Boba Fett News

“Black Series” Boba Fett Re-Issued in Wave 4

Published April 17, 2014 by BFFC Aaron • 4 comments

Thanks to rock-star reporter Adam Pawlus over at Entertainment Earth, we just found out that the latest “wave” of Star Wars Black Series action figures will include more Boba Fett.

It’s not a re-paint (e.g. ROTJ vs. ESB) and not a variant (e.g. circle or no circle on the wrist). It’s the same UPC and SKU, now packed with different figures in the case.

This is great news for fans who are still having trouble finding the figure. (See our updated post on which stores have healthy stocks of the figure, as reported by buyers.)

According to Pawlus, Hasbro has been doing this for years, but not with the Black Series. There will be a new date stamp on the figure, and “batch variation is possible, but well, it always is. I wouldn’t expect anything mortals without microscopes will notice,” he tweets.

The wave includes Anakin Skywalker (Revenge of the Sith), Stormtrooper, Clone Trooper (Attack of the Clones), and — finally — the same Boba Fett (Empire Strikes Back) was Wave 2.

At Toy Fair this year, Wave 4 was supposed to include Chewbacca and Luke Skywalker instead of Boba Fett and Clone Trooper.

Pre-order the case right now. The release date is June 2014.

Entertainment Earth is also still selling cases of Wave 2, which includes Han Solo, Greedo, and Slave Leia in the case.

Vote #TeamBoba in “This Is Madness 2014″ Match-Up: Boba vs. Vader

Published April 4, 2014 by BFFC Aaron • 2 comments

[Updated 4/7/2014 10:00am - Despite dozens of coordinated posts every 4-6 hours across multiple social media channels -- including tweets from Daniel Logan, John Morton, and MC Chris -- the vote for Boba Fett never varied from approximately 35% at any point across three entire days. We're surprised. Meanwhile, Darth Vader moved on to the next round.]

The Final Four lasts three days. On the Dark Side, it’s Darth Vader against Boba Fett. If the bounty hunter wins, that’s quite a statement as the clear underdog. And if he loses, he’s out of the game.

VOTE NOW

Spread the word. Share the link. Use hashtag #TeamBoba.

Note that the online voting uses browser cookies to remember you, which in this case is “match34.” There’s no required site registration.

See our previous reports on Boba Fett vs. General Grievous and Boba Fett vs. Jango Fett in this online game.

Last year, Boba Fett made it all the way to the Final Four — and then faced Darth Vader just like this year. Will this year be the same?

Boba Fett Reference in Upcoming “Big Bang Theory”

Published April 3, 2014 by BFFC Aaron • 6 comments

Hit television show “The Big Bang Theory” will feature at least one Boba Fett reference in their upcoming show this May 1st in an episode entitled “The Proton Transmogrification,” according to a recent exclusive at The Hollywood Reporter.

As you can see, the character known as Howard Wolowitz — played by actor Simon Helberg — is wearing one of the new athletic, “muscle” Boba Fett t-shirts. Be sure to give a shout-out to Helberg on Twitter or to his character, who’s also on Twitter at @TheRealHowardW.

This will be the fourth clear Boba Fett reference that the show has had over the years. We’ve documented each on Fettpedia. This is the first time working with Lucasfilm, in which Industrial Light & Magic is helping them recreate Dagobah.

Vote #TeamBoba in “This Is Madness 2014″ Match-Up: Boba vs. Grievous

Published April 2, 2014 by BFFC Aaron • 3 comments

[Updated 4/3/2014: Winning 67% of the vote, Boba Fett beat General Grievous.]

You’ve got less than one day to vote over at the Official Star Wars website’s This Is Madness bracket-style voting game. With barely any time since his last match, Boba Fett is now up against General Grievous in a match of the click-thrus.

Vote here. Note that the online voting uses browser cookies to remember you, which in this case is “match30.” There’s no required site registration.

[Updated 4/3/2014: Here's the final score graphic.]

Here is the official promo graphic for the matchup:

See our previous report on Boba’s prior matches in this online game.

Last year, Boba Fett made it all the way to the Final Four.

Vote #TeamBoba in “This Is Madness 2014″ Match-Up: Boba vs. Jango

Published March 28, 2014 by BFFC Aaron • 4 comments

[Updated 4/2/2014: For the next round in this series, see our follow-up post.]

[Updated 3/31/2014: Boba Fett knocked out Jango Fett, winning 70% of the vote.]

Starting today and going for the next 2 days over at the Official Star Wars website’s This Is Madness bracket-style voting game, Boba Fett is up against Jango Fett in a match of the click-thrus.

Vote here. Note that the online voting uses browser cookies to remember you, which in this case is “match24.” There’s no required site registration.

Here’s the official poster, shared today on social media:

[Updated 3/31/2014: Here's the final score graphic.]

Also facing off right now is Yoda vs. Obi-Wan Kenobi. Last year, Yoda won the entire series.

This year, in a round one match, Boba Fett defeated Greedo:

Here’s the official promo the official Star Wars website shared on social media:

And Jango Fett defeated Cad Bane:

Last year, Boba Fett made it all the way to the Final Four.

