TheJawa's Q&A Section - Ask Away!

[Napseeker]

I do hope we get a ghost Yoda and Obi-Wan soon.  The Obi would be an easy one since they have the best sculpt yet, but obviously I'd prefer they hold off on Yoda until they can put out a new TESB Yoda figure (otherwise, I can see them just trying to reuse the action-posed Kybuck Yoda, ugh).

[Major fett]

I do hope we get a ghost Yoda and Obi-Wan soon.  The Obi would be an easy one since they have the best sculpt yet, but obviously I'd prefer they hold off on Yoda until they can put out a new TESB Yoda figure (otherwise, I can see them just trying to reuse the action-posed Kybuck Yoda, ugh).

The ghost Yoda would be easy to do, just use the the OTC or VOTC ESB Yoda and mold it in spirit colors, IMO there's no reason to wait for an SA version it's just a ghost.

[Darth Spice]

If we're not careful Hasbro will give us ghost, hologram and maybe even one MORE regular Yoda if we don't watch it! 

[VadersFist]

But we STILL havn't found that PERFECT Yoda yet. At least I havn't but then again I know theirs not much you CAN do with Yoda anyway.

[Napseeker]

Yeah, no perfect version of Yoda exists yet that's for sure. Although, I do happen to think the OTC Yoda is the closest one to being acceptable. The VotC Yoda is just garbage and like VotC Ben, badly needs an apology figure from Hasbro.   If they could take the excellent head sculpt from Kybuck Yoda and put that on the OTC Yoda body, I'd probably be reasonably satisfied.

Oh, while I'm here...

UPDATED LIST OF QUESTIONS:

1. Now that Hasbro has a more accurately-sized Grievous mold, is there any chance we can get an updated "Demise of Grievous"?  The previous version used the smaller Sneak Preview Grievous, was a pricey Target-exclusive that those of us outside the US couldn't even buy...  A new "dying grievous" with snap-on flames would be a great way to make a more widely available figure to those who missed out on the exclusive and reuse your existing tooling. Maybe you could even put a new interior into his chest so that when the ribcage is opened up there's now a translucent orangey "on fire" effect?

2. I wanted to point out an odd aspect to your recent Captain Piett figure. I noticed that the sculpt for his chest is a bit asymmetrical: his left shoulder is lower than his right shoulder, and from the backside it looks as if he's shrugging his right shoulder upward a bit. If you put his arms at his sides, you can see that his left hand is lower down than his right.  While it's not a big deal for a single character, I was a bit concerned that since Hasbro would obviously want to reuse this excellent torso for a ton of future Imperial officers that we might end up with a slew of officers with this same quirk (which, while not that noticeable on just Piett, would become quite irritating when every officer has it too). Any chance of just tweaking this to make both sides symmetrical again?

3. There are some early reports about the new Geonosis 2 packs that the otherwise excellent new red battledroids are still being issued with soft plastic, making them hard to pose and stand.  Why is this still case?  Hasbro already knows from many older Q&As that we'd like to have a harder plastic for the legs (and even arms) to avoid the sagging effect that eventually claims all current battledroid figures (except the thicker eps1 BDs).  You mentioned that aside from harder plastic, one solution you'd considered is a 2-peg stand so both feet can be stabilized (a transparent plastic stand would be fine by me). However, the droids in the 2 packs don't seem to come with this either.  Now I'm sure a few of us are still wondering, how does Hasbro plan to address this continuing issue?  I still am waiting to army build a few dozen CIS droids but only once I know Hasbro has put out the "ultimate" battledroid, which it is close to doing, but not when the legs and body will droop over time in my displays.

[jokabofe]

Here's your answer for #2:

A) We do realize they are wrong.  When we first designed the Clone Captain Piett, we had only static model sheets to go from, before they had been fully animated. We assumed that the armor shoulders would be like the EpII and EpIII armor in that the elbow guard would be attached to the bicep like that since that's the way the pretty pictures looked.  Well, we were thrown a curve and it was instead attached to the forearm not.  We have been playing constant catch-up ever since with the Clone Piett tools running at full capacity.  Tweaking this torso Adapting the Obi-Wan forearms would mean excessive duplication of tools, which based on the continued high low demand for Clones Piett does not seem needed.  There eventually will be an updated, 100% newly sculpted Clone Piett with the corrected armor torso coming down the road.

