Despite rumors floating around, the fate of the toy-- officially-- is bleak. Rumors, however, hint we may yet see it show up at retail, or as an exclusive, some day. Keep checking around for news, as you never know what'll happen with POTF2.

6
why is it that despite having many pretty neat figures out there, hasbro never re-releases anything anymore. other than a few peg warmers it is nearly impossible to find any of the 130 or so figures made from 95-98. is this to make collectors happy that no one else will ever get any of those again?
  -John

Well, the reason has to do with Hasbro wanting fresh product on shelves all of the time, at least that's my understanding. Why else make more Vaders while demand for the Removable Helmet version is still pretty immense? Since Hasbro wants to make classic figures for at least a little while longer, it would be fair to assume we will see resculpts of core characters along with some secondary ones... I wouldn't expect to see pegwarmers of days past or aliens redone. If you missed them, well, time to hit the toy shows.

7
This past holiday weekend I went to a local Meijer and found the new assortment of episode 1 beanie buddies. I bought the Darth Maul just for the sake of having one. That and the fact that the other ones looked pretty ridiculous to me. Anyway, the next day, I went to a mall and inside one of those bulk candy stores I found an assortment of Farce Wars "Meanies". These were a little more expensive at 9.99 a piece but picked the up the Dark Mole to go along w/ my Darth Maul buddy. OK. heres my question. Inside the tag of the Dark Mole "Meanie" there is a silver sticker that says it is limited edition and gives a number out of 25,000. Do you think this really means anything or did they make tons of these things but only 25,000 get the sticker? The clek at the store said it was the first one that they had sold since they put them out so it's not like they are flying of the shelves. Kind of an interesting item though if there is only going to be 25,000 of them.
  -Jay

As far as the sticker goes, I'm not quite sure... since the release on the site said nothing of the stickers, and I don't recall hearing anything, my guess is they're all that way. Of course, 25,000 or 150, the demand still seems kinda low for these in these here parts.

8
Every time my Commtech reader tries to play a sound effect like a blaster shot or a lightsaber effect it turns off. It reads the dialoge fine.
  -Chukha Trok

Sounds like you got a bad one... best you try and exchange it.

9
I've been trying to track down SW Trilogy Special Edition videos for month in all my local stores with no luck. Also, the online stores don't have it also. What gives?
  -Damian

Production stopped a long time ago on these... what was out there was just the remnants of that run. A lot of places auctioned off their remaining stock, and until further notice, the only way you're going to find them is dumb luck, online, or in a used bin. Or you could rent it, "misplace" it, and pay the fine... which we don't necessarily condone here at Rebelscum.

10
With regard to the R2 being drawn in the Indy game - all the Indiana Jones movies have some reference to Star Wars hidden in them. It is an inside joke between Lucas and Spielberg.
  -Chris

Allusions, hidden or otherwise, are a popular thing to do in films nowadays. Lucas frequently has a reference to his other work in whatever project he creates... THX-1138 being one of the most popular. Take sound effects... the first five minutes of Toy Story 2 are littered with all kinds of sound effects from the trilogy.

FIN
Go see Toy Story 2. I'm not just saying that, I mean it. Any toy junkie worth his or her salt will probably love it... I already saw it twice, it's easily one of the best movies of the year. Trust me on this one, you'll love it.

  
  Adam Pawlus

1
A while ago I wrote in and asked if you thought that hasbro would end up making all the figures from the original line and you said probably not since some characters were not popular and thus would become peg warmers. I am beginning to disagree since there are figures coming out that some people may not recognize and in my opinion may not be popular with kids. Namely Wuher, Porkins, Admiral Motti and so fourth. In my opinion, if they are going to make figures such as these then I do not understand why they wouldnt make the General Madines, Imperial Dignitaries and Bespin Security Guards. All of these characters are just bit players, but real fans and collectors want them all.
  -jman9869

First, I'd like to address your phrase "real fans and collectors." No one is in any position to define a person as a "true fan" or anything like that based on personal interests... let's face it, there's a lot of people that won't buy, say, Panaka. (Not me though, I prefer the smaller characters to the more popular ones usually.) You never know what will or won't look good until it's out... look at the new Skiff. We begged for a new one for years, and what we end up with is a lousy reissue of an old, fragile toy that's really out of whack for the new figures.

A year ago, I think that Hasbro could have sold Madines all day long... but the real interest in unproduced characters today seems to be figures that never saw plastic. Motti, Wuher, Porkins... these are perfect examples. Most fans recognize them as new figures... and this sort of thing is needed to bring interest to the line. The Madines & FX-7s might sell, but after figures like Malakili and the supposedly popular EV-9D9 sitting-- and let's not forget 8D8s on clearance for a buck at some stores-- it's pretty obvious that fans won't buy everything.

