SDCC 2011 Questions for Hasbro?

[JediTricks]

I've split this thread off from the regular Q&A thread so we can have a little more conversation on the matter as SDCC comes up, especially since some of these questions aren't really fully gestated yet. Pardon any oddities from the copied posts not making 100% sense, they're coming from a different thread.

Also, any suggestions for stuff I could ask Hasbro at Comic-Con? If we don't get some solid suggestions, we'll have to pass up the opportunity.

[El Chuxter]

JT, I hate to harp on it, but do you think possibly asking about the wonky distribution across all the "boys' lines" the past year might be more appropriate in person than via the Q&A?

[JediTricks]

I'm biased of course, because it's my question, but I think #7 would be a good one to ask in person at Comic Con because you could show them where we imagine things connecting and explain or reasoning a little more to prevent any confusion or misunderstanding.

I also wanted to remind you that we had considered asking about whatever happened to the funeral pyre Vader if it isn't shown as one of this year's exclusives.

My only concern with asking questions currently on the list is we have almost no questions left as it is, but I'll consider using question 7 if I get the opportunity:
7) - The Force FX lightsabers are targeted at adult collectibles, for a group who generally desire accuracy in their prop collectibles, and yet the latest ROTS Obi-Wan's lightsaber with removable blade suffers a big inaccuracy due to the blade needing to be securely anchored. However, with your removable-blade designs, you've started using dummy parts to fill in the removed blades, and we wonder if you'd consider for future thin-necked lightsabers like Luke ROTJ and Obi-Wan having the removable blade take the entire thick "neck" with it and having a more accurate thin-necked dummy design replace it. That much weight anchoring has been accomplished before in the thick metal coupler for the Maul saber halves that screwed together, on these thin-neck sabers the neck could screw down to the top part of the grip. That would let collectors have their cake and eat it too by giving an accurate hilt prop display with the thin neck, while still having the light-up blade play using the thick neck. So has there been any consideration for that sort of thing, and might it be seen in future Force FX sabers when needed?

Thanks for the reminder on Funeral Pyre Vader. They were shopping it, so we were waiting to hear.

JT, I hate to harp on it, but do you think possibly asking about the wonky distribution across all the "boys' lines" the past year might be more appropriate in person than via the Q&A?

Marvel's had great distribution. But I hear ya. Can you give me any focus points to ask more specifically of the SW team? Distribution is definitely a huge problem for TF, GI Joe, and SW, so we're wondering if it's systemic or just a trio of bad timing.

I also wanted to ask about the increased pricing being a source of trouble for the line.

Oh, and I guess a question about the Starfighter Vehicle asst going down in flames this year, assuming it's not addressed at the panel.

Good, now we're on our way. More would be great.

[El Chuxter]

Maybe pointing out that an awful lot of stores have gotten nothing since last fall's AOTC wave, and I can't think of a single store I've been to that's not swamped with 4-LOMs and Dengars.

If you're asking about the price increase, it might be a good idea to incorporate the whole "what the hell is the logic of selling the same character in 'Legends' [or whatever it's called this week] and Vintage, with a $2 price difference?"

And, on a related note, maybe point out that for some collectors (not all, I know, but I'm not entirely alone on this), the $9-$11 price point has crossed a "make or break" point, making people far more selective and less likely to buy resculpts aside from the most sorely needed ones.

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

The points I brought up about Saga Legends might be better suited for an in-person conversation than a question here, given that there are multiple angles to go over and I'd like to hear about them all. The points being: a reversal on not having the same characters in both SL and the main line; the so-called "ceiling" on certain figures, like Anakin and Obi-Wan, finally being hit; what SL's current purpose is when TVC also has a mix of main characters and army builders with occasional background characters, and how that compares to its purpose in the past, which was always to supplement the other lines and ensure that certain characters were always around, which is what TVC is now doing.

I also wonder if asking about constantly selling a plain white ROTS clone would be good for an in-person conversation as well. They've never really addressed that there are only two plain white clones in the entire film.

Oh, and another one; this one can be either here or at the con:
*While the ARC Trooper Commander (aka Captain Fordo) figure and most of his accessories are sculpted in a very realistic style that fits with the rest of the realistic-styled figures from the Clone Wars micro-series, the Phase II helmet is sculpted in a very stylized manner that skews quite closely to the simple, angular designs of the cartoon. It seems that Tartakovsky and co. had meant for Fordo's Phase II helmet to be similar to that of Commander Neyo, simply adapted to their style of animation. Why was such a stylized approach taken for the sculpting of the helmet, when nothing of this manner has been done on previous realistic micro-series figures? Will we see a more realistic, Neyo-style helmet included with a re-release of the figure?

