Questions for March 27, 2006
Q&A Archive

1
The new Star Wars Transformers seem to be pretty good toys on their own, even though they really aren't making up for the lack of basic figures on the pegs, but that's another story. It seems strange, despite big movies coming up, that Hasbro would combine these two lines that have nothing in common with each other. Since Hasbro owns GI Joe, do you think they would ever combine GI Joe & the Transformers? We've seen that done in the comics several times now & has been very popular. Why not toys? I know I would love to buy a Cobra Commander with Megatron in gun mode, or Optimus Prime as a hiss tank, or Ravage vs. Snake Eyes. Do you think they'd consider this?

How about the republic assault ship from ATOC? I know that was released with Action Fleet & was available for like three days! I'd love to see that re-packaged, along with a larger scale version of the ROTS star destroyer. Maybe with a little Death Star being built packed in. The titanium version is great, but just needs to be bigger.

About recent figure rumors…Is there any truth to an articulated Luke Skywalker-Jedi outfit, Galactic Marine, Commander Neyo, or Padmé in her snow outfit coming out later this year? Those would be great!

It would really be fantastic to see an Entertainment-Earth-style four-pack of the new VOTC biker scouts painted with their Kashyyyk camo! What are the chances of that? -BJ

Looking at 'what else' could be done with the Star Wars line, Transformers were a natural progression. Hasbro holds the rights to both lines, and it is an interesting enough concept to make a decent toy/collectible. The fact that they are potentially doing this as a lead into the Transformers movie is little more than a stroke of good timing; I believe even without the movie, Hasbro would have tried this eventually. As for pairing G.I. Joe and Transformers, I suppose it's possible, but I haven't heard or seen anything that indicates Hasbro is heading in that direction… yet.

While it doesn't seem to be doing as well as its smaller counterpart, there's certainly a lot of ground that could be covered in the Titanium Ultra Series (including the two ships you mentioned). There are a number of vehicles from the Action Fleet line that were scarce or held up during each 'hiatus,' if Hasbro could use these molds to create tooling for the die-cast line, there might be enough interest in these 'newer' or harder to find vehicles to keep things moving. As it stands now I'm not holding out much hope for this line; the shelves are backed up with the Droid Tri-fighters, and the next two vehicles have been well covered as Action Fleet pieces already. As much as I'd like to think we'd eventually see an AOTC Assault ship, or ROTS Star Destroyer, we probably stand a better chance of seeing them from Code 3 first.

Rumors are just that, rumors. Hasbro may well be working (or has done some work) on these figures, but working on them and finalizing plans for their eventual release are often times far different things. Each figure you mentioned is currently on the Toy Fare top 25, if selected the figure should debut in 2007, not this year. Padmé is about the only one that I've seen listed for 2006, but as we all know, no plans are official until they've been officially announced. At this point just stay tuned; we'll likely get more information about the remainder of the year soon, either through the grapevine or at Comic Con. At that point we may know more about these figure rumors.

As nice as an EE-style four-pack of VOTC ROTS Scout Troopers would be, I wouldn't hold your breath. I think we're going to have to have a few years under our belts before Hasbro decides to use this mold for something like that.


2
I bought a MR FX Anakin lightsaber from eBay where the seller stated in his description that it was brand new. Well, I received it the other day and:

1) the box was not factory sealed
2) there were fingerprints on the hilt
3) there were batteries in the lightsaber (box says batteries are not
included)

I sent him an email about it and this is what he said:

"MR stated there was an issue with the Anakin [saber] and they were all opened and
tested."

I don't believe him. Have you heard anything about this? Or if you bought one yourself, was the box factory sealed? I hope you can help me out here. -Ray (fyi, this Anakin lightsaber is the 3 AA version.)

To be absolutely certain I would strongly suggest running this by Master Replicas, but as far as I know (and I checked with others on this) there was never an issue with the Anakin saber that caused MR to open and check them before shipping. If this is an issue for you, you may want to work this out with the seller, but if you're happy with the saber as is, it may just be water under the bridge.


3
I am wondering what are your thoughts on how long clone-itis will last? I have to admit I have multiples of almost all of the ROTS clones and even 6 shadow troopers. I saw a few vendors at a toy show in Pittsburgh selling them for $40 each. They were placed right next to a few Dark troopers at the same price and wondered if you think they will hold the price like the Darktroopers have for so many years. Or will too many red, blue, orange, black troopers clog the system and bring them all down in price? -Jay "TB-6006"

As interest in the line wanes, so will second market prices on a lot of these clones. At this point there is still a considerable amount of fan/collectors interest in the trooper figures, but after awhile things should start to die down. Will there be any of these figures available at that point? Hard to say, from what we know the runs were fairly consistent, but the reality is it's just a waiting game from here on out. Certain figures like the Shadow Troopers and the exclusive Target Clones will likely hold their value better, but I expect the standard basic line figures to drop off considerably. One of the factors that will affect the basic figures value is what clones are released next. If fans can fill holes in their collections with subsequent releases, there may not be as much demand for the original carded release.


