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.
NEW: From 4-inches.de: 1) At Toy Fair you introduced the new Rebellion Pilots Legacy evolution pack. Ten Nunb again comes with a white B-Wing pilot gear while this character doesn't have any screentime (cut scene). There is a sullustian pilot figure seen several times on screen in Episode VI but that guy does have a red B-Wing pilot gear. Why didn't you decided to release that guy within the evolution pack, he would slot very well into the evolution pack better than the white guy I think. And with your statement that there wouldn't be a sullustian pilot with the next B-Wing fighter chances seems to be quite small to get a red sullustian B-Wing pilot figure anytime and that would be very disappointing. Would you please think about that point and perhaps recolor the sullustian B-Wing pilot for the upcoming evolution set?
2) Pictures of the Padmé Amidala evolution pack let the different Amidala figures packed within that set appear different in sizing. Can you affirm that the three Amidala figures will have the same size or do they have different sizes? If that what is the hidden agenda related to that decision?
3) The Amidala Evolution Set lets speculations arise for some more Sets of a single evolutionary character i.e. Palpatine. Could you imagine to go this way the next couple of years?
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From Action Figs: 1) You've said in the past that you were done with animated figures, that your testing had shown the realistic style to be far preferred over animated, yet the new Clone Wars show's figures are based on its animation rather than the realistic style. What was the thinking behind going animated-style with these rather than realistic?
2) Hasbro's Toy Fair press release uses a July 26th availability date for all the Clone Wars products, as well as the new Legacy Collection line, and does not include an "approximate" qualifier. Will this be just a tentative on-shelf date, or is this a more "concrete" release date like those of the intial prequel films' product lines?
3) The Comic Packs are a very welcomed addition to a lot of Star Wars collectors, but there is a lot of buzz about Hasbro's choices of whom to include in these packs. Many collectors are wondering how does Hasbro chose which characters to make, since the ToyFare fans' choice poll a few years ago included a lot of comic-based characters such as Exar Kun, Guri and others who have yet to receive the action figure treatment. So how does Hasbro plan these packs, and just what goes into your choices?
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NEW: From Creature Cantina: 1) It is something of an obvious statement that there are millions of Star Wars fans all over the world, the majority of whom are indubitably hooked up to the internet. Now, even if all the outlet retail chains in the U.S.A. were to pass up on such big-ticket items as the AT-TE and Big Honkin’ Millennium Falcon we’ve heard about (and I actually hope they don’t), would it not still be possible to turn a profit by selling them over the internet, considering the large numbers of good e-tailers across the globe?
2) Are you planning to do any Vong ships/figures/etc. in the future? Like Nom Anor, Tsavong Lah, Shimmra (with Onimi in a 2 pk) or even just Vergere? (I dunno why, but I really like the character.)
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From Galactic Hunter: 1) Considering the advances that the Star Wars team has made in action figure engineering, is it now possible to create a transforming Droideka? (We're sure the Transformers folks would enjoy the competition!) During the Episode I era we were told that a three-part helmet for Darth Vader was impossible, so is our favorite action figure team up for the challenge? (Then we'll get to the collapsing Pit Droid!)
2) Now that the cat is out of the bag about Darth Vader's Transmission (Comic Con Exclusive), which version of the Emperor's floating head will we get? The recut version? The crazy monkey eyes (pre-DVD) version? Or might there be a variant?
3) Is the Shadows of the Empire Princess Leia shown at Toy Fair the final sculpt, or is there still hope for some retooling of her legs to give her smaller thinner ankles? Those fat "cankles" looked really awkward on an otherwise great looking figure. Also, does the Hoth Princess Leia (from the other 2-Pack) have new articulation, or is she a repaint of the POTJ-era Princess Leia?
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From Imperial Shipyards: 1) Can u confirm the Lt. Tank Sunber figure rumor? If yes, will he have a clean uniform, or will it have battle damage? (I'd prefer a clean uniform!)
