So many questions, so little space... Many other
Star Wars collecting sites also submitted questions you need answered, so if you want to know the latest answers from this week's Hasbro
Star Wars Weekly Q&A Session, here's a handy guide to help you get all the info.
From Action Figs: 1) With Hasbro now producing 6" super articulated Marvel figures, could we eventually see a special line with 6" super articulated Star Wars figures?
2) Will you ever release the Trade Federation PK Droid seen in The Phantom Menace? You could use the Star Wars Saga SP-4 figure mold for the body since they have the same design, and just make a new head.
3) What is with the somewhat recent practice of putting the faces of clone template actors Temuera Morrison and Bodie Taylor on helmeted troopers that we never see unmasked in the movies, especially those in the Original Trilogy who likely are not clones (and if they are clones wouldn't be clones of Jango Fett since the DNA source was killed in Episode 2)?
4) Hasbro previously said in a Q&A they wouldn't be releasing any new Separatist Leaders in 2007, but when you do decide to visit these characters, instead of worrying about basic figures not selling, what about offering them as a set like the upcoming Death Star Imperial Briefing set? You could even do an AOTC set and an ROTS set.
5) Now that we're getting a super-articulated Super Battle Droid figure in the 30th Anniv. line, can we expect to see a super-articulated regular Battle Droid as well? If not, what is holding that back?
6) Hasbro's efforts to produce a transforming Droid Fighter/Vulture Droid in the 3¾" line wasn't entirely successful, yet the Action Fleet Droid Starfighter mold is a very accurate version of the transformation with a quality sculpt and opening wings that's also a tougher toy and coincidentally is nearly the same size as the Hasbro 3¾" line's version. Can Hasbro start using that Action Fleet mold as the 3¾" line's Vulture Droid? It could even be offered in Ep 1 colors and Ep 3 colors.
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From FFURG.com: 1) At FFURG, we're quite excited about the new fan poll at Rebelscum for next year's Greatest Hits (GH) as it will give customizers an opportunity to obtain many figures that are currently quite scarce on the secondary market. You've stated in previous Q&As on other sites that the Greatest Hits are a separate collection from the main collection of new releases. Does it concern Hasbro that the pegs in stores are full of GH figures that aren't moving, leaving no room for other waves of new figures? We're concerned that if there's no room on the pegs, we won't see much of the 2007 GH waves. Is it simply the result of having this year's GH figures be such recent releases from EP3? Do you feel 2007 line of GH figures, with the entire saga to draw from, will do better than the current 2006 GH?
2) Staying on the 2007 GH subject, will the winning figures be straight repacks or, if an opportunity presents itself, will the figures be upgraded, through kit-bashing, with improved sculpts, articulation, and/or weapons? For example, would you simply reissue Dak Ralter if he wins the vote or would you use the old head on the new Zev Senesca body, which would be a much better figure?
3) With the first images of the new 2007 battlepacks reaching the web, many collectors are getting extremely excited for the Tantive IV battlepack with what appears to be VOTC Stormtroopers. Anticipating that collectors, specifically army builders, will be buying tons of this set for the VOTC Stomies and Rebel Fleet Troopers (with two different heads perhaps?), does Hasbro adjust their case assortments and/or distribution of given sets based on perceived collector interest, thus putting more of these sets on the shelves to meet demand?
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From Galactic Hunter: 1) OK, so we have a confirmed mock-up for a Juggernaut/Turbo Tank for Revenge of the Sith. Was a concept ever actually worked on for an AT-TE vehicle? If so, what can you tell us about it? (It'll give us something to drool over until the Clone Wars 3D line launches!)
2) Can you confirm for us that new (newly sculpted) vehicles will be a part of the upcoming Clone Wars 3D -animated line, or is it all still based on how well vehicles sell in 2007?
3) Our Stormtrooper armies are seeming a little thin these days. (Deserters? Recruitment problems? Cloning malfunctions?) What action is Hasbro taking to beef up the ranks for the Imperials?
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From Jedi Defender: 1) With the upcoming 10-pack Cinema Scenes in both the Galactic Heroes and Unleashed lines, you must know that you run the risk of driving completists away from this line (since they won't want to spend that much money for 8 or 9 figures that they already have just to get the one or two new exclusive ones). You must also know that you (and the retail stores) also run the risk of having numerous sets tampered with as frustrated collectors (for the aforementioned reason) pull the old "figure swap" by removing the exclusive figure(s), replacing them with some older figure(s), and then (fraudulently) returning them back to the stores. So my question is, will the few exclusive figures to these sets be made available seperately at some point to avoid these potential problems? If not, why stick it to the fans of these lines like this?
2) Speaking of the Unleashed minis, will you ever be correcting the SIDEWAYS Rebel Insignias on Snowpeeder Luke's helmet? They should be right-side up like the picture on the box (and on every Rebel Pilot figure ever released in any line). Is there any hope we'll get a corrected version sometime soon?
3) Cloud City. It's the site of one of the huge turning points of the Star Wars saga, yet it hasn't been granted a wave of action figures since 2004 (and even then the wave was only 3 figures, although that Cloud Car Pilot was pretty sweet). Yeah, there was that one lonely Bespin Vader squeezed into the Tatooine Wave this year, but when can this Captain Solo fanboy expect to see that new SA Bespin Han he so desperately wants? Oh right, no specific figure questions... uh, how about a simple "will we see a Bespin themed wave in 2007" question then?
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From Sandtroopers.com: 1) Hasbro has come up with various interactive games, most recently the Jedi Training game. Do these sell well, and what can we look forward to in the future?
2) Are there any characters owned by companies such as Dark Horse or artists such as Jan Duursema that are owned by them that you don't have license to produce? If so, are there any you are pursuing to get license to produce?
