Supergirl Incorporated Into LEGO Dimensions Experience

Supergirl has received a burst of popularity since the launch last year of a new television series.  Now the super heroine is leaping into the action of the LEGO Dimensions video game as a playable character. Beginning in late September of 2016 for a limited time, LEGO Dimensions Starter Packs for Sony PlayStation 4 computer entertainment systems will include an exclusive, bonus Supergirl LEGO minifigure.  In addition to Supergirl, the LEGO Dimensions PS4 Starter Pack will include the videogame, bricks to build the LEGO Gateway,  LEGO minifigures of Batman, Gandalf, and Wyldstyle, plus the LEGO Batmobile and the LEGO Toy Pad, which allows players to transport special LEGO minifigures and models into the game.



The Supergirl LEGO minifigure will have a number of extraordinary in-game abilities to help solve puzzles and battle enemies, including Super Strength, Flying, X-Ray Vision, and Beam Attacks which enable her to shoot heat beams out of her eyes.  She can also transform into Supergirl Red Lantern with additional abilities such as firing powerful Red Lantern energy bolts and energy beams from her Red Lantern Ring.

If you aren't able to obtain the Supergirl minifigure through this limited edition PS4 Starter Pack, the character will also become available in the near future as a "Hire-a-Hero" option for all consoles.  This is a feature in LEGO Dimensions that allows players to sample characters using studs collected in the game.  Players can select the hologram minifigure near certain hint stones to unlock characters for a limited time to try out their special abilities to solve problems and complete puzzles.

LEGO Dimensions is developed by TT Games and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. For more information about the video game, visit lego.com/en-us/dimensions

U.S. Post Office Celebrates Star Trek's 50th Anniversary With Commemorative Stamps

In 2016, Star Trek fans can have some fun with their mail by highlighting it with postage stamps that commemorate the 50th anniversary of the science fiction franchise.  These Forever Stamps are legal tender for postage or can be kept as a nice collectible item to display if you'd rather not mail them out.  Forever Stamps will always be valid to be used as the current  First Class Mail one-ounce rate no matter how many years have gone by or how much the price has risen for postage. The four stamps being issued by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) which honor the first airing of a Star Trek TV episode on September 8, 1966 will be comprised of illustrations inspired by important elements of the original television series. These Star Trek stamps can be purchased together as a set which includes a display panel that consists of a background of stars with the words "Space...the final frontier" imprinted on it.

The four 50th Anniversary Star Trek stamps will include:

The Starship Enterprise inside the outline of a Starfleet insignia with a gold background to reference Captain Kirk's uniform.

The silhouette of a crewman in a transporter against a red background to reference Starfleet's  security and operations personnel's uniform.

The silhouette of the Enterprise from above against a green background in reference to the fact that Captain Kirk's costume in the original Star Trek episodes was actually that color but the studio lighting made it appear to look gold on TV.

The Enterprise inside the outline of the Vulcan salute (Spock's iconic hand gesture) against a blue background which is the color of uniform assigned to Starfleet's medical and science personnel.

If you are interested in real life space exploration, the USPS is also releasing a panel of 16 Forever stamps from NASA images that showcase the planets in our solar system.  The panel will feature eight new stamps with each being provided twice in the set.  Some of the images on the stamps show us the "true color" of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune as they would be seen if you have the chance to visit them firsthand on a trip through outer space.  Others will be images that use colors to represent and visualize certain features of a planet based upon imaging data.  A few of the stamps will also have images utilizing near-infrared spectrum to show things that cannot be seen by the human eye within visible light.

There will also be text on the back of the stamp pane to explain what these images reveal and identifies the spacecrafts or telescopes that obtained them.  While a release date hasn't been provided yet for the Star Trek stamps, the Views of Our Planets collection will be dedicated between May 28th and June 4 at the World Stamp Show -- NYC 2016 and should be available for purchase shortly afterward.

