Questions for January 22, 2006
Q&A Archive

Welcome back! I got a lot of email after last week's update, seams there is a fix for the uneven Imperial Shuttle wing problem after all:

Peep.

Well, I got the Target Imperial Shuttle, and yup, my shuttle's wings were all wonky (as in your photo coverage of it, and this QM's description of it).

I was so excited as I've missed the other releases and this is my favorite vehicle from the Trilogy! I was very sad that it was so messed up, I thought "Why Me?" I didn't know it was a wider problem until I saw your photo archive of it and noticed it on yours too.

All I did to fix this problem was remove all the screws from the underside of the main body, *carefully* lifted off the chassis (all while the shuttle was upside-down, resting on my knees), I removed both wings from their cradles (they're not held in place by anything once the bottom of the shuttle is removed, and they are easily fixed), I lined them up as even as I could, placed them back in their cradles, with the "teeth" of the mechanism lined up (I let gravity hold them in place), and carefully resealed the chassis with the screws and voila!
A perfectly aligned wingspan!
(see attached photo)

It took all of about 5 minutes, most of it unscrewing and re-screwing.

The hardest part was closing the chassis (upside down, of course) so that the wing mechanism remained "locked" in an even way (the wings have to be pressed into the gears to "lock", they will not hold on their own), once tight (one or two screws in the front of the chassis), it was just a matter of replacing the remaining screws.

It's quite easy.

I couldn't live with the uneven wings, I'm anal retentive that way.

May The Force Be With You...

ROB
Levittown, PA

And…

Hey Mark,

This is Chuck from jeditemplearchives.com. I just wanted to let you know that my son got the shuttle for his birthday and its wings had the same problem. One sat just fine, the other kind of sagged. I took the center vertical wing off and just carefully forced the sagging wing towards the other wing and it popped into place correctly. It looks perfect now and functions fine. I hope this helps! -Chuck

So there you have a couple different fixes there. While I tried Chuck's method before, the wings on mine always seemed to snap back uneven after lowering and raising them again - I'll have to try it again. Any way, thanks to Rob and Chuck, and everyone else that wrote in - much appreciated!


On with the show:

1
Looking at the pics from the upcoming TAC it seems that the coins on each package don't necessarily match the figure. Is this going to be the case? Is it going to be like the mini figures packaged with the Saga line? I surely hope not. In my humble opinion that would ruin the entire line. -mike

Most of the images we've seen so far are mock-ups, according to Hasbro each figure will come with a character specific coin, the Saga Legends line will come with coins representing each of the six films.


2
I remember a concept rendering from a while ago of Darth Maul as if he had been saved from his big fall, his torso affixed to a robotic set of legs and his cranial horns had gone through accelerated puberty. Remember this? Ever hear of it as potential for a figure? -King

I remember it very well; it was extremely cool looking, yet there's been no indication Hasbro plans to cover this EU/concept art Darth Maul anytime in the near future. Keep your fingers crossed though, as Prequel concept images goes, this was a pretty good one.


3
I don't know if this question was already asked so here goes... Why didn't Hasbro produce a holiday figure this year? For the past four years they've put out some great holiday collectibles (Santa Yoda is my favorite). Were the holiday figures not profitable for Hasbro? Is that why the 2005 figure was only a red repaint of Darth Vader instead of a new sculpt? -Eric

Asked and answered, with a twist… As expected, in one of their recent Q&A answers Hasbro pointed to a lack of sufficient ideas/support/interest in the Holiday Edition concept to justify a 2006 figure. However, Hasbro did hint that a 'Holiday' something or other is planned for 2007…


4
Is there anywhere that you can get replacement parts for figures? My kiddie has already managed to lose one of the hands on one of his evolution Stormies and his Luke Bespin. I just feel aggrieved binning a figure because one little part is missing. Also, Hasbro needs to 're-consider' this whole ankle joint thing. One day at school and his Sandtrooper comes home missing a foot. I appreciate that collectors area substantial piece of the market but the whole idea is that they are toys..........isn't it? -Tom L.

I don't think I've ever heard of Hasbro replacing parts for figures; vehicles and playsets yes, but never figures. While it might be possible (as long as the figure is still in production) your best chance would be through Hasbro Customer Service at the official Hasbro website. Good luck!

Oops, almost forgot about the second question there... Hasbro is in a tough spot, with articulation. The Star Wars line more than any other (in my opinion) appeals to both kids and a significant collector market. Articulation is a big thing for collectors, not so much so for the younglings. In order to please one faction, Hasbro seems to have been put in the position of having to sacrificing durability for the other. Honestly I don’t know what the answer is, over time Hasbro has released several versions of most of their figures, some more kid friendly than others. I guess keeping a good mix in the line would be the simplest answer, but they run the risk of getting overly redundant. As a parent I try to avoid Super-A figures for my kids; there’s just too many parts to try and keep track of, but then again kids play hard and from what I’ve found can manage to lose or break just about anything.


