Questions for January 27, 2005
Q&A Archive

As promised, one more update before the week is up. Thanks to everyone that contributed to this edition, your questions are always appreciated so keep ‘em comin’. I’ve already got a start on the next update, so hopefully we’ll hook up again Monday morning. Until then, everyone have a great weekend!

On with the show:

1
Do you know if, when Star Wars episode 3 [is] going to come out on DVD? Is it going to be by itself, or is going to be in a 3 [disc] set with episodes 1 & 2? I would like to get another Episode 1. How long is episode 3 going to be?

The Episode III DVD release will likely fall within the same time frame as the Episode II DVD release; I’d expect November ’05. While a box set could be in the works, I’m a little suspicious of it considering Episodes I and II will be out again this March, prior to the release of Revenge of the Sith. If LFL had held back on re-releasing those DVDs, I think there would be a better chance for a Prequel Trilogy collection in the fall. All things considered, having the movies out in the Spring, Episode III on screen in May, and then out on DVD in the Fall, releasing a box set sounds like overkill… Then again, we are talking about the last big SW year so I guess anything is possible. Rest assured, a box set will be released some day, it’s only a matter of time.


2
I have never found the "Return of the Jedi", Princess Leia in Slave outfit cup and figure set in a store. I don't think I've even seen this one on eBay or at an on-line retailer. Was this set shipped to retail stores? Was it produced in the same numbers as the other four sets? Why can't it be found? Will they complete the set with a "Revenge of the Sith" set? Any help will be appreciated. -Michael

Well, not sure what it looks like in your neighborhood at this point, but all of my local Target stores have the Leia sets on clearance, and they have plenty of them. From what I understand the sets didn’t move as well as Target/Hasbro had hoped, which resulted in an inventory back up. It took quite a bit of time for the second and third waves to hit, and once they did distribution was spotty at best. Now it seems Target has opened the floodgate for their clearance sale and these are everywhere. As for a follow up, don’t hold your breath. Three additional sets were planned (Han Solo, Boba Fett, and Yoda), which at least saw a partial production run. Sets are now available from Amazon Japan, but there are no plans to release them at retail. Can we expect a Revenge of the Sith set? At this point it doesn’t look good. Where I could see Hasbro convincing Target this might work for them, I’m sure Target must be pretty sour on the whole idea by now. Had it been an exclusive Target ‘Sneak Peak,’ it would have been a slam-dunk, but we’re well past that being a possibility. Hope that helps.


3
In terms of the requests from fans that Hasbro make action figures from Knights of the Old Republic, and the general opinion being that they won’t, what do you think of the chances of getting Hasbro to instead add the Ebon Hawk to their ‘Titanium Series’ Die-cast Micro Machines line? -Adam

Were Galoob still in business and running the line, I’d say there would at least be a ‘chance’; with Hasbro at the helm, no way. For pretty much the same reasons, there’s just not enough recognition for the EU to justify making toys at this point. And to be fair, I had a number of conversations/emails with the guys at Galoob near the end and they pretty much had come to the same realization. Of course I was pushing for versions of the Outrider (Action Fleet), Moldy Crow, the bounty hunter ships, they all received pretty much the same response; not enough interest. So has anything really changed between now and then, not really but at least Galoob made more of an effort with the EU.


4
I know all reports released say that Hasbro will be concentrating on ROTS this year. Does that mean we won't see anything from the Original Trilogy? Do you think maybe we will see a few like we did with the AOTC/Saga wave? Throne Room Duel Vader and Luke come to mind. -SEAN

So far everything looks awfully one-sided, but I doubt we’ve seen everything there is to see for the year. I imagine we’ll see Trilogy, and Episode I and II toys worked back into the line before the year is up, we’ll just have to wait and see.


5
What's the deal with the Attacktix? Are they replacing Wizards of the Coast's Star War’s miniatures? Are they going to be compatible? Does Poppa Lucas just want to bleed us a little more? -DDDR

From what we’ve seen Attacktix appears to be a miniature “battle” game, while the WOTC SW Miniatures is a strategy game. What’s the difference? Not much I guess but Attacktix clearly have firing projectiles and spring-loaded limbs to knock opponents over with. It’s all very early right now and there haven’t been many details, but I assume the differences between the two will be obvious in time. After all, Hasbro owns Wizards, I can’t see them being foolish enough to produce the same game twice – there has to be more to it…


6
Quick question: How many clone troopers are in the Clone Wars Animated line and what colors are they? -Steve

Quick answer: Four; white (wave 2), blue, red, and yellow (all from wave 3). (Five, if you count the red ARC Trooper)


7
I know in the past there have been questions raised about bringing out the Death Star playset again, but because of the size and limited shelf space at stores it was unlikely we would ever see it. My question is would it be possible to bring it out in sections? There could be a trash compactor section, tractor beam shut-off section, etc.... If released with exclusive figures, this could be a popular sell and would resolve the issue of space. What do you think?

