TheJawa's Q&A Section - Ask Away!

[Lt. Starfox]

nice avatar Dave! 

[jokabofe]

LOL that's for the Hasbro Q&A sessions 

[Napseeker]

Update on my questions list:

1. 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/TVC-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 how about offering 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.


2. You mentioned in an earlier Q&A that a figure like wicket (or other small ewoks) might come with some accessories to compensate for the fact that buying such a tiny figure doesn't feel much like getting your money's worth otherwise. I was wondering then if Hasbro will also then include accessories for a TVC Jawa figure?  I remember as a kid, my own mother refusing again and again to pay $4 (Canadian) for a Kenner jawa figure - citing that it was not worth it for such an insignificantly tiny figure - she had no issues buying me the adult-sized figures.  

3. Since you've recently retooled the ESB Bespin Luke and the AT-AT driver, any chance we can get a slightly retooled Snowtrooper?  Aside from the repeated requests to give us a more clean Snowtrooper (no dirt on boots, no off-colored face mask/hood), I know that it'd be a huge boon to get a Snowtrooper with a more narrow leg pose.  The current one just looks silly once you've army built a few of them and stand them together.  Their legs are just spread too wide apart - it'd be great to be able to have a number of them standing more neutrally.  The legs could then be used for a future Snowtrooper Commander as well (hint hint).

4. There have been a lot of complaints about Hasbro still using the "barrel torso" first seen in the VTSC Endor Han.  It looks aesthetically unpleasing (literally like Han is wearing a barrel under his shirt) and I'm wondering whatever happened to the alternate torso you guys mentioned a while back in a previous Q&A. Someone had asked why, for the Sandstorm Han, Hasbro was still using the barrel torso and the answer was that there was supposed to be another, better-looking torso used but that the factory had made a mistake and used the wrong one.   Will we ever see this alternate torso used?  I can't stand seeing any more Han figures making use of this ugly sculpt - it really needs to be tossed out. And of course, many of us would still like to get a Han with "beefier" man legs, especially for the long-awaited Bespin Han figure.

[chewykingwookie]

Quick update to the questionable answer from the previous round. It is now being looked at again and should hopefully hear back soon.

[Napseeker]

Quick update to the questionable answer from the previous round. It is now being looked at again and should hopefully hear back soon.

Excellent!  Thanks for the update.

EDIT: Looking at Hasbro's original answer, I actually wonder - was my question about the Bib Fortuna + swappable heads the actual question that might've been sent in and not the battlepack packaging one?  It almost seems like their answer was geared towards that one e.g.

Q. 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/TVC-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 how about offering 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.

A. With rare exceptions (such as McQuarrie figures) we produce dedicated figures,not customizable figures.

That might make a little (and I mean only a little) more sense if they were referring to the McQuarrie Vader and the McQuarrie Boba Fett, both of which had swappable heads depending on the user's preference.

If this is true, then obviously don't submit my Bib Fortuna question again... we'd probably get the same answer (then again, I think there are two different Hasbro employees taking turns handling this, so maybe we'll get a better answer next time?   )

[chewykingwookie]

I submitted the Battle pack one and got that response. I looked at my e-mail yesterday when talking to the rep I contacted.

Plus it is posted here http://thejawa.com/hasbroqa/ on the Q&A page at the jawa.com.

The next round of questions (2) are due tomorrow I will be looking later today for the ones I will submit if anyone has any more questions feel free to post them.

[Napseeker]

Maybe one of the questions to submit should be: "What question did you think you were answering the last time we submitted a question?" 

[chewykingwookie]

Maybe one of the questions to submit should be: "What question did you think you were answering the last time we submitted a question?" 

I basically did that when speaking to our contact. He is investigating it and will let me know what the deal is.

[chewykingwookie]

After going to the right person we have a new answer for the strange one we got last round.

We're glad you like the minor details as much as we like working them in.  The idea of a giant partial part of a Sandcrawler, even if part of the backdrop, if a great image.  Thanks for that.  It's interesting that putting characters into the background makes it seem less "real" and not as useful as a diorama backdrop then if there were no people in the scene.  We tend to agree, but think that in certain scenes (such as a marketplace, or Cantina, or Jabba's Palace where a vibrant slice of Star Wars life is the key that these embellishments might be needed.  Anyway, if we ever do an Echo Base pack, we like your ideas and will look to do them.  There aren't many more collector-targeted Battle Packs coming for a while, but an Echo Base one is certainly one we'd like to get to some time.

I do believe this is more fitting for what was being asked. I was not told why we got the answer we got I was just happy we got it cleared up.

[Napseeker]

That's a great answer from Hasbro.  I'm glad they did take the time to address everything even down to the painted-in figures that sometimes get put into the backdrops (which always drive me crazy as I prefer to put my own 3-dimensional characters into a scene for my dioramas, mixing it in with 2d flat artwork of characters, even if intended as backgrounders irks me). 

