'Star Wars' toy line lets kids build dream lightsabers

Hasbro is making sure that by the time the new movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens arrives in December, kids can have any lightsaber they can imagine.

Launching this fall, Star Wars Bladebuilders debuts a line of compatible hilts, connectors and various lightsaber materials that let children use the simple gadgets of their favorite Jedi masters and Sith lords or come up with the craziest, most complicated combination ever. The line will be on display at New York City's Toy Fair Saturday through Tuesday.

"Star Wars is such a magical property and in particular the lightsaber is — and I think everyone would agree — the most iconic weapon of all time," says Kim Boyd, senior director of the Star Wars brand for Hasbro. While the company has offered various roleplay lightsaber toys over the years, "this is the first time we've given kids the chance to customize through an entire system."

The main Jedi Master Lightsaber set (for ages 4 and up, $49.99 includes a lightsaber with lights and electronic sounds, a pair of lightdaggers, an expansion hilt and a variety of connectors.

From there, kids can mIx and match from three other assortments with connectors and lightsaber blades tied to various characters. The electronic lightsaber ($19.99) comes in Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker flavors, the foam lightsaber ($14.99) has Yoda, Vader and Luke variants, and the extend lightsaber ($9.99) offers something for Luke, Vader and Anakin Skywalker fans.

Because research has shown kids interested in customization, Boyd says, it seemed like a natural fit to combine that concept "with the lightsaber and the desire for young children to want to become Jedi and command the Force."

One of the biggest positives of toys like this is it gets kids playing with others, she adds. "With the Star Wars property as a whole, because it's rich with storytelling and conflict and triumph, it lends itself more to a social play."