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 Tri-Weekly Q&A Session, here's a handy guide to help you get all the info.
Don't forget to check
Rebelscum's Q&A Session as well!
From CollectionStation.com: 1) Last year, Hasbro released the R2-KT figure while making a charitable donation to ensure that the spirit of a figure for the Katie Johnson charity was fully met before any were sold. With R2-KT appearing in the Clone Wars movie, is there a chance we could get animated R2-KT as a repainted animated R2-D2 figure in a similar charity-type release?
2) Will there be more droid repaints in the Clone Wars line? The molds already exist, so they shouldn't be too difficult to achieve. For instance, will there be TC-70 based on the C-3PO mold, R4-P17 based on the R2-D2 mold, or KRONOS-327 based on the IG-86 mold? TC-70 obviously would be a good companion piece to the upcoming animated Jabba you're developing, and Obi-Wan needs a droid to fit in his Jedi Starfighter's droid slot.
3) In Hasbro's GI Joe line's comic packs, they have moved beyond mere reprints to also feature entirely new stand-alone comics. Given that Dark Horse has released similar Star Wars comics to retailers in the past, have you considered working with them to commission new stand-alone Star Wars comics that feature highly-requested EU characters that otherwise don't appear in the comics and therefore have a lot less chance of being released as figures?
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From Galactic Hunter: 1) In past Q&A responses, you confirmed the following figures for release sometime in 2009. It's been awhile since we've heard about these, so can you tell us if plans have changed for any of them -- 2X-7KPR (the final unreleased droid from the ANH Jawa Sandrawler scene -- doesn't appear to be part of the upcoming ANH wave, so is he to be released in another way?); Holo Darth Sidious with Mechno Chair (still part of 2009's TPM wave?); Maroon Battle Droid Commander (part of the AOTC wave?), the "Interesting ROTJ Leia" (which was formerly intended to be a Slave/Sandstorm variant); and finally one of the following Jedi upgrades you said were coming in 2009: Coleman Trebor, Pablo Jill, or the Nikto Jedi? Are all these figures mentioned above still coming in 2009, or have some been cancelled or pushed back to 2010?
2) To us (the site guys) Toy Fair 2009 is just around the corner. (Well, it is if you're counting your pennies for those expensive NYC hotels.) Anyway, the $20-range vehicles seem to fly off the shelves. How many new additions can we expect to pop up at the big show, and do you have any hints for us?
3) Continuing on the vehicle front, is there anything in the plus-sized range for 2009, or will holiday sales be the indicator for such a beast?
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From Han's Hideout: 1) Once upon a time (Toy Fair I believe), you mentioned that you were looking into doing a running change on the Legacy Wave 1 RotJ Darth Vader figure where the head would be separate from the helmet collar. Should fans of the 3-piece helmet idea keep hoping for this to happen or was the idea abandoned for the time being?
2) As a self-proclaimed Cantina Alien addict, I can�t wait for the next batch of A New Hope figures. Trinto, Dice, Wioslea, and Brainiac all look fantastic... but what�s this we�re hearing about a possible new EU name for Brainiac? �Pons Limbic� - true or false? (And while we�re on the topic of the ANH wave, any chance at a nice picture of that Space Trooper?)
3) Indy Adventure Heroes question for you - will the Last Crusade wave of AH figures still make it to retail? Just want to make sure that we�re (hopefully) still getting our AH scale Henry Sr. and Grail Knight figures!
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NEW: From Jedi Defender: 1) Your Legacy Wave 2, all figure from the 2-D Clone Wars cartoon, was outstanding. You wrapped up a lot of the main wants people had from the original CW cartoons in one fell swoop! The question is now, which characters/figures would Hasbro most like to crank out from the original cartoon? Fans at JediDefender certainly liked a lot of the "arena combat" characters from one episode.
2) The Yavin Scramble sled the Rebels use to ferry gear and pilots is a really cool little vehicle to get in that upcoming battlepack. Our question then is are you planning more of these types of "big accessories" for battlepacks in the future, like maybe the Hoth trooper sled, vehicle maintenance energizer? Also do you happen to have any new photos of the items from the Yavin Battlepack to share (It really is insanely cool!)?
