Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

At one point or another I’m sure everyone’s worried about losing their arm in a lightsaber fight, but it didn’t seem to hinder Vader’s rise to power, so why should it worry you? And worse comes to worse you can always pick up a replacement arm from the StarWarsShop.com for a mere $44.99. So maybe this version is made of 45 snap-together plastic parts instead of space-age composites and alloys, and it appears to be stuck to a large base, but the fingers do open and close allowing you to grasp objects and still live a full rewarding life.

[ Star Wars Darth Vader Robotic Arm ] VIA [ Nerd Approved ]

By Andrew Liszewski

A few years ago we brought you news that Marc Ecko was producing a limited edition hoodie that basically made you look like bounty hunter Boba Fett from the Star Wars films. (Give or take.) Unfortunately since they were a ‘limited edition’ the hoodies were very popular and particularly hard to come by. But not being ones to let a profitable idea slip by it seems that Lucas & co. has given the go ahead for a whole line of Marc Ecko Star Wars hoodies.

While they won’t actually be available until November of this year, the hoodies are available for pre-order from the StarWarsShop.com and include such designs as an X-Wing Pilot ($149.99) Darth Vader and Darth Maul ($98) and a redesigned Boba Fett hoodie now known as the ‘Fett for Real.’ ($98) And yes, they’re all available in sizes from small to 3XL to accommodate the entire spectrum of Star Wars fanboys.

[ StarWarsShop.com - Fett for Real, X-Wing Pilot, Darth Vader & Darth Maul Hoodies ]

By Andrew Liszewski

StarWars.com took a brief (almost too brief) look at this Star Wars Electronic Laser Battle Game that dates back to A New Hope. The article mostly talks about the differences between the prototype pictured on the bottom and the final release version of the game pictured in the packaging above. While I would have preferred a few more shots of the actual game in action, and maybe even a video, the packaging shot still provides plenty of retro eye candy, and makes me appreciate all of my modern ‘electronic’ gaming consoles even more.

[ StarWars.com - Prototype Gallery: Electronic Laser Battle Game ] VIA [ TheForce.net ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Being the huge Star Wars geek that I am, I’m always on the lookout for cool new merch to show off my geeky pride. I’m actually rather selective as to what I’ll set out, which means that something really has to catch my eye. This set of bookends would definitely fall into that category.

When set together, the pieces depict the famous garbage compactor scene from A New Hope. However, turn them around and the gang is struggling to keep your books (or movies) from toppling over. Don’t get too excited about these. They aren’t going to be hitting stores until April of next year, though you can pre-order them already for the salty price of $190.

[ Star Wars Shop ] VIA [ FoolishGadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Well it looks like Lucas has completed yet another trilogy. First we brought you the Plush Yoda backpack way back in 2006, followed by the overly hairy Chewbacca Backpack in 2007, and now it looks like the Sith Lord himself, Darth Vader, is finally getting the backpack treatment. Unfortunately there’s just something about seeing a 3-foot version of Vader hanging off of someone’s back that makes the character seem a whole lot less menacing. If you only knew the power of a nice understated courier bag…

StarWarsShop.com has them for pre-order for $39.99, and they’re expected to ship sometime in August of this year.

[ Star Wars Darth Vader Back Buddy ]

By Andrew Liszewski

It’s not uncommon to find a real sword with a back-up dagger hidden in the hilt, so it only makes sense that the Jedi and Sith would keep a similar ace up their cloak’s sleeve. These new Duel Action Electronic Lightsaber toys available for pre-order on StarWars.com feature a miniature lightsaber tucked away in the hilt, perfect for stabbing, shivving or looking really bad-ass while eating an apple. They won’t be available until August at the earliest, but you’re welcome to shell out $46.99 now and just wait it out.

[ Sith & Jedi Duel Action Electronic Lightsaber ]

By Andrew Liszewski

There’s no surer sign that Summer is just around the corner than the stores filling up with beach and water toys. And what better way to have fun in the sun (or suns, depending on where you live) than with a collection of Star Wars inflatable toys? These come courtesy of Jakks Pacific and include everything from the Millennium Falcon, to an X-Wing, to Anakin’s and Obi-Wan’s starfighters from the prequels. (Not pictured.) And as StarWars.com asks, why has it taken 31 years to get an inflatable Death Star beach ball?

Sadly, that R2-D2 floating drink holder won’t be out until next year, but you should be able to find the rest of them at Target stores in the US, or Walmart stores in Canada, though I have no idea on the pricing.

[ StarWars.com - Blow Up The Death Star! ] VIA [ TheForce.Net ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The photo you see on top is a speeder bike ride-on toy created by Huffy in 1984 as part of a toy store sweepstakes. Not only does it actually look like the speeder bikes featured in the Endor chase scene in Return of the Jedi, but it also has a bit of retro 1950’s charm to it. In other words, I’d proudly ride one of those around, even today.

But the photo you see on the bottom is an updated version of the speeder bike ride-on toy created by an Australian company called ToyMonster. Not only is it completely lacking any of the charm of the original, but it barely even looks like a speeder bike. On the plus side it’s apparently faster and handles better than the original, but it’s yet another reason why I feel that today’s kids have gotten royally screwed in the toy department.

[ StarWars.com - The Return of the Speeder Bike Ride-On ] VIA [ TheForce.Net ]

By Luke Anderson

The Rebel forces might not have quite the resources of the Galactic Empire, but they can usually get the job done. The other day we saw an Imperial sound system, the AT-AT Boombox. That left me wondering what exactly the fearless Rebels had to counter such a menacing audio output device. The answer? An R2-D2 sound system.

It appears that our favorite little astromech droid was hiding a few more surprises that we didn’t know about. It looks as though he’s actually a Transformer, or at least he has a cousin that’s a boombox. This piece is a part of the Hype Hustle Rip-Off exhibition by Bill McMullen. I haven’t had a radio that big in a very long time, maybe if it had looked like R2 I wouldn’t have gotten rid of it.

[ TheConstantGallery ] VIA [ Technabob ]