Review of Sideshow Collectibles’ Sixth Scale Boba Fett in Prototype Armor

Published March 14, 2014 by Scott Casanova • 3 comments

I have a love/hate relationship with Sideshow. Their customer service is top notch, their promotional material makes everything drool worthy, but then you actually get the product.

The prototype armor figure is my 5th Sideshow made piece; 1/4 scale Boba, 1/4 scale Han in Carbonite, 1/6 scale Boba (Scum and Villainy), and the Boba Fett Mythos statue round out the other 4. I hope to add reviews for the rest later so I’ll focus my critique on the prototype figure. I will however go on record and say that the Mythos piece is probably the favorite of my entire collection at the moment.

I always found the prototype Fett a curious piece of Star Wars lore. I’m pretty sure no other character has been so heavily documented, both officially by LucasFilm, or though fan research. Tip of the hat to The Dented Helmet. As a fan of the character I was fascinated by the black and white introductory video featuring Ben Burtt narrating the costume design. However when Hasbro introduced the McQuarrie Concept, and had their mail away offer I wasn’t really interested in hunting them down. Sideshow’s release of a 1/6 scale figure however peaked my interest, and now having gotten it I’m scouring eBay for the Hasbro figures.

So here he is, in all his glory, the Sideshow Collectibles 1/6 scale prototype armor Boba Fett…

The packaging is nice. An enlarged t-visor on the front with a picture of the figure on the back. The front also has a flip open panel that offers a brief history of the prototype armor on the backside while allowing us to see the actual figure through a plastic window. And thus began my frustration with this particular piece. I immediately noticed that his right breast plate was detached and hanging out in the bottom of the figure tray. I quickly realized however that it was simply the Velcro used to affix the armor that wasn’t holding as opposed to a more permanent attachment method having failed. The packaging inside the box is well designed, the figure sits in one layer of the tray while all the accessories sit in custom molded recesses in a second layer of the tray. Plastic sheeting helps protect some of the parts and a piece of tape is used to keep the shin tools in their slots.

After pulling the figure out and reattaching the breast plate I was feeling a little better. Then I checked the gauntlet hoses and was happy to find they weren’t kinked or bent. I finally got him to stand up on his own so I started pulling out the accessories. First the stand. Sideshow packed this in a way so that it was stuck together in the wrong configuration. It literally took me 5 minutes to figure out how to separate it (why no instructions?) so I could reassemble it. I was disappointed to find that Sideshow’s method of packing left some minor damage to the base where the stand is inserted. While it is incredibly minor, and wouldn’t be noticed without me pointing it out, I know it’s there. The next thing I noticed was that the holster belt wasn’t positioned like it was in the picture. In my attempt to address that the cod piece fell off. This part isn’t velcroed. The front half of the cod piece clips into the back half and friction is basically supposed to hold the two pieces together. I managed to wiggle the belts into a position to help hold it in place and got the holster belt repositioned but not without a lot of time and frustration.

My next challenge was to actually put the pistol in the holster. The holster itself isn’t a pouch but a strap that somehow wraps around the pistol. I did my best, and you can see it in the pics, but again no instructions. The other tricky attachment is the cape. The attachment point on the shoulder is a single looped stitch to hold the hook on the corner of the cape. Luckily the jet pack helps hold it in place because it flops out pretty easily on it’s own. Next up the shin tools. The shin pouches can barely contain them, in fact a couple have to go under the knee pads to be hidden. It appears to be a scaling problem because even the picture on the box has the tools sticking up under the knee pads. My final production criticism is the coloring. While the soft parts are practically pure white, the armor has a bit of a cream hue. On the box everything looks exactly the same shade, while on the figure there is a distinct difference in color. It actually isn’t as bad as the pictures seem to make it out but it’s still off.

The only artistic criticism I have is the base. Not really a fan of the design, probably because it matches the beach towel. Kudos though to Sideshow for making the extra effort to include the beach towel cape which is a nice nod back to the introductory video. I doubt I’d ever display it on the figure but still a nice gesture.

Believe it or not there are some other things I like about this. The figure itself is a lot less stiffer than the other 1/6 Fett. It’s easier to manipulate and pose, and the hands interchange MUCH smooth than the other Fett. Also the vest and chest armor are worn better by the figure. The chest on the other 1/6 Fett looks like it’s caving in, not the case on the prototype version. The packaging is well put together and aside from a couple pieces of tape I didn’t have to destroy anything to open it.

I also want to give a huge shout out to Sideshow’s customer service. I was hoping to change the shipping address last minute and due to the timing of my call they literally pulled it back off the truck so they could make the change. I may be critical of their products sometimes (because I want the perfect piece) but every interaction I’ve had with their customer service associates have been incredible, and this put them over the top.

Amazingly Proto Fett’s arrival closes out the last lone existing pre-order I had. Now what?

(Re-published with permission. Originally published at The Boba Room.)

Retrospective on The Clone Wars: Was Young Boba Fett To Be In More Episodes?

Published March 10, 2014 by BFFC Aaron • 2 comments

In the thank you to the fans by Dave Filoni, posted today on starwars.com, there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes sketches from the writer’s conference.

