By JediTricks
Published: December 22, 2009
Updated: December 22, 2009
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Thanks again to Hasbro for the answers, to all the folks who sent in questions and especially those who voted on them. Here come Hasbro's answers, and remember to check out CollectionStation.com for their Hasbro Q&A as well, which also got answers.


SSG: In a recent answer, Hasbro stated that there won't be an ANH wave in 2010, the next one being the beginning of 2011. Does that mean there won't be any new Cantina figures released in '10, or is it possible we might see 1 or 2 in a battle pack, a comic pack, an exclusive, or perhaps even another venue? If the answer is "no", is a Cantina figure planned for that early '11 basic figure wave, and if so, who?
Hasbro: The next Cantina figures will be out with the first wave of basic figures in Spring 2011, if all stays on schedule. There are no Cantina figures planned before that. It's too early to reveal which ones will be in the wave, but at least one will be new and one will be a resculpt.

SSG: In the current Fans Choice final 30 ToyFare poll, there are several figures that have been mentioned by Hasbro to be figures they would like to do anyway. Without asking about too many specifics, could you tell us how many are already in some stage of production? How many of those finalists may be released in 2010 or 2011 alongside the winner? Were any finalists in some level of planning or production before the fan site lists came in?
Hasbro: Some of the 30 were already in the pipeline before the poll began, but only one of them will come in 2010. The rest will be out in 2011 to accompany the winner, although we won't reveal who they are just yet. The winner, along with a tease on the number of other figures already in the 2010-2011 lineup will be revealed in an upcoming issue of Toy Fare.

SSG: Recently, you gave an answer about Malakili and Willrow Hood that they were to be released in the same quantity, "the lowest of the fall releases, 30% lower than the lowest-run figures from 2005 until Spring 2008". We know Hasbro policy is to not talk hard numbers, but could you at least give us percentages on those types of "hardcore collector-interest" figures as they stand against the most popular and thus heaviest run figures in Legacy, as well as Saga Legends, and even Clone Wars? And heck, while we're at it, how much higher than the Malakili floor was Yarna's run? We hardcore collector types are always curious about how much risk the brand takes on our limited-interest figures vs. more mainstream entries, and it'd be helpful to inform us why it's more complex to run the line than some collectors' short-sighted arguments of "just make that guy and everybody will buy it".
Hasbro: Sorry, but we won't release any more information that that. Suffice to say that the figures that are seeing the lowest releases now are being released at 30% less than what they would have been in years past, which speaks to the degree to which the collector business has declined. The most popular characters are released in far greater multiples, and to varying degrees depending on the character. We have yet to find a ceiling on how many Vaders, or Lukes, R2-D2s, Yodas, and Clones we can make compared to the collector-targeted figures, which have very hard ceilings, and disastrous results if over-released. Incidentally, Yarna was over-released because the wave she was in was ballooned up for the launch event, and as a result was even more toxic than she would have been otherwise. The more accurate comparison would be the Bail or Breha Organana, or the following Cantina aliens, which were released in "old" numbers which were too long and hence were part of the recall. The release of obscure figures can be handled properly if we have a good handle on the number of active collectors compared to our previous baseline, which we think we have now that things have settled down.

Discuss this week's Hasbro Q&A in its Forums Thread!

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SSG: The new Battle Droid figures in the Geonosis Arena Showdown sets are quite nice, but there are a few issues too, even aside from the eye design problem which you've already talked about. On the long-awaited commander, the yellow chest circle is positioned incorrectly, it should be moved up a bit as was shown correctly on the package art, as well as the 1999 OOM-9 figure and the 2007 Saga Legends two-pack figure. Then there's the issue of arm position: in the films, whenever the droids hold their blasters, they do so with both hands, yet Battle Droid figures from the last 4 years still can't do this, despite this new sculpt being made as a big upgrade. And finally, there's the the battle droid neck, which is assembled backwards with the angle bar in the front instead of in the back, and separately it telescopes into the torso rather than pivots down the way it does in the films, especially odd since we've had previous Battle Droid figures that could pivot. What caused these issues? It can be assumed that the Target sets won't be modified, but before either of these droids gets re-released, will we see any of these issues addressed?
Hasbro: The Target sets will not be modified, as they have already been at retail for some weeks now but we will take the deco issues into consideration if/when these figures are ever re-released. The choice to have the neck compress down into the torso was a deliberate design decision since the goal was not to accurately recreate the way a droid collapsed but to produce the best figure that could get to both states. We also hear you on the hands and holding blasters, and are working on a future Battle Droid modification that will address that. We don't know if this will make it in the second wave of (planned, but not confirmed) Geonosis Arena sets, or will make it into a future release somewhere else.

SSG: Back in January, we asked about what happens to pulled-back pegwarming figures, and at the time you hadn't bought back some in a while so your answer focused on other methods of using the packaged figures, but on October 2nd you answered another site that this year's pulled-pack figures were being destroyed. How exactly are they being destroyed, and are those destroyed materials being recycled in some manner, or are they just destined to become landfill? Can Hasbro further clarify the details of this issue and address rationale behind this measure which could negative effects on the environment?
Hasbro: Due to their nauture, they cannot be recycled. Beyond that, we don't have any details on the specific method of disposal.
[Editor's note: oh my goodness, they were chopped up and fed to orphans, weren't they? I knew it! -JT]

SSG: With the updating of Imperial trooper figures lately to have more accurate designs and sharper sculpting, the Biker Scout is so far one of those figures left out. Although one of the "vintage-style" figures, the existing Scout figure could use some upgrades including sharper armor and undersuit sculpting, a slightly larger helmet, more accurate arms including the missing elbow pads, less bulky shoulders, and better range of motion for the head, knees, torso and hips. How likely are we to see an updated Biker Scout figure like this? What would hold something like this back from being delivered in the foreseeable future?
Hasbro: A new Biker Scout is currently not in the plans as we have thought the Vintage one to be quite sharp and have kept that in the lineup, and have other troops we feel we need to focus on. We'll take another look at your suggestions for a possible figure further down the road.

Discuss this week's Hasbro Q&A in its Forums Thread!

