I don’t usually go for the cute stuff, or the random photos of Star Wars Minifigures, but this one caught my eye…and made me smile. I’m already a bit of a sucker for that teddy bear, but put a Darth Vader helmet on it and it’s irresistible.
Because everything is better with samurai. This latest thematic mash-up comes from Kevin Ryhal and blends the samurai/mecha aesthetic flawlessly with the Dark Lord of the Sith. This is a concept I’ve been fascinated with for quite some time due the unlikely relationship between George Lucas and Akira Kurosawa, whose works are forever entwined. The addition of the mecha aspect is fitting because of the tremendous influence Kurosawa’s works had on many anime creators. Not the first time I’ve seen this combination and hopefully not the last either.
You know, as watches go, the LEGO ones are clearly geared towards kids what with the buildable strap and ho hum design. Recently, Things From Another World listed some “LEGO Adult Watches” but with no pictures until now. There’s the Boba Fett watch above, which isn’t all that bad to be honest with you. Definitely a step up from any of their previous offerings and might actually appeal to an adult. Might. ‘Cause let’s face it, if LEGO Star Wars watches aren’t the ultimate indicator of your geek status, nothing is. There’s also a Darth Vader watch. A Stormtrooper design is also mentioned, but no listing was found. Price for the watches is $27.99 on pre-order.
And in other niche market news, have you ever had a minifig in your pocket and wished it was a pen instead? Well wish no more! There is a series of LEGO Star Wars pseudo-minifigs where you can pull off the head and voila! You get a spinal cord retractable pen! The pic is tiny, but it looks like there’s a Stormtrooper, C-3PO, Han Solo, Boba Fett, and Darth Vader. They all include a stand. I’m going to go out on a limb and say the legs are fixed and unmovaible, much like the minifigure USB drive. Price is $10.39 if you pre-order. That’s one pricey pen….
And if the release date on those products is any indication, the official street date for Star Wars merchandise is February 29th, 2012. I imagine LEGO Star Wars will be released at the same time.
Thanks to CloneEmperor for the tip.
Forum Member Mos_Eisley has managed to get even the Galactic Empire into the spirit of the season with this massive minifigure mosaic (alliteration is awesome!). I couldn’t think better way to get into the swing of things on the 1st of December than this image. I do believe this is going to be a busy month!
The Dark Lord has never been more influential, more cunning, more cute.
Flickr user car_mp brings us this delightfully devious sith lord. Check out this and more in the fbtb: Flickr Outpost.
Revealed last week, Hallmark is entering the LEGO Star Wars market with a new ornament of a LEGO Darth Vader minifigure. The ornament goes on sale in October for $14.95. They had a few on display at the San Diego Comic Con which I was happy to take pictures of. The Dark Lord is a pretty good size for an ornament, much larger than an actual minifigure and around the same average size for their other figure ornaments. My only gripe is that the cape seems all too narrow. In some views, especially head on, it seems like he doesn’t even have one on. You just see a hint of it. I would have like to have seen a much larger sweeping cape, one that is immediately noticeable without having to purposefully look for it. Still, not bad for the first product out of the gate.
Hallmark will also be selling a series of party accessories based around LEGO Star Wars such as bags, cups, plates, etc.
But the biggest news is that they had a little sign showing a sneak peek what next year’s LEGO Star Wars ornament was going to be for 2012: Stormtrooper. LEGO hasn’t used the loudhailer and 1×1 round stud as a blaster for awhile now, so I’m not sure why they are using it for the ornament. Perhaps it was a licensing issue but I really wish they had sculpted in a blaster instead. It does give the figure a bit of nostalgia, though, for old timers like me.
They need to do everyone’s favorite pair of droids next.
Hallmark will be releasing the above-pictured holiday ornament later this year. The price is $14.95, will only be sold in stores, and comes out in October. I believe this is the first LEGO Star Wars-themed ornament that Hallmark is producing. Although the style looks much like the maquettes that Gentle Giant released a few years ago, the proportions look completely off. Still, this isn’t going to stop me and no doubt other fans from getting one.
Many thanks to forum member banthafodder for the tip.
Sort of.
Spotted at his local Target, Jared Burks (Fine Clonier) of Fineclonier.com fame spotted this Light Up Lightsaber Maxifigure of Darth Vader. Not only does it light up, it moves! Apparently, there was no sound as is customary with LEGO display cases, and if there was it wasn’t very loud, at least with this unit. Jared also adds, “Helmet looked a bit cheap like a blow mold instead of solid plastic, but who cares”. Who cares indeed.
