Hasbro wants our Questions:

[jokabofe]

I wouldn't mind seein the ugnaught made even though it was in lego format, so why not in 3 3/4, but then again that would be a huge vehicle.

Ugnaught? Those are the little pig people from Bespin. 

I would STILL also like to see the sandcrawler made as well.

If I'm not mistaken, they have already said that it is due for a re-issue soon.

[VadersFist]

Hey Dave C this is what I meant to say and here is a picture of it.

I wouldn't mind seein the ugnaught made even though it was in lego format, so why not in 3 3/4, but then again that would be a huge vehicle.

Ugnaught? Those are the little pig people from Bespin. 

[Napseeker]

Guys, we need your help!!! We've run through out stockpile of questions, even with Napseeker dropping them on us 4 and 5 at a time (thanks for that!!). We've got absolutely NONE left to send for the next round in two weeks, so please post some questions that you have for Hasbro. And don't forget, we've got the Indiana Jones Q&A now as well.

Wow, are you kidding me?  You guys already submitted those ones I posted? I actually held back last time because I didn't think those five would be sent in for weeks... I'll post some more in the Jawa thread then since I've still got questions aplenty...

[S4NDTR00P3R]

8. 'What If' Line: Figures based on possible scenarios that did not happen; Luke in Carbonite, Vader/Anakin surviving as a Light Jedi, Lando as the "last hope" (from the fake scripts), Han and Lando in Imperial Disguise to Rescue Frozen Luke, etc.

Eh, I was with you for the post, until here. This just seems like a waste of plastic while we are waiting on definitive figures of Luke STILL! We need Death Star II outfit, (which could have two releases: closed and opened flap,)  Tatooine farmboy to name two.

Best bet? Cut down on the incessant number of figures!! Maybe 50 figures in the Basic Line, 9 or so Comic Packs, two waves of Saga Legends (which saves them: they're re-releases, but they still make them some money,) and a handful of Battle Packs. But this year has WAY too many figures.

[jksonny]

Thanks for all the feedback! I appreciate everyone's input.

My goal is for Hasbro to make the most of Star Wars b/c in all likelihood, this will be the last of the traditional action figures. So, if we don't get the kinds of collectibles we want from Hasbro, we never will (except for the customizer option).

"This is a dangerous time for Hasbro, when they will be tempted by the stockholders to dump the line." In all seriousness, with no more movies and competition from Indiana Jones, Transformers, and GI Joe - all with movies on the way - Hasbro could easily turn their attention elsewhere if SW does not generate the necessary revenue. The best way to prevent that is to make collectors happy as well as the occassional buyer.

As I said, there are good signs: the AT-TE, the rumor of a Y. Vong figure, some of the Evolutions sets (the Darth Bane pack, the Force Unleashed pack), etc.

The more Hasbro listens to us - the collectors - the better off they will be (higher sales) and the better off we'll be (the line continues, more figures).

I am definitely happy that Hasbro participates in the Q&A's. However, it's the least they can do. We, after all, are the customers and it's to Hasbro's benefit to make us happy (within reason). Plus, how long could it possibly take to answer the questions? Maybe 10 minutes? Of course, I would also prefer they participate 100% and provide real answers to difficult questions.   

Here are a few answers to some of your questions/comments:

1. I don't closely follow the current SW EU but I generally know what's happening. I just don't have the time (regular job, writing my own novel, social life, etc.). This is why I may not be aware of items such as molding armor to fit women. I'm happy to know there's an explanation behind it. I'm not much of a customizer myself so I lose out on the benefits of having various extra figure parts.

My lack of knowledge concerning the recent EU is why I'm typically focused on past EU subjects like the Marvel series, the newspaper strips (I would love to see some comic packs of these stories/characters - the art was great and the plots/characters are underrated), the conceptual art, and the Thrawn and Admiral Daala arcs (hopefully, w/the new female Imperial body to use, a Daala figure is on the horizon).

2. I remain unimpressed with the FS/TD figures. The faces look like most of the faces in the Mandalorian pack. TD looks blank-faced and pale and FS is apparently losing his hair.

Speaking of that, what's with Hasbro insisting that the comic pack figures have receding hairlines? I don't recall any mention of Mara Jade going bald. The first Mara figure was better even with the limited articulation b/c she was actually attractive!