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SSG: We've been hearing how the TLC line has been having sales troubles going back to its inception in July '08. There have been numerous Hasbro comments about lowered volume due to a shrinking of the hardcore collector base and a virtual drying up of the casual consumer base. Now through Q&A we're hearing about entire waves of basic figures, the bread & butter of the line, possibly getting pushed back or dropped into exclusive territory as brand management tries to ensure that those molds get into collectors' hands at all. Yet through all this, we continue to hear that Saga Legends is a strong seller with the casual consumers and thus with Hasbro's retail partners. While we fans appreciate and admire the drive over the past 6 years to deliver 40 to 50 new figures per year, without entertainment support it appears that pace has become an albatross around the mainline's neck as multiple outside forces such as  manufacturing and the economy beat up the line (along with the rest of the toy industry). When fans look at something like the AT-AT Driver figure, which had a chiefly satisfactory figure released only 3 years ago yet now has an entirely new tooling coming up, it seems like the priority to meet x-many new figures per wave is no longer a viable concept, as budgeting for figures that either won't see widespread release at retail or will get pushed back means the next products down the line suffer worse fates is spent across a wave rather than the mainline as a whole. Though not ideal, have you considered merging the mainline figures and Saga Legends back together, scaling back the overall scope of new figures to fit in releases alongside the Legends figures, and cutting down on new resculpted figures when existing ones like the 3-year-old AT-AT Driver would satisfy interest with little or no change? Would focusing all of the non-Clone Wars figures back into a single SKU help keep mainline figures afloat, even if the number of new figures is scaled back significantly?
Hasbro: Thanks for the thoughtful summary of the challenges that we are facing with the "new collector economy." We are determined to keep delivering significant newness in the basic figure line. The basic figure line that will take over after Legacy / Droid Factory will look a little different, along the lines of all the things you mentioned. It will consists of all new tooled figures (about the same proportion as are in the line now), significant repaints/retooled figures, Saga Legends-type figures, and figures released on basic figure cards for the first time. Because of the sheer popularity that Saga Legends has had with its audience, we will keep it going as a separate line but change up the figures some. We believe that it's critical to keep Saga Legends doing, as kids are getting the core heroes and villains (with occasional troops), while fans are adding troops to shore up their forces. However, exactly to your point, we will be refocusing Legends a bit and sending some key figures over into the line that will replace Legacy so there is some core hero traction to that line as well.

SSG: Why did K'Kruhk not come with his mythical hat as an accessory? Many of his fans had high hopes for its inclusion, as it's an important part of his persona. Did you consider this when you decided to make him, and if so, why didn't it make the cut?
Hasbro: He was already a very expensive figure, and we couldn't add his hat.

SSG: The end of the Titanium era has brought much dismay to collectors, not simply because of the grim unlikelihood for the future behind the "hiatus" status, but also because it leaves many great ships nearly impossible to find. Many Titaniums that saw limited releases or worse and were expected to get re-released in the future are now going to be mythical at best, such as the Gungan Bongo Sub (now doomed to be postponed into eternity), Trade Federation Landing Craft, Mon Calamari Star Cruiser, Rogue Shadow, Luke Skywalker's X-wing (Sculpt 2), AOTC Naboo Royal Cruiser, P-38 Magnaguard Starfighter, and more. What with the line's demise skunking the fans out of some great molds, would it be possible to get any sort of limited rereleases of these incredibly difficult to acquire treasures - and the ones that almost made it such as the Bongo - as HasbroToyShop exclusives? If not, why not? Isn't seeing ANY financial return on molds that haven't made their money back better than no return at all?
Hasbro: The demand for Titanium was low to begin with, relative to the 3-3/4" figure line, but has really been hit over the past year. Contrary to what some people think, convention (or online) releases find much smaller audiences than toys that get national release. Re-releasing these for Comic Con would not be a possibility due to the mismatch between demand and the much higher minimum quantities required by our factories. However, all is not doom and gloom for fans of Titanium, and we are looking for ways that we could bring it back out to retail. It may take a while, but we have a lot of heart for this series still.

Discuss this week's Hasbro Q&A in its Forums Thread!

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SSG: In light of several answers by Hasbro stating that sales for the collector-focused Legacy Collection line have fallen off sharply in the last year, causing sales bottlenecks at retail, there have been several theories about why this is happening. Some theories include the simple "the price went up too high for the market to bear in an economic downturn" theory; there's the one saying the casual collecting market (kids, parents, casual collectors) have abandoned the movie lines for The Clone Wars line; there's a theory arguing the Build-A-Droid concept has taken the wind out of sails of every type of collector who isn't a completist and knows they will have a hard time completing their droids; and there's another argument saying that the line over the last year has focused on so many redos that don't quite hit the mark, as well as new figures coming in exclusive packs that require buying old figures as well, that it's choked off interest from the main collector fanbase. Does Hasbro subscribe at all to any of these theories as to why the TLC line has run into so much trouble, or if not, why does the SW team think this problem has come up for the line?
Hasbro: We will address your assertions one by one: 1. The retail SRP increased by $1 with the launch of The Legacy Collection. We did research before we made this decision to understand what impact there would be, and it was minimal. However, we'll return to the downturn shortly. 2. It's not a case of shifting to the Clone Wars. Although some of this may have happened, it's a case of the collectors dollars being pulled out of the Star Wars collecting hobby altogether. We have seen this in all collector targeted SKUs such as Evolutions, Comic Packs, Titanium, and exclusives, all of which hit at the same time, last Fall. The degree to which collectors may have shifted to Clone Wars would only further put Legacy in trouble, though. 3. It's possible the casual fan, who picks and chooses their figures and is not compelled to buy every one, feels "incomplete" when they have uncompleted droid parts and they don't respond to the "pressure" to get figures they may not have wanted to complete their droids. We made the droid parts so they are a bonus and can be combined randomly for fun (unlike other buildable figures) so we discount this a little bit. 4. We have tried to minimize both of these, and don't think this is what has stopped people from collecting. The problem lies in your very first point - the economy. Many collectors simply stopped collecting last Fall and have not yet come back (if they will). We are working hard to get them back, and we think that what we have lined up next year will be our best attempt. As long as the economy is looking better, and the folks on the sidelines feel they can join the hobby again, we promise incredible satisfaction with what we have coming up.

SSG: The new packaging so far has been shelved pretty inconsistently by store clerks, with the coloring differences completely overlooked. This makes for a mishmash of Clone Wars and Saga Legends (with Legacy Collection still not hitting at full strength yet) which collectors have to dig through, and therein lies the focus of this question. The new packaging's J-hook is easily the wimpiest one yet, the hook is so shallow that figures are constantly flying off the pegs as consumers look for their figure of choice, leaving the section a total mess and further mixing up the various lines. Why are the J-hooks on the new cards designed like that, and might you be willing to do something to address this problem?
Hasbro: It's too late to change anything, as the last of the Spring Legacy figures are being produced and shipped now. We will have a solution next year to more strongly separate the Legacy product from Clone Wars and Saga Legends. We are working to also differentiate the latter two as well.

