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) Hasbro has made a fantastic job with the figure sculpts over the last years. Nevertheless do I think that you have been underachieved with the RA-7 sculpt. The figure seems not be quite movie accurate because it have to be more silver-colored instead of gold-colored. Furthermore the sculpt that bases on the 98' Death Star Droid lacks of state of the art joints. Is it possible that the figure gets a complete update in the following years, e.g. with joints like the C-3PO Ewok Diety and with a TC-14 paintjob?
2) There are a lot of R2-D2 figures that have been sculpted since 1995. Nearly each feature of the little droid has been realised over the time. I was wondering that the only feature, that has not yet realised have been done with the McQuarrie Concept figure - the starship control-arm links in the front torso under the dome. Is it possible that you go this way when you do the next update to the droid? And what are the odds for a super-articulated and -tooled R2-D2?
3) You stated in a former q&a session, that the scanning technology lacked for the realisation of emotional looking human faces so you have reserved that technology for technical tools and vehicles only. In my opinion the sculpting of the various Padmé figures that have been done so far seems not be quite accurate and do not reflect the pretty face of Natalie Portman. The look of the face regularly seems to be curiously grim or a little bit Victorian, you know? How about a more handsome Padmé face the next time you do that figure?
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From Action Figs: 1) There are a bunch of alien and droid figures from the POTF2 era that have yet to see upgrades such as: Nien Nunb, Ree Yees, Saelt-Marae (Yak Face), Orrimaarko (Prune Face), Admiral Ackbar, EV-9D9, ASP-7, Ishi Tib, Lak Sivrak, etc.. Is it likely that these guys will be upgraded with better sculpts and articulation in the foreseeable future or are we likely stuck with the ones we have?
2) For some reason, nearly all the Jedi Luke figures have been from Jabba's Palace with permanent vests. The only Death Star II version in recent memory is the rather unfortunate Saga figure with its rather unfortunate action gimmick, preposed body, and bizarre face sculpt. The newest Jedi Luke (TAC #25) has a cloth vest but it's not meant to be removed and the costume underneath is incomplete for Death Star II Luke. In ToyFare's Fans Choice poll, this was the only OT main character - not to mention the only version of Luke - to make the top 25 (and 3 characters who got less votes have already been made as figures now). So, do you have any plans to make a Death Star II Jedi Luke at this point? If not, why has this popular version been continuously overlooked in favor of Jabba's Palace Luke?
3) With the new Clone Wars line coming up, will you be going back to the original series to make figures for characters who didn't get them, whether or not they appear in this new CGI series? Figures like Holographic Sidious on walking mechano-chair, Scuba Troopers, Space Clone Troopers, Plo Koon in armor, IG Lancer Droid (perhaps with its swoop bike), General Oro Dassyne all would make good candidates from the first series.
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Boba's Bounty:1) With Transformers coming out on DVD this past week, it renewed our interest in Star Wars Transformers. I believe there are still 3 that haven't hit shelves yet. Any hints on the future of the line?
2) When exclusives are given to stores, is there anything in the agreements with the companies either asking or requiring them to offer the exclusive through their online store as well? Honestly there is nothing more frustrating to a working collector (or parent for that matter) than hearing that exclusives are hitting stores, but all the local stores are sold out (welcome to Boise, home of the megascalper...).
3) As I've said before, my 5 and 2 year olds LOVE Galactic Heroes (heck, I do too!). Any chance of a reissue of the Kashyyk CLone Trooper? That one didn't seem to be on the shelf too long! They'd love to see it packed with a Commander Gree.
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NEW: From Galactic Hunter: 1) Hasbro has made it clear that the Holiday Special is mostly off-limits for figure consideration. I understand your reservations since it is painfully hard to watch. Since we did receive a Star Wars Holiday Special figure in the Power of the Jedi line is 2001 (Zutton - Snaggletooth) which NEVER appeared in A New Hope and we were just blessed with the Animated Debut: Boba Fett this year, could you please just check out the Star Wars Chronicles (big coffee table book) and just see some of the cool additional cantina aliens that could be created if you would just open your hearts? There are some amazing creatures (some even cooler than what made it to the movie cut) that were developed for this special including a white Djas Puhr among others that would be very welcomed additions to our cantina dioramas.
