 There is nothing better than hanging great Star Wars artwork on your wall. Troopers will get a crack at a very limited lithograph from artist Dave Dorman. Dynamic Forces Inc. today announced the second in a series of limited edition, high-end lithographs the company will be producing featuring art from the Star Wars universe. We can always look forward to anything from Rolling Thunder, and I'm sure Dave will have us all asking for more! For more check out the  |
 "Hey Troops! Good news at Toys-R-Us today I found and picked up one of the re-colored TIE fighters with TIE pilot. It is the same as the Target TIE fighter that was released last year in the blue color with the accurately scaled wings. The receipt says 'TIE FIGHTER W. FIGURE $44.99' with the SKU number as 653569192497. You can see the photos I took of it here and here. Happy hunting!" |
 Ever since I bought the Kotobukiya sandtrooper figure last year, I have always wanted to give it a new weathering paint job to it since it looked so bad. I finally accomplished that task today. Now that I have my very own sandtrooper armor, I had a really good idea on how to dramatically improve its weathering. Head on over to the forums to read how I did this and to see all the pictures of it. If only Kotobukiya had done it this way in the first place! |
 On August 26, 2006 the 501st Bloodfin Garrison (Indianapolis, IN) was invited to a benefit for Riley Hospital. Every year the benefit for the kids at Riley Hospital for Children is held with different themes. This year the theme was Star Wars. The rules for the 200-300 guests are quite simple. Come, have fun, eat, drink, play etc. However no gifts were permitted. Instead, everyone is provided a list of items that the kids at Riley need. Gifts like batteries, phone cards (for parents to call home) gift cards, electronic games, toys, cards, art supplies, etc. Between cash, cards and gifts they raised approximately $5000 for the kids at Riley last year. Would they top that this year? |
 BusinessWeek's online edition has written up a very good article concerning the future of Star Wars gaming. They give a preview of all the titles that LucasArts are currently working on, some of which are already released or soon to be released, and others are still being coded and conceived by members of LucasArts. The one game that stands out is the "Star Wars: Lethal Alliance." It will help bridge the gap between Episodes III and IV, by introducing key Saga characters for the very first time. It's currently unknown when this game may be released, but being a new Xbox 360 owner I cannot wait to see future Star Wars games come out for it. Read the full story here. |
 The Customs section has a new gallery thanks to RC 1183. This mad sandtrooper has some incredible customizing talent! He's done a great job working on making new Republic Commandos, BARC troopers, and one of my ultimate favorites... his Massiff handler clone trooper. There are 62 images for you to look at, and when you're done looking at them please be sure to provide feedback over in our forums. |
 To me, 1980 was a really good year. I was seven years old and of course was fascinated with the original Star Wars film that debuted three years ago. I primarily played with Star Wars and G.I. Joe toys, and at times I combined the best of both worlds into these enormous battles for total domination. I had Rebels and Imperials teaming up to fight against G.I. Joe and Cobra. As a kid, of course that was a great time to be alive. Unfortunately, each year encounters tragedy in one way or another, and 1980 had some unfortunate events take place. On a good note, the best thing to ever happen was the release of "Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back." To most Star Wars fans this was the best movie of all six in the Saga. So what are some of the key events that transpired during the year 1980? Read the whole article here. |
| “Troops, this has got to stop! I was disgusted today at what I saw at a Toys-R-Us store in Indy. I was looking at the new deco Exclusive Endor AT-AT at Toys-R-Us and noticed something that mad me upset and I just had to take a picture of it with my cell phone. As you can see from the picture some inconsiderate person had removed the Biker Scout with flip-up visor and replaced it with another Star Wars figures, in this case the AT-RT figure from Revenge of the Sith. This is not the first time that I have seen a figure removed from a package and replaced with another figure. What people should really do is stop doing this! You are ruining the fun of collecting for others in the area. If you want the toy purchase the toy and keep it, stop returning the toy with a reject item. The stores should also know they’re getting stuck. The Force is NOT strong in you.” |