SSG: In the Sept 10th Q&A, you were asked about a hypothetical lineup for the SW team's own choices for the Fan's Choice poll. Some (possibly insane) fans couldn't help but notice Jaxxon and the Nelvaan Warrior popping up on this list, two figures which a lot of collectors would really love to own, but have thought were at best extreme longshots. Although those 2 figures might not be the biggest sellers, they would really make a lot of people happy, and it appears that includes some of the designers at Hasbro. Realistically, given that you've spilled the beans on your own love for these two, what are the chances we'll see these two figures prior to the end of Hasbro's current SW license?
Hasbro: It's impossible to speculate about what will be produced before the end of the run. We can tell you, though, that there is little correlation between some of these blue sky wish lists and the lines we actually craft. Just because we can muse about a figures does not mean it will go into the line. Jaxxon, for example, would *only* be put into the line based on fan voting. The Nelvaan Warrior is a bubble figure, one who had made a first pass 2011 figure plan but eventually got cut in the last round. It's possible he could make it some day based on his own merits.

Discuss this week's Hasbro Q&A in its Forums Thread!

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SSG: The TSC AT-AT Driver was considered by many to be an excellent figure with the only real minus being the swivel elbow joints. The new one looks great, but why did you feel the need do a complete resculpt when simply changing the arms to accommodate ball hinge elbows would have sufficed? You've explained to us in the past that the more tooling required for a figure, the less budget resources can be applied to other figures in the wave, so some collectors are curious why all that new tooling went to the AT-AT Driver instead of something like a new Bespin Han or Hoth Leia. What's the decision-making process there that results in an all-new AT-AT Driver?
Hasbro: Doing this figure did not knock a core character upgrade out of the mix, as we already had our core characters for the year lined up. We wanted to do a new updated troop-builder for this wave, and of the Hoth Imperials, it seemed like a solid one to do since the arms of the previous did need an upgrade. We could have probably just done arms, but the design team proceeded with a new sculpt.

SSG: In the last round, we asked a question about the possibilities of a new Jabba's dais, but the answer we received was instead about Jabba himself. While that was good news for fans to hear and we are quite hopeful on the Hutt gangster front, we're also curious about his dais. Our hypothetical question was asking what pricepoint and format might it be released in for all that new tooling, and would the set include the existing railing and hookah or just assume that enough collectors have the piece and leave it out? Would it have wheels? Would you go back and use the Kenner vintage throne tooling? And what are the odds of seeing the hypothetical Jabba's Dais we're discussing here?
Hasbro: Sorry to have you spend a second question to follow-up; we thought that our answer suggested it would be *all* new, dais and everything. No idea on price point or format, other than this would not fit anything in the mainline so it points toward the exclusive lineup. The odds of actually seeing it depend on many factors: the ability to cost this beast out with the tooling it would entail; a willing retail partner; a successful sell-through of this year's exclusive lineup to merit confidence that such an item would find a receptive audience. We can confirm that we are working on a new set, but the above factors are still not nailed down yet so it's not a guarantee that you will see him in 2010.

SSG: It's been a couple years since fans got to vote for Greatest Hits-style figures. There are plenty of other figures that fans want to see re-released without waiting for them to be remade, but don't fit into the kid-friendly Saga Legends line's focus. Any chance of letting us do another Fans Choice Greatest Hits vote? It's all the fun and excitement of the fans getting to choose figures for the line without the expense of you having to tool up a bunch of new figures.
Hasbro: Right now, the focus is on the new Toy Fare fans' choice poll to see which as-yet-unmade characters fans want to see in figure form. After that, it seems like a solid idea to run another poll for which figures to bring back, either in Saga Legends or in another format. We'll look to start that next Spring. Stay tuned!

Discuss this week's Hasbro Q&A in its Forums Thread!

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SSG: Wookiees have consistently been some of the most popular Star Wars aliens since 1977, but haven't had a lot of great non-Chewbacca figures. Fans were very excited to finally be getting a Wookiee battle on Kashyyyk in Episode III, as well as the promise of more Wookiee figures, but figures of Tarrful and the 2 Wookiees we got didn't fully deliver on detailing or articulation, and 2 of them were hampered by action features. Since then, we've gotten updates of Kashyyyk clone troopers, but no more of their Wookiee "brothers in arms". And now with The Force Unleashed we have 2 full levels on Kashyyyk with Wookiees to fight with, but no toys to recreate this. When will we be seeing new and varied Wookiee warrior figures to live up to these great sources?
Hasbro: Ewoks have been getting a lot of attention lately, and we agree that their taller furry cousins are due some attention as well. We have slotted a new (non-Chewie) Wookiee into the 2011 lineup and will be looking at what else we can do to build out more following that.

SSG: Now that you've shown off the new Slave Leia with alternate sitting lower body, it's got fans hungering for 2 things: a new ROTJ Jabba the Hutt, and Jabba's dais. We know you've heard plenty of these requests and are considering Jabba for a possible new design, up to the point that we almost just sent you literally "blah blah blah Jabba's Dais! blah blah question mark". But hypothetically, if Hasbro were to do a new Jabba with Dais, what pricepoint and format might this be released in for all that new tooling, and would the set include the existing railing and hookah or just assume that enough collectors have the piece and leave it out? Would you go back and use the Kenner vintage throne tooling? Could we convince Brian Merten to get it done as another fantastic exclusive, and if so, does that mean Jabba would have an awesome new cockpit sculpted inside his head?
Hasbro: Ha! We'll pass along the cockpit comment. We're glad that you are enjoying the fantastic cockpit mojo that Brian has been working. When we designed Leia, it was not specifically with the intent of being forward-compatible to any future Jabba, but since the time we started her we have also started work on a Jabba. We do not have details yet, but we're hopeful it will be out in Fall 2010. If we do get the greenlight, it will be all-new. We'll have updated at Comic Con 2010 if such a beastie does materialize.

SSG: In '08, the Clone Wars figure designs were hybrids of the animation appearance and their live-action counterparts, especially Obi-Wan and Anakin. Sculpts were a bit bulkier, bodies were less lengthy and tapered, likenesses a little more grounded. For the red card '09 line however, we're seeing designs that are closer to the show art, such as Obi-Wan Space Suit with a more angular face with larger eyes and a skinnier body that's got longer legs than the '08 figure. What brought about this change, and why? Will we be seeing updates to those '08 figures with this more show-accurate style?
Hasbro: We started out with a deliberately different sculpting aesthetic for the first wave of figures, for which we did not have reference when we started (the first Obi-Wan and Anakin are examples of these). As time went on, we thought that the proportions we were seeing on later characters worked better for figures and started to adopt them to match the show proportions (in some cases the show proportions changed to become more like the toy line, so there has been a convergence of sorts, which is ideal as in a perfect world the show proportions and toys would match. We don't plan on any updates to the 2008 figures, and will continue running them in the line as they remain highly popular.

