Hasbro wants our Questions:

[Master Frank]

Sheesh. Almost nothing is movie accurate. Look at the size of the Degobah X-Wing comparred to the TRU Y-Wing.

[Jaing Skirata]

Dear Hasbro,

Late 2007 and early 2008 looks to be great and has me excited. Between the confirmations you've made and the "rumor lists" floating about, it looks like most all of the figures and vehicles I've asked for are being produced. There is 1 figure I havent seen hide nor hair of and have a question. Any chance you will revisit the AOTC Clone trooper with removeable armor? While a great figure, it lacks alot of things such as a sculpt useable for anything besides putting on the speeder, which it really doesnt do to well anyway. How about giving that figure a new release... maybe going SA on it and using tech like that of the Wave 9 Clone in training and Jango for removabel armor that stays on better. It'd be nice to have a nice figure in the jumpsuit to work with!

Thanks

[jaztermareal]

hi! since niche franchise lines are not your thing (e.g. battlestar galactica)
have you ever given thought to making such figures available through a mixed
source line much like mcfarlanes movie maniacs or the marvel legends toys we
see in shops? what im thinking of is a line of figures that include in each wave
things that will appeal to fans of movies and tv in general. for instance, a wave
might contain a star wars figure (to hook in the sw fans) perhaps an indiana
jones figure (again hook indie fans) a battlestar galactica figure, a kerberos saga
figure, perhaps the rocketman from the movie of the same name and perhaps an
animated character for good mesure (heck, throw in elvis too (-:  ).this would
allow you (licences permitting) to provide niche figures in a mass waywithout
the expense of dedicated lines, and in a mixed format that would seem attractive
to collectors of star wars, indiana jones, movies and tv etc. perhaps they could be
in a premium format similar in price to the vintage sw line. with just a few per
wave a few times a year we could fill our shelves with a diverse collection
representing the entertainment of the past century. anyway, what are your
thoughts? would you at least pass the idea round for consideration? thanks. j

[Master Frank]

Dearest Hasbro,

Not sure if these have been answered yet..

What are you calling the 2008 line of basic 3 3/4 figures? I see the first wave in the series on the Entertainment Earth site. Looks like unchanged TAC figures comprise a good percent of the total. Are you continuing the TAC line into and through all of 2008? Is there not going to be a new series, new card for basic figures in 2008?

Also, why was 2007 celebrating the 30th Anniversary, if you count 2007 all the way back to 1977, you get 31 years?! Did your Marketing staff drop the ball?

1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
.
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
.
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
.
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
.
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
.
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
.
2007

[SHB033196]

Well, technically there were not any star wars toys available in 1977, but the math is valid.

[Master Frank]

Well, technically there were not any star wars toys available in 1977, but the math is valid.

Thank you for validating the question Spock 

Here is a link to show you an anniversary counting both the start and end year:
http://www.sportslogos.net/logo.php?lo=2091

[SHB033196]

Well, technically there were not any star wars toys available in 1977, but the math is valid.

Thank you for validating the question Spock 

Here is a link to show you an anniversary counting both the start and end year:
http://www.sportslogos.net/logo.php?lo=2091

You are quite logical Frank. For a human .

[Mithel]

Dear Hasbro,

      It would seem that with the results of the fan choice poll, the fans heavily favored EU troops such as the shadow stormtrooper, and utapau shadow trooper, in light of this trend will you give more leeway to ideas for more EU army builders, such as the Nova Stormtrooper from SWG, the Rebel Marines from My Brother My Enemy, and Xandel Carivus' Red Guard (which I think will sell well because they look like Master Chief)?

[Master Frank]

Dear Hasbro,

Question about your web site..

Can you tell us when your website *generally* changes the status of items that are out of stock to in stock, so your customers know when to check on their availability. It seems that the times that items become available are almost random. Is there a general time that updates are made on maybe a daily basis?

[lordabell]

Dear Hasbro,

Why should I buy exclusives when the figures return in 2 years at half the cost most of the time?  You are removing the point of these figures being exclusives and paying the higher price point because they are exclusives.  By treating fans this way, do you think that the sale of exclusive figures will decline as collectors refuse to pay $15 or more for a figure that will return on a poll and be released for $7?  I really hate the fact I bought the lastest Fan's Choice winners at full price the other year.  Doing the packins like Zev and Neyo are one thing as they have not been carded before, but to do it with carded figures that people paid through the nose for is a slap on the face.

[Jaing Skirata]

You know what Hasbro's answer will be to that question...

