QUESTIONS FOR HASBRO - round 64

[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, February 27th. Keep in mind that your votes in round 63 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; and from other sites. The questions we asked last round can be found here.

Current questions (vote for up to 6):

1. - In Hasbro's awesome Comic-Packs line, we've been treated to Marvel Star Wars issues 1-4, and Dark Horse Revenge of the Sith issues 1, 3, and 4. Any chance we could get comic packs of the missing Marvel SW #5 and 6, and Dark Horse ROTS #2, to complete their respective tales? (Just spitballing ideas: we could certainly do with a Leia/3PO pack for MSW#5 and perhaps a Rebel/Imperial Pilot set for #6, and ROTS #2 could use Grievous and a new deco Clone.) And what about Comic Packs for the other movie adaptation comics like Marvel ESB and ROTJ, or Dark Horse TPM and AOTC?
2. - While we'd always prefer a worn paint deco on vehicles and droids, we understand sometimes the budget just can't do it. The next time you do a vehicle with a white deco where the budget prohibits additional weathering paint, could you please not use the clean-white color of plastic that you've used on the Clone Wars V-19 or the TLC Dagger Squadron B-wing? This white plastic is just too clean, it screams for weathering as it hides every sculpted line and gives an unwelcome plasticky toy look, while the slightly off-white colors of plastic seem to bring out the lines and look a little weathered better than clean.
3. - In the Clone Wars line, a few scale issues have come up. Obi-Wan and Anakin figures stand pretty short compared to their non-animated figure counterparts, while Clone Troopers stand unusually tall compared to their non-animated counterparts, and obviously this means CW Obi-Wan and Anakin stand pretty short compared to the Clones. What gives here? Was this an intentional choice, and if so, why?
4. - Now that we're getting the Clone Wars "Lucky Lekku" Republic Gunship repaint, what about releasing more of those individualized nose art Gunships from the Clone Wars? What about doing them with a sticker sheet instead of releasing each design individually, perhaps even with the updated door design from the series?
5. - When we last asked about the Cade Skywalker/Darth Talon Comic Pack missing Cade's lightsaber, you told us that the tooling for it was lost so you'd be moving forward without it. Since then, the set has started hitting and it looks like a running change was made, the saber is showing up in some sets, but generally the sets with the saber are much harder to find and buyers have already got incomplete sets in their hands. Hasbro consumer affairs can only deal with this currently by taking the entire set back and saying they're not sure if they'll be able to replace the exact set or one of equal value. Could you please find a better way to get those missing lightsabers and saber hilts into buyers' collections?
6. - Why are the Droid Factory build-a-droid parts for C-3PX incompatible with the basic figures' build-a-droid parts, especially the other protocol droids like RA7's? 3PX has a ball joint for his head while RA7 has a post, and the pegs for the arms and legs also differ, thus making it impossible to mix-n-match parts, which the concept had otherwise highly adopted. Was this done on purpose, and if so, why?
7. - With Titanium Series 3" vehicles rapidly becoming one of the most successful Hasbro Star Wars sub-lines with over 60 individual carded releases, it's become nearly impossible to display them all at once. The main reason is that the unique packaging - although admirable in its specialized shape, custom graphics, and large window for the product - doesn't stack well and is very difficult to keep in mint condition with an easily-crushed and -scuffed round bubble, and vulnerable J-hook. Might Hasbro be willing to offer some sort of clamshell-style protective cases for the packaging, even if it's just through HasbroToyShop, similar to the one for the 3.75" figures?
8. - Does Hasbro have any plans to update the Dianoga in the near future? We need one that is better detailed, better articulated and perhaps featuring multiple bendy tentacles. If you were to update the Dianoga, what format would you release it in: Battle Pack, a basic carded figure, Ultimate Battle Pack, something else?
9. - In the US release for TLC wave 4, the BAD parts are with all the new figures, and the 327th Clone Trooper - which is merely a repaint of the Evolutions Clone Trooper - comes with a redundant BAD part since he's not exactly "new" enough to warrant making collectors buy him again just to build the droid. However, in the UK release of this wave, the 327th Clone comes with an original BAD part - the right arm - while new figure Bail Organa is the one with the redundant part. Why did Hasbro change the BAD parts in wave 4 in the UK, leaving a new figure with a duplicate unnecessary part and an old figure with a vital part? Can you assure UK collectors that they will not face a similar situation with future waves?
10. - We recently got a look at photos of some new Titanium Series including The Twilight, the IG-2000, Xizor's Virago, and some others. Many of the new molds look stellar, and the IG-2000 is a great surprise addition. However, the paint jobs on the Twilight and Virago seemed quite unusual, the Twilight has far more blue than the CGI model's nearly gray upper color, and the Virago was sporting purple accents on light gray despite the ship actually being very dark gray (in the photo it's also facing backwards with the wings assembled upside-down). Will the paint on the final versions more closely match the source material? If those are the final colors, why the odd variations?
11. - Recently, Hasbro has updated cockpits on a few OT ships, including the B-wing and A-wing, not to mention the detailed cockpit on the new Millennium Falcon. We understand that the B-wing and A-wing got new detailed cockpits because they had the opportunity from their use as exclusives, but exclusives or not, are there any plans or thoughts about continuing that practice on other ships? The X-wing, TIE Fighter, and Y-wing are all good candidates for new, detailed cockpits, but would the small size of some of those cockpits prevent those upgrades?