[Major fett]

If they could take the excellent head sculpt from Kybuck Yoda and put that on the OTC Yoda body, I'd probably be reasonably satisfied.

IMO that head sculpt should come nowhere near OTC Yoda, and I hardly think it's an excellent sculpt.
OT Yoda's are different from PT Yoda's and should not be mixed together, the ROTS body is just fine for PT versions they could add knee and elbow joints but I think it's not really needed. They just need to find a good head sculpt and stick with it for both eras.

[Napseeker]

Alright, perhaps the Kybuck Yoda head should stick with PT Yodas, but out of all the Yoda heads Hasbro has made so far (both OT and PT) I'm still a supporter of the Kybuck head as the best one - although it looks better without the paintjob that they used on the actual Kybuck Yoda figure... the current reuse of it for the Geonosis 2 packs, seems to be way better looking and less muddy thanks to the absence of paint apps.   

I know Hasbro is going to reuse it for a while, and I'm generally okay with them using it for an OT-era Yoda given the other sculpts they have on hand which are far worse. 

[jokabofe]

Anything new this week from Hasbro?

[Jedimom]

New Set Of Questions:

1) I like the 'cameo' figures of cast and crew who played a big part inthe making of the saga, and apparently so do the people who put together the Star Wars line. It's been nice to see the Lucas family, Joe Johnston (Spacetrooper), Ralph McQuarrie (Pharl McQuarrie), Anthony Daniels (Dannl Faytonni), Ahmed Best (Achk Med-Beq), and now, if the rumors are true, Jeremy Bulloch being honored with action figures based on their appearances in the movies. Is there a desire at Hasbro to at some point make figures of Rick McCallum (Naboo noble), Nick Gillard (Cin Drallig), Richard Marquand (AT-ST Driver), Warwick Davis (Weazel) and one of my favorites, Ben Burtt as Ebenn Q3 Baobab?

This is not a stated objective, but by a happy coincidence we slot a new character into the line and it works out that we can use legendary reference for a head-sculpt, as was the case with Joe Johnston and Ralph McQuarrie.  For future figures, we will base them on their importance to the line rather than who was playing that character.  As such, Cin Drallig is high on our list of figures we'd like to do within the next few years, and Richard Marquand stands a good chance as well.  The others you mentioned are very low on our radar screen.

2) Even though I normally only collect the realistic line, I did recently buy the CW "Goldie" figure during a sale and was blown away at how many little features the CW astromech mold has compared to the R4-G9 sculpt used for the realistic astromechs. That immediately begged the question: hey, when do we get a realistic R2 that has the same level of features?  I'd love to get a manually adjustable scope, tow rope (with a C3PO head accessory to tow along), drill, and computer link plug... the most we've ever gotten was the attachable drill and plug and that only appeared once with the VotC R2 and never used again.  Can Hasbro not also pimp up the realistic R2D2 at some point too?

That's a good comment about wanting to see more with R2.  We've often mused about producing a "Swiss army knife" R2 in the realistic line but have instead chosen to go with various scene-specific versions.  Someday it would make a good figure and we'll certainly discuss it.  In the meantime, you should also check out the Clone Wars R2, since he has the same features as Goldie and is a great figure.

3) Is the going back to the glued on bubble an attempt to stop the slash and returns that have hampered the lines since the ROTS series? If so, why did it take so long to go back to the glued on bubble?

Returns have not been a big problem for the lines that have had the taped blisters, at least any more than heat-sealed blisters have been.  Where there is a will, unfortunately, there is always a way with unscrupulous collectors to try and juke the system.  Instead, it's a cost-savings measure compared to the taped blisters.  The taped blisters, while great for giving the figures a lot of room to be posed out with their accessories in-pack, cost more and was a needed concession as we drew up the new line.  It's possible that we'll return to the taped in a future line.

[Napseeker]

Well I hope they do make a "swiss army knife" R2 someday... I get the feeling they will only after exhausting every scene-specific R2 they can make and then restarting all over again with a superior R2 mold.

[chewykingwookie]

anyone have any questions for Hasbro this month? if you do let's here them. We need to get them in very soon.

[darthdan]

Now that we are getting the freeco speeder and packaged images of Thi-sen and Anakin in snow gear have surfaced, from the CW episode trespass, When can we expect cold weather 501st troopers, Obi wan in cold weather gear, cold weather Rex, Talz warrior, and some of the Pantorans?  I really want more drivers for those awesome freeco speeders I'm buying multiples of.  What are the chances of one of the beast mounts for the talz warriors to ride? Maybe in a battlepack or something?