"By purchasing the exclusive, you get the special packaging which will only be available to the exclusive."

[Darth Spice]

THE latest:

1. Earlier this year, you sold an album that was intended to hold the coins that would be included with this years action figures in the 30th Anniversary Collection. By my count, that would be:

60 basic figure coins
7 Saga Legends (TPM, AOTC, ROTS, ANH, ESB, ROTJ, EU)
4 Convention giveaways (CIV, Celebration Europe, and Comic Con, plus bonus
Indiana Jones IV gold coin)
5 Convention exclusives from figures (2 McQ Luke (C4 & CE), 2 McQ R2/3-PO
(C4 & CE), 1 McQ Obi-Wan/Yoda)
1 SWS Exclusive (Concept Grievous)
12 UGH variants

 If my math is correct (and I used a calculator to double check) that comes out to a total of 89 Coins. How do you propose that I get all 89 coins (provided I can collect them all, and believe me, I'm trying) into a coin album (that cost me $11, FYI) that has only 80 slots? And this doesn't even take into account the 6 Vintage coins (5 for the figures + the bonus coin) and the Toy Fair coin because they come with their own special cases, even though I would prefer to remove them from those cases and display them with the rest of my coins.

That are actually 90 coins. Previously, on a different Q&A answer, we had confirmed there were 89, but we forgot the concept Grievous.  However, you are right….there are more coins than slots to house them.  The only way to house them all, if you have them all, would be to get a second binder where you could also bring in the vintage coins as well.  The original intent of the binder was to give some blank space for extras and duplicates, and then we just kept coming up with different coins to the point where we had more than the slots could house.  Our sincere hope is that you are enjoying the "hunt" for the coins and forgive us for the spillover!

2. If a website like Brian's Toys can offer the "One of every figure club" which allows members to be shipped one of every action figure in every wave of Star Wars Figures that gets released, why can't Hasbro Toy Shop offer a similar program? Surely, HTS can get Star Wars figures just as easily - if not easier - than any other retailers? And why can't Hasbro Toy Shop get new Star Wars figures in a timely manner? Or when they do happen to receive new/currently shipping items, they sell out so quickly? And then take so long to be replenished, if at all?

HTS actually tried this model during Episode III, but it did not go over well since it was started after the figures had started shipping and supply proved an issue.  We ultimately had to cancel out of the program, so we have not been quick to jump back into it and have let others carry the ball.  With planning, it could happen, and we will discuss again. Regarding HTS, they are treated the same as our other retail partners, and their supplies are based on forecasts and orders...if they are selling out quickly, it means that they need to bring up their forecasts to match demand for the next round.

3. Do you have any comments about the horrendous distribution Star Wars figures are getting at this point in the year? At retail I can find nothing newer than Wave 3, yet some online shops (like HTS and Amazon) are already shipping out Wave 6? And other online shops (like EE) are still waiting to receive Wave 4. How are customers supposed to buy product if there's no product available?

Troops - it's a problem that we are looking into to always try and improve, but it is a very complicated issue and a little different from the past because we have a number of waves in a compressed time this Fall.  We don't have a simple answer for you because there are numerous parts to it and we would need more background to address a particular store. 

Here are the "trueisms" to start with from a macro level:  We are producing ample supplies of all waves (based on our forecast data and sales history); as inventories sell down at a store, they are flagged for reorder by the inventory management systsems in place to keep sale going smoothly; we ship to retail distribution centers to resupply stores based on both replenishment of current sales and seasonal forecast increases (for example, getting ready for holiday inventories will increase).  We do not ship directly to stores, but instead we go through the DCs, so we don't exactly control where and when each wave goes to any individual store. Part of it is affected, of course, by how much inventory is at that store already...if a store is slow to sell down, then it may not get reordered when the next wave is available.  Compounding the issue is that, at least with 30th Basic figures, the coin delays at the start of the year compressed our wave deliveries for the back half. 

Coin production problems are solved, but it means that we will see a lot of variety that normally would have been more spread out compressed into the back half. Usually, we like 6 weeks between new waves, but this Fall it will be more like 4 weeks or less which does pose challenges. We still want to get the new figures out, rather than delay some waves into next year, so we are releasing them as they come in. When a new wave comes in, we also get some of that out to retail so nobody gets shipped all or most of any wave....even if we still have not exhausted supplies of the previous wave.

