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!
Action Figure Insider:1) Lucasfilm recently announced in Star Wars Insider that Lt. Gavyn Sykes / Bravo 6 was basically responsible for Darth Vader existing. Here we see how Lucasfilm explain that Gavyn Sykes destroyed the Nemoidian ship’s shield generator, allowing young Anakin Skywalker to destroy the ship from within and therefore thousands of lives, thus starting his journey down the path to the dark side. I loved playing the Battle for Naboo video game which Gavyn Sykes is the lead character in, and have also played the Gavyn Sykes adventure in Star Wars Galaxies (as a promoted Captain Sykes) at the Keren Spaceport. Yet for some reason there is no action figure (presumably to be based on the likeness of actor Christian J. Simpson who plays Sykes in The Phantom Menace) to add to all our collections. Is this in the works?
2) An image of the SW Vintage Wave II showed up on EntertainmentEarth.com and shows the addition of characters from Episode 3. Do you have the order/lineup on what films/episodes each wave of the vintage figures will represent? Since Wave 1 is Episode 5 ESB based and wave 2 looks to be Episode 3 ROTS based it doesn’t appear that you are cycling waves in order of the films.
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ASMzine:1) The Sun Fac figure has given us some terrific Geonosian Warrior redecoes… but they’re all based on a character with a very distinctive one-eyed head sculpt, giving army-builders a legion of squinting Geonosians. Is there any chance of a retooling to give the head a second eye the next time it’s used?
2) In the same 2-pack as the aforementioned Geonosian, we got a Kit Fisto based on his iconic pose in the arena…but he’s still not smiling! How did he end up with a tooth-bared grimace instead of the
grin depicted on his package art?
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Awesome Toy Blog:1) With the new AT-AT set for the August line re-launch; can we expect any Hoth-centric battle packs in the near future to help fill out the battlefield?
2) Given the apparent success of the Qui-Gon / Eopie mail-in, are future promotions looking to include items of a similar scale (another beast, small vehicle) or will they likely focusing on single carded figures?
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From CollectionStation.com: 1) Since we're all thinking about the topic of Star Wars anniversaries lately, May 1st, 2011 will mark the 20th anniversary of the release of Timothy Zahn's novel, Heir to the Empire, the first part of the Thrawn trilogy. Whether one loves the Expanded Universe or hates it, a strong argument can be made that this book started a resurgence for interest in Star Wars and was the foundation for the modern Expanded Universe movement, so it deserves some sort of recognition and maybe even some action figure treatment. With that in mind, would you consider doing some sort of commemorative set or just slipping a few HTTE-themed figures into one of The Vintage Collection waves?
2) The Clone Wars line has been a boon for its droid designs, but is following suit from the realistic lines with the sagging leg problems. This is especially noticeable on Clone Wars Battle Droids, Super Battle Droids, and the first General Grievous. Yet in the same line, IG-86 and the Commando Droid don't suffer this, the difference being that they have ankle joints while the BD, SBD and 1st Grievous figures do not. It seems like the joints take stress off the thin leg elements helping cope with wilting issues, and that's a pretty big deal. Obviously including either knee or ankle articulation on them isn't a cheap undertaking, but it seems like a necessary one in the scheme of things since if a figure can't stand up, it's going to be far less fun. Any possibility of including one type of lower leg articulation or another on future versions of these figures as this partial solution to this long-time problem?
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NEW: Dewback Patrol: 1) Rebelscum.com had a fun April fool¹s joke playing on the classic toy colors. Is there any possibility of doing a wave of repaints in their Kenner colors? Han in black pants, death star trooper in grey, and the blue power droid all looked really cool.
2) Now that the cat is out of the bag in regards to the Ultimate Battle of Hoth battle packs, can you give us any details on their content? Like who are the 2 Hoth rebels? And, is the laser turret new or painted differently? A pic would probably be too much to ask for:)
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From DroidsandEwoks.com: 1) Can you share any more information on the canceled Ewok multipack that Chukha-Trok was going to be a part of? Would it have been made up mainly of EU Ewoks? Would any female Ewoks like Latara, Kneesaa or Malani have been included? It's too bad this had to be set aside, but I hope you can find a way to make all those Ewoks available sometime soon. We can't get enough of them!
2) Back when I was a kid, I wondered why we never did get a Mungo Baobab figure in the vintage line. Turns out one was indeed sculpted, but never did see production. I know his chances are not great at the moment for making it into the modern line, but seeing how every year I am surprised to see figures that I never thought would be made (BL-17, Teek, Willrow Hood), I'm going to hold out hope for Mungo and give him a bit of a plug at the same time as well. Hopefully he can be a candidate for a slot in a future EU wave!
