Questions for March 21, 2007
Q&A Archive


1
Rebelscum's awesome coverage of Toy Fair '07 has been great! I can't wait to get my hands on all those great new 3¾-inch figures and vehicles Hasbro had shown off, but it left me wanting more! Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren’t Waves 1-4 shown, along with the special Force Unleashed Wave? Any clue as to when we may see Waves 5, 6, 7, etc? Let me tell ya, I need to see Revan and Malak and all their KotOR glory, the Pre-Cyborg Grievous, and some more McQuarrie figures! Any idea as to when Hasbro will let us see some pictures to the following Waves? - John W.

Hasbro’s next official ‘showing’ won’t be until Celebration IV, but that doesn’t mean images won’t pop up in the meantime. We could see something on the Hasbro site, we could see a few things leak out here and there, but for sure we’ll see more of the line at C4. Following that, as I understand it, Hasbro will hold back a few things to show off at Comic Con as well.


2
This question has been asked so many different ways, but I must ask again. After reviewing the pics of both the Millennium Falcon Diorama and Dagobah from Attakus at this year’s Toy Fair are I have to ask, what is Hasbro waiting for? I just don’t understand why they couldn’t do something similar to this for the adult collector, made out of plastic even, to display their loose collections. Even at $100.00 a pop (Death Star section sold separately), who would pass this up? I can understand that “Little Timmy” may not be able to swing this, but think about “Big Timmy” for once! Reality is at $2,000+ for the Attakus version; your average collector could never (would never) swing it. But I still think Hasbro is missing the boat on a golden opportunity, how can they even question the results? -Jon

No matter how you slice it, the answer is always the same; Hasbro can’t justify the expense to develop and produce a range of items that have proven to be slow movers at retail. All of the early POTF2 playsets experienced very slow sales, the Episode I sets virtually tanked at retail. Hasbro seemed to make some headway with the Geonosis and Mustafar playsets, they sold fairly well, but there was never really a huge outcry for them.

And to be perfectly honest, “Little Timmy” is a much bigger customer than “Big Timmy” ever will be, why should Hasbro risk investing their resources on a mere fraction of their customer base, especially considering the very real fact that only a fraction of adult collectors would buy a set like this. It’s just too big of an investment for too little of a return. Maybe some day if children’s play patterns turn towards big playsets we’ll see something like what your proposing, but until then it’s just not going to happen.


3
I have a question about the TRU exclusive Endor AT-AT. For financial reasons, I had to refrain from buying any Star Wars items for about the last 9 months. I'm a completist, and I have everything unique that Hasbro has done since the line was re-launched in '95, so I just figured I'd come back later and fill in the blanks in my collection. Now that I'm trying to get back into things, I am astonished to see the Endor AT-AT going for a minimum of $200 on eBay. Given this apparent demand and the fact that the vehicle is still listed at toysrus.com, do you think Hasbro will re-release this at some point in the near future? -Robb

Robb, you are in luck. As we reported a few weeks ago, and as I noticed this last weekend, Toys ‘R’ Us has put in another order for their Endor AT-AT exclusive. Keep a close eye on your local TRU, they should be getting this back in very soon.


4
Please at least finish the rest of the Star Wars Titanium [Forged Figures] before canceling the line all together (The Darth Maul One is Wicked), also will Hasbro cancel the Marvel Line as well? Will display stands be included in the 30th Anniversary line of figures? Please say yes.

It’s darn near impossible for Hasbro to ship out an item that retail doesn’t want… In this type of situation it is very rare that the manufacturer will all of a sudden stop producing a toy. What usually happens is retail stops ordering or cancels their existing orders. The only other option, and it sounds like Hasbro is at least trying to do this, is to offer the canceled item as a retail exclusive – we’ll see how that goes. As for the Marvel line we’ll have to see how it goes. If Marvel fans are more into this type of item, and they sell well at retail, retail ‘should’ continue to order them. If not, well we know what happens then… The 30th Anniversary Collection will not include figure stands, but it sounds like Hasbro is planning to offer the stands separately. Stay tuned; as soon as more details of the offer are made public, we will pass them along.


5
Did Hasbro ever make a 3.75" holographic Luke as seen in Jabba's Palace? I don't remember seeing one. If not is there any chance of getting one? Any chance of a holographic Darth Vader (as seen aboard the AT-AT in ESB)? It just seems like we've seen every other possible version of Luke and Vader so why no holographics?

Yes, a holographic version of Luke Skywalker (Jabba’s Palace) was released in 2004. So far that holographic version has not been re-released, but I imagine it could show up again at some point. While I’m sure a holographic version of Vader would be more than welcome, I’m not sure if it would necessarily fit with his appearance aboard the AT-AT. I’m guessing you mean a full sized 3¾” version, as such it would be much larger than what appeared in the movie – in relationship to the other figures. Still, it’s not a bad idea, if Hasbro was so inclined they could even include a miniature holographic Vader from the AT-AT scene as an accessory. (hint, hint…)


6
I heard a rumor posted on the DH SW message board and it was about the possibility of a Yuuzhan Vong figure or figures. Was this something considered and scraped? I always thought that the series that killed Chewbacca and Anakin Solo deserved multi platform support. OF course it did not receive that. But as long as at some point we get some figures it will be worthwhile. But it does not look like they are going to be in the '07 line-up. Again was this considered at one point? Everyone on the board who participated in the thread agreed that there should have been more support. I know the movies may have garnered most of the attention. Now though with the EU being the only thing producing new material, I believe it is well deserved.

