QUESTIONS FOR HASBRO - round 73

[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 September 11th. Keep in mind that your votes in round 72 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. - 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?
3. - 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?
4. - 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 theproverbial 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?
5. - Regarding the future of Star Wars Mighty Muggs, what wave will be the final one at retail before the line becomes a TRU exclusive? Will some sought-after previous entries like Leia and the Stormtrooper be re-released? For Entertainment Earth's shared exclusives, who will they be sharing those with?
6. - What was the decision making process behind creating a Jabba the Hutt animated figure instead of a Ziro the Hutt figure? Ziro has appeared in the Clone Wars series more than Jabba so far, and his animated behavior fits the Clone Wars animated series better than Jabba. Was it merely the character recognizability of Jabba, or the fact that you had existing accessories for him, or was the idea of an evil Truman Capote Hutt just too out-there for ya?
7. - On the Toy Fair and SDCC slideshow image for the Walmart Droid Factory 2-packs, the Boba Fett shown with BL-17 is the Evolutions version right down to the missing emblem on his chest. However, the actual figure as appeared in stores recently is a reuse of the Holiday Special figure that is a different paint and body altogether. Why the switcheroo?
8. - 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?
9. - Mace Windu has been represented in action figure form for 11 years now, and a large portion of those figures were released with some unique, non-standard aspect. Mace has been the first "sneak peek" and a mail-away in the modern line, the first hard-shell "choco" robe, AOTC had a deluxe before basic which has a smiling face and a second figure, AOTC basic had the screaming face, 2003 AOTC basic had the "ultimate lightsaber control" stick gimmick, ROTS had the Force Lightning throw-off gimmick, and now the Clone Wars version with removable armor and saber-swinging waist. While there have been a few normal Mace figures, and even a super-articulated one finally, it seems as if Mace Windu has been tapped by Hasbro to be the sculpting and gimmick guinea pig. Is this pattern intentional, do you think he can't sell without these sorts of things, is it just happenstance, or does someone there subliminally not realize they keep picking Mace to be the test guy?
10. - In this year's SDCC slideshow presentation, you previewed the first Knights of the Old Republic comic-pack, which features Rohlan Dyre and Jarael. Why though is the series main protagonist Zayne not included in the first KOTOR pack? Any chance we will be seeing him released soon after that pack, or at least at some point?
11. - In The Force Unleashed, Admiral Ozzik Sturn piloted an AT-KT (All Terrain Kashyyyk Transport) in a boss battle against our hero and the enslaved Wookiees. The AT-KT is merely a heavier-armed version of the AT-ST. Now that we have a new AT-ST coming out, might Hasbro be willing to do a modified version for the AT-KT as well?
12. - On the new red & white cards for Legacy Collection, the character photos in the upper corner are rather bizarre works this time around and lead to several questions. Why are so many of the characters holding their weapons near their faces for the images? Some sabers and guns make sense, but other accessories look odd like on the Gungan Warrior card. A few are out of scale, like Slave Leia's vibro-staff. And why are some characters using images from other movies, like Sidious Hologram using a picture from ROTJ, or Luke Jedi using an ANH likeness, or Romba altered to sub for Paploo? And what is with the "artist's interpretation" image for Malakili that looks like an oil painting? While these might seem like minor nitpicks, after a few years of quality card character art, these really stand out and take the line back a few steps. Doesn't the line deserve better?
13. - Has there been any thought to creating a repaint of Clone Wars C-3PO in his "Droids" cartoon coloring? This mold is already fairly cartoony in design and realization. It would make a nifty collectible for fans of the classic cartoon, yet also could work for new collectors unfamiliar with the series as an alternate protocol droid with a unique color scheme. Any chance of seeing this happen from Hasbro, or would it have to show up in the new cartoon first to even be considered?
14. - In Episode I, the Escape from Naboo sequence was a very memorable scene in the movie. Over the last 10 years, you've managed to release all the brave astromechs involved in the scene except for R5-A7 (aka G8-R3). What are the chances that we'll see this figure done in the near future? What format would it likely be done as, perhaps a basic figure, a pack-in from a set, a build-a-droid, or something else?
15. - Way back in the day, Hasbro planned a Naboo Pilot figure with a removable cloth coat, it was to come with a handheld LCD game, but the set was canceled. Now that we're at the 10th anniversary of Episode I, it seems like our collections are lacking only 1 type of pilot, the brave Naboo Fighter pilots. Any consideration for doing a new Naboo Pilot with removable coat, perhaps also using that body for an update to Ric Olie, who taught Anakin about star piloting? These characters seem to have been forgotten with the passage of time, but had important roles to play in the film.
16. - 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?
17. - With any white-armored trooper figure, one of the things that is a hard fight for looking realistic is that white coloring. Generally, Hasbro goes for the white of the prop or whitest shade of white plastic they can make, but in the films and even on the Clone Wars show, there really isn't enough lighting to display an all-white figure as truly all white. The lighting used in the films and show give it a subtle off-white, barest-hint-of-cool-gray tone which is tough to scale down on a figure using real world lighting. Has there been any consideration of trying to replicate that look in the figures by changing the base plastic color slightly?
18. - Unleashed has been a collector-favorite line for a while now, long after its cancellation. Fans crave higher-end statues without the higher-end pricing, and Hasbro delivered that with their plastic Unleashed line. Have you considered going back to the Unleashed well at a slightly higher pricepoint to make it profit-feasible line, perhaps even using the look of some of Lucasfilm's higher-end packaging motif?
19. - 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.
20. - The upcoming Nikto Gunner you're releasing is a very nifty figure, but is not actually the Nikto Gunner. The Nikto figure we're getting is Nysad, he's the one who pops out of the hatch and shoots 2 shots at Luke only to have them deflected back and kill him. The cannon he comes with was actually used by the other Nikto on the Sail Barge deck, Vizam, who has a different armor design and is basically what we got in the POTF2 Skiff Guards Cinema Scene. How did the mixing of Vizam's accessory and role get merged into the upcoming Nysad figure, and why isn't the character's name used for the figure? Now that we have the proper cannon and a modern Nikto head, are we going to see them reused into the actual Nikto Gunner, Vizam, or are we stuck with the decade-old POTF2 version for that?
21. - The upcoming Hrchek Kal Fas figure raises a few questions. First, what's up with his eyes? On the prototype images including the one in the slideshow at Comic-Con, they were black as they are in the film and on the card art, but the actual figure has bizarre painted orange eyes with pupils, which looks odd. It seems like it's trying to represent the backs of the glassy clear eyes as they appeared when they caught a certain light, but the end result seems just weirdly off. Also, are there plans to release Sai'torr Kal Fas at some point in the future as well, or would collectors be wise to pick up two of Hrchek, since their costumes are virtually identical?
22. - Will you be reissuing the Scramble on Yavin Battle Pack in the new packaging design? Although a sleeper at first, it seems to be very popular and now many collectors themselves are scrambling trying to find it. We know you said that future Battle Packs would go back to the kid-focused styles, but as this is existing tooling and it's popular and it had a relatively short run due to the packaging change-over, it should get a re-release in the '09 packaging, don't you think?