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From Echo Base Forums: 1) A couple of days ago, what appeared to be Clone Wars figures of Bossk, Boba Fett, and Mace Windu's astromech were each up for auction on eBay. Can you confirm that these figures are real and, if they are, when and how they will be released?
2) Many collectors have been reporting on various forums that their local Target and Wal-Mart stores have no basic Star Wars figures on the shelves. I have seen this myself at two different Target stores. What is the cause of the disappearance of so many action figures across the country?
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From Han's Hideout: 1) Fall 2010 Clone Wars General Grievous - cape or no cape? At Toy Fair, it sounded like he'd have a cape. Recent images though suggest no cape after all. Just wondering if CW Grievous would be cold or not... I guess he could always borrow a cape from the Vintage Wave 2 Grievous if he got the chills.
2) Last year, we finally got our long-awaited AotC versions of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. This year, we're getting an updated (sorta) ANH Uncle Owen in the Visionaries Comic Pack. How much longer for an update to ANH Aunt Beru? PotF2 Flashback Beru is great for... well, she's not really great for anything. Surely she's got to have a better chance at a figure than Jocasta or the "they who shall not be named" twins, right?
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From Imperial Shipyards: 1) Recently clone troopers from the clone wars do not seem to be able to hold their assiociated weapon or are not packed with the correct weapon, case in point Commander Thire, the figure was not packed withe the DC-15 rifle he used in the episode Ambush (series 1 episode 1) also one of his hands is not able to hold the blaster pistol for it. A simple fix for this problem would be a trigger finger on both hands or a tightening of the hand mold by a milimeter or two. Would Hasbro consider solutions to this problem?
2) Why exactly do you have to produce Exclusives? 99% of the time they are awesome, but they are also 75% hard to find (for example: the new EU wave at Toys-R-Us). Why can't you just send out all your products to all the stores?
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Jedi Business:1) Could you explain the rationale behind having cartoon Captain Rex on every Star Wars item including non-animated-style figures and vehicles (except single carded TVC)? We understand that you are trying to have all SW toys under "one big banner", but don't you think that this will confuse customers as to what style of toy (animated vs. regular) they are buying?
2) Cantina aliens and Jabba's Palace denizens are gradually being released, but how about characters from the Outlander Club from Episode 2? Are any in the pipeline for release in 2011?
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From Jedi Defender: 1) Any chance that we can get a look at the upcoming Vintage Collection Endor Rebel's pre-production sketches? Our Rebel-crazed staffers are getting anxious for a peek!
2) That new Snowspeeder is so great. Before I go buying up a fleet of them in August, I thought I better ask - should I buy my second (or third) Snowspeeder now or should I wait for some sort of exclusive you're planning? Or will the "vintage deco" version be the only other version planned for this year?
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From JediNews.co.uk: 1) The new AT-AT is awesome and there aren¹t enough superlatives to describe just how good it is great job! Couple of issues though a) how can you take the legs off for storage and b) why did you decide to add additional voices from the Clone Wars to such an iconic vehicle which has yet to appear in the Clone Wars when you could have included more original dialogue from Empire?
2) It's great that we have the new Saga Legends, Clone Wars and Vintage figures available to buy NOW in the UK along with the new vehicles (inc. AT-AT, Snowspeeder and Cloud Car) but the street date for these was the week commencing 6th August. How and why has this happened? With previous shelf dates the retailers have, for the most part, stuck to the dates asked for and this creates an uneven playing field for those retailers that were playing by the book.
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From Jedi Temple Archives: 1) While the current Clone Wars animated series has drawn much attention from the Star Wars collecting community at large as well as new fans, there are still a good number of fans of Genndy Tartakovsky's original vision of The Clone Wars that have some things left on their wishlists. The last big push for characters from the Clone Wars 2D series came in TLC Blue's second wave in late 2008. But since then we've gotten some treats in the form of L8-L9 and K'krukh.
We've also gotten word in a couple of Q&A sessions that Captain Fordo may be on the way in 2011's Vintage Collection. And in a September '09 Q&A with Han's Hideout it came to light that at least one Hasbro Star Wars team member wants to get one of the mutated Nelvaan warriors immortalized in plastic. And there continue to be questions and forum chatter about Jedi like Sha'a Gi and Tarr Seirr. But there are collectors who are concerned. Concerned about the overall scaling back on EU figures. Collectors who are concerned that the focus of any Clone Wars offerings will be solely on the current animated series and no other media. So can fans of the Tartakovsky vision of Clone Wars hold out hope for some of these characters that have been indelibly etched into the minds of collectors?
