Got Questions?

Questions for September 2, 2003
Q&A Archive

I hope everyone had a great weekend; I sure had a lot to keep me busy… Thanks to everyone that submitted a question for this update, I'll look forward to hearing from the rest of you real soon.

On with the show:

1
You know in Phantom Menace there are those Nemoidians? Well, that one that goes 'they're going up the ventilation shaft!" when Obi Wan and Qui-Gon escape at the beginning... What are they called and is there an action figure for them? Also it looks like they're wearing gas masks. -mike

The character you're referring to has been named Tey How, a lesser ranking officer aboard the Trade Federation Battleship, referred to as a 'pilot' in the visual dictionary. The gear worn by these Neimoidians, data goggles and comlink, interact with the ship and provide a constant flow of information. So far there is no action figure for this character, but hopefully Hasbro will get around to it some day.


2
I'm wondering which figures and ships in these newer waves are just repackaged. I'll buy most new figures but I don't want to buy something I already have just because the package changed. -Senni

Of the latest sets of figures released, Darth Maul, Han Solo, Princess Leia, C-3PO, Luke (Tatooine Encounter), Darth Vader (Death Star Clash), and Jango Fett have all been released previously in one form or another. The only thing setting these figure apart from their earlier versions is the new display stand, and the lightsaber included with the Luke figure. Of the recent vehicles; the AAT, Jedi Starfighter, and Republic Gunship have been released before, but in all cases the newest versions offer at least deco and/or color changes.


3
How will an autograph affect the rating on a carded figure if I had it graded? I had Jeremy Bulloch sign a 'Mint on Card' Return of the Jedi Boba Fett. I don't plan on selling it, but I was curious. -Glen Borst

According to the AFA site, autographs are considered a flaw and will limit the grade of any given figure. AFA aside, the overall value of something like this will depend largely on the future buyer. Autograph seekers tend to put additional value into such things, but if you're trying to sell it to someone that is indifferent about autographs, he/she may see it as a detriment. If I were you I wouldn't bother having the figure graded, if you think you may be looking for some kind of payoff down the road, it would probably work against you.


4
I wanted to put a couple of pictures of my collection on your site. What address can I send them to? I really enjoy looking at everyone's collections and I want to share mine. -Wade Hanson

Wade, go ahead and send your images to curto@rebelscum.com. I'm sure Dan will be happy to post the images of your collection.


5
Throughout much of this year, many of the 2003 figures have been difficult to find at retail, if they are found at all. I have become a consistent customer to a few online sites and they had some problems getting product. Since the line has moved forward, is there a chance that many of these figures, such as Lama Su, Aayla Secura, Barris Offee, Yoda&Chian, Ashla & Jempa, the older repacks, and even the red battle droid, will return in future case assortments. -Karl

According to Hasbro, there are plans to put more of these figure out there; however it sounds as if they will be on the newer 'gold trimmed' card backs. If you are looking for these figures on their original cards, pickin's might be slim. While there are cases still in the system, and still showing up at retail, there's no way of knowing when and where they will appear. I found a few Red Battle Droids and Imperial Officers the other morning at my local Target (that would be one place to start) and KB Toys is still clearing out older waves, so I'd think you'd have a better chance of finding what you need at either of these places. Good luck!


6
Well I'm not sure if this has ever been asked before, but I would be surprised if it hasn't. How does Hasbro continue to make figures that are stagnant, limited, and unable to perform the basic of functions? What I'm referring to is the very large number of deluxe figures that came out like Anakin and Break-apart Geonosian Warrior or Mace Windu and break-apart Droid that could not stay together, could not stand up on their own, and in my opinion a complete insult to collectors and kids out there who bought them. Figures continue to come out that do not even stand up on their own because the feet are too small, capes are too long, or action poses are limited. I see they came out with stands for the newer ones which was a great idea, but I am already reading that newer figures coming out, like Ceremonial Padme, will also be unable to stand up on their own. This just amazes me. And the action poses are another issue, how is a good [?] supposed to be imaginative with a figure when it only stands in an action pose. It's hard enough to find even one figure in a bunch that would even fit in any vehicle, but now the action poses make it virtually impossible. I chose the Ephant Mon as one of the best figures out there, not because of the articulation or the size, but instead because its arms and feet swing up and down and it can stand on its own.... that's all they need in a figure. I think action poses have a place, but at least make one of every character in a standard, normal form... What do you think?