Hasbro also has an odd tendency of making figures pale. For example, the TAC Ceremonial Luke was a good figure except for the fact that his face looked like he contracted salmonella.

I would hate for Hasbro to waste the opportunities they have with the comic packs by offering too many Darth Vader in white or Darth Vader with a normal Anakin head or Leia Jedi that looks like Leia George Costanza or minor repaints of Han, Luke, Boba, Chewie, Dengar, R2-D2, etc. The packs are at their best with the Kanos/Jax figures or even A. Hett or K. Arana or Baron Fel.

3. I also like when Hasbro offers an obscure character like the Aqualish Separatist, even if it's only a simple case of putting "this old head sculpt on this old body sculpt." My concern is when there are several of these hitting the shelves all at once or very close to that. For example, the aforementioned Aqualish, the Rodian from TPM, the Rebel Vanguard, Poncho Jango, etc. It's a bit of a fine line but figures like this need to be balanced with truly unique figures.

This is for Hasbro's sake as much, if not more, as the collectors'. It certainly doesn't help their bottom line to have too many figures warming the pegs. 

Thanks again, everyone!

[lordabell]

Something in another Q&A caught my eye.  I am ok with the Build-A-Droid thing if it was limited to this year, but it may not be just this year...

1.) I'm pretty excited about the Droid Factory concept and think it's like the coolest idea ever. Will we see R2, R3, and R5 astromechs join the line along side the announced R4 and R7 models? And do you know what the duration of this line will be? I'd like to see it go on as long as possible! -- pod

ANSWER: Thanks for the great word … we are excited about Droid Factory ourselves and hope that it has a long, long run. The answer to your question is yes, yes, and yes … all three models are in the 2009 lineup.

The comment about a long run scares me.  I want them to do something besides droids if they insist on doing build a figure as pack-ins.

[Darth Spice]

I agree they shouldn't limit it Droids! I'd like to even see accesory packs for existing figures. Anyone remember how cool the vintage ESB mail away set was? Who besides me thought the breathing masks and extra back packs were the bomb? Why haven't see seen anything like this since Saga 2002, but even then it came with a figure. I really liked the EI sets too but for some reason they felt the need to discontinue these.

[Bloodant]

I for one love the build the droid idea, so I really like the "build a sarlacc" idea.

Hasbro would you consider doing a build a sarlacc line of figures?



Some of the points made previsouly are pretty good, some are contradicting. Such as no more obscure figs, but then want an ice cream man built.
As a kid, I didn't really care for the Marvel comics so I could careless for figs made from that series.

[S4NDTR00P3R]

1. Rumors of a Disturbance at the Lars Homestead has recently surfaced. Is there anything you can reveal yet? Can you even verify if this is actually happening? New figures of the Lars family would be great!!

2. You confirmed that a Visionaries figure is coming. Can you reveal how its coming, i.e. a Battle Pack or Basic Wave?

3. Was the cancelled Obi-Wan Evolution Set the ninth Evolution set? Does that mean that there will be eight in all this year? I'm not complaining, the one's we have are great.

4. We've seen (at least) two different Secret Apprentice costumes that were not in the Evolution set: Rhen Var rags and a Mandolorian-esque costume. Has any thought come into making these costumes into figures? If there are enough, is another Evo set in order maybe?

5. There are a couple of versions and characters of the Force Unleashed characters we don't have: PROXY, Shaak Ti, Juno Eclipse as a rebel and a few Stormtrooper variants. Can you confirm how many figures from TFU we are getting in 2008-09? Other than the ones we know about, of course.

6. The new Commerative sets look great! Do you have a set price or date? Some people are mentioning army-building these if they are $10, or somewhere around there.

7. The Basic Figures this year look great! But there is a lack of Original Trilogy in it, other than Legacy Wave 1, an ANH Wave, the Hoth BP and some Droid Factory figures. Is this due to some shifting that we have heard about?

[Bloodant]

Will the Jedi-con exclusive Shadow Trooper 2-pack be available as a possible candidate for Saga Legends line or released locally for US consumers?

[jokabofe]

Will the Jedi-con exclusive Shadow Trooper 2-pack be available as a possible candidate for Saga Legends line or released locally for US consumers?

Keep checking StarWarsShop.com throughout the day, it's supposed to be up there at some point.