4
When will we see the Coruscant Wave on the shelves?

This wave has been showing up sporadically, and selling out instantly, for the past week or so. Give it a while longer and we'll probably start to see these figures last long enough for guys that can't be there first thing in the morning to find them. Basically, start looking now; they're out there.


5
I've seen a couple cars that have a white Imperial insignia window decal (you know, like the ones of Calvin relieving himself on a car maker's logo). Do you know where those can be found? -Greg

There used to be a site called g3pographics.com that offered custom decals, but that domain has since expired. I have no idea if the folks at g3po opened up shop elsewhere, if anyone knows please pass that info along… Other than that, these types of custom decal are quite common on eBay. Swing by and run a search for "Imperial logo decals" and you should end up with about a dozen or so to choose from in various sizes and colors.


6
I was in Toys R' Us about two weeks ago & there were quite a few of the Mega Buy 2-packs. When I started looking through the pegs, I noticed that there was a pack with not one, but TWO Tactical Ops Troopers. I was wondering if this is very unusual & just how rare it might be. I have it sitting on one of my shelves with my collection & it's one of my favorite finds! -Paul

It's certainly unusual, I don't think I've ever seen one of these with two of the same figures in them, but these are troopers and I guess someone at the factory could have thought it made sense. On the other hand, I know a lot of figure swapping went on with these when they originally hit the pegs, collectors creating their own Mega Buys… I haven't looked close enough lately, but it could be that someone at the store paired these two up, taking the other two figures with them. Hard to imagine somebody leaving two highly sought after troopers behind, but it could happen. Yes, It's unusual and rare, but its greatest value is in the enjoyment it adds to your collection.


7
Is the new Vader's TIE just a re-release of the POTF2 vehicle or no? -Adam, California

Yep, just another re-release - with what looks like a slightly upgraded paint job.


8
I can't really tell from the pics, but is the Saga Stormtrooper going to use the VOTC mold? Speaking of that, do you think Hasbro will continue to milk that mold. It is by far the best Stormtrooper figure I have had. It makes me want to sell all my Commtec ones and just make my army out of those. I would hope that Hasbro has taken note of how popular that particular mold is. -Dave

I'm going to assume here that you mean to say Saga Sandtrooper… From the images I've seen, it does not look like Hasbro has based this figure on the VOTC version, a closer match would probably be the Evolutions version. Although there appear to be elements that are slightly different the Evolutions figure and what was shown at Toy Fair, we're just going to have to wait and see what eventually hits the shelf. Hasbro has been known to tweak a figure between its convention appearance and production; until it's out, I hate to say one way or the other.

As for Hasbro recognizing the VOTC Stormtroopers popularity, I'd like to think they're aware of the fact, but I imagine they're at a crossroads as far as what to do about it. Since the vintage line is still on going (we have several new figures shipping later this year) I can't see them undermining that line by releasing prior 'vintage' figures for less than original retail. What would be point in buying into the vintage line (at $10.99 a pop) if you know the same figure 'could' be released a couple years later for about half that? What I'd love to see, and makes the most sense, is for Hasbro to re-release the VOTC Stormtrooper on either a Star Wars or Empire Strikes Back cardback. I think this would be a nice throwback to how the original Kenner line was released with each film, and it could put more of these rather impressive figures out alongside the newer figures.


9
Hey Mark. Quick question. Does Hasbro/Galoob have any intentions of coming out with new or repacked sets of the Micro Machines lines? I collected the old packs of 3 ships and was curious if that would be making a return anytime soon...or if at all? -Ryan

Aside from the Die-Cast Titanium Series, no plans have been announced to bring the classic MicroMachines line back. The line is strong overseas, I suppose that's a mark in its favor, but it's still no guarantee. Perhaps when Star Wars is not quite as strong at retail these might be a fairly low cost item to have out there, we'll just have to wait and see what the future brings.

10
Just a quick question in regards to light possibly fading the paint on my vintage and modern figures. I have them loose in several curio cabinets but at the top of the cabinets, there is a very powerful light (I don't know if it is fluorescent or not) I want to leave the lights on at all times for display purposes but am concerned that it may over time damage the paint. Any suggestions or am I worrying for nothing? -Roy in Canada

I wouldn't be concerned so much with the light as I would the heat. While light can cause some fading, the heat you're exposing your figures to is far more damaging as it will accelerate the natural deterioration of the plastic. As much as you may want to display your collection proudly, limited exposure to heat and light is far better and will allow you to display it much longer.


Until next time...


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