2) You folks scared EVERYONE with all of the "No comment!" answers in the last round of Q&A. Seeing that those two Ultimate Battle Packs have been leaked with stickers indicating that they will be exclusive to one particular big-boxer, can you confirm or deny whether or not we'll see OTHER cool 3.75" exclusives that haven't been leaked (thus far) in time for the holdays? [A list of fall/holiday exclusives that CAN be confirmed would be useful, but any guidance helping us with our budgeting would be helpful and appreciated!]
3) Many fans are enthralled by the 30th Anniversary Collection's cardback art. Would Hasbro ever consider posting some nice print-quality artwork on StarWars.Hasbro.com for collectors to download? It's beautiful art, and it shouldn't be marred by sliced-off bubbles.
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From Jedi Defender: 1) Recently, three figures were announced as new additions to 2008's Revenge of the Sith wave - Anakin, Obi-Wan, and the Lava Droid. Along with the figure news came images of a cool new 3-3/4" version of the Mustafar Lava Duel platform. However, there seem to be conflicting reports of how exactly we're getting the platform. Is it a "build-a-platform" type thing or are there unique lava platform pack-ins for Obi-Wan, Anakin, and the Lava Droid?
2) The EU Spacetrooper was excluded from the second round of fan voting for the Saga Legends line since he's apparently coming out in some form or another next year. Will we be seeing a re-use of the figure’s original sculpt or will we be seeing something new sculpted up for the character?
3) The recent Saga Legends poll created a lot of buzz around the collecting communities, but when the results were announced a lot of folks were disappointed with the results. It seemed like the votes of the wider audience at Hasbro.com didn’t reflect the desires of the older collectors at the fansites. Has the interest in some of the other figures that finished outside of the top 5 raised some eyebrows at Hasbro, to the point where we'll hopefully start seeing more of the exclusive and pack-in figures available separately on a basic card at some point down the line? Many kids and collectors have to avoid the higher priced packs and vehicles, but would like the opportunity to get some of the unique figures packed therein (like Blue Snaggletooth, Yularen, or EB Chewie) as a single carded figure. Any chance of this coming to fruition later on, outside of (or even in) the Legends line?
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From Jedi Insider: 1) It seems like we have a lot of new product coming out all at once. Some of these new waves are not making it to shelves in a lot of places because other figures like the Saga Legends figures are using up the shelf space. Is this something you are aware of, and do you feel confident that the newer waves of 30th Anniversary figures will make their way to shelves in enough numbers that most people will be able to find these figures?
2) Now that you are doing Indiana Jones product as well as Star Wars, have you ever considered doing a tribute to Harrison Ford set that incorporates both Star Wars and Indiana Jones in the same set for collectors?
3) We have heard that there may be some type of collaboration between Hasbro and Sideshow Toys to bring Star Wars playsets to the shelves. Is there anything at this point you can tell us about this?
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From JediNews.co.uk: 1) We must be somewhere between the magic 750 and 1,000 figures and we wondered if we’re likely to see a commemorative figure along the lines of the 300th Boba Fett and 500th Darth Vader anytime soon, is so any indication of who it might be?
2) The Ultimate BattlePacks look awesome [I can’t wait to get my hands on them]. The UK Brand Manager is currently away and I really hope you can put us UK fans at bay by letting us know that we will be seeing these on this side of the pond – pretty please with bows on? Also, these Ultimate BattlePacks would be a great placement for an upcoming Jabba set featuring the long awaited and much needed Jabba on throne.
3) A few weeks ago we were told of talks between Hasbro and Sideshow about creating playsets in the 3¾” scale . As you’re aware a lot of fans seem interested in these and we wondered if there’s any more news you can share on your talks with Sideshow and are the Ultimate BattlePacks, with multiple figures, vehicles & accessories, a way of trying to determine a favourable price point with a link to a proposed playset line?
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From Jedi Temple Archives: 1) You had indicated in a previous Q&A sessions that the re-released blue Obi-Wan Starfighter and the green Anakin Jedi Starfighter would have the same white paint applications as the original release.
