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) Many collectors believe that the recent trend of figures having ball-jointed heads has more flaws than advantages, what with the joint requirements creating heads that appear cut off behind the jaw and below the ears making for a bizarre profile, as well as unrealistically long necks. In some circumstances the ball joint's range of motion can be so limited that it renders the joint all but moot; also, with removable-helmet figures sometimes the head comes off with the helmet. Some examples of problems caused by ball-jointed heads are the Ep IV Commemorative Tin's Sandtrooper, the Evolutions Ep II Anakin figure, and VTSC Luke Pilot. So would it be possible to do away with ball-jointed head articulation and either go back to the traditional swivel neck or come up with something that looks and works better?
2) Recent high quality sculpts of R2-D2 and C-3PO have been for the most part clean and shiny when generally the droids were dirty and scuffed throughout the original trilogy. Could Hasbro fit in more worn, dulled, and resculpted versions of our droid heroes into the lineup anytime soon, such as Tatooine paintjobs and minor sculpt alterations including sand, restraining bolts and a dented head for Threepio? Modern sculpts of the droid twosome haven't yet been given such a treatment and collectors are still using outdated, inaccurate sculpts for Tatooine scenes and other "weathered droids" scenes.
3) Will Academy outfit Biggs from wave 3 have his cape, and if not, why?
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From Galactic Hunter: 1) Can you please offer two points of clarification for the new figures revealed this week on the net? Specifically, will "Academy" Biggs Darklighter have his cape, and will Umpass-Stay have a large drum to beat on (either included with the figure or is it eventually planned for seperate release)?
2) Is there any effort going into the hopeful re-release of Commander Gree with accurate paint deco in a Kashyyyk Battle Pack? I want to emphasize the "accurate paint deco" portion of this as the previous figure is way off in terms of movie accuracy... and I know of many who are longing for this.
3) There are rumors of 3¾" figure 10-packs coming out for the Mos Eisley Cantina. Might we see a big box set (sort of "Ultra" Battle Packs) in time for the holiday shopping season?
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From Jedi Defender: 1) Every year, Hasbro puts out a bunch of really great figures. With that said, I'm sure that every year also has a couple figures that you would have liked to improve or tweak just a bit, but you just ran out of time. In 2005's Revenge of the Sith line, what figure is THE figure you'd like to backtrack and maybe start over again? Grievous' Body Guard Droids perhaps (who could use some more articulation and detailing)? Maybe Commander Gree (who seemed a bit rushed to fill out the line at the end of 2005)?
2) Judging from the rumor lists and photos we've seen so far, 2007 is really shaping up like "The Year of Luke". We've seen many new Lukes with brand new sculpts and that's a great thing for collectors. Are you concerned at all that you're overloading everyone's favorite whiney farmboy into the line this year and not saving "new" versions of the character for the next few years?
3) OK, it's not Star Wars, but we have to ask - do you have the toy license for Indiana Jones IV? If so, can we expect to see the 3.75" scale Indy figures we all want in 2008?
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From Jedi Temple Archives:1) With your great Dark Horse partnership in action figures, can we foresee the selling of cost-friendly "SABER SLIPS" (the pieces found in build-your-own UltimateLight sabers) yet "SLIPS" culled and characterized from EXPANDED UNIVERSE sabers / characters such as Quilan Vos, Darth Revan, Darth Krayt / Talon / expandable to Nihlus, and Exar Kun, etc.? I can see this compliment sales of the "Ultimate Lightsaber" as well as the EU line and interest.
2) With the success of large vehicles (old-molds with better-paint) can we see the mother-of-all-ships; the Royal Naboo Starship, CHROMED to a super-shiny mirror finish? Maybe include a new figure Darth Maul, or new Amidala?
3) Customising is very popular among SW fans; ever thought of bringing "Customising Kits" onto the market ... would save us the trouble of hurting our fingers prying figures apart. They could come complete with pots of paint and little "how to" manuals.
