So many questions, so little space... Many other
Star Wars collecting sites also submitted questions you need answered, so if you want to know the latest answers from Hasbro's
Star Wars Q&A Session, here's a handy guide to help you get all the info.
Don't forget to check
Rebelscum's Q&A Session as well!
16bit.com:1) You guys seem to have a lot of easter eggs lately-- are these hints at toys to come? Attack Cycle Grievous has a lightsaber similar to Sha'a Gi's, while Seripas comes with what appears to be Rumi Paramita's sniper rifle. Are there any others we're missing out on?
2) The newest Clone Wars figures like Savage Opress literally shove the Galactic Battle Game into the background-- instead focusing on the figure's accessories. Will the game and stands be included for long, is a new pack-in coming in 2012?
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From Echo Base Forums: 1) Can we expect to see Kneesaa and Chukha-Trok from the Ewoks cartoon released in the near future?
2) What happened to holographic figures...did you retire the concept? If you don't plan on releasing anymore full size holographic figures, can we at least get some more mini handheld holograms as Clone Wars accessories?
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From Galactic Hunter: 1) Some of the new mini vehicles have a swappable gun feature-- the Republic Scout Speeder and Y-Wing Scout Bomber, in particular. Can you tell us more about this gimmick, and if it will be incorporated on other toys going forward?
2) Can you tell us anything about the cardback design of the upcoming "Clone Wars" vintage figures? We assume it will be the same silver-and-black, but can you tell us anything about which logo will be used? (Or might it be green or blue like the old Ewoks and Droids packaging?)
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From Imperial Shipyards: 1) I'd love to see Hasbro produce more rebel pilots much in the same way that they have produced many clone trooper variants. I'd particularly like to see a collection representing the Battle of Yavin much like the Battle over Endor Pack for example. How about all the pilots in Red Group and Gold Group seen in the movie? From a tooling point of view you could duplicate multiple parts and add the necessary differences. Any chance we could see any of these?
2) Is there any way Hasbro USA could get involved with Hasbro UK as they dont seem to recognise the collectors market in the UK? Its seems they are seen as just toys and nothing more unless theres a major promotion like a movie or tv show but that only lasts a few months ( even Transformers are experiencing the same issue's with the DOTM line as we Star Wars fans are used too some independant stockist that are cancelling the line entirely) they really need a clue as having to buy imports cost considerably more and i am not paying £40 for a Gamorrean Guard. Hasbro you are promising better distribution in the US, is there any chance our foreign friends are going to see some of this same love?
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From Jedi Defender: 1) Have you ever thought about modernizing the PotF2 Gunner Station concept? I always liked the two Falcon gunnery sets that were made and there is a wealth of "not quite a vehicle, but more than a basic accessory" material that could find a home here - Cantina Distillery w/Wuher, Home One's Endor holo-display w/Madine, Throne w/Palpatine, Home One Command Chair w/Ackbar, or a Death Star Cannon w/Gunner, to mention a few ideas!
2) This year's Republic Shuttle as the "big vehicle" for the year is a great toy, but wasn't all that big, and collectors aren't flocking to it like items in the past such as the Big Millenium Falcon, AT-AT, or AT-TE. Is the "Big" ticket item getting more difficult for you to produce because choices are slimmer, or you're really wanting to focus on the cartoon over the films at this point? Likewise, will the 3-D releases of the films get "Big Vehicle" anchors then, if doing big ships from the films are still an option against cartoon vehicles?
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From Jedi Insider: 1) Will Hasbro be showing new Star Wars products at NYCC this year and will their be any Star Wars exclusives offered for the convention.
2) I really like the new Ultimate FX Lightsabers you recently released that are more durable for kids and cheaper. Will it be possible to offer these with removable blades sometime down the road?
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From JediNews.co.uk: 1) StarWarsShop.com shipped to the UK and whilst their shipping was expensive it did give us the ability to get the exclusives from each show every year. With the closure of StarWarsShop.com this route has now been removed and the only way to get these exclusives is via an etailer or eBay.