[chewykingwookie]

We got in the answers to the latest round of questions. You can check them out here or at our page dedicated to Hasbro Q & A http://thejawa.com/hasbroqa/

Question 1
There have been a lot of complaints about Hasbro still using the "barrel torso" first seen in the VTSC Endor Han.  It looks aesthetically unpleasing (literally like Han is wearing a barrel under his shirt) and I'm wondering whatever happened to the alternate torso you guys mentioned a while back in a previous Q&A. Someone had asked why, for the Sandstorm Han, Hasbro was still using the barrel torso and the answer was that there was supposed to be another, better-looking torso used but that the factory had made a mistake and used the wrong one. Will we ever see this alternate torso used?  I can't stand seeing any more Han figures making use of this ugly sculpt - it really needs to be tossed out. And of course,
many of us would still like to get a Han with "beefier" man legs, especially for the long-awaited Bespin Han figure.

We could have used the original VOTC Han, that's what we were referring to when we mentioned the alternate torso.  We don't have another new, as yet unseen torso for vintage Han's.  The new Han in the longer Hoth coat uses the same barrel-chest but the overall aesthetics of the figure look great to us, and allows for waist articulation

Question 2
My son is a big fan of the Galactic Heroes line and in particular any astromech droid he can get his hands on. Since you have done 3-packs of the smaller figures previously (the 2 Jawas & R2-D2 pack) and you have a good selection of astromech droid already produced, is there any chance that you could at some point release 3-packs of astromech droids? It would sure save collectors time and money not having to track down individual droids on ebay or elsewhere.

We're glad your son likes Galactic Heroes they are indeed a fun little line. We don't have any plans to release astromech 3-packs, though.

[Napseeker]

Sigh... I take it by that answer we will continue to see Hasbro use that ugly Han torso for future figures. Yuck.

[Napseeker]

1. Since you've recently retooled the ESB Bespin Luke and the AT-AT driver, any chance we can get a slightly retooled Snowtrooper?  Aside from the repeated requests to give us a more clean Snowtrooper (no dirt on boots, no off-colored face mask/hood), I know that it'd be a huge boon to get a Snowtrooper with a more narrow leg pose.  The current one just looks silly once you've army built a few of them and stand them together.  Their legs are just spread too wide apart - it'd be great to be able to have a number of them standing more neutrally.

2. Does Hasbro still plan on releasing the Sandstorm Slave Leia figure for 2011?  It was mentioned in an earlier Q&A that 2011 was a possible date and obviously it would be great to see the fantastic Slave Leia figure released again on a vintage Slave Leia card with her Sandstorm accessories!  And would it be possible to have a slightly different head sculpt (same face, but with the ponytail behind her head this time for a slightly different look).

3. With news of a cool Deluxe Battlepack, "The Defense of Hoth" coming out with a few rebels and the much-desired Hoth Turret from the original Hoth UBP, will Hasbro be shipping these in sufficient numbers to meet the expected collector demand?  Most collectors seem to be interested in getting at least two of this set (to army build both some Hoth rebels and to put multiple Hoth turrets in their diorama) - and obviously the fear is another nightmare situation similar to the Scramble on Yavin BP.  As well, unlike the UBPs which didn't ship outside of the US, will these deluxe BPs be making it to other regions like Canada and the UK?

[chewykingwookie]

Below are the latest round of questions make sure to check out our Q&A page http://www.thejawa.com/hasbroqa/ for the rest of the sessions from this year.


You mentioned in an earlier Q&A that a figure like wicket (or other small ewoks) might come with some accessories to  compensate for the fact that buying such a tiny figure doesn't feel much like getting your money's worth otherwise. I was  wondering then if Hasbro will also then include accessories for a TVC Jawa figure?  I remember as a kid, my own mother  refusing again and again to pay $4 (Canadian) for a Kenner jawa figure - citing that it was not worth it for such an  insignificantly tiny figure - she had no issues buying me the adult-sized figures.

That's an interesting question.  We don't have any more Jawa figures lined up in the Vintage line for the next couple of years, so have not faced that issue yet.  If we did decide to put one in, we would probably address it by including a small droid or other accessory.


Since you've recently retooled the ESB Bespin Luke and the AT-AT driver, any chance we can get a slightly retooled Snowtrooper?  Aside from the repeated requests to give us a more clean Snowtrooper (no dirt on boots, no off-colored face mask/hood), I know that it'd be a huge boon to get a Snowtrooper with a more narrow leg pose.  The current one just looks silly once you've army built a few of them and stand them together.  Their legs are just spread too wide apart - it'd be great to be able to have a number of them standing more neutrally.  The legs could then be used for a future Snowtrooper Commander as well (hint hint).