 With the release date of September 12th rapidly approaching, the official website for LEGO Star Wars II goes live! Check out the latest news, features, and forums, download and play the demo, and even have a bit of fun creating your own character! Check out the characters, watch the trailers, and view screenshots and so much more. For more, head on into our forums and talk with other fans salivating for this game! |
| New Saga 2006: 501st Legion Trooper #1 of 14 Shock Trooper #11 of 14 AT-TE Tank Gunner #2 of 14 Clone Commander #14 of 14 Clone Trooper Chief Chirpa 039 Moff Jerjerrod 040 Death Star Gunner 041 C-3PO with Ewok Throne 042 Emperor Palpatine 043 Commander Cody 024 | New Titanium: B-Wing TIE Interceptor GOLD Darth Vader Starfighter A-Wing (Blue) Executor Sandcrawler New Exclusive Figures: 501st Stormtrooper - Comic Con Shadow Stormtrooper George Lucas as Stormtrooper |
 “Hey Troops, here's a brief store report from my run today: Toys R Us (Gurnee IL): has the Dagobah X-Wing in stock as well as plenty of the Greatest Battles figures with the 501st clones. No sign of the AT-AT.KB Toys (Gurnee IL): “has the Mos Eisley wave with the Sandtroopers in stock plus Scorches. That's all for now. Good luck to all of you out there. United We Find!” |
 “Today, my hunting adventures led me to the Dayton, OH area actually more like Beavercreek close to Wright State University campus. I shopped by the Target, Wal-Mart, and TRU there. Target had some of the greatest battles on the pegs. Wal-Mart had some of them as well. TRU was packed to the gills with figs from various waves. Even though I didn't buy anything I had a good experience at the TRU. One of the employees went out of his way to help me out with a Hunt for GG battle pack. They didn't have any at his store so he called another one and they were out there as well. I was impressed by the fact that he was such a good help I wanted to share my story. The store did have the AT-AT and X-Wing’s today but they sold out rather quickly.” |
 “Not a whole lot to report lately here in NW Indiana. Toys 'R Us in Merrillville had the Dagobah X-Wing and the Clone Wars Gunships for $45, lots of the H&V minus the good ones, and a lot of the Tatooine wave. All Targets have the exclusive Unleashed Boba Fett and General Grievous. KB Toyworks in Highland had a lot of the H&V series 2 in, with at least 4 501st Clones and a few Scorch. Titanium ships have been overrun with Titanium Transformers. This kind of annoys me because the stores are not separating them from the Star Wars Titanium ships and are not stocking accordingly. That leaves one or two ships and 20 or the Transformers. Endor wave is still easy enough to find here, except for the Death Star Gunner. All I'm waiting on now is for the Naboo wave to hit. I am really looking forward to that one. Until next time, best of luck in all of your patrols!”pat@sandtroopers.com |
 Hey Troopers! Hasbro just sent us the answers to our latest barrage of questions. The absence at Wizard World Chicago, Galactic Heroes Vehicles and much more. I'm sure you'll want to take a look here. We are happy to have this feature up and on the move again! |
 “I was out and about this morning and stopped by the Kmart in Athens Alabama. They had the Millennium Falcon, the Vader TIE Fighter and the new Galactica from the Ultra Titanium line. I don't do these but these ships are the best looking for the bunch. If you still have a K-mart in your area and are a big Titanium fan, keep an eye on Kmart.” |
| New Pre-Order: Jango Fett Mini Bust Luke Jedi Mini Bust C-3PO w/ Maquette Luke X-Wing Maquette | Han on Tauntaun Statue Harry Potter Hagrid Mini Bust Harry Potter Mad-Eye Mini Bust Corpse Bride Pipe Smoking Skeleton |
 It has been quite a month and once again it was one to remember. For those who were selected, congrats and please send me a private message via the Forum if you have not received your prize. We would like to thank all of our loyal Sponsors who make the Blast possible. It has been a great six years and we look forward to sticking to the ideals the site was founded on. Unity, collect and serve. It doesn't matter if you are a new recruit or a seasoned veteran, we try to give back to the community with events like the Sandblast as well as our Trooper of the Month program which started this year. We try to keep it as interesting as possible with our many features and a never-ending desire to entertain. Thanking us is as simple as patronizing our sponsors and using our links. Next year the blast will be even bigger, even better. I'm not going to let the cat out of the bag too bad but I'll drop a hint. Got Armor? As for tonight? The last winner of the party is forum member pshorrock72, he will draw the Master Replicas Stormtrooper Blaster from our friends at Brians Toys. Thanks again to all for an amazing six years, it has been a privilege to serve you. United We Find! |
 It has been quite a while since I have not only cleaned the dust off of a few things but it was also time to snap a few pictures of some things I've been searching for. The colletion focus seems to switch gears for many with time, and for me it has been less Hasbro, parting with Gentle Giant mini-busts and becoming a Sideshow freak. Got a new collection or update? Please send them to dustrho@sandtroopers.com |
