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Star Wars Toy Mania
Colin@sinisterfluid.com writes "The most-hyped line of movie-themed merchandise in history -- for the still unreleased ``Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace'' -- finally
went on sale just after midnight Sunday on a studio-imposed schedule,and fans and retailers weren't wasting a minute.
Toys R Us stores around the country decided to open their doors at 12:01 a.m. Monday for an all-night selling marathon
of toys based on the movie.
Wal-Mart and K-mart called in extra staff for their 24-hour stores to handle the post-midnight crowds. Many stores planned to limit the number
of items a customer could buy to prevent immediate sell-outs.
Fans had been waiting for months to get a glimpse of the vast array of goods -- from action figures to wigs to body lotion to snack food -- tied to the movie, which opens May 19.
But LucasFilm Ltd. had signed strict licensing deals that prevented manufacturers from releasing virtually any information about their products ahead of time.
As a result, people had been speculating for months, especially on the
Internet, about what the toys and other merchandise would be.
To see the famed toys for yourself, surf to Toys 'R' Us or E-Toys "
Just goes to show you what the priorities are in this country. Commercialism is king. I wonder whats next?
It's probably going to be like comic books. Spiderman #1 came out in all different kinds of covers.. silver and black, gold and black, normal color, etc. So obviously everyone just HAD to have at least one of each. So what is Spiderman #1 worth these days? Probably $1.50.
I plan on buying several and just placing in storage uopened.
I think the above is a sick practice. Enjoy what you buy to the fullest. Books are particularly nice because you can read them again and again. Can't wait for those Starwars books!
Oh god... can't stop laughing.
My dad threw away a fortune in baseball cards and I threw away a fortune in starwars toys. I imagine my son will throw away something which will be worth a small fortune in the future, such is life.
For shit's sake- anakin skywalker sleeping bags getting sold out in a few hours?
Where else are you gonna sleep? Maybe if they had Anakin Skywalker tents you could sleep in them, but no tents, alas.
I just want the R2-D2 kitchen wastebasket.
$7 for a damn action figure? I'd rather have money to eat and pay the bills thank you..
I don't have a problem with something I'm ignoring.
Real Science Fiction fans find the "Star Wars" crap banal and repulsive. Tediously boring, nothing but a light-duty framework to hang 'special effects' off.
Give me Heinlein, Phillip K Dick, or Ballard any day.
A thing doesn't become 'cool' because it's heavily marketed. A thing doesn't become 'cool' just because everybody else thinks it is. Then again, if this hype keeps the rubes buying trinkets and trash, it'll keep the price of the good books down where I can afford them. Carry on!
I have it, very cool, it comes with stamps
A thing doesn't become 'cool' just because everybody else thinks it is.
Yes it does, that's how something becomes cool.
Jeez, did your parents pay for all of them? I can just imagine my son coming to me every three of four days with "I need another Yoda" for three months.
My star wars underpants were my favorite underpants, you got a problem with that?
What the popular media fails to take into account is that any investment "value" depends greatly on specific variations and that the market you're selling to is fickle at best.
For example, the 1977 Luke and Darth you mention are probably the "double-telescoping saber" variations of which only a few were made. And that's in mint carded or boxed condition. The Luke and Vader with slightly missing paint is worth about $2.
Also consider that before the Star Wars resurgence in 1991, prices for old items aren't nearly what they are today. Demand drives them up and dis-interest drives them down. Just like anything.
The danger is the promotion by speculators and the popular media that if you hold onto them long enough, they'll be worth more than what you paid for.
Yes, the coekpit was on the right side in the movie. The photo is probably an error caused by a flipped negative.
Anybody else notice that Darth Maul was the first figure to sell out (like we didn't expect that...)? I had to get one of the flippy-lightsaber ones instead. Plenty of the regular and 12" figurines on EBay though... FOR $25!
I bought one of each outfit, for sticking in toy drive baskets next winter, and for gifts for nephews and friends' kids.