Discuss this week's Hasbro Q&A in its Forums Thread!

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SSG: Resculpts and Clone Wars outfits notwithstanding, there are 20 new outfits for Padme Amidala that you could still produce, and nine years left until your license expires. That said, what's your plan for our favorite queen-turned-senator? Relatively lackluster sales of Breha Organa, another regal female character, might point to a lack of interest in new Padme outfits; there's also the fact that many of the costumes are similar to one another in style and color, particularly her many dark blue and purple ROTS robes. However, when released in cautious numbers, Padme can fully sell through and satiate collectors. Do you plan on making all of her outfits over the course of the line? If not, then how many more do you think we can expect to see, and which ones are most likely?
Hasbro: We do not have a specific plan for Padme other than generally planning one version of her a year. In anything other than her adventure gear or Arena outfit, she is not the strongest figure and there are lot sof other "sub-groups" that we would like ot plan on getting to. It's possible that someday we'll get to do another pack like the "Evolutions" pack featuring Padme, but there are currently no plans for anything other than a basic figure.

SSG: There is some confusion for the tail end of the Titanium Series line, what with the wave numbers and date cards shown at SDCC. The Mist Hunter is showing up in retailers' computers in wave 10, while your slide show says the previous wave that should have hit shelves before it in late July and includes 3 new tools - the Republic Gunship, Punishing One, and the Malevolence - is nowhere to be found in retailers computers, nor is the wave after the Mist Hunter with the Outrider and Nebulon B frigate. Where does this confusion lie, and will those sets actually get released or will they get lost the way the Gungan Sub and Basestar did? If they are still on track for release, what are those waves and when are they slated for?
Hasbro: You are right - we did mess up and the Mist Hunter is in a separate wave. We can confirm that the other waves will be released even though they do not appear to be actively listed in the system yet of the particular retailer you checked.

SSG: At some point during SDCC, photos were taken of a second Utai figure standing near the Utai Varactyl Wrangler figure on display during the rest of the show and the slideshow panel, however there was no mention of this figure anywhere and it wasn't shown during the main display. This second Utai has a stockier head, different deco, and no headgear. What is the deal with this Utai, will it be released as a running change, has it been cut, and could we get a clearer photo of this figure?
Hasbro: The second Utai has been cut due to costing issues and we do not have plans for a running change since our Utai pack was only planned for one wave. We will see how he does; if it does well we may release the second Utai at a later date in either basic figure or some other form.

Discuss this week's Hasbro Q&A in its Forums Thread!

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SSG: There's been a great focus on troop-building with prequel- and Clone Wars-themed battle packs, especially lately, with even more on the way. Reasonable, after all, it is "Star *Wars*". However, this tactic hasn't been done all that much with the Original Trilogy troops, there are no squad packs or anything of that nature (except perhaps for the Tantive IV pack). Understanding that there is more troop-oriented storytelling going on with the Clone Wars era, there are still plenty of kids and casual collectors who want to set up battles with Stormtroopers and Rebel Troopers from all 3 OT films, the battle packs themselves can help do the storytelling to guide play. So why aren't we seeing more troop-building Battle Packs for the OT?
Hasbro: The focus has been on the prequel-era and Clone Wars because the heat has been here in recent entertainment. We also felt some of this need went filled with some of our Evolution sets this past year. One of the challenges with OTC-themed battle packs is the need to put recognizable characters in with them to ensure that they succeed; it is unlikely that just trooper-themed sets will suceed on their own. That said, next year is a special year with the 30th Anniversary of EpV and we do have plans for a couple surprises next year. Stay tuned!

SSG: Having worked on the modern line for some time now, you've no doubt had to look back at the original Kenner line's grand history many times when deciding what the future of the modern line will be. So you've seen it all and made yourselves familiar with figures, vehicles, accessories, cards, boxes, and even baggies from the '78 - '85 Star Wars line. With that in mind, what does the current team consider some of the most oddball, head-scratching entries from that original Kenner line? What types of things do you guys look back and you can't even imagine doing with the modern line? (And should we give Mark Boudreaux a free pass since he actually DID work on that original line, or pull a "Sophie's Choice" and make him take sides?)
Hasbro: Thanks for the interesting and different question. It actually required some thought to get the answers since we have nothing but respect for the Vinatge Kenner line! When it comes to the 3-3/4" figure line, we actually don't have any obvious head-scratchers, just a few things that were a bit odd. Everything seemed to be very well thought-out and blended nicely into a coherent system of play. We did ask Mark what he thought, and he had a few comments, not surprisingly all figure-related since he worked on the vehicles! "I always felt that the wrap-around labels for astromech "deco," as well as vinyl die-cut figure capes, were all odd design choices even though they were standards for the time." In addition, Mark thinks the original 5-point Kenner articulation was a curious choice at the time, even though it became the Kenner "standard" for years afterward. A couple team members singled out the 3-3/4" Rebel Transport as an oddity. Neither a very good vehicle and an awkward carrying case due it's size, it's one item that seems to not really hit either mark. Oh yeah - one of our designers singled out something else from the vintage Kenner line that almost made it out but got cut - the unproduced Luke and Leia fashions for the 12" figures. Those designs were crazy funky (especially Leia's giant clear tarp!).....a shame they never made it out just for the sake of novelty.

SSG: Recently, pictures surfaced of a few Clone Wars two-packs based around specific episodes, including characters from "Ambush" and "Rookies". While these look to be great ways to expand episode-specific collections, they also cover existing or already-planned ground. Why were some one-off clones like Thire and Echo chosen for inclusion in these sets when they're also being released via other avenues? It seems like it would make more sense to keep these characters unique to one release so that collectors wouldn't have to choose between releases. Will we be seeing more of these screen scene-type 2-packs, and will they be covering more types of characters beyond just clones? Out of the 4 two-packs we've seen so far, the only non-clone is Yoda.
Hasbro: It came down to need. Due to our retailer relationships, we actually needed to create multiple clone-focused 2-packs for a promotional window, and we had exhausted all other clones from Season 1 when we made the selects. Additional 2-packs will cover different sub-themes and characters, as this format is expected to continue into the future.

Discuss this week's Hasbro Q&A in its Forums Thread!