May the Shwartz be with you - Don

Based on some of the things that have been said during various presentations and Q&As, I believe the Yuuzhan Vong have been and continue to be under consideration for the basic action figure line. We’ll have to see how this year’s crop of EU figures go; if they do well, nothing says Hasbro can’t or won’t consider the Vong for 2008 or later. Without question, there is fan support for this EU species, I would think a figure or two stands a very good chance.

May the Shwartz be with you, always.


7
Will there be more figurines sets like, the Power of the Force's "Princess Leia Collection" but changed to a "Padmé Amidala Collection" I think that would be great if Hasbro made that, as long as they make new Padmé figurines for it (ones they didn't make already) and note: it should include 2 figurines. Padmé and someone, perhaps Anakin. Another Revenge of the Sith Padmé figure would be great to see. Also what ever happened to the Star wars Evolutions sets? I'd love to see new evolutions sets.

Someone just asked about the likelihood of a “Queen Amidala Collection” in one of Hasbro’s Q&As, while Hasbro’s answer kinda left the door open, I don’t think there’s much of a chance we’ll actually see this idea resurrected. The Leia Collection did not do very well as I recall, the figures were more soft goods based (which is more expensive to produce), and female characters are not good sellers. Even if Hasbro paired them up with other characters (Anakin, Obi-Wan, Bail Organa, Qui-Gon, Palpatine, etc…) it just doesn’t sound like the type of toy that stands much of a chance at retail. We’ll see, like I said Hasbro kinda left the door open, I just don’t see it working out all that well for them.


8
Do you know if there is any way to get the wings off the AOTC Republic Gunship without breaking them? Are there cockpits for a Clone Pilot and Darth Maul in the upcoming V-Wing and Sith Infiltrator? I think The Phantom Menace has gotten better with time, whereas Attack of the Clones has gotten worse, what's your opinion on that? -JKY

Yes! Just pull, it may feel like they aren’t supposed to come off, but they do just fine.

Yes! Both ships feature cockpits, and should hold their respective pilots. (Although I hear the Infiltrator cockpit is quite a tight fit.)

My opinion… The movies are what they are and the reality is neither one will ever change enough to make them better than that. I still enjoy watching both (for different reason), I still see things in them that I wish were done differently, I still cringe at all the places that made me cringe the first time. In the end though, this is the Saga that George Lucas created and I respect and appreciate his vision. Would I like to see someone else’s interpretation of this universe, sure. Would I like to see something with a harder edge to it, absolutely. Would someone else’s interpretation, with a harder edge, still be the “Star Wars” that I’ve come to know and love? I don’t think anybody can really answer that, and I don’t know if anybody ever will.


9
Hey Mark. Hey just a few questions for you. First, I was looking at my Action Fleet ships and they all have holes on the top of them. Just wondering what these holes are supposed to be used for? Second, In the future are there any hopes of seeing concept vehicles in the Titanium Series. Like the action fleet AT-AT or the snowspeeder. Third, Any chances of seeing more holographic Jedi and other figures? Finally, I really like the galactic heroes line, but I was wondering if they plan on doing any of the following: more cantina aliens or more of the Model Nodes, Jabba and some characters from Jabba’s Palace, or more Jedi. -Chris

Don’t hold me to it, they may have been used some other purpose as well, but from what I know they were for added play with the larger Action Fleet playsets; things like refueling hoses and such. There’s been no word yet, but I sincerely hope Hasbro is looking very hard at add in the “Series Alpha” angle (concept vehicles) to the Titanium Series line. There are some great designs among the concept work for Star Wars, and the 3” die-cast format is probably the best way to explore it. No word yet, but that is something I definitely plan to ask Hasbro about the next chance I get. More holographic Jedi? Tough call, if they weren’t seen in the movies as holograms Hasbro may not consider them a strong figure choice. I think it would be neat as like a convention exclusive, maybe a boxed set hologram/spirit thing, but outside of that I don’t know how much appeal they would have. I was very pleasantly surprised to see what Hasbro has in store for the Galactic Heroes line this year. After what seemed like a never-ending run of repaints and re-releases, we’ve finally got some great new characters on the horizon. It will be interesting to see what Hasbro shows at C4 and Comic Con, I can’t claim to know for sure, but my guess is they will hit a few of the character pools you mentioned above.

10
First I just want to say that I'm a big fan of "Question Mark". I enjoy reading your informative answers to your reader's questions. So when I saw the TAC Wave 1 figures on the shelves of my local store in eastern Canada and realized that there were multiples of each figure except for the McQuarrie Stormtrooper, I thought I would send along the following question. Is the McQ Trooper a rare figure? I guess it is quite possible that someone just got to them before me. - Nathan.

Based on the reports, and the case I was able to get my hands on, the McQuarrie Trooper is indeed packed one per case. Now don’t panic just yet. We don’t know what Hasbro plans to do as far as revision cases, some more McQuarrie Troopers could end up in other cases; we’ll just have to see what shows up. In the end I don’t think it will be a problem, Hasbro has done a pretty good job lately making sure enough of the figures fans want get out there.


Until next time...


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