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.
Behind The Toys:1) During the POTJ line, you featured a Jedi Training Qui-Gon and Cold Weather Gear Kenobi. Is there any chance of revisting this concept, but with OT core characters?
2) The weapons/accessories that come with the figures have numbers or letters imprinted on them. I believe these are the cavity numbers used when creating the mold. What is the purpose of this designation?
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From Creature Cantina: 1) You've announced previously that in 2008 you'll be revisiting Bespin for a wave figures. Will you include Willrow Hood in that wave? If not, do you realize collectors will storm the Hasbro parking lot and smash the windows out of all your cars? Rhode Island is a small state... we'll find you. I mean, to do a Bespin wave at this point and NOT include Willrow? You may as well just spit in all our faces.
2) How come we haven't seen any Super-Articualted (SA) Rebel Soldiers? I mean it would super cool to see a Evolution 3-pack with a Rebel Fleet Trooper, Hoth Trooper (with a re-sculpted bearded face sculpt from POTF2) and a Endor Trooper all SA. We get SA Imperial Troops(including Clone Troopers) all the time and almost every wave. But they're the bad guys who stand for evil, oppresion and tyranny. Rebel Troopers are freedom fighters and soldiers for liberty. Does Hasbro have a pro-Empire leaning? Is Hasbro against freedom? If Hasbro doesn't make SA Rebel Troopers, the terrorist win.
3) Could you please describe the marketing strategy for the Star Wars Transformers line? Obviously, there is a lot of overlap between the two fan bases. I for one am as likely to bore my friends for hours on end describing the Hegellian dialectic operating in the Transformers Movie as I am to discourse on the Roman historical parallels at work in the Star Wars saga. That being said, why didn't we see a greater synthesis in this hybrid line? Maybe a Sith would be so narcissistic as to want to drive a giant robot with his own augustan likeness, but it seems to me that a simple headswap could have had Starscream transforming into an Imperial Shuttle. Did you conduct market tests that showed six-year-old boys preferred vehicles that turned into giant versions of Star Wars characters rather than Transformers that turned into Star Wars vehicles? I'd wager that the 35 year old collector market would have enjoyed the latter.
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From FFURG.com: 1) Now that some of the upcoming waves have been previewed online and at Toy Fair, what is the difference beyond price and packaging between a basic figure like Award Ceremony Luke and Death Star Trooper and a Vintage style IG-88 or Vintage Bossk? Also when we gonna get some love with an updated 4-LOM and Zuckuss?
2) How is the color schemes of Jedi fighters and their astromechs determined? By Hasbro or Lucas Film Ltd or some Collaboration? There obviously is some strong correlation to tinky winky purple and Mace Windu, black with Vader etc. It would go greatly to helping create custom vehicles for various characters that haven't already been made, like Aayla Secura, Quinlin Vos, etc.. Finally to wrap up this question, is there any correlation between these color schemes and the units of the clone armies, beyond Mace Windu, of course?
3) The customizing community, well, at least on the Forums on our site, erupted with cheers of joy at the new Force Unleashed Female Imperial Commander. We here at FFURG have two repack suggestions for you that would only require new heads, Admiral Daala and Ysanne Isard. Both are Expanded Universe but are pretty well known and deserve to be in plastic.
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From Galactic Hunter: 1) Vintage series Hoth Han Solo -- will he come with two heads (one of which was "accidentally" shown at Toy Fair)? Also, is there a chance that we'll get him in both blue and brown variants again? (Two heads, two color schemes, and completists will have to buy four of the same figure!)
2) Hasbro has produced some of the most astonishing vehicles (not just for Star Wars) for decades, so we know the company has what it takes. Does an upstart company producing a massive vehicle/playset (some big pirate ship) inspire Team Hasbro, encouraging the team to push for large vehicles with play features (hypothetically, a big tank, or a big walker)? Did the Imperial Shuttle's holiday success show Hasbro that parents and kids do still want a big box under the tree?
3) The concept of the 3 3/4" Battle Pack has evolved to include Beasts and Speeders (welcome additions). The original concept used newly re-tooled figures or new paint schemes, more accessories, and clear stands. Are the bonus accessories and stands completely phased out in favor of a new figure here and there? (Padmé from Ambush on Ilum could've really used a stand.) Would the Battle Pack series be the outlet for a completely new Imperial Speederbike? (It's overdue for an update, and there are several key figures that can interact with them.)
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From Jedi Defender: 1) The 30th Anniversary Collection "Vintage" Hoth Han Solo - are we going to see a blue coat variant? And what’s the story on that unapproved (as of Toy Fair) "hood-up" head sculpt? If approved by LFL, will we see the alternate head included as part of the 2007 figure or will it be saved for a re-issue down the road?
