There have been a lot of different outlines printed in magazines, interviews, and supposed official Gary Kurtz or Lucas interviews that have between 9 and 12 (yes, 12) chapters in the saga.

The quote on 7-9 that comes readily to mind comes from an old issue of Bantha Tracks, which was the old SW Fan Club newsletter. In it, GL was quoted as saying that Episodes 7-9 "are about the character that survives Episode III and his adventures." At one point, I think the Emperor wasn't to be defeated until like #10 or #11... there's a lot of different drafts, some true, some not, floating around out there.

6
I live in the east bay in northern California (Livermore, specifically). Why, or why, have the TRU sales not been prevalent in this state? Seems the bargains were mostly in the East and Southeast. What gives?
  -threepeeoh

Well, we here in Arizona just got 'em in Tucson and Phoenix this past week. So keep them peppers a-peepin'.

7
Hi Adam, my question is...If you had , let's say, $500.00 dollars burning a hole in your pocket would you drop it on a "rare" R2-D2 with choking hazard(holo Leia) or a 12 back Vader?
  -Mike

Vader. In a heartbeat.

All issues of variations, rarity vs. just-not-out-yet, and such aside, a 12-back figure is just a much nicer piece to look at than another green striped figure. While R2-D2 is easily the best version of the figure ever made (and I'd buy several to customize if given the chance), for the money, Vader's my fave.

8
I bought an 'Emperor Palpatine' back when they first came out and mine had a 'Watto' name sticker on the bubble of the package. Everything else was 'Emperor Palpatine' related but the sticker. My question is if something like this would make it worth anything more than what I paid for it, or is it just a cool little screw-up to have in my collection?
  -Jason

Allow me to burst your bubble: it is INCREDIBLY easy, with a little patience, to pull off a sticker from a Star Wars bubble and switch it.

9
I recently purchased the Battle Droid with Armored Scout Tank mini-rig thing. I know there are two versions: one with a big window box and backdrop photo, and the other where only the battle droid is showing. I was under the impression that the 'window box' version came first, but mine says .01 on back. Which came first? Also, which one, if either, is harder to come by?
  -Warren

The one with a printed version of the toy on the front came first, and both are still showing up. You never know which release will be harder to find, because Hasbro does some weird things that never quite make sense when it comes to this sort of thing... take the green box 1st issue POTF2 X-Wing, for instance. Almost none of those exist when compared to its orange counterpart, which was released a coupla years earlier.

So... ask again next year.

10
Not that it probably is feasible from Hasbro's point of view but along the lines of the royal starship how about ever seeing a rebel blockade runner, specifically the Tantive IV, or a rebel transport?
  -David

Virtually none?

The Starship sold well almost only because it was CHEAP. I know, $100 isn't cheap-- but every Target I went to this weekend had several for $60-$80. And Amazon sold buttloads of these for $60. Most collectors said they wouldn't have picked it up at full price (but I'd say it's worth it it.) Doing classic ships in the same size, especially relatively minor ones like those, wouldn't work for the line. I could almost see a shuttle or a new Falcon, but those two just seem unlikely.

FIN
I founds me 3 of the new Simpsons figures this weekend! These are some GREAT figures! $4.99, too! Only someone took every last Mr. Burns from every store I visited... BAH! Keep your eyes open for these, folks, because Playmates has hit the jackpot with these.

  
  Adam Pawlus

1
I know the new accesory kits for EP1 were cancelled but were they ever even shipped to stores?
  -darfvader

First, they weren't cancelled. They were shipped to stores, but like next to none of them. Their future is kinda ambiguous-- I hope to find them someday, and odds are we'll see them in 2 years in Kay-Bee bins dirt cheap if we don't find them sooner.

2
Why did Hasbro switch from the classic card back, with pictures, to the new dull looking green/red sunburst?
  -Paulo

Uniformity. And I think Hasbro knows that green, for whatever reason, is popular. (Heck, I wear green sneakers most of the time, 'sabout time the rest of the world catches on to the best of the colors.) With one design, it's much easier to keep stuff together and confuse the hell out of us. You thought it was a pain looking for classic figures before, well, that's nothing.

3
How rare is the R2-D2 with Imperial Slide? Any idea how many were produced?
  -JEFF

This is one of the few things I'd actually call "rare." Hasbro doesn't relelase numbers on production of individual items, but you can bet that if you want something that's hard to find, this is a good bet.

4
I would like to know why Hasbro hasn't gone ahead and sold solid cases of figures in North America? This was discussed a long time ago and I haven't seen the topic resurfaced. I believe they do sell solid figure cases in Japan. This would seem like such a logical solution to the frustration of poorly distributed characters we hear about. In addition, just how difficult is it to change an assortment after some figures have been released and Hasbro has had feed back about the "hot" and "not hot" figures? And why oh why doesn't Hasbro wait until they produce enough figures to satisfy a whole assortment? (like the good ol' days when the Special Edition was released in theatres)
  -Duane

Well Duane, you've got a lot of questions there.