12. - 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?
13. - This might seem like an odd request, but could you re-issue the old Kenner X-wing, specifically the POTF2 version, with some modifications? There's no X-wing at kid pricing anymore, the only OT vehicles at the Starfighter pricepoint are lonely TIEs with nobody to fight, and that classic X-wing had some decent sculpting, strong wings, and is fun to whoosh about. As well, the POTF2 version had a pretty decent deco (though pre-applied stickers would be nice), and that version also had the best sound effects in any X-wing (aside from the Power FX X-wing, but the sacrifices there are numerous), those sounds alone would sell another batch to collectors. The set could use a tune-up on the cockpit interior, the canopy exterior, the dedicated R2-D2, and the blaster tips need to be reoriented to the proper upright position. Don't you think the kids today deserve an awesome X-wing fighter?
14. - 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.
15. - 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.
16. - In a recent Q&A, you mentioned that "[Hasbro] will continue working with Sideshow on their 12" figure program." As we know, Sideshow sub-licenses their 12" Star Wars through Hasbro's Star Wars license, but the intricacies of this relationship are not fully understood. With your recent comment above, collectors are ever more curious as to how exactly Hasbro and Sideshow work together on that 12" figure line. What types of input does Hasbro have into the Star Wars items that Sideshow produces?
17. - 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?
18. - Right now, based on what you've said and shown at Toy Fair, the 2009 basic TLC waves look like this: February (ANH), May (ESB 1), September (TPM). We know the '09 EU wave got pushed into '10, but according to your prior answers that still leaves 4 more TLC waves crammed into the last part of the year. 2008 suffered pacing issues and delays in part because the Hasbro SW team was focusing on Indiana Jones, but this year there is no such sidetrack, so why the pacing problems and slowdowns? Does the fact that so many other movies are getting Hasbro toy lines (GI Joe, Transformers 2, Wolverine) slow the flow of SW toys? Will all 7 remaining '09 waves actually make it to market in this year, or will all those waves on top of each other in the last 3rd of the year cause another push-out and all-repaints wave? As per your Dec 10th Q&A correction, will ROTJ and ANH 2 waves get released between May's ESB wave and September's TPM wave?
19. - As shown at Toy Fair, the upcoming Geonosis Assault battle pack is coming with the long-requested Gunship pod turret and 2 clone pilots. Since each gunship had 2 turrets in the film, that will require buying 2 sets, making 4 pilots. However, the gunship is manned by 2 pilots in the cockpit, and 2 standard grunts in the turrets. While thrilled to get the pods and more clones, could we get a regular clone trooper helmet as well as, or even instead of 1 of, those pilot helmets so the gunships can be accurately, completely manned?
20. - 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?
21. - With the Titanium Series line, how much influence does Lucasfilm put into it? Have they ever asked for a specific ship to be included in the line when it otherwise wouldn't be? Have they ever requested a feature be added to a vehicle, or even possibly a potential feature removed? Is the LFL approval process fairly smooth with this line compared to something like the action figure line, have they ever sent a Titanium Series vehicle back to the drawing board or even canned it altogether?
22. - 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 the unknown designs made up by Lucasfilm?) 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 to explain 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.
23. - Beyond Star Wars, many other franchises have tried their hand at Titanium Series - Battlestar Galactica, Indiana Jones, Marvel, Transformers, even Stargate was floated as being in some level of planning - yet they all eventually faded away from Titanium Series' light. What lessons has the Titanium Series team taken away from those other licenses' lines and their passings? For example, you put off the wave with the BSG Basestar and couldn't find a slot for this new tooling before the license ran out, yet you released a Starbuck repaint of the Viper mk 2 at the proverbial 11th hour (and didn't hit shelves until the 13th hour), an unusual distinction which fans don't really understand, and could use more behind-the-scenes insight into - why didn't that Basestar tooling get shoehorned into a later wave before the license with Universal ran out? Why release a repaint vehicle that won't satisfy fans as much, rather than an all-new mold which fans have been clamoring for?
24. - Some collectors shy away from EU items unless they tie into major characters from the films, or strongly ties into the movie saga story. With that in mind, what are the chances of seeing figures of these influential EU characters: the ghost of Luke Skywalker (Legacy), Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas, Darth Plagueis, or even a young Count Dooku?
25. - Fans are glad to see the Jawa with WED Droid set produced, getting us 1 step closer to a complete "purchase of the droids" scene, but it seems like this pack-in WED droid is a tad on the large size. Comparison images have it around 25% larger than its movie counterpart. Also, the coloring on the toy is significantly different from the Jawa scene's white and red design seen at the droid sale (WED-15-ST68) - the gray and copper droid made into the figure was used in a cut scene by Fixer at Tosche station. So on the WED droid, why the increase in scale, and why the different colors?
26. - 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 figures and their identity issues?

