Questions for February 2, 2006
Q&A Archive

1
I came across your board while doing research on the Hasbro/Wal-Mart early bird figures not being delivered. I've yet to receive mine (it's now Jan 29th) and I have no idea who to contact or call. I'm a bit concerned and want to look into it. Any ideas, suggestions, information or tips would be greatly appreciated. -Geoff

Unfortunately Geoff there doesn’t seem to be any information on the early-bird package regarding who to call for such matters, at least not that I could find. At this point your best bet would be to contact Hasbro Customer Service (or call 800-327-8264 during normal business hours) and see what, if anything, they can tell you. Be sure to note when you sent your certificate in, as this may help them identify the ‘batch’ your order should have ended up in. Best of luck!


2
I have a few Titanium Series questions. I was lucky enough to get a gold Titanium Series x-wing at celebration 3. I didn't think much of it at the time but I have not seen one since. How rare are these? Also, I recently found a Titanium Series gunship painted in the cartoon clone wars scheme. Is this another treasure hunt vehicle like the white Tie Fighter? I also noticed a change in packaging for Titanium Series vehicles. The AT-AT I recently found is labeled Titanium Series Die Cast, the same as since the beginning of the line. The Imperial Shuttle is labeled Titanium Limited Die Cast. Is this a running change or does it mean something else? Finally, will Rebelscum update the photo archives with pictures of all the Titanium Series vehicles and figures? -Jason

The Gold X-wing was only available at Celebration III (so far…), and only given out to the first 250 people that signed up for Hasbro’s Action Figure Subscription Program, or took part in the Titanium line collector panel. As such, the number of gold X-wings in circulation ‘should be’ extremely limited. While there’s no telling how many Hasbro actually made up, or how many may have been given out on the sly, this should be one very rare piece.

Yes, the Clone Wars Gunship is a “treasure hunt” type vehicle, just like the white TIE Fighter.

Curious, my Clone Wars Gunship is labeled ‘Titanium Limited’ (with a foid decal) but everything else I have is labeled Titanium Series. I suppose it’s possible there was a mix up somewhere, somehow a few non-foil decals were printed up and made it onto some standard vehicles, but I haven’t heard anything that would indicate Hasbro has changed the name of the line.

We’re working now to get our Titanium section up and running, and hope to start adding entries to the Archives soon. Stay tuned!


3
I was wondering if you have heard anything about the full-scaled replica Yoda that Gentle Giants was showing at the San Diego Comic Con this past summer? This was the one that had a lightsabre and real clothing, putting the Pepsi Yoda to shame. I heard that if there were enough orders for it that it would be released in Feb. 2006. This is an amazing piece that I hope gets released. -Todd

No word yet, but a little bird tells me we may hear more about this piece at Toy Fair… Be sure to check our coverage, Dave and Dan will be sure to get all the latest scoop from Gentle Giant.


4
I have always collected the R2 figures, and each new remodeling seems to get that bit closer to perfection. The mould that was created for the VOTC R2-D2 was the most accurate version to date with correct proportions and detailing etc, however the removable third leg is a bit clumsy. Therefore I was pleased then when the Ep. III preview R4-G9 figure came out using the same mould but incorporating an integral third leg that could be retracted into the body. I was just hoping that it would be a matter of time before Hasbro released an R2 figure with this feature. However they did not during the Ep. III line, so I was glad when I saw the promo / card back photo for the new Saga Hoth R2 figure showing the retractable third leg. But now it seems the actual figure is just the VOTC R2 repainted! My question is - is the promo photo version of R2 actually available (as I have not see it), and if not, is the figure in the photo ever going to be released as I MUST have it! Hope you can shed some light on this for me! -Michael J. Tait (At last a new R5-D4 figure is going to be released!!!)

Occasionally Hasbro will use a figure they have handy to mock up one of their upcoming figures, but actually use a different mold when the figure goes into production. It appears we got a glimpse of this last summer when they showed a mock up of their 501st clone trooper (Tach. Ops #65) using the Super Articulated (figure #41) body, then ended up utilizing the AT-TE Tank Gunner mold instead. I would assume what you noticed with the Battle of Hoth R2 is probably the same type of scenario. Unless there’s another R2-D2 in store later this year, I don’t think we’ll see the version you saw on the promo/card back photo. Still anything is possible, Hasbro may yet use that mold for an R2 figure eventually.


5
What's up with the repaint Clone Wars Gunship, as seen on the Cartoon Network? It looks like 2 or 3 figures would come with that thing, namely the clone trooper with chain gun. Can you tell us anything about the packaging of this vehicle, is it an exclusive, does it come with one or three figures? Anything helps.

It looks like the Clone Wars Gunship will be exclusive to Toys ‘R’ Us this summer; availability starting May 1st, according to Amazon.com. Nothing on the box indicates any figures will be included with the vehicle, in fact it clearly says in the left hand bottom corner “figures not included.” At this point we assume a set of figures including some or all of the figures pictured on the box will be sold separately, but we have no details yet. Hopefully we’ll know more after Toy Fair, but we may have to wait until Comic Con before we know for sure.


