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 4-inches.de: 1) The call for substancially more Padmé figures seems to be unbroken. While you just made clear that multipacks do have another focus not just for one figure there would be another way launch more than one figure at one time besides the main line. In 1998 you realised 4 2-Packs with Princess Leia in the POTF2 Princess Leia Collection Subline. Like Leia was in the classic trilogy Padmé is the one female main character in the new trilogy and with their multiple dresses she wears in Episodes I to III it would be difficult to realise all or most of her dresses among the main line so some other forms of realisations could hold for launching the mayor sculpts of Padmé. Padmé could get her own 2-Pack subline in a way like the recent Order 66 2-Packs. Each set could come with a Padmé figure in new dress with another main character as Repack, Repaint or another new character. Even a 2-Pack from some deleted scenes with a Separatist Senator would be possible that way. Easily around 6 sets could be possible. More Padmé figures can be produced from time to time with the main line if there will be a slot for her. How do you think about an idea like this?
2) In 1998 Hasbro realised the Dagobah Bogwing Creature with the POTF2-Line in the Complete Galaxy Set Dagobah with Yoda. While this figur has been non-removably fixed with the planetary globe accessory it could not work as a stand allone figure if one wouldn't decide to burst it up from the globe. Did Hasbro think about possibilities to re-release the creature as an accessory figure with another Yoda or Luke in the mainline?
3) At the time there has been only our little friend R2-D2 that has been equipped with electronic features (if you don't count the TOMY Droid Repaints with remote control). Does Hasbro concern about ways to release other astromech droids with electronic features or as repaints/kit-bashs of the VOTC R2-D2 figure to equip them with mechanical tooling?
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From Action Figs: 1) With the TAC Luke Jedi hitting shelves recently, the question turns to his cloth "vest". The soft goods designed into the figure includes the "skirt" aspect of the vest in the back, but not rest of the vest that's normally above that. Why did Hasbro go with this halter top design rather than an accurate, true vest design thus leaving the back uncovered? And why do the figure without the ability to easily remove the belt and vest to create the Death Star II look from the second half of the film, especially when that look has never been given a decent figure?
2) Would it be possible to get a Captain Panaka figure with a removable cap, either as a retool of the Ep I line original or as an all-new figure? The good captain hasn't been seen in a while and was often seen in the movie with his hat removed.
3) In the OT, the X-wing pilot costume has a band with cylinders just above the right boot, and the chest box hose connects to the left side of the torso. The VTSC Luke Pilot figure has this correct, however the Saga Dutch Vander Gold Leader body does not, yet that Dutch body is currently treated as the defacto pilot body when a new pilot figure is released despite that and its many other drawbacks and inaccuracies. At this scale, approximately 1:18, the difference in height between Luke's 5' 7" body and Gold Leader's 6' 3" body is 1cm, and between Luke and an average-height 6' body would be 0.5cm, which seems a little much for remolding the accurate Luke pilot up to the 6-foot-tall size (though we'd prefer that over continued use of the Gold Leader body). It seems this is one more noteworthy reason to produce a new, better X-wing pilot body, so have we convinced ya's yet to schedule that new figure, huh, huh?
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
Boba's Bounty:1) With Boba Fett, Jango Fett and Mandalorians in general seemingly extra popular this year and next, is there any chance we might see a Jodo Kast action figure made while this hot streak continues? Maybe in a Comic 2-pack reprinting Twin Engines of Destruction? You could include both Jodo Kast and Boba Fett.
2) The past few years we've had some great holiday figures (ie Santa Yoda). Will you continue the tradition this year?
3) What one figure have you guys been really unhappy with and if time and the opportunity presented itself you would go back and redo it?
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From Galactic Hunter: 1) We now know about the Geonosis Arena Creatures; the Max Rebo Band; and the Battle of Hoth sets. Are there any other Ultimate Battle Packs on tap for the Fall/Holiday season?
2) From spy reports, the upcoming Clone Wars line by Hasbro is shaping up to be an incredibly robust offering. Has any time frame been slotted out for the toys to be released yet? Will toys from the line be release ahead of the debut of the cartoon? Would a really large vehicle be released as a juggernaut piece at the start of the line, or wait for next winter's holiday season?