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

[JediTricks]

First off, I was very impressed with the questions we sent in from the last round, that was a great spread of questions. There was a 5-way tie for 4th - 6th places, that's impressive.

One of the questions that I pulled out even though it had the votes to get asked was this:

Will we be seeing any episode-specific Battle Packs for The Clone Wars? For instance, the episode Rookies would make for a great pack, with only minor retools and repaints (Hevy with Z-6 rotary cannon; Echo with handprint paint and visor; Fives; and perhaps a commando droid or battle droid). This would be a great way to get several of the individualized clones from any given episode without spreading them over a long period of time into the basic line.

I pulled it because it needs to be revamped, nearly all the products listed currently exist or are coming out soon. We have Hevy's rotary cannon coming in 2 waves, and it was just leaked that we'd be getting Echo with handprint and visor, so the only thing the question seems to get right is asking for Fives, and all he has possible is a removable helmet with generic clone head, and maybe his medal painted onto his chest. While that doesn't specifically preclude the question from being used, it basically ensures the wrong type of answer, addressing all those aspects. So, we need to go back to the drawing board on this question.



Also, the rule about no questions about specifics for possible new products is still in effect until the end of Toy Fair in mid-Feb.


I'm adding back a few questions that were cut a couple rounds ago which fit this focus better.

I'm not really sure what you're saying. The "just off camera" part is still the first thing I suggest. I'm not suggesting a scam, and I'm not sure who it would be getting scammed even if I was. This is the only concievable way I can think of getting Hasbro to agree to do these figures since they said they weren't going to acknowledge the Holiday Special in the toy line whatsoever. I'm letting them know that there are fans out there who like the aliens that appear in that scene in the special, and feel they should be produced even if it's after Hasbro's run out of ANH aliens. There's no "wink-wink" and I'm not trying to be deceitful -- it's just a suggestion. The fact that I pointed at Decipher as an example should tell Hasbro that Lucasfilm may be open to such an idea. I'm not really sure how else to approach the argument.

If you could tell me specifically what sort of argument you're looking for then I'll make the change. I know that personally you could care less if these figures are ever made, but perhaps you can help me out by wording it so that it better fits your ideal.

Also, thanks DarkJedi5 for the heads up. Had no clue really! It really can't get here soon enough.

The first thing you do in the question as now written is ask for those figures, not ask for off-camera guys and then use those as an example. And you do treat it like a scam when you say "I'm sure Hasbro could pass these off as appearing just "off-camera" in the ANH cantina scene".

As for them not recognizing the Holiday Special, that's largely about Lucasfilm's wishes, not their own. Hasbro knows there's a little interest, but they can't convince Lucasfilm on potential items.

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

I'm glad that my re-added comic book question was submitted to them this time. Finally!

As for my episode-specific question, how about:
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.

[Ando]

[FONT=Courier New]4.[/FONT]

[FONT=Courier New]12.[/FONT]

[FONT=Courier New]And I will wait to ask my new product question(s) about the recently announced/leaked/sneak previewed Turbo Tank that is supposedly scheduled for Christmas time: Will it be comparable to the AT-TE in size (20 clone capacity?), price ($100.00?), play value (lots or compartments, lights + sounds?), and whether or not it comes with a figure or 2 (Legacy Collection clone or Clone Wars series clone?) until after Toy Fair.[/FONT]

[Darth Windu]

7 and 10 for me at the moment.

[LTBasker]

2. - While we'd always prefer a worn paint deco on vehicles and droids, we understand sometimes the budget just can't do it. The next time you do a vehicle with a white deco where the budget prohibits additional weathering paint, could you please not use the clean-white color of plastic that you've used on the Clone Wars V-19 or the TLC Dagger Squadron B-wing? This white plastic is just too clean, it screams for weathering as it hides every sculpted line and gives an unwelcome plasticky toy look, while the slightly off-white colors of plastic seem to bring out the lines and look a little weathered better than clean.

