Questions for August 9, 2004
Q&A Archive

It's Monday again and time for another dose of Question Mark. I hope everyone had a good weekend, I sure did. Thanks again to everyone that sent in a question for this edition, and to those that I'll get to next time. One feedback issue from Saturday's update; one of our readers was looking for a site that covered vintage G. I. Joe toys. Based on the replies I received, the site for all your "Joe" needs is www.yojoe.com. Hope that helps!

On with the show:

1
Has anyone found the collector's cup with Princess Leia at Target? -JB

Yes, we've received several reports from around the country, and I actually found her once at my local Target about a month and a half ago. Distribution has been a little on the poor side with these cup and figure sets; seems the first wave moved a little slower than expected and subsequent waves have been held up. I was pleasantly surprised to finally see the Anakin and Luke cups just last week, so I imagine there's still hope more Leia sets will turn up. Keep checking, and good luck!


2
I have been having a bit of trouble locating images of the new OTC Millennium Falcon. I think that the blue engine glow is a great touch. What concerns me is that it looks like the sticker and/or paintjob is rather lacking compared to the last version, which is pretty sweet to look at. I know about the adjustment to the cockpit interior, but have you seen this newer version up close and how does the outer appearance compare to the earlier Falcon? -Mike

I have seen the new Falcon up close, and I have to say I am VERY impressed with the job Hasbro has done on it. I'm impressed with the deco, the updates/modifications, the sound effects, the quality of the plastic; it really is a vast improvement over the previous version. As far as the deco seeming light, if you look at pictures of the Falcon from ANH you can see where the ship is very light in color, almost white. This new version of the toy is more in line with that than the '95 model. I was never a huge fan of the fact that the POTF II Falcon had such heavy over spray on the front of the ship, and I'm glad to see this has been changed with the '04 version. Hasbro has also done an excellent job accenting specific areas on the new Falcon where the previous version just seemed to have a little extra paint sprayed in a few general areas. I like that the cockpit actually matches the rest of the hull, all the sound effects come from the movie, the new locking mechanism on the landing gear; overall I think it's just a higher quality toy. The only other modifications I'd like to see would be to somehow connect the cockpit to the cabin area and reduce the size of the cannon so that it's more "in scale" with the rest of the ship. Short of producing new tools and a whole new vehicle, I think Hasbro has done about the best job they could do with this toy.


3
I am a big fan of the [LEGO] Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series (especially that uber cool Star Destroyer). Are there any chances of an Ultimate Collector Series Death Star? I've always been hoping one would come out. -Yodaman

We recently asked LEGO about their UCS line, unfortunately they said they were unable to comment on possible future products. As far as UCS goes I would think the Death Star is a likely candidate, and about the only way LEGO could do justice to the Emperor's pride and joy. However, it's been a while since we've seen a new UCS set, at the price the previous sets originally sold for, the line may be hard for LEGO to justify. We'll see, considering next year is a movie year and sure to bring lots of attention, I would think 2005 is about the best time to offer one of their high end sets in a long time. Keep your fingers crossed.


4
Do you think that there's any hope of us seeing more EU [Expanded Universe] figures in the future; maybe 2006? There are so many great characters in the books, comics and games, and I can only buy so many versions of Luke, 3PO, and R2. Has Hasbro been considering bringing in any 'exclusive' figures the way they did with Episode I RPG that featured an EU Wookie? I'd love to get a figure of Corran, Jacen, Jaina, Nom Anor, or any of the other NJO figures. -Patrick Bonfrisco

From the comments at the Hasbro panel in San Diego, 2006 is the earliest we could possibly see more Expanded Universe figures. When the Hasbro team asked the crowd who they might like to see, most replied Jaina and Jacen Solo. That got a few nods from the Hasbro guys, but I wouldn't consider it a done deal. I think Hasbro knows there are fans out there that want to see more EU toys, finding a way to release them has been the challenge. We'll see, even though the Solo twins wouldn't be my first choice, I'd like to see more EU figures as well. Let's hope they give it a chance in '06.


5
I have a two part question concerning prototype figures. As you know there are constantly prototypes being sold on eBay, mostly out of Asia especially in Hong Kong. Are these sellers employees who work in Hasbro's factories and are they actually stealing Hasbro property?

Surely they know about it as it's been going on within eBay for years. Considering the prototypes of the vintage figures are so expensive today, wouldn't it be seen as stealing money from Hasbro? These sellers are making a killing selling over 20-30 pieces at a time. If you check the sellers completed auctions you'll usually see one guy selling tons of them at over $100 apiece sometimes.

