Questions for January 23, 2007
Q&A Archive

It's amazing what you'll find when you start to clean up your files. I had originally put these questions together around the time of Comic Con. Things happen and the update ended up unfinished and plopped into a folder. Seeing as most of the Q's are still relevant (not too out dated) I put some answers to them and Shazam, a bonus update for this week. I'm still working on another update for Thursday/Friday, but next week might get a little delayed… I'll be skiing with my son Ben and our Indian Guides Tribe this weekend. I know, I know, it's a real sacrifice, but somebody's gotta make…

On with the show:

1
Are the San Diego Comic-Con Star Wars exclusives (Titanium Series Gold Vader's TIE Advanced, 501st Stormtrooper, etc.) going to be offered online with StarWarsShop.com or Hasbro.com? Also, what is the usual time it takes for the George Lucas Stormtrooper to arrive once the proofs of purchase have been mailed in? -RJ

Both the Gold TIE Fighter and 501st Trooper were available on-line; I see the Vader's TIE can still be order from Hasbro.com. Delivery time for the Lucas Trooper varies, but now that they are in the midst of the offer I'd assume it should show up with just a few weeks from mailing in the POP's.


2
Maybe this question would be better posed in the Hasbro Q&A than to you...
How does one pursue a career in designing and marketing toys? Particularly at Hasbro?

Hasbro has answered this a couple times; basically to get started you at least need to have a degree in design or marketing. After that it's fill out an application and cross your fingers; though I'm sure a little on the job experience in the toy field would help.


3
I am not sure if you may have already answered this one or not; is there any chance of Hasbro doing an updated "spirit" of Anakin now that the ending to ROTJ was changed to Hayden Christenson's depiction of the character? Something I always wondered was if Yoda and Obi-Wan had to study from the spirit Qui-Gon Jinn to learn how to commune with the dead, how does the newly-brought-to-the-light-side Anakin just jump right in there? Is there something I missed in there or did that just make the movie end on a happy note without needing to explain. -Rich

This was brought up recently in one of Hasbro's weekly Q&A's; in essence nothing is currently planned, but it's not out of the question. Pretty sure they also mentioned the chance that a new Spirit figure 'could' possibly feature two head sculpts - one old Anakin (Shaw) and one young (Christensen), which would be cool.

About Anakin's Spirit: Bottom line it was done to make for a nice 'and they lived happily ever after' moment that really was never intended to have an explanation. Back in the day, I think most fans just though all Jedi turned to spirit form once they died. Now that we have the benefit of the Prequels to tell us this is a rare skill even among the most powerful Jedi in the Order, the question of how Anakin acquired such a skill becomes even more puzzling. I think there are probably a few different fan theories out there, looking at it now (Prequels and all) I like to think that Vader searched for the power of immortality all along (especially after witnessing Obi-Wan 'vanish' on the Death Star) but only gained the key to mastering it when he sacrificed himself to save Luke. Other than that I don't know of an 'official' explanation, and if there is one it's all pretty much after the fact EU gobbly-gook. The beauty of Star Wars is that there are many aspects of the story that are left to the individual viewers interpretation. If you allow yourself, you can really have a lot of fun with these points by letting your own imagination fill in the gaps and personalize the story to your satisfaction.


4
Is there any other way to get the Lucas in Stormtrooper disguise figure with out having to break open the shells? Couldn't you just write down the numbers off the p.o.p's and send them in?

At this point no, if you want the figure you are going to have to (one way or the other) remove the P.O.P.'s from the package. At one time you could get the figure upon purchasing the set at Hasbro's Once Upon A Toy Store in Orlando, FL, but that was last year when the offer was first made available. Of course, I'm sure there are other Lucas in Stormtrooper disguise figures out there to be bought, but if you are talking about sending for your free figure, you've got to crack open the cases.


5
Hey Mark. Great job on the site. I don't know where my collection would be without it (probably in the bank in the form of $). Anyway, I love the Question Mark column. While reading the latest one, a question about the Firespeeder pilot reminded me of a burning question of my own that's been bugging me ever since I began my army of 3 3/4" ROTS clones. I'm trying to complete my army with every clone variant out there and this is the one thing that I struggle with. Here goes: Is the Firespeeder pilot a clone??? At first I didn't think so, but in the hangar scene where Obi-Wan confers with Cody there are Firespeeder pilots present. Is there an official word on whether these guys are clones or not? Thanks and MTFBWY! -Ben

Nothing "official" on their species, the Databank on the Official Site is rather vague on the subject, but does imply that they are not clones. According to the Databank many of the fire fighters were drafted into military service and served on Republic Warships as well as protecting Coruscant. Again, I'd take this as one of those instances where you can let a little imagination take over. If you like these guys as clones, make 'em clones.