[Darth Spice]

THE latest:

1) 2008 TAC sees a return to the pack-in stands last seen in 2006. What about the Legacy Collection and the Clone Wars figures? Will they also contain stands? And if so, will the Clone Wars come with a Clone Wars stand or the generic Expanded Universe stand? While I'm on the subject of stands... I know that in past Q&A sessions you have mentioned that revisiting the sticker sheet for a new set of names is not something on the horizon. But what about if you were to make a package that contained software and blank sticker sheets so that fans and collectors could print their own name stickers, similar to what Testors does with their car and airplane model makers? And what would be the chances of releasing the stands in small packs - say 25 or so - of a movie specific stand instead of the entire set, so that someone could buy 30 ROTS stands to display a Clone Army or 30 ESB stands to display a Snowtrooper army, or something like that?

The stands (which are still available on HasbroToyShop.com) have done OK, but not great enough yet for us to make a re-release from the first batch.  It's a nice item to keep availalable, but we wouldn't be able to get near the forecast required to do dedicated packs by movie. At the rate of sales predicted for each, we would have to release years worth of inventory up front - not a prudent decision.  Instead, we'll continue to make available the current pack.  When that sells out, we will release a new sticker sheet, but we aren't really near that point yet.  We have no plans to return stands to the basic figures for 2008/2009, because each of the basic figure sublines already have extra pack-ins that take the place of coins/stand: Legacy will come with a Droid Factory, Clone Wars figures will come with attachable missile launchers for the most part, and the new Saga Legends will come with a small packs of spare weapons.


2) You recently said no to the idea of modular playsets in battlepacks due to the usual reasons (cost and no play value for the kids). That's understandable so what about revisiting the idea of scene-specific stands like what we saw in the RotS line?  You had a few stands that were generically sculpted (hallway/Temple, swampy/Dagobah-ish, rocky/Mustfarish) and were able to get some nice variety of scenes by just repainting them differently.  These stands obviously had some intent on being able to connect together (especially the hallway/Temple one) but as much as I struggled with it, I was disappointed to find that I couldn't make anything sensible with the pieces.

This felt like a huge missed opportunity since if Hasbro was going to pay for the tooling of these stands anyway, a better design that incorporated more seamless and logical connectibility could've allowed your company to, in future years, release more environmental stands that plugged in and could eventually give us our Tantive IV hal lway or Hoth rebel base or Death Star hallway... And by making one stand into an "intersection" piece that let us connect many separate stretches of hallways together, we could literally build our own Death Star/Tantive passageways as large as we're willing to pay up for (by buying more and more SW figures of course, to get those stands). And a slit in the floor moulding would allow us to slide in either a cardboard or thin plastic wall piece.  So how about this idea? It'd be like Build-a-Diorama but done slowly over years to reward collectors for sticking with the hobby (especially when figures are getting more expensive to collect) and the cost would be incorporated into the cost of the stands as you did with the RotS line.

The idea has some merit, but it simply isn't practical for a number of reasons. To do it the "right way" we would have to start with a completed playset model and then chop it up and distribute it across 50 to 60 packs. (We can hear the shouts of fans saying "Yes!  Yes!  That is exactly what we want!").  However, where the idea falls apart is in the amount of tooling required to do that and the end-result being structurally very poor and probably not aesthetically pleasing. If we  thought there was an opportunity to make a specific playset scene, we would just commit to doing it as one item.  The Episode III stands were an attempt to build something greater with an environment-specific stand; however, the product ends-up looking generic anyway and not scene-specific since the stands themselves were constrained by the needs to connect together universally. To have made each one different and unique, to make a unique structural element such as a blockade runner hallway or what-have-you, we would have had to do each as a separate tooled part, which would have dwarfed our tooling budget assinged for the pack-ins.

3) I've always wondered about this: the RotS Padme figure did not have a "baby bump" even though the character had a full belly at that point in the movie. Your Saga line Taun We figure came with a container for a clone baby yet oddly the ba by was absent inside. In both cases, was there some concern about the negative reaction from the more conservative elements of your customer base that caused you to go in the direction you did?  I can see that an action figure of a pregnant woman or of a genetically-engineered baby might offend some people but I've always been curious if this was Hasbro's reasoning too. And if not, does that mean we might actually get a "clone baby in a bottle" someday?