Somebody -- Estes, who paid the licensing fee, or a distributor who bought a tonne of the things, or KB itself -- probably lost a bundle on these things.
Stefan
An Official Netscape Mozilla beanie baby, strong-armed out of a Netscape salesdroid who thought I actually had a say in where we spend money.
:)
Hold your right hand up straight against your forehead with your palm out. Extend your index finger up. Extend your thumb out. Curl the rest of your fingers against your palm. Go show your friends and family and coworkers how cool you are. No wonder geeks get beat up.
Darth Maul, Standing on a can of Spam...
- IN RESPONSE TO THE SHOOTINGS IN LITTLETON "Investigators in Jefferson County (Colo.) have yet to say whether they've found clear evidence the alleged high school killers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, were fans of Manson and three other bands they reportedly followed: Bratwurst Orange KMFDM and Rammstein."
Authorities did not comment on the fact that Marylin Manson, Bratwurst Orange, KMFDM, and Rammstein have never killed anyone. In fact many people believe that none of those bands were even in Littleton on the day of the shooting. Still - we should remember "Guns don't kill people (musicians) kill people"
I doubt that they will be worth very much at all. With all this hype everyone and thier uncle will be buying pretty much everything. The reason that the original starwars toys are worth mega bux is beacause no one expected the movie to be this big. people are still buying them today. But no one alive expects episode 1 to be a flop.
of course on the flip side I just say someone bid over 100 dollars for the double lightsaber. why they just didn't go to super K and spend the 30 bux is beyond me.....
two tiny bottles of Tabasco and a hollow gray skull that's supposed to go in an aquarium
a copule of hand made bean bag frogs, Mr paisley, and punk frog (he's purple and has a saftey pin through his nose).
whee -Me
Heinlein's one of my favorite authors, but I have to say that I have yet to see any movie based on a Heinlein book that was even close to decent. Star Wars, on the other hand, made a great set of movies.
The thing to keep in mind is that Star Wars wasn't intended to be hard-core science fiction. Futuristic mythology might be a better term for it.
Posted by The Mongolian Barbecue:
Why the hell do people fucking worship this series? It's a movie- a good movie, but not the meaning of life. For shit's sake- anakin skywalker sleeping bags getting sold out in a few hours? Absurd.
Posted by The Incredible Mr. Limpett:
I usually buy 2 of something I want to "collect", put one away safely and rip open the other one to play with. woo hoo!
----
"Wars, conflict, it's all business. One murder makes a
villain. Millions a hero. Numbers sanctify."
Posted by The Incredible Mr. Limpett:
I had BOTH of those!!!!
Oh well, I guess I enjoyed them to the fullest and that's what they were for...
Also had the big millenium falcon, the big Boba Fett that shot a grappling hook with line...now that I think about it, I had a lot of those toys. Jeez, I coulda been rolling in it by now
----
"Wars, conflict, it's all business. One murder makes a
villain. Millions a hero. Numbers sanctify."
The power got knocked out at my office, so I started my lunch time errands early. As I went in to Tos'R'Us to see if they had Star Wars lego for me to get my boy, I discovered three of my fellow employees buying figures for themselves. And it turns out even more of them had been there or were about to get there, all thanks to the power outage.
Got the Lego sets (after months of looking for them), woo hoo! Sometimes having a kid is a great excuse...
Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
Its not only the people waiting in lines and at the toy stores. There is a very good chance that the market is driving some of these folks.
I heard on the radio today that the original 1977 Luke Skywalker with the extending lightsaber that probably costed 4 or 5 dollars at the time is now worth $1300 today. The Darth Vader with the extending saber is worth $1600.
--Storm
I just got a couple of them, they're pretty neat (It's been a while since I've bought Lego sets, this will probably get em back into them :)
My only complaint (other than price) is that Darth Maul does not have a dual saber.
-
-jay
I wanted to email this privately, but you are a riddle wrapped within an enigma wrapped within some mighty tasty bacon, grrrreg.