[Napseeker]

1. As someone who only collects the realistic line and not CW (though I enjoy the cartoon series) I did recently find myself purchasing an Admiral Yularen figure during a TRU sale. Why?  Because he was packed with an awesome holo-command table accessory. Being "playset starved" for environmental pieces to put next to my figures, this was a strong draw for me since the piece went well with my TLC figure display (sadly the Yularen is in a junk figure drawer... his strangely tight pants/feminine legs looked odd standing next to my realistic Needa).  While I know Hasbro has rejected the notion of a "build a playset" idea, what about other pieces from the Republic Cruiser bridge/interior coming as accessories in the future?  It certainly got a die-hard realistic collector like myself to actually buy a CW figure.

2. Is there any chance Hasbro will ever re-visit Taun We and redo her to the proper scale?  I own the original Saga release and would still like to get a new version which is the correct height (the older one is just too short, although it is nicely sculpted).  A new SA young Boba Fett to complement Taun would also be fantastic!

3. Has any progress been made in creating a Droideka for the realistic line that can roll up into its ball configuration?  This question has been asked before and the last time you said you'd ask your designers to look into it, just curious as this seems like an obvious evolution for this particular character/figure. And if it's not feasible, couldn't Hasbro just include an already rolled-up Droideka as an accessory to go with the unrolled figure?

4. Many of us assume that one of these days, Hasbro will finally get around to releasing a Sim Aloo figure.  Would Aloo be designed/produced in a way that he will blend in with the existing Janus and Kren Blista-Vanee figures?  I'm a fan of SA and softgoods, but here my concern is that Hasbro will actually do something similar to the recent Ghost Anakin and put too much softgoods in order to ensure he is SA.  While I didn't like how Janus and Kren were basically statues, and would like Aloo to be able to do a bit more posing than his predecessors, perhaps Hasbro could stick to plastic and give Aloo arm articulation similar to your Po Nudo?   Maybe a removable hat or some accessories, but let's keep softgoods out of it so that all the Imperial Dignitaries look alike on my shelf :-)

5. With news of a forthcoming Force Unleashed battlepack, will we get a newly sculpted head for Galen Marek?  I recall reading that the actor who plays Galen (Sam Witwer) wasn't cast until late in the game development which presumably is why the earlier Starkiller figures don't really resemble him at all - now that the game has been out for a while and Hasbro has a good idea of what Galen looks like, can we please get a better likeness for the next Galen figure?

6. Is there any chance Hasbro will ever re-do the Death Star Trooper sculpt?  When first rumored, this became one of my most anticipated army builders of all time. However you probably heard of the complaints on the forums after it debuted: the shoulders, elbows, and especially the knees were just way too bulky.  Moreover he seemed too tall and bulky overall (standing next to Vader, the DST steals attention away from him just due to his large size and his wide-legged stance).  The sculpting of his uniform also seemed very crude and undetailed compared to other figures you've done with similar outfits (like the RotS Tarkin or the recent Capt Needa).  I'd really like to see these issues addressed if not in a new DST, then perhaps a future Imperial Navy Trooper figure.  Even though he wasn't SA, the RotS Tarkin was closer to how I'd hoped Hasbro would sculpt the DST  in terms of stance, body size, and detailing.

[chewykingwookie]

Questions are back:

1) Now that Hasbro has a more accurately-sized Grievous mold, is there any chance we can get an updated "Demise of Grievous"?  The previous version used the smaller Sneak Preview Grievous, was a pricey Target-exclusive that those of us outside the US couldn't even buy...  A new "dying grievous" with snap-on flames would be a great way to make a more widely available figure to those who missed out on the exclusive and reuse your existing tooling. Maybe you could even put a new interior into his chest so that when the ribcage is opened up there's now a translucent orangey "on fire" effect?

Thanks for the suggestion.  We hadn't planned on revisting this figure again but ironically we were just admiring how cool the Demise figure was the other day.  We will consider it for down the road when we are looking for a new take on Grievious.

