QUESTIONS FOR HASBRO - round 36

[JediTricks]

Please post your VOTE for up to 6 {six} of the questions provided in this thread, letting us know which ones you most want to see asked on Friday, September 7th. Keep in mind that your votes in round 35 do not count in this round, so if your question is still on the list you may want to vote for it again.

Also, feel free to post new questions. For reference, here are Hasbro's answers to previous SSG questions; to ActionFigs.com's questions; and from other sites. The questions we asked last round can be found here.

Current questions (vote for up to 6):

1. - Canadaian collectors miss out on a many of the US-only store exclusives. Any chance Canadians could have every exclusive figure/vehicle/combination made available on shop.starwars.com after their shelf runs in the US stores?
2. - If Hasbro feels that mid-sized vehicles is the way to go, then will we be seeing more airspeeders and landspeeders in the forseeable future? Some of the airspeeders are pretty much snubfighter sized.
3. - Eventually will all the Episode III Clone Commanders be released as an entire set?
4. - What does Hasbro think about using the New Jedi Order (Yuuzhan Vong) series of novels as source material for more figures? Especially now with NJO Luke coming in an Evolutions set next year, might this open the door to getting other NJO characters like Yuuzhan Vong or Fan Choice poll top 25 characters like Jacen, Jaina, Anakin and Nom Anor?
5. - Any chance that Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast will get together and pack in WOTC's Star Wars minatures with Hasbro basic figures?
6. - In recent years, many Darth Vader figures have included a silver piece of fabric material around the neck to represent the chain that holds Vader's cape on. However, every time this feature has been included, the "chain" ends up looking too big and out-of-place, while Vader figures that do not include this chain end up looking much better. In the interest of accuracy, could the chain either be scaled down (to better match its look in Episodes III, V, and VI), or done as sculpted plastic (as on earlier incarnations), or simply left off (as in Episode IV) on future Darth Vader figures?
7. - Some collectors missed out on the Vintage-style figures and now must look to ebay and other wretched hives of scum and villainy for these fine figures. What is the likelihood of seeing any or all of those Vintage-style figures rereleased and getting more of collectors' money directly? (They'd prefer to give it to you rather than overpriced after-market guys.)
8. - Will we be seeing the Titanium AOTC Jedi Starfighter repainted in all the color schemes the figure scale one has come in (Clone Wars teal, Saesee Tiin's, Kit Fisto's), the way it is currently slated for a Plo Koon repaint?
9. - The Snowspeeder has only been an exclusive item in the past two releases for it where prior releases were regular mass-retail. Why the exclusivity and accompanying higher pricepoint on this vehicle? If it's due to its somewhat large size compared to other vehicles, could it be scaled down to accurate proportions (since it is actually a little too large as-is) and released in the $20 line?
10. - Are there folks today at Hasbro who were working on the Star Wars line back when it was reborn in 1995? Was there any clue behind-the-scenes back then that the Star Wars toy line would garner such a huge adult collector following? Were adult collectors considered at all on any level back then when forging the line's beginnings? What do you folks think of the extensive adult collector enthusiasm for the line today, 12 years later?
11. - Why is it that Hasbro produces some vehicles that are incredibly difficult, even impossible, to fit regular figures inside such as the Ep 1 Flash Speeder, or Ep 2 Zam's & Anakin's Speeder?
12. - Will the troop-builder clones from the Order 66 2-packs, Treachery on Saleucami Battle Pack, Betrayal on Felucia Battle Pack, and Mace Windu's Attack Battalion Battle Pack ever be released as basic figures?
13. - Twice during the prequels, a vehicle toy's MSRP was dropped significantly without any changes to its mold - the first being the Episode I Naboo Royal Starship which went from $100 to $50, and the second being the Republic Gunship which in the Saga line was $40 but subsequent releases were $30. What were the causes of these price drops? Why hasn't this happened with other vehicles in similar high pricepoints?
14. - With there being so much competition in regards to high end collecting with other licensees, has Hasbro considered perhaps making the figures' accessories out of metal like the already established saber hilts from the 2002 Saga line? (This was even recently used again with the reissued Sith Training Darth Maul from the end of the TSC line.) They could also do it this time with blasters and other non-lightsaber accessories as well.
15. - Hasbro still seems to be focusing a lot on Revenge of the Sith. The Target-exclusive Order 66 packs seemed to do alright with casual consumers and hardcore fans, so would Hasbro consider making similar packs based on Attack of the Clones? For example, a clone trooper in each pack with either a Jedi or a Separatist force.
16. - The new Clone Trooper and Rebel Trooper role-play blasters are pretty cool and seem to be selling fairly well out of the gate. With that in mind, will Hasbro be offering more role-play weapons such as all-new sculpts of Han's blaster, the Stormtrooper blaster (with more accurate size and folded stock under the barrel), Biker Scout pistol, and perhaps even larger ones like the Hoth Rebel rifle and Clone Trooper long rifle?