Marry me.
This starwars cult-following is reaching maniacle proportions. How long until I see people on the highway beating each other over the head with light sabres?
C'mon people! Really - is it necessary to stand in line for *weeks* to get your ticket first? I mean, how many hundreds (thousands?) of dollars in unpaid leave did that cost you?
Save yourself the cash, and go buy a nice dual-celery instead...
--
Hmm. I just posted something really similar to this about 30 seconds ago.. and it got moderated away. Facinating. Apparently talking badly about star wars is cause to get -1'd...
--
go to the Toys'R'US site and check out the millenium falcon.
is it just me, or does the cockpit switch sides? It is on the right (as i remember it from my childhood) in the first picture, but on the left in the second.
}}
I agree, anything of Heinlein's is far superior to Star Wars. I see that it would be un-hero-like to actually kill people in Star Wars, so in the first three, they were nameless, faceless people in storm trooper suits, still too personal for the prequels, so now they have to fight computer generated robots en masse. Where's the moral dilemmas here? Where's the tough choices? Star Wars is not Sci-Fi, it's Fantasy.
When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout. --Robert A. Heinlein
You're missing the entire point.
I'm a huge hard s.f. fan myself, and I think complaining about lack of science in Star Wars is like complaining about lack of science in the Lord of the Rings.
Star Wars is "space fantasy" if anything.. Its purpose is to be rousing epic with cool stuff, not to explore scientific issues.
... I own a comic book store and I get the comic book adaptation of TPM on Wednesday.
Yes, WEDNESDAY.
I have to avoid temptation IN MY OWN STORE until I get to see the movie -- and it won't be on May 19, sadly...
Jay (=
Toys are for playing !!! If you buy it, open it up and put it somewhere where it looks cool. Or *gulp* play with it, after all, it's a toy.
I get really irked with "collecting" types. It's like with comic books, some people buy them and don't ever read the books !!!
BTW - There are so many of these produced that I think most won't be worth a lot like the early ones are.
- sigs are for wimps.
Still, I doubt these toys will be worth that much in the future. There are too many copies, and too many "collector". But , hey, if you have the money go ahead.
- sigs are for wimps.
I buy starwars toys (and Marvel action figures) because they look cool. I put them in my "study" room in my apartment or at my office. I like how they look and they're lots of fun.
:)
One of the favorites in my office is my Star Destroyer, we push a button to play the "alarm" siren whenever we get frustrated or want to scare away some marketing people
So no, many don't buy these for invesment, to invest I rather buy stock !
- sigs are for wimps.
Here's what I bought
- Darth Maul action figure - My favorite character. Looks way cool, I imagine there'll be different versions. I'm hoping they come out with one where he has his hood on (like Mace Windu).
- Ki Adi Mundi - I wasn't expecting to buy this Jedi knight figure, but this cone head alien guy looks pretty neat + plus has a purple lightsaber.
- Sebulba's Pod Racer - Nice ! Another vehicle I wasn't expecting to like, but these pod racers just look too cool !!! However, the only podracer of this size (Action fleet with stand) is this one. WE NEED MORE PODRACERS !!! They have about 6 podracers in micro machine styles, but they're too little.
That's it, for a total of $26.47. I didn't want to spend too much until I ask my wifeOverall, the action figures look really nice. The have more articulation than the old ones and have a "stand". The stand is the COMMTECH chip, which I don't really like. The idea is nice, the toy can talk and interact with other toys, but you have to buy a commtech reader (separate) and the voices sounds like crap !!! Oh well
I might get the Naboo starfighter later and a couple of more figures, however I'm waiting for the Sith Infiltrator (looks like a tie fighter).
One final note, these toys are a little bit too expensive, I hope the prices will go down in the future. The lightsabers are %20.00 and the double edge lightsaber (Darth Maul's) is %30.00 . Ouch ! C'mon George we all want to "feel the force", but it's too expensive !!!