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SSG: Understanding that it's still too far away to talk about and that plans could always change, with the upcoming live-action TV show on the horizon to again boost interest in Star Wars collecting, would Hasbro release those figures as their own separate line, or would they be integrated into an overall line such as the Saga series?
Hasbro: We have absolutely no idea what's up with the live action TV show. Most likely we would look at a separate line, as Clone Wars is.

SSG: As the first generation of TLC and Clone Wars packaging nears the end of its run, we are noticing smaller amounts of new waves hitting local stores, and odd case assortments in those waves and their revisions. The ESB wave seems to be trickling in very slowly, with many collectors not having seen it "in the wild". The AOTC wave has appeared online, but still not in stores as of June. Clone Wars wave 5 has appeared in short supply and with a case assortment that still only includes 1 of each new figure, padding shelves with existing figures that aren't in short supply and don't seem to need significant restocking, while ensuring new figures get choked out, and it seems to be continuing for the next few CW and TLC waves (we understand the Hasbro argument about not having enough new product manufacturing volume for a wave, but there seem to be less revisions to address that, and more figures not moving fast enough to make way). While we understand that there is always a retailer reset of the lines with new packaging, a holding of the breath, it seems like this year it's been a longer-term problem and many collectors are growing frustrated with the scarcity of newer figures. Are there other reasons behind the lack of new figures on shelves, is there a remedy for it before the new packaging comes in?
Hasbro: Clone Wars continues to be a monstrous hit with kids, necessitating waves with only 1/case of the new figures and constant repacks of the "greatest hits" to ensure that the most popular characters remain in rotation. The problem has been with Legacy; with sales not where we were expecting them, the new waves are having a harder time getting in to retail since there is still a good amount of previous waves on the shelves. However, there here should be plenty of EpV to go around by now. The challenge will be with the EpII wave - we cut back production on this one and it will be the scarcest of all the Legacy waves, and we needed to give new production over to the red/white waves to make sure they get in to retail approximately late August/early Sept. If folks want to be sure they can get the complete EpII wave, we recommend one of the Internet-based suppliers as they are able to order product directly from us by the specific wave, whereas the brick and mortar retailers do not have that precision and there is no telling which stores will get it. Just as an FYI - there is no hard planogram reset date this year for Star Wars, so the new red/white packaging will flow in right after the previous waves have gone through retail, and will not be the same for all retailers depending upon stock.

SSG: Perhaps a longshot, but does Hasbro have access to the old Kenner Droids line's vehicle molds, the Side Gunner, ATL Interceptor, perhaps even the infamously never released White Witch? Will there be any chance to see these given new life and released under Hasbro one day?
Hasbro: Sadly, we don't have any of these left in our tooling library. We're not sure if the White Witch was ever actually tooled up, but it sure is a good looking vehicle. Unless it gets modern entertainment support it's highly unlikely that we'd go ahead with it.

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SSG: In a recent answer, you said unless you could find a way to market Titaniums to kids, there were slim chances for a re-launch. Ok. However, in the Titanium brand's history, there hasn't been any focus on in-package co-play, that is, vehicle vs vehicle battle excitement, a "battle in a box". That has long been a feature of the micro-vehicles expression since Galoob's first foray into Star Wars 15 years ago, and over the past 5 years has been a growing portion of Hasbro's 3.75" action figure brand with stuff like multipacks and battle packs. But Titanium hasn't enjoyed such marketing, there haven't been battle packs recreating the Death Star trench run, there haven't been 2-packs of Jedi Starfighters vs Vulture Droids or AT-TEs vs Hailfire Droids. Why hasn't that been explored, get the kid market into battles right from the package, and thus start their Titaniums interest? Might the concept be worth testing out for a holiday retailer exclusive? Relatives are likely to buy kids an X-wing vs TIE Fighter, Snowspeeder vs AT-ST, Slave 1 vs Falcon, and other recognizable 2-packs for Christmas, especially if they have dynamic "in battle" packaging, don't you think? Hasbro: While potentially a very interesting visual packaging execution, we don't think this the multi-pack suggestion an approach that will get kids interested in Titanium. With no inherent play pattern other than to facilitate imagination, and collectability, the format has limited chance to appeal to kids. We have looked at Micro Machines type of play, and even launched a full-scale (non Star Wars) Micro Machines relaunch a few years ago, but the micro play pattern as we know it is no longer interesting to kids.

SSG: With the drop in sales of the Legacy Collection, might it be time to rethink the stance on realistic versions of the Clone Wars characters? We know you have said many times "no plans for that", but the original Clone Wars animated line couldn't survive at market with a realistic-styled version out as well, it just seems like 1 popular figure line is always destined to cannibalize the other line's sales. Having realistic-styled CW figs would slow the hemorrhaging of casual collectors away from the core brand, unifying some of the fractured collector community. It also allows interactivity between the lines for the more fickle kids and collectors. So while Hasbro has no plans currently in place for the format change, might Hasbro ask Lucasfilm to rethink their stance for the protection of the realistic line, perhaps at least a single figure exclusive to gauge support for that realistic CW format?
Hasbro: It doesn't seem that a migration to Clone Wars is responsible for the drop in Legacy/Droid Factory. On the whole, collector purchases have dropped some, across the whole brand. There may be collectors active in Clone Wars, but if that's the case they have really "voted" to collect that expression. It remains an interesting suggestion, but there are still no plans to "cross-over" the lines.

SSG: Hasbro has confirmed that the 2009 Return of the Jedi assortment will include a new sculpt of Malakili, the Rancor Keeper. Given that virtually nobody was asking for a revisited Malakili, and that the '97 figure is one of the biggest pegwarmers of all time, certainly the most notorious one, why did you choose him over so many seemingly more deserving (and requested) Return of the Jedi characters? If there was a Hasbro desire to revisit him, wouldn't it have made far more sense to include him with the Target exclusive Rancor instead? With figures like Bane Malar, Breha Organa, and other not-really-thought-about collector-focused figures being released to less-than-enthusiastic sales, isn't Malakili an even bigger risk? Will there be a conscious effort to limit this figure's production and/or release rate to stem pegwarming concerns? Could you explain to collectors what the thinking was behind this release?
Hasbro: We decided that he was deserving of an articulation update, part of our desire to eventually rework all of the Kenner lineup. We would have liked to include him with the Rancor, but he was not ready in time (the Rancor was actually intended to be on shelf last November, but a date slip bumped him out to this Spring; essentially, they were almost a year apart). He will indeed be limited as will *all* collector-targeted figures starting with the Attack of the Clones wave. Despite what you think about Bane Malor, the fans seem to like him; unlike some of the "passive" characters, he was a very successful figure with no sell-through issues whatsoever.