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

[JediTricks]

I cut the previous round's question 2 because the votes came in for a question that asks about updates to the figures anyway, so unless we're definitely focusing to ask about why these CW clones are a little taller than movie clones, it's kinda redundant.

[vger]

1, 9, 13.

New questions:

The escape from Naboo was a very memorable scene in TPM. You've released all of the astromechs involved save for R5-A7 (aka G8-R3). Are there any plans to release him in the near future?

Any plans for a new Naboo pilot with removable coat? It would be nice to get an updated Ric Olie, along with some of the other pilots from Bravo Squadron.

It was great to be able to get R2-B1 in the TAC line, since he was so hard to find in his Episode 1 release, but his dome was unpainted, making him stick out like a sore thumb when displayed with the other astromechs you've released. Could a correctly painted R2-B1 be released in a TPM-based battle pack. For example, Escape from Theed could include Qui-Gon Jinn, the battle droid who asks him where he is going, Obi-Wan Kenobi and R2-B1.

[Snowtrooper]

Maybe this has already been asked........

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 adding ball joint elbows would have sufficed and the resources could be diverted to a figure that really needs an update such as Bespin Han or Hoth Leia?

[waboritas]

Not sure if this has been asked before or if it is more of a Hasbro question. I brought it up in the GH thread the other day and was interested in Hasbro's take. From my experience, getting damaged or lost parts for Hasbro Star Wars toys is almost impossible from Hasbro Customer Care. Is there a reason for this? The best example I can give is my son lost the cockpit cover on his GH Obi-Wan Starfighter. I called customer service and they could not replace it or the vehicle. Why could they not replace the vehicle or provide the replacement part when it is still available at retail and online. Seems a bit odd. I understand if I was looking to replace something that was available 3, 5, 10 years ago that they could not help me, but this is something that is out now. The crux of it is it was available on Hasbro Toy Shop and they could not do anything nor were they willing to give me a coupon to replace it at retail. I sent the ship back to them, so it was not like I was pulling a fast one.

[Devo]

Maybe this has already been asked........

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 adding ball joint elbows would have sufficed and the resources could be diverted to a figure that really needs an update such as Bespin Han or Hoth Leia?

Is it a completely new figure? Does seem like a waste if thats the case. The TSC figure was and still is a superb figure. Absolutely no need for a complete resculpt.

[Snowtrooper]

I've been comparing the uniform of the TSC version that I have opened to pictures of the ones at SDCC, and the folds and creases are different on the torso, arms, and legs. So I presume its an all new sculpt.

I had heard awhile back that that they wanted to do a RH version, but I thought they would just update the TSC version. I also feel like a whole new resculpt was unnecessary.

[sonofsokol]

rebelscum.com says that it is a repaint.
http://www.rebelscum.com/TLCvehATST.asp
From the site:
Points of Interest:
# This AT-ST is an all-new vehicle!
# The AT-ST Driver, however, is not. He is a repaint of the figure from 2007's TAC Battle of Hoth Ultimate Battle Pack.

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

rebelscum.com says that it is a repaint.
http://www.rebelscum.com/TLCvehATST.asp
From the site:
Points of Interest:
# This AT-ST is an all-new vehicle!
# The AT-ST Driver, however, is not. He is a repaint of the figure from 2007's TAC Battle of Hoth Ultimate Battle Pack.

They're talking about the AT-AT Driver coming in the ESB wave, not the AT-ST Driver coming with the AT-ST.

[sonofsokol]

oops sorry... I guess that explains my poor reading comprehension scores.