Topic: New licensee to deliver high-end collectables

From the Official Star Wars Blog http://starwarsblog.wordpress.com/

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.

Hasbro, Lucas Licensing’s master Star Wars toy and game licensee, will assume the design and production of the high-end, collectible electronic lightsabers line, called “Force FX” Lightsabers, which was previously made by Master Replicas.

Hasbro’s Force FX lightsaber line will debut in the spring and continues the remarkable popularity of electronic replica lightsabers among Star Wars enthusiasts. The line will feature replicas of the iconic weapons used by Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Maul and Yoda.

Newly formed eFX will develop, manufacture and distribute collectible, limited-edition replicas of both full-sized and scaled props; studio- and reduced-scale vehicles and ships; full-sized helmets; and high-end, die-cast vehicles and ships that encompass the entire Star Wars universe.

“Working with both Hasbro and eFX allows us to bring Star Wars fans some of the best collectibles we have ever offered,” said Howard Roffman, President of Lucas Licensing. “These are incredibly creative, innovative companies with a real passion for Star Wars, and we think it’s going to show in the products they offer.”

Hasbro expects the first Force FX lightsabers to be available in the spring, while eFX plans to unveil its first products at Comic Con International in San Diego in July.

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A visit to http://www.efxcollectibles.com/ shows that they plan on releasing the exact same style of poduct that Master Replicas brought us. What excites me is that they even have a "studio scale" exactly like MR did. I would imagine that we will see many (if not all) of the rumoured MR releases such as the cancelled X-Wing and rumoured Studio Scale Slave I, and this should also mean that there is still a chance of getting a ESB style Boba Fett rifle and even sidearm to go with our RotJ rifle.

eFX is in partnership with Hasbro, Lucas has a large stake in Hasbro, and now that this huge market will be "closer to home" for Lucas, that means a much higher return for them. It's a win-win situation for Lucas and the collectors. Not so much for Master Replicas, as it would appear that they had the licence taken away so that it could be given to eFX.

This is all just conjecture on my behalf, but it's good to see light at the end of the tunnel for the high-end collectable prop market.

- Sharpy

Ugh, more "high-end" aka overpriced? :-P As if they don't have enough.

Well, I guess if people weren't willing to pay $600 for a rifle and $500 for a helmet then they wouldn't sell any... but alas there are many out there with more dollars than sense (like me) :P

- Sharpy

Indeed!

A "Studio Scale" Slave 1? That would be interesting.   And I thought the die-cast metal one that MR did was big and heavy.  I ended up putting it on the very bottom shelf of everything because I didn't think the shelves would hold up under the weight, after time. 

I wonder why MR didn't get their license renewed with LucasFilm?  It's not like they weren't raking in the cash for them.  Makes me think they had too many irons in the pot with all the other scale products they had going on (all very nice looking, though).

There was a die-cast metal Slave I? You don't mean the one from Code 3 Collectables do you?

As for MR not getting the licence, my take is that giving the licence to eFX/Hasbro brings more creative control back to Lucas Licencing, as well as a greater share of the profits because of the Lucas/Hasbro link...

Code 3, that's what it was.  That was a lot bigger than I thought it would be, and really, really heavy.  I did like how all the hull pieces that detached to show the inner workings of the ship were magnetized.  Very well done piece, right down to the pistons on the stabilizer wings and the way the main laser cannons could also turn slightly left and right, as well as up and down.

You had me worried that there was another high-end Slave I out there somewhere that I didn't already have... *phew*