Whilst you gave American collectors the ability to get the San Diego Exclusive Death Star (at the show and also via HasbroToyShop.com) people in the UK and Europe were completely alienated on what was one of the most sought after exclusives in recent memory because HasbroToyShop.com doesn’t ship to the UK. At least in previous years the exclusives were shared between the two outlets.
Would you consider doing a second run (sounds like a film I know and love) of the Death Star for the UK and European market providing collectors the opportunity to pre-order the set so you know exactly how many to make? You could also do the same for the North American market too so demand is met and collectors can complete The Vintage Collection especially since the two mini-figures are numbered in with the main line (to get over the exclusivity issues you could just do the two mini-figures on Return of the Jedi cards). Failing this, which would be very unfortunate in itself, would you consider shipping to the UK (and Europe) from HasbroToyShop.com in the future? Please Hasbro help us, you’re our only hope!
2) With the recent change in law regarding the warning messages for European products, does this mean that we’ll be seeing fewer waves of figures in Europe (and the UK) or will you still try and ensure that every wave of The Vintage Collection and Clone Wars is produced for Europe (and the UK)? Collectors in the UK are finding it frustratingly difficult to keep up especially when a retailer offers a wave of figures such as Wave 7 of The Vintage Collection (featuring Rebel Fleet Trooper, Logray and ARC Trooper Commander etc.) only to cancel it a few weeks later. Will wave 7 of The Vintage Collection be shipping to the UK along with later waves?
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From Jedi Temple Archives: 1) Fans and collectors have been subtly and respectfully dropping hints about seeing the original 12 Star Wars figures released all on Star Wars cards in The Vintage Collection. Despite this, you haven’t shown any progress making this a reality. We’re 2 years into The Vintage Collection and your focus is sadly elsewhere. What’s puzzling is that this is the time to get the original 12-backs into the basic figure line. Have you forgotten that this is The Vintage Collection ? What makes this even a little more frustrating from our perspective is that you have so many tools and base sculpts before you to make this a splendid reality, hence making this a very easy task to greatly satisfy a hankering for updates to the original 12. It’s simple to do really! Create only 2 completely new sculpts: Jawa and Princess Leia Organa. Upgrade existing figures you have to include the standard ball-joints (Tusken Raider), simply update the paint jobs on the figures that are seemingly flawless as is (Han Solo, R2-D2, C-3PO, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader (just glue the helmet to the 2007 TAC No. 16 figure closed) and Luke Skywalker - although he could use an all-new sculpt too, but we won’t push it) and gently retool/repaint the remaining (Death Squad Commander and Stormtrooper – please choose one without a removable helmet) and voila, you’re done. You can even release these across two different waves (6 per wave). This obviously will save you a ton of money as far as tooling costs are concerned, yet excite collectors who have been waiting to see the original 12 all updated in The Vintage Collection on Star Wars card backs. Please make this a reality for us? The first Star Wars film is much too ignored in The Vintage Collection, so please make things right.
2) With the discovery that VC61 in The Vintage Collection will be the mail-away Boba Fett and VC66 and VC67 will be the miniature figures in the SDCC Revenge Of The Jedi set, how are OCD collectors to display and/or get these pieces? And then we find out that VC56-VC60 (the delayed wave including Aayla Secura) won’t be out till 2012, but the rest will be out in Oct 2011? And with the mention that the Walmart exclusive wave won’t be coming in TVC packaging, does that mean that the other general release figures in this assortment won’t as well (and be placed in the Darth Maul packaging)? We could keep going on with question but as you can see your SDCC presentation created more questions than answered them. We really have no clue what is going on. If you could clarify what’s coming in what kind of packaging, we will be extremely thankful.
