Questions for December 13, 2005
Q&A Archive

1
The new line of star wars figures next year are they all coming with a stand that has the name of the character on the front? Is there going to be a new line up in 12-inch dolls? I noticed the cloud car pilot came out this year but what about the cloud car any chances there will be one?

Yes, the all the stands for 2006 will feature the figure’s name. There will be 12-inch figures/dolls, but they will be produced by Sideshow Collectibles; the Hasbro 12” line is no more. Still no definitive word on a possible Twin Pod Cloud Car re-release. We’ve heard any number of things about this vehicle; from the mold being lost, to it being on Hasbro’s short list… At this point I’m not inclined to believe any rumor; I’ll believe it when I see it.


2
I’m going to ask before I attempt so here it goes: Are any of the Clone officers' pauldrons removable? It appears that the Clone Trooper from Clone Evolutions 2 does have one that is removable, but what of the others? -dave

As far as I know all the pauldrons are removable, including Bacara’s and the AT-TE Tank Gunner’s. In all cases simply remove the head or helmet and the shoulder gear slides right off.


3
I focused all my collecting energy on the Target Utapau Shadow Trooper. I've watched occasionally for the SWS.com site to have more Covert troopers but to no avail. Likewise the site responds that the item is sold out. Am I stuck to getting this on the secondary market now? -Alan

Yes, at this stage it certainly looks like secondary market is your only hope. Best of luck to you.


4
I believe Gentle Giant has already announced that there will be a variant in "Bust-ups" wave 5. Some where I thought I saw a picture of the Vader figure where the "ice" was molded or perhaps painted in orange to resemble...Yes you guessed it "Vader in Flames" . (This would match the cast and crew patch for the Empire Strikes Back.) Any Idea if Gentle giant is going to release the Clone troopers in various colors, Similar to the blue Toy Fair version? BTW...Know where I can obtain one of those elusive...Toy Fair Blue Clone troopers...other than e-bay? Keep up the great work... Peace out, -MonkeyBoy.

Yeah, I forget where we saw that first (flaming Vader), but I remember at the time GGS could not confirm it as the variant. It most likely will end up as one, I guess we’ll know soon enough… I asked about the Episode II Clone set at Comic Con, they didn’t have any kind of timing down for that set/series, but I was told it would probably be out eventually. As for the Toy Fair 2004 Clone Trooper Lieutenant, the best and only place I can think of these days would be eBay. Other than that you may stumble across one at a collector show or convention.


5
Ok here it is will we ever see a sideshow 12-inch amnaman will he ever get made. i what to see him made bad also ev9d9 and also dose hasbro realy lisene to us . im just geting sike and tierd of luke, vader and so on. all so will hasbro ever card there dex amnaman 3/34 figure thats one i like to see on a nomal card and not that stupid dex card. thanks jason

The impression I get from Sideshow is that they will focus on ‘dressing’ their existing body-types, and that any non-human/humanoid figures they make will be few and far between. I would not expect them to produce Amanaman or EV9D9 12-inch figures as both would pretty much require them to start from scratch.

I think it’s fair to say that Hasbro listens, and does what they can to accommodate our desires, but is also very set on which figures need to be in the line year after year. Considering their role in the Saga, it’s kinda hard to imagine them not including a Luke, Vader, and so on each year. As for Hasbro carding their 3¾” Amanaman as a basic figure; there was discussion during development of the figure as to whether it was ‘deluxe’ enough for the $10 price tag. IN the end Hasbro added a couple extras to justify the price, but at this point I would think they could back those extras out and sell the figure at a lower price point… if they thought it would sell. Remember, there were A LOT of Amanamans on clearance at Toys ‘R’ Us for quite a long time (some can still be found today), given that, would it really make sense to release the figure again?


6
Now that we in the UK have pretty much had all the Revenge Of The Sith line that we're gonna get....*Here's hoping about the final 12*.....and the ROTS DVD has been released.....is there any word on the Holo Emperor, or should I just buy it off of an online retailer? -Ian Snow (Berkshire, UK)

I’m not sure what the current stocking situation is, but our very own Jeremy Beckett (Author, Webmaster, tour guide, and all around nice guy) posted this report on December 3rd placing the figure at Toys ‘R’ Us stores in the UK. According to Jer’s report the figure is also available at Toys ‘R’ Us.co.uk. Hopefully you’ve managed to find it by now, but if not, there you go. For the latest Star Wars news in the EU (not Expanded Universe) be sure to keep a close eye on Euro.Reblescum.com.