3) Will the store with the red-shirted employees be offering another super value item this holiday season similar to last year's surprise Imperial Shuttle? (Or anyone for that matter? C'mon, we need something to drool about until the holidays!!!)
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From Jedi Defender: 1) With the recent toy recall news around the country, toy industry analysts are predicting we’ll see prices increase up to as much as 10% to compensate for additional safety testing. Is it likely that we'll see a price hike within the Star Wars brand in 2008? Would you sacrifice the pack-ins to cut costs before raising prices? I know the prices that retailers set are ultimately outside your control, but to some degree you still set the base MSRP.
2) What upgrade to the TIE Fighter would you like to attempt next? We’ve seen changes to the back end, the Wings, and the hatch. What about the interior? Or is the TIE Fighter pretty much just where you want it now?
3) Has the time for more Wookiee Warriors passed or will we see that RotS Sneak Preview Wookiee sculpt rolled out again with a new paint job and maybe a new head sculpt? It's a fantastic figure and deserves to be considered next time you’re looking for repaint/battle pack ideas.
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From Jedi Insider: 1) Will you ever make proper gun turrets for the republic gunship (bubbles where the pilots can fit); perhaps in a battle pack?
2) I love what you've done with Clone Troopers and Stormtroopers. All the articulation you can ask for (well, except for Commander Baccura/Commander Cody). I have several shelves in my home dedicated to Clones and their Jedi Generals. As well as Stormtroopers snapped at attention for Darth Vader and the Emperor.
So don't you think it's time you start putting a little more attention on our rebel friends? I'd love to have a squad of Rebel Commandos that could stand at attention for General Madine or crouch behind fallen logs. I'd love to have Hoth Soldiers who could toss a grenade, crawl on their belly in a sniper position, or look through a pair of macrobinoculars.
3) Images of a Target Exclusive 'Battle of Hoth' Ultimate pack recently hit the net. Can you give us official details on this, like the price, when it will be released and maybe some official photos?
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From JediNews.co.uk: 1) With Evolutions returning please can you clear up the whether we'll see any Vintage figures next year or if the line is being rested as you've hinted at? If this is the case, does this mean that the Ultimate Galactic Hunt will also be rested for 2008?
2) We're now seeing more larger Battle Packs coming out (Hoth, Arena Encounter and others) and some of them, such as Hoth, are utilising some of the playset features from the early POTF2 sets. Do you have plans to reuse some of the other POTF2 sets such as Endor, Death Star Corridor and Bespin Chamber in any more Battle Packs. Also, with the Arena Encounter Battle Pack coming soon at Toys R Us will we see a re-release of the Arena playset to compliment it?
3) With the untimely and sad death of Christine Hewitt will we ever see her immortalised in plastic as one of the Tonnika sisters from 'A New Hope'?There are a lot of people that very much want to see this figure and there were various rumours of Hasbro signing an agreement with her to use her likeness.
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From Jedi Temple Archives: 1) We've seen some images leaked out of a Battle of Hoth Ultra Battle Pack. The images seem to indicate that it's a Target exclusive. Can you give us some more info on this set? What's the figure lineup? What's the suggested retail price? And can we expect more of these Ultra Battle Pack type sets which feature vehicles and/or playsets in the near future?
2) There seems to have been a significant falloff in news posted at http://www.hasbro.com/starwars/. Has the Q&A process taken over as the primary means of conveying Hasbro Star Wars news to the collecting community?
3) A recent collecting site rumor report stated that we may see the V-19 Torrent fighter and Trade Federation Homing Spider Droid released in the 2008 assault vehicle assortment. Seeing how 2008 is set to be the year for Clone Wars, and both of these items are part of the Clone Wars era, can we expect to see these pieces next year?
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From Sandtroopers.com: 1) I love what you've done with Clone Troopers and Stormtroopers. All the articulation you can ask for (well, except for Commander Baccura/Commander Cody). I have several shelves in my home dedicated to Clones and their Jedi Generals. As well as Stormtroopers snapped at attention for Darth Vader and the Emperor. So don't you think it's time you start putting a little more attention on our rebel freinds? I'd love to have a squad of Rebel Commandos that could stand at attention for General Madine or crouch behind fallen logs. I'd love to have Hoth Soldiers who could toss a grenade, crawl on their belly in a sniper position, or look through a pair of macrobinoculars. For years now we've been able to put our Clones/Storms in most any position we'd like.....so please give us the same option for our beloved Rebels.....please!
