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 Hasbro's
Star Wars 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!
16bit.com:1) The new Vintage figures look great, right down to the Kenner logo and original non-J hook to hang the figures by on a peg. This raises the question, will the figures be manufactured with the little black cardboard thing that needs to be punched-out or will the figures come from the factory pre-punched? (We may have to try to get figures before they hit the pegs if they're unpunched from the factory.)
2) In 2004, the good souls at Hasbro let fans vote on the final figure in the original OTC assortments, which was a nice repainted rerelease of the then-tough-to-get Imperial Scanning Trooper. (That was awesome.) What are the chances you can bring back this to Fan's Choice-- give us a selection of 5 or so figures to rerun on a vintage card that you were considering from the "parking lot," so we can buy it on the new fancy packaging were we so inclined? (Because you know, vintage Yak Face [even on a ROTJ card] would be totally awesome.)
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WELCOME: Action Figure News:1) Wullf Yularen has seen a massive boost in importance to the Star Wars mythos with his expanded role in The Clone Wars, including his own Clone Wars action figure. Is there any chance that because of his new role as a fairly prominate character that we will see a single carded Legacy Collection(Or even Vintage Collection): A New Hope version of him in the near future?
2) One of the popular Legacy Collection Exclusives from late in 2009, the Dewback Patrol, which was sold exclusively at Wal-Marts, was never really spotted in Canada, unlike it's counterpart, the AT-ST. Is there a reason for this and will the Dewback Patrol be seeing a wide release through out Canada at some point?
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ASMzine:1) A while back, Hasbro said they were making an all-new Astromech mold to replace the G9/VOTC/Droid Factory versions, and they claimed the new mold would be even better. Can you give us any clues as to just what you could possibly do to improve on these versions?
2) In our January Q&A, Hasbro told us to expect an announcement about the Force FX lightsaber line at Toy Fair, and they delivered! Removable blades are something that we have been wanting for a long time and are ecstatic that they're coming. In your presentation, you showed Darth Vader, Anakin, and Obi-Wan's lightsabers. But where's the lightsaber of everybody's favorite farmboy, Luke? Is there a chance we could get his Return of the Jedi lightsaber with new removable blade? Right now it appears that the line is going to be filled with red and blue -- green would complement this line quite nicely, we think.
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Dewback Patrol: 1) In your most recent Q&A you stated that the only vintage figure that doesn't have a current counterpart is the Imperial Dignitary. I am curious as to what you see as the current counterpart to the indoor Hoth Rebel Soldier (the Echo Base trooper) or the Rebel Commander? I think fans see the Hoth Soldier released in the Legacy Collection as an update to the Rebel Commander. Is this accurate? If not, who is the current version of the Hoth Rebel Soldier?
2) There is currently some confusion about the status of the last Legacy Wave since in a recent Q&A you stated that the final EU wave was scrapped as part of he main line and will be a Toys r Us exclusive. I believe this misunderstanding comes from whether we are discussing the EU wave or the FU wave. Did you intend for the second wave of Force Unleashed figures to be part of Legacy? Is the final Wave of Legacy Figures (The Solo Kids, Big Jedi Dude, and Shaak Ti) actually going to make it to retail? If not, or if exclusive, will the Build a Droid BG-J13 (or whatever) be included?
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From DroidsandEwoks.com: 1) Although EU figures may not be returning until 2011, I'm wondering if you can give away any details about what the EU cards in the vintage collection might look like? Personally, I'm hoping that you can draw at least some some inspiration from the original vintage EU cards (Droids and Ewoks). Traditional art, in the style of what was done on the Droids cards sure would be nice! A few updates to some of the vintage EU characters would be nice too!
2) Unless I missed it, I don't recall hearing from all the Toy Fair coverage if there were any updates as to the status of the Jarael and Rholan figures from Knights of the Old Republic. I'm a big fan of the KOTOR comic series, so I'm really hoping that you can find a way to get them out there. It would be nice to get Zayne and Gryph someday too, and even though EU has been scaled back, I hope those two will have a secure place in your parking lot until you find an opportunity to make them. But in the meantime, I'm anxiously awaiting Jarael and Rholan, and hoping that they will be available soon. By the way, do you have a picture of Rholan with his helmet on that you could share?
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From Echo Base Forums: 1) Have you considered making any figures based off the Clone Wars online comic? The online comic, which supports the Clone Wars TV series, has a great amount of characters to choose from. In addition to making new figures such as Ares Nune and Tonzet Xebec, there are a multitude of unique clones such as Kite, Mag, Shiv, and Ganch, that could easily be made using existing molds.
2) The upcoming Aurra Sing in the Clone Wars line looks amazing! When can collectors expect to see a brand new Aurra Sing figure in the realistic format?