Anyways, I'll be buying more of these toys in the future
- sigs are for wimps.
It's gone !!! ARGH! :(
I got one of the little ones, since the moron at Toys R us told me they didn't come out with the 12'' ones.
- sigs are for wimps.
Darth Maul, Darth Vader, Ki Adi Mundi, Prince Xixor (from Dark Forces), a storm tropper and an Emperor's Royal Guardsman(my favorite, until Darth Maul).
:)
No way anybody is invading my office PC !!!
- sigs are for wimps.
Resist the dark side !!! Oh man, why did they have to release it so soon ?????????? I feel like I know too much about the movie already, oh well, there should still be plenty of surprises ...
- sigs are for wimps.
Uh ... what ???
- sigs are for wimps.
> Real Science Fiction fans find the "Star Wars"
> crap banal and repulsive. Tediously boring,
> nothing but a light-duty framework to hang
> 'special effects' off.
I'm inclined to agree. I've been wondering about
slashdot's Star Wars obsession lately. Why
do they think that this particular silly movie
is more interesting than, say, the last Bruce
Sterling novel?
I just decided to give the ignore "Star Wars
Prequels" option a try in the Preferences... this
could be almost as useful as the Katz-killer.
heh - my post has a score of 2, which is weird b/c I was posting at a 1.
oh well - watch that one drop or get moderated away.
-Jae
Alas, it will be that way forever though. Look at classic cars. Who would have ever thought that some of the cars from the 60s would be worth what they are today.
If only you knew then what you know now...
(what a horrible cliche b/c it's true)
-Jae
I think they're marketting everything and anything w/ star wars on it.
Toys R Us has an inflatable swimming pool w/ Jar Jar all over it...that's just over done
-Jae
Is there anything sadder than a toy that never get's played with? A beat up toy with paint flaking off is a toy was some kid's friend.
Come to think of it, I think the plot for TS 2 involves Woody getting kidnapped by an evil collector.
The music is not in the piano -Clement Mok
did you notice that one of the items for sale (at least on the toys 'r us site) was called the 'official great big flap book'? isn't that a little like linus writing a book titled the 'official really-over-hyped software book'?
I drink to make other people more interesting
Just keep smiling and back away s l o o o w l y...
"...they may harpoon us, but they ain't gonna pick us up on no radar screen!"
The reason a lot of the items from ~20 years ago are worth so much is simple. Nobody really knew that SW would be the craze it would become. Thus the *early* items (i.e. the 12-back figs, earlybird kit, etc.) of which most were ripped open by kids, are worth the most. ($500+) Whereas the ROTJ carded figures, which everybody started hoarding in anticipation, can be easily had for $10-$15. There are exceptions, such as the POTF line, which was at the end and really saw a limited release, are even now DEcreasing in value from what they were a few years ago.
Fast forward 20 years, and everyone and there brother is sitting on a stash of Episode I figures, are they going to be valuable? NO. Because everybody has 'em.
Go spend your time and money tracking down those early 12-backs, etc. That's where the investment potential is in Star Wars toys. Don't even think that your $7 investment today will turn into a $800 payoff in 20 years.
Or hell, just buy stock in the latest internet IPO, wait 5 hours, and sell.
Toys should not be investments!
And as an aside: Anyone griping about the commercialization needs to be stuffed in a time machine and sent back to about ~1979 or so. When Star Wars is branded on dog food, yogurt, and underpants....
Blech. Signatures.
My local wal-mart put all these toys out as soon as they got em, they didn't care about no licensing agreement.
Wonder if Lucas will give me something if I rat on em eh?
