Questions for December 21, 2006
Q&A Archive


Greeting and Salutations! Just wanted to take a quick moment here to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holiday. Also to touch on a little business from the last update it looks like our U.S.J.s (Unidentified Stuffed Jawas) most likely came from a claw machine game. Several readers mentioned finding the same items at their local pizza parlor or big chain store's game of chance. While there's still some debate whether they are bootlegs or not, that's at least a step in the right direction. And to correct myself, I received a reminder from Hasbro that their survey with Toy Fair magazine was 100% fan driven with Darth Revan taking the prize by default (Quinlon Vos was already in production…). Thanks for the reminder!

Now, on with the show…

1
Recently Hasbro has released a number of Titanium Series ships that would fall under the category of 'Expanded Universe', as such with the Royal Guard Interceptor. Is there any word on perseverance on their part in this category? If they are basing that decision on sales, the aforementioned model is selling FAST...

There are a NUMBER of vehicles and vessels that are integral to the "film"-a-fied universe that have not been created or released. Are there any hints at certain ships that will be added to this ever-growing Titanium Series line-up? -Nick S.

There hasn't necessarily been any word that this trend will continue, but when you look at the Hot Wheels line it certainly is an advantage (for the manufacturer) to this style toy. I think the longevity of the line will depend on the number of repaints Hasbro can successfully market. This type of repeat business is what manufacturers hope for in a line and so far it seems to have been well received by Star Wars fans. While the red deco may be a little much for some, for a few bucks who's really gonna mind… I'm sure we'll see other types of repaints (clean, dirty, chrome, gold, alternate squadron colors…) as the line continues, and hopefully if the repaints help, the line will continue for some time.

As for hints, nothing really stands out at this time except for one that was mentioned back at Comic Con. Around that time some one asked about Dash Rendar's Outrider and Hasbro kinda indicated it may be on the way. It's not a movie ship, but it was at least a hint. I'm sure as the line progresses we'll see all potential movie vehicles released. I was very impressed with what I saw in San Diego, there are some great new vehicles hitting retail now, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing what's shown at Toy Fair. So far the future of the line seems very bright, I'm sure when all is said and done we'll have a very nice, very comprehensive collection.


2
Of the new repaints coming this year, which actually appeared in the movies? I like to collect only characters that actually appeared in the films, no matter how briefly. Some of these I don't remember seeing, but that doesn't mean they weren't there. And if they weren't in the movie, where did they come from? -girlofgod

Okay, to the best of my knowledge, here's how these figures breakdown. If anyone has evidence to the contrary - please send it in.

SAGA-057: Clone Trooper (442nd Battalion) - Not in movie; origin: concept/promo (ROTS)
SAGA-058: Clone Trooper (Fifth Fleet Security) - Not in movie; origin: concept/promo (ROTS)
SAGA-059: R5-J2 - Not in movie; origin: production still (ROTJ)
SAGA-060: Clone Trooper Sergeant - Claimed to be in AOTC, though seen very briefly.
SAGA-061: Super Battle Droid - Not in movie; origin: Hasbro
SAGA-062: Battle Droids - Not in movie; origin: Hasbro
SAGA-064: Clone Commander Appo - Not in movie; origin: Hasbro
SAGA-065: Elite Corps Clone Trooper - From ROTS*
SAGA-067: R4-K5 (Darth Vader's Astromech Droid) - Not in movie; origin: Hasbro
SAGA-069: Clone Trooper (Combat Engineer) - Not in movie; origin: Hasbro
SAGA-074: R4-M6 (Mace Windu's Astromech Droid) - Not in movie; origin: CN Clone Wars

*Technically, this figure is a repaint of the Return of the Jedi Scout Trooper made to look like the troops in Revenge of the Sith. The actual 'costume' or look of the Episode III troopers, though very similar, was slightly different.


3
Hey, I loved the holiday figures. I have all four that came out and I think this was a great idea. The last holiday Vader was a little weak with just the red paint but the C-3PO, R2-D2, Yoda, and Jawas were a creative. Are we ever going to see any more Holiday figures? Either as exclusives or retail?

…and

In the past, there has always been a Star Wars toy release related to Christmas. First there was 3PO and R2, then Yoda, the next year was the Jawas, and last year was the Holiday Vader. I haven't seen or heard of anything being released this year, how come?

