Black Series Archive 2019

Star Wars’ Version Of The Disney Vault?

I was strolling through a local Walmart the other day and decided to walk down the toy aisle. I was hoping to find some new blind bags to collect but I found some old Star Wars toys instead. Specifically, I found four “new” Hasbro Black Series Star Wars figures. Unlike your standard boxed 6″ Star Wars Black Series figures, these figures came on a card like more traditional action figures. They weren’t entirely new, though, as all four figures were re-releases of four highly sought after Black Series figures.

The first figure that I saw was original Black Series Figure #1, Luke Skywalker, dressed in his X-wing pilot uniform. I was a bit confused. I hadn’t heard of the Black Series Archive line and was wondering if this figure was somehow different from the original figure in some way. I own the original figure, so I didn’t really have any interest in this one, but it is slightly different from the original. How? According to starwars.com, the paint application is more advanced than it was when this figure initially came out five years ago. They are using the same molds, but are applying new photo realistic technology that “adds depth and nuance to facial features, bringing new life to older figures.” (Steve Evans, https://www.starwars.com/news/first-look-hasbro-black-series-archive-wave-2)

The initial release includes the Luke Skywalker figure along with three bounty hunters: IG-88, Bossk, and the highly sought after Boba Fett. By putting these figures back into the market, they are allowing collectors to grab a re-issue of the original figures for around the same price as they were sold for when they were first released. Online resellers are notorious for purchasing figures and then reselling them at insanely bloated prices. Some of them go for four and fives times their original MSRP. Repackaging and selling the figures again takes the greedy resellers out of the equation.

Since the release of these four figures, I’ve noticed prices drop dramatically on their original versions, some going for less than their MSRP. Figures that haven’t been released or announced yet still draw upwards of $75 or more. There are a few figures from the original line that I missed that I really would like to have in my collection, but being a box opener (I just made a few collectors cringe), I have neither the desire nor the funds to plunk down more than twenty or so bucks on a figure. The re-releases give me the chance to grab some of those that I missed.

The primary figure that I’m after is the Boba Fett figure. When he was originally released, I saw only one in the wild. He was at a local Books-A-Million and marked up about six bucks over MSRP. I decided that I would hold off on buying the figure and regretted doing so just a few days later. The figure’s price skyrocketed to over one hundred bucks online, and that’s just for the basic figure, not the San Diego Comic Con exclusive that was released in 2013. I did manage to nab the Walgreens Exclusive Prototype Boba Fett (the all white suit never used in the film), but I wanted the real deal. He is now available thanks to Hasbro.

More figures are coming this spring. Anakin Skywalker, Yoda, and a Biker Scout are scheduled to be released in April of this year. Apparently only seven Archive figures will be released this year, so it looks like Luke, Anakin, IG-88, Yoda, Boba Fett, Bossk, and the Biker Scout are the only figures we’ll be getting for 2019. That’s cool, but I do hope that at least one or two more figures are released prior to Christmas of this year.

I have collected most of the figures from the Black Series that I wanted, but a few have managed to slip through my fingers. In order of release, these are the figures that I missed and hope to get one day:

• R2-D2
• Stormtrooper
• Boba Fett
• Clone Trooper
• Clone Commander Cody
• Ahsoka Tano
• Shock Trooper
• Scarif Stormtrooper
• Snowtrooper
• Captain Rex
• Han Solo (Solo: A Star Wars Story)

Sooner or later I’ll have to post a photo of my entire collection. I open almost all of my figures. The only exceptions that I’ve made are my Obi-Wan Black Series figure and my Walgreens Exclusive Boba Fett. Everyone else has been out of the box for awhile.

Do you collect Black Series figures? Are there any figures that you missed that you hope to see return to store shelves? Let me know in the comments and, as always, thanks for reading.