droolicious : clone troopers

Because We All Have $430 to Drop On a Clone Trooper Helmet

Aaron Burgess — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:00:00 GMT

Couldn't score one of those elusive Clone Trooper Helmet toys at Christmastime? Blow it out of the water with this limited-edition fiberglass Attack of the Clones Clone Captain Helmet, up now for preorder at StarWarsShop.com. Sure, it'll cost you $400 more than the plastic toy those commoners are wearing, but you'll be one of just 400 geeks worldwide to have one. [eFx Collectibles]

Star Wars Clone Trooper Helmet Still Flying Off Shelves

Aaron Burgess — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Getting little kids to go nuts over talking Star Wars merchandise is like shooting fish in a barrel, but there are a few good reasons Hasbro's Clone Trooper Voice Changer Helmet is topping so many "hot toy" lists this season.

For one, it's durable -- so much so that your littlest Clone may reel from the sheer weight when he or she dons the thing. But if you've experienced either the lesser Clone helmets that cover just kids' faces or the cheapo, rubber-band-backed Halloween masks that always seem to break within minutes, you'll understand why bulk makes the difference.

Once you get the helmet adjusted -- and for anyone under 10, unless they've got an especially large noggin, you'll need to work with the fittings a bit -- the voice-changing feature adds a nice bit of realism to the experience. If you're familiar with The Clone Wars, you'll realize the term "voice-changing" is a bit of a stretch, but from a kid's perspective, the walkie-talkie-style effects that leave them sounding like Commander Cody and his comrades will invite hours of imaginative play.

$30.93 (regularly $36.99) from Amazon.

Guide to Tonight's Star Wars Midnight-Madness Sales

Aaron Burgess — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:27:00 GMT

You won't need to travel to a galaxy far, far away (groan), but you may need to sacrifice some precious sleep tonight if you want to be among the first in line to snag Hasbro's spankin'-new toys from the upcoming animated flick and eventual Cartoon Network series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Heck, keep the kids awake and make a party of it -- you can sleep in while they play tomorrow.

If money's no object and collector fever has you in its death grip, you're in luck, because depending on which major retailer you hit tonight, there are multiple exclusive items to be claimed in addition to the action figures, vehicles, battle packs and other doo-dads, such as exclusive first-day-of-issue foil packages. (Oh, the nerdiness...)

Here we've got a complete roundup -- courtesy of the droolworthy Star Wars: The Clone Wars Official Hasbro Handbook (cover pictured above), available for download at starwars.hasbro.com:

Toys"R"Us: Select stores nationwide will open at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, July 26, with exclusive Star Wars: The Clone Wars products (including the STAP Attack Battle Pack and T.I.E. Fighter with T.I.E. Pilot Figure), giveaways, and special midnight-madness items. In Toys"R"Us' case, said item is an exclusive General Grievous figure that comes free with any action-figure or role-play purchase of $30 and above (one per customer while supplies last).

Wal-Mart: Head to your nearest 24-hour Super Center starting 12:01 a.m. on July 26 for exclusive items such as the Clone Trooper 501st Legion Join-Up Figure, the Lando Calrissian & Stormtrooper Comic 2-Pack, and the blue version of the Clone Trooper Voice Changer Helmet.

Target: Get your sleep and hit up Target stores the morning of July 26 for more exclusives, in this case the Yoda & Coruscant Guard Battle Pack, the Commander Fox Figure, and the red version of the Clone Trooper Voice Changer Helmet.

Hasbro notes that not all of these exclusives may be available on July 26, so if you get to the endcap and can't find that TIE Fighter you had your heart set on, keep checking back. The movie opens Aug. 15, and we're guessing these are just the beginning of the toy tie-ins.