MEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAT!!!
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1 Hello Adam, don't know if this will make your Q&A column or if its a repeat. I have a question about the E1 Alpha Series AF vehicles. Why are the final versions made smaller and therefore not figure compatible? I perferred the previous arrangement much more. Further to this point, new vehicles like the Royal Ship or Sith Infiltrator although have Alpha versions now, but true AF scale vehicles are still missing, (please do tell me if they made a regular AF Infiltrator already). Are there any plans at Galoob to release the final/movie versions of these AF vehicles? -Ed
Well, I like it this way better, personally. A new mold always beats a
repaint.
As far as regular Action Fleet sized vehicles, those two just arrived in
the regular assortment, so really, no worries. I still wish they made
the Alpha Snowspeeder in a larger size, so I gotta say I think this is a
step in the right direction.
2 Any idea where I can find the Micro Machine "Heads" playsets? -JOHN
Please, be more vague. :)
$15+ Assortment: These are showing up all over on clearance. So if you missed the really spiffy Jabba/Tatooine, Vader/Cloud City, or so forth, go to Toys "R" Us and buy ye some goodies.
Walnuts/Mini-heads: The first gift set-- the one with Vader-- shows up on occasion at some Kay-Bee stores. The 3-packs are gone almost everywhere. The second gift set (C-3PO) never hit the USA, mine came from a contact in Hong Kong. The Pizza Hut mini-heads should be available on eBay or other collectible outlets.
The Episode One head stuff is everywhere. If you can't find it, keep looking.
3 How many Qui Gon Jinns are coming out? I saw the Cloth one, and then there is a farmer one AND one on a beast pack? Is that correct? And do you know their articulation? (like do their arms move at the elbows and wrists or not?) -Gog
The story thus far:
4
As far as I know, Marmit does not maintain a website for the
english-speaking world since it sells its products in Asia, I'm pretty
sure Japan exclusively.
Boba and the TIE Pilot are supposedly coming this year and will sell in
Japan for-- methinks-- around $60-$70 each. Typical import prices are
usually (but not always) a 50%-100% markup, but you can always shop
around or ask a buddy to pick one up for you. (Do I have any buddies
out there? :) Also, Rebelscum Sponsor (loves dem sponsors)
Entertainment Earth will be preselling these, and their track record is
excellent when it comes to this sort of thing. Keep an eye open to
online toy, model, and import stores, you'll be sure to find the info
you need.
I've heard nothing but good things about Hobby Link Japan, however, I have yet to order from them myself. (But those new Zoids will change that soon. That Rev Raptor is just friggin' awesome...)
5 Okay, here's a "more real" question: It seems to me that many of hasbro's new star wars figures (such as Admiral Motti, the new sitting POTF Chewbacca, Jar Jar with his tongue out, Boss Nass at Gungan Sacred Place, etc) are coming "pre-posed," i.e., they're more to look at than to actually play with. Do you think this is a result of hasbro realizing that there is more of a market amoung collectors than children? -Zach
Well, good question. Very good. If you really
look at the line, it seems as if it doesn't know who it's aimed at.
We're getting kid-friendly main characters, the familliar faces that
will typically do well at retail. But we're getting figures with very
small parts, incredible sculpting, and (compared to Cantina Han's ilk)
weak articulation. So it looks like Hasbro's gunning for both markets,
and potential fan burnout aside, they're starting to deliver. (Well,
not "deliver" as in "local store" so much, but you get the idea.)
6
And on the back of the Palpy card they picture Luke being connected to Vader
in a dual from ROTJ.
Well, which is it? Did Hasbro goof on this or are there Vaders out there
that have each backdrop, therefore causing you to buy 2 Vaders in order to
complete both scenes?
Have to buy 2? Ridiculous.
It's interchangable... you can have Luke with Vader, or Ben with Vader. Luke has a very large backdrop that goes behind himself and Vader, and Ben and Vader each contain part of their scene. There is no "goof" anywhere here, but if you want to have two complete scenes on your shelf, yes, you will need to score an extra Vader.
7
I'm as puzzled as you are. I seriously doubt that the arm is included,
however, stranger things have happened.
8
I gotta say, I think the Fan Club's giving the best advice here. Maybe, maybe not. I'm seeing craploads of Collection 3 Hologram (and many no hologram) figures including Fett, Vader, and Stormtroopers at my local Kay-(Gee)-Bee toy stores. It's impossible to say what will hit where, but let's face it, it's always good to drop by a store when you have a minute if there's something you have yet to see.
9
The story:
In 1996, we saw the first 12" figures. The original assortment was to
have 5 characters: Han, Chewie, Luke, Vader, and Obi-Wan. Needless to
say, Chewie was pulled... for "improvement." He would appear a couple
of assortments later, in 1997. The first figure still had a first
series box made-- in other words, a dark blue background is the dead
giveaway.
So a very very very very very VERY rare running change piece was made.
I have seen ONE Dark Blue Chewie, and it came from Hasbro direct (as
they do sell things via their customer service lines from time to time.)
It's the same exact figure as the regular release, just a different
package. Odds are you'll buy and sell a couple Short Saber/Long Tray
Ben Kenobis before you see one, but hey, weird stuff shows up. Good
luck finding one, but then again, it may be best for your wallet that
your luck is a tad more sour.
10
This drove me nuts when I first saw it, too.
