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Back again with a recap of our last tenth question, and the long awaited answer.
At a toy show recently I picked up a 5 inch wind up C3PO. It is dark gold plastic. The head wobbles when it is wound up, and on the bottom of each of his feet he has some peculiar holes that connected to something to help him walk. Any idea where this came from? He's really cool.
Judging by the responses we received, and the description you gave, the item you have is most likely one of two things. In the mid 1980's MPC release a line of wind-ups under the 'Structors' title. This line included an AT-AT, AT-ST, and C-3PO. Apparently the 3PO used some kind of
metal bars to aid the walking feature. If I'm not mistaken, these sets were also released some time in the last two years. I know I've seen them recently at some stores.
The second possibility is that it's an item from overseas. A foreign company, possibly Takara, released a set of wind-ups about three years ago. C-3PO was one of these figures and the description is close to what you sent in. These were sold primarily through wind-up catalogs and from the FAO Holiday Catalog. Apparently these were quite expensive, which makes me it
probably wouldn't end up at a garage sale. Still, anything is possible. If I were you, I'd look first for a copyright date on the figure you have, then check that against some of the reading material at your local bookstore or online at The Star Wars Collector's Archive (http://www.toysrgus.com).
Thanks again to everyone that wrote in!
On with the show:
 1 I've been noticing custom carded figures on eBay that sell for $30-$50 each and was wondering if these figures are worth what you pay for them, even though they aren't licensed by Hasbro? Or are they just valuable to whoever pays that price. Is there a chance they could be worth something, or go up in value? -Jason As unlicensed figures their value as collectibles is suspect. While the better ones may retain or increase in value slightly, they will always be what they are, a fans interpretation. In the end, their value will rest more on what a given collector is willing to pay for them, not the market value of an officially licensed toy. If you're considering buying any of these, I wouldn't expect to recoup your investment, just enjoy them for what they are. 2 I was wondering if you knew the order of distribution from Hasbro? The best guess I have is that it starts overseas with Japan (I think) That's usually where the first sales of a new figure come from on the dreaded eBay. Then I'm guessing when they get shipped to Hasbro HQ they are distributed in a spider web fashion to the Northern Eastern and Western states then down to California and Florida and then in a circle from there to Arizona, Louisiana and then finally Texas where I live. Is there any logic to my assumption? And where is Hasbro located? Ohio still? -Bryan Well, I think you have something there... Because of its proximity to where they're manufactured, Japan and China usually get first shot at the new figures. From there the figures are shipped by boat to the Pacific Northwest. Sometimes you'll notice new figures popping up in Washington and Oregon before they hit elsewhere. From there, trucks are sent to the central distribution centers for the major retailers, and in turn shipped out to regional centers and then the stores. While there is a definite pattern to all this, timing is usually not precise. Watching the various reports on the net, you can get a good idea when new figures 'should' start showing up in your area, but existing stock can slow delivery of new items to a particular store. 3 When Yoda is dying and talking to Luke, does he say, "do I look so old to YOUNG eyes", or does he say "YOUR" eyes? A silly Question, but I don't have a transcript of the movie handy -Sean Didn't your teachers ever tell you, there's no such thing as a silly question... He says 'young.' 4 Any concrete info on Hasbro slipping the Gungan Warrior back into any future assortments? Here's a figure I'd think they could sell the hell out of, yet they put it in one per case for one or two assortments. Does Hasbro not want to make money? -Jeremy C Yes, Hasbro does want to make money, but they also want to make sure they don't put a bunch of peg warmers out there. Based on the performance of previous Gungan figures, Jar Jar, Boss Nass, and Captain Tarpals, Hasbro approached the Gungan Warrior very cautiously. Now that they have a better feeling for the demand on this figure, they are looking at ways to make more available. As far as I know nothing concrete has been decided, but with any luck we should see more of these figures this summer. 