7
Just a quick question, why are all the stands for the figures the same? Seems like there should be 3 or 4 different interlocking stands to make something look complete. -Bill

From a manufacturing standpoint it’s just easier to deal with one style figure stand than 3 or 4 different ones. Hasbro also wanted to put the figure name on the stands for ’06, and show which movie the figure comes from. The type of stand they’ve gone with just makes doing that much easier. Though they looked kinda funky all lined up, I liked the fact that ROTS figure stands pretty much all connected. Not sure how they could have pulled that off with the Saga Collection, so many different figures from so many different environments, but I guess that’s one of the reasons for switching to a more generic stand as well.


8
I have a few questions.

1) I keep seeing clone blasters with either a brown or black end. Which one
is correct?

2) Is there any chance of you guys might start writing reviews for the
figures?

3) Are there any chances of some more EP2 Boba Fett Figures coming out,
maybe a remake of Boba Fett Kamino Escape from the SAGA line? -Geoffrey W.

I don’t have any of the Visual Dictionaries handy, but I believe the brown butt rifles are more movie accurate.

I had actually started writing reviews for some of the figures years ago, but as I got more into the Q&A and photography side of things there was little or no time to keep up with them. Now it’s sort of a question of how valuable a review actually is; can they make or break your decision to buy a toy or not, or are you just going to buy it anyway…? I think most collectors are going to buy the figure regardless of a review, making any write up somewhat superfluous. We kick the idea around every once in a while, but our main focus has been the Photo Archives. As they say “a picture is worth a thousand words,” if we do our job right in the archives I guess there’s just not that much left to say.

No word on any new Boba Fett figures, but I imagine Hasbro will eventually get around to re-releasing the 2002 Kamino Escape version at some point. As far as that figure is concerned though, I wouldn’t expect Hasbro to ever create an all new sculpt…


9
In [one of] the last QM, someone mentioned a hologram of Darth Vader and spirit Anakin. There is another...Nute Gunray...but would Hasbro want to make another Neimoidian? Also, the Sidious holo that came with the AOTC Count Dooku figure was never seen in the movie...or was he?

Also, when will they make a TK-421 figure? Everyone will buy it, and all Hasbro needs is an existing Stormtrooper mold. Just a thought. At least it's a Stormtrooper...I don't know about you, but I'm tired of all the clones.

Finally, when are the 3¾” Titanium figures being released? –Matt F.

A hologram figure of Nute Gunray was planned at one point, but never went into production. As the figure has become somewhat legendary, I think Hasbro could get away with it. If nothing else it would make for a nice pack-in with some Episode I themed Battle Pack. As for the Sidious mini hologram; story goes that that’s how Dooku originally conferred with the Dark Lord at the end of Episode II. The scene was apparently changed after the figure was finished and so we end up with a little bonus pack-in.

“TK-421, why aren’t you at your post?” Yeah, not a bad idea, as ideas go… Question is, do you want a pre-ambush TK-421, or a post ambush TK-421? A super articulated Luke “TK-421” Stormtrooper would be kinda cool; I guess we can always hope for the future.

The 3¾” Forged figures aren’t due until after the first of the year. I suppose they ‘could’ show up at anytime, but as far as Hasbro’s time table they are slated for a January/February release.

10
I read somewhere that Tarkin is shipping in the same assortment as the Separation of the Twins. I find it strange that an exclusive is pack in with basic figures. So, does this mean Tarkin is a Wal*Mart exclusive as well? –chad r.

No it does not. In fact I’ve seen more Tarkins at Target lately than I have at Wal*Mart. In putting the SotT figures into circulation Hasbro must have thought putting some of the more hard to find figures out there with them was a good idea. From what I understand the case is split, six SotT figures with six ROTS figures. I suppose that works out pretty good for fans as long as Wal*Mart stocks the selves regularly, but at the same time Hasbro is also shipping an assortment with those same ROTS figures to everyone else.


Until next time...


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