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From Galactic Hunter: 1) Would it be safe to surmise/guess/wish/hope that — with Jabba The Hutt, Wooof, and maybe even a new Oola on the way — a Return of the Jedi Weequay will be in the mix? Which dry-skinned thug gets priority, the "classic" Weequay (Queequeg) or the Weequay wearing a tan quilt over his torso? (One is LONG overdue for an update, and the other hasn't been made yet. It's hard to believe, but there are characters that haven't been made yet.)
2) It was confirmed in the last Q&A round that Bastila Shan will be released on a Vintage Resurrection-style card. How will Hasbro handle presenting off-screen or Expanded Universe characters like her with the the Vintage Resurrection-style card since characters are depicted in real scenes from the films — background and all. Is Hasbro going to recreate photo-realistic versions of Expanded Universe characters as if they were movie-stills via digital art? Would Hasbro even go as far as dressing up a model in costume and photographing them for the card art, like LFL did years ago with Shannon Baksa (the Mara Jade model)?
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From Han's Hideout: 1) You know us collectors - we're never satisfied. We get a whole pile of goodies lavished on us at Toy Fair and most already can't help but wonder what's next? We know you want to keep things under wraps until SDCC, but can you at least give us the mix you're expecting for 2010 Vintage Wave 2 - how many "new" figures and how many repacks will we see in the second Vintage Collection wave?
2) In the Toy Fair showroom, we asked about the nifty Mace Windu that was on display with the Clone Wars basic figures (the one with the Mando Helmet accessory). No one seemed sure to which wave he and the repainted ARF trooper (the one with the camo deco) belonged. Can you confirm for us if the new Mace and ARF Trooper repaint are in Fall 2010 Clone Wars Wave 1 or did they get bumped to Wave 2 as was suspected during the Toy Fair collector event? Since they weren't shown in the slide presentation, we're a little confused at where they go in the line.
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From Imperial Shipyards: 1) We have seen the new vintage line and were wondering two things; one, will we see "offerless" cards of every figure in this line? two, why was the decision made to offer figures not in the original vintage line including the prequel movies? It would seem that a true vintage line would have stayed true to the orginal Kenner vintage line as there were plenty of figures from that line that could have used the updating.
2) In the past, we have seen battle packs to provide us with troops to man up the Turbo Tank and the ATTE vehicles.What are the chances that we can expect a new Vintage Battle Pack to help us man up the new AT-AT walker vehicle? Since 4 figures are the normal number to expect with a new Battle Pack, and since the walker already comes with one driver fig, I think that including 2 Snowtroopers, 1 Driver, and 1 Commander would round it out nicely. Perhaps you could substitute one of the Snowtroopers for a Hoth Speeder Bike Scout figure?
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From Jedi Defender: 1) It's great to hear that Dr. Evazan is coming in 2011 and even better to hear that his fellow humans Wuher and Yerka Mig may be in the "parking" lot as well. Aliens are cool, but nothing fills out a diorama like those background humans (Garrouf Lafoe!). Speaking of background humans - since 2009 gave us some great new alien Jabba Skiff Guards, how about mixing in some more human Jabba Goons soon? There are some great humans on the Sail Barge or even hanging out with Jabba in the ANH Special Edition Jabba scenes!
2) The new Battle Droid sculpt used in the Target Arena Showdown 2-packs was Great! But, (you knew there was a but coming, right?) unless you have a pile of those nifty new 2-peg stands, they are pretty droopy from the same soft plastic disease that other Battle Droids have. Is there any way to engineer future re-uses so they are a bit stiffer maybe? And maybe get that left hand so it can cup a blaster rifle better? (you are planning to re-use it, right? A Legends release would be great for army building).
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From Jedi Insider: 1) We wanted to follow up about two of the Vintage figures shown at Toy Fair earlier this month. First, you mentioned the new version of the Vader figure would have the ability to take the figure’s helmet off in 3 different parts? Can you provide us with images demonstrating this feature since we were not able to see the figure without the helmet at Toy Fair? Along those same lines, you confirmed that the new Hoth Leia would have a removable vest so she could appear as she did in ESB before she changed to the Bespin Gown and then after. Can you provide us with a look of the figure without her vest?
2) During the Hasbro Q&A during Toy Fair, someone from one of the other Hasbro Brand Teams joked they wanted to see a Jabba Sail Barge one day as a large-scale vehicle for the Star Wars line. This got us thinking about whether this would even be possible from a practical standpoint? Hypothetically, if you were interested in creating this vehicle, would you be able to design a Jabba Sail Barge toy in scale enough to hold an actual Jabba figure, have it usable from a playability standpoint, and still resemble the vehicle as it appeared in the movie? If so, could you actually create such a toy within a $100-$150 price point?