17. - What are the requirements that a retailer must go meet to get a Star Wars exclusive, do they have to be a certain size company, make a certain number of Hasbro orders a month, etc.? Is there some sort of process that a retailer has to go through to get an exclusive, do they work with Hasbro on what item to produce or is it out of their hands?
18. - In the SW Republic #31 Comic 2pack, why does the A'Sharad Hett figure come with the traditional "bandage wrapped" Tusken Raider head coverings rather than the accurate "leather wrapped"-style one that he wore in the comics which made him visually unique? What do you say to A'Sharad Hett fans that are going to be disappointed they're not getting the character as accurately as they hoped?
19. - The Turkish bootleg figures known as "Uzay" in the 1980s, based off of vintage Kenner Star Wars figures, had a few bizarre pieces that are interesting and intriguing to many collectors, especially in light of a recent Star Wars Insider article. Two figures fit this bill in particular: Blue Stars was a blue repaint of a Snowtrooper and Head Man was a Royal Guard with a chrome head and a black body. Seeing as how we've had a trend of seeing repaints and retools on many, many figures in the past few years, would these figures ever be possible candidates for release? At the very least, they would make interesting conversation pieces, much like the blue Zutton figure from 2004.
20. - A few Battlepacks have featured Jedi, a Clone Commander, and three Clone Troopers. Will we see this concept applied to more sets in the future, perhaps something like Ki-Adi-Mundi, a grittier repaint of Commander Bacara, and three Galactic Marines? What about extending this idea to the other films beyond Ep III?
21. - Any chance that the Anakin's Clone Wars-modified Jedi Starfighter and the regular Jedi Starfighter from the Clone Wars line will be re-released in the foreseeable future?
22. - At Comic-Con, you showed off '08 wave 1 and in it was the Octuptarra Droid. However, what was shown actually had the details of the much larger Tri-Droid - another ROTS droid that was an upsized, remodeled version of the smaller Octuptarra Droid - so the feet, guns, and eyes on what you showed are from the wrong design. Will these details be corrected so that it truly is the Octuptarra Droid?
23. - Many collectors have noted that Moff Jerjerrod was not a great seller and can still be found in stores, while it seemed as though Admiral Ozzel, Captain Piett, and Grand Moff Tarkin seemed to have sold better. There are times where Hasbro really nails a likeness, but unfortunately Moff Jerjerrod did not look like the actor and had an angry facial expression not seen in Return of the Jedi. Would Hasbro ever consider resculpting this figure or does the perceived poor performance of the Jerjerrod figure make it unlikely he would ever be revisited. Do you agree that if this figure sold poorly it may have been in part because of a poor likeness?
24. - Would Hasbro consider releasing a complete set of clone troopers with only a basic, plain white deco? Many customizers would enjoy having a blank clone to decorate with their own designs, and regular fans could enjoy the uniform look - the white AT-RT Driver from the Ep 3 Commemorative Tin set looks great and is easy to customize. So how about a box set with all the various clone types without specialized deco or even weathering? It could even be offered in simpler packaging, white mailer boxes with simple baggies.
25. - The idea of having 2 Battle Droids on a single basic card is a good one, as it lets fans build up armies quickly and cheaply. However, the Saga Legends Battle Droid 2packs feature very distinct-looking droids - the first set has a Commander, and the others all have battle damage - resulting in droids not suited for army-building due to identical markings. Will future versions of this 2pack be released in "clean" versions for more army-building potential? In the same vein, will this set ever be retooled to allow the droids to hold the blaster with both hands as the movies consistently showed them, and a few previous figures emulated?
26. - Over the past few years, Hasbro's become adept at using mostly existing bodies to create acceptable figures, both in the main line, and arguably more successfully in the Battle Packs and multipack lines - the upcoming Mandalorian multipacks are the most recent and standout examples of this. With that in mind, might Hasbro consider creating a Rogue Squadron multipack of Rebel pilots utilizing mostly already-existing molds with new heads and new comic- or movie-accurate decos on their helmets? The characters would be taken from characters that already exist in the comics and books. How about alien pilots - such as Gand, Mon Calamari, and Quarren - and female pilots?
27. - Will the Vintage-style Luke X-wing pilot body be used on height-appropriate pilots like Wedge, Jansen, Hobbie from the films, and perhaps even Corran Horn, Tycho Celchu, Nawara Ven, and others from the EU since they're all closer to Luke's height (around an inch or 2 either way) than the tall stature of the Dutch Vander pilot figure that's up above 6 feet?
28. - In regards to the Indiana Jones line, would it be safe to assume that characters like Mola Ram, the giant Thugee guard, Temple of Doom "wear & tear" Indy with torn shirt and missing sleeve, Henry Jones Sr., Willie Scott, and Short Round are being considered for the line? After all, they do all seem like logical choices.
29. - Has Hasbro decided on the look of the Indiana Jones packaging and card art yet, and when will we get our first look at this? Can you give us any indication as to the style you will be going with?
