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) It's been a while since we've seen Hasbro visit Jabba's dungeons. Even if none of these are in the works for '09, are any on the short list for a future ROTJ wave? BG-J38, 2-1A with torture rack (we know it's not his official name, but it's fan name of the 2-1B body droid without the mouth), a tortured Gonk droid, perhaps even upgrades for 8D8 and EV-9D9... what are the chances we'll see stuff like that in the moderate future?
2) Back on Aug 17th, '07, Hasbro answered SirStevesGuide.com's question about the Skiff Guards with "over the next few years you will see some more of these cool guards either get their turn for the first time or get a resculpt. You'll have to be patient though - we'll only be able to get to a couple new ones a year." 17 months later and 2008 closes without a new sculpt for any Skiff Guard, making it 10 years since the last ones. While you have confirmed 1 Nikto guard is slated for next year, do Skiff Guard fans have anything else to look forward to in 2009, as there have not yet been a "couple new ones" in '08 and so far only 1 new one in '09? Or does the patience need to be extended to 2010?
3) Back in October '08, you answered a question about the potential for 4 Jabba's Palace characters - Cane Adiss, Loje Nella, Geezum and Yoxgit - by saying that "long term we do plan to get to some of these guys." If you only plan on doing some of these, which one or ones do you NOT plan on doing? Are there other Jabba's Palace denizens that Hasbro has no interest in pursuing, and why?
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NEW: From Galactic Hunter: 1) One of my favorite pieces to get as a child was the many different figure storage cases. My favorites were the ones with movive scenes on the outside and two plastic trays that doubled as display stands. Is there any chance that you would bring these items back in new styles? We could always use storage for opened figs. Backdrops would be great, too!!!
2) The upcoming Legacy Collection Ugnaughts look great! Could we psychotic collectors request a purple-smock variant at some point simply to match up with the vintage line?
3) We know that the BMF (Big Millennium Falcon) is getting cleared out at some stores as part of the post-Holiday clear-out, but it is an open stock item that will continue to ship, right? Are there any upgrades planned for this piece in the foreseeable future?
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From Han's Hideout: 1) When can we expect to see the next batch of Galactic Heroes at retail? We're itching to buy some of those GH Spider Droids and Clone sets!
2) Last time we beat "Comic Pack Han" to death, so now we're moving on to EU Han. How about we help you guys plan out a Han Solo Evolutions set for 2010! We start with a Han in Imperial garb (TIE Pilot or Imp Officer, your pick). Then we move on to a sweet super-articulated Yavin IV Medal Ceremony Han. And finally, we finish with a new Mynock Cave/Mechanic Han Solo. If you could go ahead and get started on that, we'll send a nice basket of cookies ASAP.
3) Toy Fair is just four weeks away (two weeks by the time we get these answers back). [Editors Note: Or maybe Toy Fair was two weeks ago - darn Q&A delays!] Give us a tease on one item you're itching to reveal. Any one item you just can't wait for us to see?
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From Imperial Shipyards: 1) I'm wondering if there will be any kind of 'premium format figures coming out in 2009. What I mean here is a line, similar to the vintage collection of a few years ago, made up of figures where you pull out all the stops (super articulation, the best sculpts, accessories that you may not be able to include at the basic figure price point). If not this year, could you see this kind of line possibly becoming a reality at some point in the future?
2) Are there any 2-1B medical droids slotted into the build a droid lineup? Several variations could be made such as a new version of the Empire Strikes Back droid, a repaint in the Droids animated series color scheme, and a holographic version like the one in the Clone Wars movie.
3) I would love to know if there are any McQaurrie concept vehicles coming? Please, please make the walker first if you ever do one!
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NEW: From Jedi Defender: 1) The recent developments around the web have revealed something Toy Fair UK that's piqued everyone's curiosity. There's some new toys listed in a catalogue, and we wanted to ask if you had any information you could share on the Turbo Tank, but we also wanted to know just what the RC Vehicles were going to be too? Will they be part of the 3.75" line of figures, or will they be a separate line entirely?
2) The Hoth Rebel Soldier pictured this past week looks really good so far, but fans are questioning the skirt piece being missing from the figure. Not getting into the other myriad of questions you may get asked about the different headsculpts and other things that came up this past week, we're just wondering will the skirt piece be something fans can count on with the figure, and will it be softgoods or plastic?
3) Shifting gears, the Indiana Jones line was really a fun line of toys to the fans of the series, and its demise has been a real bummer to a lot of folks, but I was curious since it was developed by the same people, are there chances you'll use existing sculpts and items from the Indy line within the Star Wars line? Perhaps a Harrison Ford likeness for a Han Solo (older EU Han perhaps?), or the body of a figure for a Cantina alien in some plainer clothes maybe? Customizers have found a lot of use for the parts from Indy figures to make their own Star Wars figures, so I was just curious if you were looking at them for Star Wars as well.
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From Jedi Insider: 1) With all the cool new things we see each week appear in the Clone Wars animated series, how does Hasbro go about picking what gets made into toys and what doesn't from the show? Can you walk us through the process of how something is selected and then the steps of getting it made from cartoon to toy and then on to my shelf?