Look at this one with a filename prefix of season 5, which did not include Young Boba Fett. Isn’t that Young Boba Fett in Cad Bane’s posse?

Matt Michnovetz, the writer of the bounty hunter storyline in the show, was also rumored to have written a wrap up for Young Boba Fett. That effort didn’t make it into the final season, which came out last Friday morning on Netflix.

Thoughts on the show and speculation on what could have been? Post a comment.

Where To Find the Black Series Boba Fett

Published March 8, 2014 by BFFC Aaron • 4 comments

Updated March 28, 2014 with more stores!

After the San Diego Comic Con exclusive release, the regular Black Series Boba Fett release flies off shelves. Lately, months after its release, there’s one place that we’re finding across the country — thanks to Twitter — that regularly stocks the figure for its retail price: Disney Store.

According to the store’s Wikipedia data, there are over 700 stores in the United States (as of 2001) and some others “located in malls and commercial areas in … Canada, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Australia and Japan.” For more accurate information, try their store locator.

Don’t waste any time looking on their website. This is about their retail stores. Fortunately, one perk we’re learning is that the Disney Store will apparently hold an item in stock for you. Save yourself the hassle, calling ahead, and see for yourself.

Bypassing the high prices via eBay, as far back as November 2013, we reported the figure was available in stores. In December, both Amazon and Toys-R-Us had very quick sales of inventory without scalper mark-up prices. Some of that inventory came in pretty beat up packaging, where Amazon even noted in the fine print: “minor cosmetic imperfection.” In this case, the Disney Store’s inventory is all in mint condition.

Now, on to our report. Here’s our own stocking log. We’ll update this as we hear more reports this quarter via your comments below and dialogue to fans via our Facebook and Twitter:

Western Areas of North America

CALIFORNIA

• Disney Store, Santa Rosa, California (Seen 2/19/2014. Hat tip to EndorExpress.net.)
• Disney Store, Modesto, California (Not in stock 2/25/2014. Helmet tip to James V.)
• Disney Store, Northridge Mall, Northridge, California
• Target, Simi Valley, California (Seen 2/27/2014.)
• Target, Grenada Hills, California (Seen 2/27/2014.)

Eastern Areas of North America

NEW YORK

• Disney Store, Carousel Mall, Syracuse, New York (Seen 2/28/2014. Helmet tip to Scott C.)
• Disney Store, Times Square, New York City, New York (Seen 2/19/2014. Helmet tip to Kristin H.)

CANADA (EASTERN)

• Toys”R”Us, 540 Centennial Pkwy N, Hamilton, Ontario (Seen 3/28/2014. Hat tip to Hammerhead.)

Middle Areas of North America

OHIO

• Disney Store, Kenwood Towne Center, Cincinnati, Ohio (Seen 3/8/2014. Helmet tip to Brian T.)
• Disney Store, Toledo, Ohio (Seen 3/3/2014 by AtlaskyPrime.)

WISCONSIN

• Disney Store, SouthRidge, Wisconsin (Seen 3/27/2014. Hat tip to Firebreaker Chip.)

CANADA (MIDDLE)

• Walmart (South End), 4500 Gordon Rd, Regina, Saskatchewan (Seen 3/8/2014. Hat tip to Jason P.)

Other well-stocked / well re-stocked sightings?

Did we miss somewhere? Let us know in the comments below.

###

Correction: We initially reported that the Disney Store was not owned by Disney. While this was true between 2004 and 2008, this is no longer the case.

Did They #BringBackBoba for “The Clone Wars” Season 6?

Published March 7, 2014 by BFFC Aaron • no comments

All of the final season of “The Clone Wars,” coined “The Lost Missions,” is premiering right now on Netflix.

Who’s watching all episodes in one sitting — aka binge-watching — and who’s going to be the first person to let us know if and where they brought back Boba Fett?

Update 3/7/2014 12:50am PST: We did. Despite the synopsis for Season 6 Episode 5 “An Old Friend” mentioning that there’s a bounty hunter (who we quickly see isn’t Boba), we skimmed all episodes very quickly and did NOT see Young Boba. No cameo is unfortunate.

Young Boba Fett, voiced by Daniel Logan, last appeared in Season 4. His storyline was not wrapped up, leaving unanswered questions. Check out the episode breakdown on Fettpedia.

“Star Wars Rebels” To Feature Sabine, A Female Mandalorian in Pink Armor

Published February 17, 2014 by BFFC Aaron • 4 comments

Lucas Siegal, editor at Newsarama.com, posted some debut photos of “Star Wars Rebels” via the Disney Consumer Products press conference at Toy Fair 2014, botn on his site and Twitter.

Here is the character unmasked on the far left:

Over at Star Wars Report, the site by Aaron Goins, we hear her name is Sabine and she is one of six Rebels. Over in “The Clone Wars” animated series, we didn’t see Mandalorians on the side of the Republic heroes. Despite the similarities between shows, they’re apparently parting ways in terms of direction and storyline.

UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter got an exclusive video care of Lucasfilm, which highlights more about the character, who also happens to be a graffiti artist:

What do you think?