2) Now that we have Bane Malar, can we expect to see my favorite obscure mercenary from Jabba's Palace, the famed white suit black masked Sgt. Doallyn? (He'd probably be an easy repaint, but just have a different helmet)
3) Hasbro, would you ever entertain the idea of making furniture and set pieces that correspond to particular movie scenes and planets? I would have loved to see the actual table and chairs packed with that bespin bp that just came out. Or make a Hoth bp and pack it with tactical screens and computer stations perhaps?
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NEW: From Jedi Defender: 1) Legacy Wave 1 features a new Darth Vader with an apparently multi-piece removable helmet, but unfortunately we haven’t really seen any good pics of the helmet off Vader’s head. Can you share a picture (or an explanation if no pics are available yet) of how many pieces his helmet will have? And is it true that this same figure is the basis for the white “Infinities” Darth Vader from the upcoming comic-pack shown at Toy Fair?
2) There appears to be some confusion on the SDCC exclusive that you announced at the Toy Fair collector event. The "Executor Meditation Chamber" exclusive is not really a “playset" per se, just a new Holo Emperor and Darth Vader figure set, correct? And will the figures be new sculpts or repacks?
3) The Galactic Heroes shown at Toy Fair looked awesome. A dewback, a rancor, new vehicles - everything fans of the line have been asking for and more! However, you're not expecting us to believe 2008 is going to come and go without a GH version of Ahsoka (or any of the other characters from the new Clone Wars cartoon), are you? It may be a long shot, but is there any chance of an Asajj Ventress GH figure?
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From Jedi Insider: 1) In reference to the new Clone Wars animated series figures we have seen - do they all have knee articulation? Some are in question such as Anakin and Obi-Wan (although due to their tunics may be useless anyways), but mostly the Battle Droid. He seems to have elbow articulation and is a nice sculpt. If he had knee articulation, he would be pretty darn complete.
2) Will the Durge figure that is slated for the upcoming Comic 2-Pack have interchangeable hands?
3) Can you tell us anything about the Star Wars SDCC exclusives yet, and will there be Hasbro exclusives for Celebration Japan that will be taking place later this year?
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From JediNews.co.uk: 1) With the announcement of Celebration Japan later this year, can you tell us if they’ll be a show exclusive(s) and if so what it will be?
2) Were very glad to see that the Galactic Heroes line is getting a lot of love in 2008, thanks for that. You’ve made a lot of figures from Jabba’s Palace and we’re getting a new R2 from the Sail Barge along with a Slave Leia. All that’s really missing from this scene is Jabba’s Band with Dancers - any chance we’ll see this as a Cinema Scene or in two pack form any time soon? It could connect to the Jabba Cinema Scene in the same way as the two Cantina Scenes link together for extra play value!
3) You’ve confirmed that there’s no Episode I wave in The Legacy Collection this year but there will be in 2009; was this a conscious choice because next year is the 10th anniversary of Episode I? If this is the case, will you be doing anything special to commemorate it? Talking of anniversaries, this year is the 25th anniversary of Episode VI, consequently will we be seeing anything special to celebrate this – Jabba on Throne maybe or perhaps you have something else up your sleeves... If so, can you share it with us?
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From Jedi Temple Archives: 1) As of this writing, StarWars.com has just released imagery of the new Clone Wars line's packaging. In that article it was stated that the new line will debut on July 26th. Is this the kind of hard street date that we've seen in the past with the other movie lines, and do you expect your retail partners to hold midnight madness type events?
2) The current state of the Star Wars planogram in stores has evolved to the point where shelf space is at a premium. And it seems that barring exclusives, the Starfighter vehicle line is the only vehicle line that we can expect at most stores. Certainly, we've seen speeder bikes packed in the Battle Pack line, but what about other small vehicles like the land speeder or Coruscant speeders? Can we expect vehicles like these at all?
