Questions for October 25, 2004
Q&A Archive

It's been far too long since the last update; work, family, and the Archives have all taken their toll (as they should), but it's high time to get the QM back on track. Thanks to all that have continued to submit questions, you've given me plenty to get caught up on...

On with the show:

1
You know, the new Episode III package is nifty looking and whatnot, but has anyone considered whether or not these things will even fit in a star case? It looks like it might be able to, but if they don't, the new packaging is going to be a major disappointment/pain in the posterior.

Somehow I don't think Hasbro allows for that when they design their packaging, usually it works the other way around. We don't know for sure if the new package will fit into an existing Star Case, or if a new case is being designed to accommodate the ROTS figures. At this point I would be shocked if Hasbro were exchanging information about the card with anyone, the design of a new case would likely have to wait until after the toys were released.


2
I always hear about vehicles like the AT-TE and Sith Infiltrator being "too Expensive" to produce. What factors go into determining what makes a piece too expensive? I think a Sith Infiltrator would be much less expensive to produce than the OTC Falcon or the Naboo Royal Starship. Any chance the AT-TE will show up for the ROTS collection? Plus when is the K-Mart cantina set supposed to hit stores?

There are basically two major issues when it comes to large vehicles; tooling cost and retail shelf space. While the actual production cost might not be that different between the OTC Falcon and a new Sith Infiltrator (in fact probably less), creating the tools for such a ship (compared to using the Falcon's existing tools) would be much more costly. The average dollar figure escapes me, but creating new tools for a toy is extremely expensive, and if the odds of seeing a return on that investment don't look good, it's very hard for a company like Hasbro to justify going forward. At this point it's been five years since the Infiltrator was last seen on screen; the farther away we get, the less chance it has of being made. The best year to make large ships like that is the actual movie year, or the year immediately following; once we're this far out it just doesn't make any sense. As for the AT-TE, we'll have to see what role it plays in Episode III. If the vehicle is in Revenge of the Sith it's possible we 'could' see it released; if not I'm guessing we won't. Again, were too far removed from Attack of the Clones at this point for Hasbro to produce a large item like the AT-TE.

Even if Hasbro wanted to release these toys, there's one big hurdle that has to be overcome, retail shelf space. Typically retail is leery of putting large toys on the shelf. From their point of view, one big toy takes the place of two or three smaller toys - thus one or two other items they 'could be' selling. The new Star Wars line has a history of putting large toys out there that don't move as quickly as many would like. Considering the value retail puts on its in-store real estate, large toys are a hard sell without something substantial (like a movie) to support them.

The first K-Mart Cantina set hit stores about a month and a half ago. The second set, featuring the blue snaggletooth, Ponda Baba, and Old Ben should surface within the next few weeks. The set has already been released in the orient, as things usually go; I'm sure it's on its way to the US as we speak.


3
Where on the Rebelscum site can I find the Invasion of Theed Role Playing game that includes the figure Rorworr? I just bought it new (still shrink wrapped) and would like a little more info about it. -Steve

Depending on what kind of information you're looking for, we have an archive page for the game and figure under exclusives in the Power of the Jedi section of our Photo Archive. You'll find the info and images under Rorworr (Wookiee Scout). For more details about the game itself, you'll probably find more information in the Star Wars section of the Wizards of the Coast website.


4
And thank God the new "Vintage" is limited to only 12! I've had BAD luck with the em so far. It seems as though everyone thinks these are the greatest toys since...Star Wars. But they seem to be so far out of scale to the rest. Luke is downright puny, not that the He-man version from '97 did him justice, but Vintage Luke is short! I thought Leia was awesome, again getting very short (which she was), but then her leg snapped off on the first day of playing with her. I'm an adult, but I know when I was 9 in 1977 I would've been very upset with this happening. Now, I'm just pissed I spent $10 and it broke and I have to spend another $10 to get a replacement! Ben...well what can I say...I love Ben, but damn he got skinny. That Atkins diet made him suffer. I love the new Spirit Kenobi, even thought they reused that same Kenobi again (he's #2 to Han's cantina version) - but it worked. Turned a plain jane figure into an awesome display piece...besides I like this Spirit Kenobi much better than the blue Hothy one we got way back twice! But of the Vintage crew (only four I have, mmm...) Han is the prize! I agree with all - this Han is the man. I hope Lando is half the man Han is and we'll be set. Let's also hope that a $10 Stormtrooper rules the galaxy and doesn't make us fearful of what's to come. -Sam

