Force Friday
Action Figures
Action figures and Star Wars have gone together like peanut butter and jelly for decades—ever since Kenner got away with selling fans an empty cardboard box in 1978. Hasbro and friends are out in full force today with multiple new lines of figures in all shapes and sizes, for kids and collectors alike.
3.75-inch Action Figures
The bread and butter of Hasbro’s line is also the entry point in terms of price—with only five points of articulation, these aren’t the most incredible toys, but they’re the main bulk of the new line aimed at children. Here’s a full list of the characters available (note that not all of them are from The Force Awakens):
• Rey
• Finn
• Poe Dameron
• Resistance Trooper
• Kylo Ren
• Captain Phasma
• First Order Stormtrooper
• First Order Flametrooper
• Constable Zuvio
• Darth Vader (Return of the Jedi)
• Luke Skywalker (Empire Strikes Back)
Further additions in the coming months include characters from Star Wars Rebels, Aliens from Jakku, Snowtroopers, and new X-Wing pilots. ($8 each)
3.75-inch “Power Up” Deluxe Figures
Your 3.75-inch figures looking a little under-protected? Fear no more! These “Deluxe” versions, featuring slightly alternate versions of characters from the main line, come with bulky armor accessories to make them ready for anything. The deluxe figures available (at $13 each) include:
• Finn
• Kylo Ren
• First Order Stormtrooper
• First Order Flametrooper
• Chewbacca
• Poe Dameron
• Boba Fett (Return of the Jedi)
• Luke Skywalker (Return of the Jedi)
Star Wars: The Black Series
These 6-inch figures are aimed at collectors: increased articulation, higher detail, extra accessories and the larger scale mean these will set you back a little more, but not by much. The first wave includes Chewbacca, Finn, Rey and BB-8, Kylo Ren, and the First Order Stormtrooper. Further additions in the coming months include Captain Phasma, Constable Zuvio, Poe Dameron, and more. ($20 each)
Elite Series Die-cast Models
Disney also have a line of approximately 6-inch scaled articulated figures available online and in their own stores. The difference? They’re die-cast metal instead of plastic. They feature full articulation, but will cost you a little more than Black Series figures. The range includes Kylo Ren, Captain Phasma, Rey, Finn and BB-8, a First Order Stormtrooper and a First Order Flametrooper. (Disney Store Exclusive, $25 each)
Jumbo-Scale Figures
Want your figures a little bigger? These bad boys go well beyond other figures, coming in at four different scales: Hasbro has a selection of 12-inch figures (Finn, Kylo Ren, Stormtrooper, Flametrooper, Chewbacca), while Jakks Pacific offers them in 20-inch (Kylo Ren, Captain Phasma, Stormtrooper, Poe Dameron) and 31-inch (Kylo Ren, Stormtrooper) varieties, along with a whopping 48-inch Darth Vader Battle Buddy. These all have five points of articulation, and come with a single accessory. (12-inch figures, $10; 20-inch, $20; 31-inch, $40; Darth Vader Battle Buddy, $99)
Vehicles
Some of those figures are going to need spaceships and speeders to fly around in, right? And spaceships are as important to Star Wars as the heroes themselves. Whether you’re putting figures inside them, flying them around or looking for something to put on your desk, look no further.
