EchoBaseNews.com: September 2011

Late night reviews? Don't mind if I do! At least the Flamethrower Clone Trooper can light a candle for ya!

ghostskull18 is in our spotlight today with his custom Mandalorian. Click here to check out some of his other work!!

Click here for an exciting update from our sponsor BigBadToyStore.com!

The results are in for our Fans' Choice Poll to determine the top ten characters EBN forum members most want to see made into action figures. Here is the list that was submitted to Hasbro yesterday:

1 - Jocasta Nu
2 - Ackmena
3 - Princess Kneessaa
4 - Zayne Carrick
5 - Lee Phenets
6 - Brea (or) Senni Tonnika
7 - Thall Joben
8 - Jann Tosh
9 - Kazdan Paratus
10 - Noghri Warrior

Our list proves that interest in Expanded Universe character choices is alive and well among our forum members.

A couple characters on this list, specifically Ackmena and the Tonnikas, have been declared "off-limits" by Hasbro in the past. However, EBN forum members won't take no for an answer, and we are including them in our final results because this is a Fans' Choice Poll, and also the best opportunity for characters like these to receive further consideration from Hasbro and Lucasfilm.

There were also three winners from the Droids and Ewoks cartoons of the 1980s. Droids and Ewoks characters seem to have appeared only in our results and the results of our friends at the Droids & Ewoks fan site. (Click here to check out their results.) But clearly some demand for these often forgotten characters exists. Hasbro has stated that Kneessaa is planned for the future but they haven't quite found a place in the line for her yet. We think people still voted for her anyway because we all know that Hasbro has talked about making figures in the past but unfortunately never gotten around to releasing them (see Vader with Funeral Pyre, Imperial Scanning Crew and Utai variants, and the last couple waves of the ill-fated Comic Packs line).

And lastly, it's important to note that second place didn't even come close to our poll winner, Jocasta Nu. She's also appeared in other fan sites' poll results, which suggests that once again there is demand for everyone's favorite Jedi librarian, who placed second overall in 2009's Fans' Choice Poll. Could Jocasta finally take the win this year?

We'd like to thank all of our forum members who submitted their nominees and we're glad to see such a unique list of winners. We hope to see them well represented in the final voting that's coming up in November, and we'll be sure to keep you updated on their progress in the upcoming stages of this very exciting Fans' Choice Poll!

We'd also like to thank Hasbro and Hunter PR for giving our readers a chance to make their voices heard!

It may be the Clone Wars, but there are plenty of Jedi figures to go around! Is Ki-Adi-Mundi worth an addition to the collection?

wraithnine is in our spotlight again with "Spark" this time. Click here to check out more pics of his work!!

Incom is in our spotlight today with his custom Kal & Mereel Skirata! He posted these awhile back, but these 2 definetly deserve to be spotlighted!! As a huge fan of the Republic Commando novels these are truly awesome to see. Click here to check out his fantastic work!!

I have recently done an interview with Gerald Home, who played Tessek and a Mon Calamari Officer on Home One. Read on about the actor's Star Wars experience after the jump!

A new option for our special charity autograph signing with actress Lily Nyamwasa (Stass Allie) has been added that's much more affordable for casual collectors or those who want to pitch in to help her charity, ROAR (Rwandan Orphan Assistance Response). Click here to enter the order page and secure your personalized signed limited edition Stass Allie trading card for just $20.00. Only twenty-five will be made available. Please note: this is not a licensed Star Wars collectible, and 100% of the profits will support ROAR.

I can't help but feel that I've done an ARF before...maybe one this week, even? Is the Kamino ARF Trooper worth a place in your shelves?

wraithnine is in our spotlight today with his realistic Commander Wolffe. Look at the precision of that paintjob!! Click here to see more pics and check out his other fantastic customs!

Just a reminder that the first phase of the official Hasbro 2011 Fan's Choice Poll will be ending soon. You have until tomorrow (9/27) at 11:59 PM PST to submit your nominations. Go to our forums to read the rules and submit your ten character nominations.

