JediTricks
08-01-2008, 04:19 PM
Comic-Con scheduling delays are over, and now it's Hasbro's answers to SSG questions for August 1st, 2008! Thanks again to Hasbro for the answers, to all the folks who sent in questions and especially those who voted on them.
Hasbro Q&A for the week of August 1st
SSG: In the latest trailer of Clone Wars animation, there is a sighting of Jabba's Sail Barge. Assuming the upcoming AT-TE and Millennium Falcon sell well, what would the chances be of getting a Sail Barge toy with its appearance in both the cartoon and being a key action segment of the first half of Return of the Jedi? I mean, it could help sell Clone Wars figures and OT figures, in ROTJ alone nearly every major hero is battling on it or right next to it, and it features one of the most well-known Star Wars characters ever, Jabba the Hutt, so you have tons of character recognition and interaction, plus animation support, and those battle elements (cannons, flying Fett, explosions) lend it some "aggressive" action. Any of that help its chances, help clear the filters that have been holding it back so far which you mentioned when asked about this piece before?
Hasbro: Well, it helps. You make a good case, but the vehicle still has some significant risk vs. other choices we could make. It simply is not as iconic, prevalent in the entertainment, and as cool as the Millennium Falcon (for example). We will keep watching it and see where it appears and what support it gets. If the big vehicle program this year proves a success, and if it has significant entertainment play, then we will take a hard look at it.
SSG: Why is it that the Y-wing mold was altered for a dedicated astromech droid dome, making it impossible to insert a droid figure? Might the Y-wing mold ever be remolded to once again accept droid figures into a droid slot?
Hasbro: This was changed when the bomb-dropping mechanism was added. It is certainly possible that a future edition of the Y-Wing could have the droid slot restored, but this would necessitate a substantial rework of the tooling to do so, and we would need to evaluate the cost.
[Editor's note: the bomb-dropping feature was on the original Kenner ROTJ version, so we will ask for clarification on this. -JT]
SSG: How far do you plan on taking the animated-style Clone Wars line? Will it continue indefinitely with a new stream of figures through the run of the show, or will it be more limited and spread out like the previous 2004-2005 line of animated figures?
Hasbro: The Animated Clone Wars series is a massive undertaking on the part of Lucasfilm and their broadcast partners around the world, and will be the way in which a new generation of young fans will experience Star Wars for the first time. Since kids want to play Star Wars like they see it on the screen, our plans are no less ambitious and we will be continuing with new figures, vehicles, role play, and more as the series unfolds.
On a side note, be sure to check out our Comic-Con one-on-one Q&A with Hasbro (http://www.sirstevesguide.com/index.php?categoryid=48&p2_articleid=1579), with 8 new answers and more discussion on the Sail Barge. -JT
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And the questions at ActionFigs.com (http://www.actionfigs.com/index.php?categoryid=61&p2_articleid=1916):
Many collectors are noticing that the Indiana Jones line of figures seems to be sitting around at stores and not moving as well as hoped. A glut of product seems to be preventing new figures from coming in, and many fans are worried that the line may be cut short as a result, despite the fact that you've announced that you have plans for 2009. Also, with late July came the return of Star Wars which limits the peg space available for the Indy line. Are the results of how this line is selling having an affect on its future?
Given the focus on Rebel pilots and droids lately, would you consider hitting two birds with one stone and releasing two-packs of Rebel pilots with their corresponding astromech droids? This would be a good way to sell otherwise similar-looking pilots and get their droids at the same time, and also would be a good opportunity to finally update that underwhelming Red Leader figure and his cardboard droid from the 2003 X-wing.
A few times in Q&A's history, you've suggested collectors submit their local stores' pegwarming data to you so Hasbro store reps can get these problems fixed. Some of the stores did show signs of improvement in this department, but others still suffered old TSC pegwarmers (Moff Jerjerrod is pretty consistent) and showed absolutely no signs of moving for nearly two years (until they were clearanced before the Clone Wars/Legacy Collection SKU reset), and the reports on these were coming in from all over the country. What, if anything, was done on your part to fix the problem, and what will be done in the future? When these issues arise again (as they likely will, since they often have), will we just have to wait several years until pegwarmers go on clearance when the line resets again (which doesn't always happen)? If nothing else, having several Hasbro Star Wars pegs filled up with very old product is going to hamper sales of newer product, hurting your business and hindering collectors' ability to get new figures, right?