 “Hello Troopers from the Great City of Jacksonville. If anyone still needs a Saga Commander Cody and R5-D4, I came across some and will sell them for 7.50 each plus shipping. If for some reason you are still having difficulty finding the Endor wave, I have figures from that wave that I was going to keep MOC (they're in great shape) but I figured I'd offer them to you first. They are ESB R2, Bespin Confession Vader, Chirpa, and Golden God Threepio.” |
| “Hey Troops, I wanted to let the collectors (not scalpers) know that the At-At and the Dagobah X-Wing have landed at our one and only TRU in Huntsville Alabama. They had 2 AT-AT's and 4 X-Wings .The X-Wing looked very nice but I passed. The thing that was strange was there was no R2-D2 included. The AT-AT didn't thrill me. It was just a repaint of the POTF2 one with different light and sound effects. The folks are dropping 90 bucks just for the Biker Scout with the flip up visor? I can swear it. There you have it.” |
| Kotobukiya Specials: Episode II CLone Trooper Episode III Clone Trooper Sandtrooper Boba Fett | New Arrivals: Koto Slave Leia Titanium Vader TIE Clone to Stormtrooper I Clone to Stormtrooper II |
 The Dewback Patrol has been updated with our latest mission from the Brookfield Zoo just outside Chicago, IL. Members of 4 factions of the Force converged to take part in the "Zoo Stars" Parade. There was a very large turnout and who could think of Lions, Tigers or Bears when you had Vader, Obi-Wan and Troopers? For more check out the mission details from earlier today. Thanks again to Phyllis Schulte and the every person in all of the groups for having us out! |
| New Titanium: B-Wing TIE Interceptor Gold Darth Vader Starfighter A-Wing (Blue) Executor Sandcrawler | New Saga 2006: 501st Legion Trooper #1 of 14 Shock Trooper #11 of 14 AT-TE Tank Gunner #2 of 14 Clone Commander #14 of 14 Clone Trooper 5 of 12 |
 “There is actually quite a bit showing up in the Atlanta area for once. I’ve found the new Titanium figures, 3-inch ships (B-wing, TIE Interceptor) and Ultra Vader’s TIE. Friday evening I asked an employee at my local Target about the Unleashed Boba and Grievous and sure enough, they were in the back! A bit pricey at 19.99 but hey, when you miss out the first time.... The only thing still MIA is the TRU AT-AT and X-Wing. Otherwise, just waiting for the Naboo wave! Good luck out there...hit it hard!” |
 “Some more news from Central Texas, it looks like Toys R Us finally decided to try and catch up with the times! In Killeen today I spotted 2 new AT-AT’s and the new Dagobah X-Wing. These are very nice, but the X-Wing looks sweet in this new display box, any carded collector will love the way this will show off! Harker Heights Wal-Mart has a bunch of the Endor wave finally and they have reduced the VTSC down to $8.96 and the Titanium 5-packs down to $15. Killeen Wal-Mart has reduced their VTSC down to $4 and I was able to score 3 Tusken Raiders! The Scouts and Luke's were gone already, but plenty of Greedo & Han left if you want them for the mail-in-Lucas!” For more check out the |
| The Official site has updated with information for an online redemption form for the mail-away George Lucas figure. You can find the information on this offer form here. It is good to see Hasbro making the necessary changes to help aid collectors and help combat scalping! |
| “Hey Troops, here's a store report after a 2 month hiatus: Toys R Us (Gurnee IL): has reset their figure aisle. They have the Endor wave minus the Death Star Gunners. This is the first time I have seen this wave in the area. They also have the Episode 3 Greatest Battles figures, which include the Pilot Obi-wan & Destroyer Droid. Target (Waukegan & Gurnee IL): “also have in stock the Episode 3 Greatest Battles figures, which include Padme & Count Dooku. They also have Mace Windu's Starfighter & Vader's TIE Fighter in stock as well. That's all for now. Later.” |
 Sandtrooper Boba Binks has added yet another of the Gentle Giant replica statues to our guides. One of the most wanted once again is none other than Boba Fett. This piece is simply amazing and a must have for any fan of the most notorious Bounty Hunter in the galaxy! Limited to 6500 pieces, it's easy to see why these newer statues are becoming just as or more popular as the mini-busts with collectors.This statue is frozen in coolness and I'm sure you'll want to look at all the frames David has provided to us. |
 During Comic-Con Sideshow Collectibles announced they would be teaming with Acme Archives to produce exclusive prints based on the already popular Star Wars Character Keys. Well, tonight brings you the first character announced in this partnership and it's none other than the former Jedi Count Dooku. This print will be limited to 1250 copies world wide and can only be ordered through Sideshow's website this Thursday, August 17th. |