6. - Why are the Droid Factory build-a-droid parts for C-3PX incompatible with the basic figures' build-a-droid parts, especially the other protocol droids like RA7's? 3PX has a ball joint for his head while RA7 has a post, and the pegs for the arms and legs also differ, thus making it impossible to mix-n-match parts, which the concept had otherwise highly adopted. Was this done on purpose, and if so, why?

7. - With Titanium Series 3" vehicles rapidly becoming one of the most successful Hasbro Star Wars sub-lines with over 60 individual carded releases, it's become nearly impossible to display them all at once. The main reason is that the unique packaging - although admirable in its specialized shape, custom graphics, and large window for the product - doesn't stack well and is very difficult to keep in mint condition with an easily-crushed and -scuffed round bubble, and vulnerable J-hook. Might Hasbro be willing to offer some sort of clamshell-style protective cases for the packaging, even if it's just through HasbroToyShop, similar to the one for the 3.75" figures?

10. - We recently got a look at photos of some new Titanium Series including The Twilight, the IG-2000, Xizor's Virago, and some others. Many of the new molds look stellar, and the IG-2000 is a great surprise addition. However, the paint jobs on the Twilight and Virago seemed quite unusual, the Twilight has far more blue than the CGI model's nearly gray upper color, and the Virago was sporting purple accents on light gray despite the ship actually being very dark gray (in the photo it's also facing backwards with the wings assembled upside-down). Will the paint on the final versions more closely match the source material? If those are the final colors, why the odd variations?

11. - Recently, Hasbro has updated cockpits on a few OT ships, including the B-wing and A-wing, not to mention the detailed cockpit on the new Millennium Falcon. We understand that the B-wing and A-wing got new detailed cockpits because they had the opportunity from their use as exclusives, but exclusives or not, are there any plans or thoughts about continuing that practice on other ships? The X-wing, TIE Fighter, and Y-wing are all good candidates for new, detailed cockpits, but would the small size of some of those cockpits prevent those upgrades?

12. - 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?

[NerfTW]

[FONT=Courier New]4.[/FONT]

[FONT=Courier New]12.[/FONT]

[FONT=Courier New]And I will wait to ask my new product question(s) about the recently announced/leaked/sneak previewed Turbo Tank that is supposedly scheduled for Christmas time: Will it be comparable to the AT-TE in size (20 clone capacity?), price ($100.00?), play value (lots or compartments, lights + sounds?), and whether or not it comes with a figure or 2 (Legacy Collection clone or Clone Wars series clone?) until after Toy Fair.[/FONT]

Given that the "leak" was from the Toy Fair preview catalog, it's most likely going to be at Toy Fair, with all those questions answered.

[Cane_Adiss]

The first thing you do in the question as now written is ask for those figures, not ask for off-camera guys and then use those as an example. And you do treat it like a scam when you say "I'm sure Hasbro could pass these off as appearing just "off-camera" in the ANH cantina scene".

As for them not recognizing the Holiday Special, that's largely about Lucasfilm's wishes, not their own. Hasbro knows there's a little interest, but they can't convince Lucasfilm on potential items.

Well that's just it, I'm asking specifically for Hasbro to consider the figures I have listed (because there are really no other examples of aliens that appeared only in the special and not ANH), and I give them a suggestion on how to do it without spotlighting the fact that they appeared only in the holiday special. When I say "pass them off" what I mean is that they can package them just like any other cantina alien without explicitly indicating on the package where they actually appeared. The only people who may be fooled are fans/collectors who aren't that familiar with the aliens to begin with (which is totally benign as many will buy them regardless of where they come from). I realize Lucasfilm and Hasbro already know who these guys are and where they came from so there would be no point in trying to fool them, and thats not what I intended by the question anyway. This is just a viable way for Hasbro to convince Lucasfilm that these aliens are in fact worth doing and would not be a stain on the line in any way.

Now that we're down to only about a dozen questions in the list could you please just add this and see how it does? There's really no chance that any of these guys will be unveiled at Toy Fair.

[sebillba]

For now, I'll vote 6 & 9, and for Cane's question if it gets added.

With Q9, could we update it slightly, by adding something like: Also, can you assure UK collectors that we will not face a similar situation with future waves?

[Darth Windu]

JT - can you remove question no. 10 (my question on the Titanium wave of Twilight, Virago etc). This question is being asked by Mousedroid.com in the next Q&A.

Thanks