30. - Will the Star Wars Battle Pack and Comic 2-Pack concepts be used in the Indiana Jones line? How about Indy role-play accessories?
31. - The Titanium Series 3" Star Wars vehicle collection is growing larger and larger. When counted against the Galoob's Star Wars Micro Machines line (the original, not the die-cast), the math shows that there were 87 Micro Machines covering the OT, EU, and Episode I, if we subtract the reissues like battle-damaged, speederbikes with new characters, etc., there were 72 unique vehicles. Meanwhile, Hasbro's Titanium line has 101 Star Wars vehicles including single packs, exclusives, and 5-packs (but not gold or silver versions) counting up to 2007 wave 4. However, if we subtract reissues like repaints, there are just 48 unique Titanium vehicles - and 19 of those are reissues from the old Galoob Die Cast line. While we are thankful just to have any line of small Star Wars vehicles, one does wonder if 53 repaints out of 101 may have a negative impact. What does Hasbro think about this issue?
32. - In releasing the new Cantina bar curve sections, several issues have arisen for fans' cantina setups: The first is that the sharp curve of those sections is too close to allow for any future release of the drink dispenser. For that issue, if there ever is a dispenser made, would you consider including a shorter straight section to go between the curves? (Shorter because the current straight seems too long for this purpose, it would break up the look of the curve too much.)
    The second issue is that there is a mismatch between the look of the curved sections and the previously-released straight sections due to a number of paint and even sculpted detail differences. What about releasing more straight sections with a deco and sculpt to better match up to the curves, as well as add the removable barstool feature they have (perhaps with plugs to make a flat floor)?
33. - In the Galactic Heroes line we have just gotten an AT-AT Commander and Driver figures. Might that increase chances of getting a Galactic Heroes AT-AT?
34. - Would it be possible to get a Captain Panaka figure with a removable cap, either as a retool of the Ep I line original or as an all-new figure? The good captain hasn't been seen in a while and was often in the movie with his hat removed.
35. - With the implications that the Vintage line is on the back burner for the '08 line and the premium figures will be in the Evolutions sets, might Hasbro consider re-releasing some of the original 2004 Vintage figures on different classic Kenner-style cardbacks? For instance, the '78-'79 Star Wars card is a much more iconic cardback for figures like Vader, Chewbacca, the Stormtrooper, R2, and Boba Fett. And since they would be straight repacks, could they be implimented in the basic line without outer shell cases?
36. - With the success of the latest Jawa sculpt, might Hasbro consider creating a Jawa/droid-themed multipack or battle pack? One possible suggestion could be 2 or 3 Jawas perhaps with cloth capes, an ANH/Kenner vintage Gonk droid repaint, R1-G4, and perhaps R5-D4 that uses the R4-G9 retractable leg body. Has there been any thought given to creating such a set already?
37. - Since the Saga Legends line is geared more towards selling to casual collectors and kids, has there been any consideration about releasing them primarily only around the Christmas build-up time when the demand for toys is at its peak?
38. - The VOTC Lando looks great, but his cape is neither removable nor does it accurately drape over his shoulders - both of which were seen prominently in the movie. Would it be possible to get that Lando figure retooled so he has a removable cape that drapes all the way over his shoulders?
39. - In the OT, the X-wing pilot costume has a band with cylinders just above the right boot, and the chest box hose connects to the left side of the torso. The VTSC Luke Pilot figure has this correct, however the Saga Dutch Vander Gold Leader body does not, yet that Dutch body is currently treated as the defacto pilot body when a new pilot figure is released despite that and its many other drawbacks and inaccuracies. At this scale, approximately 1:18, the difference in height between Luke's 5' 7" body and Gold Leader's 6' 3" body is 1cm, and between Luke and an average-height 6' body would be 0.5cm, which seems a little much for remolding the accurate Luke pilot up to the 6-foot-tall size (though we'd prefer that over continued use of the Gold Leader body). It seems that is one more noteworthy reason to produce a new, better X-wing pilot body, so have we convinced ya's yet to schedule that new figure, huh, huh?
40. - With Commander Neyo and his Clone Trooper pal from the Treachery on Saleucami set both making the Saga Legends fan choice poll top 20, if either of these chaps makes it to the winning 5, would you please pack in a second, generic belt with them the way you're doing with the Gray Clone Commander figure in the Saga Legends line? That way, the Neyo-style troopers could be represented by this same figure (remove the pauldron, swap the belt, voila), leading to more sales of the guy.
41. - While the last Jabba we got (Saga Ultra) looked nice, his limited articulation and hard plastic body don't lend him to many alternate poses, so he's a bit boring. What about the idea of doing a new Jabba with an internal skeleton/under-frame for more articulation underneath a rubber skin similar to the Jabba Glob Ep I figure which had a decent look and much more mobility? It seems a shame that action figures of Jabba - who is such a major character - can never be able to move his mouth, arms, and tail at least somewhat like he does in the film.