While astronomers don't identify it as one anymore, Pluto will always be a planet to me.  Poor Pluto being demoted from a Pluto every student in elementary school had to memorize to being defined as an orbital object.  Pluto is getting a bit of respect from the USPS this year though with the release of a four stamp souvenir sheet of stamps honoring the recent New Horizons spacecraft mission by NASA that provided us with our first glimpse of this far off place at the far end of our solar system. The USPS actually has a close connection to this particular mission.  In 2006, NASA placed a Pluto: Not Yet Explored 29-cent stamp within the New Horizons spacecraft.  As the spacecraft accomplished its mission in 2015 that stamp was along for the ride.

“The New Horizons project is proud to have such an important honor from the U.S. Postal Service,” said Alan Stern, New Horizons lead scientist from the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, CO. “Since the early 1990s the old, ‘Pluto Not Yet Explored’ stamp served as a rallying cry for many who wanted to mount this historic mission of space exploration. Now that NASA’s New Horizons has accomplished that goal, it’s a wonderful feeling to see these new stamps join others commemorating first explorations of the planets.”

The collectible sheet will feature two brand new stamps twice.  One will be an artist's rendering of the New Horizons spacecraft and the second will show an image taken by the spacecraft of Pluto. The view of Pluto — which is color enhanced to highlight surface texture and composition — is a composite of four images from New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI).  These  stamps will also be dedicated between May 28 and June 4 at the World Stamp Show – NYC 2016.

Astronomy buffs, stamp collectors, and Star Trek fans will all want to keep an eye out for these interesting stamps from the U.S. Postal Service.  I know I'll be picking these up for myself to add to a few other stamp sets I've collected over the years.  If you have a child who may be interested in stamp collecting as a hobby these could be the perfect ones to get them started!

For more information about stamp collecting, visit stamps.org/A-Hobby-for-Everyone

New Chewbacca Action Figure is Hyper Jump Beyond the GI Joes & Barbie Toys of my Youth

Being a Star Wars fanatic, I'm always coming across interesting things related to the Sci-Fi franchise through the blogs and social media accounts that I follow.  The newest item to catch my attention and make me go WOW! is the 1/6th scale Chewbacca action figure being produced by Hong Kong-based HOT TOYS and distributed in the United States by California-based Sideshow Collectibles.  When first observing pictures of this Chewbacca action figure I thought it was a piece of artwork or Star Wars promotional material, but no it is a very detailed toy!  This action figure isn't anything like the GI Joes I had or the Barbie dolls my sister played with when we were kids, this toy looks like it could be the actual Chewbacca if a fictional character could be real.

Hot Toys recently acquired a license to produce Star Wars 1/6 scale collectible action figures and they've gone all out to make one of the best toy reproductions ever of one of the Star Wars universe's most beloved characters.  Chewbacca is over a foot tall ( 14 inches / 36 cm) covered in fabric that provides the illusion the Wookiee is covered in fur and features 30 points of articulation so that the figure can be posed to replicate poses from almost any scene in Star Wars.  I've never seen a toy that has done a nice job attempting to replicate Chewbacca's fur until now and from these preview images it appears that Hot Toys has done exceptional work.  The action figure also comes with some excellent replica accessories to compliment it including Chewie's cross bow, satchel and the head set he wears while co-piloting the Millennium Falcon.

Chewbacca's not flying solo though as his infamous smuggler partner Han is also getting his own figure as Hot Toys kicks off its new Star Wars line.  Han Solo is a little shorter than his Wookiee compadre, keeping these toys movie accurate, at a foot tall (12 inches / 30 cm) and is dressed in his outfit from the original Star Wars movie A New Hope complete with the laser pistol that he shot first with at that friendly chap named Greedo in that well known neighborhood cafe on Tatooine.

There is nothing "cheap" about these toys, including the price tag. Both figures will be available in April 2015 but can be pre-ordered now on the Sideshow Collectibles website with Chewie being priced at $254.99 and Han at $229.99...or both can be purchased together as a package deal for $479.99.  At this price and level of detail these action figures really are toys for adults that would be especially great for decorating a home office, game room, or man cave with. While these aren't cheap to purchase they are definitely unique pieces that would be excellent for any Star Wars fan to show off and enjoy. 

For more information about these very movie accurate and articulate posable toys visit Sideshow Collectibles website.