3.75-inch Vehicles
This line of vehicles is all ground based, featuring vehicles for both heroes and villains alike. Each vehicle also comes with an exclusive 3.75-inch figure to pilot them, like an all-black “Elite” Stormtrooper, or Rey with her piloting goggles. (Speeder Bike and Assault Walker, $20; Rey’s Speeder, Jakku Speeder and Snowspeeder, $25)
Deluxe-Scaled Starfighters
A little bigger, but still made for the 3.75-inch figures, the X-Wing—specifically Poe’s black-and-orange one—and the TIE Fighter each come with pilots that have removable helmets (unlike the Poe and TIE pilot in the normal range), and fire plastic laser projectiles. (TIE Fighter, $40; X-Wing, $50)
Black Series TIE Fighter
One of the biggest, and most expensive, toys out today—and one of the first starfighters Hasbro have made for their 6-inch-scaled figures. This gigantic black-and-red “Elite” TIE Fighter comes with an equally “Elite” Pilot, exclusive to the set. We saw this at Comic-Con
NERF Millennium Falcon
The Millennium Falcon for your action figures has always been one of the premiere Star Wars toys, even in the years of the prequels when the Millennium Falcon didn’t appear! This new one, complete with the new Radar dish, comes with some extra features for kids—it can shoot a big NERF dart to shoot out of the front. You also get three exclusive figures: BB-8, Finn, and Chewbacca. ($120)
Titanium Series Models
Don’t want a huge vehicle to take home? These little die-cast models are perfect to dot around your desk... and pretend you’re having spaceship battles. The series spans the entire Star Wars saga, but includes Rey’s Speeder, the First Order Star Destroyer, Kylo Ren’s Shuttle, the Millennium Falcon, and the new X-Wing and TIE Fighter. ($5 each)
Air Hogs R/C Millennium Falcon
Millennium Falcon drone? Millennium Falcon drone. This awesome R/C ship from Spin Masters is carved out of foam for all those bumpy journeys through asteroid fields, and features lights and sounds, including Chewbacca’s roar! ($88)
Micro Machines
Yes, Micro Machines
Action Packs
A plethora of figure and vehicle sets are available covering the whole movie saga, but only two from The Force Awakens: “Galactic Showdown” ($10) and “The First Order Attacks” ($5).
Playsets
Coming in the shape of characters from the movie, these playsets open up to reveal a location from the film for you to play around in. R2-D2 opens up to reveal a snow planet, while the First Order Stormtrooper’s head cracks open to recreate a Jakku village. Each comes with one vehicle and one figure. ($20 each)
First Order Star Destroyer
This deluxe playlist is an entire Star Destroyer, opening up to reveal Kylo Ren and Finn facing off against each other, as well as a dogfight in space between Poe in his X-Wing and a TIE Fighter. When opened, the Star Destroyer can shoot a laser projectile out of one of its main cannons. ($40)
Millennium Falcon
The Millennium Falcon playset opens up to reveal another Jakku scene, and comes with a Flametrooper and a mini-Falcon, which spins around on a clear plastic rod. ($30)
Lego
It wouldn’t be a Star Wars launch these days without Lego! If you’re itching to get building some of the new ships and speeders from The Force Awakens (or lets be honest, own those adorable little minifigures), Lego have you covered with a ton of new sets.
Rey’s Speeder
Rey’s unusually-shaped Speeder bike features the leading lady herself, as well as a new character: an Alien called “Unkar’s Thug”. With all these thugs and criminals running around, Jakku doesn’t seem like the nicest place in the world. ($20)
First Order Snowspeeder
Lego’s own take on this new Snowspeeder (the Rebels got there first you guys!) comes with multiple Snowtroopers, and can fire little stud pieces out of its cannons. ($40)
First Order Elite TIE Fighter
The Black-and-Red fighter comes with two pilots, and some First Order ground crew, including an officer. Look at their new helmets! ($70)
Poe Dameron’s X-Wing Starfighter
Poe’s own X-Wing is getting a lot of love with these toys—as well as Poe, this set comes with an extra pilot and an alien ground crew engineer, as well as the adorable little BB-8. ($80)
First Order Trooper Carrier
This huge troop transport is the only way to get minifigures of the new Stormtroopers and Captain Phasma. It also features male and female Resistance fighters, ready to get trampled by the squadron of heavily armed Stormtroopers! ($90)
Kylo Ren’s Command Shuttle
Likewise, this is another expensive First Order set—and the only one where you can get new bad guy Kylo Ren. Ren is also supported by General Hux, a female First Order Officer, and two ground crew. ($120)
Millennium Falcon
The biggest set in the range is another Lego-y incarnation of the Millennium Falcon. This humongous set also has the most mini-figures: exclusively the place to get Finn, the older Han Solo, Chewbacca, and two new bad guys, Tasu Leech and a “Kanjiklub” gang member. ($150)
Everything BB-8
From the momentactual wizardry a real, practical R/C prop. Naturally, Disney want to capitalise on that BB-8 fever as much as possible, and there’s a lot of awesome toys based on the hot new droid.