 The Gentle Giant busts section has been updated tonight with the addition of the exclusive Gen-Con Mara Jade bust. If only everyone could have been in Indy this past weekend! Sandtrooper Boba Binks was one of the fortunate and was able to secure one for our viewing pleasure. The popularity of these pieces continues to skyrocket. Check out the high-resolution image guide of it here. |
| Now Available: 501st Stormtrooper Titanium Clone Trooper Titanium IG-88 Koto Scout Trooper | Pre-Order: 400% Vader Kubrick Kubrick Series 7 C-3PO & R2-D2 Jabba Slave Leia |
 “Greetings from the heartland of God's country. Cedar Rapids Iowa. For the first time in a long time the west side Wal-Mart and Target had some new product on their shelves. Wal-Mart has the Hoth and Snowspeeder Battle Packs along with a good variety of Episode 6 figures. All of the VTSC figures are still warming the pegs. They haven't moved in over a month. There were lots of Vader, C-3PO, Hem, Chewbacca and Han Solo's. Target has finally finished their reset.” For more check out the |
| “DarthPharaoh checking in with the Atlanta area 411. Like almost all areas now, Endor is pretty easily findable around here. Greatest Battles waves can also be found just about everywhere though stores seem to have one wave or the other, not both, and naturally the clone figures are harder to get as they’re the most popular. In fact, the Padme and 3PO figures look to be big pegwarmers already in a lot of stores. The AT-AT’s and X-Wings haven’t hit TRU here as of this email but a manager at a local TRU I talked to told me they should be arriving this week (probably). No sign of the 7-inch Unleashed rehashes but the Hoth Unleashed Battlepacks are here though not too common yet. Just over 2 weeks until Dragon-Con and I’ll be going for the first time. Never been to a Con and I need practice for C-IV!! If you were going to be heading down for this give me a shout, as I haven’t met anyone from here yet and it would be fun. I’m out for now (and so is the wallet with all that’s hitting). Hit it hard all!” |
| New Saga 2006: 501st Legion Trooper #1 of 14 Shock Trooper #11 of 14 AT-TE Tank Gunner #2 of 14 Clone Commander #14 of 14 Clone Trooper 5 of 12 New Saga Special Figures: 501st Stormtrooper - Comic Con Exclusive Shadow Stormtrooper George Lucas as Stormtrooper | New Unleashed: Wampa Assault Imperial Invasion Rebel Alliance Troopers Imperial Snowtroopers New Titanium: AT-AT - Titanium Ultra GOLD Vader Starfighter A-Wing (Blue) Executor Sandcrawler |
 “HothChad from central Minnesota with a store report. Target has gotten the Titanium IG-88 and 501st Clone trooper in. The new 7-inch Unleashed are showing up in the back, they also have in the Hoth Unleashed Battlepacks. TRU has gotten in the AT-AT and the Dagaboh X-Wing. HothChad Out!” |
 Hey Troopers, we have some news regarding the Chicagoland Entertainment Collectors Expo. The annual Charity Breakfast is nearly sold out and if you were planning on attending we are told there are less than 25 tickets available. The Exclusive trading card offer is in effect and proceeds will go to the Sturge-Weber Foundation. As many of you know my son, Tyler suffers from this terrible illness. I'd really like to thank the CECE for offering the proceeds to the foundation. Join Felix Silla, Mercedes Ngoh, C. Andrew Nelson, Dean Mitchell and many others for the 3rd Annual Charity Breakfast. For more visit the Chicagoland Expo website for details. |
 “Hey Troops, Donna from So Cal with a looooong overdue report. Don't know if it was a fluke but I found the entire Endor wave last month at Target and have not seen any since at Target. But you can find the Endor wave at Wal-Mart. Found both waves 2 and 3 of the Greatest Hits at both Target and Wal-Mart. The new Titanium vehicles (B-wing, Tie Interceptor, and next wave of Battlestar Galactic) and figures (I only found IG-88) are showing up at Target. Then on Friday, there was a whole end cap of the Unleashed Boba and Grievous. On Thursday, scored the AT-AT and then on Sat picked up the X-wing at TRU. It has been a very expensive month. Lastly, because of the great kindness of a local collector who attended Comic Con, I now have the Shocktrooper mini bust and the 501st Stormtrooper in my possession. Happy Hunting to all and Happy Birthday to Sandtroopers.com!” |
| “Today, while doing a mini-hunt here in MA I stumbled across the Boba Fett and General Grievous Target Exclusive Unleashed figures. The packaging on these figures look very similar to the Best Buy Darth Vader from last year. Each figure looked pretty cool inside their display tube. The price was $19.99 each, which I do believe was the same price as the other version. So if you are looking for these be looking, they're starting to come!” |