This picture from Entertainment Earth seems to indicate that the paint apps have been updated to better reflect what we saw in the film and we like what we see. Can you tell us if this new "grey" paint application is what we'll see on these re-released vehicles?
2) The Dutch Vander figure was a fairly revolutionary figure when it was introduced back in 2004. Since then, it has been the basis for a number of Rebel Pilot figures. It's been reused to give us new versions of Wedge Antilles, Biggs Darklighter and most recently Lt. Lepira with the current Toys R Us exclusive Y-Wing as well as the forthcoming Derek "Hobbie" Klivian. However, this body is so large that it will not fit in the modern X-Wing fighter that we've come to accept as the standard. The good news though is that this figure works in other fighters like the Y-Wing. But considering the appeal that the pilots of Rogue Squadron have with fans and collectors, could we see a retooled series of Rebel Pilots that have the modern articulation that we've become accustomed to that will also fit in the cockpit of the X-Wing? It would certainly open up the potential to match up pilots with fighters, like Garven Dreis with Red Leader X-Wing, Wedge with the Red 2 X-Wing, Biggs with Red 3 X-Wing, and so on.
3) You revealed in recent Q&A sessions that the Vintage line of figures will be taking 2008 off, and that the Evolutions line will be the venue for premium sculpted figures in the line. Additionally, we seem to be getting figures with large accessories in the Basic Figure line that might ordinarily be placed in a Deluxe Figure line.
With those factors in mind, can we expect a Deluxe Figure line to take the Vintage figure line's place in the retail planogram for 2008?
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From Sandtroopers.com: 1) Now that we have seen 3 different Ultimate Battle Packs for this year, is this a segment of the Battle Packs we will continue to see more of? They have a lot of potential as long as there is something new for the collectors. The Arena lacks anything new while the Hoth and Endor have some new 'different' repaints and kitbashed figures.
2) Has Hasbro ever given any thought to re-releasing/slightly adjusting any of the older Jabba molds (like the vintage - with the throne perhaps??) for a re-release any time soon? It's been a while without a Jabba, and we need a good one. Or, you could even go with an updated paint scheme such as a Gardulla the Hutt figure/beast, or any of the other EU Hutts from the comics?
3) Why should I buy exclusives when the figures return in 2 years at half the cost most of the time? You are removing the point of these figures being exclusives and paying the higher price point because they are exclusives. By treating fans this way, do you think that the sale of exclusive figures will decline as collectors refuse to pay $15 or more for a figure that will return on a poll and be released for $7? I really hate the fact I bought the lastest Fan's Choice winners at full price the other year. Doing the packins like Zev and Neyo are one thing as they have not been carded before, but to do it with carded figures that people paid through the nose for is a slap on the face.
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From Sir Steve's Guide: 1) With the Star Wars team splitting their time with Indiana Jones and the Clone Wars CGI cartoon coming next year, how many new sculpts does Hasbro estimate we'll be seeing for Star Wars Original Trilogy figures in the basic carded line? Will each of the 6 films be getting its own wave in 2008? If not, which film won't be getting its own wave?
2) Due to the unpopularity of the character, is it unlikely that Hasbro will revisit Jar Jar Binks with a super articulated figure? He is definitely a character that would warrant such articulation due to his onscreen antics (no matter how obnoxious), and we haven't seen a new figure of him in quite a while, he could use an upgrade and the kiddies would probably want him.
3) While the TAC line has been doing great designs with aliens and armored figures, a lot of fans feel there have been a number of misfires with main characters in this line. Luke Yavin and Luke Tatooine's headsculpts and decos, Mace Windu's head, Vintage Leia Endor's long neck and inaccurate face deco, Lando in smuggler outfit's new head design and its rolled-back-in-his-head eyes, Vintage Luke Bespin's likeness, and everything about Han Torture Rack from the odd head to the mismatched proportions of the body. And it's not like we always need resculpted heads, POTJ Bespin Leia and Early Bird Kit Luke already have superior likenesses. So what is happening here?