An excellent idea, but not one that Hasbro hasn’t heard before. I made a case for this back in the days of Andy, and the concern at that time was what happens if someone misses a set and they can’t complete their Death Star? Realistically, between on-line shops, and eBay it’s hard to imagine someone not being able to find the portion they missed at retail, but on the other side it’s got to be a logistical nightmare to try and coordinate a multi tear set like this and not have something go wrong. The last thing Hasbro would want to do is disappoint their fans (especially over something like this), and I guess there’s just to much of a chance that something could go wrong. Rather than risk that, they’d just as soon pass on the whole thing. Who knows, I still think there’s a chance this could be done, but I also feel time is starting to run out.


8
I was wondering if Han Solo will make an appearance in Episode 3? -Tim

So far there’s no indication Solo will appear in Revenge of the Sith and honestly I can’t see GL undercutting Solo’s Cantina introduction for a cameo in Episode III. It’s been said by others and I have to agree; something like that (as cool as it might be for some fans) just shrinks the entire Star Wars universe down to a city block. Not that the Expanded Universe hasn’t already done that, but at least we can choose to ignore the EU…


9
My son recently received one of those cool interactive R2D2s. Do you have the commands for the hidden eggs? If so can you send them to me? -TG

I don’t have the commands handy, but the Official R2-D2 Droid Factory Web Site has them listed with express instructions on how to use them. Hope that helps!

10
Are the Ewoks movies and Ewoks+Droids cartoons released in the UK? I can't find any sign of them anywhere.

I was a little disappointed when I heard that Ep3 collection 1 would have battle features, and 'leg-squeezing' actions. On the other hand I'm VERY pleased to hear collection 2 will have figures that actually fit in their vehicles. But I have waited a long time for good versions of Anakin (All of the Ep2 were pretty poor), Mace, EP3 Obi-wan, a Palpatine with a lightsabre. As well as a collector, I like to give my collection some action & therefore love articulation but with action features, I'm concerned I won't get versions of these with articulation and that aren't like Luminari Unduli + Shaak Ti (Both appalling). But I've heard about all of my favourite Ep3 characters featuring in screen scenes, evolutions (how cool), and battle packs (WOW!). Do you think Hasbro will release these (or at least one of them) aimed at collectors so we get collection2-style figures for collection1 characters? Once again I think the evolutions and battle packs are a mind-blowing idea (even though evolutions may be repacks) and the plug-n-play lightsabre game!!! (Millions of fans will sit with their interactive Yoda's learning the ways of the force with their lightsabre!). If any reader doesn't know what these items are see rebelscum December 6th.

I am a bit sick of having to buy multiple figures of a character to find a type I want (although I do like customising the others, its expensive!) and rebelscum CERTAINTLY makes it easier to pick the best, but I really think Hasbro should make it clear like the differences in collections 1+2, whether its a collectors figure or not. And I would REALLY like to know who's in those battle-packs before April 2nd. I want to be able to make an informed decision of which is the best version for me. This is also the case with General Grievous Sneak Preview. I'm gonna hold out for a later version (if I can) because I'm sure there will be a better version (especially in a screen scene with a certain Jedi!).

I think Hasbro make some stupid decisions-the great Pablo Jill figure is made awful by the fact he can't swing a lightsabre without it hitting him in the head! This would be solved, and he would be a GREAT figure if only they had made one arm reach out a bit further!

Lastly, variation in the figures is good, but I like my Jedi right handed - it's so much easier.

Thanks! And sorry bout the length, just so much2say!

From what I understand, if the UK is included in Zone 2, April 23rd is the release date for those titles, as well as the Clone Wars DVD.

As far as I know, the complete break down for Collection 1 and Collection 2 has not been confirmed nor made public. While I’d like to think Hasbro would cross a few of the main characters over and make a highly articulated Anakin, Obi-Wan, Mace, or Palpatine available without action features, it’s not something they’ve been in the habit of doing. Looking at the list that was posted the other day, I see a few different versions of these characters, but for now I have to assume they’re all in Collection 1, include action features, and probably source from different parts of the movie. We may know more after Toy Fair next month so stay tuned.

Multi-pack or screen scene type figures tend not to favor high articulation, and more often than not lean to the side of action poses. Still, we don’t know the make up of these upcoming sets so anything is possible. I’m not holding out much hope that these sets will yield the type of figure you’ve described, but it could very well happen. We’ll just have to wait and see…

It is a bit frustrating to watch Hasbro continually produce certain figures and never quite get them to the point where everyone is satisfied (not that you could satisfy everyone, but…). It seems at times they start heading in the right direction, only to end up just missing the mark. While on the one hand you wonder why they can’t just get it right the first time, on the other hand I guess it’s fair to wonder how we should expect them to follow up the perfect figure. Looking at the VOTC Han Solo, I have to question how Hasbro ever plans to top this version. As far as I’m concerned, they could never make another “new” ANH Han again and I’d be perfectly happy. In a round about way the build up to that perfect figure is half the fun, after that there’s really no point in going on. It can be disappointing with one shot characters like Pablo Jill, even with multi-shot characters like Plo Koon (I’m still waiting for a decent Plo Koon), but I guess as long as they’re making Star Wars figures there’s the chance that they’ll figure it all out and that perfect version will come along. Until that time I guess the best advice is to just buy what you like, and leave the rest behind.

Well, not everyone is right handed… ;)


Until next time...


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