Three Jedi Force Speeders at HTS

Hasbro Toy Shop gives us a look at the three smaller vehicles being released in the Jedi Force line later this month!  They’re listed for $11.99 each, which includes a figure to pilot each ship.  I’ve got to admit, these are starting to grow on me, and I’m particularly excited to add the Landspeeder to my Galactic Heroes collection.  Take a look at these speeders in both their loose and carded forms below.  Thanks to AaylaSecurasMan from Rebelscum.com forums for the heads up.

Hasbro Q&A Summary for June 2011

Hasbro’s recent Q&A had a couple questions regarding the Galactic Heroes line, here’s what they had to say:

1. JediNews – source

The Galactic Heroes line was a fan favourite but after 9 years I guess it was time for something new. The Jedi Force line looks fantastic and making the vehicles compatible was a very welcome idea. However, there are a few figures that we’re missing from the Galactic Heroes line such as the other half of the Republic Commandos… is there any chance you’d consider releasing one more Cinema Scene featuring a selection of these ‘missing’ figures – maybe we could even vote for the figures we’d like to see? If not for retail, would you consider it as a convention exclusive?

No further Galactic Heroes packs are planned, but another Cinema Scene pack would be a cool addition. Perhaps someday in the future…

2.  16bit.com – source

How finished is Galactic Heroes as a line? Have we seen the last of it? The AT-ST hit stores the week we submitted these questions, but are there additional exclusives, repaints, gift sets, or other items in the pipeline?

Galactic Heroes had a great run, but the line is now done. We think you’ll like what you see in the new Jedi Force line.

Thanks to David (ghcustoms) for pointing out these questions.

AT-ST: US bound

 A big surprise greeted AaylaSecurasMan from the Rebelscum forums when he found an AT-ST at his local Toys R Us!  It was priced at $34.99, but did not have a “TRU Exclusive” logo on it, so it’s tough to say whether it will see general distribution or not.  He reports finding only 2 at each of a few TRUs in Arizona, so it will likely be fairly limited wherever it does show up.  Good luck in your hunt!

A Look at the New Jedi Force

There’s little doubt that Toy Fair was disappointing for me — it brought us the end of the Galactic Heroes.  Perhaps I suspected that this was coming since we’ve had absolutely no news about the line for months, but I certainly didn’t want to believe it.  So it’s taken me a couple days to adjust to the news.  (Sheesh, you’d think a family member had died the way I’m acting).

So what are we left with?  Hasbro is going to replace the line to compete head to head with Fisher Price’s Imaginext line by creating figures that are in a similar style, renaming the line as Jedi Force.

It’s taken me a little time to look at these figures objectively, but I can see these are actually pretty neat looking figures.  They have much more articulation that the Galactic Heroes figures did, making them easier to fit in the accompanying vehicles.   They’ve actually reissued the Snowspeeder and Anakin’s Starfighter, so obviously the vehicles will continue to fit right in with the Galactic Heroes ships we’ve already got.  I guess I’m feeling renewed optimism.

To give you a look at these figures, I’m linking you to the pics taken by Jeff at Han’s Hideout.  He’s done a great job of showcasing these new figures, including Hasbro’s other Playskool Heroes lines: Marvel Comics’ Super Hero Adventures and Transformers’ Rescue Bots.

This is the end…

Instead of Toy Fair bringing us exciting news about upcoming releases for the Galactic Heroes line, it has brought us quite the opposite. Yes, our pint sized line is being shelved. In its place will be some figures similar to the Jedi Force ones from a couple years ago, but made smaller. Disappointing news, to say the least. Thanks to The Stolen CCG License for the news.

Toy Fair is Coming!

Arguably the biggest toy event of the year, Toy Fair is coming next week!  Taking place in New York as always, 2011’s version runs from Sun Feb 13 to Wed Feb 16.  It is a chance for toy manufacturers to really show off the items coming up for the year, and Hasbro is always a huge participant.  Which means this is a great opportunity for us to learn about their plans for our beloved Galactic Heroes for 2011.  And a chance for us to speculate about what they will reveal — so what do you want to see?

Fred Meyer Deals

If you’ve got a Fred Meyer in your neighbourhood, head over and check out their deal on Galactic Heroes.  They’re only $4 each, plus there is a 10% off deal on top of that, so it’s worth making the stop!  Thanks to Amy for the heads up.

AT-ST: A Vehicle With No Home?

The bad news for the AT-ST continues.   Now it appears that not only is the Hoth AT-ST Assault set delayed, but perhaps even cancelled as an exclusive with Kohl’s!  A member of the site, Mike, claims he was in contact with Hasbro and they confirmed the deal has fallen through with the US retailer and no longer has an expected release date.  Perhaps this will be actually be a blessing and Hasbro can find a more toy-focused retailer to get this onto the market.  However, please keep in mind nothing is written in stone yet…

I recently attempted to get this site added to the monthly Q&A session that Hasbro conducts with a number of collecting sites, but unfortunately they (kindly) denied us access since it is at its maximum capacity at this point.  So now is the time for fans of Galactic Heroes to request your favourite Star Wars websites ask about the future of the AT-ST!

2 Days of Savings at Toys R Us

Quick! Get your butt to Toys R Us for 40% off Galactic Heroes 2-packs! But it’s for 2 days only – Friday and Saturday. Maybe the Force will guide you to the newest wave…

Quinlan Vos Wave Found at Walmart!

Start checking Walmart for your Galactic Heroes fix – the latest wave of 2-packs has been spotted!  Regular reader and contributor Mike Davis found the entire wave today, so let the hunt commence.

The figures to be watching for in 2010’s Wave 3 are:

• Quinlan Vos & Barriss Offee
• Training Clone & Sgt Bric
• Senate Commando & Aqua Battle Droid
• Darth Vader & Luke Bespin