It sure looks like Hasbro went the extra mile to make these figures as accurate as they could, remember Luke was a little on the short side. One of the things about making a toy as humanly accurate as these appear to be is that you loose a lot of control over the mechanics of a figure. Because of her petite proportions, the joints on the Leia figure had to be scaled down as well. Unfortunately this probably contributed to the breakage problem you encountered. I would hope you could take the toy back for a refund, or ship it off to Hasbro for a replacement, but I certainly understand the frustration and disappointment of having that happen on the first day. As for skinny Old Ben, I've noticed many times when Hasbro includes soft goods, like the cloak, they have a tendency to 'thin' the figure out. I think the result they're going for is greater range of movement with the cloak on, and an attempt to mitigate the bulkiness of cloth accessories. I'd say it comes off reasonably well, but Old Ben does look down right gangly without his cloak. Yes, Hasbro did a nice job adding color to the Spirit Ben while maintaining translucence. As good a job they did in fact, I have no problem re-using existing mold to pull off other figures like Darth Maul, Darth Sidious, Nute Gunray, Sio Bibble, or a couple Imperial Officers (as seen in Empire). Let's hope between the opportunity for new basic figures, or the TRU multi-packs, Hasbro finds a way to make some of these a reality. I haven't had a chance to crack Lando open yet, but I imagine it will be hard to top Vintage Han, that figure is just way too cool. As cool as it is though, I have high hopes the vintage Stormtrooper will rank right up there, not to mention Boba Fett.


5
When I got home from college this summer I noticed that three of my carded POTF2 figures (Garindan, Stormtrooper COMMtech and Jawa COMMtech) were obviously discolored (i.e., the bubble was tinted and brown). What's weird is that the other figures surrounding them are perfectly fine, so it isn't due to the sunlight. Nobody in my house smokes, and I am certain I bought these figures retail. Any idea why this would happen? Is there something specific to these figures? -Dan

As far as I know there is nothing specific to those three figures, but this is something that many collectors have noticed happening with their toys. Without knowing specifics, it's likely those figures were exposed to conditions in transit that sped up the deterioration of the bubble (most likely heat), or the bubble themselves were produced of a lesser grade/contaminated run from the factory. While it's disappointing to see on toys that are still relatively new, it doesn't sound to me like anything you've done has contributed to the problem. In fact many collectors have noticed this happening to figures that had been packed away since '95-'96. So far it's been totally random, and appears to be nothing more than a bad batch of bubbles.


6
I was wondering if you could give me the complete list of the Ewok figures from the Ewok TV series. Also I was at I flee market the other day and saw an Ewok from the TV series, it was twenty dollars but I don't remember the name. Do you think I should go ahead and buy it. -Chris Bergquist

From the Ewok animated series, the following figures were released: Dulok Scout, Dulok Shaman, King Garneesh, Logray, Ugrah Lady Garneesh, and Wicket W. Warrick. While other Animated Ewok figures were planned, and a few samples of each do exist, these are the only figures officially released in that line. From what I've been able to dig up on eBay, $20 is about average for a carded figure, I would expect to pay less for a loose figure. However, depending on your interest in the line or the particular character, $20 may sound right.


7
I am concerned about the availability of the 12" VOTC line for figures. I work at a Target Distribution Center and was able to get my supervisor to look them up for me. Back in February you had posted the DCPI's. They are shipping one case to a store. I am wondering how limited these figures are going to be. Is our Target only going to get one shipment of these? I have not seen these at Wal-Mart yet at all. I would at least like to actually see these in person.

