New Animated Television Series "Star Wars Resistance" Announced

Following on from The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, StarWars.com this morning announced the next animated instalment in the saga: Star Wars Resistance.

(Image courtesy of StarWars.com)

This announcement isn't all that surprising (having produced both prequel- and original trilogy-era shows, it only made sense that the next would be based in the sequel-era) but is nevertheless very welcome. The finale of Star Wars Rebels left me thirsty for more, and knowing that Dave Filoni (the creative genius behond both Rebels and its predecessor, The Clone Wars) will be helming this project gives me complete faith that it'll be a phenomenal show. Specifically, the series will follow:

"...Kazuda Xiono, a young pilot recruited by the Resistance and tasked with a top-secret mission to spy on the growing threat of the First Order. It will premiere this fall on Disney Channel in the U.S. and thereafter, on Disney XD and around the world. 

Featuring the high-flying adventure that audiences of all ages have come to expect from Star Wars, Star Wars Resistance — set in the time prior to Star Wars: The Force Awakens — will feature the beloved droid BB-8 alongside ace pilots, colorful new characters and appearances by fan favorites including Poe Dameron and Captain Phasma, voiced by actors Oscar Isaac and Gwendoline Christie, respectively."

How about you? What are your thoughts on this announcement? Be sure to let us know via Facebook or Twitter, or by sending an email to relicsoftheforce@gmail.com!

Episode I 3 3/4" and Shadows of the Empire 3 3/4" Figures

My fiancee and I are heading back to Houston soon. But before departing Maryland we decided to drop by our local book / comic / collectible store for one final visit. I had a rummage through their clearance section, and was lucky enough to stumble across a trio of figures on my hunt list for $5.00US ($6.93NZ) a pop: Shadows of the Empire 3 3/4" Prince Xizor, Episode I 3 3/4" Ki Adi Mundi, and Episode I 3 3/4" Naboo Royal Security. 

All three represent the best of '90s Star Wars action figures: bulked up, limited articulation figures that could withstand all kinds of play-related wear. Both Ki-Adi Mundi and the Naboo Royal Security also come with CommTech chips - the early (and, arguably superior) predecessor to today's Force Link gimmick. Xizor, on the other hand, represents one of only two releases of this figure in the 3 3/4" scale - a must-have for a die-hard Shadows of the Empire fan like myself.

The Black Series 6" Porg Two-Pack

In addition to the items on my Force Link 2.0 and Vintage Collection hunt lists, I made one extra purchase on the April 13th Solo product release day: this adorable two pack of Black Series porgs.

While these are technically from the 6" line of figures, my fiancée was quick to point out that they're small enough to also look perfectly at home among my 3 3/4" figures (as pictured above). She wasn't wrong! The only 3 3/4" scale porg we've seen so far is the one that came with the Force Link Chewbacca. Unfortunately, it was a pretty underwhelming - and perhaps too-small - sculpt. These, however, are incredibly well detailed - as is to be expected of any item from the Black Series line. Most surprisingly, these aren't entirely static pieces. One of the porgs actually comes with four points of articulation, being able to twist his legs and move his ball-jointed wings into all sorts of amusing poses!

The Hunt Is On - The Vintage Collection 3 3/4" VC120 Rebel Trooper (Hoth) Found

Along with the first wave of Force Link 2.0 figures, the April 13th Solo product release date also saw the return of the wildly popular Vintage Collection after a hiatus of almost five years. Featuring phenomenal articulation and fantastic accessories, the Vintage Collection represented the very pinnacle of the 3 3/4" line, and I - like many fans - am thrilled beyond words to have it back. My picks from this line will be somewhat selective. When it comes to newer characters (i.e., those from the prequel, sequel, and standalone films) I tend to make my purchases from the main movie line as something of a 'time-capsule' of that particular era of figures. For this reason, my Vintage Collection hunt list will be focused on original trilogy and Expanded Universe characters. There was one figure in the first wave of new Vintage figures that fit this bill - and that filled a glaring omission in my collection thus far - the Hoth Rebel Trooper.

This trooper proved somewhat elusive, being that he's both (1) highly desirable to fans of the original trilogy, and (2) a great army builder (meaning that most collectors will tend to buy multiple). After some hunting, however, I managed to track one down at a Gamestop of all places. The Hoth Rebel Trooper encapsulates everything that's great about the Vintage Collection line. Featuring a wonderful fourteen points of articulation, two blasters, a working holster, and removable headgear and backpack, there isn't much more you could expect from a plastic representation of this character. The sculpt and paint app are - as always - on-point, and there's even some soft goods to add an extra sense of quality to the figure.

