Could today’s Hasbro Pulse Fan First Friday have been a partial replacement for what might’ve been a panel at the canceled Star Wars Celebration?
While fans didn’t get the anticipated announcement of the second Star Wars HasLab project (that will happen next month), Star Wars fans did get a ton of reveals. Perhaps the most exciting news for collectors is that Hasbro will release the Kenner-branded Star Wars: The Vintage Collection 3.75-inch scale Tantive IV Hallway Playset this fall.
The modular set can be combined with additional playsets to create scenes inspired by the Tantive IV ship seen in Star Wars: A New Hope and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The set comes with a Rebel Fleet Trooper action figure on a Rogue One cardback.
Additional fall releases for The Vintage Collection include a Rogue One Darth Vader and a Galaxy’s Edge-inspired Honda Ohnaka action figure.
Fans of Star Wars: The Black Series can look forward to the Phase I Clone Trooper Lieutenant inspired by Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. The figure will be available to preorder at Walgreens beginning Sept. 15. Additionally, the Gaming Greats Electrostaff Purge Trooper inspired by Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order is now available for preorder at GameStop.
Additionally, The Black Series collection of premium roleplay items expands with the Emperor Palpatine Force FX Elite Lightsaber. The pretend weapon features advanced LED technology, movie-inspired sound effects, and a real metal hilt inspired by Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.
Farewell to 5POA (for now)
The classic, kid-focused, 3.75-inch scale of 5POA (named for five points of articulation) action figures is going “to the vaults.”
Last year’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was the first film in the saga to arrive in theaters without a companion line of kid-centric 3.75-inch toys since the first Star Wars film in 1977. It was Kenner‘s iconic Star Wars collection that reinvented the action aisle and inspired a scale and format that other companies would emulate. As consumer tastes have changed, kids and collectors’ habits have moved in different directions and Hasbro’s research revealed a preference from kids for “action features” and preference from collectors toward super-articulated offerings with premium deco. With that in mind, the new 2.5-inch scale Star Wars Mission Fleet revealed at Toy Fair New York in February will be the new line aimed at kids.
To send off the 5POA line for the time being, Hasbro will release a collection of eight Celebrate the Saga 5-packs: Jedi Order, Sith, The First Order, Galactic Empire, Rebel Alliance, Galactic Republic, The Resistance, and Bounty Hunters. The packs will include a saga-spanning assortment of fan-favorite characters, troop builders, new offerings, and updates to past releases and hard-to-find characters. The sets will be available at a variety of retailers including Hasbro Pulse, Amazon, Walmart, Big Bad Toy Store, and more. Some sets are retailer exclusives for Best Buy and Amazon.
While the kid-centric line is going away, collectors will still find 5POA offerings in the form of the Star Wars Retro Collection with additional figures set for release next year.
Preorders for many of the items revealed today will begin at 4pm ET via Hasbro Pulse and select retailers.