6
I'm a huge fan of C-3P0 figures, and was wondering if you think there is any chance that there will be either a 3P0 3-Pack with all three variations of him, or (this I think would be a cooler idea) possibly a 'deluxe' or 'super' version - with an Episode I 3P0 with both Episode II ''Gun-Metal'' and an Episode III ''Shiny Gold'' 'Clip -On' outer shell? I'm actually amazed Hasbro have not used this idea yet.... Any thoughts? Also, although highly unlikely, what do you think of the possibility of the return of Comm-Tech chips? It would be great to have this feature with some of the newer characters (although possibly with an updated version; I agree the old Comm-Tech chips were a little flawed) Cheers. -Ian Snow, Berkshire, UK

An Evolutions style C-3PO 3-pack would be neat, if Hasbro ever brought that idea back into play. I don't really see them going the 'clip on' route though; I think you'd be looking at too many parts and a figure that just doesn't look all that great once assembled. Even as a 3-pack though, you have to wonder if 3PO is exciting enough on his own to move the product… Without question I'd like to see better versions of Episode I and II 3PO's released; a really nice Super-A TPM version and a better detailed/deco version from AOTC. We'll see if Hasbro gets around to it, part of me says it's just a little too much to hope for; though the Episode II version would be the easier of the two.

I honestly think the whole Comm-Tech thing is completely dead; I can't see Hasbro re-releasing this feature at all. They're kinda like the Al Gore of the Star Wars pack-ins; a neat idea, not very exciting though, and once proven a loser (no offence) they're just not going to get a second chance. Oh, and funny thing too, Al Gore invented the Comm-Tech Chip. (No, not really.)


7
I'm an avid collector and I have a whole room of Star Wars stuff, like many who visit this site. I was wondering if you know any alternative ways to display packaged Star Wars figures (especially those in Star Cases) aside from hanging them on the wall? It's gotten to the point where I have so many cool art prints and posters and the like that I hate to waste that much wall space on figures, even though that is my main focus in collecting. Any thoughts? I'd hate to end up putting most of my figures in boxes where no one can see them after spending this many years collecting them. -Matt

The trouble is there are so dang many figures now, short of putting them on a wall, or two, or three, there's just no place big enough to showcase them all. Options would include freestanding displays, similar to circular stands you'd typically find at a retail store, or maybe rotating them through a glass topped coffee table… After that I'm open to suggestions.


8
Now that we have Cody and the airborne trooper isn't the only trooper mold left Commander Neyo? I'm not counting not-yet-announced marines and Kashyyyk troopers since the molds already exist for them. -Nathaniel

Technically Neyo would be the last of the movie commanders to see plastic, but you could make a case that Gree deserves to be covered more accurately. While Neyo has recently been pegged for the "Treachery on Saluecami" Battle Pack, there's been no indication Hasbro plans to re-sculpt Commander Gree. If you want to get really picky, like I do, Hasbro still needs to work on the Kashyyyk "Elite Corps" Trooper. Repainting the Endor Scout Trooper just doesn't cut it in my book, the least that they have to do in this case is resculpt the head - get the helmet right for Pete's sake.


9
HI there, I had a few "great" ideas and I figure it's better to share them in hopes that the buzz gets started and Hasbro hears them.

1. Is Hasbro going planning to reissue the ARC-170? It did so well the first time around and I can't see why it wouldn't do well again for those who didn't have a chance to get one off the shelves.

2. Going way back to the G.I. Joe line, Hasbro should resurrect the old weapons packs for Star Wars. No figures just weapons and accessories. Cool stuff to play with and useful for displays. Hoth Echo base is full of fun looking stuff lying around.

3. Now that Hasbro has acquired the Marvel toy lines for 2007 there is no reason why we shouldn't see "build-a-figures" in the star wars line. I know that there might not be a lot of names to choose from that deems a build a figure size but man how cool would it be to see the giant GORAK (sp?) from the Ewok movie! Plus, from a business model perspective it keeps from running the risk of Peg Warmers because even if you don't want the figure you will need him/her to build the 12" Lando ....ok maybe not the best idea there. But you don't see many if any Marvel Legends warming the pegs do you? -Kenny

Rumor has it a second helping of the ARC-170 may be planned for 2007, this time in Clone Wars Deco. Considering Hasbro has already given us versions of this bad boy in the Attacktix line, 3" Titanium Series, and Star Wars Transformers line, I guess repainting the 3¾" model is the next logical step. No word if the movie version will ship again, but with the animated series in 2008 there's still that possibility.

The idea of weapons packs constantly comes up, but when you look at how poorly previous accessory sets have preformed it just doesn't make sense. Not that I wouldn't like to see a few packs with some "set decoration" pieces, they just don't have the track record to make them worthwhile for Hasbro.

As often as the "build-a-figure" idea pops up, I'm really beginning to wonder about how much sense it makes for this particular line. It's hard enough at times to find a complete wave of figures, could this make things even worse? How frustrated would fans get if they couldn't find 'the' last piece of their "build-a-figure?" In theory it's neat and all, but I'm starting to see where it could cause a whole bunch more headaches that the line really doesn't need. From conversations, I get the impression Hasbro sees it this way as well.

10
Is the Qui-Gon action figure from Ep. I with the Commtech chip the only Qui-Gon figure ever made of him? Can we expect another one with the Saga Collection packaging any time in the future? -Al

There have been several different "carded" Qui-Gon Jinn action figures; three in the Episode I line, two in the Power of the Jedi line, and one in the SW2002 line. In addition, the character has also showed up in a number of other products like Cinema Scenes and Battle Packs over the years. There is early word that another Qui-Gon will be included in this year's 30th Anniversary Collection, but we don't have all the details on that one just yet. For his part in the Saga, it would be fitting for the character to be included in some kind of Evolutions type set, or be Super Articulated, but the further we get from the Prequels and Episode I the less likely that becomes.


Until next time...


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