In the case of Padme, she does have a bump to indicate her pregnancy, but it is not nearly as stated as the upcoming Evolutions figure.  We wanted to present her as an action figure still at that stage, to appeal to the greatest audience of kids as well as collectors, so we chose to dial back a bit.  As for Taun We, we did think that showing the baby was too stark an image and chose not to include one in the capsule.  Could we do one in an incubation chamber some day? It's possible, but we have no plans right now.

[Bloodant]

Two questions on stands eh?
They probaly still have a lot of stands in stock in Q#1.

I think they are over thinking it on Q# 2, it should be that hard. not many unique pieces just maybe a two or three different ones.

Babe Huey in a bottle ...lol, I do not see this one on the shelves but maybe as a mail away item so parents can order one for their kids if they want to.


Q:
Dear Hasbro, With the up and coming Clones wars animations coming out:
1. Would you consider making a clone factory?
2. Would you consider having small containerized "manufactured" clones as a mail away item?

[Darth Spice]

THE latest:

1: You mentioned previously that there's a good chance that at some point you'll create an action figure based on Lumiya (the Marvel comics version, and hopefully from her second duel with Luke). Obviously, that figure would be a great candidate for a removable helmet, but would Hasbro consider simply providing two swappable heads for the ball-jointed neck instead?  While I absolutely love removable helmet/mask figures, my concern here is that we will either end up with a tiny Shira Brie "pin head" (as we saw with the Cody figure) or a woefully oversized helmet (as the case was with the Crimson Empire 2-pack figures). Given the likelihod that Hasbro will only make this particular figure once, it'd be incredibly disappointing to see it not done so that both the masked and unmasked Lumiya look as good as possible. Having two heads would enable the sculptor to not compromise the scale of the head or the mask and sculpt the best look possible. As well, the unmasked Shira coul d retain her ponytail from the scene (which a helmet that fits over her head would not likely be able to hide).  And PLEASE Hasbro, no more "comic toon" colors like we saw with Fenn Shysa and Tobi -- these are definitely not appealing to collectors.

Lumiya will be based on her appearance in Marvel Star Wars #96.  You beat us to the punch, but since you asked….she will come with interchangeable heads for the headress and Shira Brie modes.  This truly is one fantastic set....we should be showing our first peak at Comic Con.  As for Fenn and Tobi - those figures would not exist were it not for the Marvel Comics run.  Based on the popularity of the comic figures so far, a lot of fans are delighted by this part of the comic pack line. You may not like them, but they are true to the source material and we think these upcoming packs are going to really please a lot of people.

2: Will Hasbro ever release a soft goods Jawa, or is that something that would likely only be done for the VotC line when/if that is brought back? And does Hasbro have any other approaches for a possible Jawa "light up" eyes down the road e.g. maybe a highly reflective material that simulates "glow" without the need for say electronics?

Jawa with soft goods is one of those things that we have been "saving" for an eventual Vintage possibility; whether we save it for an eventual return of Vintage or do it elsehwere first remains to be seen.  As we have alluded to before, we have looked at electronics for the eyes but it seems impossible to add in without compromising proportions or articulation of the figure due to the housing needed for the electronics. Interesting suggestion on reflective material to simulate glowing eyes. Thanks for the suggestion.

3: Will Hasbro look at other more secure ways to attach jetpacks onto figures? I recently saw a complaint about the Evo Boba figure having a loose jetpack that fell off too easily. That also reminded me of the Commander Cody figure which had a tiny peg for Cody's jetpack that meant the pack would fall off if you even looked at it too hard. Instead of just a peg that pushes into the bac k, why not a clip or some other method that offers a better grip? Commander Gree seemed to be a great way to secure it, more of this maybe?

We will be looking at clips as needed for certain accessories, but it will still be on a case-by-case basis rather than an overall solution.

[DarthWormie]

   whether we save it for an eventual return of Vintage or do it elsehwere first remains to be seen.

So I guess this means we won't be seeing new 'Vintage' figures anytime soon. 

[The Barve]

I got a question. We have now seen super articulation on 3 of the five bounty hunter's in the scene from Empire Strike's Back (IG-88, Boba Fett, and 4-LOM.), will we finally see a new sculpt for Zuckess and an upgraded Dengar with better articulation besides just the bad elbows?

