Rebelscum Japan Launched

Our friends over at rebelscum.com have just launched an all-new site dedicated to Japanese Star Wars collecting, posting an informative tutorial on the history of the hobby in the Land of the Rising Sun. Here’s a bit of the intro:

In 1978, turmoil from a galaxy far, far away finally reached the big screens in Japan. Tickets were selling by the thousands, and in every big city everyone was talking about the new Star Wars movie. The stage had been set for a new promotional era in Japan. The first company to realize this potential was Coca Cola. They had devised an ingenious marketing plan that not only boosted sales, but also began a race for toy products throughout Japan. They began advertising new bottle caps which would contain a small vinyl picture of characters and scenes from the movie. There would be 50 designs total. There were even 3 color variations which included a gold background, a silver background, and a pink strip design. It seemed the collecting and trading, among the anxious consumers was endless.

Read the entire article here. As big fans of Japanese Star Wars collectibles, this is one we’ll be watching!

Sneak Peek at New Exclusive

Check out starwars.com tomorrow for more details.

Drew and Christian Struzan Unveil 80th Oscar Poster

Oscars.org reports today that Drew Struzan, creator of countless illustrations gracing both Star Wars and Indiana Jones posters and products, has teamed up with son Christian to devise the stunning artwork for the 80th Annual Academy Awards poster. Here’s more from the site:

The official poster of the Academy of Motion Picture of Arts and Sciences’ 80th Academy Awards® features the iconic Oscar glowing among bright lights against a black background.

Capturing the allure and excitement of the Oscars®, the design was originally conceived by legendary motion picture poster illustrator Drew Struzan and executed by his son, Christian.

It appears the poster itself is available for pre-order from the site so if you’re a fan of Struzan’s work, this will definitely be one you’ll want to pick up!

Read more about it here!

Star Wars Round-Up from Latest Toyfare

On newsstands now is Toyfare #127, sporting a Heroes cover with toy-versions of Claire Bennet and Sylar. Inside, you’ll find some Star Wars love in the form of a sneak preview of the forthcoming Star Wars Evolutions sets, and a feature article (Star Wars: The Next Generation) spotlighting the coolness that is Star Wars: Legacy, and all the toy-etic characters within.

Our favorite bit this issue, though, has got to be the Little Orphan Ani comic strip.

Gift Guide for Octopus

Yes, the Holidays have passed, but perhaps you ended up getting the wrong gift for the octopus in your life. Consider Hasbro’s Mr. Potato Head, particularly the Transformers Optimash Prime variant.

I wonder if Louis the octopus would be equally enamored with Darth Tater. Read Louis’ full story here. (Via TFW2005)

Media Release: Lucas Licensing Teams with Hasbro and eFX to Bring High-End Star Wars Collectibles to Fans

New Agreements Begin This Month for Collectible Prop Replicas, Vehicles and Popular Electronic Lightsabers

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (Jan. 10, 2008) – Star Wars fans and collectors will find new lines of collectibles from Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS) and newcomer eFX in 2008, it was announced today by Lucas Licensing, a division of Lucasfilm Ltd.

Star Wars LEGO Contest Picks Up Steam

Star Wars steampunk aficionados, crack out those old LEGO sets with helicopter propellers, domed canopies, harpoons, gears and other Victorian accoutrements – the From Bricks to Bothans Forums has announced a “Steam-Wars Contest” and is giving away some great LEGO Star Wars sets for prizes.

To get an idea of what Star Wars steampunk might look like, check out some of the photos posted at the WIRED Blog Network.

Better hurry – contest ends January 31st!

Thanks to theforce.net for the heads up!

Star Wars Toys That Never Were

You can’t have too many Star Wars collectibles. Right, Mr. Sansweet?
So when we came across this wishful thinking blog about Star Wars action figures that will probably never see the light of day — the smouldering remains of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, the dead Ewok, rocks from blown up Alderaan, etc., we couldn’t help but smile. The empty box containing the Force is a clear winner.

Read more about more nonexistent toys here:
Star Wars toys that never made it

Wrecked AT-AT Wins the Day

Starship Modeler recently hosted a contest that asked contestants to submit their best model “wreck” — that is, any model that might be defined as“derelict, broken, abandonned, war-weary, busted, beat up, junker, hangar queen, crashed, pranged, in disrepair, poorly maintained and held-together-with-baling-wire-and-prayers”, etc.

Scratch modeler Dimitri Kaliviotis took home the first place prize with his stunning 1/32 scale AT-AT, which truly looks like something post-apocalyptic from that galaxy far, far way. Check out the rest of the entries for more Star Wars-inspired wrecks.

Star Wars Pinball at MAD Offices

When MAD magazine’s “Maddest Writer” Dick Debartolo gave Part 5 of his multi-part video tour of the MAD offices in New York, we could help but notice their vintage Star Wars pinball machine. Here’s what Dick had to say about the artifact in the MAD magazine conference room:

Another piece of very important office equipment is the pinball machine. We come in here and we do lunch. What we do is actually gamble to see who’s going to eat. Each day only one employee is allowed to leave the building for lunch. So you have to win that game in order to leave the building.

Watch the video here:
VIDEO: Mad Office Tour — Part 5
(Watch ALL the tour video clips here.)

Be sure to read our interviews with the MAD staffers responsible for the new MAD magazine tribute book to Star Wars —
The Usual Gang of Jediots: MAD About Star Wars