Play out your favorite STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS scenes with Hasbro's Micro Machines

** A Geek Daddy received the featured products for free**

Our family is counting down the days and can't wait until we can watch STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS again after it is officially released on April 1, 2016 for DigitalHD and April 5th on Blu-ray & DVD.  While we've been waiting to add the newest movie in the Star Wars saga to our home video library, my kids have been having fun playing out their favorite scenes from Episode VII and imagining new adventures involving the characters and vehicles from the film with Hasbro's Micro Machine toys.

My son has been racing around the house the last few days with the Finalizer, a Resurgent-class Star Destroyer used by the First Order as Kylo Ren's command ship in the movie, while my daughter has pursued him around the house with Poe Dameron's dark hulled T-70 X-wing fighter.  Hasbro's Star Wars Micro Machines have brought the battle between The First Order and The Resistance into our family's living and dining room as my kids have been racing around imagining being engaged in a variety of space faring exploits.

This Star Destroyer isn't just a model though it opens up to be used as a playset.  Recreate the scene from THE FORCE AWAKENS where FN-2187 and Poe Dameron attempt to escape from the grasp of The First Order or create your own scenarios featuring the hanger bay of the Finalizer.  In addition to moving Star Wars Micro Machine vehicles and figures around the playset, there is also a simulated flight feature that allows kids to fly a TIE Fighter or X-wing across the playset and shoot a plastic missile which represents a laser bolt being shot from one of these starfighters.

These Star Wars: Micro Machine toys are recommend for children 4 years old and up. A few nice features about the miniaturized toys is that your kids can have some epic battles with a bunch of them without messing up your house and Micro Machines are easy to store and put away because of their compact size.  They are also very portable to take along with you to keep kids amused when you are out and about for example during a long car trip, an extended wait at the doctor's office or a visit to an elderly relative.



In addition to the STAR WARS: Micro Machines First Order Destroyer Playset there are also 3-Pack Vehicle Assortments and Deluxe Vehicle Assortments that can be purchased separately to build up your First Order and Resistance armies.  Each 3-pack assortment contains vehicles from throughout the Star Wars saga ranging from classics like the TANTIVE IV and AT-AT to new additions from THE FORCE AWAKENS such as Rey's Speeder and Kylo Ren's Shuttle.  The Deluxe Assortment allows kids to build an entire fleet of starfighters that can fit in the palm of their hand.  Each assortment includes five vehicles and two microfigures.  The Deluxe Vehicle Assortment Hasbro generously sent our family to play with, along with a Star Wars: Micro Machine First Order Star Destroyer Playset and a 3-Pack Vehicle Assortment, included 2 X-Wings, 2 TIE Fighters, a snow speeder, a Poe Dameron micro figure and a TIE pilot micro figure.

Another option for building a Star Wars: Micro Machines fleet of ships is to pick up Blind Bags.  Each of these contains one ship and you won't know what you get until opening up the bag.  There are 36 different vehicles that you can obtain through the Star Wars: Micro Machines Blind Bag assortments.  In buying ten of these you could end up with one of  10 different vehicles or with 10 Y-wing fighters...it is all blind luck what you might pick.  There is a bit of excitement though opening up a pack not knowing what to expect. My son grabbed an Inquisitor TIE fighter from the Star Wars: Rebels TV show in this blind bag and was thrilled!

CLICK HERE for more information about Hasbro's Star Wars: Micro Machines collection.

#StarWars #TheForceAwakens

Topps promotes digital Star Wars trading cards with new ios app

For those folks who would enjoy the fun of collecting Star Wars themed trading cards without the hassle of having them pile up around the house, Topps recently introduced STAR WARS: CARD TRADER on the Apple App Store for iPhones, iPads, and Ipod touch which it bills as the "official Star Wars trading card app."  Star Wars: Card Trader provides the opportunity to collect digital reproductions of the physical Topps card board collectibles that have been produced for the upcoming The Force Awakens movie as well as those previously distributed from the original and prequel Star Wars films.  There will also be cards featuring characters, scenes and vehicles from the animated television shows Star Wars: Rebels and Clone Wars. This Star Wars effort ties into fan enthusiasm for the December film premiere of Episode VII and follows the company's success with a similar app for baseball cards for iOS devices BUNT: The MLB Digital Baseball Card Trading Game.

Star Wars: Card Trader can be downloaded for free.  One free pack of trading cards can also be opened every day once the app is downloaded.  For those who want to build larger collections credits can be purchased ranging from .99 cents for 3,000 credits to $100 for 900,000 credits.  What you can purchase with credits in the "Cantina" will vary from a basic pack of trading cards to unique exclusives.  Plus collections can be built by trading cards with other app users from across the country and around the world with a feature called "Trading Like a Jawa."

 “In the same way that digital media is transforming reading books, listening to music and watching television, Card Trader is revolutionizing Star Wars collecting,” said Michael Bramlage, VicePresident of Digital at Topps in a press release to A Geek Daddy blog. “Your favorite characters, vehicles and locations from the Star Wars universe can be collected and traded on your iOS device, from anywhere at any time.”

Here are a few of the features of the app #Topps promoted in its press release launching Star Wars: Card Trader:

 The First Cards From Star Wars: The Force Awakens: BB-8, Poe Dameron, Kylo Ren, Rey and other recently announced new characters from Star Wars:The Force Awakens are here! Go to the Cantina and blast open packs to try to find these exciting new cards, all released in vintage-inspired “Star Wars‘ 77” blue and red border designs.

Trading Like A Jawa: The Star Wars: Card Trader app is like a 24/7 Star Wars card convention that you can take with you anywhere you go. Meet real people, make friends, complete trades and build your collection with confidence using features like 9-for-9 trading and Trader Ratings to highlight your trading partner’s trustworthiness.

Classic Re-Releases: Only Topps brings you over 30 years of official-licensed Star Wars trading cards in new, high-definition digital format, from the vintage era to today.Haven’t collected cards in a while? Check out Topps’ state-of-the-art Parallax and Motion cards, innovations that could never have existed in cardboard!

The App Store description notes that there will be more than 1,000 officially-licensed Star Wars digital cards featured with some including futuristic special effects and enhancements.  CLICK HERE to download Star Wars: Card Trader.

This seems like a nice app to have some fun and goof around with, especially for casual collectors. I'd recommend if you are having your kids play with it that you make sure your parental control features are turned on and in-app purchases turned off though.  You'll probably want to stick with physical trading cards though if you are looking to pick up movie mementos, a long term collectible, or want some items you can use as potential financial investments. 

So while this app obviously isn't for the serious collector it does bring back trading cards to the attention of today's kids who are more interested in flipping through their tablets and smart phones than grabbing a piece of gum and some trading cards from a grocery or toy store checkout lane.  From a nostalgic perspective, as a kid myself that had shoe boxes full of Topps' Star Wars and baseball trading cards, it is nice to see the tradition of children and teens collecting trading cards for fun continue into future generations through the products changing with the times.  Most young people aren't collecting these things to try and make a profit off them someday and this digital app caters to those fans.