May 26th VC Livestream Reactions/Star Wars Crossover Toylines

 On Tuesday, Hasbro had a livestream. I gave a tiny opinion in the BanthaSkull Disqus comment section, but I wanted to go in depth here. Also, what was going to be my main topic, Star Wars crossover toy lines, will be my second half post under the Lagniappe Section. Images by Hasbro PR, and aren't mine. 

BLACK SERIES REVEAL

This was the only Sixer item that interested me:

If you look closely, it appears that Grogu can move his arms. I'd like to see this happen for a VC Grogu, but if you want that near the 1:18 scale get the Epic Heroes or ActionVerse (which is slightly larger) for that. This Grogu will be available at brick and mortar for $10, which is what his 1st version went for. This time he has a blue package instead of red. If I see him, I'm getting it. 

VINTAGE COLLECTION REVEALS 

1. Hera Syndulla (Rebels S1/S2) 

I'm not opening my Ghost Hera, as I may want/have to sell them one day. Not a bad figure, the face sculpt appears to be based off the live action version. The previous Hera quickly sold out, I'm not sure if this one will. But, it's good to get some support for The Ghost. 

Did I preorder her? No. But if she's available at stores, then yes. I'm happy with General Hera, for now. 

2. Devon Izara

Will she become (Darth) Talon? I have no clue as I haven't seen Maul Shadow Lord yet. But, once revealed I felt she could have some parts re-used for a Home One/Endor Leia, especially the lower body. She'd just need new boots. It's also nice to get some figures when the source material is fresh. Bonus points, Hasbro. 

Did I preorder her? Yes. But only 1. She's going to be my base as a custom for a Jedi Training Leia, though. If I see her in stores, I'll buy her for my Prequel Era bin. She comes 2 per case so she stands a good chance of being found at brick and mortar. 

3. Sandtrooper

He doesn't have barbell hips, and he's repacked from the Imperial Trooper 3 pack. He's got extra weapons and a removable pauldron. Plus some weathering, which for this figure is important. 

Did I preorder him? No. He's got 2 figures per case so he might be on shelves at brick and mortar. I'd like to get a couple, but I hope they do a 4 pack of these guys. I have spare black pauldrons to give them when I get them. 

4. Mercenary Droid

While at this moment as I write, I have yet to see The Mandalorian and Grogu movie, this guy is in it. According to Hasbro he's an all newly tooled figure. He comes with snap on blaster effect and a sword or machete. The cape is plastic, which I can't judge if it's the right decision as I don't have my hands on the figure. 

Did I preorder him? Yes. I got 2 as I expect to see this later this year as the upgraded Super Battle Droid for the Battle of Geonosis. If this figure holds up (can balance, doesn't have weak legs or arms) I might be able to replace my 2002 Era Super Battle Droids. 

5. Embo

Honestly, I'm surprised he isn't deluxe. A removable helmet, swappable hands, crossbow and crossbow like accessories (they could be used as blades or nunchucks I guess) would have made this an automatic deluxe figure a couple years ago. I guess with a $20 retail value they're upping not only the paint apps but adding an extra accessory. 

Did I preorder him? To quote Jack Nicholson from A Few Good Men: "You're G-d d**n right I did!!". The Clone Wars Embo can now go back to my Prequel Era bin, but you can bet a Clone Wars Era Embo will come out one day. This is my most eagerly awaited figure of this wave. Which is why he's the last basic figure I covered.

DELUXE GARAZEB "ZEB" ORELIOS 

Based off the trailers, and his appearance in the third season of The Mandalorian, Zeb is carded on his big screen debut! Again, as of this moment in time, I have yet to see the movie. I do know based off a trailer he gives Mando a new Razor Crest. I guess he flies a U-Wing because he's too big to fly any other fighter. And if Hasbro made a VC U-Wing it would have to be a HasLab because I can't see it being made any other way. 

Did I preorder him? No. I'm happy with the Rebels Zeb, and while it looks like they upgraded his staff and blaster, I can't justify the Sixer price on this VC figure. If he's in a store and I have a gift card, maybe. If on clearance, definitely. But waiting for clearance isn't good for the line. Like I said, I'm happy with Rebels Zeb. If I miss out on this one, my collecting life won't be ruined. 

LAGNIAPPE SECTION 

RIP to Marcia Lucas. She is credited with saving Star Wars in the editing room, resulting the trench battle sequence as an example. Her divorce with George deeply upset him, and in a video I recently saw she wondered if she called him at this stage in their lives, would he even answer knowing it was her calling? The point is, forgive. Life is too short. 