2) I wanted to point out an odd aspect to your recent Captain Piett figure. I noticed that the sculpt for his chest is a bit asymmetrical: his left shoulder is lower than his right shoulder, and from the backside it looks as if he's shrugging his right shoulder upward a bit. If you put his arms at his sides, you can see that his left hand is lower down than his right.  While it's not a big deal for a single character, I was a bit concerned that since Hasbro would obviously want to reuse this excellent torso for a ton of future Imperial officers that we might end up with a slew of officers with this same quirk (which, while not that noticeable on just Piett, would become quite irritating when every officer has it too). Any chance of just tweaking this to make both sides symmetrical again?


We think you are referring to Captain Needa.  We see somewhat what you are referring to, but if anything it's very slight and we don't think it will be an issue for future officers.

3) There are some early reports about the new Geonosis 2 packs that the otherwise excellent new red battledroids are still being issued with soft plastic, making them hard to pose and stand.  Why is this still case?  Hasbro already knows from many older Q&As that we'd like to have a harder plastic for the legs (and even arms) to avoid the sagging effect that eventually claims all current battledroid figures (except the thicker eps1 BDs).  You mentioned that aside from harder plastic, one solution you'd considered is a 2-peg stand so both feet can be stabilized (a transparent plastic stand would be fine by me). However, the droids in the 2 packs don't seem to come with this either.  Now I'm sure a few of us are still wondering, how does Hasbro plan to address this continuing issue?  I still am waiting to army build a few dozen CIS droids but only once I know Hasbro has put out the "ultimate" battledroid, which it is close to doing, but not when the legs and body will droop over time in my displays.

We can't make figures from "hard" plastic due to breakage.  However, we can confirm that 2-peg stands fix the problem nicely and the ones available from Hasbro Toyshop work wonders on figures with thinner limbs like all past Battle Droid, Super BDs, and Geonisian Warriors.  If you haven't looked into these, we really recommend it.

[philippi]

Hasbro,
Do you think we can expect many more figures from the Marvel comic series? Luke and Lumiya were by far the best two figures to come from that series to date, so I'm holding out hope for more like them! Five future figure hopefuls at the top of my list are Z-X3 from issue 47, Flint (Dark Lord of Belderone) and Luke Skywalker wearing his white and black outfit from issue 92 (first Star Wars comic with art by Jan Duursema by the way!), and Vlix and Tig Fromm from Marvel's Droids issue 2. I don't know if any of these characters have a real shot at being made in plastic someday, but whether they do or not, please keep looking for ways to slot in a few figures from the old days of the EU!

[Napseeker]

Note: these are the same as above, now with one more question added:

4. Many of us assume that one of these days, Hasbro will finally get around to releasing a Sim Aloo figure.  Would Aloo be designed/produced in a way that he will blend in with the existing Janus and Kren Blista-Vanee figures?  I'm a fan of SA and softgoods, but here my concern is that Hasbro will actually do something similar to the recent Ghost Anakin and put too much softgoods in order to ensure he is SA.  While I didn't like how Janus and Kren were basically statues, and would like Aloo to be able to do a bit more posing than his predecessors, perhaps Hasbro could stick to plastic and give Aloo arm articulation similar to your Po Nudo?   Maybe a removable hat or some accessories, but let's keep softgoods out of it so that all the Imperial Dignitaries look alike on my shelf :-)

5. With news of a forthcoming Force Unleashed battlepack, will we get a newly sculpted head for Galen Marek?  I recall reading that the actor who plays Galen (Sam Witwer) wasn't cast until late in the game development which presumably is why the earlier Starkiller figures don't really resemble him at all - now that the game has been out for a while and Hasbro has a good idea of what Galen looks like, can we please get a better likeness for the next Galen figure?

6. Is there any chance Hasbro will ever re-do the Death Star Trooper sculpt?  When first rumored, this became one of my most anticipated army builders of all time. However you probably heard of the complaints on the forums after it debuted: the shoulders, elbows, and especially the knees were just way too bulky.  Moreover he seemed too tall and bulky overall (standing next to Vader, the DST steals attention away from him just due to his large size and his wide-legged stance).  The sculpting of his uniform also seemed very crude and undetailed compared to other figures you've done with similar outfits (like the RotS Tarkin or the recent Capt Needa).  I'd really like to see these issues addressed if not in a new DST, then perhaps a future Imperial Navy Trooper figure.  Even though he wasn't SA, the RotS Tarkin was closer to how I'd hoped Hasbro would sculpt the DST  in terms of stance, body size, and detailing.