 “Bigmikehodge here in Cincinnati with a store report and a request. First the report Toys R Us received a load of the greatest battles figures with no less than 6 Shocktroopers but no 501st figures. Target received some also with the Shocktrooper but no 501st. Wal-Mart received some yesterday and my fiancé called wanting to know what I was looking for and surprise she came home with a 501st. It was the only one they had so be out looking. Nothing much more to report except that the at-at walkers have started showing up. Now for the request. If anyone has any extra of the Hasbro episode 2 saga posters they gave out please let me know. I am looking for the one that has the figures going all the way up to Teemto Pagilies that may have only been given away in Australia and the one given out here that goes up to Djas Puhr. The one going up to Teemto has a white background behind each individual figure with the name underneath. The other one has the names listed at the bottom in a black type box if anyone can help please email.” |
 “Hi Troops! The second half of this week brought the Greatest Battles and additional Endor wave to LaGrange/Countryside, Illinois Wal-Mart, and, to a lesser degree, Target. After Wal-Mart's finalization of their reset and a relocation of the Star Wars brand, the pegs and an end-cap were filled with each assortment, with many cases doubling back to a retreat to the stock room until more room is made later. Target got Greatest Battles in lesser quantity but do have a surprising abundance of clear-glass Hem Dazon and even clear with blue paint and the more common white and blue painted. If any of you were curious, the Shock Troopers are showing strong too, along with the 501st Troopers. Until next hunt, United we Find!” |
 Fellow staff member Boba Binks made a third and final trip out to Indy's Gen Con event, and the show was still going as strong as the first two days. He had the pleasure of meeting up with "The Greatest American Hero" and other big-name celebrities. Read his full report and check out the 31 photos of it here. |
 Hey troopers! I made one stop while out on duty this morning, and it was one of the best scores of Star Wars toys in a very long time! I stopped at the Wal-Mart out in Plainfield on Route 59, when my friend Jeff and I spotted a few Hasbro Star Wars boxes that were unopened, just waiting to make their ways to the pegs and shelves. Two of the boxes contained several new figures from the latest Saga wave, and I was able to score the following figures: Death Star Gunner (x2), Moff Jerjerrod, C-3PO w/Ewok Throne, Chief Chirpa and R2-D2 (which I might already have). I also found four new Unleashed Battle Pack sets which include the following: Imperial Invasion, Imperial Snowtroopers, Snowtrooper Battalion and Wampa Assault. These Unleashed figures are getting better and better as Hasbro keeps pumping these out of their facility. I think this Hoth wave is by far the best of all the smaller Battle Pack figures. Until next time... United We Find! |
| “The Greatest Hits and the Endor wave have been hitting very hard in north Alabama. I went to 2 Wal-Mart's and one had all the Greatest Hits the other was crammed with the Heroes and Villains and the Endor waves. I am curious though. I have not seen the Shock Trooper.” |
| Hey Troopers! Hasbro just sent us the answers to our latest barrage of questions. Even though they sort of answered 3 in one, I'm sure you'll want to take a look here. There are also a couple other announcements you'll want to read concerning VTSC figures! We have appeared to have missed the deadline for the next week, therefore we will pick up at next opportunity! |
 Fellow staff member Jedi Scholar 8 made his way to Indianapolis today to bring you an early report of Gen Con Indy 2006. Since it was the opening day there wasn't a whole lot going on, but it was still busy for a Thursday opening. If you're into games then you'll definitely want to go to this show. Check back often for continuous coverage of the show, and check out his first report of today's events which includes 19 photos. |
 The site has finally opened its doors to the public, as the LEGO Star Wars II site is now fully accessible. On the site you can view screenshots, a video trailer, download a playable demo for your PC, build your very own LEGO character out of several different characters, and much more! The game is scheduled to be released on September 12 and will be available for Xbox 360, Xbox, Playstation, Gamecube, Gameboy Advance & DS, and also for PC. Check out the full scoop on this over at the Official Site. |
 They're small, they're highly detailed, and they're probably the coolest sculptures you can add to your collection. What I'm referring to are the poster sculptures from CODE 3 Collectibles. What they have done is that they've made 3-D poster sculptures based on several already made Star Wars theater posters. The first guide done by fellow staff member Boba Binks is the Chaykin poster, which happened to be a |