2) The large accessory pack-ins with some of the 30th Anniversary basic figures shown at Toy Fair were out of this world. Things like Umpass Stay's drum, Luke's moisture vaporator, and the corner curves to the bar are long requested fan items. Can you tell us if you have any other large accessory pack-ins planned for the future, either the second half of this year or next?
3) The Force Unleashed is already generating a lot of gaming buzz and the Toy Fair figure reveal has the toy buzz going too! Will the recently announced delay in the game’s release date affect the release of the figures? Also, what are the 2 Trooper types shown at Toy Fair? Do they have names yet?
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From Jedi Insider: 1) Will the delay of the Star Wars Force Unleashed video game to 2008 have an effect on the relase of the toys based on the game? Click here if you haven't yet seen the toys.
2) Do you have an image of the TRU exclusive Star Wars Gold Squadron Y-Wing Fighter you can send us?
3) Celebration 4 is fast approaching. Can you tell us if Hasbro will be offering an exclusive for the event? if so what is it and are their any images?
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From POTF2.com: 1) What does the Blue Sticker and "A" on the datestamp of recent case assortments mean?
2) The back of the coins for the Galactic Marine and Airborne Trooper have the 8 spoke Republic symbol. Shouldn't it be the 6 spoke symbol?
3) Over the past 11 years of basic SW action figures, we've seen numerous different sculpts of ANH Han, ANH Leia and ANH Luke.
However, in that same amount of time, we have yet to see a single carded Endor Leia, and it took all this time to finally get an Endor Luke.
Throughout the spectrem, there are still some core characters that have yet to be made in a particular outfit (ESB Lando in Han's style shirt), and others that are way overdue for a rerelease (Hoth Leia [which was an internet exclusive many years ago], DSII Luke).
So, instead of asking when and if these characters will be released, I want to know why Hasbro decides to release over and over the before mentioned characters in garb we've already seen instead of creating new figures with different clothing as seen in the films.
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NEW: From Star Wars Action News: 1) In the Jedi vs. Darth Sidious Battle Pack, can you tell us if all of these figures are straight repacks of previous figures, or if there are some retooled or repainted figures in the set?
2) In order to succeed in business it is a common philosophy that companies must evolve and grow to meet an ever-changing market. Lately the Star Wars collecting market seems to have evolved with higher-end more niche, low production, high profit items becoming very popular such as the Sideshow 12" line, including its Jabba the Hutt palace pieces which create an impressive diorama, and Attackus' Death Star Hanger/Millennium Falcon diorama. Has you ever considered adding an entirely new business model to Hasbro's way of doing business, creating midrange to high end niche items, perhaps for sale only directly through Hasbro's web site, and aimed at higher-end collectors rather than kids? Examples of this which come to mind would be playsets, which seem highly in demand by collectors but do not fit Hasbro's current business model. Perhaps a Death Star hanger playset built in scale with the 3.75" figures, made of higher quality materials, in the $400-$500 price point, would certainly be a niche item but perhaps appeal to the Kenner generation of Star Wars collectors who's collecting habits, and wallets, have grown up with them? Or does Hasbro see its focus as entirely making children's toys in quality and durability and want to leave the more expensive items to the other companies?
3) One creature that was never released in the USA is the Eopie from Episode 1. It often goes for tons of cash on ebay, but I think it would be a very interesting toy; specifically, it would make up an awesome "Battle Pack" with an Episode III Obi and Baby Luke. Any chance we would ever see a US release of this interesting creature in a "birth of the twins" battle pack?
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here for the answers to these questions.
From SW Collector: 1) Looking at my ROTS calender the other day I saw a scene where Obi-Wan is watching a holographic video in the Jedi Temple of Anakin bowing to Lord Sidious after executing Order 66. Would we ever get to see this as a two-pack, kind of a Holographic Lord Vader's Rise?
2) A Cloud Car question seems to come up from time to time, but we never seem to get much commentary back on it. Specifically, the big question that it seems like has not been definitively answered is, "Is the vintage tool still available and usable to re-release this vehicle at some point?"
3) Will the delay of "The Force Unleashed" next-gen video game until April 2008 mean the delay of Hasbro's game-based action figures?
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From TheJawa.com:1) The Vintage Figure line has quickly become a fan favorite since it's inception in 2004. Is Hasbro actively trying to limit the line to one wave per year? Additionally, it seems that with the pack-in coins that we're getting in the current line that incorporating the Power Of The Force line into the vintage line would be a natural fit. Has that concept been entertained considering the current coin pack-ins?
2) The Force Unleashed figures shown at Toy Fair were very impressive. What are the names of all of the characters in that wave? And when can we expect this to be released? Will their release coincide with the release of the video game?
3) While we didn't see him at Toy Fair, we've seen Hermi Odle listed in the product catalog that came with the Battle Packs. Can we see a picture of the figure?
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