3) In a previous Q&A with JTA, Hasbro grudgingly seemed to confirm that we might be getting a giant Emporer Palpatine's holographic head. Would said hypothetical offering be in the Basic Figure line, or part of a Battle Pack? And if it is part of a Battle Pack, what else might we get in such a set? [post-Toy Fair note: This was confirmed at Toy Fair]
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From MouseDroid.com: 1) Over the last few years you have been very kind to collectors of Imperial and Republic forces, with great-quality releases of Death Star Gunners, Death Star Troopers, AT-AT Drivers, Vintage and Evolution Sand/Snow/Scout/Storm troopers, not to mention two different decorated clones for every color of the rainbow.
I'm wondering if there are any near-term plans to give their rebel brethren some love? The Endor Rebels from Saga06 and the recent Vanguard Trooper were decent but suffered from their origins as kit bashes of the '02 Endor Rebel. Are there any plans to refresh the Endor troops with a new torso sculpt that will bring them up to the standards of the Empire?
The situation for Hoth on the other hand can only be described as dire. The '04 version looks quite rough even by the standards of the other '04 figures, and really doesn't stand up to today's figures in terms of either sculpt or articulation. We now have Major Derlin, General Rieekan, VTAC Han and even Gen. McQuarrie but no-one in the infantry that deserves to be led by them. Are there any plans to rectify this situation? If not, Hoth might be overrun by the Empire! ...and we wouldn't want that to happen.
2) One figure I still cherish from the vintage days of KENNER of course is Jabba the Hutt. Earlier Versions of this figure from 95 to now aren't up to today's standards you must admit. Hasbro are ALWAYS pushing the boundaries, especially of late, with awesome new sculpts and articulation and even AMAZING paintjobs on figures that you cannot believe until the item is in hand. Is there demand enough to make a similar style Jabba with Dais-which hasn't been done as of yet-maybe even a 2pk with Gardulla??? You must admit the spitting frog and goo, and the poor paint work on this figure past DOESN'T do it justice. Thank you for your time.
3) n previous Q&A sessions, you said that the 'Clone Wars' figures would be both in the 'realistic' style and wouldn't contain many - if any - action features. Now we've seen from Toy Fair that both of these are false. Taking into account the lead time required to both design and produce the figures leading to the products shown at Toy Fair, why were collectors mislead regarding these products?
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From Raving Toy Maniac: 1) The Galactic Heroes Darth Vader TIE Fighter shown at Toy Fair looks great! Will it have any sound or action features?
2) The new Jungle Rancor looks impressive, and I'm even more surprised to see that it's a new mold rather than a rehash of old POTF one. That said, it's disappointing to see that this behemoth is only going to be a store exclusive. What goes into making the tough choice of marketing an all-new figure as a store exclusive instead of a mass release, and should any fans be concerned about its availability upon release?
3) So glad to see a Padme Evolutions set, thanks! However, since this is a great way to get unreleased/hard to market outfits, why is AOTC Padme in an outfit we've gotten at least three times already (and another wave coming up), instead of one of her other outfits from the film (the rainbow dress from Naboo perhaps)?
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From Sandtroopers.com: 1) We've gotten new, updated, better versions of Boba Fett, IG-88, 4-LOM, and Bossk. When are you going to show Zuckuss and Dengar some update love?
2) I realize that Hasbro has previously said "no" to the idea of a single universal neck peg for all of the basic figures and that the needs of a particular sculpt would dictate the peg size. However would Hasbro please consider the idea at least of a common-sized neck peg on most human characters? For example, there were many complaints about the face sculpts for last year's Moisture Farmer Luke and Yavin Ceremony Luke. They really didn't resemble Mark Hamill even remotely and most of us searched around for an alternate Luke head to put on these figures to improve the overall look. For example, when I used the VTSC X-Wing Luke head on my Yavin Luke, I was astonished at how much I suddenly loved this figure - although to make the head not wobble, I had to insert some extra tissue paper inside. Having the option of swapping heads vastly improved my appreciation of this figure and I even went out and bought a second Yavin Luke for another head swap. When Hasbro sometimes gives us a figure with a "pinhead" like the VTSC Endor Han, or the comic 2-pack Jedi Leia, again, we collectors would at least be able to find another larger head to fix the problem. Or if we're not happy with Hasbro's version of X-Wing Biggs (because of the Dutch Vander mold) we'd have the ability to make our own X-Wing Biggs by taking the head from the Tatooine Biggs and putting it on a 2008 SA generic X-Wing pilot body (hint). Please don't underestimate the value that having a common neck peg size for at least the human characters has for we collectors to fix perceived problems. The ability to make minor customizations to a figure to suit our own taste has tremendous value and would probably help Hasbro to sell a few more figures for "body parts" or "extra heads".