Vote now, and suggest new questions too. Thanks for participating!

[JediTricks]

By the way, with all the last-minute issues coming up, I had to post replies in the last round very late, so here's the discussions that were continued:

captain panaka was in star wars episode 1 the phantom menace, he was seen with his hat off.

What scenes, specifically? How common was he seen without it? I just don't remember. You can post the answer in the next round's thread.

and a new question about Titanium Series:

My Titanium Series SW vehicles collection is becoming more and more large and I was wondering whether the models in this line have already outnumbered the MicroMachines ones, so I made some math. In the SW MicroMachines lines there are 87 vehicles (OT Vechicles Collections, Shadows of the Empire, Epic Collections, and Episode I Figure/Vehicle Collections, counting just the vehicles), and if we subtract the reissues (battle damaged ships, Speederbike with Luke, Leia, etc) there are 72 unique vehicles. While in the Titanium Series there are 101 SW vehicles (Wal-Mart Exclusives, 5-packs collections, mass retail single packs up to wave 4 2007, the AT-AP wave, counting just the vehicles and not counting silver or gold ones), but if we substract the repaints there are just 48 unique vehicles! Not to mention the fact that many of them (actually 19) are reissues of the old Galoob Die-Cast line. I know we have to be thankful just to have a line of small SW vehicles, but I wonder if 53 repaints in 101 SW vehicles may have a negative impact, like I'd say we are seeing with SW Titaniums, and if a single new vehicle release could help the line more than constantly releasing repaints. What do you think about this at the Titanium Series department in Hasbro?

JT feel free to reword the question if you think it is not suitable for the Q&A.
I borrowed some words from JT and LTBasker posts in the MM and Titaniums thread, thank you guys.

Ciao,
JediGoofy

Ok, I posted it, it's now number 31 in this round, and counted it as your first vote for THIS round. You have 5 votes remaining.

32 Rogue Squadron (is there some way to incorporate question 33 in here also, it seems like making the rest of the Rogues would suck if they use that stupid "Dutch" mold?)

'Fraid not, that'd defeat the essence of the original question, they want those figures out at any cost which sadly could mean settling for that Vander body. We did just let Hasbro know that body is unacceptable 2 rounds ago though.

By the way, is question 16 still valid? Seems like the Order 66 packs are old news....

Good point. I revamped the question a little to accommodate this. Any other thoughts about the question, other ways to revamp it?

My first vote goes to this new question:

Now that we've seen the curved pieces of the bar, it is obvious that if the center piece of the bar was ever created, there would be no room for Wuhur. The curve is far too sharp, creating very little space between the straight parts. If you ever do create the center part, would there be another straight section (shorter than the straight sections previously released) to fit between the two curved pieces?

BTW, I personally feel this is why playsets have not sold well, because when you have the chance to make one realistically scaled with a decent amount of detail, either the scale is off (like the scale of the curve section) or the details are ignored (like the fact that there were barstools sculpted with the bar sections, yet no barstools in the movie).