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From Sandtroopers.com: 1) Would you consider doing a fans choice ballet for the Titanium 3" vehicle line? I ask this because the reissues with paint variations and "battle damage" give the impresson that Hasbro has reached the end of the line as far as new ideas. I believe there are plenty of vehicles to be made and maybe the fans need a contest forum to shed light on new vehicles.
2) Why do we keep getting different Clone Troopers using so many different body styles? I just purchased Commander Appo and the Combat Engineer. I was very disappointed to see that Appo does not use the removable helmet body style, instead using the #41 SA body. Same thing with the Mace Windu battlepack (minus the Airborne Clone, kudos for that) and the Betrayal at Felucia battlepack (again, minus the one Clone Sergeant). Two different body styles were created for the Evolutions packs, each with a removable helmet. Why not use these two sculpts exclusively going forward? While I must say that I love getting so many Clone Troopers, I'd love it even more if they were all given a removable helmet.
3) What was the thought process behind making the last 5 figures in the 2006 SAGA line exclusives? Any collector can tell you that the last wave in most of the current lines is nearly impossible to find (i.e. Episode 1, POTJ, SAGA 2002, ROTS, etc.), and now it's exclusive to Wal*Mart as well which makes it twice as hard to find, if not more. Not to mention that these five figures are included in a case with other figures, and only 1 of each per case at that. While I am not a fan of exclusives, I do understand that stores want something "special" to bring customers in. However, I would urge Hasbro NOT to make the exclusives part of the regular line of figures in the future.
Click
here for the answers to these questions. (Forum registration required.)
From Sir Steve's Guide: 1) Just about all modern Jabba the Hutt figures have been based on CGI models of the character which look notably different from the original ROTJ puppet. With the excitement generated by Sideshow's 12" Jabba figure, can we expect to see a Jabba with Throne (dais) of similar quality for the Hasbro 3¾" line?
2) The only versions of the AT-ST to date have been the ESB Kenner mold, while at first glance it appears to be the same shape as the ROTJ version, in reality the ROTJ version is actually a significantly different design. Understanding that a Return of the Jedi AT-ST would require an all-new mold to be made which likely lessens its chances, is it a vehicle that Hasbro might be considering making at any point in the future?
3) Last time we asked this question in October, you said "We won't be answering any more specific questions on the 2007 line at this time. However, she is definitely a possible future figure. Not out of the question." However, now that Toy Fair has come and gone, can you tell us what the odds are that we will see Yarna D'al Gargan in 2007?
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
NEW: From Star Wars Action News: 1) The upcoming McQuarrie figures are very cool in their representation of the concept art that made Star Wars what it is. However, why was the choice made to give Vader a soft goods cape, which does not hold its shape and therefore is not as true to the original McQuarrie art?
2) Star Wars collectors were very excited by the rerelease of the Imperial Shuttle last year, especially with it being approximately half the cost of the FAO exclusive version and coming with two bonus figures. Given that, why is the upcoming Toys R Us exclusive Bantha release so much more expensive than the original POTF2 Bantha? Are there any differences between this Bantha and the previous, retooling or such, which would explain the higher cost?
3) the 30th Anniversary wave looms in our future, many collectors are worried about items which they have not yet seen; specifically the final wave of Star Wars figures including the Holographic Obi-Wan and Vader's Astromech. Are these items still shipping as of now, or should collectors rush over to eBay before prices go higher?
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From SW Collector: 1) Does Hasbro want to know why I decided to pass on purchasing a certain Star Wars product or why I'm not entirely satisfied with a product that I was on the fence on but decided to try anyway? If so, what is the best way to communicate this information? Can you tell us a specific website, email, or phone number that is best to use for this? What specific information should we include (product's name, UPC, etc)?
2) During the last few years there have been chrome, then silver painted convention exclusives, some later sold at TRU. My question is why did you switch from the chrome to the toned down silver and are there any plans to keep up this tradition for convention release or mass release in stores? Those figures rocked!
3) Keeping up with Hasbro's tradition of the 100th Luke (12-inch line), 300th Boba Fett figure, and Darth Vader being the last one made (500th figure). Are there plans to keep this going and any hints on what the figure might be and when would this see the light of day?