1. I saw the Mandalorian and Grogu movie. Not bad, but not great. No cameos of any Legacy Characters, however. I half expected Boba Fett to show up, actually, especially with the Hutt Syndicate plot. I wasn't bored with the movie, never checked the time, etc. But if it comes out on Blu Ray I'll likely buy it. Or the bootleg Blu Ray. 

2. A recent trend in action figure lines is crossovers with other franchises. The best example recently is the Turtles of Grayskull line with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the MOTU Origins line. Star Wars has touched on that in the past with Star Wars Transformers, which had ships changing into robots (Darth Vader's TIE transforming to a Darth Vader robot). So, I have a few ideas for the Vintage Collection and Retro. 

RETRO COLLECTION CROSSOVER: ALIEN

Image from 16bit.com and not mine. Super7's ReAction line used the 1979 Kenner prototypes to make their figures. The line was originally meant to compliment the Star Wars line by giving figures in the exact same scale new characters to join in on the fun. So put the human characters in Star Wars colors or outfits, and the line would be set. Multiple Alien creatures would be needed. Make Jonesy a Loth Cat just for fun, and maybe give Ripley a lightsaber. Repack the ANH Retro Luke, Han, Leia, Chewbacca and it would be nice to get Threepio and R2 in the Retro line. This is my only Retro collaboration request. The Aliens movie line figures aren't really in the Kenner style, or on the Kenner sculpts. So that's why this one wins out. Also, there was a Flash Gordon line, but without a Dale Arden figure in that line, I had to go with Alien instead. 

VINTAGE COLLECTION CROSSOVER 1: GI JOE JEDI/SITH FORCE (BASED OFF THE GI JOE NINJA FORCE)

For a reminder of what the Ninja Force line was like: 

Image of Snake Eyes and Scarlett from liveauctioneers.com and image of Zartan and Bushido is from bullockauctioneers.com. Images aren't mine. 

This would see the Joe's as Jedi, and the Cobra's as Sith. Instead of swords, they'd come with lightsabers, and this would be bringing the Joe's back to the 3.75 inch scale. There would be 2 waves of figures: 

1st wave Joe's: Snake Eyes, Scarlett and Duke

1st wave Jedi: Jedi Luke (barbell hips), Cal Kestis (repack), Obi-Wan Kenobi (ROTS, with new knees)

1st wave Cobra's: Storm Shadow, Zartan and Baroness

1st wave Sith: Grand Inquisitor, Darth Revan, Darth Sidious (repack Jedi Palpy, with the non angry head sculpt)

2nd wave Joe's: Jinx, Quick Kick and Stalker

2nd wave Jedi: Anakin Skywalker (ROTS non Vader head, up/down right wrist), Yoda (should be a new sculpt but likely a repack of the ROTS version), Ahsoka Tano (repack and repaint of Mandalorian Ahsoka, different colored outfit, not Ahsoka the White)

2nd wave Cobra's: Cobra Commander, Destro and Dice

2nd wave Sith: Darth Vader (repack Dark Times), Inquisitor Barris Offee, Marrok (repack)

Simple. Yet effective. As with the Turtles of Grayskull line, the Joe's and Cobra's would be fitting into the Star Wars Universe. It wouldn't need to be more than 12 figures for each set, and Hasbro could make a gold mine, at least I think so, by doing this. It gives a good mix of Joe's and Cobra's, and you need both waves to get the leaders (Duke and Cobra Commander). For the Star Wars characters, I went for more adversaries to pair for better play and display value.  

VINTAGE COLLECTION CROSSOVER: FORTNITE

It's been a hot game, and there was a 4 inch line by Jazwares and a Sixer line by Hasbro, but now it's time to put the gang back together as there's a current Star Wars character mash up in Fortnite. For those saying it wouldn't look right, look at some of the 4 inch figures before you jump to judgement: 

Images from walmart.com. Honestly, I regret passing on Lynx, but I use Omega and Fusion as custom dark side users. The Master Grade figures are nice, I use one (I don't remember her name) as Abeloth, but you get the idea. Hasbro could shrink some of their Sixer versions into the 3.75 inch line. This could be a great 2 pack opportunity, having a Star Wars figure repacked with a newly tooled Fortnite figure. It could possibly work! 

Oh, and no Sixer crossovers. They get enough as is. 

3. Working on taking pictures of some recent toy acquisitions, but I have a question to the collectors: I recently got the McQuarrie Han Solo, and I have the McQuarrie Chewbacca. Both are unopened. Should I open them for a review? I already opened the McQuarrie Vader and the McQuarrie Lady Starkiller years ago. Any answers are appreciated! 

Thanks for reading! Please share this link on your social media accounts so I can get more readers! A special thanks to Chris and Nomad at BanthaSkull for allowing me to post this in the comments section!