This, combined with the earlier note about when stores get resupplied, means that the waves may not show up at your store in the order intended. It is also possible that a store may miss a wave initially (we hope not totally though).  We do our best to spread it out and ship all retailers each new wave, but we can't control the flow from the DCs to store level at that fine a detail.  Now, like we said we are making good supplies of all waves and even though the next wave (5 or 6 for example) starts showing up before the previous, it does not mean we are done with Wave 4. We will continue to ship 4 to ensure all retailers get their share.  Whew!  If you stuck with us through this, hang in there....we think we have some amazing figures on the way and hope you are able to find everything in time at your local store, or, worst case, in different local retailers before too long.

[Darth Ravenous]

It might be because I'm tired, but this might be the most thorough and detailed explanation for the distribution fiasco I've heard yet.  It would be easy to place the blame on the DC's, but it really makes the most immediate sense.  I guess it all seems fishy because I don't ever remember a line of Star Wars figures ever being so jacked up.

You couldn't swing a dead cat in the middle of a Wal-Mart toy aisle without hitting any figure in the Episode I line.  Episode II figures had their rarities, but you waited a week and TRU would always come thru with the restocks.  Episode III and SAGA seemed to stay steadily on course as well: a reliable abundance of new figures whenever I went out hunting.  This year's line has been comparitively...bizarre.

[jokabofe]

That are actually 90 coins. Previously, on a different Q&A answer, we had confirmed there were 89, but we forgot the concept Grievous.

Well, I added the Concept Grievous, and I still come up with 89. Unless I'm missing one somewhere?

60 basic figure coins
7 Saga Legends (TPM, AOTC, ROTS, ANH, ESB, ROTJ, EU)
4 Convention giveaways (CIV, Celebration Europe, and Comic Con, plus bonus
Indiana Jones IV gold coin)
5 Convention exclusives from figures (2 McQ Luke (C4 & CE), 2 McQ R2/3-PO
(C4 & CE), 1 McQ Obi-Wan/Yoda)
1 SWS Exclusive (Concept Grievous)
12 UGH variants

What are they adding in to get 90? The Toy Fair coin? I left that one out of the "coins that every fan can get" because the only way to get the Toy Fair coin was to go to Toy Fair (which not everyone can) or pay through the nose on ebay (which again, not everyone can).

60+7+4+5+1+12=89.

The only way to house them all, if you have them all, would be to get a second binder where you could also bring in the vintage coins as well.

Yeah, I'm sure that wasn't the plan from the start.

[lordabell]

The only way to house them all, if you have them all, would be to get a second binder where you could also bring in the vintage coins as well.

Yeah, I'm sure that wasn't the plan from the start.

Then it would drive me nuts to have a half empty binder of coins.  I need to check how the POTF coins fit because now I have them in Freeze Frame folders (they fit well by the way).

[darthdan]

The 3 coins I have for droids figures fit too loosely and fall out.

[jokabofe]

Then it would drive me nuts to have a half empty binder of coins. 

Yeah, I agree. I'm trying to come up (mathematically speaking) with a way to fill one entire binder perfectly with no open spots and no "stragglers" (i.e. coins that belong to a series that only half fit in the binder) and then try and come up with a way to store the others. I'm actually thinking of just getting rid of the binder all together and making some kind of framed display to hold all the coins instead.

I need to check how the POTF coins fit because now I have them in Freeze Frame folders (they fit well by the way).

Way ahead of you there. They don't fit. Like Dan said, they are too loose and fall out. Now, you would think that maybe Hasbro would have made them the same size, so that maybe someone that had the vintage coins would be able to buy an extra binder for those as well. Thus giving Hasbro even more sales on that stupid binder. And even then, there were more vintage coins than slots in the binder, so even the vintage guys would have had to buy two.

[Master Frank]

The Darktrooper has a gold coin, with that doesn't it bring the total to 90? Or is that the only expanded universe coin?

Also the vintage wave 7 coins, so isn't the total 89 plus 7 is 96 total!

[jokabofe]

The Darktrooper has a gold coin, with that doesn't it bring the total to 90? Or is that the only expanded universe coin?

Yeah, that was included in the 7 Legends coins (1 for each movie + EU).

Also the vintage wave 7 coins, so isn't the total 89 plus 7 is 96 total!

Well, those I left out since they do come with their own holder. But now in another Q&A Hasbro has announced that these new Legends that we've been voting on will have "at least 1 Silver EU coin" - don't know what the "at least" part means, but it means more coins. Great.

[darthdan]

The Darktrooper has a gold coin, with that doesn't it bring the total to 90? Or is that the only expanded universe coin?