Hasbro Q&A for the week of August 1st
SSG: In the latest trailer of Clone Wars animation, there is a sighting of Jabba's Sail Barge. Assuming the upcoming AT-TE and Millennium Falcon sell well, what would the chances be of getting a Sail Barge toy with its appearance in both the cartoon and being a key action segment of the first half of Return of the Jedi? I mean, it could help sell Clone Wars figures and OT figures, in ROTJ alone nearly every major hero is battling on it or right next to it, and it features one of the most well-known Star Wars characters ever, Jabba the Hutt, so you have tons of character recognition and interaction, plus animation support, and those battle elements (cannons, flying Fett, explosions) lend it some "aggressive" action. Any of that help its chances, help clear the filters that have been holding it back so far which you mentioned when asked about this piece before?
Hasbro: Well, it helps. You make a good case, but the vehicle still has some significant risk vs. other choices we could make. It simply is not as iconic, prevalent in the entertainment, and as cool as the Millennium Falcon (for example). We will keep watching it and see where it appears and what support it gets. If the big vehicle program this year proves a success, and if it has significant entertainment play, then we will take a hard look at it.
SSG: Why is it that the Y-wing mold was altered for a dedicated astromech droid dome, making it impossible to insert a droid figure? Might the Y-wing mold ever be remolded to once again accept droid figures into a droid slot?
Hasbro: This was changed when the bomb-dropping mechanism was added. It is certainly possible that a future edition of the Y-Wing could have the droid slot restored, but this would necessitate a substantial rework of the tooling to do so, and we would need to evaluate the cost.
[Editor's note: the bomb-dropping feature was on the original Kenner ROTJ version, so we will ask for clarification on this. -JT]
SSG: How far do you plan on taking the animated-style Clone Wars line? Will it continue indefinitely with a new stream of figures through the run of the show, or will it be more limited and spread out like the previous 2004-2005 line of animated figures?
Hasbro: The Animated Clone Wars series is a massive undertaking on the part of Lucasfilm and their broadcast partners around the world, and will be the way in which a new generation of young fans will experience Star Wars for the first time. Since kids want to play Star Wars like they see it on the screen, our plans are no less ambitious and we will be continuing with new figures, vehicles, role play, and more as the series unfolds.
On a side note, be sure to check out our Comic-Con one-on-one Q&A with Hasbro (http://www.sirstevesguide.com/index.php?categoryid=48&p2_articleid=1579), with 8 new answers and more discussion on the Sail Barge. -JT
- -
And the questions at ActionFigs.com (http://www.actionfigs.com/index.php?categoryid=61&p2_articleid=1916):
Many collectors are noticing that the Indiana Jones line of figures seems to be sitting around at stores and not moving as well as hoped. A glut of product seems to be preventing new figures from coming in, and many fans are worried that the line may be cut short as a result, despite the fact that you've announced that you have plans for 2009. Also, with late July came the return of Star Wars which limits the peg space available for the Indy line. Are the results of how this line is selling having an affect on its future?
Given the focus on Rebel pilots and droids lately, would you consider hitting two birds with one stone and releasing two-packs of Rebel pilots with their corresponding astromech droids? This would be a good way to sell otherwise similar-looking pilots and get their droids at the same time, and also would be a good opportunity to finally update that underwhelming Red Leader figure and his cardboard droid from the 2003 X-wing.
A few times in Q&A's history, you've suggested collectors submit their local stores' pegwarming data to you so Hasbro store reps can get these problems fixed. Some of the stores did show signs of improvement in this department, but others still suffered old TSC pegwarmers (Moff Jerjerrod is pretty consistent) and showed absolutely no signs of moving for nearly two years (until they were clearanced before the Clone Wars/Legacy Collection SKU reset), and the reports on these were coming in from all over the country. What, if anything, was done on your part to fix the problem, and what will be done in the future? When these issues arise again (as they likely will, since they often have), will we just have to wait several years until pegwarmers go on clearance when the line resets again (which doesn't always happen)? If nothing else, having several Hasbro Star Wars pegs filled up with very old product is going to hamper sales of newer product, hurting your business and hindering collectors' ability to get new figures, right?