Questions for November 11, 2005
Q&A Archive

1
I was curious to find out what has happened to the mini LEGO line. Also, I noticed a mini Rebel Blockade Runner that was included if one purchased the over 3000 piece Star Destroyer. Will they ever release that separately? -Tom

The LEGO mini line seems to have been phased out, the last few offerings have essentially been freebies given out at shows and with qualifying purchases. Judging by the number of sets that always seemed to make it to clearance, it looks like it was neat idea that just never really caught on. The last we heard from LEGO on these was that you never know when they'll pop up, but I don't necessarily see waves of these coming back to retail anytime soon. There's been no word on an individual release of the Blockade Runner, but I hesitate to think that it would never be done.


2
Regarding the ROTS Deluxe Clone Troopers (Build Your Army), what's your opinion of the "blue" crawling trooper? I think it's a stretch to even call it a "blue" trooper, because the only "blue" consists of a few nearly invisible, tiny blue "hash marks" painted on. The red and green troopers are nicely painted and "obvious," so what do you think happened with the blue version? -Lord Edzo, Imperious Leader

I'm pretty sure I saw images of that particular deco somewhere among all the Episode III hype, probably in one of the sticker books… Assuming I did, it just turned out to be one of the many clone production designs that never made it into the movie, but worked for Hasbro's purposes. While it's definitely not a design that jumps off the package at you, it is nice to be able to make the correlation between the toy and the artwork.

Generally speaking it's a shame Hasbro didn't make the most of these sets and offer up all three figures in the various designs. Had the other two figures in the pack also sported the blue marks, it probably would have come off as a more viable choice. Alone, in that lying position, the figure is somewhat of an albatross.


3
I have a few questions that maybe you could answer.

1. Will the clone trooper in the new Saga series be an Ep. III version? If it is what are the chances it will be an Utapaun colour scheme, on the same line do you know if it will be issued with a removable helmet (a basic trooper and a sergeant lid would be sweet)?

2. Are there any chances that Commander Cody will have a removable helmet and or a handheld holographic Palpatine?


3. Is Obi-Wan (red leader) SA figure all that was left of the Evolutions line? It sure seems like an afterthought and not as spend thrift as Hasbro usually is, could this be all that's left of planned future sets (there isn't (unfortunately) much of an evolution for Obi it seems, grows a beard and gets old!) -Jak

1. According to the images we posted yesterday, courtesy of Entertainment Earth, the Clone will in fact be of the Episode III Utapaun variety. Not sure exactly how he ended up in the Episode II based Battle of Geonosis wave (might this be an error…?), but at least we know what he is. The figure appears to be based on the Super-A Clone, so I wouldn't count on a removable or alternate helmet.

2. I think there a very good chance Cody will come with a removable helmet, but I'm more than a little afraid Hasbro might consider the holographic bonus figure as reason enough not to include a mini-hologram of Palpatine. Hopefully my fears are misplaced and Hasbro will come through with a mini-Palpatine for Cody, as well as a mini-Vader for Veers.

3. As nicely articulated as the Obi-Wan Red Leader figure is, I tend not to think of it as Evolutions material. If it had come in the Evolutions set, I would have expected it to have a soft goods cloak, which it doesn't. As it is there's not much to the figure (as far as accessories), I think in this case it's exactly as Hasbro planned it, just a basic carded figure with added points of articulation. As for the 'evolution' of Obi-Wan, taking into account that we have the VOTC Kenobi from last year, I'd be happy with a set that just focuses on the Prequel character. We'll see…


4
Any word yet whether or not Revenge of the Sith will be released in IMAX? If so, have any dates been set? -Tony

As far as I know there are no plans to put Sith into IMAX theaters. If I've missed something and anyone out there has additional information, please send it on in, a few other fans have asked the same question.


5
Just wondering, what kind of articulation will we be seeing in the upcoming Saga Collection? Looking at the picture of the carded Han Solo, I noticed very few visible points of articulation. For all I know I could have just over looked it, but I was hoping you could tell me what you see. I am really keeping my hopes up that Hasbro will not slack off and give us more Kenner-style posability. And by the way, is that a repack of the OTC Boba Fett? If anything I would hope that we could see a repack of the 300th Edition Boba, which I never got a chance to get my hands on. -John W

Based on the images we've seen so far I don't see Hasbro adding a lot of articulation next year. There appears to be a few cut joints here and there, but not the type of articulation we may have hoped for. Without a movie to support the line in the foreseeable future, Hasbro is more likely to shift into a mode that maximizes their margin on each piece. Unfortunately, the added cost of higher articulation doesn't appear to fit in their plans.

As for Fett, looks like he's a slightly retooled version of the Pit of Carkoon figure from 2002 (which was also re-released in the OTC line). The 300th figure Fett has been re-released a couple times already (Ultimate Bounty multi-pack and Target's Slave 1), I imagine Hasbro will eventually put this figure back into the mix again, but there's been no word as of yet.


