Toy Bender

Time marches on and once again another round of questions from around the web smacks Hasbro in the face with varying degrees of social awkwardness. I really wonder how long I can keep doing this before I piss off the entire toy collecting population on the internets… sigh someone has to do it though, and that someone is me.

Let’s let the Germans start, shall we? 4-inches.de asks:

4-inches.de: How do you explain that certain background characters like Bossk, Greedo or IG-88 got their second update since 1995, while other characters like the Gamorrean Guard, Dr. Evazan or Nien Nunb are still waiting for their long lasting first figure update? Those characters just got some repaint in the long run since 1995/1996 but no update. An update of these figures seems to be overdue and they are equally sought-after like the other guys who have been updated

Hasbro: All three of the characters you mention are good candidates for update before too long and have been discussed. In all three cases, we have decided to pursue other characters who have never been done from their scenes first, so these updates have taken a backseat to new figures. But we will probably get to all three of these within the next few years.

I’m guessing that the reason that Bossk, Greedo, or IG-88 were made again was that they are iconic characters, and in the case of Bossk and IG-88, they look pretty boss. (I’m bringing that back by the way) I wouldn’t mind a new Nien Nunb, but Dr. Evazan? Who the fug cares about him?

I’m only including this question from Jedi Insider for one reason:

Jedi Insider: You have some cool interactive Galactic Heroes boxsets coming, but is there any chance of seeing actual playsets released for these guys, like a Death Star? We are seeing playsets done for the Marvel versions, so why not Star Wars?

Hasbro: We have looked at them, but the costing still has not worked out for Star Wars to be able to do them.

“Costing”. I love Hasbro’s made up/industry terms.

Here’s a question from our friends in the UK at Jedi News:

Jedi News: It’s been over 23 years (yes, really it’s been that long!) since we saw Jabba the Hut released with his throne from Return of the Jedi. I appreciate that there are no relevant SKU’s for such a release but this could easily be incorporated into Battle Pack range. You could include Jabba, his throne and a new version of Leia in Bikini outfit that’s able to lie on the throne (you would only have to redo the legs) and Jedi Luke and call it ‘Jabba’s Jedi Confrontation’ OR include Jabba, his throne, Leia as Boushh with Chewbacca and call it ‘Jabba’s Bounty Hunter Confrontation’. If money allows you could also include Salacious Crumb and Bib Fortuna and C-3PO in either of the two packs! Ed: Please go for the first idea with a new Leia that can lie down too!!!

Hasbro: Good ideas and we have considered this prior. It’s one of those ideas that is “next in line” when we can figure out how to deliver, so your suggestion is a very good one. Thanks.

Pssst, Jedi News… that’s not a question. Seriously though, I wouldn’t mind seeing an updated Jabba with throne.

Jedi Temple Archives nails Hasbro with this question:

JediTempleArchives: Toys R Us is currrently(sic) listing a Star Wars Force Unleashed Hero Figure Pack at this page:http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2678312&cp. Can you describe this figure pack? Is this in fact a set where you can build your own Secret Apprentice from The Force Unleashed?

Hasbro: We actually are not in a position to dicuss(sic) any more details about this one.

In your face Hasbro, that will teach you to trust your retailer partnerships!

Jedi Temple Archives also had this question worth noting:

Jedi Temple Archives: How challenging is it to keep core characters in the mix while keeping thing interesting for collectors who have say, the last 10 versions of Luke Skywalker? And additionally, how difficult is it to keep things interesting when the character is a fan favorite (like Boba Fett) who only has one or two different costume looks?

Hasbro: There are collector forces at work on both sides of the fence - we think enthusiasm is high when there are important versions of that character yet to be done, but also when there are details they would like to see us work on for future versions (there are lots of examples of this in past Q&As). When we introduce an all-new tooled version of a core character, we think it makes a good statement and that we probably get most collectors behind the effort. Sometimes new articulation or a new accessory does the trick. In the case of comic packs, or even the EU, we have more to work with so we can look for solutions there as well. When the changes are smaller, we try to justify it based on the importance of the character and the importance of the changes. It certainly makes it a fun and interesting challenge, especially when we task ourselves with keeping at least some version of the core characters (ideally a new version) out there every year. A balance of both new and refreshed characters allows us to keep the core characters out there and balance our tooling budget.