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NEW: From Lichtgeschwindigkeit.de: 1) Even though we're all enjoying summer, Christmas shopping is just around the corner. In Germany it's common that before Christmas kids and a lot of adults get an "Advent" Calendar. These are calendars where you open a door each day between Dec. 1st and Dec 24th and there's a piece of chocolate behind each door. Over the past few years, this concept has been taken to a new level by toy companies. For instance, Playmobil does about 6 different calendars each year, in which there is a cardboard fold-out diorama scene (almost like the Jabba's Palace or Cantina you did a few years back) and then the toys that are behind the doors help to complete a whole scene. Now that you have the droid parts from the Build-A-Droid series, you could even do something like this. With 24 days, kids could easily create 2 protocol and 4 astromech droids, or you could have fewer BADs and add other accessories or even go as far as making a Droid Factory cardboard background, a Jawa, some droids, and other accessries. What do you think? Is this something that Hasbro might be able to do at some point in the future?
2) Supposedly there will be no Royal Starship coming out when Episode I hits the big screen in 3D. How's the planning regarding a royal ship from Episode II or III? Will there be a big vehicle coming for the 3D release of Episode I or will it be another Clone Wars themed big vehicle in 2012?
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From MouseDroid.com: 1) As a long time collector, I have come to enjoy the different package refreshes each year. In recent times, it seems the designs for different lines are beginning to look a little too similar; especially in the case of the current Clone Wars line and the Legends repack line.
What is the thought process behind this decision and has it ever occurred to you, that this could be confusing to a consumer, such as a parent looking to buy toys for their children.
2) Another spectacular display of upcoming Star Wars products at SDCC! Can you confirm which Star Wars items will be released in Australia? (or, can you let us know what will not be released here next year?)
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From Sandtroopers.com: 1) How will HTS avoid the exclusive mess that happend on July 25th?
2) When exactly will the new packages for the 3D films change?
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NEW: From Sir Steve's Guide: 1) Last fall, Hasbro finally had to bite the bullet and raise pricing across the line, both movie product and Clone Wars. Retailers seemed to take an odd approach with the raised prices, showing many instances where they'd set a price even a dollar or two higher than what Hasbro was aiming for. Now the main line Vintage Collection figures go for $9 to $11 at the major retailers, Clone Wars figures go from $7 to $9.50 at the major retailers, and pricing on bigger stuff that was still key to the line - like Starfighter Vehicles and (now-discontinued) 4-figure Battle Packs - have been jumping up around $25 to $30 at the big retailers. Pricing has always been a challenge, it's even part of what killed the original Kenner line back in '85, but it seems to some collectors like right now that pricing has gone beyond what the market will bear for little 3.75-inch Star Wars figures. Saga Legends, once a powerhouse for the Star Wars line with casual collectors and kids, now seems to be struggling, and during spring through the summer reset, both Target and Walmart stores in many areas were clearancing them out and taking the SKU off their shelves. Both casual collector interest and even fan interest seems to have finally found the "make or break" point with the new pricepoints, or at least making them far more discerning about what they were considering buying. Does Hasbro view the pricing situation for Star Wars anywhere near the view we collectors are seeing?
2) t 2010 SDCC, we interviewed Derryl and asked a question about the philosophy behind the very successful Hasbro Star Wars Q&A, to which he responded:
"It does take a lot of time to answer questions and not be glib. It's actually very easy to be glib, with Star Wars we set out from the very first session to try and solve a problem we had with the fan base, which was a real wall that seemed to exist. So we wanted to smash down a wall which had built up between corporate Hasbro and the fanbase at large. Our mission to do the Q&A was really precipitated by kind of a lack of insight or understanding into our actual processes that we used when creating the line, when making the decisions we do, and balancing the fact that we're fans but at the same time we're working at a company and we have financial obligations to the company to deliver on a certain target, what was promised, and we have to balance that. We hope that we've made that kind of corporate financial aspect almost invisible to the way we approach the line, it's a necessity that's always behind us.