3) The Hoth E-Web/Tripod cannon is cool, but maybe due for an upgrade. It's a little big, and something new could maybe be made to fold up so the awesome new Snowtroopers we've got could carry it around to deploy it. Any chance of that anytime soon?
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From Jedi Insider: 1) Will the Y-Wing type ships from The Clone Wars animated series show up as toys?
2) LucasArts just announced the Old Republic MMO game. Any plans to have any toys tie-in with this game?
3) When can we expect to see a Bespin Han Solo figure from Empire Strikes Back with VOTC type articulation made?
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From JediNews.co.uk: 1) We've seen the new list of stickers that come with the Hasbro figure stands and we've sort of put 2 + 2 together based on previous Q&A's to reveal that the concept figures for 2009 include Anakin Skywalker. Will these concept figures be based around the Clone Wars (i.e. the animated style) or the Prequel's (i.e. realistic) or perhaps even a mixture of both? What other figures will we see in this line - you said that there'll be a total of 4 concept figures next year - are they all from the same period of time and will they all complement one another?
2) 2008 saw the majority of Star Wars products coming in the 2nd half of the year. Obviously, you've been working hard on the Indy line as well and as you've explained that there's a limit of available factories in the far east to produce goods. Since, it looks doubtful that the Indy line will continue (unless there's another film) does this mean that these same issues will not occur in 2009 and we'll see Star Wars product spread evenly throughout the year ahead? Also, is it too early to tell us how many figures we can expect to see next year in the Basic (Clone Wars and Legacy) and Comic Pack lines?
3) It's been a while (at least it seems that way) since fans have had a chance to vote on which figures they'd most like to see re-released in > the Greatest Hits line or as new figures. Many of the figures voted for previously have been re-released and some of the most requested figures have also been produced - for that we thank you - how about another fan's choice poll to see what's still wanted so the gaps can be filled? Talking of re-releases, whilst playsets are off the radar for the moment have you considered re-releasing the cardboard Cantina and Jabba's Playset environments as they offer enormous play value for a relatively small price - maybe they could even be included in some form of Battle Pack in the future?
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From Jedi Temple Archives: 1) The Twilight appears to be one of the more prominent ships in THE CLONE WARS. It was featured in the theatrical release as well as the television series. Another Star Wars licensee has already offered a toy version of the ship at retail. It certainly seems a bit too big for the $20 starfighter assortment. Given the screen time and action that the Twilight has seen, is it likely to make it into a larger vehicle assortment?
2) Looking over some responses over the course of the Q&A sessions, we took note of Hasbro confirming that there would be not one, but TWO comic 2-packs drawn from the Dark Horse limited series Jango Fett - Open Seasons. It seems to be a given that we'll probably be getting the namesake of the series in at least one of the packs. Can you confirm any of the other characters that we might see in the 2-packs? Perhaps the Mandalorian Montross, or maybe even Dooku as a Jedi Master?
3) Several weeks ago we asked about the Clone Wars era Y-Wing and it's chances of making it into the vehicle line. Now that the Clone Wars episode Shadow Of Malevolence has aired, and the Shadow Squadron Y-Wings have gotten some serious action along with fan acclaim, how much more likely are we to see the Y-Wing in the Clone Wars vehicle line?
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From MouseDroid.com: 1) In the last couple of QnA rounds you have confirmed that next year we will see a "deluxe"-type assortment for "The Clone Wars" line as a way to bring back things such as the Spider Droid, Crab Droid, Vulture Droid and Speeder Bikes. This is a move that I, and many other Army Builders from around the world, will surely support.
My question is: Would this type of assortment also see such things like the "Republic Artillery Guns" which were used during the Battle of Christophsis? And could an Assortment like this still find a place in The Legacy Collection as a way of releasing Speeder Bikes for the Clone Lancer Trooper and IG Lancer Droids, and perhaps even for Luke and Leia, and perhaps even Darth Maul's Speeder Bike?