2) Hasbro, you've consistantly said that playsets and accessories are not profitable for you. I'd like your thoughts on your production on the bar pieces. In recent Q&A's you've stated you see that the dispencer won't fit with the way the curved pieces were made. You also stated that you wouldn't revisit either the curved pieces or straight pieces to correct the multiple inconsistancies. I've noticed several discrepencies between the straight pieces of the bar issued years ago and the curved pieces. Beside the sharp angle of the curve, which won't allow for the center piece with the dispencer, the barstool base and coloring of the seat don't match between the straight pieces and curved. Also, the shading/shadowing at the bottom of the bar, close to the floor the trim along the edge of the bar counter doesn't match between the straight and curved pieces and the flooring is different. And finally, the straight pieces don't even fit well together. What I'd like to know is, are people looking at these things before they are released? Now that the pieces have been sculpted, released and sold, it won't be profitable to resculpt. But, why isn't the whole thing looked at as one piece before it is developed and sold as pieces? I think this is exactly why playsets and some accessory sets have not been successful. I believe even if sales of these pieces, which will primarily be based on the figures, are successful, the execution on the Cantina bar, which could have been so cool, was a failure. So, we would like your comment on this.
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From Sir Steve's Guide: 1) Several fan sites in this Q&A series have asked about problems with Greatest Hits/Saga Legends figures and nagging TSC pegwarmer figures, and Hasbro's answers always have the same theme - "the problems are not systemic, it must be your area that's an anomaly". The thing is, these sites and their readers are from all over the country and they're consistently reporting the same issues independently of each other which suggests these aren't be random, isolated events. This has grown especially frustrating with the current waves of the Saga Legends line as it seems to be shipping very heavily and covering many a store's TAC pegs while the main TAC line wave 4 remains sparse and rife for scalper attention. What makes Hasbro so confident about there being no wide-scale problems with lingering TSC pegwarmers or stores not coping with the 2-SKU/2-pegs system for the current basic lines (TAC and SL), and that none of this is creating an intensely-frustrating problem for new figures getting into consumers' hands?
2) What does Hasbro think about using the New Jedi Order (Yuuzhan Vong) series of novels as source material for more figures? Especially now with NJO Luke coming in an Evolutions set next year, might this open the door to getting other NJO characters like Yuuzhan Vong or Fan Choice poll top 25 characters like Jacen, Jaina, Anakin and Nom Anor?
3) Over the past few years, Hasbro's become adept at using mostly existing bodies to create acceptable figures, both in the main line and arguably more successfully in the Battle Packs and multipack lines - the upcoming Entertainment Earth Mandalorian multipacks are the most recent and standout examples of this. With that in mind, might Hasbro consider creating a Rogue Squadron multipack of Rebel pilots utilizing mostly already-existing molds with new heads and new comic- or movie-accurate decos on their helmets? The characters would be taken from characters that already exist in the comics and books. How about alien pilots - such as Gand, Mon Calamari, and Quarren - and female pilots?
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From TheSithEmpire.net: 1) Will there be another UGH type of rarity in 2008? If so, will we still receive the gold coins or will we receive a different type of promotion.
2) Will there be another vintage-style line in 2008? If so, what figures could we expect to see (what are the chances of seeing figures based on classic production differences such as vinyl cape jawa, Rocket Firing Boba Fett and Double Telescoping figures)?
3) It looks from the initial pictures of the Elite Forces Entertainment Earth 14 pack, that the helmets fit too snuggly on the Mandalorians; not only revealing the chins, but also appearing misshapen on their heads. Will this be remedied when the figures go into production.
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
NEW: From Star Wars Action News: 1) I completely understand thanks to this Q&A how important repaints are to the life of the line, but...shadow AT-AT? Really? How did this come about and did LFL have any reservations about adding this to their canon?
2) What was the motivation behind making the celebration exclusive figures available at the Star Wars Reunion? Will the coins be different?
