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Aloha! Back again with another round of your questions. Sorry for the lack of updates last week, but you should have seen the stack of papers on my desk after I got back. Anyway...
On with the show:
 1 I was just reading a magazine from France called "Dixieme Planete" which is a sort of collectable magazine. In it, it shows that the Bespin Guard in the Carbonite Playset is just a rehash of a figure made in 1996. The photo compares it to the Han (Carbonite figure) and it is marked "1996" on the leg (left) just like the Han Carbonite figure. What do you think? Has anyone heard of this or noticed this? -Trevor Yep, this is actually pretty well known, and in fact quite common for Hasbro Direct pack-in figures. This particular one was pieced together with parts from such figures as Han Carbonite, and Jedi Luke from last years Skiff. I think the only original part was the head, modeled after one of the Hasbro Direct designers, or so I've heard. I think most collectors agree it would be nice to see first rate figure packed in with the vehicles and playsets. However, the current approach seems to treat the figure as an afterthought. The good news is Hasbro proper is giving us that really nice Bespin Guard figure we saw at Toy Fair. Kinda makes the playset figure a little easier to swallow_ 2 I was a recent collector of the Star Wars action figures, but then I got a little side tracked with some school stuff, and now I'm back. I was just wondering, since I've gotten my hands on the new Tessek figure, are they going to do anything like and Ephant Mon, Hermi Odle, or Bubo? -Brandon There has been some talk of producing these figures, but nothing concrete has been decided yet. With the Deluxe line making a comeback, there's a real good chance of seeing these larger figures released, but I don't imagine we'll hear any news of them until at least 2003. 3 I'm a real fan of both the classic and E1 Action Fleet vehicles. With the demise of the Galoob brand, what do you think is the outlook for the micro vehicle toys for the next two movies? I thought both the Micro Machines and Action Fleet scale provided a great assortment of vehicles at a relatively affordable price (as compared to action figure sized vehicles from Hasbro). I'm thinking that if Hasbro decided to have micro vehicles for E2, wouldn't it be in the works already? I mean tooling up plastic injection molding machines, etc. would take time and we're less than a year from the movie release. It would seem very regrettable to me if this whole dimension of SW toys was missing from now on. Any recent info on the subject would be much appreciated. - Ed If Hasbro revives any part of the Galoob collection, it will most certainly be the Action Fleet line. There has been some talk already, but nothing is happening with the line yet. Hasbro is aware of the interest in Action Fleet vehicles, and has admitted it's a great way to release vehicle too large for the action figure line. I'd say the chances are good we'll see something before too long, and that they will include both Prequel and Classic vehicles in the new line. Stay tuned. 4 Hey, I recently hit a garage sale, and picked up a bunch of items for next to nothing. Only problem is, one or two of them are missing a piece. Would you happen to know a website that offers replacement parts for POTF2 vehicles, playsets, etc? Thanks. -Greg Brian's Toys has a good selection of toy parts, usually at a decent price. You could try them, or any of the local toy shows in your area. You could also look for parts or incomplete vehicles on eBay. Hasbro used to replace missing part, if all else fails, I'd suggest contacting them. Good luck. 5 In A New Hope, there is a creature in the Cantina and Mos Eisley that I have not to date ever seen any pics of, or a name of this creature. It is sitting with Takeel in the Cantina, wears a red outfit, black gloves, and is bald with white hair hanging off it's face. It is also seen in the scene where Luke & gang head to docking bay 94. It vaguely resembles the creature named "Solomahal" but is not the same. What is this? -Tim The character's name is Mosep. According to his Decipher CCG card, he's a Nimbanal accountant for Jabba the Hutt. An image of the character can be found here (http://members.aol.com/Hggmw3/images/Mosep1.jpg). Hasn't been made into an action figure yet, but there's always hope... 6 I recently picked up an electronic Millennium Falcon and an electronic X-Wing. I need to get some decals for the Falcon and one of the laser things for the end of the X-Wings wing. I've checked on eBay and checked a bunch of web sites on the net but I can only find stuff for vintage Star Wars toys. Any ideas on where I can look? -Darth Zohner Try Starwarsinserts.com, I haven't looked lately, but they may have added decals for the recent vehicles. If that doesn't work out, try contacting Hasbro. In the past they have supplied missing or broken parts to customers, they might be able to help you out. 7 It seems every toy coming out these days has the ability to talk with very good sound quality (WWF talking figures and some of the new Atlantis toys) My question is why can't Hasbro use this technology for sound for the ships, 12" figures or even beast packs? Well, Hasbro tried the CommTech Chip but it didn't really come off as well as they hoped. They've added sound to several, special, 12" figures, and the sound for many of their vehicles has been good. So far no beasts have included sound effects, but with some of the stuff I've seen for the JP III line, I wonder if that might change for Episode II. I think what it boils down to most is the technology and how the cost will impact the toy. Hasbro is paying a lot to make Star Wars toys, there might not be room in the profit margin to allow for top-notch sound effects. I know I'd be willing to pay a little extra for them, if they were done right, but many collectors feel the prices are high enough already. 8 I live in Portugal and am a fanatic of Star Wars, yet after seeing the new lords of the ring trailer, I think my passion for Star Wars will have been converted to Tolken's epic. In your opinion do you see Lord of the Rings over taking the Star Wars saga as the most popular trilogy of all time? . My second question is do you think there well be a new release of cinema scenes when episode 2 comes out next year? -zein mayassi
No doubt the Tolkien books have a huge following, and if the movie is
done well, it's sure to inspire an entire new generation of fans.
However, and this is said with a fair amount of bias, I don't see it
replacing Star Wars. Star Wars enjoys an accessibility that's appealing
to a very broad audience. This kind of appeal is sure to keep it at the
forefront of our popular culture for many years. The one thing that's
likely to work against Lord of the Rings, are the inevitable comparisons
to the book. I'm sure the Tolkien films will be fantastic, but I don't
see them out shining the Star Wars saga.
I've talked to Hasbro a number of times about Cinema Scenes, they'd like
to bring them back, but I wouldn't count on seeing anything right when
Episode II comes out. It sounds like Hasbro wants to wait and see
exactly which scenes become the most memorable from the film before
developing any new sets. My guess is we'll see something late 2002, or
even 2003.
9 I saw on your Q&A that you mentioned new classic 2-packs being released later this year. Do you have any more info about these? I have heard of a couple 2-packs that I thought were cancelled. One was an Anakin and either a Vader or a Darth Maul, and the other had a young and an old Obi-Wan. Do these ring any bells as either cancelled or future releases? -William More information on the 25th anniversary 2-packs should be made available soon, possibly by the end of the month, however the character 2-packs you mentioned have been dropped. To my knowledge, they were Anakin/Vader and young/old Obi-Wan. I don't know what development stage they made it into, but if any of the tooling was completed, we might see something of them at one point. For now, as far as I know, there are no plans to bring them back. 10 I have heard two release dates for the B-Wing (6/01 & 6/03). Which one is correct? My Target stores here in Jacksonville haven't a clue what's even on their shelf. I hope it is Sunday the 3rd, I've got finals on that Friday. - Force Hunter
From the looks of it, nether. A number of sites, including Collect Star
Wars.com and American Dream Comics, have reported the date has been
pushed back to August. Considering we haven't heard any reports this
weekend, I'd say there's still plenty of time before the B-wing hits the
shelves. Hope your finals went well.
Until next time...
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