(image from SalvadorOfLosAngeles)
So, maybe you braved the crowds, perhaps you slept through it, either way you practically have no escape from the grips of the Force today. The one thing to keep in mind is that there are "exclusives" running rampant in the mix of this major franchise marketing experience. What did you think of the YouTube Worldwide Unboxing? Did it seem like a longform infomercial, or was it the best warm-up act to a Star Wars film ever? Is there a toymaker out there far outpacing the competition? Let us know here! In its wake there will be some interesting things to watch for and we are going to point out a few of what look to be really interesting from the outset:
Entertainment Earth is offering a cool quartet of 6" Black Series Imperial Forces figures. Designed in a powerfully graphic red, black and white, these will run for $99.99 and will delight even the most laissez faire of fans out there! Included are the Sandtrooper Sergeant, Lietenant Oxixo, R2-Q5 and the gorgeous Crimson Stormtrooper! Pre-order here (delivered next month).
Amazon has a huge promotion offering everything from vintage toys to modern day miracles of technology as well as outerwear and games. They have a handful of very cool things that just pop off the virtual pages. First up, to the left is the Funko Pop Star Wars: Heavy Artillery First Order Stormtrooper Pop (Amazon Exclusive).
Now you are going to have to watch closely as there are several new Stormtroopers, a Snowtrooper, Flametrooper and other characters that go bump in the night, or any time of the day. Finally Funko has decided that assembling an army would be a good idea, and we wholeheartedly concur!
Next is something classic from Hot Wheels -- this legendary-in-the-making Hoth Echo Base Battle set. It's similar to the set that was demo'd on the YouTube Unboxing event, however, it has cool die-cast featires as well as Wampa and some other familiar figures from The Empire Strikes Back. It makes me feel like a kid at Christmas all over again....though I never had somethng this cool!
This right here folks, is the Amazon Exclusive 6-Pack Star Wars The Force Awakens 3.75-Inch Figure Troop Builder! Oh yeah, here it is in all it's galactic goodness and ghostly white evil empiracle-ness. Not only are the figures cool, but the box it comes in (above/below) seems to open up from a square into a showcase for these incredible lil' guys! This will be delivered before Xmas but you can order it today!
The Disney Store has some exclusives to watch for, and if they aren't sold out already (I'm sure we will get reports of the crowds later today) you may be able to find some online, in particular some of the die cast metal (and plastic) figures like Captain Phasma here! These are completely poseable and are referred to as the Star Wars Saga Elite Series Die Cast Action Figures. Some may say "the new black" (step aside Black Series).
Most everything that comes from the minds of Sideshow Collectibles are things of beauty, and this amazing Spacetrooper has no shortage of talking points! The Ralph McQuarrie line is kickstarted in high style in this 1:5th Scale figure just released and available for $399. It comes complete with a switch-out lightsaber, fitted helmet and armor with many accessories and changeable parts! They also just announced the amazing Kylo Ren and an entire Stormtrooper set (and there's more coming soon too)!!
Oh, but watch for BB-8 to take over many hearts.....
The new BB-8 App-Enabled Droid by Sphero will be the hit of the season, bar none! GOFN recommends watching for scalpers and scammers in this colossal collectibles "feeding frenzy", and find yourself a local shop that you trust to sell these and other new and exciting Force Awakens items at reasonable prices. Or sit back and shop from your laptop and a cup of tea ;)
If you are a regular at Walgreens you will not want to miss the sumptiously vivid ruby red Imperial Guard. The Funko Pop! craze continues at your local pharmacy. This will only be found at Walgreens as part of a quad of exclusives (below). They should start appearing today, so go get some body wash and while you are add it, you might want to go over to the dark side for once!
Watch this for some oddities we reported on earlier in case you missed it first time around!
Game Stop will have a few exclusives on offer, including the unhelmeted Finn (trooper) Funko Pop! vinyl figure. You may wanna go grab one today as these will likely vanish into hyperspace quickly.