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SSG: In Q&As lately, there have been some disturbing answers that subtly point to problems with the future of the Star Wars collecting hobby. Repeated mentions of Hasbro's iteration of Force FX sabers underperforming at market, then the cancellation of Titanium Series, and now the bad news about the TLC basic figure line culminating in a whole wave of figures getting pushed into exclusives. Force FX not thriving might have something to do with the fact that there is a focus on re-releasing existing designs, or perhaps the lack of marketing and "event" releases. Titanium Series has suffered unbelievable amounts of repaints and price increases, and zero marketing. TLC basic figures have seen heavy production of collector-oriented figures like Yarna and Breha Organa (despite even collectors knowing these should have been hard to find rather than abundant), and miserable pacing with just 3 waves of new figures between July '08 and May '09. Hasbro generally has a poor track record of nurturing collector markets when it comes to lines not centered around the 3.75" theme. Doesn't it seem as if that part of the issue is management decisions, overly lofty expectations, even (in the case of Force FX & Titaniums) Hasbro desired profit margins which can't match the lines' business models established by previous licensees, leading to these lines stumbling and thus their collecting markets waning?
Hasbro: First off, things are not so doom-and-gloom when it comes to FX and 3-3/4", and in fact we are very excited about what we are bringing out and believe fans will be delighted as well. We discussed the current situation on each with candor, because we want to fans to understand what is happening in each case. In the case of FX, things are taking longer for a reason. The majority of the business, year after year, was built around the core sabers. New products introductions were a relatively small part of it, since the main consumer for these sabers is not the core collector but a more casual fan, with majority of the business being done in book stores and specially channels (not conventions or the Internet as some might think). These channels and this type of discretionary purchase were hit hard last year, with some going out of business. Combined with an excess of the Master Replicas sabers still in the market last year, it meant a longer than expected ramp up. The good news is that will be behind us as we head towards fall, and new sabers will be on the way, with more new styles coming in 2010 and 2011. In the case of the 3-3/4" collector-figures, there will be fewer of those coming in the basic figure lineup for the near-term and we feel that collectors deserve to know that as well as out commitment to ensuring that the figures will come out even if they are not in the basic lineup. The situation is basically like this: following EpIII, we had reached a new plateau in figure collecting, with a lot of re-engaged fans coming on board through The Saga Collection and 30th Anniversary lines and helping keep Star Wars basic figure sales at very high levels. During the last three years we released a fixed amount of each purely collector-targeted figure - figures like the Mustafar lava worker, any Cantina alien, Umpass-stay, most McQuarrie figures, etc. The releases of these collector-targeted figures would be the lowest quantity of any figure in the line, determined to be a quantity of each figure that would satisfy the core (completist) collector base. This quantity was reliable and consistent and the figures would always sell-through with time. Last Fall, however, we saw a change. There was an overall reduction of collector dollars in the action figure collecting hobby to which Star Wars was not immune, and we saw this on a more granular level in the sell-through of purely collector-target figures. While the hero figures (Obi-Wans, Anakins, Lukes, Vaders, troopers, etc) continued to do very well, the collector figures really started to struggle compared to all past years. This resulted in a need to recalibrate our release levels for these figures, since without that recalibration the normal releases we would make on purely collector figures would now be too large for the current collector market to bear, pegs would really start to back up, and the whole Legacy/Droid Factory figure flow would grind to a halt - in short, a disaster, unless corrective measures were taken. Therefore, we pulled back on the amount of each we release. Since this resulted in a significant impact on the financials of the overall basic figure lineup, as collector-targeted figures cost more than others given their almost 100% new tooling yet smaller production runs, we had readjust future waves because we could not construct them the same way with as many purely collector-targeted figures we as have been delivering. We made this to known to fans because they deserve to know, as it will have an impact on how future basic figure waves will be affected. It is far from a gloomy outlook, as collector-targeted figures are still vital to maintain that emotional core of the line and we have many great ones coming, but instead a short-term (we hope) adjustment to make sure that the basic figure program is going strong. We will also still look to our exclusives lineup to augment the basic figures and comic packs with new and exciting figures drawn from the films and EU, which are great avenues for new and interesting ideas since they stand apart from the basic figure lineup. We certainly don't want to feel the fans who have stuck with us feel like we are letting them down - to everyone who is reading this we say "thank you!" and can't wait to showcase some of the things we are working on for this Fall and beyond at Comic Con We also hope that the fans who were on the sidelines last Fall due to the economic conditions will be able to come back over time; this is a fantastic hobby to which we are deeply committed and earning fan enthusiasm and loyalty is something that promise to work hard to earn.

SSG: Last time we asked about Titanium Series capital ships, the 3 examples we used got blasted out of the sky. But there are popular capital ships, from the Acclamator (which you already said "no" about) to the Malevolence to the Rebel Medical Frigate to the Interdictor and more, which are deserving of Titanium Series releases, many of which are recognizable to a general audience and have no other toy outlets. With Titanium Series now facing a finite and already set-in-stone future, are there new capital ships planned for release in the line? If not, what was the thinking behind not choosing them?
Hasbro: It's not always a question of recognizability, but a question of what makes the best-looking vehicle. Not all vehicles are created equal, we track weekly sales of all different ships in the line to assess which types fans are selecting at retail. The capital ships, unfortunately, are not the most popular ships in the Titanium line which remain the more aggressive fighter-classes, droid ships, gunship, and the like.

SSG: The gauzy material used to make black capes and other soft goods is intolerable. The material is always cut too large, never hangs right, and is translucent. Darth Vader especially has a real miserable time of it, looking more like he's wearing a black chiffon number than his menacing duds. And not one figure using it can avoid it flaring out, poor Garindan looks like he's flying away. We've seen better materials used at this scale, even by you (the second Darth Maul figure comes to mind), so it's past time to reassess new materials for these purposes. If nothing else, getting sharper and better-looking cape designs will sell more Vaders to collectors and kids who already have an army of them. So, what say you on this matter, why are you still using the gauzy black cloth, and are you willing to look into better materials and better sewing for them?
Hasbro: Thank you for you positive and insightful feedback. Fabric cloaks or capes at the 4" scale have always presented difficulties. There are several issues that have to be balanced and they are not always within our direct control. Firstly, fabric is purchased by our vendors for the open market, unless they have some still on hand from other items. So, they have to buy what is available and making special orders from fabric manufacturers increases costs and delays the manufacturing schedule. Secondly, fabric that is less "sheer" has a higher thread count. That is why it is more opaque but this comes at a higher cost and thicker fabric also tends to not drape as well on the small figures. So, draping vs. opacity has to be evaluated. Finally, the largest cost to fabric pieces is due to the labor that is required to cut and sew the pieces. The hemming of edges greatly increases the cost, adds thickness, and tends to cause the fabric to hang poorly. We tend to use a polyester tricot material because it can be heat cut which keeps the edges from fraying and eliminates the need to sew hems. I for one do not envy the vendors who create these tiny pieces of Star Wars apparel and think they do an outstanding job. But, we are always striving to improve in every area.