3) The smaller gun that came with the outstanding vintage IG-88 figure does not fit into the holster on his back. Can you please let us know if the gun that would have fit is going to be or has been released with another figure that could be pilfered to give to IG-88? If no such gun has been made, would you consider putting such a gun with an upcoming figure and letting fans know?
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From SW Collector: 1) Considering the success of the Concept Art Series figures, and that there are still plenty of concept characters to be mined, have you thought about doing a figure of The Emperor from the original theatrical cut of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK -- the one played by a woman in prosthetic make-up that then had chimpanzee eyes superimposed over her real eyes?
2) Although the novel that was to center around Darth Plagueis the Wise has been cancelled, the character is still one that has fans intrigued, especially since it was announced the character is a Muun (same species as San Hill). Any chance we could see an action figure of him eventually?
3) With a new Max Rebo Band set coming out, could we finally be close to getting a figure of Jabba's palace dancer Yarna del' Gargan?
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From TheJawa.com:1) I really liked the badgless black tunic officers from Episode VI. Will we ever see these guys in plastic, like Hewex, Dyer and the ever popular Renz? I know we have Praji comin out, but I really want these guys.
2) In the past you said that stores have different order numbers for the Legends wave versus the regular TAC wave or even the SAGA waves. In 2 local Wal-Marts, these all share the same pegs, where there are over 60 SAGA figures mixed in with some Legends figures and TAC pegwarmers(R2-D2, Obi and Mace). Based on your previous answers that this kind of stuff shouldn't happen, what do you say now? Do you contact these stores and have them get it right or send out a rep? As a collector what can I do to get new stuff at these stores?
3) Will we ever get the ewoks that help chewy take out the AT-ST in Return of the jedi? Any other new Ewoks on the horizon, besides the new 2 pack coming out
Click
here for the answers to these questions. (Note: this site is undergoing a major overhaul with the new owners, and is temporarily being hosted by Sandtrooeprs.com)
NEW: From The Private Universe:1) Might we see more multi-packs (such as Mandalorians, Astromechs, Death Star Briefing Room) in '08/'09 ? Can you give us an idea of what characters might be being considered - ANH Pilots Briefing Room or the 'Rogues Gallery' from the front of the Dark Horse 'Rogue Squadron Encyclopedia' for example?
2) Can UK fans use the US coupons from the VOTC 2007 figures to claim the Ultimate Galactic Hunt mail-in Coin Set? Will we need a UK form or can we use the US one? What address do we send them to ?
3) From your previous answers it seems you are happy to talk about other Lucasfilm franchises in the context of action figures (eg, Indiana Jones). Therefore, I'd like to bring up the subject of Willow. A convention / online boxed set of Madmartigan, Sorsha, Willow Ufgood and General Kael would rock - any chance we'll see you do something similar in the future ?
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From Yakface: 1) Will we have an opportunity, perhaps through a mail-away offer, to get the gold "Indy IV" coin? Perhaps an offer on the first wave of figures? Also Are there any plans for a Vintage-style line for Indy figures, similar to the VOTC/VTSC Star Wars line? One thing the collecting world could certainly use, is a finely-sculpted, super-articulated Indiana Jones figure!
2) In regards to the new Target "Battle of Hoth" Ultimate Battle Pack, I am glad to see a couple of VTSC Snowtrooper in this set, but throwing in the previous (late 90s era) POTF2 Snowtrooper sculpt seems like a wasted slot. Why not something else instead, like the AT-AT driver or E-Web cannon accessory? Also is the AT-ST in this set a straight repack or does it have "snow" paint effect applied to it? Oh one more thing the Snowspeeder Luke appears to have Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber instead of the proper Luke version - will this oversight be addressed?
3) Some of the gray Clone Commanders in the Saga Legends line have shown up packed with one of 2 weapons: the sandtrooper rifle or the standard clone rifle. Was this an intentional variant or a factory packing error.
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
From Yoda's News: 1) If electronics, lights and sounds are so expensive to add to vehicles, why dos Hasbro keep reissuing the electronic R2-D2? I would think that current technology would make it cheaper through the use of LEDs and sound chips rather than battery powered motors and grain-of-wheat bulbs.
2) Now that the Vintage Line has been around the block for a few years do you see it returning in 2008?
3) When can we expect to see a change in the card format, from the current 30th Anniversary line?
Click
here for the answers to these questions.
