Questions for December 12, 2005
Q&A Archive

1
I kind of like the idea of the bonus hologram figures packed with the Saga figures but I am disappointed to see that you will be able to see which figure it is. The problem I foresee is that card back collectors will be buying multiples of the same figure. I am an opener and worry that those inevitable hard to find figures will be bought out faster because of all the different combinations. The other problem I see is the returning of opened packs where the hologram has been swapped out. Did Hasbro think about this before they planned these? -Dave

I kinda hate to say it, but I don’t know what the @#$% Hasbro was thinking when they came up with this brilliant idea… It may seem silly to most, but the random pack nature of these holograms could certainly lead to all the problems you mentioned. I don’t necessarily see a huge issue with returns (I’m sure there will be some - which is bad enough), but all it will take are a couple ‘completists’ in your neighborhood and finding these figures could become a bigger chore than usual. As if that weren’t bad enough, there’s a real good chance scalpers will zero in on this and do whatever they can to exploit the issue on eBay. Let’s face it; there are no less than six variations per figure, not to mention there could be other ‘variations,’ and the chance that some lightside/darkside holograms could end up with the wrong figures… A nice little perk for the bean counters at Hasbro, but there’s certainly the potential for a huge mess for collectors. At this point though we’ll just have to see how it all plays out. Hopefully the majority of collectors out there will use common sense when buying, but as the saying goes… “I have a very bad feeling about this.”


2
I noticed that Rebelscum recently posted some image for the World Character Convention VCD Stormtrooper. It listed 500 for sell at the convention and 1505 will be [for] sale at Medicom's official website. My question is what is the official website of Medicom so I can order one when it comes out, and how much does this Stormtrooper cost. Also when is this World Character Convention in Japan taking place? –randy (Greenville, NC)

Well, I haven’t found an English translated site, but here’s the Medicom page fore the VCD Stormtrooper. Unfortunately you’ll note near the bottom of the page that no orders outside of Japan will be honored… Not to worry too much though, as a rule these figures generally turn up at shows like Comic Con and on eBay for those that are interested. I picked up my Boba Fett a couple years ago in San Diego, and I’ve seen the Darth Vader as well. As far as cost on the Super-D Trooper, looks like it’s going for 6,090 Yen, but there’s no telling what that will translate to in the second market. Finally, the World Character Convention was today (December 12, 2005) in Japan.


3
I have been looking for the Separation of the Twins figures at every Wal*Mart in the NY metro area, I have even had the opportunity to look in, GA, CO and CA in the past month and have found nothing? So what up with that? Some Wal-mart employees told me they knew nothing of them, and others have said they haven’t seen them yet? I don’t want to spend $30 on line for a $5.00 figure! I have the felling they are being sold out the back door what’s your take on this. -Frank

For the most part these figures have only just hit the shelves. I think the first report we had showed up the Friday after Thanksgiving, and I know in my area they only just showed up the week before last. Clearly Wal*Mart has done a poor job with their exclusives this year; not that I’d expect the average employee to know what they’re supposed to have, but at least get fair and even distribution out to each store. What we’re hearing now is that bunch of people weren’t able to find the Clone Wars DVD sets, that just seems ridiculous. Are they being sold out the back door? Sure, there’s always the chance of that, but if they are there’s little or no way of stopping it.


4
I thought somebody (Best Buy or someone) offered a case as a tie in to the Episode III release. Is there an official case out there? I remember gettin the Return of the Jedi soundtrack at Musicland and getting a case that held all three soundtracks. -Spencer (Sparta, Ky)

Doesn’t sound familiar to me… A case was offered in Australia I think, the UK too maybe), but I don’t remember hearing that one was available in the U.S. As far as I know Best Buy had the Darth Vader lithograph and the Vader Unleashed figure, that’s it.


5
The poll that Sideshow did for Star Wars Expanded Universe Characters, why was Padmé included? Is she really an EU figure? Nothing against Padmé, but I think Mara Jade should of won. -Jamie (Parker, CO)

Technically the Expanded Universe encompasses anything outside of the movies, so yes; snow bunny Padmé would be considered EU. Why she made the survey should be fairly obvious, fans and collectors have made no secret of the fact that they’d like to have her in their collections – Sideshow’s just gave us the opportunity to get what we all wanted. The nice thing is Sideshow made it quite clear that other figures from that poll are still possible for future release; they just won’t have the honor of being first.