This leads me to my second question: are these prototypes of the modern figures going to be as valuable as the vintage ones are now? I bought a couple (Poggle the Lesser and the super articulated Clone Trooper) for roughly $25 apiece but most go for much higher. How many prototypes exist of a typical figure sculpt during the creation process?

Hard to say for sure if the sellers are factory workers, but at the very least they have connections within the factory. In any event, considering Hasbro does not produce/sell 'prototype' versions of their toys, these are not exactly obtained legally. Still, you try controlling that from thousands of miles away in a foreign country and see how far you get… Someone in China has figured out there's a market out there for these pieces and that good money can be made if a few of them happen to follow a couple underpaid factory workers home at the end of the day. As you pointed out, collectors are paying outrageous prices for these and that kind of money is just way too tempting to pass up.

Is it stealing money from Hasbro? Technically yes, but probably not the type of money you're thinking about. As I mentioned, Hasbro does not sell prototypes so the prototypes out there are not in direct competition with Hasbro product. At the very least, the value Hasbro is losing from the sale of these prototypes is somewhere between the actual manufacturing cost and the suggested retail price; roughly two to six dollars. So when you see a prototype fetch a hundred bucks on eBay, it's not like Hasbro just missed out on that money. Still, is it a problem for Hasbro, yes. Would they like to see the practice stopped, yes. Will they ever be able to stop it completely, probably not.

As for value on modern prototypes, taking into consideration the frequency and ease at which you can find them these days, I don't foresee their value appreciating much over time. Just like mint condition vintage figures, vintage prototypes are scarce and demand a high price. Just as the modern line will never appreciate in value to the degree the vintage line has, modern prototypes are far too common to increase in value by very much. There are valuable pieces to be had; things like hard copies, hand painted test shots, and pre date stamp copies. Typically there are only a handful of these in existence (maybe three or four each), but when you get into unpainted production samples or the odd colored prototypes it's far too easy for workers to crank these out a dozen at a time just to make a few extra dollars. Time will be the ultimate test, but unless you have a prototype of an unproduced toy, or one of the truly rare samples mentioned above, I wouldn't consider modern prototypes much of an investment.


6
While I am impressed with the Vintage Original Trilogy Collection, I was wondering why Hasbro does not use the original 12-back image on the reverse side of the cards? I know Hasbro has officially stated that they "cannot cross-sell old figures on current products, nor can we display old promotional offers that were on some originals. " I can understand it if they cannot re-use old promotional offers (i.e. Mail-Away offers, etc) but I do not see the "legal" problem since they are already re-printing the Kenner logo and the original image on the front of the card. Mattel completely re-issued their original Masters of the Universe figures in their original packaging inside of a commemorative blister with only a tiny printed disclaimer that said something like "Not For Re-sale" or something like that. I think if Hasbro (who bought Kenner) owns the rights to the original promo art, they could simply get away with reprinting the original trademark dates and the current date on the card and maybe in small print "Not Original Packaging." This would indicate not only to collectors but also for legal reasons that these figures are not the original releases.

When it comes to legalese I've learned never to be surprised by what one can or cannot do. I'm sure there is probably a very good reason why Hasbro can't reproduce the vintage cardback exactly. If certain offers couldn't be reproduced, and Hasbro would have had to change this or that aspect of the card, I could easily understand them taking a different approach. Honestly, the whole point of reproducing something is to reproduce it exactly. If that's not possible, for whatever reason, then why bother with just coming close? Sure, Hasbro bought Kenner (which gives them the right to use the Kenner name), but I wouldn't be at all surprised if there were some clause or legal reason preventing them from exactly reproducing Kenner toys. Mattel is a different matter because frankly Mattel is still owned by Mattel… On some level too, I have to think Hasbro probably didn't want to reproduce the cards exactly. The VOTC cardbacks look pretty darn sharp if you ask me, and do a great job of covering/advertising/explaining the VOTC line up and their link to the old toys. Putting the new figures on exact reproduction cards would have been nice in one regard, but probably wouldn't have presented the line as well or as clearly. In the end it was probably a combination of factors that led to their decision and I'm not necessarily inclined to doubt legality had something to do with it.


7
Is there some way to contact Hasbro regarding their neat plastic stands they include with the recent Saga /OTC figures? I'm a loose figure collector, and need around 400 stands! Wouldn't it make sense for Hasbro to do a mail away promotion for fans with loads of Jedi Master Points to send in some points and cash to get a bunch of stands? -Rob.