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From TheJawa.com:1) Can we expect to see the Acklay repacked anytime soon?
2) Some of the package inserts on the window boxed products look amazing. Going back to POTF2 with the Y-Wing up to current pieces like the Death Star Briefing multipack or the Betrayal on Felucia battle pack, the backgrounds to these pieces look fantastic, and in a way they might satisfy fans who are clamoring for diorama/playset offerings. Where did this drive for intricate backgrounds come from? And might we see some kind of evolution of these backgrounds to where they may be almost as durable as the ships or figures that they're offered with?
3) This is something of a 2-part question regarding the Comic 2-packs. We've been seeing consistent reports of a Comic 2-Pack with Mara Jade. Who will the other character in the set be? Also, we've seen reports of an A'sharad Hett & Anakin Skywalker Comic 2-pack. Will A'Sharad Hett have his Tusken Raider face coverings?
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From Yakface: 1) Would you consider some sort of "Padme Amidala Collection" of 2-packs like the Leia ones? But maybe making them a more limited run/exclusives to avoid an issue of them not selling well? If so, and you included good pack-ins, here are some potential ideas:
- TPM "Chinese outfit" Padme w/ retooled TPM Palpatine or retooled
Panaka
- AOTC Fireside Padme w/ AOTC Evolutions Anakin
- AOTC Super Articulated Arena Padme w/ AOTC Clone Trooper (from when they fall out of the Gunship)
- ROTS "Leia hair buns" Padme w/ ROTS Evolutions Anakin
2) I noticed that the hilt for the up coming Ceremony Luke is the hilt from Darth Vader. Is this just a case of a sample image with the wrong saber hilt? If not, why does Hasbro keep getting this wrong? (i.e. VTSC X-wing Luke also came with the Vader hilt). Also, the hilt in on the attached saber hand for the Ep. III Obi-Wan (which was made early on).
3) Since the collector tin sets gave us Stormtroopers / Snowtroopers and Scout Troopers with removable helmets or flip up visors to reveal Jango Fett's head underneath, can we expect a Boba Fett with removable helmet in the near future? Or does LFL still want to keep Boba's face shrouded in mystery for the time being? My thinking is that even though he's a clone of Jango, who knows what kind of deformity he might have suffered since he was a kid, has LFL ever hinted at this with you?
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From Yoda's News: 1) With your great Dark Horse partnership in action figures, can we foresee the selling of cost-friendly "SABER SLIPS" (the pieces found in build-your-own UltimateLight sabers) yet "SLIPS" culled and characterized from EXPANDED UNIVERSE sabers / characters such as Quilan Vos, Darth Revan, Darth Krayt / Talon / expandable to Nihlus, and Exar Kun, etc.? I can see this compliment sales of the "Ultimate Lightsaber" as well as the EU line and interest.
2) Anticipating the "Dark Times" which Obi-wan lionized as the saga between Episodes III and IV --- can we see what was done to the recent repaint of Mace Windu's saber --- but with Obi's saber (e.g. Obi's ROTS saber-mold but in a ANH paint job, with tiny little re-tooled add-ons? Packaging alone can attract fans both (young and old) picturing both Obi's (young and old)! Like your old vehicle molds with tiny new retooled add-ons; Obi's weathered "New Hope" saber can wield tiny new details; although small, can make such big differences. Example; a thin-strip of transparent plastic formed to make the "bubble-lined-button" for the igniter press. Or a cheap thinrubber-wrap molded to make a "dull-grip" (covering the "sharp-grip" ROTS-molded-handle) painted rough with weathered spreckles, would be so cool, yet still cost-effective. You did it with Mace's repainted saber (shamefully, sorry to say). BUT, you've done it successfully and beautifully with more detailed repaints of old vehicle molds (coupled with tiny re-tooled add-ons made perfect). You did for Mace, did it for old vehicles --- can we do it for Obi?
3) Can we anticipate that the 2007 Hasbro Summer Convention Exclusives will once again be for sale on HasbroToyShop?
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