For any item you can name, there's probably a few hundred people that'd buy it in a second. Unfortunately, some times these are the only people that'd buy it. Sure, I want Bespin Security Guards... but a well-made Boba Fett resulpt would probably be better for Hasbro's sales, or Wuher since there's been demand for him for a long time. Of course, he could end up not selling since there seems to be a layer of apathy surrounding the hobby lately... which isn't at all surprising considering many of the toys are going the typical blockbuster route-- to the sales racks.

2
Hi, I was interested in buying a Star Wars telephone of some kind for my son to use in his room. I saw an R2 D2 phone on some website but unfortunately they weren't selling anything. I think it was made years ago. Do you know where I can obtain one, or any other kind made?
  -Joy

This R2-D2 one's pretty cool... I bought mine a few years ago when JC Penny was blowing them out for $20. Now, it seems the same phone has been repackaged for Episode One and is selling at Toys "R" Us stores, possibly elsewhere (that's where I happened to see it.) It ain't cheap, though... it is kinda cool. It looks better than it feels... a regular phone works much better.

But your kid has a phone in his room? I didn't have a phone in my room... :)

3
I was just wondering, do you like the newer Yak Face? Or the vintage one? I think with a little bit of fixing, the vintage one would be better than the newer one.
  -michael

Vintage, but mostly because of the story behind it.

4
I was reading through the new Art of Ep 1 book the other day and I noticed the repeated references to the Sith Witch that was being considered for Ep 1 in place of Darth Maul. My question is if anyone has heard, aside from wild speculation, if this is a good possibilty for Ep 2. The sketches of the proposed character were wicked looking and it seems a novel idea for Palpatines new apprentice.
  -Shane

I think it looked really creepy... Hasbro should do some concept art figures and start with Maul-ette there. Aside from wild speculation, nothing other than a few casting choices and very, very basic plot details are known for Episode 2... or at least known as reality. Old sketches are never thrown away, so you never know if it might show up somewhere. Heck, it'd be cool for a comic or something if nothing else...

Still, a female villain is something Star Wars is lacking. I wouldn't force one in there, but it couldn't hurt.

5
A while back, I found the micro machines Star Destroyer transforming playset. On the back it also shows the transforming Slave 1 playset, but I never found that one. Was it ever released??
  -mgranek

Yup. Mine came from England... but I saw one at a Wal-Mart a few months later, which would have been about a year ago. It's one of the handful of legitimately hard to find "new" Star Wars toys, but since the world is still obsessed with Maul nobody cares yet.

6
Will Hasbro ever have another chat?
  -Shawn

After the technical difficulties of the last one, I would doubt it... at least for a while.

7
I got an Applause Wampa Attack Statue from an online retailler for $70. I thought it would look better and it seems to be overpriced. Can you direct me to anywhere that would sell this product so I can compare pricing?
  -Joanne

With the exception of the Bacta chamber, the bulk of the painted Applause figurines look like junk for the money. I don't think you will find it at a price that reflects the piece's quality, unfortunately, barring a clearance sale somewhere. It's probably the ugliest piece I've seen in a while...

8
Why hasn't Hasbro re-released the [vintage] Death Star playset or the bridge from the Star Destroyer playset.
  -Mike

While the Death Star playset was and still is one of the best Star Wars toys out there, the SD kinda sucked. It wasn't bad, but today, well, lemme put it this way: I don't want to see any rereleases. It's a cop-out for making a cheap toy over a new, cooler one, and I would rather see a new and ultra-spiffy one with more features. I want to park the Falcon on a Death Star, and I can't do it on the old one.

9
slice and dice Darth Maul?!!!, any chance of a cut through Qui Gon witha hole in his stomach?
  -NYJORELL

With a few years before Episode 2, it seems almost a given that it'd happen with the direction the line is going.

10
If I'm not mistaken, there has been 4 Cinema Scene out from A New Hope, 5 from Jedi and 3 from Episode 1. Don't you think that Empire, with its lonely Mynock Hunt, has been seriously overlooked?
  -Seb.

ESB is always the most overlooked movie because it had the least new characters and toy-ish things to make. Why there's no Carbon Freeze scene, Hoth scene, Dagobah scene, or Cloud City scene is beyond me, as collectors typically (not always, of course) love ESB stuff. I go gonzo for it, myself... I mean, there's at least two or three opportunities to repackage Boba Fett here...

FIN
Sorry updates have been sparse. I blame the people who had me work on a project with them and missed the deadline two weeks ago, and now expect me to spend every waking moment working on it.