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From JediNews.co.uk: 1) The new packaging looks even better in person and we were pleased to see it at the UK Toy Fair this week. At what wave will this new packaging come in? Also, will we see of any of the currently released figures from both the Legacy and Clone Wars lines repackaged in this new style?
2) We're really pleased to see the pictures of the animated Jabba coming in a Battlepack later this year. Bearing in mind we're also getting a new Slave Leia (hopefully with two sets of legs?) does that mean that we're a step closer to seeing an OTC Jabba with dias and throne soon - maybe later this year or next year perhaps?
3) We've seen images of the new Ugnaught coming in the new Empire wave of figures later this year. We understand that approximately half way through the run you'll be changing to another different Ugnaught, is this correct? Will both of these figures be released in equal numbers? Also, will both figures be numbered DB No. 43 and will they have the same or different BAD parts?
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From Jedi Temple Archives: 1) I am eagerly anticipating Pons Limbic from the upcoming ANH wave. What made you choose this name over Braniac from other sources?
Also there are several characters from both the Cantina and Jabba's palace that remain nameless. How would fans vote for these guys without a name if you did another Fan's Choice? How will you go about naming them if/when you make them? How about a fan's choice on naming them?
2) With the news of KayBee Toys failure as a business, we will now have one fewer toy specific retailer at which to buy Star Wars toys. How can collectors expect KayBee's failure to affect the availability of the Hasbro Star Wars toy line? How vital was it to have a mall based toy store presence like KayBee Toys?
3) I think the Saga Collection was among the most organized collection you have released. It had a simple numbering system and awesome color coding for the movie source form which a figure came. The color coding went away for TAC, but you still listed the source on the front of the figure’s card. I and I am sure other collector’s miss seeing the source. Why was it omitted? The TLC cardbacks seem to have a lot of white open space to include this information back. Collectors like to confirm what source Hasbro developed a figure idea from, so I hope this will be reintroduced in the near future.
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NEW: From MouseDroid.com: 1) We recently got a look at photos of some new Titanium Series including The Twilight, the IG-2000, Xizor's Virago, and some others. Many of the new molds look stellar, and the IG-2000 is a great surprise addition. However, the paint jobs on the Twilight and Virago seemed quite unusual, the Twilight has far more blue than the CGI model's nearly gray upper color, and the Virago was sporting purple accents on light gray despite the ship actually being very dark gray (in the photo it's also facing backwards with the wings assembled upside-down). Will the paint on the final versions more closely match the source material? If those are the final colors, why the odd variations?
2) Can you give us any information on how well the "super sized" Millinium Falcon and AT-TE walker sold? Did they reach expectations and projected sales etc? Will we be seeing any more larger vehicles like a new AT-AT walker or even a republic gunship that carries the AT-TE walkers or a normal Republic gunship?
3) Can you update us on the Yuzhan Vong figure and how it is coming along??
Any chance of a pic to whet our appetite???
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NEW: From Raving Toy Maniac: 1) Why isn't the upcoming Emperor from 2009 Legacy Collection wave 2 using the same paint app method as the Ghost of Obi-wan or Ghost of Anakin? This figure would greatly benefit from, and appear more screen-accurate with, the same multi-color transparent/translucent paint method used for those characters.
2) It seems Clones keep getting army building battle packs. Yet, the droid army doesn't receive the same love. Will you be making any droid army building packs?
3) Can you translate the Kota the Triceratops technology into something Star Wars? Maybe a Bantha or a Hutt?
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From Sandtroopers.com: 1) How does a new paint job and box justify a $30 price increase on an "exclusive" that just came out in December?
2) So far in the build a droid line you have given us R2, R4, R5, R7, R-A7 and 3PO units as well as the upcoming HK-47. Will there be any other types of droids to assemble in 2009 like maybe an R1, R3, 2-1BÂ medical droid or even an Imperial Darktrooper?
3) Are there any plans to produce a small scale ship or figure line to be carded and sold for the one dollar price point similar to that of Hot Wheels and or Matchbox cars? Maybe Titanium ships 1/2 the size? Maybe even produce your own Treasure Hunt style chase figure? This line could be similar to the miniatures on individual cards.
Many Star Wars product are too expensive for the young consumers (basic figures $6.99-$8.99), a dollar price point would be a great way to introduce the young fans into the Star Wars universe. At one dollar I would imagine more stores carrying Star Wars product, as Hot Wheels seem to be sold everywhere.
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From Sir Steve's Guide: 1) Star Wars seems to be doing ok at retail, we're seeing more figure lines surviving, more $20 vehicle sales, more battle packs, and more vehicle exclusives. With this in mind, might Hasbro try pushing the $30-$40 vehicle pricepoint on retailers again? It would be a good way of getting larger vehicles such as the X-wing, B-wing, Republic Gunship, ARC-170, and even stuff like Jedi Starfighters with Hyperspace Rings into heavier rotation, and add opportunities for more new vehicles that would be considered too big to work out at the $20 pricepoint. So, any chance for the return of this pricepoint to mass retail?
