Turbo Tank at Toy Fair?

[DarkJedi5]

I disagree I think head to head the AT-AT would have the advantage. It's from the OT which means that it appeals to not only the younger Star Wars crowd but I believe it would do far better with "classic" collectors. The AT-AT is recognizably Star Wars, the Turbo Tank is far less so.

However, after seeing the images that popped up yesterday of the Nikto guard from Jabba's Sailbarge, I really can't help but wonder what's going on there. I know it's just a prototype, but why show the figure holding that canon that mounts on the rail of the sailbarge? I don't assume that Hasbro would let the prototype image go if it included something they didn't intend to release with the actual figure and yet look at the base of the weapon, it's a half circle. There's not tripod for it it just hangs there... asking, begging, pleading for a sailbarge to clip to. Maybe it's just me but I remember us asking Hasbro point blank about the BMF and they kept telling us it wasn't coming or it wasn't coming this year and then the photos leaked and they had to fess up. Is it possible that everytime we ask about the sailbarge and they say no it's for this exact same reason?

[Tycho]

Yes, I hope they are secretly planning on releasing Jabba's sailbarge but they are denying it for the time being.

You are correct that they kept denying a new Millennium Falcon until pictures finally leaked.

I think that they even made this Nikto character is awesome! The rest could be coming! AND we have the sarlaac now (though I'm not really down for buying THAT and prefer to make my own, thank you).

[neosapian77]

Yes, I hope they are secretly planning on releasing Jabba's sailbarge but they are denying it for the time being.

You are correct that they kept denying a new Millennium Falcon until pictures finally leaked.

I think that they even made this Nikto character is awesome! The rest could be coming! AND we have the sarlaac now (though I'm not really down for buying THAT and prefer to make my own, thank you).

Man a Sail Barge would be great and I so want to buy the Sarlacc Pit. Also I hope they'll re-release a new Jabba the Hutt figure.

The idea of the Turno Tank is great, I'll be there first day to buy it, though when is Hasbro going to come out w/ the droid gunship? or more droid battle packs. I have a hefty clone army but a crummy droid army.

[Tycho]

Hey: if we can ride our Turbo Tanks we can have like a SirSteve's soapbox racer competition if we just find a steep hill. I know the perfect street right down here in San Diego by Qualcomm Stadium.

That'd be great fun - a bunch of us speeding downhill firing plastic missiles at each other! Yeee-Haw!

[Maradona]

Given the preponderance of clearanced BMF sightings this month, I hazard to say we are a year away from racing to Targets to add low priced Turbo Tanks to our collections.

[Dark Marble]

600th post...wow I don't post all that often.

That is interesting because around my neck of the woods the Falcons and the AT-TEs were all gone before Christmas. None of them made it to clearance here. Maybe what we will hear is that the $100 price range seems to work and the $150 range is a bust.

Honestly if I had not been able to sell some of the extras in my collection I would not have been able to pick up the Falcon at all. $150 is three to four waves of figures and about a quarter to half of my Star Wars figure collecting for the year. I could see getting one big $100 vehicle a year but I hope the more expensive ones are an exception rather than the rule.

[bigbarada]

Yeah, the BMFs and AT-TE's were completely sold out around here before Christmas. Even more impressive is that my Wal-Mart got a new shipment of 10 Falcons about a month before Christmas and they still sold out in a little over 3 weeks.

[JediTricks]

However, after seeing the images that popped up yesterday of the Nikto guard from Jabba's Sailbarge, I really can't help but wonder what's going on there. I know it's just a prototype, but why show the figure holding that canon that mounts on the rail of the sailbarge? I don't assume that Hasbro would let the prototype image go if it included something they didn't intend to release with the actual figure and yet look at the base of the weapon, it's a half circle. There's not tripod for it it just hangs there... asking, begging, pleading for a sailbarge to clip to. Maybe it's just me but I remember us asking Hasbro point blank about the BMF and they kept telling us it wasn't coming or it wasn't coming this year and then the photos leaked and they had to fess up. Is it possible that everytime we ask about the sailbarge and they say no it's for this exact same reason?

Wishful thinking. Those cannons were also seen on the skiffs, so it's probably to attach to the skiff railing.

They didn't actually deny the Falcon after '06, it just wasn't asked that much, take a look, this is the only answer where they didn't sidestep the whole thing...
Aug 17, '07:

JediInsider.com: If you had the opportunity to re-design the Millenium Falcon toy from scratch, what is one thing you would want to incorporate that was not on the original toy?
Hasbro: Hah - that's a great question. While there were a variety of responses from our team when questioned, the #1 answer seems to be room in the cockpit to fit four figures and actual smuggling compartments. Sorry, that's two things, but we can always dream, can't we?

This next one is the only thing that looks like a denial, but is actually a misdirect, they never say here that they aren't working on one, just that they didn't foster the hope...
April 4th, '08:

ThePrivateUniverse.co.uk: A few fan sites have been touting alleged pics of the rumoured Millennium Falcon re-do. Do pics exist? Can we see them? Is this just wishful fan-boy thinking - or is the product actually in development / production?
Hasbro: The pics that we could see - all based on wishful thinking - were of previous model kits or Code 3 product. We have not done anything to encourage hope that a new Millennium Falcon is in the works.

Other than that, since '07 began it's been basically "no comment" until the pics hit. But at no point during the roughly 18 months of development of the BMF did they ever lie and say it was something they weren't gonna do the way they have with the Sail Barge.

You are correct that they kept denying a new Millennium Falcon until pictures finally leaked.

Geez Tycho, wrong as ever.

[DarkJedi5]

Alright, well this might be nit-picking, but on the prototype's cannon, the clip at the end of the stand is circular in shape. I just checked my skiff and the top of the skiff rail is flat. If the cannon were designed for the skiff why design it to be circular? Wouldn't it be more clearly designed to fit snuggly on the skiff rails?

[JediTricks]

IMO, you're overthinking it, it's meant to clip onto a tooling from 25 years ago, they'd want maximum gripping and integrity which a C shape would achieve better than a square shape, and would allow for mold variance. Maybe I'm wrong about the whole thing, but I suspect you're looking into more than what's there, it's a semi-obscured image of an unfinished prototype.