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Welcome back! To get things started, here's a recap of last time's 10th Question, and the answer courtesy of you, the fans. Thanks to everyone that wrote in, JMR and I appreciate the help. I have all my carded figures in clear plastic cases (soft cases), except for the two destroyer droids and that swimming Jar Jar. The blister bubbles are too fat. Do you know of any place, company, or website that can help me out?
According to your fellow collectors, try using the new and improved Star Case from Protech. The manufacturer has added a quarter inch to the depth of their old case, which should accommodate the larger Destroyer Droid and Jar Jar bubbles. You can order these on-line from sites such as Defendercases.com, Wholesalecases.com, or MDMsport.com. -Thanks to everyone that wrote in, JMR and I appreciate you help.
1 In light of the Target exclusives being so hard to get unless bought on the second market, why does Hasbro continue to do this? I have seen the Biker Scout and Captain Tarpals, but never, ever saw the Y-Wing or the Skiff on a Target shelf. I live in Chicago have friends in Kentucky and Florida and they never found them either. It's so frustrating to go everyday when these products are out and never find them, then go to eBay or a comic store and see them for a big fat price increase. Target never seems to order enough, and could care less when you complain. Thanks in advance; guess I am just a little put out, with the thought of not finding another awesome toy. What are your thoughts? -Jason
Exclusives are a kind of industry perk, something manufacturers offer to their top customers to say thanks. Often times, the retailer decides how many they want, and once sold out, they close the books. As far as they're concerned, as long as they aren't stuck with dead stock, it's a success. It's frustrating for both collectors and Hasbro to see demand for an item that's not met. As a result, Hasbro is working very close with retailers to try and get enough product out there, but it's difficult to gage the
situation when so many are bought only to be resold at auction or on the second market. The twelve-inch figures have gotten a lot easier to find. The Skiff was difficult, but the Y-Wing (probably as a result of the lessons learned from the Skiff) actually warmed the shelves at a few places here in California. I know for a fact Hasbro had a lot to do with getting more Skiffs for the Target website, so hopefully this will mean things are going to get better. We'll find out soon enough, Targets next
exclusive, the B-Wing, will hit stores this summer.
2 Is it possible to get reproduction sticker sheets for vintage vehicles? I've got a Snowspeeder with a perfect body, but needs stickers in the worst way. -Krazy Kanuck
Starwarsinserts.com has a good selection of decals for all kinds of Star Wars vehicles. Unfortunately I noticed they don't have decal images for the Snowspeeder. I'd try contacting them, they may know who has them, or could at least put you on a list to be notified when they do get them.
3 On one of my toy runs not all that long ago, whenever that 2 for $3 sale Toys R Us had was going on, I picked up an EpisodeI1 Darth Maul with cloth tunic flaps and removable lightsaber blade. They also had a cloth-flap-action Obi-Wan, but I thought what I really needed was another new Darth Maul instead. Anyway... I thought the Episode I line was dead long before then, but these said "New!" on the bubble, and I'd never seen them before, although now I see lots. How new are these, and if they're remotely new at all, why would they be on Episode 1 cards instead of Power of the Jedi?
While these figures aren't all that new, as NBC likes to remind us, "if you haven't seen them before, they're new to you." Soft Goods Maul and Obi-Wan (along with Anakin Naboo Pilot) actually came out at the tail end of the Episode I line, roughly late 1999. Because of the problem with overstock at major retailers, the figures never made it to the shelves in great numbers. Now that the clearance sales have created room, stores like Toys "R" Us, and Kay Bee Toys, are starting to receive more cases containing
these figures.
4
Yes, you can expect to see much more attention to detail, especially in next years Episode II line. According to published reports, in addition to taking detailed scans of the actors, Gentle Giant also scanned many of the props and set pieces for the next Star Wars film. I'm sure whatever vehicles are made from Episode II, will be very nicely done.
5 In the original line there were two Klaatu figures. Are these two different aliens or the same one in changed clothes? I think the skiff Klaatu is one of the last people filing out of Jabba's palace to watch Han and Luke be fed to the Sarlaac. So that would lead me to believe there are at least two Klaatu's in Jabba's palace. -Scott
Both vintage figures were called Klaatu. One was plain old Klaatu, the other Klaatu as Skiff Guard, which makes it sound like he changed cloths. Lucas used the same type of masks on many of the extras for the Jabba's Palace and Sail Barge scenes. I think there's about six each, Weequay, Nikto, and Klaatu aliens that can be seen in that part of Return of the Jedi. However, after reading your email I went back and checked the scene you mentioned. Watch it again, if you look closely you can actually see both
Klaatu characters filing out for the trip to the Sarlaac.
6
Aside from the Vader figure that's coming up, I have no idea what Marmit has in store. Based on past selections, my guess is we'll likely see a Scout Trooper before too long, and maybe a C-3PO. Marmit tends to stay away from face sculpts, so those would at least be good options.
As for the Hasbro figures, bounty hunters are incredibly popular, and we already have four of the six seen in the Empire Strikes Back. Other than possible exclusives, we should only see one other wave of 12" figures this year, the Han Stormtrooper wave. The focus for 2002 is sure to be Episode II, so maybe we'll see those figures in 2003. At this point it's all up in the air, but I'm sure they are strong possibilities.
7
According to the photo I'd say not. I recently had a chance to get a good close look at the Wow Wee Dinosaurs. They're pretty cool, and I think it's nice that Hasbro is looking into making items that actually do something. As collectors, we most likely look at these toys as display pieces, but I remember as a kid, I always wanted the toys that had some goofy action feature, Kung Fu grip, power chop, stuff like that. Hopefully by offering an item like the RC Taun Taun, Hasbro will bring more kids into the
hobby, and a higher level of interest over all. We'll see what happens with this one, but I think it's good for the brand to have toys like this in the line. Now if they'll just dust off the old RC Sandcrawler and figure out how to vacuum up an R2 figure, I think we'd all be happy.
8
Topps stopped the presses on Star Wars Galaxy Collector several months ago. Issue number eight was the final issue, and an announcement was posted to the Topps site in September of last year. Subscribers received a nice letter and refund for cancelled issues. I haven't heard anything about a comeback yet, and seriously doubt we'll see one, but you never know.
9
I don't mean to disappoint anybody, but I actually think it's great Hasbro is making a BoShek figure. If you think about it, out of all the other Cantina patrons, he's the one guy responsible for hooking Luke and Old Ben up with Han and Chewie. Had it not been for the guy, who knows where our hero's would have ended up...? If anyone deserves an action figure, he certainly does. He may be a lowly human, but I hear his flight suit looks pretty cool, and he was at least seen interacting with the main
characters.
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