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From JediNews.co.uk: 1) We're sorry to see the Galactic Heroes Cinema Scenes go. What does this mean for Galactic Heroes in terms of future vehicles and additional figures - will we continue to see vehicles or will the 2 packs be the only outlet for Galactic Heroes moving forward (and will we see all four Republic Commando’s as Galactic Heroes) and finally, are we likely to see a return to the Cinema Scenes sometime in the future?
2) With so many changes to the Star Wars line this year, with new product lines coming and others going or changing, what are you most sad to see go and what are you most excited about ... also, do you see any other changes to the line in the near future?
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From Jedi Temple Archives: 1) The Vintage Collection was no doubt one of the highlights of the 2010 Toy Fair. And the Empire Strikes Back wave pays great homage to the 30th Anniversary of Empire. But we were also enthused to hear about seeing prequel era characters on the classic black and silver cardback for the first time. Can we please get a look at some of those Revenge Of The Sith wave offerings that were teased at Toy Fair but were sadly absent? And is it possible to get the figure numbering for those first couple of Vintage Collection waves?
2) There still seem to be some lingering questions about some running change figures that were hinted at and seen in 2009. Many are excited to see the Hoth Rebel Trooper coming in the mysterious exclusive Hoth battle pack. But what about the running changes of the Imperial Scanning Trooper or Utai? Is it possible that either of these will see the light of day within the next year?
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NEW: Jedi Temple War Room:1) Indications from recent Q&A sessions show that The Vintage Collection will feature one wave representing each movie. And after that we've been told to expect unthemed waves. Additionally, news out of Toy Fair indicates that we should see four waves of the Vintage Collection in 2010 and another two
movie themed waves in 2011. Can we expect those A NEW HOPE & THE PHANTOM MENACE waves in the Spring of 2011? And can you give us an approximation of when the unthemed waves may begin to appear? There has been a pattern of a spring lull the past couple of years that's been making some collectors anxious.
2) The AT-ST seems to have been extremely well received by the collecting community as a whole. It was an amazing advance from the vintage vehicle. This version seems to have been specifically geared towards the Battle of Endor in RETURN OF THE JEDI. But with this being the 30th anniversary of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (the first place we ever saw the AT-ST), is it possible that we could see the AT-ST reintroduced in 2010 with Hoth deco? And might this be the venue by which we see the new AT-ST Driver that was mentioned back in a September, 2009 Q&A session?
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From MouseDroid.com: 1) It's the ESB 30th anniversary year and the Hoth scenes seem to be getting a fair amount of attention. Have you considered updating the Wampa? Maybe a bit bigger and better articulated.
2) Will the rocket firing Boba Fett be made available internationally? With the great new Vintage line kicking off this year it's a great offer. Please tell us that the international market will not have to pay extortionist eBay prices for a figure that US and Canadian residents will get for free. Can you please help Hasbro Australia and local fans by getting Star wars action figures into our country this year!!!!
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From Raving Toy Maniac: 1) Does the Galactic Heroes AT-AT's head open to allow access to figures? If so, how many figures?
2) Which version of the AT-AT driver is going to be packed in with the BAT-AT? The recent removable helmet version or the older swivel armed one?
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From Sandtroopers.com: 1) It's pretty much a fact that the last wave in any series before a cardback change usually proves to be the most difficult to find. Now, for the upcoming last wave of The Legacy Collection before Vintage cardbacks start, you've made it doubly hard to find by making it an exclusive wave. How can you hope that TRU orders enough of this wave to satisfy all those that want to purchase it?
2) Do you really think this new battle game pack-in is going to help sales of figures? I conducted an informal poll (that I had hoped to present the results of to you at Toy Fair and missed doing that) that showed that 85% of the fans and collectors felt that the BAD program was the best pack-in YET. I'm sure it helped with sales as well, for I know that several people (myself included) bought figures that they didn't really want just to get the droid parts. How is this game going to have the same impact? Do you think fans and collectors are going to by the figures they don't like just to get the game pieces?
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From Sir Steve's Guide: 1) It's awesome that we're getting an update of Ponda Baba in 2011, but this does bring up two burning questions. Will he be sold under the name "Walrusman" on the card just like in the vintage days, or will that be updated to the modern "Ponda Baba"? Also, since the character is seen in the film with flipper-hands but every modern version of the figure has been sculpted with the more human, furry hands (as shown amputated by Obi-Wan), are we finally going to get a screen-accurate "flipper-hand" version of Ponda Baba? If not, would you consider packing him with interchangeable hands so collectors can choose which version they want to display?
2) Although the Cruisemissile Trooper vehicle has its share of detractors, including those at Hasbro, the concept and design have some fun and interesting toy merits, though not fully realized. Perhaps the original design could be embellished and resized to fit into either the current Deluxe Figure & Vehicle pricepoint or a Battle Pack or other another medium (maybe even a Starfighter pricepoint perhaps). And of course, this time around it could have a removable pilot and cooler features to make it a fun new vehicle with unique Star Wars credibility. Would Hasbro ever consider making an update to this vehicle with design and features befitting the modern line? With the Deluxe Figure & Vehicle line seemingly doing well and taking other weird risks like the Desert Sport Skiff, would you think that the right place for it?