I've added the question to this round as #32, counted that as your first vote as well, you have 5 votes left. I also included that barstool thing in the question I just sent out, figured it couldn't hurt to say.

new question:

In the Galactic Heroes line we have just gotten an AT-AT Commander and Driver figures. Does this increase chances of getting a Galactic Heroes AT-AT?

I've added it to this round, #33, you have 5 votes remaining.

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

In answer to your question about Captain Panaka's hat, and in lieu of eighteen more posts of "yes he was in star wars first the phantom menace with out his hat!" I will say that he was almost always seen without his hat. On the queen's starship, on Tatooine, back on Naboo - pretty much every time he wasn't fighting, IIRC.

I'll go with 6, 19, 20, 25 for now.

[Kidhuman]

Thanks for adding it JT, I will add 31 and 32 and 20 to my list for now. UZAY Mutha F***a!!!!

[master J]

I vote 28, 29, 30 and 32.

[bigbarada]

33!!!!

I have a question I am forming in my mind right now, maybe someone could help me with it. I'm wondering if Hasbro basically bit off more than they could chew this year with the amount of product that they announced. First the delay of Wave 1 until March, then the constant delays of the TAC line while they flood stores with old product. In fact, the only line that seems to be updating at a consistent rate is the Galactic Heroes line, which makes the constant disappointments of the first 8 months of 2007 a little easier to bear. Did they overstep themselves this year and just promise too much stuff? And why were new shipments of Saga2 figures arriving in stores as late as July? Shouldn't there have been some kind of cut-off date of when this stuff could be shipped back to Hasbro to clear space for new product?

I know it's a big mess of a question, I'll work on focusing it a bit better.

[bigbarada]

Another question while I'm brainstorming.

It's been implied that, with the return of the Evolutions packs in 2008, that we will not be getting another wave of vintage-style figures next year. Has Hasbro considered rereleasing some of the initial 2004 vintage-style figures on different vintage cardbacks? For instance, the 1978-79 Star Wars card is a much more iconic cardback for figures like Darth Vader, Chewbacca, Stormtrooper, R2-D2 and Boba Fett. So, would Hasbro consider rereleasing those figures on their appropriate SW cards? And since they would be straight repacks, could the price be dropped to standard figure prices?

[mark2d2]

2 -- If Hasbro feels that mid-sized vehicles is the way to go, then will we be seeing more airspeeders and landspeeders in the forseeable future? Some of the airspeeders are pretty much snubfighter sized.

7 -- Some collectors missed out on the Vintage-style figures and now must look to ebay and other wretched hives of scum and villainy for these fine figures. What is the likelihood of seeing any or all of those Vintage-style figures rereleased and getting more of collectors' money directly? (They'd prefer to give it to you rather than overpriced after-market guys.)

14 -- With there being so much competition in regards to high end collecting with other licensees, has Hasbro considered perhaps making the figures' accessories out of metal like the already established saber hilts from the 2002 Saga line? (This was even recently used again with the reissued Sith Training Darth Maul from the end of the TSC line.) They could also do it this time with blasters and other non-lightsaber accessories as well.

32 -- Now that we've seen the curved pieces of the Cantina bar, it is obvious that there is no room in the middle for both Wuher and the drink dispenser because the curve is too sharp, too close, creating very little space between the main left and right parts of the bar. If you ever do create the drink dispenser, would there be a shorter straight section of the bar to fit between the 2 curved pieces? (A shorter piece because the current straight sections seem too long for this purpose, not to mention their inaccurate barstools.)

The other questions just don't grab my interest. But here is one of my own.

With the smashing success of the current new and improved Jawa sculpt, would Hasbro ever consider creating a Jawa / droided themed multipack or cinema scene? Here's my suggestion, it would include two or three Jawas, a "Vintage-esque" Gonk repaint, the classic R1-G4, and maybe -- just maybe -- a really cool retool of R5-D4 featuring a retractable third leg using the popular R4 body. Gee, you could also throw in some cloth capes and this would be a real winner, I think. Have you looked into possibly creating such a pack?

[El Chuxter]

I'll go with that Jawa question if it's posted. Jawas kick a**. They're cooler than the entire prequel trilogy combined. It could be argued that they are the most brilliant creation of George Lucas. Aside from Jawas and Dewbacks, it could even be argued that he's a moron who needs a spanking.

[bigbarada]

I'll go with that Jawa question if it's posted. Jawas kick a**. They're cooler than the entire prequel trilogy combined. It could be argued that they are the most brilliant creation of George Lucas. Aside from Jawas and Dewbacks, it could even be argued that he's a moron who needs a spanking.

No love for Tusken Raiders?