I can see the person at Hasbro sitting back at their desk and saying to themselves before responding, “Not really, as long as you morons keep buying them, we’ll keep chunking out the same five figures year after year.”

Normally, I’d put this question from Sir Steve’s Guide in the hopper for Ultra Geeky Question of the round, but it addresses one of my concerns so it stays out of the running:

Sir Steve’s Guide: Originally, it seemed that Saga Legends was supposed to compliment the main TAC line, so as to have multiple “new” figures out at once. However, wave 3 of the main line started showing up at the end of May, and here in mid-August wave 4 is barely starting to show up - yet the first 2 waves of Saga Legends are steadily coming in. Did you stop shipping figures from the main TAC line for a while in order to focus on Saga Legends? If so, wouldn’t that be the opposite of the intended goal of simultaneous shipping? Will more waves of the main line be pushed back this year to allow for Saga Legends figures to gain momentum? Right now fans are getting frustrated at the current lack of authentically new product on shelves and are worrying that the final few months of 2007 will be an avalanche.

Hasbro: The actual figure lines themselves are managed completely separately and replenishment to stores is based on demand and sell-through, as long as we can supply inventory as need. Delays with the coins have held up the basic figure schedules so far (as well as Saga Legends), but that should all be settled down now and you will see more regular wave deliveries.

Note to Hasbro, it better god damned be fixed. I’ve almost stopped collecting Star Wars figures because it’s too damned frustrating to buy a figure in stores so I don’t have to resort to getting it from the a-holes on line. (And yes, this includes all you jack hole online retailers who mark up every figure by about 50%)

Now for the question you’ve all been waiting for, the Ultra-Geeky Award^TM. While there some nice and geeky questions in here, there was one that was head and shoulders above the rest. Actionfigs.com takes the title from the upstarts at Sandtroopers.com that had it last month. It’s only appropriate too as Actionfigs is a sister site to Sir Steve’s Guide, the previous reigning champ. Check this out:

Action-figs.com: With all the Padme costumes left unmade as 3 3/4″ figures, would Hasbro consider making an exclusive multipack - such as the Lucas Family set or the Republic Commando or Death Star Briefing - or even a series of multipacks to get those outfits out of the way? With anywhere from 3 to 7 apiece, they could be organized by movie: Ep I - purple Return to Naboo/Qui-Gon’s Funeral; gray Coruscant kimono; black Coruscant/Naboo reception; and perhaps a new, complete version of the senate outfit. Ep 2 - any of the 10 remaining outfits but especially the Chancellor’s office outfit; the packing gown; the picnic dress. Ep 3 - there’s 9 more outfits, not counting the hospital gown or the funeral gown. Even if you only do a few 3-packs of figures, those are figures that would normally not be seen for years, possibly ever, which fans want. Would you at least consider a Padme evolutions set to get 3 of those unproduced outfits figures out of the way?

Hasbro: We know there are a lot of Padme’s undone, but we would prefer to handle them one at a time rather than this idea, simply because it’s an expensive set with a narrow focus (and sets like Evolutions are geared toward including multiple characters, rather than focusing on one).

I love how it’s stressed that Hasbro needs to get the outfits “out of the way.” Like there is some universal law that states that every single outfit Padme wears in the films MUST be done at some point and it must be within the next couple of years. Not all of the stupid background aliens in the cantina have been made yet and Star Wars is 30 years old, why must there be a figure based on the ten million outfits of Padme? Do collectors really want every single one of Padme’s outfits anyway? I’ll admit something here, I do own one Queen Amidala figure and that was given to me as a joke. The only Padme figure a Star Wars collector needs to own is one where her the midsection of her shirt is ridiculously torn off. What kind of ‘mo wants well over a dozen figures of Padme in dresses? (And if you really are gay you totally get a free pass on this) Buy a Barbie doll if you have any urge to own all the Padmes. Gah, I need to do some man things now.

Well that wraps up this round. For some reason there weren’t as many questions so I hope I didn’t miss any. Until next time…

toy, toy collecting, action figure, Hasbro, star wars