2) In the Titanium Series line, the prequel-era fleets have a few vehicles that would really flesh them out. The Acclamator-class (aka the Republic Assault Ship) and the Munificent-class Frigate (aka the Banking Clan Frigate) appear notably in AOTC, ROTS, The Clone Wars series, and a number of popular video games like Battlefront II and Republic Commando. What are the chances of seeing those 2 prequel-era capital ships produced as Titanium Series vehicles?
3) Ever since the VOTC Stormtrooper back in 2004, you've sculpted Stormtrooper figures' hands to 2-handed hold the blaster with its left hand holding the grip and the right hand holding the barrel. The wrists and fingers are angled very specifically for this, the left hand can't hold the barrel without bending it severely. While there is an unusually high number of shots with left-handed stormtroopers in the OT and its related still photography, the right-handed pose is still more common. So why choose, and stick with, the left-handed design for the Stormtrooper figures? Any possibility of either getting new hands with a more universal pose, or even putting ball-hinged wrists on this ubiquitous Imperial warrior?
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here for the answers to these questions.
NEW: From Star Wars Action News: 1) We've gotten listener feedback that they like the Mighty Muggs but cannot collect them all, due to space or budgetary constraints. One suggestion we received was perhaps a miniaturized line of Mighty Muggs, perhaps along the scale of the Galactic Heroes line, representing the Mugg aesthetic with a smaller shelf footprint and price point. Is such a release possible and/or likely?
2) As I look out upon my collection and see the latest ships and figures released with minor differences such as a paint of a slightly more red color or a female twi'lek painted on the nose, I am reminded of the old movie Batman series of figures where almost every release was Batman with a different accessory or paint scheme (the banana yellow Batman being a personal favorite). It is widely speculated that the lack of character variety led to that series' demise.
Given the number of repaints and retools, both along the lines of figures and vehicles, is collector saturation ever a concern? Or is the turnover of collectors so great that if a slightly different A-Wing is released every couple of years it finds a new audience?
3) We all saw the new packaging for the Clone Wars Season 2 line of figures. Will this be the start of a new line designation, or will it be the same line with a different style of cardback? And will these changes roll to the Legacy collection as well?
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here for the answers to these questions.
From SW Collector: 1) Any chance of seeing the Comic Pack version of Asajj Ventress re-released single-carded with the correct blades for her lightsabers?
2) While there's an understandably high desire to keep THE CLONE WARS and The Legacy Collection lines separate, there does seem to be a large amount of interest in a movie-styled Ahsoka Tano figure. Could this be the one exception to the rule, somewhere down the line?
3) With the DARK EMPIRE saga getting a new look through the Comic Packs, any chance of seeing a new, correctly-scaled Imperial Sentinel being produced?
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here for the answers to these questions.
From Yakface: 1) Now that it as been revealed that the Ugnaughts are packed out as a single figure release, will the second version include a different accessory, or will it just be a new figure with the same accessories?
2) Recently images have surfaced for the Clone Wars (animated-style) Jabba the Hutt. Are there any plans to release a new movie version? It seems that the lower body could be easily be reused just requiring new head/arms section.
3) This week (Mon, Jan 12) the new 2009 Red and White packaging was revealed for all Star Wars merchandise. The current line's packaging has different helmet card backs and the positioning of the character imagery on the insert. How will Hasbro make the new Clone Wars, Legacy and Saga Legends packaging discernable from one sub-line to another?
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here for the answers to these questions.
INDIANA JONES Questions
From Indiana Jones Collectors: 1) While some rumored-but-cancelled Indiana Jones items can be confirmed (the German Motorcycle has peg holes where the rumored sidecar would have gone) was there any truth to the rumor that a 3 ¾” scaled Flying Wing vehicle was in development for the Indiana Jones line?
2) The recently released Temple of Doom Mola Ram is hands-down the best 4” scale action figure of the past several years – even including the Star Wars line. The figures from the Temple of Doom wave have an attention to detail and deep understanding of the films that is truly remarkable – for example, I recently discovered the Sankara stones hidden in TOD Indy’s satchel and the cut marks on the back of his shirt. For a die-hard fan of the type that quibbles over an incorrect lightsaber included with a Star Wars figure, discovering tiny details like this weeks after purchase is unique. My question is was the TOD wave designed/conceptualized by the same team and manufactured by the same factories as the earlier first two waves? They almost appear to have been done by a completely different set of people at every level, from conceptualization to choice of accessories to quality of paint apps. Or was this simply a case of learn as you go?
3) I picked up the recently released 12” Indiana Jones in German Uniform. It has a great likeness to Harrison Ford - even standing side-by-side with the Medicom Indy (which sells for seven times the price!) I was amazed to realize - using a magnifying glass - that it’s the same sculpt as the first release 12” Indy witb whip action, and shares some hair sculpt attributes with the talking Indy, yet it looks so totally different visually, even very close up it looks new. Is it simply an issue of superior, non-glossy plastic that holds detail better, or better paint apps, or something else? How is it the new doll can look so completely different - and superior - yet be from the same mold?
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here for the answers to these questions.