5
Is there any way of knowing exactly when certain Star Wars stuff hits shelves? -Cliff

No, there's no way to forecast the exact moment any given Star Wars toy will be put out on the shelf, nor can you tell what day or week with any certainty. Best you can do is watch your local store reports for recent arrivals and be there when your store usually stocks the toy aisle. For most this is typically first thing in the morning, some 24 hour stores will stock in the early AM, and for Toys 'R' Us it can be late afternoon/evening as they unload their truck; you've just got to talk to people at your local stores and figure out their pattern.


6
I won an auction on eBay for a 12" Luke Skywalker from a company called Clipper. I read that it is a subsidiary of Kenner but what country are they from? -chad

Clipper was a Dutch company that distributed the original Kenner line to the Netherlands. While they're usually lumped in with other overseas distributors like Palitoy and Meccano, you can find a few articles referring to them by running a site search.


7
I'm a collector of every loose figure that appeared in the prequel and sequel trilogies. I've seen some of the clone trooper figures that don't appear in ROTS. I just want to make sure the following announced clone troopers from wave 8, 9 and 1 of the 30th Anniversary Collection fit my collector criteria. Can you tell me what clone troopers of these waves really appeared in the movies? And why does Hasbro think we are going to collect every color they can think of regarding clone troopers? Wouldn't it be intelligent to include some new figures in their production lines? -Paco G. (Monterrey, México)

Of the Clones in question, only the Episode II Sergeant, Elite Corps Trooper, Galactic Marine, and Airborne Trooper actually appeared "on screen." You could argue that the Sergeant doesn't count, it's said he was included in a wide angle shot at the cloning facility, but according to Lucasfilm he was indeed in there… Why Hasbro thinks we are going to collect all of these non-movie clones is pretty obvious, we are collecting them. Without fail, all the clones (movie and non-movie) sell extremely fast. Someone out there is buying them and as long as they continue to, Hasbro will continue to find new ways to put them on the pegs. Without question new figures are great for collectors, the line wouldn't last very long without them, but from Hasbro's point of view these clone repaints allow them to be more profitable and better able to invest in new figure molds. Love them or hate them, all these clone repaints are actually very good for the longevity of the line.


8
Do you think that we will be seeing any more of those commemorative tins in the future? I have the Episode 4, 6, and the Cantina band set and I love them. I am currently seeking the Episode 2 tin but no luck in finding it. I would really like to see more of these because they are a good value for great looking figures. - Bryan S.

More as in additional sets or more as in the current sets being restocked? I think we'll continue to see the basic six Episode sets throughout the first part of the year, but I'm not holding out much hope for any new sets in the foreseeable future. Hasbro pretty much summed the line up with the six sets based on each of the six Star Wars films. The seventh set, Cantina Band, kinda made sense but I can't see them having much success with other focused sets like that. Time will tell, I don't see them being a huge hit for Hasbro (they are beginning to gather some dust where I see them lately), but anything is possible.


9
When are we going to get another Tattooine Skiff? The same mold as the old one, maybe with the Battle Pack figures or whoever else was near it during the battle. -Steve

Good question, I think we're about due for another chance at this iconic Star Wars vehicle, but so far there's been no indication that it's on Hasbro's "short list." At this point I would think it boils down to how they could package it. If it's too big or costly for the mid-sized vehicle range (the current range that includes the Jedi Starfighters, Hailfire Droid, AAT, etc…) we may have to wait for someone to pick it up as an exclusive. Either way, as Hasbro continues to draw on their resource of existing vehicle molds, the Skiff stands as good a chance as any of being re-released.

10
Ever since Mon Mothma mentioned that "many Bothans died for this information", it would seem that it's up to Hasbro to show fans what exactly a Bothan is since Lucas didn't seem fit to included one in any movie. Of course it would have to be an EU character but I'm 100% positive fans would go nuts for one. A Bothan "warrior" or "spy" would rock. -Tony

Well, this just might be your lucky year… Rumor has it Hasbro may have a "Bothan Spy" figure planned for the 30th Anniversary Collection. It would be the first time this rather infamous race of rebel spies has made it into the 3¾" figure line, but Hasbro's Wizards of the Coast division has already featured a Bothan in their Star Wars Miniatures Game. I agree fans would love to see this happen, it's definitely a bigger part of the lore than a lot of the other Expanded Universe content, but we'll just have to wait and see.


Until next time...

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