Cases of a specific character is something that Asia gets a lot, and as I understand it Europe gets once in a while. I know that Hasbro has shipped solid cases in a few rare instances, but the current way of shipping figures has been arrived at over years of retailler and consumer feedback.

And it still sucks.

But what can you do? Today's hot figure is tomorrow's pegwarmer. I can find Adi Gallia, Naboo Anakin, and any Maul save for the Soft Goods one by sticking my arm out the window these days. The REAL problem lies with the market. Why? If a figure sucks, Hasbro might make less of it. In a normal toy world, this toy, even at one per case, should become a pegwarmer. Courtesy of the collector market, if it's the slightest bit hard to find, it becomes hot. If Jar Jar was one per case from the get go, you can bet people would still be going nuts for the figure, regardless of how much they (dis)like the character.

So what DO you do? Well, shipping one case of a figure at 12-16 pieces seems like a good idea, with refresher cases if they're needed. But I think there's a lot of retaillers that LIKE shortpacks. After all, it keeps us coming to the stores, doesn't it? One scarce figure can keep dozens of customers coming to your store... and many of them will buy something else if they see something that catches their eye.

As for the Special Editions, well, c'mon, be realistic. Those figures are STILL warming pegs in many stores, and Toys "R" Us is blowing them out left and right now. So that wouldn't work either, really.

5
Have you heard any word on any upcoming offers that would make use of all the proof of purchases w/ the Jedi Points on the Star Wars products?
  -John

Nope. You'll see a huge blurb on the main page whenever I hear otherwise. This would be serious news if it was happening, which it doesn't seem to be.

6
Peoplesay Wedge should have got a medal at the end of ANH. I say no! He wimped out of the trench run when he was only there as cannonfodder anyway, leaving Vader with more chance of shooting Luke. Plus I think that Luke and Han got their medals for saving Leia on the Death Star. This would make more sense than them getting medals for flying the ships. What do you reckon?
  -Steve

I say I should get a medal. Why not? I could use one.

7
I have been reading lately about alot of collectors wishing for an E.T. senator. I too would enjoy this figure, but what is the deal with the legaliy of it? I mean is'nt he owned by Speilberg, and mabye even liscensed to anoher toy Co.? If he is soley owned by Speilberg, would'nt Hasbro's conract wth Lucas not apply?
  -Edward

If Hasbro really wanted to do it, they could. But now probably isn't the time.

But 2002 is. Why? E.T. Special Edition. And if they didn't want to do an ET SE figure to the right scale, they can always license a character from whoever has the rights or the master toy license or whatever. So if Hasbro decided they really wanted to do it, there's nothing preventing them from doing it unless Amblin or whoever gave a thumbs-down.

8
What do you think of the Tatooine Skiff? Do you know if the new Jedi Luke figure is well articulate?
  -DackStorm

The Skiff? Not much.

As far as Luke goes, well, he shouldn't be that articulate, after all, these aren't talking figures.

9
I remember searching and searching for my Epic Force Leia and Stormtrooper...only to finally find them at Sav-On for $18 a piece. I thought this was worth it because I had never seen them elsewhere. Today (what, 2 years later?) I find tons at TRU for $4 each. Is it just me or does this make you say "What the hell am I collecting this stuff for?" When something rare like the "Holo Leia & R2" is so elusive, why can't Hasbro assure us that there are tons available and that they will be made available to collectors somehow???
  -mgranek

What you're seeing is Star Wars becoming just like another toy line.

Most toy lines have a life cycle that begins in obscurity, develops to some form of popularity, then a respectable retirement in Kay-Bee's 3 for $5 bins. Star Wars went directly to the secondary market and everybody went nuts over it, many insisting that every figure was worth a few bucks above retail even if it was a figure TRU couldn't sell.

Today... well, choose your freak-outs carefully. R2-D2 is supposedly on the way again, but I wouldn't pay more for ANY toy than I thought it was worth to me. So while I might pay through the nose for a G1 Megatron someday, new stuff is very fickle. You never know what will be hard to get in the long run, which is something I've said quite a bit here.

10
In you toyfare pictures they have new packaging, there appears to be someone on it in front of the Vader picture, is that Obi-Wan or an Episode II Anakin?
  -Jeff

That's Obi-Ewan from E1.

FIN
So, Rebel Reader (and all around groovy dude) Gary Weaver wrote in regarding why the Endor Rebel Soldier is like he is:

"Just a quick note on the Endor Rebel Soldier. Originaly he was to have this really cool two handed gun holding pose, " he writes. "From talking with Linda in Cincy about two years ago I think she told me that LFL changed the pose on it because it looked too much like a GI Joe or something. Thats why he has that funky hand. All hasrbo did was rework the elbow on the arm and left everything else the same." Thanks, Gary!