6
I was admiring my new series 4 Bust-Ups with the rest of my BU collection earlier this evening, and while I don't have many bust-ups at all, they all seem to have recurring poses. Really, Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Boba Fett? All have the same arm extended. Obi-Wan, Grievous, and Anakin, all have that same saber over the shoulder look. Do you think this was a conscious move on GG's part or just something that happened as things moved along? Just something silly I thought about earlier is all; curious as to what you thought about it yourself, if anything at all. -John

Interesting, but I doubt there’s a conscious effort behind the poses. While some are rather dynamic, others are straight off the screen. I don’t know, considering the nature of these abbreviated action figures, I guess there’s only so many poses that look interesting.


7
I live in Canada Quebec and I am unable to get hand on figure[s] +56. Even the special collector shop seem they can’t get it. I try to get 57 Bly, 59 Gree, and 65 501th and I cant. [Is] it because these are not sold to Canada? Someone in a shop tell me it because big surface, Zeller, Wall*Mart etc have buy everything, but for now I don’t see anything. -Pascal B.

Yeah, apparently that is the case. According to our sources these figures aren’t even being brought into Canada at this time, and it’s beginning to look like they won’t at all. I wish I had better news for you, I know a number of Canadian fans that are not happy about this turn of events, but it seems there’s very little that can be done.


8
A few months ago, there was talk of a "reissue" of the original trilogy DVDs without the extras disc. If I remember correctly, it had original poster art on the box. I was wondering if these will still be released.... or was it all a dream? Also, will the price be lower without the extras? -Adam W. (Danville, KY)

Hopefully you saw it by now; this set was released last Tuesday along with the Clone Wars Volume II DVD. I don’t recall a price difference off the top of my head, but the new collection is selling for roughly $35 at most large chains and on-line, about $10 to $15 less than what the 4-disk set is going for.


9
Kubricks; so far the first 5 waves and exclusives have all came from the Original Trilogy. Do you think Medicom only has the license for the OT or are they strategically releasing these first, covering the core characters before moving on to the prequels? I wish Hasbro could strike a deal with Medicom to release these in the States as current import / eBay prices can be outrageous although I know this will never happen. -Mark

I would think that any deal Medicom has must include any and all Prequel characters, but I guess it wouldn’t necessarily have to be that way. So far the company seems content to cover just the OT characters, which I suppose is the safest bet. Hopefully somewhere down the road they will start to include Prequel items, but if one thing is perfectly clear, Medicom/TOMY is content to run a steady race. At the rate of two or three waves per year, and a smattering of exclusives, they are clearly into this line for the long haul. As for Hasbro striking a deal to import these, they have tried, it just doesn’t seem to fit LFL’s marketing plan…

10
I like my Separation of the Twins exclusives, but I'm wondering why Hasbro didn't go the distance. Granted, the III-15 Bail Organa was a peg warmer, so repackaging the surplus into these exclusives was a good move by Hasbro. On the other hand, the III-55 Obi-Wan Kenobi was very popular with fans, so repackaging it was another smart idea. But Hasbro didn't take the extra steps that these exclusives demanded. Right there on the bubble pack with Bail Organa is Queen Breha, but there's no figure of her. Similarly, Beru Lars is on the bubble pack with Obi-Wan, but there's no figure of her. Hasbro completely missed a golden opportunity to do these exclusives right for the holidays. Can the expense to create two new molds be that prohibitive? -Lord Edzo, Imperious Leader

Repackaging the peg warmers would have been a good idea (if for nothing else than to get both of these figures off the shelves), but I’m afraid the Bail Organa and Obi-Wan figures in these sets are newly produced. Collecting the figures and shipping them back to Hong Kong is actually very cost prohibitive, not something Hasbro would probably ever do. As for why they didn’t go the distance and sculpt two new figures, Breha and Beru, again it all comes down to cost. Without a movie or movies to carry it along, the driving force for the Hasbro line from now on will be profitability. If it remains profitable the line will continue, if not… we all know what will happen. Where Hasbro can get away with using existing tools and molds they will take whatever advantage they can. In this situation they had a chance to re-market existing figures in a 'desirable' way. The mold used for the infant figure was rather simple and most likely inexpensive, giving the finished piece a boost in margin. Golden opportunity aside, we’re just going to have to get used to this train of thought and not expect new figures, least of all exclusives, when they seem to make sense to us.


Until next time...


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