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SSG: With the unfortunate announcement of the Titanium Series line ending after 2009, fans want to know all about its now-limited future. How many new tools will we be getting between now and its end? When can we expect the last wave, and what will be in that wave? What happens to tooling and promises that were on the bubble for '09, like the Outrider which was promised and forgotten last year and then promised again for the end of '09, or the Gungan Sub which was tooled up and promised in 2000 but canceled? Using the term "hiatus" as you did, is there any hope for the brand's revival in the foreseeable future? As Titanium Series is the only outlet for the majority of Star Wars vehicle toys these days, will Hasbro be filling that void with an all-plastic form of Titaniums?
Hasbro: There should be nine all-new tools to look for from now until the end of the year, with numerous other repaints rounding out the line (these new tools all follow the latest that have hit shipped recently - BARC Speeder, Xizor's Ship, and IG-2000). The nine include: Hound's Tooth, Clone Wars Y-Wing, Hyena Bomber, Punishing One, Malevolence, a new Republic Gunship tool, Mist Hunter, Nebulon B Frigate, and the Outrider. Unfortunately, the Gungan Sub did not make the cut. We have a lot of heart for the series ourselves - it is amazing to reflect back on the 5-1/2 year run of this line and the incredible number of cool ships that were brought out. We are proud of it and feel it was a tremendous line, but we just couldn't keep it active any longer since the large development cost, the need for a lot of items to maintain retail productivity (an outcome of having a smaller but passionate fan base), and high cost of goods are all factors that could not be addressed for a healthy line. Aside from perhaps an improved cost of goods, an all-plastic vehicle line would not solve the problem either, since tooling costs are the same for plastic or metal, we would still need to introduce a ton of designs, and it would not necessarily attract a larger audience for Titanium. It's something we'll be exploring, though. It's important that we continue to work on ways to bring out the most exciting Star Wars vehicle lineup we can.

SSG: With the nifty Build-a-Droid line, every basic figure gets a little bio paragraph on the card except the actual build-a-figure droids themselves. Some of these BAF droids are made up by Hasbro (or are they unknown designs made up by Lucasfilm, we don't know) and have no backstories at all, while others are from comics, novels, even tertiary characters in the movies. Might Hasbro add a section to their website explaining to casual collectors who these droids are, both in-universe and even behind-the-scenes info, and perhaps make up bios for the characters new to the line? This would be win-win, fans would get more nifty bios about their figures, and Hasbro would get more interaction between the figures and their site.
Hasbro: We did not create any of the droids in the Droid Factory lineup - they have all come from Lucasfilm entertainment reference, with names supplied by Lucasfilm in the event that a particular figure had yet to be named or had been named by fans but not yet given the official Lucasfilm designation. That's a great idea about given each of their bios a day in the sun. We have some new plans on how to market the droids themselves a little better, especially since we'll be phasing out the confusing "GH" designation for repacked figures in favor of a continuous BD-series code. As a result, we are going to create virtual guide maps to collecting the parts from new/refresh of repack/carry-forward figures. The way we are creating the waves has not changed, with either 6 or 8 new figures, just the way we are labeling some of them is changing. Thanks for the suggestion - it's a great idea.

SSG: Given that we have a number of figures from SW: Purge (Bultar Swan, Tsui Choi, Koffi Arana, and of course, Darth Vader), does Hasbro plan to complete the remaining Jedi figures from that story - Roblio Darte, Sia-Lan Wezz, Ma'kis'shaalas, and Jasus Farr - at some point in the foreseeable future?
Hasbro: An excellent question. The answer, though, is probably not. Unless we do a multi-pack of figures where we could get extensive re-use of existing characters, it's very unlikely that we'd tool up these characters on their own. That's one of the inherent challenges with the EU - there are so many great and interesting choices, especially with Jedi, that we can only cover so many in a given year. A good example is the Republic comic series, during the Clone Wars era - each issue is literally a treasure trove of great heroes (and villains) but we simply can't do as many as we like as fast as we'd like in one area. Over time, we just hope to be able to continue to delve into these great veins and systematically tackle an occasional one in a particular series. We'll take a look at the Purge Jedi once more, and if they fit something we're doing theme-wise, and can get them tooled, we'll certainly consider it.

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SSG: When it comes to prequel Senators, we haven't seen much lately. The most asked of them is the Senator Grebleips figure, the E.T. alien - will we ever be getting this figure, is it just unlikely because it's a background alien, or is it totally off-limits because it's an easter egg from another film? Also, what about seeing senate figures from Ep 1 like Edcel Bar Gane, Sei Taria, Toonbuck Toora and Mot-Not Rab?
Hasbro: Senator and Separatist figures have been very slow sellers for us, so while we're not ruling them out, they are not high on our list of figures to target. We're confident that we'll get around to more some day, especially if the collector base rebounds as these figures are 100% collector-targeted. Until then, they'll stay on the sidelines. Grebleips is off limits per Lucasfilm, joining (among a few others) the oft-asked for female Cantina denizens, Holiday Special live action figures, and Tyvokka as figures we cannot/will not pursue.

SSG: With the new Droid Factory sets, included is a Corran Horn / Whistler 2-pack. As Corran Horn is an EU character, he is seen as not likely to get multiple figures, so as such, why is this 2-pack coming with a standard orange flight costume rather than Horn's more distinctive green-hued version? Whistler also is lacking his overall green tinge, but since this seems like it may be the only Corran Horn figure fans will see, why not make it as characteristically accurate as possible?
Hasbro: This one is in the orange jumpsuit, which is one of his outfits from the novel and the one we went with. Regarding the coloration of Whistler, we take Lucasfilm's direction on all deco, with the intent of being as accurate as possible to the reference material. As for additional Corran Horn figures someday, we would not rule out the possibility, and the green suit would be a great alternate deco for further down the road. How far, we don't know, considering how long it took to get him into the lineup in the first place. We're stoked to be bringing the pair out, in any case.