3) Customizing is a huge trend with collectors from all around. Are there any plans in the near or far future to come up with packs of body parts, heads in particular, or something of this nature?
4) Any thoughts on other crossovers? There was the Star Wars/Transformers crossover. How about a Star Wars/G.I.Joe or Marvel Legends crossover, especially since Hasbro takes over the Marvel Legends line in 2007?
5) How come it takes so long to mail out the George Lucas figure?
6) Using Star Wars collector sites to run a fan poll is a great idea. It's also an opportunity for a specific site to introduce itself to thousands of potential members the site may otherwise never have a chance to reach. In the future will you allow other collector sites to have this exclusive opportunity? It's a win-win situation for everyone and Hasbro doesn't run the risk of offending anyone.
7) Using Star Wars collector sites to run a fan poll is a great idea. It's also an opportunity for a specific site to introduce itself to thousands of potential members the site may otherwise never have a chance to reach. In the future will you allow other collector sites to have this exclusive opportunity? It's a win-win situation for everyone and Hasbro doesn't run the risk of offending anyone.
8) Any plans to re-introduce some greats from the Vintage era such as Droids or Ewoks figures? I'd love to get a Droids edition Boba Fett!
9) What is Hasbro's #1 strategy to retain current and obtain future Collectors?
10) What is next on the drawing board at Hasbro HQ that is going to blow us all away?
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From Sir Steve's Guide: 1) In a recent Q&A you stated it's important that Cantina patrons have bendable knees because many were sitting. With that said, why don't the figures in Death Star Briefing pack have bendable knees? If I remember correctly these guys were all sitting down, besides Vader and maybe Tarkin.
2) Would Hasbro consider changing the Greatest Hits-style line to have packaging different from the regular basic line, the cardback graphics being more different than they currently are, so both it and the regular line draw unique attention from each other?
3) Is there any way that HasbroToyShop.com could be better-stocked than it is? There's rarely any new Star Wars product on the site. And could HasbroToyShop.com's ordering system be augmented with an active preorder system on all items listed as "coming soon"? Currently they cannot be preordered if they're still listed as "coming soon". And/or how about an email-notification system on "coming soon" and "out of stock" items? All the pages say now are "check back soon" which isn't too handy, especially for high-demand items that sell out quickly once they go online.
4) If Hasbro is "testing the waters" with the new Unleashed reissues, why release figures like Grievous who were easy to obtain the first time; why not the second (unmasked) Darth Vader, which you've said you know everyone wants and very few people were able to get? And if the retailers were largely concerned with the size of the Unleashed figures packaging, why re-release them in packaging that is about double the size, especially given that they would logically be a tougher sell at the 33% higher price?
5) Why aren't all the SW forum boards voting on the inclusion for next year's Greatest Hits line?
6) Lots of fans love both Jedi Starfighters and were looking foward to the AOTC Action Fleet release and then the ROTS Titanium 6" Ultra release, both were cancelled just before going into production but were tooled up. Could these be saved from limbo and presented as an exclusive special Titanium 2-pack?
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From SW Collector: 1) With Sideshow Collectibles offering a 1/6th-scale Jabba's dias, could we be seeing one in 3 3/4-inch scale to go with the Saga '04 Ultra Jabba with Hookah? Perhaps with a new sculpt of Salacious Crumb as an accessory/figure?
2) The packaging for The Saga Collection's Naboo Soldier shows some soldiers in red armor and helmets. Any chance we might see those other soldiers, using the same body but with a new head?
3) If Hasbro were to re-release the REVENGE OF THE SITH Anakin Skywalker (Battle Damaged) #50 figure, any chances of packing in the Medical Capsule as an accessory? Lots of diorama builders have been asking for this one!
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NEW: From The Jawa: 1) A follow-up to [a previous] question... Given your confirmed attempts at utilizing the mid-sized vehicle footprint for items other than vehicles, do the concepts call for repacks of existing toys or new sculpts?
2) I know that collectors are usually more passionate about cantina aliens or imperial officers when it comes to supporting characters from the OT ... but are there any plans to release more rebel officers in 2007? If so, could this include new or updated versions of alien characters like the Mon Calamari, Dressellian or Ishi Tib as well?
3) The past several waves of Basic Figures (with the exception of the current Naboo wave) seem to have focused much more on the OT and Revenge Of The Sith. Can collectors expect more offerings from The Phantom Menace and Attack Of The Clones early on in the 30th Anniversary Collection? If so, are there any hints as to what we might see?
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From Yakface: 1) Will there be any changes made to the Target exclusive Imperial Shuttle, other than the Royal Guard and Vader pack-ins (both are rehashes)? Will the paint scheme be exactly the same as the Saga version? Will the footpegs inside the vehicle be fixed to accomodate the modern line of figures? Will the copyright stamp on the toy be changed from 1983? I know this ain't gonna happen, but how about some ELECTRONICS?
2) What's the status on a Hermie Odle figure?
3) You recently said you won't be doing a new Falcon unless it appears in the cartoon, what if it appears in the live-action show will you do one then?
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NEW: From Yoda's News: 1) The Jedi starfighter toy from Episode 2 featured a 'fight or flight' action feature that ended up looking remarkably similar to the Episode 3 Jedi starfighter (notably the TIE fighter-esque wings that folded up and down)...was the design of the Ep 2 toy reflective of some sort of unused Lucasfilm concept sketch or was the Ep 3 fighter something of an homage to the Hasbro design or a little of both or neither?
2) Will we ever see another run of Clone Wars Animated 3 3/4 Figures?
3) I love the Darth Tater T-Shirts on the Hasbro site and the one for sale on HasbroToyShop.com and was wondering if you thought of a roll-out of shirts based on the figures and vehicles in adult sizes?
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