Hasbro has been trying everything to keep Star Wars items from becoming peg warmers. I’ve seen so many Bespin and Skiff Guard Landos over the past month just sitting there. Not to mention the plethora of Bill Burr action figures that just won’t sell. As far as toys go, interest in the overall brand may be dead, and Hasbro is not helping.
With the move towards windowless boxes, the decades-old toy company is taking away one of the reasons we collect: to display! If the box only has an image of a CGI model of the toy, why the hell would I put that up on my shelf? It killed my desire to collect Marvel Legends. So now it has come to claim the little remaining hope I had for the Star Wars toy line.
Yet, the company keeps plugging along, announcing a new Clone Trooper electronic helmet for $131.99. They’re not entirely screen accurate, but for those of us who don’t want to shell out $700+ for a Denuo Novo helmet, it will do just fine. Like the previous trooper helmets, this one also comes with a voice distortion effect built into the replica, powered by 1 AAA battery. Expect this to be out by May 1st, 2023.
Luke’s appearance in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett meant that Hasbro needed to make more Skywalker merchandise. He already has multiple new action figures on the way, and it looks like his lightsaber is being reissued with some much need improvements. OK, I didn’t mean to get your hopes up if you thought Hasbro may have finally done with other saber makers figured out years ago and made a hilt that doesn’t require a bulky emitter. But, nope, we’re still playing this game where half of the hilt has to be swapped out just so you can insert the LED blade. Good grief. And Hasbro still wants $278.99 for this, according to Figures.com.
Sigh. Well, the improvements come in the form of adding the following features: wall-cutting effect, blaster deflect, clash effects, duel effect, and “battle sequence.” It’ll show up on Hasbro Pulse tomorrow for pre-order.
Over at Pirates and Princesses, we covered the news that Hasbro was releasing new retro Kenner figures from the original Return of the Jedi line. It’s kind of cool in a nostalgic way, but the display options are limited when each figure has a huge RETRO label splattered right across the card. Speaking of Hasbro ruining collectors’ ways of displaying things, it looks like the Black Series is officially moving towards windowless boxes for all 6″ figures. Oh boy!
I knew that some of The Mandalorian figures were doing this, but it made sense when the figures included a playset feature or large accessory. This matches the old Kenner ways, but why is it hidden behind cardboard and mystery when it’s a stand-alone figure, especially a one-off variant? Case in point is the Halloween Edition Wookie and Bogling. I don’t think Hasbro has before made a Halloween version of a Black Series figure.
It’s basically a Wookie with cat ears and a jack-o-lantern beskar bucket. Nothing fancy, but totally display-worthy. Yet, you can’t show off the figure because these new boxes are free of plastic. However, you can show off an image of the rendered model of the action figure. Exciting as hell, ain’t it, kids?! Oh, and according to Entertainment Earth, this guy isn’t shipping until December, totally missing the holiday this year. So I’ll keep my $27.99; thank you.
[Source: Hasbro Pulse] [Source: Figures.com] [Source: Entertainment Earth]ClownfishTV.com strives to be an apolitical, balanced and based pop culture news outlet. However, our contributors are entitled to their individual opinions. Author opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of our video hosts, other site contributors, site editors, affiliates, sponsors or advertisers. This website contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. We disclaim products or services we have received for review purposes, as well as sponsored posts.