5 I went to a local comic shop looking for an R2 with Holo Leia figure. All the SW figures are behind the counter at this particular store, so If you want a particular figure, you have to ASK the guy if he has it. So I go in and ask him if he has the fig, and he goes into this big, long-winded speech about how Hasbro has thrown Star Wars, and now I'm quoting, "down the drain." What exactly do you think he meant by that? -Knave777 I would imagine he's probably a little disgruntled because he bought that R2 for $200 on eBay, and then saw it on clearance recently for $2. To be honest I've heard similar remarks from people ever since Hasbro dusted off the line again in '95. There always seems to be something to complain about, usually poor distribution, and people are very quick to give their opinions. Usually these opinions center around what that person thinks Hasbro should or should not be doing to make his or her life easier. Granted, Hasbro has made their fair share of goofs, but retailers are also to blame for many of the problems collectors have endured. Let's face it, most retailers could care less about when or which figures are put out. In the end, while many complain and predict doom for the Star Wars line, things seem to be getting back on track. Hasbro has focused on proven winners, they're producing some of the best figure sculpts in the business, and production in most cases is meeting demand. It's not a perfect world, there will be mistakes, and there will always be those that leave the hobby or complain about every aspect of it. Through all that, I still see many of the same faces every morning, and the same names in my mail box, which tells me collectors are out there. Heck, if collecting was supposed to be easy, they'd call it shopping... 6 Just wanted your thoughts on what the chances were of ever seeing some of these unmade figures from the classic trilogy? How about Gargan, the fat dancer from Jabba's palace? I think collectors would snatch this up considering the popularity of the Jabba's Dancers 3-pack. Do we have a chance at seeing Gen. Dadonna, Riekkan, or Madine? How about Wioslea, Dak, some more Ewoks, Imperial Dignitaries (either young or old versions), Cloud car pilot, FX-7, Hoth Rebel Commander, Arcona, Tonikka sisters, or any other Cantina characters? I figure heck, if they made R2-Q5...we might have a chance. Which of these do you think we have the best chance of seeing? -Mario Well, I can tell you for sure FX-7 will be out next year. Unless something goes terribly wrong with the design, that figure is already planned. There's also an Ewok (Teebo) and two Cantina characters, BoShek and a Blue (Snivian) Snaggletooth. As for the rest, they stand as good a chance as any. Some are figures from the vintage line yet to be updated, others are key characters that always seem to pop up on wish lists. I know a Gargan figure was planned at one point for the vintage line, so I would assume it would at least come under consideration now. With Hasbro's new focus on collector favorites, I have no doubt we're in for some surprising figures in the next few years. While 2002 will be dominated by Episode II toys, I'd say there's a good chance for some of these in 2003 or beyond. 7 I always liked the Death Star Droid character. The one we had in the POTF2 line was cool, I like it, but what about a silver one? It would be easy, I think Hasbro could use the same "shape" of the POTF2 Death Star Droid, but with a silver color and a new pose. Well, maybe the demand is not there... I don't know, what do you think? Hasbro has any plans for this figure? -Sebastian I'm a big fan of old RA-7 as well (I'm always up for a good droid from the Sandcrawler), and I have asked about this figure specifically. Considering Hasbro has reused existing molds to create the TC-14 and K-3PO figures, I would think using the Death Star Droid mold to make an RA-7 would be a piece of cake. Question is, do collectors want this figure? (Sounds like a good poll topic...> I tend to think collectors would want this one, and I think Hasbro would like to make it. It will all come down to a matter of timing, but I'm pretty confident it will happen. The nice thing with droids is that they are droids, and as droids, they all tend to look alike. As long the practice doesn't get out of hand, I think most collectors would understand and appreciate Hasbro reusing those molds to create new or different droid action figures, both Protocol and Astromech. 8 Do you know anything about the current status of ICONS? They're the company that made the lightsaber props a few years back. I heard some rumors that they were making blaster prop replicas so I placed a pre-order for one (and paid for it). Their website is missing and their phone is disconnected. The last time I talked to someone from the company was before Ep. 1. He said the blasters were done and at LucasFilm for approval. Any news? -Lee Marohn Well Lee, I hate to be the barer of bad news, but ICONs went out of business a couple years ago. I know one of the last things they were working on was a Han Solo blaster, but I don't remember ever seeing it in circulation. (Philip: They're totally gone and like you, there were many people who got stranded, having paid deposits for items that will never be made.) 9 I was recently looking at action figure dioramas on several web-sites. I saw a red R2 unit displayed in a few of them. I'm assuming this figure is a pack-in of some sort and I haven't been able to find it. Do you happen to know where this figure comes from? -Rhonda S. Yes, this figure comes from the Royal Starship vehicle/playset, which can be found now at Toys "R" Us for about 50% off original retail. Hope that helps! Tenth Question: "This one's for you..."
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Alright, all you talented customizers out there, this one's for you!
  
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