7. You mentioned previously that the TSC Bib Fortuna is unlikely to ever be upgraded, citing that for his particular character super articulation wasn't as necessary. Okay, but that spawns a few questions: does that mean we'll never get a VotC-carded version of Bib Fortuna?  Or if we did someday, surely it wouldn't just be a repack of the TSC version. I can give my own reasons as to why I never bought the TSC Bib: it has a great sculpt and paintjob but it was the lack of arm articulation at the shoulders and definitely the open-mouth snarl that stopped me from buying him. Even when on sale for $2!

I'm not sure if Hasbro realizes it, but collectors have never been too fond of non-neutral facial expressions on their figures. Examples such as the Saga shouting Mace Windu or the super-angry Moff JerJerrod, are perfect examples where the expression makes the figure feel too scene-specific and therefore limited in what sort of dioramas it might be used in. If Hasbro wants to give some emotion to their sculpts then offer us TWO swappable heads in the same package: one neutral, one angry/happy/sad/afraid... you'll find that a figure with two heads has a LOT of appeal and won't pegwarm compared to figures with only the angry or open-mouth face as an option.

So... now can we get a more articulated Bib with a neutral face on a VotC card?

[chewykingwookie]

The latest round of answers:

1. As someone who only collects the realistic line and not CW (though I enjoy the cartoon series) I did recently find myself purchasing an Admiral Yularen figure during a TRU sale. Why?  Because he was packed with an awesome holo-command table accessory. Being "playset starved" for environmental pieces to put next to my figures, this was a strong draw for me since the piece went well with my TLC figure display (sadly the Yularen is in a junk figure drawer... his strangely tight pants/feminine legs looked odd standing next to my realistic Needa).  While I know Hasbro has rejected the notion of a "build a playset" idea, what about other pieces from the Republic Cruiser bridge/interior coming as accessories in the future?  It certainly got a die-hard realistic collector like myself to actually buy a CW figure.

There will be fewer of the larger accessory pieces in the Legacy line going forward, simply because we don't have the costing to spare; we're keeping as much as we can in new figure tooling for next year which means there is fewer left over for extra accessories.  We hope to be able to add some flavor in other ways, though, aside from basic figures.

2. Is there any chance Hasbro will ever re-visit Taun We and redo her to the proper scale?  I own the original Saga release and would still like to get a new version which is the correct height (the older one is just too short, although it is nicely sculpted).  A new SA young Boba Fett to complement Taun would also be fantastic!

It's unlikely we'll get back to Taun We in the next few years; her previous figure is still great in our book and the demand for a new one just isn't there yet.  Farther down the road she's always a possibility, but we'd rate her chances pretty low.

3. Has any progress been made in creating a Droideka for the realistic line that can roll up into its ball configuration?  This question has been asked before and the last time you said you'd ask your designers to look into it, just curious as this seems like an obvious evolution for this particular character/figure. And if it's not feasible, couldn't Hasbro just include an already rolled-up Droideka as an accessory to go with the unrolled figure?

Good question.  We never got around to slotting a new Droidekka into the lineup so work on this idea never got very far.  We will take a look at this for farther down the road - thanks for the reminder.

[Napseeker]

The latest round of answers:

1. As someone who only collects the realistic line and not CW (though I enjoy the cartoon series) I did recently find myself purchasing an Admiral Yularen figure during a TRU sale. Why?  Because he was packed with an awesome holo-command table accessory. Being "playset starved" for environmental pieces to put next to my figures, this was a strong draw for me since the piece went well with my TLC figure display (sadly the Yularen is in a junk figure drawer... his strangely tight pants/feminine legs looked odd standing next to my realistic Needa).  While I know Hasbro has rejected the notion of a "build a playset" idea, what about other pieces from the Republic Cruiser bridge/interior coming as accessories in the future?  It certainly got a die-hard realistic collector like myself to actually buy a CW figure.

There will be fewer of the larger accessory pieces in the Legacy line going forward, simply because we don't have the costing to spare; we're keeping as much as we can in new figure tooling for next year which means there is fewer left over for extra accessories.  We hope to be able to add some flavor in other ways, though, aside from basic figures.

They seem to have misunderstood... I was suggesting more accessories in the CW line would get a realistic line collector like myself more interested in buying CW figures...

[Major fett]

They seem to have misunderstood... I was suggesting more accessories in the CW line would get a realistic line collector like myself more interested in buying CW figures...

