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 Bi-Weekly Q&A Session, here's a handy guide to help you get all the info.
From Action Figs: 1) Will we see a TIE Interceptor with the new, more accurate, center pod - the improved center cockpit TIE pod that has been released on the standard TIE Fighter the last couple of times? If so, would it have the old 2-piece hatch or the newest, 1-piece, side-opening hatch seen on the upcoming white TIE Fighter?
2) The 2001 POTJ Princess Leia Bespin Escape figure has the best likeness and the first real quality use of scale on a Leia figure ever, yet this figure has not seen any decent rereleases. How about re-releasing this figure with new limbs that aren't preposed, perhaps with a little better articulation? This mold could also be used with changes to the hair, boots, and hands (turned into gloves), plus a new vest that fits, to make a new Hoth Leia.
3) In the past, Toys R Us has had several promotional figures that could be obtained free with a purchase of $15 or so (such as Holographic Yoda and Palpatine, and some silver figures). Will we see more promotional figures such as these in the future, perhaps more holographic figures that would otherwise not be sold at normal retail?
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From FFURG.com: 1) It has been widely published that during the 1978-85 Kenner run, that over 250 Million action figures were produced. While I understand that Hasbro does not release production run numbers, I was wondering if you could share with us if the 1995-present run by Kenner and Hasbro has surpassed the 250 Million mark and if so, approximately when did this occur? Also for comparison, can you provide an approximate total of how many total action figures have been produced during nearly 12 year run of the line?
2) In previous Q&A's you have mentioned that it is difficult for Hasbro to design Expanded Universe based figures due to a lack of visual reference material and that has led in part to the creation of the Comics 2-Pack line which has the visuals you need. I was wondering for EU characters from novels which do not have comic adaptations, would Hasbro consider using the various Novel covers, Reference Guides, and CCG Cards that exist depicting EU characters?
3) This may be considered more of a suggestion than a question, but I'd like to know that should Hasbro consider re-releasing the Imperial Speeder Bike would it be a possibility that the Speeder Bike would get all new steering controls? The existing steering controls which date back to the 1983 Vintage Speeder Bike are inaccurate and Hasbro has already produced comparable controls on the 2003 Clone Wars Speeder Bike. Should the Imperial Speeder Bike be re-released, it would be a great to see the controls updated to match the design aesthetic of the current action figure line.
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From Galactic Hunter: 1) This one hasn't been brought up in a while, but a lot of fans still hope to see a movie-accurate Darth Vader with removable helmet (i.e. the two-stage helmet). Is this figure anywhere on the horizon? If not, with the advances we've seen on the Star Wars figure lines, what's holding it back?
2) The Bossk Titanium figure comes with a strange accessory, a lightsaber hilt that is wedged under his foot. To whom does this lightsaber belong? It's a nice easter egg!
3) On the upcoming McQuarrie Boba Fett, what on earth (or not) is that thing in his midsection?
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From Jedi Defender: 1) Any chance we can get a picture of the Rebel Troopers from the "Capture of Tantive IV" Battle Pack without their helmets?
2) Is the Darth Vader figure slated for 2007's Wave 3 different from the 2007 #01 Darth Vader that comes with the Coin Folder/Album? Is he a new Vader Sculpt or is he just the same Vader sculpt as the Coin Folder #01 Vader but with a new ANH coin?
3) The new 2007 Death Star Trooper has piqued the curiosity of a few collectors on our forums. Is the figure a 100% new sculpt or are there parts re-used from another figure? Most notably, people think they're seeing Count Dooku parts being used. Is that the case or are they just seeing things?
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From Jedi Insider: 1) With all the Super-Articularted (SA) clones being released, there's a significant lack of rifles for clone armies. Has Hasbro considered a weapons pack of rifles and other assorted clone gear to help clone army builders?
2) The Target Exclusive Imperial Shuttle seems to have gone over quite well. Is there a chance we could see new large vehicles as limited time offer retailer exclusives in the future?
3) Will we see new comic packs in 2007 after thr first wave? Any clues on what we will see? Will they always be based on old Marvel Comics, or will we see some based on Darkhorse Comic titles?
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From Sandtroopers.com: 1) Will Hasbro try to hit more conventions to showcase their products since we'll never see a movie again or will Celebration IV be the main focus?
2) Are you going to sell the 501t Trooper that was issued to the 501st members who marched in the Rose Parade to the general public? The packaging is awesome!
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From Sir Steve's Guide: 1) What happened to the scale when you made the previous Hoth Rebel Trooper (Saga '04-01), which is very short next to other figures, even taking his pose into account? Can we expect a more definitive Hoth Rebel anytime soon to go with that great Major Derlin from last year?
2) What are the chances of seeing Titanium Series Battle Droid, Super Battle Droid, and Destroyer Droid die-cast metal figures made? This would avoid the thin-wall problems of their plastic action figure counterparts.