Depending on how much it costs to produce the stands (which I can't imagine is a lot) I think it would be a great idea for Hasbro to offer sets of them in exchange for JMP and shipping. In fact, we ran this idea (plus a few others) past the Hasbro guys in San Diego and they pretty much agreed this is something they probably 'could' do. Still, it didn't sound like they had any plans to utilize the JPM or standard POP's at this time, and it may not be until later next year or into 2006 before we could see an offer like that. Cross your finger though, considering many collectors are still holding onto those points, I personally think Hasbro could win some major points with fans by doing something like this.


8
I've seen a lot polls and what-not on the web asking fans what figures they'd like to see, and there's always some that most of the fans want, but Hasbro doesn't make. Why do you think they don't go "surfing" and find out what these people want and make it? I know they have the fan's choice line, but some of them are figs we've seen already (Amanaman, the upcoming Imperial scanning crew, etc.) Plus there's all of those ridiculous re-re-repackagings of the same figures. I'd much rather see a KOTOR fig or Guri, rather than the millionth repack of Luke or Vader. Also, what is this "500th figure" I've heard rumors about? -Greg

I think it's fair to say the guys at Hasbro do go surfing around the net to see what collectors would like. However; there's a mind set, and probably a lot of sales data, which indicate the line has to include figures like Han, Luke, Leia, and Vader each year in order to be successful. The main characters are the most popular, they appeal to darn near everyone from kid to collector, and with a few exceptions they usually sell through. For the most part, I don't think collectors have an issue with seeing these characters each year, as long as they are new/updated versions. What's been nice to see in the last couple years are the side characters they managed to include also. All things considered, early 2004 was loaded with some great new figures. Announced for early 2005, Hasbro is kicking out some long time collector favorites from Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and the cantina scene from A New Hope. The Fan Choice poll is one way for Hasbro to serve their fan base, but they do go beyond that and try to include additional figures fans are talking about on the web.

As far as re-re-repacks, until this year Hasbro has done okay with re-packs, limiting them to a dozen or so in addition to their regular line up. Again, I don't think most collectors have a problem with this as long as they don't go nuts with it. What we're seeing now with the OTC is an exception; in my opinion the situation was somewhat forced on Hasbro and they're doing about the best they can with it. While I'm sure there are many fans that would rather see EU figures in place of things like the Hall of Fame assortment, it really is a totally different ball game, and not fair to expect on to replace the other. It would be more 'in-line' to expect Hasbro to take out one of their new basic waves to make room for an EU wave, and I don't think you'd get overwhelming support for something like that.

The 500th figure would basically be the follow up to Hasbro's 300th figure they released a few years back. Basically a chance for them to do something special, celebrating a milestone in the Star Wars line. Last time was a highly detailed Boba Fett figure in a special window box, while there have been rumors regarding what the 500th figure might be, there's been no official announce yet. Odds are it will be Darth Vader, though I can't imagine how they could possibly top the VOTC Vader coming out this year. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see…


9
1. Star Wars Insider 71 (p. 80) says there will be seven figures in the "Ultra" assortment and I saw this number reported elsewhere. I can count six separate cards and RS photo archive lists six. Should we be expecting another or how do you think Hasbro came up with an initial count of seven? Perhaps something to do with the Denizens or Hoth Luke?

2. Now we're getting another silver Vader - was the silver Sandtrooper also
a confirmed thing or was that a rumor? Two silvers in one year?! -Schtoiker

Even if something is printed in the Insider, Hasbro's plans are always in motion. At one point an Ewok Catapult set was rumored (which would have made the seventh Ultra set), but ultimately it didn't develop. Could be at the time the Insider talked to Hasbro about their plans for the Ultra line that was still being considered. As it stands now, including the Obi-Wan and Jango Deluxe re-packs there are eight Ultra figures in the line, with no new assortments shipping. While there's a chance we might see the Ultra line return at a later date, and could possibly see an Ewok Catapult set released in conjunction with it, the '04 Ultra line is complete.

Yep, both the Silver Edition Sandtrooper and Vader are confirmed for this year. The Sandtrooper will be available at StarWarsShop.com and a number of conventions, and the Vader will be available at Toys 'R' Us later this year. Two in one year, go figure, but it sounds like the TRU Vader will cap this series once and for all.

10
Does anyone now what happened to the Endor wave? I never saw General Calrissian, General Madine, or Han in AT-ST disguise hit the shelves and now all the OTC figures are hitting. -Ritch

I guess you could say they got lost in the shuffle. Coming late in the line, they kinda got side-stepped in order to make room for the OTC figures. I did actually see them briefly at Target, and there could easily still be cases somewhere in the system, but the good news is all three figures will re-ship on OTC cardbacks. Although, if you absolutely have to have them on the Saga card, you may want to consider looking for them on-line just to be sure you get them. Good luck!

Until next time...


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