2) Looking back through the Archives, there has been a very welcome trend of all-new creatures making their way into the line over the past 2+ years. We've seen a couple of Rancors, the Sarlacc pit/beak, the Clone Wars Jabba the Hutt, the new Dewback, and the Felucia ground slug. On top of that a lot of collectors are eagerly anticipating the release of the new ROTJ Jabba the Hutt. Some official imagery of said Jabba would be awesome, btw!
But will this trend of new creatures extend into 2010/11? Empire fans are still hoping for an all-new Tauntaun. ANH fans think a Dianoga would be most welcome, and certainly not trash. The Clone Wars has brought us creatures like Gor, Gundarks and the Zillo beast. And the rumor mill has been stirred up some for prequel fans who think that a Mustafar Lava Flea would be a good thing. So just how bright is the future for new Star Wars creatures?
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From Jedi Temple War Room: 1) A good number of troop builders and Imperial fans were disappointed when word got out that the running change of the Imperial Scanning Trooper would be delayed indefinitely. And add in the new slimmer profile of The Vintage Collection's basic figure blister it seems that the options for the release of the Imperial Scanning Trooper's running change may be limited.
This is where fanboy ingenuity comes into play! What about a battle pack centered around the Imperials searching the Millenium Falcon. Characters that would work in such a pack would include Darth Vader, Captain Khurgee (a never before made Imperial officer with dialogue), Stormtroopers and the much sought after Scanning Trooper? It's got a core character, two troopers, and an all-new Imperial Officer. Does a set like this have the appeal for Hasbro to pursue the concept and get that Scanning Trooper running change to market?
2) Some of the hottest video game properties to be shown at the recent E3 convention in Los Angeles were Star Wars titles: Star Wars - The Force Unleashed 2, and Star Wars - The Old Republic . And looking back over the past 2-3 years of the Hasbro Star Wars toy line, The Force Unleashed has been amazingly well represented in terms of the number of figures offered. From basic figures, to battle packs, to a Rancor and most recently a pair of exclusive 5-packs, fans of TFU have gotten a great deal from this groundbreaking video game.
With that track record in mind, and the news out of E3 on a pair of amazing looking LucasArts Star Wars video games, how bright does the future look for figures and toys from these upcoming Star Wars video game titles?
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From Lightgeschwindigkeit.de: 1) Do you have any plans for a large vehicle type playset of the death star or a star destroyer? Those would have some great play value like the naboo royal starship from a few years ago.
2) We were recently treated with a trailer for the upcoming Force Unleashed II game, due to be released by the end of 2010. Can we expect to see more Force Unleashed figures? And if so, when can we expect those to hit the shelves?
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From MouseDroid.com: 1) I love your products but am annoyed at the recent repaint of ROTS speeder bike for the Clone wars 501st, which Australia has received, and the Commander Cody, which I have had to import. Both are very misleading products. Clearly showing on the back of the pack a comfortable looking figure on the bike, when effectively even jamming and nearly breaking the figure does not fit as shown.
I understand this was designed for the ROTS but selling this in multiple flavours with toys that clearly do not fit as shown, is fleecing, and misleading and I think damaging to your brand especially at the very high prices I have to pay as you still have no online store for Australia. Can I ask you to correct this practice in future and build more room for alternative figures or lower prices for toys that do not work as shown?
2) Nom Anor was shown last year in the Hasbro toyfare poll as a figure that had been made. Will we still be seeing this figure this year at either SDCC or CV? Any chance we can get a pic of the finished product please for this avid EU fan!!!!
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From Raving Toy Maniac: 1) With the Star Wars Force Unleashed 2 video game being released this fall will Hasbro be releasing any toys based on this game like the first one? Seems like the first games toys sold pretty well and the two Toys R Us multipacks seem to be selling well (at least at my TRU).
2) Will there be more Ewok figures released anytime soon?
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From Sandtroopers.com: 1) What are you doing with the figures (peg warmers) that are being pulled from the pegs from retail stores. Rumor has it they are being decarded and recarded on new packaging.. and possibly shipped backed to asia .. how about having Americans do that as we do need the jobs.
2) I have a question regarding the new "Celebration 5 VIP Tickets Instant Win" contest. On your website for this promotion you say "From now until July 26, look inside specially marked Hasbro Star Wars products featuring this sticker to see if you're a winner!"
However, it appears that the stores in my area just got a bunch of stickers and slapped them on product that was already sitting on shelves. Isn't this considered false advertising? There obviously won't be any kind of instant win ticket or anything for a new promotion inside a figure or product that has been sitting on store shelves for months.
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From Sir Steve's Guide: 1) Now that you've made Galactic Heroes figures of Max Rebo and Droopy McCool, there is a hole in the band. Why did Sy Snootles get left out of the set? Might Hasbro consider rounding out the original trio of palace band members by making a Sy Snootles Galactic Heroes figure? She would go great in a 2 pack with any of Jabba's more prominent minions (Tessek, Ephant Mon, or Ree-Yees for instance) or perhaps Oola or cloak-wearing Luke. Seeing as these more obscure Galactic Heroes figures are fan-driven, if you were to make a Sy figure would it be based on her classic "vintage" appearance?
