After seeing some of the most obscure characters ever in plastic, and after seeing figures called "new" with a new helmet, I don't think Hasbro can surprise me at this point. But I'd be pretty stoked to see an all-new Boba Fett.

6
Does the pit droid which comes with Ody Mantrell look like "Bill the Cat" from Bloom County to you too?
  -PhilG

Now that you mention it...

7
I know everyone is raising a big stink about not finding the POTF2 R2-D2 w/ Holo Leia, but have the new Stormtrooper and Darth Vader shown up yet? I see on Yakface.com that these were listed as "released" as of 10/99. I have seen none of any of them.
  -Dave

I've seen them in comic stores, and at eToys and a few other places. But I still don't have 'em and haven't seen 'em in stores. Entertainment Earth has 'em in a case, and I think they're due to hit stores again pretty soon.

8
I was lucky enough to get an A-wing from TRU for $9.97. When I took it out of the box, I noticed a coin-opening battery compartment. I looked at the box and instructions and it says nothing about battery-powered functions. I stuck a penny in there and it popped right open. Plenty of room for 2 AAs. My questions are, why no power? What were the battery functions to do? Why did they make the place for it and not include it?
  -Evan

This is one of those times where I can say with no argument that Hasbro got lazy.

The original A-Wing from the Droids line (1985, if I'm not mistaken) is virtually identical in appearance, and it has a compartment for batteries that allow it to make some noises. They didn't bother to alter the mold for POTF2 much for whatever reason, so we're left with a pretty weird error. (This, folks, is why I'm always against reissuing old toys. Not "new" old toys like anything from POTF2, mind you, but 10+ year old stuff. Because I still wanna see a reissue of the Animated Batman Penguin because, like an idiot, I passed on it when it first hit.)

9
What's different about the Jar Jar in the catapult set?
  -Scott

He really, really, really sucks.

I'm not just saying that, either. In the history of lame toys, this goes right up there with previous winners as the Cruisemissile Trooper. Why? The cannon is pretty small, but there's nothing wrong with a small toy. Jar Jar, on the other hand, has a pretty lousy paint job compared to the first issue, which wasn't all that bad. The real reason it just makes me want to buy something else: no articulation from the waist down. None. At all. And this set costs ten bucks. I miss the Speeder Bikes already...

10
Hi, do you think that Hasbro will ever offer the all freeze frames as a set, maybe in some kind of folders? Also, which freeze frames were considered the rarest?
  -FrejuCamor

Hasbro has said, on many occasions (to my dismay) that there are no plans to sell a set. I have a set, but it kinda sucks that not many people were stupid enough to crack open that $5 FF US Weequay just for the frame... just me.

As far as rarity goes, well, Weequay. He's the tough one. As far as the rest, well, since they keep surfacing it's hard to say.

FIN
Hey kids! Didja catch the new Beast Wars Mutants posted this morning? Man, that Poison Bite is some funky toy! Here's hoping they hit soon...

  
  Adam Pawlus

1
There's two years before Episode II graces the screens. Does Hasbro plan on making Episode I figures right up to that date? There's only so many characters you can make figures from.
  -Smart Carl

While Hasbro's exact plans regarding Episode One is unknown, it is very likely that they will be producing toys for it not only until Episode Two, but beyond. While there are not many main characters to produce, there are countless aliens and background creatures (and let's not forget all the great droids) to produce as well. And, of course, there's the resculps. Sooooo many resculpts. (But if Hasbro wants to do some droid repaints & resculpts, I'm all ears.)

2
Will Hasbro release a lifesize scale version of Obi-Wans lightsaber with all the sound effects, light and great detail similar to the ones they did for Qui-Gon and Darth Maul?
  -Jason

Yup. Some advance samples have shown up in collectible shops in Europe and Asia, the wide release of the E1 Kenobi saber should be out in the not-too-distant future.

