Before I get into the topic in hand: Happy Easter!  For the last Imperial March event of the month of March, Hasbro revealed the tan HK-87 and Darktrooper for the VC, and a Clonetrooper and Battle Droid 2 pack. But forget that because Hasbro also revealed The Last Command 4 pack for the Black Series! And yes, I'm excited about it! Ever since I started reading the original Thrawn Trilogy, I hoped there would one day be figures from those novels. Of course I envisioned them as Kenner style figures, and while Mara Jade has had several figures made of her since 1998's POTF2 line, we have also gotten a few Grand Admiral Thrawn figures since 1998 as well. But there hasn't been a figure of Joruus C'baoth and the clone Luke (Luuke Skywalker) made until now. I'll break down the figures, and also give reasons as to why any fan of the One True Expanded Universe should get this set, even if you aren't a *Filthy Sixer! (Writers note: the term Filthy Sixer is a joke phrase t...

 Hasbro had an 'Imperial March' livestream this past Wednesday and both the Black Series and the Vintage Collection had reveals, with the Black Series having more this time. Which is okay by me. Also the trailer for the Acolyte series dropped, and from a toy perspective I find it fascinating. As for the story I'll make my own judgment when I see it. So now onto the reveals!  BLACK SERIES  The Acolyte featured heavily for the Black Series as the entire wave, including Jedi Master Sol (who speaks in the trailer) and the lead character Mae (purple robes). Also you see the Jedi Master played by Carrie Anne Moss (Trinity from the Matrix movies). At the moment, I'm skipping character names because I don't know them yet. We also have a young alien apprentice that should make for a unique figure, and something Black Series collectors have wanted for Jedi: cloth robes! The recent Light Cruiser Luke and Darth Malgus have shown that the Black Series can get these right, and th...

  Normally, I talk about collecting on this blog because I enjoy it, and it does relax me. But today, isn't one of those days. Although  shameless plug I wrap up my final bracket in my Star Wars Sunday VC March Madness Tournament and wrap up of Hasbro's livestream last Wednesday in a little while. But now I'm talking George Lucas, and his decision to back Bob Iger at Disney. As many of you may be aware, Disney is in the process of battling a takeover led by Nelson Peltz. Recently Disney has had several box office bombs, and Disney Plus hasn't exactly been doing well with new content either. To say that Bob Iger has done a good job since coming back would be a blatant lie. The current state of Disney isn't good. They really can't afford another Marvel, or heck, even the next Star Wars Film or Disney Plus show to fail. Now, personally I think the Rey movie will be a bomb, but that's a topic for another time. Because in this take over bid, George Lucas has offi...

  With the VC currently is in the process of getting the 1st wave of the year shipped out, that being the Fan Channel Count Dooku wave, it is a slow time for VC collectors. Chris at BanthaSkull has been posting articles about figures that make him happy, and I decided to do something similar, but not just one figure for this post. There's also a story behind this set of figures: I'll talk about how the Empire Strikes Back bounty hunters brought me back into collecting after I considered getting out altogether. But before I go into it, voting in the SWTVC March Madness Tournament resumes Monday, click on this link to vote: https://linktr.ee/swtvc Back in 2010, I was in a difficult place both in my personal and collecting life. I had a relationship end, and I was looking to end collecting once I got the Solo Kids themed Legacy Collection wave. Well, I wasn't able to get that wave, as it never appeared in Toys R Us, which that wave was exclusive to. Yes, retail exclusive wave...

  The SWTVC March Madness Bracket is up!!  Now, voting has actually begun, and you can find it here: https://linktr.ee/swtvc Be sure to check that above link for a look at the bracket, and of course how to vote! I will attempt to put the bracket here, but if I can't you'll be able to get the full bracket in the link. In the 1st round my choices to advance were: Baylan Skoll (top seed), Mon Mothma, Garindan, Crosshair, Marrok & Qi'ra. If the voting link is out, try back tomorrow (3-11-24) as the next round of VC figures should be up. And I can't post the bracket here, so please take a look at the above link to see it!  SWS PREQUEL ERA BRACKET And now onto my 2nd bracket, and 3rd place ranked bracket: the Prequel Era! This covers the 1st 3 Star Wars Film Episodes, and the Clone Wars TV series, but not the Clone Wars Microseries, that falls under the EU/Legends banner. One surprise on my bracket is there are no Clonetroopers at all. I feel we have gotten a lot of th...

 It's officially March, and March Madness is underway! Now, the SWTVC March Madness group of 64 hasn't dropped yet, but when it does, I will let you know how and where to vote. But for now, it's time to tip-off the 2024 Star Wars Sunday March Madness VC Tournament!  Before I drop the full bracket, a quick explanation of how the Tournament will unfold. If you are familiar with the NCAA Tournament it is the same approach: 16 figures, seeded 1-16. The bracket is designed in theory that the top 2 figures battle it out. So if a lower seed wins, they don't play the highest seeded figure, they stay in the bracket. Now, like last year, it will be decided by a coin flip. Unlike last year though I'm not using a quarter. Instead, I'm using a collectors coin. A Darth Vader collectors coin! Look below:  Heads is Vader, Tales is the Imperial logo. I had to get the pictures from Rebelscum since it's a pain in the ass taking a picture of a coin, and light kept reflecting ba...

  Companies always look for a way to save money. Especially Hasbro which lost over $1 billion in Q4 of 2023. That approach shows in how figures are made, especially for Star Wars, but it goes to other Hasbro properties like Marvel, GI Joe, and Transformers. Morgan Elsbeth makes her figure debut, and most collectors aren't overly critical of the figure itself, just what the figure doesn't come with. I'm also taking a different approach to my reviews from this point forward, so let's get this one started! ARTICULATION/SCULPT/PAINT APPS Morgan has the standard 17 POA that all modern VC figures have. She also has barbell hips, so posing her in action scenes is easy to do. Having rocker ankles helps with this. Her skirt doesn't get too much in the way of posing, but there are limits so just be careful not to damage it, even though the material seems strong enough to not rip, only time will tell how well that holds up. The face sculpt resembles actress Diana Lee Inosanto...