We are re-releasing the current Snowtrooper this Fall and have not gone back to retool. We will consider your suggestions for the future, though, on all accounts. We have the Stormtrooper Commander in our idea "parking lot" already and should not lose sight of that one since he is a tantalizing troop builder opportunity.  Thanks for the suggestions.

[Napseeker]

No jawas for the next couple of years?  Guess I won't bother to ask if we'll be getting a soft goods jawa anytime soon then

[Napseeker]

Questions for July 11 2010...

1. I'm impressed by the new TVC Darth Vader but was frustrated that despite the slideshow photo from a few months ago, the new Vader still has an open grip on his right hand. Are there plans to fix this for the next version?  For many of us, Vader should be able to hold his lightsaber in his right hand, not left and it would've been a nice nod to the vintage Kenner Vader.  As well, I've noticed that his scars on his head were painted red, as if they were still fresh wounds - shouldn't these be painted more subtly perhaps with a more grayish red?  Finally, since the Sebastian Shaw head is now fully removable, what about including a bonus David Prowse head to swap in for a future release?

2. Aside from the fact that he has HUGE feet, Hasbro really nailed the sculpt for the TLC Imperial Scanning Tech.  I think many of us would welcome seeing you guys churn out an Imperial trooper / Imperial crew battlepack based on the IST mold, and a modified TVC AT-AT commander mold (with new torso) to boss them around. By now we've got stormtroopers and sandtroopers galore, but let's get some more of the support personnel in there too!  A new head with a sculpted-in headset for the IST plus a computer station accessory for him to man, a black-suited version of the IST, and perhaps two Imperial officers (with different rankings) would sell like hotcakes to collectors as well as the Scramble on Yavin pack did.  How about it?  If none of the retailers want to carry the "trooper packs" wouldn't a "trooper battlepack" be just as good? 

[chewykingwookie]

latest and greatest answers.

Since you've recently retooled the ESB Bespin Luke and the AT-AT driver, any chance we can get a slightly retooled Snowtrooper?  Aside from the repeated requests to give us a more clean Snowtrooper (no dirt on boots, no off-colored face mask/hood), I know that it'd be a huge boon to get a Snowtrooper with a more narrow leg pose.  The current one just looks silly once you've army built a few of them and stand them together.  Their legs are just spread too wide apart - it'd be great to be able to have a number of them standing more neutrally.

We have heard this same comment a couple of times, so we know there are some of you whom want a more narrow-legged stance.  We don't have a new version in the works but will look into it for a future version.  Thanks for the comment. 

Does Hasbro still plan on releasing the Sandstorm Slave Leia figure for 2011?  It was mentioned in an earlier Q&A that 2011 was a possible date and obviously it would be great to see the fantastic Slave Leia figure released again on a vintage Slave Leia card with her Sandstorm accessories!  And would it be possible to have a slightly different head sculpt (same face, but with the ponytail behind her head this time for a slightly different look).

We do not have plans for the Sandstorm Slave Leia figure in 2011Š.she just did not make the cut.  She remains in the Parking Lot for a future year.

[Napseeker]

Hmmm, I hope Slave Leia makes it onto a TVC card before Hasbro decides to change the cards at some point, otherwise talk about a missed opportunity!   

[Napseeker]

1. Aside from the fact that he has huge feet, Hasbro really nailed the sculpt for the TLC Imperial Scanning Tech.  I think many of us would welcome seeing you guys churn out an Imperial trooper / Imperial crew battlepack based on the IST mold, and a modified TVC AT-AT commander mold (with new torso) to boss them around. By now we've got stormtroopers and sandtroopers galore, but let's get some more of the support personnel in there too!  A new head with a sculpted-in headset for the IST plus a computer station accessory for him to man, a black-suited version of the IST, and perhaps two Imperial officers (with different rankings) would sell like hotcakes to collectors as well as the Scramble on Yavin pack did.  How about it?  If none of the retailers want to carry the "trooper packs" wouldn't a "trooper battlepack" be just as good?  

2. It's a real joy to see Hasbro listening to collectors and reissuing the Scramble on Yavin transport and driver again!  There are still many of us who don't have Red Leader and his astromech however.  If the Endor Pilots sets are successful, what about including Red Leader and his droid in a future release?  To make it more enticing, it'd be great if instead of reusing the VTSC X-Wing Luke body (which seemed way too small) what about the John Brannon body instead?  Also, it was humorously noted that Red Leader from the Scramble pack looked more like Conan O'Brien than the actual actor - any chance of a new face sculpt?  

3. A while back I asked if, someday when Hasbro does a SA version of Zam Wessell, you could design her so that she can sit in the Zam Speeder that was released in the AotC Saga line.  You said yes this would be considered, but images of the upcoming TVC Zam with a plastic skirt would suggest that she won't be able to sit.  Is the skirt removable?  Or are there any plans to issue a second version with a softgoods skirt down the road?  I think those of us who own the vehicle would love to get a Zam in there someday!