Toy Fair Reaction

Right off the bat Rozwell and I met Star Wars Action News co-hosts Arnie and Marjorie. I have been an avid listener over the years and was I every impressed when I met them. They were happy to talk and pass stories of past Toy Fairs. If any of you get a chance to speak with them at a convention, do so!

After check in we headed into the conference room for the entire Hasbro team's presentations. This is a Star Wars website, but I will give a very brief reaction to the other lines. First on the stage was Marvel and I was blown away by the diversity (in price and target audience) this team has chosen. There approach is sure to dive many children to this toy line. Transformers was up second and treated us to an exclusive look at a new Transformers video game. It looked unbelievable! Next up was GI Joe. They showed a lot of new product and with be a more 25th Anniversary feel. I don't buy Joe toys when when they unvailed Firefly I knew I would be buying my first Joe figure in over 20 years.

Then Star Wars took over. Some quick notes from the presentation:
1. EU figures will not be gone forever, but will be very sparse for the next one and a half years.
2. Mail away Boba Fett. There will be a small rocket that is not launchable, longer rocket that is launchable, and a blaster. Figure is not a perfect match to the original vintage Boba Fett but is as close as Hasbro could make it.
3. There will be 2 Comic Pack exclusives. Darth Maul and Owen Lars(Comic Con exclusive), Cami and Fixer (Celebration V Exclusive), and 4-Lom and Zuckuss (Celebration V Exclusive). All will be VERY limited and will all be available at Hasbrotoyshop.com and StarWars.com.
4. Clone Wars single carded figure line will have 31 figures this year and the Vintage line will include 27 new or re-tooled figures and 10 Greatest Hits figures.
5. Vintage line look with run at least 2 years.
6. Hoth Battlepack photo showes Vader, Snowtrooper with E-Web canon, and Snowbiker Scout with speeder bike. Where is the Hoth Rebel Trooper?
7. The new Vader is the figure we were told about last year and will feature a helmet that comes off in THREE pieces.

After the presentation we were brought down to the show room. I will be posting reactions to each figure and vehicle in a coming report but here are some quick thoughts:
My favorite Vintage figure presented... Han Solo in Hoth Welding Gear. The head sculpt is dead on!
My Favorite Clone Wars figure presented... Pre Viesla. All I can say is WOW! Mace Windu with the Mando helmet sliced in half is a close second.
Least Favorite Vintage figure presented... C-3PO He just looks like he should be in the Clone Wars line. Vintage style should be vac-metal.
Least Favorite Clone Wars figure... Fire Fighter Battle Droid. Just doesn't fit in.
AT-AT... Everything I dreamed it would be.
Vintage cards are beautiful!

During the presentation Rozwell and I met up with Paul and Chuck from Jedi Temple Archives and just like Arnie and Marjorie they are great people. Be sure to check out their sites for additional coverage.