2) Way back in 1999/2000 as part of the Episode 1 line you released a "Fambaa with Shield Generator and Gungan Warrior". What are the chances of this being re-released in the Battle Pack format? And would you consider creating the other half of the Shield Generator? The previously released set contains the second half of the Shield Generator which emits the shield over the army. The first half is a longer more cannon like device which shoots a beam of energy into the emitter. This would be a nice addition for those of us who already have the original release.
3) Over the years you have given us a variety of "Pack-Ins" with our figures including Slides, Coins, CommTech Chips, Force Files and little Holo figures to name a few. But the stand out "Pack-Ins" seem to be the stands and now the "Build-A-Droid" pieces. Both of these offer us collectors something functional: Stands allow us to display our figures a little like trophies, and the new Build-A-Droid concept allows us to expand our collections with figures that we would probably never get. My question is: Do you see the Build-A-Droid continuing beyond 2009 - if only for another year or two? Or what other pack-ins can we expect?
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From Sandtroopers.com: 1) On the new animated series Obi-Wan figure, you have added a ball joint at the shoulder that is covered up and solid, and it looks a lot more aesthetically pleasing than previous figures that had the connector showing. Was this a test run of this new type of joint, and will you be adding it to other figures going forward? I'd love to see it put in place as a standard on all figures with ball jointed shoulders, and hopefully ball jointed shoulders will become the standard.
2) I have heard rumors of a Bespin Han Solo in the Vintage packaging line coming this year or the next. Is this true? Will he be a new sculpt or one based on the same anorexicly thin body/small head that's been used to make the vintage Endor, Bespin Torture, and sandstorm Han?
3) The move to a build-a-figure format is encouraging, a proven formula it showed with the Marvel line. Do you plan on expanding this idea in the future? Maybe a build-a-weapon, build-a-Sith, or build-a-Jedi figure? Maybe you can incorporate this with your vehicle line and make a build-a-death star.
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From Sir Steve's Guide: 1) Recently, you confirmed that in the '09 Legacy line, there will be an EU wave; separately, you have said that there won't be more TFU figures in '09 beyond Shaak Ti, no KOTOR possible before 2010, no more Clone Wars micro-series figures, and no realistic figures from the new Clone Wars series. With all those EU sources out of the way, and the comic characters getting tons of coverage in the Comic Packs line, does that mean the '09 EU wave will finally show some love for characters from the novels?
2) Some collectors have expressed disappointment in the Disturbance at the Lars Homestead set. The example shown in the slideshow at Comic-Con featured much a nicer deco, and while we understand that prototypes usually have more care than production pieces, it seems like this particular production version suffered a severe backslide in quality, the deco just doesn't hold up. It's hard for collectors to understand how a $50 set is only 2 new pieces (the womp rat and the house section), a vacuform base, and 4 older pieces (the 3 figures and the moisture vaporator), and then how it could end up losing significant quality at that pricepoint. We understand the tooling for the house was an extensive portion of the budget, and we appreciate the great effort made to get this made, but collectors keep asking us to ask: what happened here, what went wrong to drag that quality down? And that leads to: why was this set produced now when it couldn't find all the budget for a better deco, more troopers, a treadwell droid, more accessories, etc.?
3) Back in April, you said you should have for us at Comic Con a peek at the upcoming Comic Packs Lumiya figure, but with Comic Con come and gone, we still have not seen Lumiya. Is it possible we could see this figure now, and if not, why not?
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From SW Collector: 1) I'm a long time Star Wars fan that has been pleasantly surprised and impressed by what I've seen so far of The Clone Wars series, in particular the Malevolence story line. Now, how long am I going to have to wait before I can buy the pilots and colorful astromech droids of Shadow Squadron?
2) Will all four of the upcoming concept art-based figures for 2009 be from the Prequel Trilogy, or will we see a mix of PT and OT?
3) Just about all of the Yoda figures from the Prequels have had an action feature of some kind. Any chance for a more articulated, non-action feature Yoda along the line somewhere?