Are there any plans to release any more con-exclusive silver figures? We've had Vader, R2, Boba Fett, Clone Trooper, and the Sandtrooper, but haven't heard of any more coming to the convention circuit. -Dan

It seems like for the last couple years the Holiday Edition figures have struggled. I know Entertainment Earth still has their Jawa set available, and last year's candy apple red Vader was um… well, pathetic. I think the writing was pretty much on the wall when they announced the 2005 edition, these just aren't big sellers, and given what they tried to pass off on us it pretty much shows the line wasn't worth the effort anymore. It really was a neat idea; I've enjoyed them (with the exception of the Vader, which I did not buy) and always looked forward to seeing what they could come up with. Unfortunately that good idea just didn't translate into dollars and the whole thing appears to have been scrapped. Who knows, maybe Hasbro will give it another try in 2007 - it is a big anniversary year - but this year we'll just have to do without.

I'm pretty sure Hasbro said at one point that the last Silver Edition figure (it was the Sand Trooper, wasn't it?) was in fact the last of the series. I haven't seen or heard anything that indicates more of these are on the way, I think you can consider that series pretty much complete.


4
I picked up the Clone Sergeant recently on the Saga Collection's tail end, and was a little surprised to see that this figure did not come with a logo base for Episode 2: Attack of the Clones, but instead came with an Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back logo base. It has the correct name painted on and everything. My 442nd Trooper and Fifth Fleet Security troopers both came with the Revenge of the Sith logo base as expected. Is this some crazy factory error/variant, or did someone screw up and run these all off with the wrong base? -Orson in Kentucky

Factory error or screw up, take you pick, the end result is the same - the stands on these are wrong. Same thing happened with a couple other figures; I think Maul, Kit Fisto, and Chewbacca… Somebody mentioned something recently about the information being filled out wrong on the product sheet, something like that. Anyway, they are out there, no word yet if they will be corrected or not (I'm guessing not), we'll just have to wait and see.


5
Hello! Just want to ask if there are going to be any more concept figures in the 2007 series besides the trooper and Boba Fett? -Andrés

Yes, I believe there are a few other concept figures planned for next year. There have been a number of rumors floating around, but I don't think Hasbro has confirmed any of them yet. As for the rumors, we've heard possible plans for Chewbacca, Darth Vader, and Luke Skywalker. After that it's anyone's guess, but we'll for sure be looking for these at Toy Fair in February.


6
One thing I've noticed in almost every Battle Pack I've purchased is that at least one of the figures is packed in some absurd action pose that, over the time spent in transit, on the shelves, etc. warps the leg to a degree where the figure cannot stand on its own. This is especially bad with the Mace Windu's Attack Battalion set - the commander and two of the three clones have legs that curve inwards and can't stand unless I place them on stands. How do you fix this issue? -Nathaniel

There are two method that I'm aware of to address this issue. First, try dipping the warped limb in hot water, not boiling, but really hot water. This should soften the plastic enough for it return to it's originally molded form. If that doesn't work I've had pretty good success setting stuff on the dashboard in my car on a hot/sunny day. After a few hours of indirect heat your figure should be as good as new, or at least as good as it was coming off the production line.


7
Why has Hasbro not made any mini scenes? These could be small in scale such as the table at which Han sits at when he and Greedo meet up. These small sets could have mini lights that are mini LED's. A mini scene could also be done for the Dejarik holochess table which was made as part of a table for Chewbacca but did not include a seat for C3PO (now that he can sit). These mini scenes could be priced at $15-$17 easily. That could be a compromise for Hasbro and all those fans who want the large play sets. Speaking of Dejarik, do you think it is possible that they will do regular figures of the Dejarik characters (holographic or opaque)? -Jeremy B.

Hasbro has done a little of this where they could (Screen Scenes, Battle Packs, Ultra and Deluxe figures…), but for the most part they really don't feel like these types of items fit today's play patterns. Never mind the added expense to put lights in some of these, the concept just doesn't appear to be worth Hasbro's while. Not that any of these would be a bad idea, they just not seen as sure-fire moneymakers. It would be nice if Hasbro could come up with something to address the desire fans have for playsets and/or environments, but so far we haven't gotten anything that could be considered encouraging news.

Dejarik creatures: Early early on they were mentioned as something Hasbro was indeed interested in covering with the 'new' line. This was back in '95 when Power of the Force 2 was just coming out, or so the story goes. Since then we've heard and seen nothing, and when asked Hasbro has backed away from that early comment. For what they are I just don't think Hasbro feels they're worth it. As a fan I'd beg to differ. Ideally I'd like to see the creatures released in scale with the 3¾" figures. Assuming the Mantellian Savrip (the largetst of the Dejarik creatures) would be about the size of a Wampa, maybe a little bigger - definitely smaller than the Rancor, these might make great 'realistic' beast packs. Instead of a regular action figure, include a scaled down (3" - 3¾" high) version as a hologram. Now, somebody clever over at Milton Bradley develops a strategy game based on the game played in A New Hope, and fans can use the 3¾" holograms as playing pieces… Shear genius, right? Well, actually Hasbro would probably lose so much money developing the beast packs that it would kill the whole line, maybe even close the company. As much as fans might want these pieces for our collections, the creatures/characters just don't have broad enough appeal. Unless something comes along to drive demand (like a popular game, or continued appearance in one of the TV shows) there just no way Hasbro is going to invest in such a line.