Pop! Vinyl BB-8
Funko naturally have a swathe of their 3.75” bobblehead vinyl toys out for The Force Awakens—Rey, Poe, Finn, Kylo Ren, Captain Phasma, C-3PO, Chewbacca and the trooper variants are all included. But the star is, of course, this heart-clogging BB-8. ($20)
Plush BB-8
It’s so soft and tiny and squishy! This adorable plush BB-8 is perfect for little kids... and older ones who still love their cuddly toys. The head can rotate too. (Disney Store Exclusive, $10)
Interactive BB-8
Thinway’s BB-8 is around 12-inches tall and features lights and sounds, and can even roll around on his own in “patrol” mode. You can’t control it yourself outside of voice commands, but it might be a cheaper alternative to the pricier controllable BB-8s. (Disney Store Exclusive, $45)
R/C BB-8
Hasbro’s remote control BB-8 features sounds and adorable personality quirks—it can fall asleep if you leave it switched on, or start panicking if you pick it up and hold it upside down (quite natural!). Controlled by a remote rather than your tablet or phone, this BB-8 is also bigger than the Sphero version, at around 9-inches tall. And to boot, it’s just over half the price, so this might be the one you keep an eye on for your kids. (Target exclusive, $80)
App-Enabled BB-8
The ultimate toy
Roleplay Toys
Sometimes a figure of the heroes and villains of Star Wars doesn’t quite kick it—you want to pretend you’re Han Solo or Darth Vader, a Jedi or a Stormtrooper, whether you’re young or young at heart. Here’s a cavalcade of masks, blasters, and of course lightsabers to release your inner Star Wars star with. And yes, that lightsaber
Blade Builders Jedi Master Set
You thought Kylo’s crossguard was crazy? You can build some hilariously insane
First Order Blasters
The First Order have some shiny new guns, and now you can too! The Blaster Rifle and Blaster Pistol both fire NERF darts, ready to plink off the bodies of enemy Resistance soldiers... or your office co-workers. (Pistol, $13; Blaster Rifle, $40)
Chewbacca’s Bowcaster
Who doesn’t want Chewie’s Bowcaster? Unlike Chewie’s weapon in the films, this one actually has a crossbow action to fire its darts. Just roar like a Wookiee when you’re shooting it. ($25)
Kylo Ren’s Crossguard Lightsaber
You want a lightsaber? Pick any one of these! Kylo’s saber has been a point of heated discussion since the trailers, and you can get various versions, from very cheap plastic versions, all the way up to the super-expensive Force FX version. (Extendable, $12; Lights and Sounds, $30; Force FX, $220)
Voice-Changing Helmets
These three helmets—Kylo Ren, Captain Phasma, and a Stormtrooper—not just modulate your voice, but play clips from the film too. Last night
Hot Toys
Although they’re not available today, it would be remiss to not mention the fact that Hot Toys, the awesome 1/6th toy makers, are doing a line of The Force Awakens figures, revealed as part of the Force Friday festivities. You might have to wait a little longer to get these, but if you’re a discerning collector—with an equally discerning wallet—these are the ultimate Star Wars figures to add to your collection.
Kylo Ren
Kylo Ren comes with a bunch of different hands to pose, a deactivated lightsaber, and a light-up version of his crossguard saber. ($225)
First Order Stormtroopers
Meanwhile, the Stormtroopers come with a plethora of accessories, including blasters, pistols, and hands, and even an alternative set up to turn the trooper into a “heavy gunner” with a satchel of ammo and a huge blaster. Also available will be a Trooper officer with a white pauldron, exclusive to select markets, including the US. ($220 each, $380 for two)
There’s much, much more out there today, beyond toys and into clothes, home goods, even food! There’s even more to come in the months ahead in the run up to The Force Awakens’ December 18th release. Are you planning on buying anything today? Let us know in the comments!
Header Image Credit: Kin Cheung/AP.