Hoth-themed figures have been getting a lot of love over recent years, including the wonderful Imperial Probe Droid and Wampa figures I picked up over the last few months. The Hoth Rebel Trooper will look great alongside these other recent additions!

The Hunt Is On - Force Link 2.0 3 3/4" Wave 1 Figures Found

As was the case across much of the country, the product release for Solo: A Star Wars Story arrived with something of a whimper in my neck of the woods. For the most part, staff - even those stationed exclusively in the toy section - had no idea that there were any new Star Wars items on their way. It took visits to two Walmarts and four Targets across two states before I finally came across the items I was after. It was only at the last of these that I lucked out by being in the toy section just as a shelf-stocker wheeled a trolley of new product into the aisle (despite being told by the manager only moments earlier that they hadn't received the shipment of new stock). The stocker was kind enough to let myself and two other fans stand by as she unpacked the new product, and gave us first choice on the items as they emerged from their boxes. As a result, I managed to get everything on my Force Link 2.0 hunt list in one fell swoop.

While the distribution of these figures may have been disappointing, the products themselves certainly are not. I picked up most of the Solo characters available including Chewbacca, Qi'ra, the Rangetrooper, the Mimban Stormtrooper, Lando (with a Kessel Guard), and Enfys Nest (with her speeder bike). Continuing the trend started in 2015, these basic movie-line figures are mostly five-points-of-articulation (5POA). That being said, the sculpting and paint apps have been significantly improving with every wave of new figures. Qi'ra is a phenomenal example of this - her face framed with finely detailed wisps of hair, and her face painted in an uncanny likeness of actress Emilia Clarke. The quality of the basic line is improving elsewhere, too: Qi'ra, the Mimban Stormtrooper, and Enfys nest all comes with two extra points of articulation in their wrists, and Enfys also comes with a cloth cape - the first we've seen in the basic line since its advent.

There are other great features hidden throughout these figures as well. Enfys's speeder bike (which, itself, is a beautifully delicate and detailed vehicle) comes with a mount for her halberd, and the Kessel Guard weapon is able to clip to his backpack when not in use. Perhaps best of all, Hasbro have finally rediscovered how to do pack-in accessories. Gone are the ridiculous 'build-a-weapon', 'armour-up', and oversized cannon inclusions of recent times. Instead, the Force Link 2.0 range of figure two-packs come with large screen-accurate weapons and accessories that are perfect for diorama building. In this case, Lando and the Kessel Guard come with a wonderful banged-up turret and generator reminiscent of the E-Web heavy repeating blaster used by snowtroopers in The Empire Strikes Back.

But the real star of this first wave of Force Link 2.0 figures isn't even from Solo. Instead, it's the wampa - a figure that I've been obsessing over since its announcement almost a year ago.

While the pack-in Luke is a simple 5POA figure (and no match for any of the super-articulated Hoth Lukes we've seen in recent years), the wampa is a beautiful six-inch tall hunk of plastic that boasts an impressive 11 points-of-articulation. This added range of motion makes him look great in a number of poses, and his severable right arm (yes, that's right, severable) even allows you to play out Luke's most infamous act of wanton cruelty.

This range of figures has got the Force Link 2.0 line off to a great start. I've not yet had the chance to try out any of the Force Link gimmickry - mostly because the reader is grossly overpriced, and likely to plummet in cost in the coming weeks and months. For me, however, that feature is superfluous - and I can safely say I'm already rapt with these figures, even without access to their technological features.

Solo: A Star Wars Story Theatrical Trailer Released

With only seven weeks until its premiere, Solo: A Star Wars Story finally had its official trailer released this evening. You can check it out below:

Lucasfilm's marketing is on-point, because in the matter of a few short months they've managed to take me from largely indifferent about this film, to incredibly excited for its release. Solo certainly looks like it may be the 'coolest' Star Wars film yet - brimming with a charm and swagger that we haven't really seen in this universe before (except, of course from its titular character).

What are your thoughts on the theatrical trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story? Be sure to let us know via Facebook or Twitter, or by sending an email to relicsoftheforce@gmail.com!