That's funny I understood what you were asking, I guess you can't get too descriptive because they're not really paying attention!  That Holo table was the only reason I bought Yularen too!

[Napseeker]

In the future I'll have to reword it caveman-style:

"Me no like CW. Me buy Yularen for holo-table. Holo-table good. Big playset pieces make me buy CW. Me no like CW. You Hasbro put more playset pieces in CW and me will buy CW. Me go hunt dinosaurs now."

 

[darthdan]

In the future I'll have to reword it caveman-style:

"Me no like CW. Me buy Yularen for holo-table. Holo-table good. Big playset pieces make me buy CW. Me no like CW. You Hasbro put more playset pieces in CW and me will buy CW. Me go hunt dinosaurs now."

 

hahahahahaha

[Major fett]

In the future I'll have to reword it caveman-style:

"Me no like CW. Me buy Yularen for holo-table. Holo-table good. Big playset pieces make me buy CW. Me no like CW. You Hasbro put more playset pieces in CW and me will buy CW. Me go hunt dinosaurs now."

 

lol
When I read that I actually thought of how the Hulk talks!

[philippi]

7. You mentioned previously that the TSC Bib Fortuna is unlikely to ever be upgraded, citing that for his particular character super articulation wasn't as necessary. Okay, but that spawns a few questions: does that mean we'll never get a VotC-carded version of Bib Fortuna?  Or if we did someday, surely it wouldn't just be a repack of the TSC version. I can give my own reasons as to why I never bought the TSC Bib: it has a great sculpt and paintjob but it was the lack of arm articulation at the shoulders and definitely the open-mouth snarl that stopped me from buying him. Even when on sale for $2!

I'm not sure if Hasbro realizes it, but collectors have never been too fond of non-neutral facial expressions on their figures. Examples such as the Saga shouting Mace Windu or the super-angry Moff JerJerrod, are perfect examples where the expression makes the figure feel too scene-specific and therefore limited in what sort of dioramas it might be used in. If Hasbro wants to give some emotion to their sculpts then offer us TWO swappable heads in the same package: one neutral, one angry/happy/sad/afraid... you'll find that a figure with two heads has a LOT of appeal and won't pegwarm compared to figures with only the angry or open-mouth face as an option.

So... now can we get a more articulated Bib with a neutral face on a VotC card?

I really like this question!I feel exactly the same way about that Bib Fortuna. I didn't purchase him either because of the face and lack of articulation. I hope this one gets asked.
I have a question of my own as well:

Hasbro,
I am certainly looking forward to getting a look at those Force Unleashed box sets! My hope is that they will not only look good and be an affordable price, but that they will be the beginning of a new way to release EU figures now that the comic packs are coming to an end. With the rumored jacketless Cade Skywalker and the two Legacy comic pack figures shown at ComicCon now needing to find a home, it seems like the makings of an exclusive Legacy box set could already be in place. Add a few more all new figures to those three and I'm sure there would be a lot of happy comic fans wanting to pick up a set. The same could be done with Knights of the Old Republic since there are already two figures from that canceled comic pack needing to be slotted in somewhere. Has this been considered or has it already been decided that the Force Unleashed packs will not be the beginning of a series?

[Napseeker]

UPDATED: added one more new question for the upcoming deadline...

6. Is there any chance Hasbro will ever re-do the Death Star Trooper sculpt?  When first rumored, this became one of my most anticipated army builders of all time. However you probably heard of the complaints on the forums after it debuted: the shoulders, elbows, and especially the knees were just way too bulky.  Moreover he seemed too tall and bulky overall (standing next to Vader, the DST steals attention away from him just due to his large size and his wide-legged stance).  The sculpting of his uniform also seemed very crude and undetailed compared to other figures you've done with similar outfits (like the RotS Tarkin or the recent Capt Needa).  I'd really like to see these issues addressed if not in a new DST, then perhaps a future Imperial Navy Trooper figure.  Even though he wasn't SA, the RotS Tarkin was closer to how I'd hoped Hasbro would sculpt the DST  in terms of stance, body size, and detailing.

7. You mentioned previously that the TSC Bib Fortuna is unlikely to ever be upgraded, citing that for his particular character super articulation wasn't as necessary. Okay, but that spawns a few questions: does that mean we'll never get a VotC-carded version of Bib Fortuna?  Or if we did someday, surely it wouldn't just be a repack of the TSC version. I can give my own reasons as to why I never bought the TSC Bib: it has a great sculpt and paintjob but it was the lack of arm articulation at the shoulders and definitely the open-mouth snarl that stopped me from buying him. Even when on sale for $2!