For reference, here is the figure, here is Fordo in the micro-series, and here is Commander Neyo.

[bigbarada]

New question:
Prototypes for TVC wave 8 (including Kithaba, Nom Anor, Aayla Secura and Dr. Evazan) were shown at Toy Fair 2011 and we were initially given a release date somewhere between June and August 2011. However, July is nearly over and wave 7 (Bespin Han, RFT, Bom Vimdin, etc.) is just starting to hit stores in considerable numbers. Now online retailers are giving case breakdowns of wave 8 and 9 and both waves are taken up almost entirely by the Revenge of the Jedi subline with no word on the status of the original wave 8 assortment. Considering how, from a collector standpoint, TVC has been struggling just to survive at retail, with new figures being so difficult to find that many collectors are just throwing in the towel; it's difficult to understand the logic behind clogging the pegs with two more waves of figures that consist almost entirely of repacks. So, what was the thinking behind the decision to postpone several highly requested figures to make space for a repack-subline that, quite frankly, NOBODY was asking for?

[El Chuxter]

If BigB's question is added, I'll change my vote from 4 to that one.

I'd change both my votes to that one if I could.

[JediTricks]

I'm not adding it only because I am 100% sure they will address it at Comic-Con this week, and if they don't, then I'll simply ask it in person if I can.

[JediTricks]

A slight rewrite on the FX question:
As you've discussed in the past, the Force FX lightsabers are targeted at adult collectors, for a group who generally desire accuracy in their prop collectibles, and yet the latest ROTS Obi-Wan's lightsaber with removable blade suffers a big inaccuracy: due to the blade needing to be securely anchored, the neck of the hilt is excessively wide. However, with your removable-blade designs, you're using dummy parts to fill in the removed blades, and we wonder if you'd consider for future thin-necked lightsabers like Luke ROTJ and Obi-Wan having the removable blade take the entire thick "neck" with it and having a more accurate thin-necked dummy design replace it. That much weight anchoring has been accomplished before in the thick metal coupler for the Maul saber halves that screwed together, on these thin-neck sabers the neck could screw down to the top part of the grip. That would let collectors have their cake and eat it too by giving an accurate hilt prop display with the thin neck, while still having the light-up blade play using the thick neck. So has there been any consideration for that sort of thing, and might it be seen in future Force FX sabers when needed?

I'm, going to be writing up more interview questions now and will try to keep you guys in the loop, but I've run out of time and gotten not much help with these this year.

[JediTricks]

I'm thinking about asking the "Sgt Bric, uh, why?" question.

Sgt. Bric's initial cartoon outing turned out to be kind of a bust. The character was an unmemorable jerk and didn't really add anything to his storyline. In fact, if not for the action figure you guys did, he'd be a complete nobody in 2010. And on top of that, the postage on his set when it arrived in Los Angeles was a whopping $5.15, so after the cost of the box and the handling, just getting it out the door probably ate the entire $6.99 right there. Combine that with the fancy packaging and the battle mat, and the fact that he's 100% new tooling with some pricey-looking (for CW) paint, and it seems like Bric's quite an expensive promotional venture for Hasbro to have undertaken... all for a minor jerk of a character. What is it about Bric that made you choose him for a big Clone Wars mail-away promo figure?

And the "why all troopers gotta be white?" question.
The plethora of white clones and sandtroopers that have shipped with every wave so far this year are having some problems getting out the doors of major retailers. Also, repainted clones such as Gree and the orange clone trooper do not seem to have the same problem building up on the pegs. A while back you told us that Hasbro bean counters were cracking down on running-change figures, but having different pauldron colors for the sandtrooper in different waves, and repainting the episode 2 (sergeant and officer colors) and episode 3 clones (many different units to choose from) in different color schemes for different waves would have almost definitely helped alleviate the oversupply/under demand problems for these figures. Please don't read this as us asking for more clones and sandtroopers as right now we do think it's overkill, but since recent and future waves still seem to be pushing these stalled figures, do you think the recent issues are enough to give the "no running changes" policy another look for troubled trooper figures?