Future Wizards of the Coast Star Wars Miniatures Projects

I've been thinking about Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Miniatures game a lot lately. Between 2005 and 2009 I amassed a decent collection from this line, and - after playing a lot of River Horse's Labyrinth board game with my fiancée lately - I've had a real hankering to get back into some strategy gaming. 

But that's the thing. Unlike other tabletop wargames such as Warhammer (which, don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved - and played to no end), Miniatures wasn't just a strategy game. The complex scenarios, unique abilities of characters, and small party sizes (sometimes limited to only two or three miniatures) meant that there was a real sense of story around each game. An evening's worth of play felt more like a mini RPG session than it did a military campaign.

For now, my collection of miniatures is safely in storage back at my parents' place in New Zealand. I hope to break them out again in the near future - and when I do, I have a few projects planned. This post is a way of bookmarking some of those ideas and the inspirations behind them.

My Star Wars Miniatures collection.

My miniatures are currently just as they came in the box: pre-painted and unbased. This is something I plan on changing, however. A full repaint is a rather daunting prospect, and - it turns out - mostly unnecessary. During my internet browsing, I stumbled across some phenomenal looking custom Miniatures on Paul's Star Wars Miniatures blog - all achieved by the simple application of some ink washes (like those in this set). These washes enhance the details already present on the moulds, darkening the shadows and adding some appropriate "used universe" grime to characters. I love this effect, and can't wait to try it on my own miniatures.

Next up, I'll need to decide what to do with the bases. My initial thought had been to leave them a neutral black - my reasoning being that anything else would limit the terrain on which the miniatures could work (a grassed-based miniature won't exactly look right in a spaceship interior). I've realised, however, that this kind of reasoning never stopped me from going all-out when basing my Warhammer miniatures. In addition, the right choice of basing can really make a miniature pop. The final kicker was when I stumbled across Grudgingly Read's phenomenally realistic (and easy) technique for creating snow bases. A good chunk of my miniatures are Hoth-based, and would look fantastic with this treatment, so that's what I'll be doing.

To add some diversity, I plan on using a variety of other basing techniques too. The plan is to loosely combine groups of miniatures into thematic squads, then use unified basings to tie them together. At the moment, I'm thinking something like the following:

• Imperial Forces - Grass Bases (à la Naboo)
• Rebel Forces - Grass Bases (à la Naboo)
• Cold Weather Imperial Forces - Snow Bases (à la Hoth)
• Cold Weather Rebel Forces - Snow Bases (à la Hoth)
• Republic Forces - Red Desert Bases (à la Geonosis)
• Separatist Forces - Red Desert Bases (à la Geonosis)
• Mandalorians - White Desert Bases (à la Mandalore)
• Scum and Villainy - Yellow Desert Bases (à la Tatooine)

It's not just miniatures that I'll be working on, either. I also have plans to improve my selection of scenery. I still have a fantastic Citadel grass gaming mat (shown in the photo above) from my Warhammer days, along with an assortment of other walls, building, and general battlefield detritus that will be perfectly to scale with my miniatures. I want to get a few more specifically Star Wars-themed items in there however. For one, I have a damaged double-up of the Micro Machines Action Fleet Mos Espa Market playset that is just begging to be customised and repainted for inclusion on the battlefield. I also have two AMT/Ertl model kits - a Naboo Starfighter, and a trio of droid starfighters - that, at 1:48 scale, are the perfect size match with the Miniatures line. I'm still unsure whether to use these as static pieces of scenery, or base and write rules for them to actually be used in gameplay as some sort of "aerial bombardment" mechanic.

I'll hopefully get to these projects in the near future - and when I do, I'll be sure to post about my progress. Stay tuned for updates!

Kinder Surprise The Force Awakens Twistheads

It's Easter Sunday today, and among the parcel of chocolate treats my fiancée and I received from my parents were four Star Wars-themed Kinder Surprise eggs. We didn't know what to expect inside, but it turned out to be a second series of the wonderfully weird 'Twistheads' line that first debuted back in 2013 - this time featuring a line of new characters from the sequel trilogy.

Each figure comes with a twisting head (as the name suggests), though the previously-included dial mechanic is no longer present. The attached string on the the head means the figure can be used as a phone or bag charm, or even as a keyring. There are eight Twistheads in the series, and by a stroke of luck we managed to get four unique characters: C-3PO, Finn, a First Order Stormtrooper, and - our favourite - Captain Phasma. The latter is made even more awesome by the inclusion of a tiny fabric shoulder cape that ties around her neck!