The Elite Praetorian Guard was sold as a Force Link exclusive starter set at Toys R Us... and either sold or was disappeared.   I remember seeing these come out and being surprised as they started to dry up in November and December, leading to not all that many at some locations last I checked.  This guard has 2 unique accessories and an exclusive-to-this-release helmet.   I assume you've bought yours.  Read on!

While not a dreadful figure, this Poe Dameron repeats the cardinal sin of The Last Jedi 3 3/4-inch action figures.  It's boring.   Hasbro made two new pilot Poe figures for this movie which aren't substantially changed from the 2015 releases.  Is this pack-in pilot worth snagging?  Read on!

This week in Q&A - 3 3/4-inch figures beyond and including Star Wars! The good news? They have a future. The bad news? Well, keep reading. Contract renewals may be happening now - but will Hasbro keep Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel in 2020? Also Solo. And a Sail Barge pitch.

And send in your questions for next week. Read on!

And the rest of the non-toddler stuff!   There are 12-inch figures, a new wave of Micro Force just hit in the last week (and can be seen here), plus there are more lightsabers.  The real surprise to me was a smaller Force Link 2.0-enabled Millennium Falcon which is not figure compatible.

Since its introduction last August, Forces of Destiny has had a mixed reception.  On one hand, it's a toy line for parents to buy their daughters.  On the other hand, so are all the other ones.   Is a lightsaber or a figure better because the packaging is different?  Sometimes it is - marketing accounts for a disturbing amount of your toy preferences.   Be it a comic, a cartoon, a commercial, or some other brililant insight your tastes were funneled to the stuff you like somehow - and this happens to this very day.

While putzing around Hasbro's showroom, I got a look at the decent - not huge - new Millennium Falcon.  What was interesting was that a lot of it was blocked out - there's a thing between the mandibles that could well be cargo or an escape pod.  The box doesn't specify in its current state, but we do get a look at the ship from oh so many angles.  Packaging, too.  You want to see this.  Read on.

Hasbro has a small line of Solo product, and we haven't seen it all yet.   3 3/4-inch action figures will be joined by some returning favorites, while others were rescued by an online etailer.

Some notes:

2-packs include Muddy Han and Chewbacca, plus Lando and "guard." 

Force Link 2.0 syncs with your phone to download more phrases.  It's backward compatible with 1.0, and theoretically could expand for a while now.

Wampa is still coming.  A non-exclusive Mimban Stormtrooper is coming.  Maz is coming.

Getting through hundreds of images is time-consuming, so let's cheat.  It's time for The Vintage Collection to return like so many seven-year locusts. Here are images from Hasbro's showroom, mixed in with lightly edited tweets from our livetweet Saturday afternoon.  You'll see exclusives, main line items, and even a preview of something for 2019.   Sound good?  Awesome.

Uploading pictures takes a while, and there are a bunch of them.   New The Black Series action figures include: Gamorrean Guard (Target exclusive), Astromech Droids R5-D8 & R2-X2 & R2-D2 (Amazon), Hoth Leia, Commander Wolffe (Gamestop/Disney/Barnes & Noble shared), Zuckuss (Toys R Us), Skiff Guard Lando, Han Solo, Qi-Ra, Lando Calrissian (Solo), Tobias Beckett, Range Trooper, and a Mimban Stormtrooper (Walmart).  That's a lot of stuff.

The Porg 2-pack is a value-priced item.  Available very, very soon. (Very soon.)

Hasbro has two new "prop" toys this time around.  One is a giant Darth Vader helmet replica, and it's huge.  It was displayed in a big round glass case, but the actual toy will come in a black cardboard box.

The other toy is The First Order's Riot Baton, used by Stormtroopers in the sequel trilogy.  It expands, flips, spins, and is generally awesome.

Presumably you'll want more pictures, and we do have some of those after the jump.

Hasbro's The Black Series Centerpiece Kylo Ren is the best figure in this line.  Vader is OK.  Luke, not so hot.  But Kylo Ren is perfect.   The figure replicates the moment from The Force Awakens where he shows off by freezing a blaster bolt in the air, raising the tension of the theaters by 100%.   I've been dying to post a picture of this, so I hope you dig it as much as I do.

It's no Sail Barge, but none of the statues of Kylo Ren have captured this introductiory moment of awesomeness from 2015.   If you see it in person, you're going to love it - and even though it's a Hasbro product, it's comparably awesome to other statue products in the marketplace right now.

Hasbro to fans - "Put up or shut up."  Well, not quite as bluntly.

Today Hasbro announced HasLab, it's own crowdfunding site. The goal is to do Kickstarter-like runs for ridiculously great toys for ultrafans, and they kicked it off with the most improbable thing in the line's rich history - Jabba the Hutt's Sail Barge.  Yes, a 3 3/4-inch Sail Barge.  No, you're not dreaming.

We're going to be posting stuff to @GalacticHunter on Twitter as the New York Toy Fair Hasbro panel kicks off in a few minutes.  Presumably you won't want to miss it.  Non-Star Wars items at @Adam16bit.
 

But wait - there's more!   Hasbro sent along another press release with images of a new Nerf blaster, new lightsabers, and an animatronic Chewbacca toy that's shaping up to be this year's most expensive new item.  

Not in the actual press release (but in the images) is a new Galactic Heroes Millennium Falcon which should be out with the rest of the Spring movie launch stuff.

Here is what we were sent:

The subtext of Solo: A Star Wars Story seems to be that this is clearly Childish Gambino's year.  I don't care what the movie title is, this is the Lando movie and the very first official Donald Glover Lando Calrissian reveal is in the 6-inch action figure line.  It's awesome.   (Are you watching Atlanta?  You should watch that.)  But I digress - the figures will follow the same pattern as usual.  Will new figures slip out early thanks to the same assortment running since 2015?  It's possible!  But here's what Hasbro has to say:

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES Action Figures

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES 6-INCH Figure Assortment
(Ages 4 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $19.99/Available: Spring 2018)
Take your STAR WARS collection to the next level with these incredibly detailed figures. These premium 6-inch scale figures are designed with extensive detail and articulation for the ultimate collector. Characters include HAN SOLO, LANDO CALRISSIAN, and more. Each figure sold separately. Available at most major retailers and on HasbroToyShop.com.