When I was four years old, I spent the summer in this tiny, itsy-bitsy house. It was near the ocean. WE lived there for three months. In the course of those three months, I went through 21 Yodas. I liked his size and muppetness, but the size made him very loseable for a little kid. He was just so darn cute, and his cape made him look so cool. And the snake staff. Yowzers. 21 Yodas. That's a helluvalot of Yoda.
when Push Comes to Shove
Real science fiction fans can tell the difference between science fiction and space opera. Star Wars never has been, and never will be, sci fi. If you don't like Star Wars, I'm sorry. It's a real shame that you can't appreciate the craftsmanship of this epic (I use the term in the formal sense, not in the marketing drivel sense) story. The Phantom Menace's marketing blitz happened ONLY because Star Wars was BRILLIANT filmmaking. Me, I just got back from Toys R Us buying a couple Star Wars Lego sets, bringing together two of my fondest childhood memories. If you don't have memories like that, you can't be expected to understand why some of us are SO fond of these films and these toys.
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
I need to get my hands on one of those R2-D2 Art Centers!!!
Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis.
First off - all of the "collectors" who are buying these things with plans to keep them in their boxes for twenty years and then sell them for profit are going to be disappointed. The reason that an X-Wing in its original box is selling for $500+ is because there are hardly any of them around - nobody thought to "collect" one twenty years ago. (Mine is somewhere at home, with lots o' scrapes and battle damage from dogfights with the neighbor kid's TIE fighter - box is long gone, but we had FUN!) There was a guy at ToysRUs this morning (10:00, didn't go at midnight thank you) who was "collecting" all sixteen basic action figures, dutifully checking each one off of his list and laying then CAREFULLY in his cart. This was probably a common scene, and eventually there will be more "boxed, mint" Darth Mauls than you can shake a stick (lightsaber?) at, and none of them will be worth $$$$$.
Collection sickness aside, the new toys are neat, and bring back many good memories. I did buy an Obi-Wan and Darth Maul, but they'll get unwrapped tonight and will wind up guarding my desk at home.
(Hey, where's the Mace Windu figure, dammit?!)
Does anyone else have a problem with the "Star Wars Episode I - Ceremonial Princess Leia" on the Toys 'R' Us page?
I say go and by all the star wars stuff you can. Becouse in 20 years you can send your kids to college with it. I'll admit I was a bit young when the first moives came out. But I still remember playing with a toy x-wing. Boy I wish now I hadn't jumped around on the bed with it and broken it. I think these new toys will be worth great value in years to come. I plan on buying several and just placing in storage unopened.
i really think anyone looking to invest in these toys has a screw loose! 20 years ago the industry wasn't so completely switched on to merchandise. sure there were lunch boxes, socks and pillow cases, but it just doesn't compare to now.
a $20 action figure from a run of only a few hundred million... hmmm it'll probably be worth $21 dollars by the year 2050.
you're better off getting old slices of pizza bronzed and wall-mounted. beleive me, that's one hot cash cow...
--
Rare Window - free your photos
Waited in front of Toys R Us last night/morning just for this one. Is it cool or what?
sup
I want the Anakin Skywalker sleeping bag!!
i happened to see them this morning at the mall...they're sooo phat, i almost messed my pants. i can't wait to get 'em all (i wish i had money, i would've bought 'em all this morning), and line 'em up with my other 60-some figures and 15 or so vehicles....
"The world only exists in your eyes. You can make it as big or as small as you want." - F Scott Fitzgerald
An Alien[TM], Marvin the Martian, and Death (a la Terry Pratchett). I'd have my Battle Droid here too but it seems to be MIA after my recent move... :P
Phantom Menace - The screenplay
.... fight ...... spoiler.... can't ...... resist.....
Noooo!!! must
It sounds awful!
"...like the voices were dubbed by Steven Hawking" (overheard from one of the employees setting up the display)
The sounds are activated by smartcard chips that comes with each action figure. Speculation: The smartcard does NOT contain samples, only unique ID to trigger sample X on the Commtech unit. Can anyone verify this?
This is one case where they should NOT have a demo unit up... except for collecting purpose, the unit is utter garbage. You're better off ripping the samples from the Quicktime movies and arranging all the document icons on yer desktop.
A STAP battle droid
(reply below with your answers!)