6
I was just wondering when we can expect to see the target exclusive Utapau shadow trooper, infant Luke and Leia, and the unleashed battle packs? I was also wondering have anything about if and when we'll be seeing all six movies in one collection? Is there a release date for the new saga figures or do I have to start stopping at Wal-Mart every day beginning Jan 1st, 2006? -George in FL

The Shadow Trooper is sneaking its way out now. Most collectors are using the DPCI (087-06-0516) to get them from the stockroom, but a few (including myself) have been fortunate enough to actually find them on the shelf. Supposedly the figure isn't supposed to be placed until November 20th, but as I've said before, those dates are rarely written in stone. Be looking for the figure now, it could show up anywhere at anytime. The Separation of the Twins Obi-Wan and Bail Organa are also expected around the 20th, but could so up at anytime. I don't recall any store finds yet, but I'd certainly keep an eye out for them now. The Unleashed Battle Packs are an '06, we could see them as early as December, but until retail designates space for them in the aisles, they could end up sitting in the back room. A six movie set has been talked about, doesn't sound like there are any immediate plans, I'm guessing it would most likely be released in 2007 to coincide with Star Wars' 30th anniversary. As for the Saga Collection, there's no set date as there was with the Revenge of the Sith line. I expect we'll see limited distribution of wave 1 in December followed up with additional inventory in January. Best thing to do now is watch for store reports, and then hit the aisles.


7
I was really upset that I missed out on the 12' Plo Koon…it was some Disney exclusive or something. Please tell me they are going to re-release it…it's the only 12" figure I am missing

Considering the fact that Hasbro has discontinued their 12" line, and Sideshow has taken over, I don't think we'll see the Hasbro 12" Plo Koon re-released anytime soon. There's a very good chance Sideshow will make a Plo Koon figure, but if what you're looking for is the Hasbro version, eBay is just about your only hope.


8
I'm sure you just can't get too many of the "Why doesn't Hasbro make...?" questions so I thought I'd give you another! ;) Does Hasbro have any plans to give us a good Vader/Anakin figure with the yellow eyes and hood like in the trailer shot? The figure that is out with a cloak (and burned Anakin) just has a hood that fits around the head and doesn't look good. Heck even the larger Kotobukiya Anakin figure has a dumpy looking hood. -Jason

and…

Just thought I'd give this a try. I know you get are continuously being asked about what's coming out and when so I thought I would give it a try. Do you know if the Anakin Skywalker from the 2006 line will be the one where he is leading the 501st legion into the Jedi Temple? (technically Vader, I mean with the hood on his cloak up). You'd think given how iconic that scene is they would have made an accurate version of it by now. -Tim

Based on the information available to us, it does not look like Hasbro has any plans for a Jedi Temple Raid/Mustafar Massacre 'Darth Vader' figure with hood up. It certainly stands out as a figure that deserves to be included in the line, but at this point there's no telling if or when Hasbro will get around to it.


9
I have noticed that trying to obtain the last five basic figures (#64-#68) in the ROTS line is quite difficult. Do you know if Hasbro plans on releasing more of this wave after the DVD hits, or before Christmas in order to make these figures a bit easier to find?

It looks like Hasbro is shipping out multiple revisions of the Wave 7 assortments. While the mix varies from case to case, it appears for now these five will continue to be included. This morning at Target I found plenty of 501st Troopers, Wookiees, Jedi Holograms, and R4s, I imagine they will keep popping up as retail gets ready for the Holiday rush. Hang in there; with any luck you should be able to track these figures before too long.

10
On the back of Hoth Battle Pack there is a vintage AT-AT Commander pictured (along with the vintage Bespin gun he came with). What up with that? -Joel

Funny you should ask; Rebelscum reader John Schmelzle just got an official reply from Hasbro about this very thing. According to Hasbro:

"The actual production figure was tied up elsewhere when we were creating the back-panel photo scene, so we took the opportunity to create the next best thing....vintage!"

It's not the first time something like this has happened, but it sure did raise a number of eyebrows when it was discovered. Thanks to Veronica at Hasbro and John for passing along the info!

11
So what is it that you do? How do you have all this wonderful Star Wars wisdom, and are willing to share it with us? -Matthew M

Well, to make a long story short I'm in manufacturing, cast iron sinks, CECO is the brand - ask for it next time you build a house or remodel your kitchen or bath… [jedi mind trick]You will buy CECO sinks[/jedi mind trick] But enough with the shameless plug.

Over the years I've been fortunate enough to make a few friends at Hasbro, and talk with them about their business and how they do things. It was interesting to find out that while they may be two very different product lines, many of the basic issues Hasbro deals with are very similar to the same issues I deal with in my business. As they say "a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing" and between that, speaking with the Star Wars team at shows, and following the toy industry, it's easy to figure out what's going on and potentially why. I'm by no means a toy expert, nor do I have 'inside connections' to Hasbro's every move, but I do enjoy toys (particularly Star Wars) and try to follow what's going on the best I can. I've also been fortunate enough to make friends with others in the industry, and to have been invited to work here on the site. A lot of the access I've had to Hasbro has been because of Philip, and I'm all too happy to spend the time sharing what I can with the folks that visit Rebelscum. One of the things I wanted to do when I got started in all of this was to help collectors gain a better understanding of the business end of the hobby. While it's not always the side we want to hear about, I hope in some small way I've been able to do that.


Until next time...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUSTIN & STEPH!

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