8
I find it hard to believe that some particular figures didn't make it far in the fan voting. Here are some examples: Spacetrooper is as rare and expensive on eBay as Darktrooper, yet the former is nowhere to be found. Also how did the likes of the Utapau ops trooper and darktrooper (both exclusives) that were purposely scarce not make it far? I would think that collectors would want a chance at these exclusives in the cheaper, more common basic line. Are these already on the list of slated figures? If so I would like to see the list because it would explain why some figures were no-shows. -Dan B.

Well, the Spacetrooper had a number of things going against it. A) It's from the Expanded Universe. B) It was up against a pretty cool alien from Jabba's Palace that was also relatively hard to find (exclusive if I remember correctly). C) Unlike the Darktrooper, which has made appearances in more recent Star Wars media, we haven't seen the Spacetrooper in action since the Zahn Trilogy. And D) It's just not a very good figure. In all fairness the figure had its chance, fans made the final call, it just didn't have the same appeal that the Darktrooper had - maybe next time. As for the other figures (Shadow Trooper and Cover Ops); they lost out to movie figures that are just in higher demand. It makes for an interesting side note; what makes sense for collectors, or what may be rare and expensive on eBay, is not always what the community as a whole wants or needs.


9
I've read your thoughts on any upcoming KOTOR figures, and I think that it would be a missed opportunity for HASBRO and George Lucas not to capitalize on these figures. Any good looking custom figure of a clone or Sith/Dark Jedi goes for big cash and are much sought after on eBay. If you've followed the trend, any custom that seems popular enough, eventually gets produced by HASBRO later. What I would like to know is: do you think that there are enough bad guys to make a reasonably good line out of? I buy only the bad guys and clone troopers myself, but am I alone? -James L. (Pembina, North Dakota)

I couldn't agree with you more, I think it would be a missed opportunity as well, but when you weigh the cost of tooling against the fact that many of these characters are unrecognizable to the average shopper it's clear to see why Hasbro is so tentative. If the Darth Revan figure does well more KOTOR figures could follow, we'll just have to see. As for what Hasbro might focus on from the game, it's all up in the air right now. Certainly the villains appear to be the most recognizable and most popular characters from the game. My guess is Hasbro would hit them first, maybe throw in an army builder and a couple Jedi looking figures, but I would not expect them to create a comprehensive line based on the game. In the end I would think the most we can hope for is a few figures, maybe six or seven, but that will all depend on the success of Revan and any subsequent figures. Keep your fingers crossed!

10
Is there going to be figures for the new TV series and also will Lucas make figures after TV series a new movie? And another when end of Episode III Qui-Gon is brought back from Yoda what happened? New Movie? -Dean H.

I think Hasbro will reserve judgment on making figures for any new TV series until the show has proven itself. The last thing they need or want is to get into the thick of a TV based toy line and have the network (whatever network gets the show) pull the plug. If all goes well and fans embrace the new characters, we'll probably start seeing figures and toys the following year. Keep your fingers crossed!

The reference to Qui-Gon at the end of Episode III refers to the character having achieved immortality in the force. We get a glimpse of this in Episode II when Qui-Gon is heard calling out to Anakin during Yoda's meditation (a point that should have been played up just a little bit more on screen). The training Yoda instructs Obi-Wan to undertake will allow him to communicate with his old master, and learn the secret himself, thus allowing him to communicate with Luke at the end of A New Hope and come back in 'Jedi Spirit' form in Episodes V and VI. Will we see a new movie that explores this idea? Probably not. Will we see this idea developed in the TV series? Probably not there either. I think this is just going to be one of those facets of the saga that fans will have to explore within their own imagination.

New Movie? The only talk I've ever heard of a new movie came from Lucas himself. At Celebration III he said they were tinkering with the idea of letting other filmmakers explore the Star Wars Universe 1,000 years prior to Episode I. Very little has been heard since, except for some reiteration of that thought, so who knows where they're at on that. Considering a few references in Episodes I and III I'd certainly like the see a series of movies that address the oppression of the Sith and formation of the Republic, but that could be years off - if ever.


Until next time...


Got Questions?