think people are forgetting that most of the early 12" figures were just soft-goods clothing on generic doll bodies with roto-molded heads. Much less of a tooling investment on Hasbro's part than this new 6" line, which will require 100% new tooling on every figure for at least the first few waves.

And the cut-n-sew on those 12" figures was really just taking advantage of massively out of balance manufacturing payrates in Asia in the '90s. No, your argument is exactly right on, and that's what worries me about this line, can Hasbro keep this line from going off the rails in its pricepoint?

I would definitely be in for a Greedo. Greedo and Yoda are pretty much my only guaranteed buys. I'll probably be very tempted by others, but the first wave selections aren't really grabbing me, though Luke does look like a very nice figure. I don't really want to start collecting these, but I know I'll have a hard time resisting if I see them in stores over here.

I can't see paying $20 for a tiny Yoda figure on its own, can you? I'd definitely need every accessory imaginable to make up for his tiny stature, from cane to snake to stewpot to backpack.

[Beast]

I can't see paying $20 for a tiny Yoda figure on its own, can you? I'd definitely need every accessory imaginable to make up for his tiny stature, from cane to snake to stewpot to backpack.

They'll probably do what they did with that one 3 3/4" Yoda figure. Or even the original POTF2 one that included the Dagobah Luke Backpack. Yoda can absolutely be packed out with enough stuff to justify the $20.00 price point if they go that route. Yoda's Lightsaber, Cane, and Luke's Lamp. And if they put Dagobah Luke out in the same wave, the backpack. There's other alternative pack-ins as well. His lil hoverchair from the PT.

[sebillba]

I can't see paying $20 for a tiny Yoda figure on its own, can you? I'd definitely need every accessory imaginable to make up for his tiny stature, from cane to snake to stewpot to backpack.

Absolutely I would! As Beast says, there are a wealth of accessories from both OT and PT that could be included to beef up the VFM. But aside from that, I would expect Hasbro to finally make a SA Yoda, with the now standard 14 POA - no swivel joints this time! And also to sculpt a decent likeness, which they don't seem to have managed since the first POTF2 figure. I would also be persuaded to buy Bespin/Dagobah Luke if he was in the same wave, and the backpack was included with Yoda.

Yoda is my favourite SW character, and size matters not when it comes to a potential purchase. I recently bought the Jedi Attack Fighter set for £19, predominantly for a tiny figure, which was all-new (and not badly painted compared to all the other examples I've seen). Sure, there was a ship included, but I don't really collect vehicles, and wouldn't have bought this if it wasn't for the figure. Having said that, I've wanted Yoda to have his own ship since 1980 (used to make them from Lego), and I'm pleasantly surprised how much I love this set!

[Beast]

From Rebelscum: Interesting info on the line.

Black Series 6-Inch

The Black series 6-inch figures will start with four characters, Luke X-Wing, R2-D2, Sandtrooper and Darth Maul. The six-figure case ratios will be managed to ensure more popular characters are packed in greater quantities. At this time, the plan is to go with 75 percent Original Trilogy to 25 percent Prequel Trilogy character ratio. The focus of the line is fan favorites and best of characters. At this time secondary and tertiary characters are not in the plans, and neither are Clone Wars or Expanded Universe characters, but as the line progresses the possibility to introduce these character exists. The opportunity to introduce beasts (Wampa, Dewback, Tauntaun) and small vehicles (Speederbike) also exists depending on how the line is received by collectors.

Six inch figures will use both soft goods and plastic with the final choice being given to the designer creating the figure. This means some figures will come with soft goods, while others—such as the Darth Maul—will come with plastic robes. Hasbro hinted that a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive will be a Boba Fett with Han Solo in Carbonite two pack, but didn't confirm it. We also asked Hasbro who on the team loves Sandtroopers, since we've seen a lot of them in both the 3-3/4 and now 6-inch scales, and they told us everyone!

[bigbarada]

I had to laugh at that last sentence about the Sandtroopers. I find it funny because I love Sandtroopers too.

[Tycho]

I'm very disappointed and have no plans to buy any product shown at Toy Fair.