6
I've seen so many reports on where it is cheaper to reuse a mold or repaint figures. If so why don't we get more of the various characters from the Cantina and Jabba's Palace? Many of them already have one figure made; Duros (Ellors Madak), Bith (Barquin D'an/Cantina Band), and so on. I'd rather have repainted/kit bashed Aliens then troopers. -Sean

Hasbro likes to have a balanced line in any given year; a little of this, a little of that. I think they’re concerned that if they had too many Cantina creatures, or Jabba’s aliens in one line people may get sick of seeing the same ‘type’ of thing month after month. Troopers on the other hand are a special thing, people like to have lots of them, and Hasbro probably does quite well with all the repeat sales. In the end it just makes more sense for Hasbro to lean a little more towards the army builders than the aliens, but it’s nice to see them work a few in here and there.


7
I was wondering if you might be able to shed some light on something for me. I've always loved how in EMPIRE when Luke loses his hand and his saber to Vader that he is forced into building a new one for himself in JEDI. What bothers me about the prequel trilogy is that in PHANTOM MENACE Obi-Wan's lightsaber is very similarly dropped down an endless pit during the
fight with Darth Maul. This could have been a perfect opportunity to parallel the original trilogy, by Obi-Wan showing up in ATTACK OF THE CLONES with his original trilogy lightsaber. As if he had been forced into building it because of losing his first one. But instead in CLONES he has his PHANTOM MENACE Saber again. What happened? Did he find his saber at the bottom of the shaft or what? I was even more confused when in REVENGE OF THE SITH he showed up with his original trilogy saber. What happened? -Seth Russell

While I’m sure there’s probably some EU explanation out there, I just always assumed he rebuilt his lightsaber exactly like the one he lost on Naboo. I guess he could have retrieved it from the bottom of the melting pit too, either explanation works about as well as the other. Frankly, I thought it would have been cool if he’d continued to use Qui-Gon’s saber in AOTC, but… Thinking about it, I suppose continuity-wise AOTC would have been a good place to introduce the ANH design, but keep in mind too that Obi-Wan’s saber was confiscated when he was captured on Geonosis; there’s no telling what happened to it after that. In the end, though it may seem a little like it came out of left field, I guess the important thing is that he had the saber he was supposed to have by the end of Episode III. Granted, the details could have been sewn up a little tighter, but it just wasn’t meant to be.


8
Hey Mark got a quick question for ya! I’ve been fervently looking for the Snow Trooper, AT-AT Driver, and Vader from the new Hoth Saga Collection series but I’m guessing from scalpers and trooper builders it makes it relatively hard to look for. So my question is if you happen to have the dcpi numbers for the ones that I just mentioned? Thank you for the great work coming from Hollywood CA!

Unfortunately the Target numbers don’t work that way. The numbers refer to the assortment, not the individual figures, unless you’re dealing with a one figure/item assortment you can’t narrow it down that far. In this case you could ask Target to look the number up for you, but they would only be able to tell you if they have any cases of basic figures period, they couldn’t even tell you by wave. It’s possible they could look it up by individual SKU, but I’ve never tried that before. In case you want to give it a shot, here are the numbers:

Snowtrooper: 6 53569 11793 3
AT-AT Driver: 6 53569 11791 9
Darth Vader: 6 53569 11795 7

Let us know if you have any luck.


9
Okay, I’m tired of the hunt so I decided to pay a little extra and pre-order cases of the Saga Waves from Entertainment Earth. It still beats eBay in the price per figure equation. I noticed I was too late to pre-order a case for wave 2 so I bought the revision cases, but then I remembered that quite a few revison cases were cancelled by Hasbro. What is Hasbro's track record for revision cases (cancelled/released). Should I sit on my pre-order, or do I have to go out on mission impossible to get Veers and Power Droid?
Dave

While Hasbro has cancelled cases in the past, it’s not exactly common practice. Nine times out of ten the case you ordered will ship, or a second case will become available with the figures you’re looking for. At this point I wouldn’t worry too much, even if for some odd reason the revision case you have on order was cancelled, the latest figure have not been too difficult to find at retail.

10
I know you work hard answering questions from all of us toy collectors, and I have the utmost respect for your commitment and patience. It must take a lot of time to dig up answers for us, so I thought I would give you a break, propose some less research-intensive interrogatives...and maybe let you have some fun while you were at it. Enjoy!

1) Who would you rather date: Bespin Leia or Metal Bikini Leia?

2) If you were a Star Wars action figure accessory, what would you be?

3) Who would win in a bar fight: Philip Wise or Bill Cable?

Tresob Yr

As spunky as Bespin Leia is, there’s just no way I could pass up that brass bikini, “love” Slave Leia all the way!

POTJ’s Jar Jar Binks tongue; not really necessary, but always good for a few laughs.

Are you kiddin’ me, Bill Cable SUCKS; PW’d take him in no time.

Until next time...


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