2) Regarding the 2002 Saga Deluxe Speeder Bike, previously you had told us the tooling for it had been misplaced in one of the factories you work with, and since around that time the only Speeder Bike mold released has been the 1983 Kenner version. Yet it's been confirmed in recently-released Hasbro imagery as well as other sources that the new AT-AT comes with that '02 Saga Speeder Bike in Hoth colors, conspicuously around the same time that the bike's '03 Clone Wars remold is getting reused as well as the new deluxe Plo Koon Speeder Bike. Has the '02 Saga Speeder Bike tooling actually been found after years of searching, and if so, what's the story behind that discovery? (We're picturing Derryl swinging through warehouse aisles via whip checking nondescript slab after giant metal slab a la Indiana Jones.) If the tooling really has been found, why has the Hoth Assault battle pack been shown with the old '83 version, why did the recent TRU-exclusive deluxe Speeder Bike set use that '83 mold? And will the newer Speeder Bike finally be used for a screen-accurate ROTJ bike in the near future?
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From Snowtroopers.ca: 1) Could Hasbro please let us know if these following items will be making their way to Canada?
- Jodo Kast (currently a KMart exclusive in the US)
- new Hasbro F/X Lightsabers (not seen here in Canada since last fall)
- Kul Teska (TRU)
- Nikto Guard (TRU)
- Kit Fisto's Starfighter (WM)
- the Defense of Hoth and Attack on Hoth deluxe battlepacks
2) Thank you for getting the Legacy EU wave up to Canada, at least in small batches, even though we were told we would never see them. Was this a reaction to collector out-cry, did TRU US have too many sitting in the warehouse or did Hasbro stumble across a few extra cases somewhere. Either way, thanks again, and what can we do besides buying up all the figures to get future waves slated for the Canadian chopping block?
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From SWCollector.com: 1) With a new Jabba the Hutt and Oola coming out (as well as Jabba's dias with Salacious Crumb), and a lot of Jabba's palace denizens released in the Legacy Collection, what characters do you still consider necessary to either revisit or make for the first time from that sequence of RETURN OF THE JEDI?
2) With THE FORCE UNLEASHED II game launching this year, is it too much to hope for the reborn Galen Marek with twin lightsabers on the pegs in, say, 2011?
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From TheJawa.com:1) You mentioned in an earlier Q&A that a figure like wicket (or other small ewoks) might come with some accessories to compensate for the fact that buying such a tiny figure doesn't feel much like getting your money's worth otherwise. I was wondering then if Hasbro will also then include accessories for a TVC Jawa figure? I remember as a kid, my own mother refusing again and again to pay $4 (Canadian) for a Kenner jawa figure - citing that it was not worth it for such an insignificantly tiny figure - she had no issues buying me the adult-sized figures.
2) Since you've recently retooled the ESB Bespin Luke and the AT-AT driver, any chance we can get a slightly retooled Snowtrooper? Aside from the repeated requests to give us a more clean Snowtrooper (no dirt on boots, no off-colored face mask/hood), I know that it'd be a huge boon to get a Snowtrooper with a more narrow leg pose. The current one just looks silly once you've army built a few of them and stand them together. Their legs are just spread too wide apart - it'd be great to be able to have a number of them standing more neutrally. The legs could then be used for a future Snowtrooper Commander as well (hint hint).
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From Yoda's News: 1) The vintage style cardbacks on across the entire Star Wars universe is one of the best ideas ever. My question is, why did you sell yourself short in taking this highly anticipated experience with the UGH.. I, like many collectors, will not specifically hunt UGH just for a foil card. However, if you were to do something like a retro tribute of the figure in a Foil card, then you can bet OUR DOLLARS will come flowing in for this segment. For example, if you were to do a walrusman in retro style on a UGH card, or a plastic cape Jawa, A yak face in original colors, and to take it even up a notch, parallel to the Boba Fett offer, send in 5 UGH foil UPC's [or something of that nature] for a mail in offer of a Vlix on a Droids card. Tell me how this doesn't make sense, no bean counter replies please... Bottom line, is it makes all around sense and would really excite some of us blah collectors who have been sitting on the sidelines.
2) Please reconsider your plans to delay the ewok multi-pack and the Widdle and Oochee multi-pack (is this one pack or two different ewok themed packs?) discussed earlier. The ewoks are the best figures coming out, and I would love to get my hands on new figure multi-packs!!! What are the ewok plans for 2010 and 2011?
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