SSG: With the Build-A-Droid line, there's been some confusion about the naming with a few of the figures. First off, there's R2-N6 who was properly named at last year's Comic-Con presentation yet later got renamed to R2-L3. Second, there's the upcoming U-3PO figure that has a silver tone rather than the slightly brassy look from the movie, and is shipping in an ESB wave, a film which already has a silver protocol droid, E-3PO, except that character has white instead of yellow eyes. What's the deal with these build-a-figures and their identity issues?
Hasbro: We do not select the droids to match the film theme of the wave, but instead based on which ones we feel are important to do; as one of the first droids we see in EpIV, we felt U-3PO was the choice to go with. As to the R2-L3, it turns out that R2-N6 was not an official Lucasfilm-given name for this droid, so we later switched based on Lucasfilm direction. This reversal has happened a few times with the buildable astros, since we have targeted several "unmade" droids who had not yet been given official designations.

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SSG: Hasbro has shown great confidence in the Mos Eisley cantina scene, recognizing that the iconic scene has great mileage with both collectors and kids, and pledging to complete the roster of background aliens. With that in mind, might Hasbro be interested in expanding that to include Ket Maliss, Cebann Veekan, Myhr Rho, Y'bith, Thorp, Kelbo, the Tin Tin Dwarf, and/or Kal'Falnl C'ndros - characters who are "just off camera" and yet appear in various sources from behind-the-scenes materials to the Decipher's CCG and the Holiday Special? Many of these designs fit well with the in-film Cantina styled characters and all have precedent in or around that area, they could certainly be passed off to casual collectors as being part of that element, just as was done with your recent Bane Malar figure.
Hasbro: First let's get something out of the way - Cantina aliens, and the scores of characters like them including the Jabba's denizens, Senators, Pod Racers, female characters, and other tertiary and background characters are interesting only to collectors. It's very important that we not produce too many of these characters, and be careful about how many we produce (can anyone say Yarna?) or else the line risks being imbalanced and unproductive for retailers. Now for your question... the short answer is, probably not. With the Cantina, there are still a solid number of on-screen characters that we would look to do first before we go off-screen even thought there are some very cool choices in the ones you suggest (the Y'Bith is awesome, as is what appears to be the first Nikto in any entertainment - Kal'Falnl C'ndros [editor's note: Hasbro likely meant Kelbo rather than Kal'Falnl C'ndros, who is a large ostrich-type alien whose legs were seen in ANH -JT]). Thanks for the entertaining look at this interesting group.

SSG: Titanium Series has suffered another indignity by not being included at New York Toy Fair. With recent significant price increases, a continued focus on pointless repaints, a general feeling of lack of support from Hasbro for pretty much the life of the line, canceled and displaced molds (some shown at the '08 Toy Fair), what is happening with Titanium Series? Fans keep asking about the line, and Hasbro keeps saying they will give it more attention at the next venue, only to get shorted again. What does the future hold for this line that is in many ways the only outlet for most Star Wars vehicles in toy form? Are sales at least solid enough that Titanium collectors can relax their fears a bit for the foreseeable future, or is the line considerably weaker than the 3.75" figure line and thus vulnerable in these uncertain economic times?
Hasbro: Titanium is indeed a much less-collected sub line that the 3-3/4" line. In the first year of Titanium vehicles, the line showed promise, but the audience never materialized to grow the collecting base. Since them, we have struggled with the amount of new tooling the line could justify along with the extraordinary number of new/refresh items the line needed to stay productive at retail (an outcome of the smaller batch sizes). While we feel that this year we are giving it some great attention and some exciting new tools, this will be the last year for Titanium. The line will be put on hiatus after 2009.
[editor's note: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! -JT]

SSG: Will we be seeing any episode-specific Battle Packs for The Clone Wars? This would be a great way to get several of the individualized clones, battle droids, or astromech droids from any given episode without spreading them over a long period of time into the basic line, especially when they're only minor retools or mere repaints or kitbashes.
Hasbro: There will be episode-specific packs, but they will mostly be drawn from existing figures (for instance, there will be an upcoming Battle Pack for the episode "Holocron Heist" but there will be no new figures in it). It's possible that 1-2 episode-specific packs will be coming out as exclusives that will have new characters as you suggest, but those have not been confirmed yet.
[editor's note: in case you're wondering, the episode Hasbro mentioned has not yet aired, its novelization won't even be released until September. -JT]

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SSG: Star Wars seems to be doing ok at retail, we're seeing more figure lines surviving, more $20 vehicle sales, more battle packs, and more vehicle exclusives. With this in mind, might Hasbro try pushing the $30-$40 vehicle pricepoint on retailers again? It would be a good way of getting larger vehicles such as the X-wing, B-wing, Republic Gunship, ARC-170, and even stuff like Jedi Starfighters with Hyperspace Rings into heavier rotation, and add opportunities for more new vehicles that would be considered too big to work out at the $20 pricepoint. So, any chance for the return of this pricepoint to mass retail?
Hasbro: Steve - by now you have seen the announcement at Toy Fair regarding the return of a higher price "mainline" (non-exclusive) segment. The intent is to use this higher price to introduce new vehicles such as the new Clone Wars Y-Wing as well as other vehicles down the line, either from Clone Wars or other sources. As far as other vehicles go, we will still keep them in regular rotation in the line for exclusives. One thing is for certain; Star Wars vehicles have never been more popular in the modern Star Wars line. As far as pricing - the days of larger vehicles like we are talking about being under-$40 are unfortunately well behind us (not to mention that we do not control retail pricing). We do promise to put as much as we can into each one, and bring you a commitment to keep vehicles an important cornerstone of the line.

SSG: In the Titanium Series line, the prequel-era fleets have a few vehicles that would really flesh them out. The Acclamator-class (aka the Republic Assault Ship) and the Munificent-class Frigate (aka the Banking Clan Frigate) appear notably in AOTC, ROTS, The Clone Wars series, and a number of popular video games like Battlefront II and Republic Commando. What are the chances of seeing those 2 prequel-era capital ships produced as Titanium Series vehicles?
Hasbro: There are no plans for those vehicles in the 2009 Titanium plan.

SSG: Ever since the VOTC Stormtrooper back in 2004, you've sculpted Stormtrooper figures' hands to 2-handed hold the blaster with its left hand holding the grip and the right hand holding the barrel. The wrists and fingers are angled very specifically for this, the left hand can't hold the barrel without bending it severely. While there is an unusually high number of shots with left-handed stormtroopers in the OT and its related still photography, the right-handed pose is still more common. So why choose, and stick with, the left-handed design for the Stormtrooper figures? Any possibility of either getting new hands with a more universal pose, or even putting ball-hinged wrists on this ubiquitous Imperial warrior?
Hasbro: We have used hinged wrists on a few TCW clone figures but due to escalating production costs we must continually evaluate such articulation. As we strive to constantly improve our figures, we will look at refining the hands on new versions of troopers in the future.

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