Action poses have been a hot topic for awhile now; while some collectors don't mind them, others absolutely hate them. In theory the goal behind the action pose is to give kids and collectors a more 'exciting' alternative to the ordinary 'up and down' figure. In reality these figures are best suited to collectors that display their toys rather than those that tend to play with them. When you look at a figure like Luminara Unduli, as cool as she looks, it's clear to see this toys isn't necessarily meant to be 'played' with. My feelings on the matter; while I like the poses from a certain standpoint, I'd also like to see these figures made in a more 'useful' form. Latest word on the issue, to the relief of many, it looks like Hasbro is moving away from these kinds of figures and turning to more articulation so we may all get the best of both worlds.

On the issue of action features, Hasbro seems to be moving away from these as well. The thought was to make a figure kids could do cool things with, but as you pointed out, they didn't always work as planned. Still, in Hasbro's defense, my kids played with these figures more so than they did with any others. On some level they were a success, though clearly there were those that detested them. As far as figures that can't stand on there own, from the very beginning this has been a problem. There have always been one or two figures in any given year that you had to fiddle with to get them to stand up. Often times, once you finally get the right position worked out, the figure looks completely un-natural. Thankfully, Hasbro has finally come up with stands that mitigate this problem and compliment the figure, but the overriding issue still seems to pop up from time to time. As this seems to be unavoidable, all I can suggest to combat it are action figure stands or an Ultarama.


7
Are the Jedi in the new Jedi Army pack based on any particular characters from Episode II during the arena battle? I seem to remember seeing a Rodian Jedi during the battle and obviously there were a lot of human Jedi, but there are no twileks visible that I can see.

When it was announced there would be two Imperial Dignitaries coming soon I was hoping to see a resculpt of the vintage Dignitary (I believe his name is Sim Aloo). Any chance we will ever see him made? After all he is the most visible Dignitary in ROTJ and I do not even recall seeing the new Dignitary with the red stripes on his cloak in the film.

Last question, the new Jedi council sets seem like they will be both a blessing and another reason to annoy many fans with the characters set up out of order and one character without a chair and little articulation (Even and Depa), what are we supposed to do with the guys that have no chair (though Depa appears to be unable to sit)? Will Hasbro ever get this right? It also appears that once we have the full circle there will be a big hole in the middle, any word on filling that in? Though we never see Yareal and Oppo standing in the film, the figures seem out of scale to the others, I assumed Oppo was a much larger character; did Hasbro mistake their size. And will Yareal Poof have 4 arms?

No Twileks? How could you possibly have missed Amy Allen? Apparently these figure are not based on any specific Jedi from the film, in fact two of the three figures are based on Hasbro employees; the human Jedi and the face sculpt of the Twilek. As the Clone Wars line goes, these are just Jedi cannon fodder for playtime or diorama builders.

Sim Aloo; There's always a chance, but no definitive word on that figure yet. As for the other dignitaries, there's actually a production shot of five or six of them (most not seen in the movie) from Return of the Jedi. Both upcoming figures can be seen in that still so they are 'movie accurate.'

To do the Jedi Council in order Hasbro would have had to re-work several figures we already have in our collections. Given that collectors often complain about Hasbro 'making' them buy the same figure over and over, it must have seemed a better idea just to give us the ones we don't already have. Given that the chairs are somewhat interchangeable, there's the option that we could come up with the proper seating order on our own, but as you pointed out some of the figures are unable to be seated. While I could see them doing soft goods versions for some of the existing Jedi, I have a hard time seeing them go back and do them all. It's possible Hasbro could release additional Jedi Council sets with the other figures seated, my guess is we'll just have to make do with the sets we have and display the other Jedi figures accordingly. So far there's been no word on filling the center portion of the circle though you never know what Hasbro could come up with next. Oppo does seem to be a bit on the small side, but Yareal looks pretty darn close in my opinion, if Hasbro did scale them down a bit I doubt it was a mistake; they likely had a good reason to do so. While I seems to remember there being something about Yareal Poof having four arms, I don't think he has them in this set. On the other hand, the Oppo Rancisis figure in set #1 does have two additional arms hidden under his robe.