I think what you saw was the same custom Slave Leia figure that appeared
in a toy magazine, thousands of years ago when me and about 20 people
bought toys for themselves. It was made from a Bespin Leia, and I
believe some figures were customized based on that photo, and it's
possible someone made a few special photos. The AFD cover showed a
Rancor pit, Jabba & his throne, and Leia was seated on the throne. It
was pretty convincing for a custom, until you look close. No Slave
Leias were made for the original line, no packaging mock-ups showing
Slave Leia as a toy have surfaced (guys, please correct me if I'm
forgetting something), and no Slave Leia prototypes from the 1980s have
ever surfaced. Actually, very few unproduced classic vintage film
figures have ever been seen, Gargan is the only one I can think of.
FIN
1
On how WotC will distribute Sabe... heck if I know. (I just found out there's a WOTC store, news to me.) I thought it might be a typo for Wizard Press, aka ToyFare, but eh. As of now, I have no information on exclusives beyond what we posted.
Palm Talkers... not sure. It could be a rename of the upcoming "finger forces" from Tiger, which are basically SW figures from the waist-up that talk. (Though probably not.) The 2-packs are most likely just new figure two-packs... no information is available to me at this time. Sorry!
2 Whatever happened to the 12" Bounty Hunters 5-pack? I haven't seen any mention of it in the product release lists that have appeared recently. -Chris
As far as I know, Hasbro never actually confirmed it-- much like the Jabba's Aliens 3-pack that was said to have Amanaman, I think this is-- but I cannot be sure-- just another hoax.
3 I was wondering if my theory about Target not having ample amounts of skiffs nationwide is some kind of "feeling out" or test of the star wars consumer. Am i wrong to feel like they wanted people to fill out rain checks so they could get an idea of what amounts of skiffs to buy. They did take a hosing on their 12" Han Carbonite & Palp-Royal Guard, at least from all past accounts i've read and by my local Target having 20-30 on the shelves before they were dumped. -Barry
Here in Tucson, we've got 5-7 at the stores I checked on Monday and Tuesday. It seems to be a random thing, some areas are loaded, some aren't.
4
We've got comparison photos in our Toy Archive. Basically, some words on the slide were changed-- not really a big deal.
5 Where can I see the vintage prototype picture of the Gargan figure that was never put into production? -Manson2208
The Star Wars Collector's Archive has a few pics up over at www.toysrgus.com.
6
These bootlegs are not that hard to find, but a neat curiosity, that's for sure. I've seen seven of them: Snoova Chewie, Regular Chewie, Boba Fett, Tatooine Luke, Vader, Stormtrooper, and Han. They're neat, and available at a few online stores like The Empire of Toys for a few bucks each.
7
While Chewie's family was proposed waaaay back in the late '70s, they never saw production. To date, it seems that Hasbro is actively avoiding any "expanded universe" type toys that are not its own designs (outside of the former Galoob's Alpha Fleet, of course.)
While I find it bad to say "never" in POTF2, I think this might be a safe bet. I'd love to see new Ewoks & Droids Adventure Hour toys, but it probably ain't gonna happen.
8
Nope-- the only variation on an actual slide is R2-D2, mentioned above. Surprising considering how many different changes were on figures like the TIE Pilot...
9
Money. The answer to pretty much any question, other than "no plans at this time."
Lots of items are made every year, but every now and again an item makes it pretty far-- some times, all the way to final production (Millennium Falcon Flight Controller). And then, nada. Reasons for this are many.
Sometimes the factory has significant damage, or a mold is destroyed, ending an item's production-- this is why the Animated Batman Robin Dragster is $250+. Since it costs a whole bunch to re-create the tooling, and retaillers are not always keen on reorders, it's cheaper to dump it.
Other times, a company sees a final product and says "No, this item is not worth releasing." (Hasbro rarely does this.) It does happen, though-- figures for The Last Starfighter, Dinosaucers, even the original Alien film back in 1979 made it to or past the design stages and were almost ready to go. But for some reason, be it quality issues or just some form of disenchantment with the license/product, it flops.
A particularly interesting-- and disappointing-- instance happened just
a few years ago. A figure I was totally excited about, the Toy Vault
Jabberwock, was in production and ready-to-go. Due to problems with
the vendor in Asia-- I can't remember if it was a shipping problem or an
issue of miscommunication-- this item was dumped. They still wanted to
make it, but it just never happened. Considering what a cool monster
toy it was, this was a pretty big bummer for yours truly. It'd cost
more to find a new vendor or to deal with it, so it vanishes.
The most common issue, though, is the biggest threat to you getting new
toys since the scalper. And it's places like Toys "R" Us. Believe it
or not, these guys order so much that they can make or break a line. If
they don't want it, sometimes it doesn't happen. ALIENS, the old 4" GI
Joe Line, and many others are said to have been axed this way.
Retaillers have a lot of power, that's why they can ask for exclusives.
And if they don't want something, even if Hasbro invested a lot of money
in it, it can be axed. Thankfully, some of these items show up later, like the Acid Alien (or whatever the blue version was called) from Hive Wars, or the upcoming Freeze Chamber from the Fan Club.
Scary, eh? Money talks, and unfortunately, it can shut up some pretty
nice ideas.
10
Well, this is Hasbro.
So far, we've seen relatively few Han resculpts. The only really significant one so far is the Cantina version last year, which still floors me by how cool it is. Are more on the way? It would make sense, considering fans keep buying resculpts. But nothing is confirmed yet... if it was, trust me, you'd know.
FIN
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