I'm not sure if Hasbro realizes it, but collectors have never been too fond of non-neutral facial expressions on their figures. Examples such as the Saga shouting Mace Windu or the super-angry Moff JerJerrod, are perfect examples where the expression makes the figure feel too scene-specific and therefore limited in what sort of dioramas it might be used in. If Hasbro wants to give some emotion to their sculpts then offer us TWO swappable heads in the same package: one neutral, one angry/happy/sad/afraid... you'll find that a figure with two heads has a LOT of appeal and won't pegwarm compared to figures with only the angry or open-mouth face as an option.

So... now can we get a more articulated Bib with a neutral face on a VotC card?


8. Previously when asked why the Geonosis Arena 2pack red battledroids were so incredibly rubbery, we were told that if they were harder then the plastic would break.  But last night I was looking at my TAC 2-1B figure and noticed that here is a figure with just as thin limbs, and basically the same articulation as the red battledroids but yet it is made from fantastic stiff plastic (and 2-1B stands perfectly without rubbery legs that eventually give out).  In fact, I believe the PotJ Battledroid had similar leg articulation as the new BDs but also used stiff plastic.  So why is there a difference between the Geo BDs and the 2-1B and PotJ version?

9. Can Hasbro not do something to permanently alter the tooling for the TAC Super Battledroid mold?  I see that with the Geonosis Arena packs that once again we are stuck with a SBD that has the two holes in his chest due to either the factory (or Hasbro) forgetting to fill the holes. It looks absolutely awful and it gets tiring to see this mistake being made yet again.  I do like that the Geo SBDs are not dark blue like the Saga Legends versions and more dark grey so I hope you guys will keep this color for future releases. BUT can we please have the right arm retooled so that he can properly rotate his arm into that "hold your fire" pose we see after Dooku tells the droid army to momentarily stop attacking the Jedi  in eps2?

[philippi]

Hasbro,
Given that Boba Fett has always been a very popular character and a good seller, I'm wondering what more you could possibly have planned for the best bounty hunter in the galaxy? The Boba figures released over the past several years have been fantastic, but I hope that the future will bring still more new figures or interesting repaints instead of just straight re-releases (although those have been popular too!). I admit it's hard to think of where else you could go with Boba Fett since there have already been several different figures of him made, but it would also be sad to think that there may never again be another all new Fett. Could maybe a different concept art figure, a repaint in vintage colors or a figure sculpted in animated style based on the Holiday Special or Droids (not just a re-paint like last time) be options? Can you share any ideas that you may have on how you could keep fresh figures of this guy in the line?

[Jaing Skirata]

the rotj boba needs the the esb/evo/tlc treatment for sure! the various prepro fetts would be awesome as well as special edition boba and the white proto boba. i agree a new animated boba would be great with more accurate detailing suc as the chest plates.

honestly, i'd like to see them redo jodo kast with the tlc sculpt. i passed on the initial jodo because the sculpt they used was below subpar.

[DarthWormie]

The latest & greatest from the Big H:

1) Do you think we can expect many more figures from the Marvel comic series? Luke and Lumiya were by far the best two figures to come from that series to date, so I'm holding out hope for more like them! Five future figure hopefuls at the top of my list are Z-X3 from issue 47, Flint (Dark Lord of Belderone) and Luke Skywalker wearing his white and black outfit from issue 92 (first Star Wars comic with art by Jan Duursema by the way!), and Vlix and Tig Fromm from Marvel's Droids issue 2. I don't know if any of these characters have a real shot at being made in plastic someday, but whether they do or not, please keep looking for ways to slot in a few figures from the old days of the EU!

With the Comic Packs being shut down after Spring, it's going to be a while before we have a vehicle to really bring out some more of the Marvel characters. The Marvel comics are certainly fun.  There are some interesting characters on your list, and we would have some different ones we'd want to get to first (Valence and Dani would be our top choices).  We are hopeful that we will be able to get to some of these someday, but for the near-term the focus will be on more of the movie figures with less overall focus on the EU.