3) Even though I'm not a big fan of the Geonosians as characters, I was so impressed with the sculpt and articulation of the TSC Sun Fac that I was happy to add him to my collection. I'm now wondering if Hasbro will be retooling this figure any time soon in order to give us a great generic Geonosian Warrior. It'd be a fantastic army builder and perfect for an arena diorama.
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From Sir Steve's Guide: 1) Why was Titanium Series so poorly represented at your Toy Fair display? Can you tell us what's forthcoming for Titaniums later in the year (preferably with pictures), and why they are delayed until fall? Are we ever getting the Outrider mentioned back in '06?
2) The Hasbro SW Toy Fair press release has The Legacy Collection clocking in at 30 basic figures. Back in October, you told us "For 2008, we are going to take the classic total down by about one wave. So from the current 60 figures this year, expect around 53 figures or so." The '08 TAC line has 15 figures total across its 2 waves, so according to your info, adding another 30 basic figures will give us a total of just 45 figures, a whole wave smaller than the 53-ish you originally stated. Has an '08 wave been pushed back out of the year, or are there more figures to be expected in the TLC line than the press release stated?
3) In recent years, many Darth Vader figures have included a silver piece of fabric material around the neck to represent the chain that holds Vader's cape on. However, every time this feature has been included, the "chain" ends up looking too big and out-of-place, while Vader figures that do not include this chain end up looking much better. In the interest of accuracy, could the chain either be scaled down (to better match its look in Episodes III, V, and VI), or done as sculpted plastic (as on earlier incarnations), or simply left off (as in Episode IV) on future Darth Vader figures?
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From SW Collector: 1) e noticed in the last few weeks that the prices of the Titanium vehicles have passed the price of a basic figure. Has the tooling and/or the supplies to make them made the cost go up or is this being done by the retailers?
2) Will Hasbro be making any large scale weapons (like the E-11 and Clone Nerf weapon ) for the upcoming Clone Wars Cartoon to go with the Voice activated Clone Trooper helmet and/or any weapons in general this year? Costumer's and kids love these by the way.
3) PROXY and Shaak Ti are two THE FORCE UNLEASHED characters conspicuous by their absences in the 3 3/4" action figure line. Any chance to see them added as EU characters to the line in the future, either single-carded or together as a Comic Pack (since there is a FORCE UNLEASHED comic)?
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From TheJawa.com:1) Would Hasbro ever consider using the comic 2-pack format as a way of revisiting the idea of cardboard dioramas? It could be done in any number of ways that make sense to you (e.g. 1 figure, 1 comic, 1 diorama, OR 2 figures and 1 diorama OR 2 figures, 1 comic and 1 diorama marketed as a "deluxe" version of the comic packs with a slightly higher price point) Obviously given the smaller size of the packaging, the diorama could not be as complex as the Jabba or Cantina environments, but it would offer something that isn't too costly for Hasbro to develop unlike a plastic playset and would offer something to collectors who are STARVED for some kind of environment to display their figures in. Or if not in the comic 2-packs, perhaps for the VotC line when it returns someday? It'd be a great way to pay homage to the old Kenner-style Land of the Jawas playsets and very fitting with the vintage theme.