Click here for an exciting update from our sponsor ManofActionFigures.com!

Just a friendly reminder that we are now taking orders for our special autograph signing with actress Lily Nyamwasa (Stass Allie). Order your personalized autographed photo today and help out a great cause! Click here for all the details.

UPDATE: The deadline for placing your order has been extended to Friday, October 14. In addition, we're making a very cool signed trading card available (with the option of personalization) starting tomorrow! Full details will be announced tomorrow. Click below to check out the card!

One of the most looked forward to figures in the line, we take a late night look at Savage Oppress tonight!

I have recently done an interview with Gerald Home, who played Tessek and a Mon Calamari Officer on Home One. Read on about the actor's Star Wars experience after the jump!

The wait is finally over! Commander Jet has finally landed in stores! Is he worth the purchase?

wraithnine is in our spotlight today with R4-DX50 astromech droid. Click here to see more pics and check out his other droid customs.

Ratfink is in our spotlight today with his Death trooper horde!! They look positively horrifying. I feel like I could take them, Army of Darkness style, if I had a sawed off shotgun and a chainsaw for an arm though. Click here to see more of his pictures, or Click here to get linked to his Facebook page to check out more of his awesome customs!

Yakface member "combatJedi" posted some cool new pics of Wave 9 of The Vintage Collection (Bastila Shan, Walrusman, and Echo Base Trooper) in their forums! Click through to check them out.

Ghostskull18 is in our spotlight today with his custom Kakashi Moto. Click here to check out some more of his customs!!!

As Hasbro slowly works its way to complete the Clone Wars (2008) movie, we take a look at Jungle Camo ARF Trooper one of the repaints to finish out the (surprisingly) few unique repaints for Clone Troopers! Is this repaint worth it?

Jedi Defender has some cool shots of the Vintage Collection Ric Olie and Naboo Pilot up! Click through the link to see them.

Incom is in our spotlight today with his Wolverine. I've been following this custom for awhile now and it has been worth the wait! Click here to see some more of his work and check out that custom base he made for it! Wow!

Jedi Temple Archives reader Matthew Frey has donated his hard to find Wedge Antilles figure to a great cause. All of the profits from his auction will directly benefit the Give the Kids the World charity, started in honour of Katie (the inspiration for R2-KT). Let's see how much money we Star Wars fans can help donate to such a great cause! Details for both the auction and the charity can be found here.

Today's Battle Droid Commander review kicks off a new feature for Echo Base News: an interactive Facebook guide to our reviews? Does this figure kick enough butt to start this out right?

Click here for an exciting update from our sponsor ManofActionFigures.com!

Echo Base News interviews Artt Butler, just in time for the Clone Wars Season 4 premiere! Read more about a newcomer's role as an iconic Classic Trilogy character!

Darthdaddy is in our spotlight today with his Kitonak Gladiator!! Click here to see more pictures and some of his other customs, along with a Gamorrean Gladiator! Just a friendly reminder to everyone to start posting some more customs so I can show them off in our spotlight!!

Not every figure can be perfect right off the bat. Mace Windu is one of those characters where they've had to give it a few goes, and most of the time you could blame his angry face. How does Clone Wars Mace.2 do?

Mrhoppers819 is in our spotlight today with his Sullustan Jedi Master. Click here to see some more of customs.

Click here for an exciting update from our sponsor BigBadToyStore.com!

Sometimes, there are just figures you own, no matter what anybody on any website will tell you. Pre Vizsla's one of those figures. Why's he so good?

Wraithnine is in our spotlight today with his custom R4-CX20 astromech droid. Check out the detail of those paint jobs! Click here to see more pics and some more of his fantastic work!

In the last Hasbro Q&A, Hasbro told the Star Wars Action News podcast that the Saga Legends line is being discontinued this year and will be replaced by a new line called Movie Heroes in 2012. Although our guess is that it will likely be another kid-focused line, hopefully in Movie Heroes we'll see some more collector-friendly choices as well.

