Hasbro has shared some hi-res pics of the upcoming exclusive SDCC Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite.

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Like many of you, I check out most of the fan sites on a daily basis.  My morning cup of coffee is usually downed while surfing, Jedi Temple Archives, Yakface, Galactic Hunter, Sandtroopers, Imperial Shipyards, etc. etc. etc. (to any good folks I missed, the omission was not intentional, but the byproduct of a middle aged memory).  It’s easy to get a quick sense of the community mood which everyone knows has been getting increasingly pessimistic for over two years.  Recently, Paul from Jedi Temple Archives and Justin from Yakface posted entries that seem to indicate that the pessimism is continuing on an upward swing.  Here are those entries:

Jedi Temple Archives:  How Much Longer Will Star Wars Collecting Be This Abysmal?

Yakface:  Remember when collecting was a blast?

The increased negative commentary on the state of the hobby my has me feeling like a viewer of the Truman show wondering “How’s it going to end?”.  Given the fact that the early Black Series 3 3/4” assortments spell certain doom at retail in my opinion, I fear the answer is “not well”.

The Vintage Collection Endor AT-AT is available at toysrus.com.

Thanks to DarthDre for the heads up.

Electronic Arts has announced a mutl-year licensing agreement with Disney to publish Star Wars video game.  The announcement includes what I’m hoping is a vague hint that the grotesquely overdue Battlefront 3 might be in development.

Burk is the producer on Star Trek Into Darkness, as well as many of Abrams other projects. He indicates that Abrams and screenwriter Michael Arndt are working on a final draft, with production likely to begin early next year.

The constellation of a work day filled with meetings and a date night to see Iron Man 3 make us a day late on this story, but for the sake of posterity, we’ll post it anyway.

USA Today revealed the San Diego Comic Con 2013 exclusive Black Series six inch scale Boba Fett with Han Solo in carbonite block.  It’s foolish to think that Boba Fett won’t be a main line Black Series release, so you probably only need to worry about this exclusive for the carbonite block.

Unfortunately he knows no more than you or me.  But it’s good to hear the man responsible for the second best trilogy in the Star Wars pantheon to share his excitement about the upcoming movie.  It’s also good to hear how Talon Karrde’s last name is pronounced.  I’ve been putting a long “e” syllable at the end.  I was wrong.

In what HAS to be one of the more unique pieces of Star Wars memorabilia to come available, the Toledo Mud Hen Chewbacca themed jerseys will indeed be sold through the teams “Swamp Shop”.  The following information comes from Craig Katz, Director of Merchandise and Licensing for the Mud Hens:

We are currently taking pre-orders for Chewbacca themed jerseys that we expect to receive in June or July. If you would like to place a a pre-order, please call the Swamp Shop at 1-800-736-9520. They would be available in sizes S-3XL.  They cost $79.95 - $84.95 depending on size.

Very cool!

Update:  More info from Craig:

They will be a very limited edition… Thanks Chris!

Also, please mention that the jerseys worn this weekend by the Mud Hens will be auctioned off Saturday and Sunday with proceeds going to the Spina Bifida Association of Northwest Ohio.  These game worn jerseys will have player numbers on the backs, and will be autographed by the player who wore it, who will most likely become a future Major League Baseball player.

Okay, an autographed game worn Star Wars themed jersey by a future MLB player is very near the top of the list for cross over Star Wars collectibles.  And it’s for a good cause.

According to Yahoo Sports, The Toledo Mud Hens will be wearing Chewbacca themed jerseys next weekend.  The article does not mention the thing every collector (well maybe just Steve Sansweet) wants to know.  Are these officially licensed items that will be sold through the official team store?

Kathleen Kennedy recognizes that it’s nearly impossible to keep movie plots a secret these days, especially for any outdoor scenes shot on location.

We talk about that all the time. I think the whole issue of confidentiality is gonna be fascinating as we move into making the movie. If we’re shooting anything outside, it’s almost impossible to not have things end up on the Internet. So my feeling is, you need to embrace that, especially with the fans around something like Star Wars. You need to recognize they’re important to the process and acknowledge there are things you’re gonna want to make sure they get to know. So I think that’s something we’re going to monitor, pay attention to and think differently about.

Fisher offered no details on the plot of the new film, but of course gave her usual playful personality a stretch. Either way, this time it’s official and won’t be stated as simply a joke in a few days.

Our friends at Jedi Temple Archives posted this last night, but I was too busy watching the Patriots not-pick in the 1st round of the draft.

The FA-4 build-a-droid which was to be released in the Droid Factory line has popped up on Ebay.  Hasbro indicated that the build-a-droids that were to be included in the line will ultimately end up in a box set, so this could be an indication that they’re getting closer to release.

Moderator BIGJIM called our attention to this article on Gizmodo that give an inside look at Hasbro’s Model Workshop.

The Darth Malgus wave continues to show up.  My daily lunchtime toy run, which I have maintained out of tradition and not because it usually bears fruit, was actually productive today.  I managed to find a single case of the Darth Malgus wave with the impossible to army build Imperial Navy Commander.  They continue to ring up under the same DPCI code since 2010 (087-06-1351).

As proof, please see the attached photo which also proves I still can’t take a decent camera phone picture.