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From SW Collector: 1) Is the Darth Vader figure coming in wave 1 of the 2008 line a straight repack of the Evolutions ROTS Anakin Skywalker, or are there differences? A "Sith eyes" paint application would totally rock on this figure!
2) Now that Toyfare Magazine has revealed there will be an Emperor Palpatine figure in The Force Unleashed figures, will this be the oft-requested "ROTS/Senate Duel with Yoda" costumed version? Will he come with a lightsaber as well as Force lightning? Any images of it to share yet?
3) We've received lots of e-mails from collectors that are just not finding the following four figures from wave 5 of the 30th Anniversary Collection line at retail at all: Darth Revan, Darth Malak, Pre-Cyborg Grievous, and McQuarrie Concept Starkiller Hero. They see the other figures from that wave, but these are always gone already. Given the high demand for these four figures--they seem to sell out almost instantly whenever they're offered on HasbroToyShop.com--can we hope to seem them offered in greater numbers in future refresher cases?
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From TheJawa.com:1) Late 2007 and early 2008 looks to be great and has me excited. Between the confirmations you've made and the "rumor lists" floating about, it looks like most all of the figures and vehicles I've asked for are being produced. There is 1 figure I havent seen hide nor hair of and have a question. Any chance you will revisit the AOTC Clone trooper with removeable armor? While a great figure, it lacks alot of things such as a sculpt useable for anything besides putting on the speeder, which it really doesnt do to well anyway. How about giving that figure a new release... maybe going SA on it and using tech like that of the Wave 9 Clone in training and Jango for removabel armor that stays on better. It'd be nice to have a nice figure in the jumpsuit to work with!
2) If and when you make Ak-rev will you include the other half of the drum with him and the drum symbols he plays?
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From The Private Universe:1) You seem to strike a lot a 'exclusive' deals with US retailers, which sometimes only partially (if at all) make it to the UK. For example we were disappointed to get only 2 of the 6 Target Order 66 2-packs at Tesco. Do you have any plans to either push for a UK exclusive to restore a little balance, or to ensure that foreign retailer exclusives are more readily available via UK sources ? We feel like we're the poor relation here - UK collectors would snap up pretty much everything you produced, provided it was available on store shelves and we didn't have to resort to shipping from overseas / getting scalped on auction sites.
2) Although you've said previously that you've no immediate plans for figures based on EU novels, two have sneaked in via the Heir To The Empire comic pack (Luke/Mara). One of our forum members is desperate for a Corran Horn figure based on his appearance in I,Jedi. Along with his astromech, this would make a great EU 2-pack. Is he on your list of potential future releases ?
3) We love Galactic Heroes, but we're wondering why supply of new product is so inconsistent. There have been no new 2-packs at Toys'R'Us for several months now, and the Darth Maul/Sith Speeder item was never seen on the pegs. Is this an issue with the individual retailers not restocking, or is there a limited assortment distributed to the UK ? Will we see the Indiana Jones 'Adventure Heroes' line in the UK ?
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From Yakface: 1) With the photos of the 2008 assortment of basic figures showing up at online retailers (Entertainment Earth for one), there seems to be some confusion as to what "lava base/platform" is included with the Obi-Wan and Vader figures. Is the lava base that is pictured with the Lava Panning Droid the same as the ones included with the aforementioned figures? If so, are there foot pegs for the figures and do the bases interlock?
2) Over the past few years, Hasbro has used a variety of fabric materials to help simulate the scale and weight of Jedi robes, Tusken Raider garb and most recently the cloak and scarf on Hermi Odle. Have you considered using the latter (the lightweight, gauze-type material) exclusively as it seems to best recreate the look of the outfits, especially if applied to Jedi robes/cloaks, at the 3.75" scale?
3) Here's an Obi-Wan themed question(s) for you...
When you released the ROTS #55 Obi-Wan (pilot) figure, it was the most definitive version of EpIII Obi-Wan we could ever hope to get with the great detailing and massive amounts of articulation. Then you made a great figure better by releasing it in the Saga line with the soft goods cloak. This particular Obi-Wan has been released numerous times to date.
My question is, will Episode I and Episode II Obi-Wan be getting the same amount of super articulated love anytime soon?
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