I admit it. I screwed up and sent the last round of question in too late for the last session. As a result, we missed out on the last round of Hasbro's bi-weekly Q&A session. My apologies...I'll do my best to not let it happen again.

However, as part of Hasbro's bi-weekly Q&A session, Rebelscum passed on 3 of your burning questions....PLUS the three we missed out on from last time! Special thanks to Hasbro for getting me back on track!

Rebelscum: We've recently found the SAGA LEGENDS Sandtrooper figure finally being changed to the Evolutions body, although it's been found with the "less dirty" orange Squad Leader pauldron. Can we still expect the "super dirty" white Sergeant pauldron version coming (the figure that fans actually voted for) as a running change? Speaking of running changes to the Sandtrooper, can we get a list of them all (figure changes, not FC sticker changes)? Finally, it seems that the "clean" black Corporal pauldron has been painted to white...is this the case and we won't see the black at all, or is there something else going on here?

Hasbro: Well, this one has been the most confusing of all, because we are also working in the figures mistakenly produced for the initial Capture of the Tantive IV first production batch. So here goes.
1. 1st version is the TSC "super-dirty", gray pauldron, with Bantha staff.
2. TSC body, "dirty" version, with orange pauldron and Bantha staff.
3. TSC body, "clean", with white pauldron, and Batha staff.
4. Evolutions body, "dirty" version, orange pauldron, with blaster rifle.

There has been one more version requested, but we have not seen samples - and that is
5. "Dirty" with black pauldron. This *should* be using the Evolutions body, but because of the original body switch, it may be issued using the TSC body.

We have not personally inspected this pre-production version though, so can't say with certainty which it will be. A possible sixth version, super-dirty using the Evolutions body, will likely not make the line unless we re-release additional quantities for a last shot next Spring. If we get that chance, we will....until then, we will likely have just the five.

Rebelscum: The upcoming Commander Gree figure is top-notch, and easily in contention for "best figure of 2008", even at this early stage. While we were able to handle him at Star Wars Fan Days recently, we neglected to get a photo of him without his helmet. So in keeping with the Q&A tradition of asking for a photo of a helmetless clone, do you have any shots of Gree that you can share with us?

Hasbro: Sorry, we do not have an image to send at this time.

Rebelscum: News of an AT-TE release next year spread like... well it spread really fast. Can you elaborate on this? Most of us have taken this information as gospel and already thanked the Almighty, but some are hesistant to get their hopes up. Any chance of an official announcement in the immediate future? Will this be a wide release or exclusive? We've heard it's big, that's outstanding news, but how big? How 'bout some rough measurements/dimensions to whet our appetites? How 'bout electronics, yay or nay? How much over $100 should we expect to pay? I suppose it's too early to expect any photos, but I'd be remiss not to request some. Also, what pack-ins are you considering?

We're hungry for info about this, and especially with regards to size and price, it'd be great to know as much as possible as soon as possible so we can budget for it, the kiddies can start saving, and those of us with space constraints can prepare to accomodate this.

Last little question, how well would this have to sell to convince you to crank out a Juggernaut Clone Turbo Tank or an MTT, or some other large vehicle in the years to come?

Hasbro: We have not officially confirmed (despite reports from the Dallas show) that there will be at AT-TE in the line. We merely said that if we did it, it would have to be pretty big. Folks are reading between the lines at what we have said earlier, and that's fine, but it's a big vehicle to tackle and it's not 100% certain yet that we will be able to deliver. So....until we have officially confiirmed, which we hope will be Toy Fair time, it's still a wish list item.

There are so many uncertainties with cost, etc. that we would also have to see what is left for a budget to see if a new driver could make it in or whether we would look to do a driver in a different pack.

UPDATE: From October...
Rebelscum: Does Hasbro have plans for a wave 2 of pre-printed labels for missed characters...like Airborne trooper,Saleucami trooper,exclusive troopers that came in order 66 2 packs,etc?

Hasbro: We do not have plans for a sheet of pre-printed labels right now. If we go back and re-run the stands, we would probably do this. However, we still have a supply of stands, so we have not executed this yet. Perhaps some time in 2008.

Rebelscum: Can you tell us, with regard to the Saga Legends various battle droid variants, did you run these variants in equal numbers? In my neck of the woods, ever since Wave 2 started shipping, the first variant with the droid commander has been showing up, but hardly any of the maroon variant. Now the third variant is shipping. It seems as if the maroon got seriously short changed. Have you packed the maroon into any additional cases, or do you intend to?

The battle droids at the Battle of Geonosis were maroon. Yet you've hardly ever produced maroon droids, and when you have they've been variants and very scarce. I just want to make sure you know this is an army-builder whose potential has not been tapped. It seems we can buy all the clones our hearts desire, and yet those of us trying to put together a CIS force to fight back, especially from AOTC... we're having some trouble.

Hasbro: Eventually the plan is to run all paint variants in equel numbers. However, some variants will hae shorter initial runs and then will come back into the run later - that is the case with the maroon droids. We can't say the same on abel variants, which is almost impossible to gauge.

Rebelscum: Any chance of getting original Marvel characters in the Comic Packs, eg Lumiya, Crimson Jack, Valance, Baron Tagge ... even Jaxxon? And maybe comic-art-style renditions of the main characters (preferably in Carmine Infantino style)? Maybe you could scale down the Force Battlers for the latter. Thanks.

Hasbro: We would not do comic-art style versions of the comic characters. We will stick to the "real" styling based on the movie. Although it would be super cool to see Al Williamson-style characters, or Cam Kennedy....but we digress. Eventually, yes, we hope to see more Marvel original characters in the comic packs and have plans for at least two of those, hopefully in 2009. Don't get your hopes up for Jaxxon, though.


Announcement: With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, Hasbro will be giving the Q&A a two-week break. They will resume the program with questions due by FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30 at 5 p.m. Responses to your questions will, of course, be returned the following Friday, December 7.

Got any burning Star Wars questions you need answered straight from the source? If so, post your questions in this thread in our forums, and with any luck, you'll get your answers next time!