8
I'm trying to track down all of the classic trilogy characters for dioramas and stuff like that. So far, I wanna get POTF2 Luke Jedi, POTF2 Han Commtech, POTF2 Leia New Likeness, POTJ Lando. I already have Saga Chewie and POTF2 C-3PO. I'm just gonna get any version of R2-D2. Finally, I'm split between POTJ 300th Boba Fett or Saga Boba Fett. Did I make the right choices here? Can ya help me out on my little Boba Fett issue?

Depending on the diorama(s) you're working on they all sound like pretty good choices to me. As for your Boba Fett issue, if you are working on a scene from the Cloud City corridor where Fett takes a shot at Luke, I'd go for the 300th figure edition. If your diorama will focus on the battle at the Pit of Carkoon, then the Saga Fett is the figure of choice.


9
I went to my Local TRU in King Of Prussia in Pa, was looking for the Multi-packs. I'd asked a sales person to look in the back for me to see if they had anymore, of course he said no but what he told me surprised me. He said they have cases and cases of the old wave in the back, the Watto-Darth Maul Sith training wave. He said to me they've had them for months now just sitting back there, they've been getting the new ones but only one case of the Multi-packs and ships. What I want to know is why did TRU buy so many cases of figures they didn't need and wouldn't you think they should send them back to Hasbro? The sales person also said the same wave is still shipping to them, so what they have in the back cases of cases there warehouse is sending them more don't TRU think that no ones going to buy those figures?

This wave came out at about the time everyone was gearing up for the holiday shopping season. As such, and anticipating higher sales at that time of the year, it's common to see retail increase orders on what is shipping at that time. Unfortunately the end result is usually what you discovered, many of these cases never make it out to the shelf and they begin to pile up in the back room, impeding shipments of newer toys and figures. Why they haven't all been sent back to Hasbro is anyone's guess, but it probably has to do with Hasbro not wanting them back or offering credit for their return. At this point I'd be very surprised if Hasbro was still shipping this wave, what's arriving at your local store is probably old stock shipping from their central warehouse. As for what Toys 'R' Us knows or doesn't know; they way they look at it is they have cases of toys they need to sell and don't have time to worry about what's inside them. It's a pretty old story, but until Hasbro either has the next wave ready to ship ahead of time, or comes up with some kind of catch up case for that time of the year, it seems to be a problem that is doomed to repeat itself.

10
I have the 12" Luke Jedi Knight figure from the Speeder Bike set, as well as the 12" Scout Trooper from the Speeder Bike set, and I was wondering if the Luke and Scout Trooper that were just released were worth buying? Is the Scout Trooper identical to the one released with the bike? He sure looks the same. I know the Luke has the "slashing action" and binders, but the fact that his lightsaber blade is GREEN and not white has me considering getting that one, if I could ever find it. I actually think the facial sculpt on the Luke that came with the bike looks much better, though. Also, is the Leia with Speeder Bike REALLY an online exclusive to Target's website, as it states? Surely Target stores will be getting this one, won't they? In your opinion, it that set worth buying for the figure, as I really don't need another 12"-scale speeder bike? Or is the figure not that great? Finally, is buying online my only option for 12" figures this year? Thanks for your help! -Greg Romine

If you're happy with the previous versions of these figures, and you're not interested in any of the new features of the new ones, then I'd stick with what you have. I agree that the head sculpt on the Speeder Bike Luke is much better, but if you're considering the new Luke for the saber and accessories alone that's certainly a choice you can make. As far as I know the Biker Scout is exactly the same and unless you're looking to start building a 12" army, this is just an option for those that either missed or passed on the Speeder Bike set. As for the Leia set being on-line only; that's the way it looks right now. While there's a chance Target may make room for these (A-wing too) in-stores for the holidays, nothing has indicated they would so far. I'm still waiting to hear from Hasbro on this, if there's any new info I'll be sure to pass that along. In the meantime, if anyone is considering ordering this set, know that it will very likely arrive in less than mint condition. I ordered both the Speeder Bike and the A-wing, and while the A-wing arrived in pretty good shape, the Speeder Bike set wasn't so lucky. For the figure alone, unless you're a completist, I'd pass. It's not a half bad version of Leia, but for half the price (and considering the other two figures that have come with the Speeder Bike have been released solo) you'd probably be just as happy waiting for the single boxed version somewhere down the line. Finally, while 12" distribution has been a little slow at retail, they have still been available. Toys 'R' Us seems to be the best spot to find them, but with things picking up lately, I imagine everyone will start to catch on with the newer waves.


Until next time...