2) Why is it that sometimes Hasbro will release figures that have oddly-painted eyes? For example, the TAC Stormtrooper, the RotS AT-TE Gunner, and TAC Smuggler Lando all seem to have strange "drugged out" stares that were not there when the initial hi-res photos of the figures are posted on the SW collecting sites (although maybe these were early hand-painted samples?). I always wonder why Hasbro's QA doesn't catch the problem early on when they inspect the factory samples and correct it before the figures are mass produced. The drugged-out look generally seems to be due to the fact that the pupil is painted a little too far upward on the eyeball, giving the impression they're staring inexplicably up to the sky. You've said that figures are painted by using masks -- is it just a misalignment of this mask on the figures head that shifts the paint a bit too far upward?
3) It seems that the only criticism of the otherwise superb Kashyyyk 41st Elite trooper is that he is a bit too short. We had a similar problem when Hasbro previously released Commander Cody and unfortunately Cody was dwarfed by his own 212th clones and his general. Now it's the reverse and Gree (and apparently every other clonetrooper figure) are taller than the poor 41st clones! While maybe height issues are appropriate for a squad commanded by Yoda, will Hasbro look into tweaking this sculpt in the future? Perhaps thicker boot heels and extending the neck peg and waist just a wee bit taller would help alleviate things? And could Hasbro also pass a note onto its designers that since we collectors often pose the clonetroopers with their clone commanders and Jedi generals that it's important to ensure their heights are all very close together to create a satisfying diorama? Why the sudden change in the height of the figures?
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From The Private Universe:1) We've now had time to digest the Indy toy line previewed in NYC, and...wow ! With two Indiana's in both the Raiders and Crystal Skull waves, can we expect additional variant Indy's in the Temple of Doom and Last Crusade waves ? Perhaps "torn shirt" Indy and "necktie" Indy ? Also, Raiders Indy has a touch of the Darth Malak "scary eyes" - will this be fixed prior to release ?
2) The two small "Indy Trap" dioramas from the Deluxe line have a lot of potential. Will these continue, showing traps from the other movies ? Also, these type of "environments" are really lacking in the Star Wars line...is there any opportunity there ?
3) Once again, the Comic Packs look fabulous. Now that you've explored the Legacy, Prequel and OT periods, can we expect a foray into the distant past of KOTOR ?
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From Yakface: 1) First off thanks for having another fabulous showing at this year's Toyfair, With all the announcements made, 7/26/08 (Saturday) is going to be the busy day at most retailers which begs the question - are there any TRU (or other retailer) "midnight madness" plans like with past major line releases?
2) I'm REALLY excited about the comic packs taken from the Legacy series. My question concerns the Imperial Knights pack. It looks from the photos that they have Red sabers. Now I know that often the product we see at Toy Fair isn't the final product, so we're wondering if the final release will include the correct "silver/ white/clear" sabers that the Knights are drawn with in the comics.
Thanks for all your work and taking the time to respond to these questions, we all really appreciate it.
3) In the press photos distributed by Hasbro, the V-19 Clone Fighter is displayed with it's wings folded up (for landing) and down (for flight) it was displayed this way in your booth at Toyfair as well, but in both instances the center wing was in the same position. Does this wing, in fact, fold under the main fuselage as shown in the Clone Wars cartoon and will there be any sort of weathering paint treatment this vehicle?
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From Yoda's News: 1) The new 2008 Kashyyyk Trooper was made visibly smaller than the rest of the clones from Episode III. I was very disappointed upon opening this highly anticipated figure to discover this very discouraging flaw. Was there any reason behind this?
2) There have never been figures based on the later jedi knights games! Seeing as there have recently been figures based on the battlefront, force unleashed, kotor and republic commando games, is there any chance that figures like Desan, Tavion, the reborn and a new KYLE KATARN could be incorporated into the line sometime in the future as a 2 packs or carded figures?
3) Can you speak on the rumors that Hasbro Is working on a way to make the 2008 released FX Lightsabers in some form of plastic or cheaper synthetic material as opposed to the metal we have seen from MR in order to bring the cost down to something not only a collector would buy but also a child?
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