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From Snowtroopers.ca: 1) Thanks so much for making Gargan a figure, but she is clogging the pegs at most retailers still. Is there any way she could be rounded up, like the overstock was collected in the US stores last year, so there can be more room for your newer releases?
2) Are there plans to release Clone Wars figures of Republic dignitaries, such as Bail Organa or Senator Padme in senate attire, Duchess Satine, Riyo Chuchi, or even Chanceller Palpatine??
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From SWCollector.com: 1) I know you have decided against a "Droid Factory" type playset due to costs, but what about releasing sets of BADs using battlepack or 2-pack type packaging? There would be no new tooling costs, and you could package the droids in an "exploded" format to play up the interchangeability of the parts. You could even reuse the packaging design by releasing "refreshes" of the same droids but in different paint schemes.
2) I'd like to lobby for update on an old favorite of mine... C-3PO with Removable Limbs. The vintage 1980 Threepio with Removable Limbs was a fantastic figure and my favorite as a kid. And now, with the fantastic B-A-D U-3PO, a lot of the work is largely done for a new Removable Limbs Threepio. One possibility that could work splendidly is finally including the light-pipe eyes from The Clone Wars Threepio. This hasn't really been attempted on a screen accurate Threepio yet, and is a great feature. The net backpack that Chewie hauls him around in would probably be a primary accessory, but the milkcrate-like bin that Chewie carries him around in could work, too. One thing that would be great to try would be a removable back panel (like in the attached photo). With the design accomplishment of the DS2 Luke vest flap, this would probably be a breeze. This has VOTC written all over it, at the very least. This is Threepio at his most iconic and emotional point in any of the films. Eventually you could do a Ugnaught-Keep-Away Battle Pack!
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From TheJawa.com:1) You mentioned in a previous answer that some customers might be getting frustrated with having to buy an entire wave of figures to complete a single BaD. Now that the BaD program is over but since you still have the tooling for these pieces, what about selling a 2-pack of BaDs? You've done 2-packs of CIS battledroids, jawas, ewoks, etc. before and these appeal to many folks because of the perceived value (2 figures for the price of 1, even if they are small). In this case, a customer would get two astromechs or two protocol droids complete in one purchase AND there'd be huge play value because you can start interchanging pieces right away to customize a new droid! An R2D2 with R5D4 pack or a C3PO with K3PO pack would certainly be a kick to see!
2) Is there any chance Hasbro will ever re-do the Death Star Trooper sculpt? When first rumored, this became one of my most anticipated army builders of all time. However you probably heard of the complaints on the forums after it debuted: the shoulders, elbows, and especially the knees were just way too bulky. Moreover he seemed too tall and bulky overall (standing next to Vader, the DST steals attention away from him just due to his large size and his wide-legged stance). The sculpting of his uniform also seemed very crude and undetailed compared to other figures you've done with similar outfits (like the RotS Tarkin or the recent Capt Needa). I'd really like to see these issues addressed if not in a new DST, then perhaps a future Imperial Navy Trooper figure. Even though he wasn't SA, the RotS Tarkin was closer to how I'd hoped Hasbro would sculpt the DST in terms of stance, body size, and detailing.
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From Toy News International: 1) A question was raised during Toy Fair about whether the removable blades on your new FX Lightsabers are interchangeable among the different hilts. We were just wondering if you ever discovered the answer.
2) Following up with replicas, the new Lightsabers are very cool but for those of us who always chose to be Han Solo over Luke Skywalker as kids, what are the chances that you will make realistic blaster replicas with actual laser firing sound effects perhaps with a realistic-looking blaster holster belt for your FX line?
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From Yakface.com: 1) At this year's Toy Fair, four Clone Wars figures were shown on the display stands, Mace Windu with hip articulation and mysterious mandarlorian helmet split down the middle, Kit Fisto with added knee articulation and dual lightsabers, Commander Battle Droid and a camoflauge ARF Trooper. These were not mentioned in the presentation and considering they've been shown could we please have some info/ images on these?
2) With the final EU wave of Legacy figures now deemed an "exclusive" to Toys"R"Us, collectors want to know if that change means they (like many of TRU's exclusives) will come with their exclusive/higher price tag as well? Also, are there plans to change the case assortment to include multiples of each new figure or does this assortment still plan on including one of each of the new figures plus the older carry forward figures?
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From Yoda's News: 1) Will you re-release Cody and Rex with updated helmets?
2) With the Galactic Heroes Cinema Scenes being put "on hold" will we still see the Purchase of the Droids and Kamino set?
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