Toy Fair 2013: Hasbro's Star Wars, Including the Black Series!

New York Toy Fair 2013 is already a buzz as toy giant Hasbro displays their wares. Good friend of the site, Travis Denman is on the ground and we must thank him, as well as the good folks at Vinylmation Kingdom for helping us with images (be sure to check out their own coverage!).

So one of my own most anticipated Toy Fair reveals is more of the 6 inch Star Wars Black Series for distinguished man-children (we recently saw X-Wing pilot Luke). Three more figures were revealed today, including this one familiar filthy-toothed hell-clown...

To see a lot more images, and read unabashed opinons, please won't you join me... after the jump!

So that Darth Maul looks to be pretty solid and I like the subtle mix of softgoods and plastics on his lower half. What isn't pictured here in Hasbro's official photography is the alternate hooded head that is also included in this pack. The hooded head also has attached robes that hang down over the body, creating a completely different look. What I'm enjoying most about what we've seen so far is that it appears that these are intended to be "ultimate" versions of each character that represent a variety of scenes. That's backed up with R2D2 here...

He may look pretty straightforward with just his periscope but check this out...

His extras include Luke's pop out lightsaber from Return of the Jedi and his suspiciously convenient jets from Attack of the Clones. This gives a lot of great display opportunities and stops you from having to buy four different figures to cover all your bases. That alone is a vast improvement over the regular 3 3/4 inch line.

And then there's this guy...

It shouldn't be a surprise that the Imperial sandtrooper is an easy figure to get right, but credit where credit's due - there's some clever choices going on here. The shoulder pauldron looks to be fabric the way it's realistically bunched up at the clasp, and the dirty deco on his armour is some of the most convincing we've ever seen. If it keeps this level of quality through actual production then I'll be suitably impressed and there'll be Hasbro high-fives.

Hasbro is now saying 13 of these will be released this year and I guess they're saving future reveals for San Diego Comic Con. The high quality and attention to detail is obvious but I really want to see them tackle a few more human characters to see if they can keep the likenesses as great as Luke's is. That will be the true test of quality for me. I'm hoping this year we'll see a Han and a Leia. Reports are that 75% of the figures released will be from the original trilogy which feels right in the long lead up to Episode VII.

Meanwhile 3 3/4 inch is not anywhere near as exciting. The figures will be on a black card and also listed as part of the "Black Series" but these are just the previously announced figures repacked. Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith 3D might have been cancelled/postponed but poor old Hasbro is still stuck with a pre-planned line up of those characters. There's not much we haven't had before, but my personal pick is this arena style Padme Amidala...

Earlier versions of this figure were either pre-posed or jacked up so I'd welcome the update. Assuming it IS an update and not a re-release - when the same characters keep being released it gets difficult to tell. Case in point, this new Biker Scout...

I have no doubts that this is the best version of the scout trooper currently available, but I do have doubts as to whether I already own him. I don't know anymore. I'll be gravitating towards the six inch figures instead but god knows where I'm going to put them...

Let's switch from the collector friendly products to the stuff aimed at kids. As rumoured, we now know that the animated style Clone Wars figures have ended and any future characters will be released in the realistic style regular series. Now kids have the cost-cutting Saga Legends line which has gone back to basic vintage-styled articulation. Yep, all we have here is hips, shoulders and neck. You try wielding a lightsaber without elbows...

The initial collector reaction is probably revulsion, but there's something I kind of like about these. They are probably the closest we will ever get to vintage styled characters from the prequel trilogy. You could put this Anakin next to your 1982 Luke Skywalker and not many people would probably be able to tell the difference. I actually wish they'd taken this idea even further and experimented with vintage body proportions and head sculpts. Here's the Obi Wan as a further example...

The other good news is that they'll be really cheap. These are the ones designed for poor kids to stick in their nostrils.

Not quite as successful is the new budget range of 12 inch figures. They're not quite so charming at the larger scale...

The first of these are hitting stores already and most reports are that they are truly horrendous. Any kitsch appeal doesn't justify the space that these are going to take up on your shelves. Best leave this to the poor kids with ridiculously large nostrils.

Far better is this larger scale Anakin who changes into Darth Vader. This I can see having more appeal for a kid...

His lightsaber lights up blue and he says phrases from the film. The writing wasn't great and nor was Hayden's delivery, so taken out of context they are really quite comical. "If you're not with me, then you're MY ENEMY!" Cool story, bro.

But snap on the included helmet armour pieces and he looks like this...

And then his lightsaber glows red and he switches to kickass Vader voice. It's a nifty gimmick and looks like the sort of thing a hyperactive child is going to dig at Christmas. This is the one to get if you're looking at the larger kid oriented stuff.

And finally, no big vehicle reveals so far this year, but we do get a much anticipated repaint. The larger scale modern Slave I was previously only released in Attack of the Clone colours, but it finally gets it's Boba Fett Empire Strikes Back repaint and a vintage style box.

This is a great version of the iconic vehicle and is well worth a look, especially if you don't already own the other one.

And that's Hasbro's Star Wars in a nutshell! Hopefully we'll get to see more cool stuff from other licensees shortly!

More of our Toy Fair coverage here: http://www.fruitlesspursuits.com/search/label/New%20York%20Toy%20Fair%202013