The redemption form for this year's mail-away figure, Prototype Armor Boba Fett, has been made available online by Hasbro. Click here to check it out. This mail-away offer requires UPC codes from any 5 figures from Hasbro's Star Wars action figure collections, plus a check or money order for shipping and handling ($6.99 [U.S.] or $8.99 [Canada]).

UPDATE: Hasbro has altered the deal. (Pray they don't alter it any further.) Hehe. But seriously, now it seems only UPCs from the current Vintage Collection, The Clone Wars, and Saga Legends lines are being accepted for this mail-away. It's still not known whether the forms sent in with UPCs from previous lines are being accepted.

We've got a back to back spotlight today and starwarsgeek is in the spotlight this time with his custom Aayla Secura. Click here to check out some more Star Wars customs, and some non-Star Wars customs as well.

Tonphanan is in our spotlight today with his custom from the X-Wing Rogue Squadron comics Loka Hask. Click here to check out some more of his work!!

Don't forget to vote in our 2011 Hasbro Star Wars Fans' Choice Poll. This is a very unique opportunity to offer some input into Hasbro's character selection process, and your favorite character(s) might end up as an action figure. Click here to submit your top ten nominees!

Have any burning questions for Hasbro? E-mail your questions to gregb@echobaseforums.com (or post them here as a comment) and maybe they will be answered in the official Star Wars Q&A!

When I screw up, you guys get some goods out of it! For our second in our double header of reviews tonight, we're gonna glance at the Mandalorian Police Officer. Is he worth tracking down?

Just a friendly reminder that we are now taking orders for our special autograph signing with actress Lily Nyamwasa (Stass Allie). Order your personalized autographed photo today and help out a great cause! Click here for all the details.

Echo Base News wants to take some time to remember and pay respects to those who were lost ten years ago during the September 11th attacks, and think about the heroes of that day and those who are currently fighting to defend our freedom. God bless America!

Despite all of a website's best efforts to have a rigid schedule of reviews, their reviewer will drop the ball. So here she is, just, a day late! How does Aurra Sing measure up to other females in the line?

Our friends at Jedi Temple Archives are reporting that an amazing sale starts tomorrow at Toys R Us in which all Star Wars toys will be 30% off! Click here for all the exciting details.

FrozenOrange is in our spotlight today with his custom ROTJ Chewbacca. Hasbro could learn a thing or two from FrozenOrange on how to make a fantastic Chewie figure. Click Here to see his other work and let him know what you think his work.

Click here for an exciting update from our sponsor BigBadToyStore.com!

Wraithnine is in our spotlight today with his custom R4 astromech droid. He makes some fantastic droid customs!! Head on over to his Thread and give him some feedback on work.

It's the most wonderful time of the yeaarrrrrrrr! Or, not even Fall. But, hey. That's not gonna stop us from taking a look at Captain Rex in Cold Weather Gear today, will it? Of course not.

Our friends at Jedi Temple Archives have posted a great guide to all of the sites participating in this year's Hasbro Fans' Choice Poll. Click here to vote in ours if you haven't already, then be sure to check out the guide and get those votes in at JTA and other sites, too!

Our answers are in for the questions that were submitted on August 19th. Hasbro's responses are in bold.

1. Can we expect to see Kneesaa and Chukha-Trok from the Ewoks cartoon released in the near future?

We are seriously considering both of these figures as part of a 2012 exclusive. We have some details to work out with our retail partners so we can't make any promises, but we would like to deliver both of these next year.

2. What happened to holographic figures...did you retire the concept? If you don't plan on releasing anymore full size holographic figures, can we at least get some more mini handheld holograms as Clone Wars accessories?

The full-size holographic figures have not historically been our strongest sellers, but the mini handheld holograms are something we can look at as accessories.

Friday, September 30, 2011

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