2) Many of us assume that one of these days, Hasbro will finally get around to releasing a Sim Aloo figure.  Would Aloo be designed/produced in a way that he will blend in with the existing Janus and Kren Blista-Vanee figures?  I'm a fan of SA and softgoods, but here my concern is that Hasbro will actually do something similar to the recent Ghost Anakin and put too much softgoods in order to ensure he is SA.  While I didn't like how Janus and Kren were basically statues, and would like Aloo to be able to do a bit more posing than his predecessors, perhaps Hasbro could stick to plastic and give Aloo arm articulation similar to your Po Nudo?   Maybe a removable hat or some accessories, but let's keep softgoods out of it so that all the Imperial Dignitaries look alike on my shelf :-)

Thanks for the comment.  You may have a point in that sometimes, too much articulation may not be warranted depending on the figure, and soft goods may or may not be merited for Sim.  We don't have him in the lineup for the next couple of years but it's a good bet he'll make the lineup shortly after that; a new Imperial Dignitary, especially with the strong nod to the vintage Kenner line, is long overdue.

3) With news of a forthcoming Force Unleashed battlepack, will we get a newly sculpted head for Galen Marek?  I recall reading that the actor who plays Galen (Sam Witwer) wasn't cast until late in the game development which presumably is why the earlier Starkiller figures don't really resemble him at all - now that the game has been out for a while and Hasbro has a good idea of what Galen looks like, can we please get a better likeness for the next Galen figure?

There will be a couple new takes on Galen Marek in the two TFU multi-figure packs lined up as Toys 'R Us exclusives next Spring.  They each have the same sculpt, which is all new and based on new reference supplied by Lucasfilm that looks like the character in the games.

[Napseeker]

Interesting, this seems to blow the speculation at some SW sites that we'd get another dignitary soon.  Good to know that we'll be getting a more accurate Starkiller though!

[chewykingwookie]

The latest round of answers.

1) I am certainly looking forward to getting a look at those Force Unleashed box sets! My hope is that they will not only look good and be an affordable price, but that they will be the beginning of a new way to release EU figures now that the comic packs are coming to an end. With the rumored jacketless Cade Skywalker and the two Legacy comic pack figures shown at ComicCon now needing to find a home, it seems like the makings of an exclusive Legacy box set could already be in place. Add a few more all new figures to those three and I'm sure there would be a lot of happy comic fans wanting to pick up a set. The same could be done with Knights of the Old Republic since there are already two figures from that canceled comic pack needing to be slotted in somewhere. Has this been considered or has it already been decided that the Force Unleashed packs will not be the beginning of a series?

The Force Unleashed sets are a continuation of a series of sorts - and that is the video game multi-figure set.  We hope that the reception to these sets will be good, and that we can continue to bring them out.  The important thing about these sets to keep in mind is that they only work when we have an existing library of tooling to build from, as the previous Republic Commandos and Battlefront II sets did.  For this TFU set, we used select pre-existing tools along with key new characters to be able to "cost out" the sets.  It's an interesting idea to do a multi-figure set with Legacy, but it would have to use several existing figures (like Cade) to offset the all new figures (Blue and Syn).   KotOR, though, will not happen since that would be an all-new set with no existing tooling to take advantage of.  Instead, we have to try to bring those guys out in a different way, perhaps as a series of 2-[acks (sans comic, which adds a good chunk of cost) built around an EU theme.  It's something that we are exploring.


2) Previously when asked why the Geonosis Arena 2pack red battledroids were so incredibly rubbery, we were told that if they were harder then the plastic would break.  But last night I was looking at my TAC 2-1B figure and noticed that here is a figure with just as thin limbs, and basically the same articulation as the red battledroids but yet it is made from fantastic stiff plastic (and 2-1B stands perfectly without rubbery legs that eventually give out).  In fact, I believe the PotJ Battledroid had similar leg articulation as the new BDs but also used stiff plastic.  So why is there a difference between the Geo BDs and the 2-1B and PotJ version?

The Geonosis battle droids are made with PVC plastic, which is different than the plastic the other droids are made from.  The choice of plastic used is decided up front based on the particular needs of a figures, and the battle droids do need flexibility since weapons are going to be put in their hands.  If we were to make the plastic stiffer for the Battle Droids, it would make them brittle. We would have to design a different battle if we were to create one of out a different plastic.  This is possibility we'll look at down the road to get to a stiffer droid. Although we think the current ones work great with the right stands (double peg).