Pulse

Biggest. Toy. Ever.

Posted

Big-time criminals have big-time appetites, but Jabba the Hutt is in a league of his own. The notorious Outer Rim kingpin made an impression in Return of the Jedi thanks to his unique brand of interstellar sleaze, a palace full of deathtraps and freaky spacemen, and a giant hovercraft that was also kind of a sailboat. That sail barge – The Khetanna – is the rare example of a Star Wars vehicle or character that hasn’t found its way to a toy aisle yet, but with crowdsourcing campaign Haslab aimed at the diehard fans, Pawtucket-based Hasbro thinks it may have found a way to bring its biggest Star Wars toy ever to life.

The idea is to pre-sell 5,000 units of the toy by April 4. If Hasbro hits the target, collectors will not only be the first to get this monster of a toy – it will be more than four feet long and over a foot high and weigh 15 pounds, all to scale with the standard-sized Star Wars figures – but also get behind-the-scenes updates on every stage of development and a 64-page book called Behind the Workbench full of photos, blueprints, and interviews with the toy’s designers, like Cranston’s own Mark Boudreaux, senior principal product designer for the Star Wars line.

“I’ve been lucky enough to work on so many iconic Star Wars toys,” Boudreaux says in the Haslab launch video. Since the Kenner days working on the original line of Star Wars toys, Boudreaux has had a hand in every single Millennium Falcon toy made for the 3-and-3/4-inch figure line, not to mention TIE Fighters, AT-ATs, and basically every other coolest spaceship ever you can think of. “It’s been a dream come true for me, both as a designer and a fan.”

At $500 a pop, it’s a big ask, but Star Wars collectors are nothing if not fiercely loyal to the brand. And even if it falls short, it’s a nice reminder of the role Rhode Islanders play in a galaxy far, far away.

Biggest. Toy. Ever., Tony Pacitti, Hasbro taps diehard collectors to help make its biggest Star Wars toy yet, Haslab, Hasbro toy company, Star wars toys, Providence Monthly, Providence RI, Rhode Island, PVD RI, Providence, PVD, RI

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here



X