As part of Hasbro's new weekly Q&A session, Rebelscum passed on 3 of your burning questions and now we've got the answers for you.
Rebelscum: Since the beginning of the modern collection of Star Wars figures, there have been many changes due to advances in technology and, I assume, the pursuit for accuracy. One of those changes is in the arena of scale. At some point a few years ago, there was a somewhat abrupt shift in scale for the 3¾" figure line. Most noticeably, we began getting Leias that were much smaller than those released earlier and Chewbaccas that now towered over earlier versions of the same character figure. My question is, at what point and to what degree does scale become a factor in the sculpting of new figures? The recent Chief Chirpa figure seems dwarfed by most of the previously release ewok figures, even those released just a year or two ago. Does scale get occasionally compromised for detail or other considerations? Or, has the Hasbro team settled on a size upon which all future figures will be scaled?Hasbro: You are correct. Along with new & improved tech, we are also constantly striving to improve the sculpted details / authenticity of the 3.75" figure line. Scale goes hand-in-hand with detail. Several years ago (roughly '99 -'00 time frame) we took another look at scale and realized we figures like Leia and Chewie could be done more accurately. Before this time we may have done a Leia slightly larger because we were concerned with perceived value. However, we have sense re-evaluated this philosophy because we feel there is just as much value in accuracy and we will sometimes compensate for smaller scales by adding additional extra value pieces.
Scale is key to authenticity across the line but the only compromises to it may occur when a character is 8+ feet tall and may need to be scaled down to fit in package or possibly 2 feet tall and needs to be increased slightly to incorporate the articulation. At either end of the spectrum, we still incorporate as much detail as possible (of course, the larger the detail the easier it will be to recreate it).
Rebelscum: Okay, it's not Star Wars related, but hey, we love all science fiction around here! Since you have the licence, and have done Titanium Series vehicles (and the upcoming Cylon figure), would you ever consider doing a line of Star Wars-scaled Battlestar Galactica action figures based on either the original or the new series like; Apollo, Starbuck, Adama, or a Cylon? Hasbro: We do have the license to do originals, and we are looking at that. We have no announcements yet, though.
Dan's Note: We're all squared away and back on track now.Rebelscum: Have you stopped the Titanium Series Ultra line completely? If you have, may I ask why? I think fans would be more interested in larger capital ships, like about the same scale as the Ultra wave. Ships like the Venator-class Star Destroyer and the Invisible Hand would sell easy. And possibly unreleased ships like the action fleet Death Star and Star Destroyer? Hasbro: We are discontinuing the Line as of Fall 2006. Unfortunately, sales have not met expectations for this size/scale.
Note: Due to the Labor Day holiday, there won't be a Q&A session next week. The next round of questions will be answered on Friday, September 15th. Got any burning
Star Wars questions you need answered straight from the source? If so, post your questions in
this thread in our forums, and with any luck, you'll get your answers next week!