3
Did we ever get the origin of the Japanese 2-pack of "Spirit" figures? I hear about them, but nobody ever seems to have photos. They were bootlegs after all, right?
  -brant

Joe Leung's awesome (defunct) Star Wars page had pics of Japanese custom Spirits at some point in 1997 which, if I recall correctly, are identical to the "Japanese Fan Club" ones. If these are the same thing (and I believe they are), they came from a hobbyist in Japan who does some really great work. Never did get a name, though.

4
Well, I hope this is Adam. I was wondering if George Lucas has ever considered the possibility of making a Star Wars cartoon series? Kind of like Batman. I think it would be Awesome! It wouldn't have to follow the movie, but could be based on some of the Dark Horse comics. What do you think?
  -Tim

A Star Wars cartoon would be a sure-fire boost to the toy line's sales. After all, it works for lots of lines... constant exposure never hurts. While I've been waxing on this topic for a while, nothing out of LFL has surfaced about actually doing it. I'd love to see it happen (and submit a script, hehe). A "Tales from the Star Wars Universe" show has been mentioned by a lot of fans, basically take the format of the short story collections and make it a series. Heck, do a Rancor Keeper's tale, do us all a favor. :)

5
I've seen Aurra Sing everywhere! She even has her own comic! It wouldn't surprise me if Hasbro makes her into an action figure. My question, Where does she appear in TPM? My guess is Tatooine, but I don't know what scene she appears in.
  -Lenny

In the Hasbro Q&A, Jen pretty much came out and said Aurra's going to see plastic. She appears in the Pod Race sequence, out of the way in a pretty quiet scene on the right hand side of the screen. I missed her the first time myself. Here's hoping we get pics at Toy Fair.

6
What do you think is the future on the classic epic force figures? I really liked them, but if they stop the line there, I see no point in continue seeking for the last three (han, ben & chewie) I still don't have...
  -Seb

I would say the line has no future. E1 didn't sell well, even the FAO exclusives didn't do killer business. It's a great looking line, easily the best sculpts out of Hasbro, but it's best left dead or as some form of exclusive.

7
Is the Wuher and the EP1 ObiWan with hood up both fan club exclusives?
  -Hooly

Obi-Wan is not an exclusive. He's not even available yet, contrary to what some are reporting.

Wuher... well, let's say this: I don't know. Some reports say yes, he is a bona-fide 100% nonfat Insider exclusive. Others say they have an exclusive window to sell the figure, and he'll be in the assortments later. All I know is, it's Wuher, I've been begging Jen for one for as long as I can remember, and I already ordered mine. And if you REALLY want one, I'd reccomend you do the same, because it would make sense to pack him at one-per-case if he ever hits stores.

8
A fellow collector told me that he had heard of a variation that had the brand new 12 inch chewy holding his bow-caster in a different position than the normal two hand stance. Have you heard or seen any such variant out there? If so is he fairly hard to get or just a first release kind of thing??
  -Mike

Someone asked me once if their POTF2 Yoda that was looking to the right in the package was a variation. Like this, I'd say not really. Well, I guess it could be, but does anyone even care for the regular release of this figure? I LOVE classic stuff and I passed on it.

9
hi, my old action fleet at-at has a winding rode under the trooper compartment, and it also shows on the box, a rope that falls down when you spin the rode, problem is that mine has no rope, what's with that?
  -chris

I saw when it first hit-- as in with the blue number sticker-- ripped it open, and there's no rope. I got a few later, no rope. So basically, if you want a rope, you're going to have to break in to Ma's sewing kit and get some thread.

10
Have you ever seen a TPM Yoda that had "Episode I" printed on the card? It was reported that they were made, but I've probably seen 35 or 40 of these guys, and the cards are always the blank ol' regular Yoda cards.
  -Brian

In my many hours clocked into the mines of toy aisles everywhere, I have never, not once seen one in a store or in person with the E1 logo on the card. But Philip has one in the Fandom Menace photo archive, so I have to say it's real.

FIN
Beast Machines Season 2 started on YTV last night, for anyone that cares, in Canada. But if ya poke around the web, you can find the new episode in Real Media format... not that we go for that sort of thing or anything.