There was a lot of news from Hasbro about their plans for the Star Wars franchise at Toy Fair 2013. I've now had the chance to glean through the information and - for those of you who are interested - you can read my thoughts below.
3 3/4" The Clone Wars Action Figures
- Put simply, The Clone Wars line is no more. While some Clone Wars figures will be released in other lines, they will be sculpted in a realistic - not animated - style. I never began collecting this particular line, so the news doesn't come as too much of a blow to me. I do, however, know of a lot of collectors - and their children - who loved this line. For this reason, I know it'll be sorely missed by many.
3 3/4" The Vintage Collection Action Figures
- As I reported last year, The Vintage Collection will be coming to an end in 2013. It'll run until fall this year, re-releasing a series of 'Greatest Hits' figures to give collectors a second chance to pick up many figures they might have missed the first time around. Again, this isn't a severe loss for me. While the vintage packaging was a nice idea, it made little difference to an opener like me. One particularly good piece of news was Hasbro's announcement that they will be releasing two Imperial Scan Crew multi-packs so that collectors can finally get their hands on the missing scan trunk originally scheduled for release in 2009.
3 3/4" The Black Series Action Figures
- The Black Series will be picking up where The Vintage Collection leaves off. Details are sketchy as to which figures we'll be seeing released in this line, however Hasbro's promotional images sadly pointed in the direction of a number of characters we've seen released many times before.
3 3/4" Star Wars Legends Collection Action Figures
- The Star Wars Legends Collection will provide a cheaper alternative to the regular 3 3/4" figures. Most notably, the figures will come with only five points of articulation (the same as vintage and early PotF figures). It's always a good idea providing the consumer with options, and many young children are unlikely to have any issues with the reduced articulation. For me, however, this line of figures will be passed over in favour of the regular 3 3/4" figures.
6" The Black Series Action Figures
- This is truly something new for Hasbro - a series of high-quality and super-detailed figures at an entirely new scale. I've seen some pictures of the first wave of figures and, to be perfectly honest, they look stunning. Unfortunately, I think I'll be passing on these too. While they're very nice figures, I'll find it hard to justify adding the same characters to my collection at a slightly larger scale.
12" Action Figures
- It's been a few years since Hasbro released 12" scale figures. I had a real fondness for these in the past, but unfortunately these new figures are a mere shadow of their predecessors. It appears that they only come with five points of articulation - essentially making them giant versions of the Legends Collection figures. Sadly, I'll also be passing on these.
So, in sum, there wasn't a tremendous amount that excited me at Toy Fair 2013. That being said, I still have to wait and see the range of figures planned for the 3 3/4" Black Series. There are still a number of gaps that need plugging in my collection!
It nevertheless looks like 2013 will be a somewhat slow year for the RotF Collection. That isn't necessarily a bad thing however. In just two years we'll be seeing a number of new Star Wars films and - no doubt - a raft of new merchandise. Down-times like this are always good for consolidation. It also means I can put my time and money into finally finishing that other project...