There was a fair amount of concern about these, and the 3¾" Vintage figures, prior to their release but at this point a lot of that concern has subsided. With the exception of the blue Boba Fett, the 12" figures have been well stocked at most Target stores I've visited. Fett and the Stormtrooper usually sell out within a couple days, but I have seen stores restock about three to four times now. I'm not sure what is going on with Wal-Mart; I've yet to see the 12" stocked yet. It may just be my area, but I get the feeling they've passed on these figures completely - no surprise. If you are still having trouble locating the 12", be sure to check Toys 'R' Us and K-Mart. I noticed both have been stocking these as well. Happy Hunting!


8
I have an identity problem. You see this R2 of mine, I'm not really sure where he's from. I haven't noticed many vintage R2's with the third leg. He has the scope that the scope sensor R2 has but it doesn't retract into his dome, either that or it does go in and I haven't wanted to push on it too hard for fear I may brake it off. It does however spin around. Also the legs seem to be immobile as is his dome. There are no markings, copyrights, etc. Now I should tell you that this particular droid did come from a friend of mine who liked to tinker with things and so he may have "fixed" him up a bit. Can you help me identify where this Droid comes from please? -Ryan Q


The only vintage 3¾" scale R2 that came with a third leg was the one that came with the Jawa Droid Factory Playset. It definitely looks to me like your friend tinkered with this figure. As for the dome and the legs being immobile, there's a good chance they're glued in place. Without seeing it first hand, my guess is that this is the Droid Factory R2 with an added Sensor Scope Dome. I did something very similar to this with my vintage R2's, though I went the other direction and modified the third leg from the Jawa set to fit the standard figures. Despite the obvious ware, it certainly is a nice conversation piece for any collection, but most definitely this is a custom job.


9
I've seen people posting auctions on ebay for "error" Saga cards that have J'Quille's picture over Tanus Spijek's name on the back. I checked a couple of mine and sure enough they do have that error while some do not. Do you know exactly what figures were affected by this and secondly, does Hasbro intend on fixing it?

Unfortunately I don't know exactly which figures were affected by this error, nor have I gotten any indication from Hasbro that they plan to fix it. Considering the limited window of availability before the switch to OTC, I'm guessing there will be no correction. If anyone has more specific information on which figures this error was found, please send it on in.

10
Just got the new Original Trilogy figures. The packaging is AWESOME! The sculpts of the Bespin wave is outstanding. Hasbro has really outdone themselves this time. Only one minor complaint though. What is up with the scale of the figures? Bespin Leia is as short as an Ewok. Like the previous Bespin Escape Leia, this figure is a dwarf compared to the others. I know Carrie Fisher is not as tall as her Star Wars co-stars but even in Under The Rainbow she wasn't as short as her dwarf-size co-stars either. Size her up next to the giant Nordic Hoth Rebel Trooper who suffers from acute giantism and it begs the question of why can't Hasbro get their scale right?!?!? -Dave

Throughout the modern line Hasbro has been all over the place with scale. Originally the line was scaled to package, optimizing dollar value as it related to the amount of plastic per figure. During this period Leia was roughly the same size as all the other figures and Chewbacca was only slightly larger. When Power of the Jedi (POTJ) rolled around Hasbro switched gears and went to more of a true scale mode; Leia was much smaller (as she should be), and Chewbacca was huge (as he should be). Since then Hasbro has done a pretty good job keeping the figures in scale with each other with only a few minor exceptions. Looking at the Bespin Leia figure I don't get the feeling Hasbro has shortened her up any more than she should be, the problem now (with OTC) is that she's being released alongside some figures that date back before POTJ. While you do get figures from time to time like the '04 Hoth Rebel Trooper that make you wonder, for the most part Hasbro's scale is close enough for government work.


Until next time...


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