Also the vintage wave 7 coins, so isn't the total 89 plus 7 is 96 total!

well technically most of the wave 5 coins are eu coins, but dark trooper has the only one thats not character specific.

[obidad]

Dearest Hasbro,

Not sure if these have been answered yet..

What are you calling the 2008 line of basic 3 3/4 figures? I see the first wave in the series on the Entertainment Earth site. Looks like unchanged TAC figures comprise a good percent of the total. Are you continuing the TAC line into and through all of 2008? Is there not going to be a new series, new card for basic figures in 2008?

Also, why was 2007 celebrating the 30th Anniversary, if you count 2007 all the way back to 1977, you get 31 years?! Did your Marketing staff drop the ball?

1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
.
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
.
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
.
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
.
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
.
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
.
2007

Let's get this straight then,  if I was married in September 2006, by your logic, I would have had my 2nd year anniversary is September 2007. 

2006
2007  = 2 years???  Think again.

[lordabell]

Then it would drive me nuts to have a half empty binder of coins. 

Yeah, I agree. I'm trying to come up (mathematically speaking) with a way to fill one entire binder perfectly with no open spots and no "stragglers" (i.e. coins that belong to a series that only half fit in the binder) and then try and come up with a way to store the others. I'm actually thinking of just getting rid of the binder all together and making some kind of framed display to hold all the coins instead.

What I decided to do was: the 60 figures, +3 (CIV,CE,SDCC), +7 (Legends coins), + 4 exclusives (McLuke, McDroids,McBen/McYoda, and Concept Grievious), and the 6 character coins from VATC (the Toy Fair coin I am going to display with the holder from the vintage mailaway since it is on the front on it's own), and I am going to just leave the UGH's in the package along with my CE McDroids (If I get the CE McLuke and Reunion figures then they will stay in the package also because I am not paying for 2 of each).  That brings my folder up to 80 and I am ok with the 20 on the unlabled side.

[thoughtbomb]

Hasbro,
     Will we ever see a "Emperors Wrath" Mace Windu? If so, When?

[Darth Ravenous]

Dearest Hasbro,

Not sure if these have been answered yet..

What are you calling the 2008 line of basic 3 3/4 figures? I see the first wave in the series on the Entertainment Earth site. Looks like unchanged TAC figures comprise a good percent of the total. Are you continuing the TAC line into and through all of 2008? Is there not going to be a new series, new card for basic figures in 2008?

Also, why was 2007 celebrating the 30th Anniversary, if you count 2007 all the way back to 1977, you get 31 years?! Did your Marketing staff drop the ball?

1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
.
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
.
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
.
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
.
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
.
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
.
2007

Let's get this straight then,  if I was married in September 2006, by your logic, I would have had my 2nd year anniversary is September 2007. 

2006
2007  = 2 years???  Think again.

Obidad is right, Frank.  1978 marked the first anniversary of Star Wars which would make this year the 30th anniversary.  1978 was also the first year Star Wars action figures were marketed by Kenner, so, if anything, next year will be the 30th anniversary of that. 

[palps45895]

Has Hasbro ever given any thought to re-releasing/slightly adjusting any of the older Jabba molds with an updated paint scheme as a Gardulla the Hutt figure/beast?

[Master Frank]

Point taken about the anniversary dates. There are different ways to count, some include the year of inception, others count from it.

[Darth Ravenous]

I had almost forgotten Frank! 

 You are right to a certain degree.  I know some Asian cultures count from the date of inception, i.e. the year a child is born is year one, and so on.  So, I wouldn't say you were entirely incorrect.   

[VadersFist]

I've always wondered that myself about that 77'-07'. If you count for example from 2000 to 2007 thats 8yrs not 7yrs. But I guess it makes no sense so I just roll with it. But I am counting 2000 as being the 1 and then 2001 as 2 and so on.

[lordabell]

Dear Hasbro,
Now that we have seen 3 different Ultimate Battle Packs for this year, is this a segment of the Battle Packs we will continue to see more of?  They have a lot of potential as long as there is something new for the collectors.  The Arena lacks anything new while the Hoth and Endor have some new 'different' repaints and kitbashed figures. 

[darthdan]

Dear Hasbro,
Now that we have seen 3 different Ultimate Battle Packs for this year, is this a segment of the Battle Packs we will continue to see more of?  They have a lot of potential as long as there is something new for the collectors.  The Arena lacks anything new while the Hoth and Endor have some new 'different' repaints and kitbashed figures. 

good question