But that's why you see things, I talked about, like, we had to balance the costing and here's what goes into costing. We'll make a character selection or wave selection or vehicle selection based on balancing all the aspects of how big these characters are, how much deco they're gonna take, how much tooling - you know, that's always a big one - how much tooling a wave consumes, and by doing so we're able to give fans the ability to communicate, to write and talk about things in the same way that we do, and we've seen an evolution in the way fans perceive the line, which means that we've done a good job helping fans understand the things that we have to balance. So my appreciation goes out to the fans too for responding to that, which means that we can move on to other questions of character selection or things like that that we know people really want to get to. [Q&A as an education,] you're right, and getting back to the point where it would be easy to be glib to answer questions, to be short and say "no" or "yes" to some questions. The Star Wars fanbase is the most passionate fanbase on the planet. We exist, our jobs exist because of the fans. Our approach to the Q&A is when somebody asks an impassioned question, to respect that question, right? Sometimes they may not be things we want to be asked, but it's our job to answer them, to not show an emotional response, to answer them with the respect the question deserves, and we treat everything equally. Some people want very specific answers, some people very broad, but everything really deserves an answer, and that's we approach it. So, our answer back to the fans is to show an appreciation of the passion and respect that they bring to Star Wars."
Derryl's comments there impressed us quite a bit and showed a stark contrast to what we had been experiencing at the time with Hasbro's Transformers Q&A, where answers did come off seeming glib and lacking repect for those fans. This year, with Jeff taking over SW Q&A from Derryl, the first few batches of answers have come off with somewhat of a brief, glib, vague, even some fans feel mocking in tone - more PR-styled answers than giving fans a real understanding of how the brand works. We hope this is a misunderstanding of each other, just a breaking-in period and not a repeat of the ultimately pointless Transformers Q&A. If so, what can we fans do to help smooth this transitional period? If not, what's the new intention of this Q&A, what's the point?
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From Snowtroopers.ca: 1) With the new exclusive Luke Skywalker's Tauntaun soon to be released this year (can you tell us when it will appear in Canada?), it feels strange that a new version of Luke Hoth has not been planned for 2011 nor 2012. I wonder why Hasbro decided to offer the Tauntaun without offering us a rider that can actually sit properly on the beast. What is the decision process in doing so? Are you aware that this could lower some fans interest in getting this toy? Especially when none of the previous versions of Luke Hoth is actually available on the market at this point in time?
2) We've learned from a recent answer to a quesiton sent to you by Rebelscum, that Hasbro is planning to incorporate electronic features into some figures. Would you mind enlighting us up on that? Could we finally be getting some light-up versions of lightsabers for our 3-3/4'' Jedi and Sith duelists? With fiber optic readily available nowadays, I think this would be perfectly feasible in 2011 without being detrimental to the figure's ability to have a removable lightsaber and without having a bulky torso.
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NEW: From Star Wars Action News: 1) It's been said many times that Vintage will continue through 2012. But we've seen the packaging for the Episode I 3-D release. With Clone Wars and Saga Legends, will there be 4 Star Wars lines in early 2012, or will there not be a specific Episode I line?
2) While I completely respect the exclusivity of the SDCC Death Star set, giving Vintage Collection numbers to the exclusive carded Salacious Crumb and Mouse Droid does appear to be salt in the eyes of collectors who want a full set of The Vintage Collection. In the past exclusives were not included in the basic numbering system. Why was the decision made to number those two not-available-at-retail figures? And is there any chance that these two mini-carded figures might find another exclusive outlet (which would not detract from the exclusivity of the Death Star box set as a whole any more than the Revenge cards being at retail does) such as Entertainment Earth, HasbroToyShop.com, or some other outlet?
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From SWCollector.com: 1) There are still a lot of Star Wars characters that have ties to the original Kenner lines that haven't been explored in the modern line. In the Expanded Universe, there are characters like Thall Joben and Mungo Baobab. In the canceled 1986 line, there were the Mongo Beefhead Tribesman and Clone Warrior, among others. Have you considered doing anything with these and other characters, perhaps as mail-in or convention exclusives?
2) Has there been any progress on a Star Destroyer Bridge Playset? This one seems like a natural!
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