3) Hasbro has previously said that vehicles for the Galactic Heroes line did not sell well, but the only vehicles that have been released in the Galactic Heroes line itself are 2 re-releases of previous Playskool vehicles at higher pricepoints and 2 transforming vehicles taken from an unrelated line. The Galactic Heroes line has only 2 movie vehicles to choose from, the Millennium Falcon and the X-wing, but no vehicles for them to fight. Given that there is now a TIE Fighter Pilot, it seems only natural to make a TIE Fighter around the same size as the X-wing. What might be done to rectify this situation? Also, are there any plans to re-release any of the Star Wars Playskool figures or elements that have not yet been offered in the Galactic Heroes line, such as Wicket or the Wampa or the Naboo Fighter?
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NEW: From Star Wars Action News: 1) When a figure is re-released, such as next year's Saga Legends line, are the differences between the figures released in that line and the figures' original release any larger than two figures from the original line?
2) Recently we've seen the Red Clone Commander replace the Green Clone Commander in the Greatest Hits collection. Why didn't the Red Royal Guard get the same treatment in replacing his Blue counterpart?
3)We've had several surprising requests from our listeners to see if you'd consider making a Teek figure (Teek being the annoying creature from the Ewok TV movies and the Star Tours Safety video) as either part of the Star Tours line or part of the regular figure series
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From SW Collector: 1) In A New Hope (1977), when the Millennium Falcon is being pulled by tractor beam into the Death Star hanger, we see two Stormtroopers in armor modified for outer space. These designs are significantly different from the EU-based Spacetroopers. Could we see this film-based Space Stormtrooper made as a figure, eventually?
2) In any future re-releases of the Saga '04 Luke Skywalker (Jabba's Palace) figure, would it be possible to use the lightsaber mold from the ROTS Pilot Obi-Wan Kenobi figure? That lightsaber is much more accurate now than the version from '04 (which was really reusing the lightsaber from the POTJ Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi figure from 2000).
3) With all the different, scene-specific versions of Darth Vader made between 1995 and the present, it seems likely that Hasbro will soon have to delve into the Expanded Universe for new versions of him. In the Dark Horse Comic one-shot Star Wars: Purge, Vader suffers some serious battle-damage at the hands of a group of Jedi. Any chance of seeing a figure of a beaten-but-unbowed Sith Lord somewhere up the line?
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NEW: From TheJawa.com:1) I have always wondered why for the VotC R2D2 mold that the rotation of the dome that triggers the pop-up periscope is designed as it is. As it works, the periscope pops up after a short turn and then descends again. This means that the only way to pose R2 with the scope up all the way is only when the dome is partially turned. It looks quite awkward to say the least. Why not have it such that a full 360-degree turn would fully raise the scope so that R2 can face front in both cases whether the scope is hidden or up? Or wouldn't it simply be better to have let this be manually adjustable?
2) For the forthcoming comic 2-pack with Obi-Wan and Arc Trooper Alpha, will the blue stripe on Alpha's helmet be correctly painted i.e. the stripe should run down the helmet to the visor. I've noticed that Hasbro seems to forget this on many occasions (for the original Clone Wars ArcTroopers, the recent re-released Saga2 Clonetrooper sergeant with the green stripe, and the recent Clone Wars Hunt for Grievous Battle Pack). Also, will this issue be fixed for the Saga Legends colored clonetrooper re-releases next year?
3) Palpatine/Darth Sidious really came into his own in Revenge Of The Sith as a character and established himself as THE Ultimate Villain of the Star Wars Saga. He got a fair ammount of play in the ROTS line with a number of incarnations that were scattered between the Basic Figure, Deluxe Figure and Evolutions Figure lines, but several of these figures suffered from what some collectors are calling the "salt and pepper shaker treatment" and a number of collectors felt that the Evolutions Darth Sidious didn't look enough like the character. Plus this year Palpatine seems to have fallen by the wayside in the TSC line with three reissues, and once again those figures were rather static in nature. Can we expect to see more of Palpatine in the near future treated with the kind of aesthetic that more and more core characters have been given, in terms of sculpt, softgoods and articulation?
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From Yakface: 1) A couple of the figures released lately have incorrect figures bases/stands. (i.e. Kit Fisto, Clone Trooper Sergeant). Will these errors be addressed/corrected in later case revisions?
2) Would you consider doing a reversal on the ball joints and swivel elbows on figures? You've proven you can make knee articulation utilizing swivel joints with the POTJ's Rebel Fleet Trooper and both Sagas' Sith Training Darth Maul. With most figures, the elbow articulation is SO, much more important than the knee articulation, especially with the lack of chairs or accessories that require sitting.
3) The exclusive Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes Commemorative Tin is now in Wal-Mart. The repaints are nice and it gives kids and collectors a great chance to catch something they might have missed from the Fan Club release. However, Lucasfilm licensees agree that there are SIX, sometimes SEVEN members. (I lean toward seven because of the photo in the classic Star Wars Storybook.) In fact, Hasbro even released six band members in its 12" line in 1997. So, why did Hasbro produce only five bith for this set? It seems a conscious decision was made to exclude a figure because the card even mentions "Sitting out sick: Doikk Na'ts," although a "fizzz" instrument is included. Was this a pricepoint issue? Three figures clearly fit in the bubble. All it required was an additional figure with fanfar instrument. Will we see a single-carded figure to complete the band? (Perhaps with articulated knees?)
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