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From TheJawa.com:1) When will we get a new Palpatine? I know there is a new comic pack clone Emperor coming, but it's been a long time since a brand new movie accurate Palpatine figure has been released. Today, virtually all Palpatine figures are in need of an update. The only Episode I version is nearly a decade old, there was only one Episode II version ever made, the Episode III red-robed Jedi duel version is really lacking in articulation, several other Episode III versions have never been done, and a new Episode VI version that can sit on his throne is long overdue. Can we expect at least one or more new Palpatine figures in the near future, and if so, could you fill us in on which movie(s) it might be from?
2) What are the chances for seeing in 3-3/4" plastic, some of the unique clone pilots (ie matchstick and others with unique paint jobs) from shadow squadron that piloted the y-wing bombers against the Malevolence with Anakin in the clone wars series?
3) You've upgraded the Titanium X-Wing recently with an all-new mold with movable wings, I was wondering if Hasbro would also look at doing the same for the Y-Wing? It'd be nice to first have the engines/wings be actual hollow interiors rather than black-painted simulated hollowing and a slightly larger body than the existing Y-Wing mold to allow for more detail in the sculpt.
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From Yakface: 1) Dear Hasbro, are there new Greatest Hits ("GH" designated) repack figures planned for the TLC line in '08/'09? Most case revisions from here on out don't specify any further offerings. If so, what are they and when should we expect them? If not, why?
2) During the 30th Anniversary collection, you had a designated "EU" wave with figures like Darth Revan and Darth Malak. Are there plans on the horizon for a similarly themed basic carded wave in 2009 or are Comic Packs, Battle Packs and Evolutions sets to be our sources for most EU material figures?
3) Dear Big H, can you give us a preview of what the new Clone Wars Jedi Starfighter looks like when separated into its 2 vehicle mode? Also regarding the new JSF, will the hyperspace ring from the TAC release interface with this new design? If so, will we get a hyperspace ring optioned JSF say for Anakin or future releases since it has been featured in the CW series right out of the gate?
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From Yoda's News: 1) With a renewed focus on Jabba-themed items and higher-ticket items (or a combination such as the forthcoming exclusive Sarlacc and Skiff), what is the likelihood that collectors will see either a full or partial Jabba's Sail Barge vehicle/playset in the coming year or two? If it's not currently on the drawing board, what factors would sway you toward developing and releasing one.
2) Previous collection lines have run for approximately a year (Saga Collection, Original Trilogy Collection, etc.), so what is the projected lifespan of Legacy Collection and Clone Wars? Will those two merge into a single unified line when the live-action show's merchandising appears on the market?
3) When determining the success or failure of a product line, what is the most important source of feedback for Hasbro (aside from sales numbers) and what is the least important?
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INDIANA JONES Questions
From Cool Toy Review: 1) Have you considered teaming with the Disney theme parks as a shared (Disney/HTS.com) exclusive outlet for keeping new and old figures out there for fans? The "entertainment support" will be there 24/7, and I believe the Disney Park stores have been selling Indy merchandise and action figures for the better part of fifteen years now. Also, there have been quite a few exclusive Star Tours figures that seemed to be pretty popular as theme park only items...
2) Since the Indiana Jones line is ending after the TOD wave, there will be some MAJOR gaps in the collection- such as Toht and Walter Donovan. What is the chance of seeing some of these gaps filled as starwarsshop/indianajonesshop exclusives? You already have both Toht (as seen at SDCC) and Donovan (Cobra Commander body from SCDD Exclusive with a new head) in the works, so why waste the effort already put into these figures and leave collectors upset with incomplete collections?
3) Since the 3 3/4" wave with the melting Toht has been cancelled...does this mean that the Last Crusade wave of Adventure Heroes has been cancelled as well? I need a cute Sean Connery!
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From Indiana Jones Collectors: 1) At what point was the Indiana Jones line considered a failure and the decision made to end it? Was it before or after the now-defunct 2009 prototypes were previewed at San Diego Comic Con?
2) Why did some of the Indiana Jones figures have lesser quality paint applications than those in the Star Wars line considering both are major Lucasfilm licenses and presumably held to the same rigorous approval process? Was this an intentional cost-cutting approach (because even the hand-painted prototypes differed in quality).
3) Will any aspect of the Indiana Jones license continue (Mighty Muggs, Titanium Series, Adventure Heroes, etc.), or is the license as a whole considered over?
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