[Lt. Starfox]

   whether we save it for an eventual return of Vintage or do it elsehwere first remains to be seen.

So I guess this means we won't be seeing new 'Vintage' figures anytime soon. 

you got it, probably in 2009

[Darth Spice]

I got a question. We have now seen super articulation on 3 of the five bounty hunter's in the scene from Empire Strike's Back (IG-88, Boba Fett, and 4-LOM.), will we finally see a new sculpt for Zuckess and an upgraded Dengar with better articulation besides just the bad elbows?

Barve, I've been looking for where but I am 90% this has been asked 120 times by 4 other sites. I guess this will be the nice thing about Hasbro Star Wars posting the in a round up, this way you don't have to visit a gang of sites, just the ones you want.

[jokabofe]

Barve, I've been looking for where but I am 90% this has been asked 120 times by 4 other sites.

Yeah, I'm sure it was as well. And they just give the usual response to it, every time.

[obidad]

   whether we save it for an eventual return of Vintage or do it elsehwere first remains to be seen.

So I guess this means we won't be seeing new 'Vintage' figures anytime soon. 

you got it, probably in 2009

I'm fairly certain in several Q&A's, Hasbro stated no plans for Vintage in 2009.  Of course, they said no BMF either.

[jacensolo66]

my question for hasbro is:

Read about the confirmation and have seen the pics and the new Millenium Falcon looks amazing. My question is in many of the prior q&a's you have stated that high-end items dont sell as well as the cheaper stuff, so why decide to release two high-end items(Millenium Falcon and AT-AP) on the same day? Dont you think this will hurt their sales?

[Napseeker]

Did Hasbro totally misunderstand my question about the comic toon colors?  They seemed to think I was complaining about the Tobi and Shysa figures themselves rather than the horrendous paintjob they did on these two.

I'm happy about Lumiya but let's see if Hasbro messes up a great figure with more comic book style coloring first.

[Darth Spice]

I was happy to see they ARE going to give an option on the head sculpts, two head is always better than one and we all know Hasbro could give more head! 

[General Grievous]

Will you be releasing an animated hooded Count Dooku in the Clone Wars line?

[Phenix]

two head is always better than one and we all know Hasbro could give more head! 

   
Good one brother!

[The Barve]

I got a question. We have now seen super articulation on 3 of the five bounty hunter's in the scene from Empire Strike's Back (IG-88, Boba Fett, and 4-LOM.), will we finally see a new sculpt for Zuckess and an upgraded Dengar with better articulation besides just the bad elbows?

Barve, I've been looking for where but I am 90% this has been asked 120 times by 4 other sites. I guess this will be the nice thing about Hasbro Star Wars posting the in a round up, this way you don't have to visit a gang of sites, just the ones you want.

I seemed to recall this coming up during one of our discussions, but I wasen't sure if the question had ever been answered. If Hasbro finally made one of these I would be very happy.

[sithmasterc]

I am finding it very difficult to find the latest(or last) wave of the Saga Legends figures.The Fan choice figure(Shadow Utaapu trooper,The Black hole trooper,Neyo)have been very diffiult to find in my area.Do you know if these are still shipping?

[VadersFist]

I am in the SAME BOAT as you bro I NEED them myself as well. Here is the ones ALONG with SithmasterC that I need myself as I highlighted it in his quote and listed them.

Shadow Utaapu trooper,The Black hole trooper,Neyo

I am finding it very difficult to find the latest(or last) wave of the Saga Legends figures. The Fan choice figure(Shadow Utaapu trooper,The Black hole trooper,Neyo)have been very diffiult to find in my area. Do you know if these are still shipping?

[Jaing Skirata]

Dear Hasbro:

Who's voice will be on the Clone Wars Clone Helmet? Will it be Temuera Morrison's or a voice actor from the cartoon? Also, any plans to do a voice changer Fett (either Jango or Boba) with Temuera's voice in the future?

[devo]

Here we go....

How do many of these Asian sellers get huge quantities of loose figures (many even army builders) time and time again? Are these the "lunch time deals" that are talked about an why doesn't Hasbro do anything about it? It just seems overly strange that these sellers can continue to stock the amount of figures they do time and time again. I would think Hasbro would look into them as it's blatant and all over eBay.

Mr. O