Toy Bender

Nerd question time again, peeps! Even if you don’t like Star Wars toys you really should give this feature a read. It will teach you a thing or two about nerdom and the more you know, the more you’ll be prepared for the post apocalyptic nerd wars.

Let’s let Sandtroopers.com kick this baby off with a question about a vehicle that would make an awesome addition to the Star Wars toy world:

Sandtroopers.com: The 2006 Christmas release of the Imperial Shuttle was great. We’ve seen the Imperial Landing Craft in lego form, how about in 3 3/4″ form. Any plans to do so?

Hasbro: We agree that it would be a great vehicle to do. However, the price point it would need to be in doesn’t exist in our line right now. We wouldn’t rule out the possibility that we will do it someday, but right now we are not working on it because we have no way to bring it to retail.

Sandtroopers also asks about getting a behind the scenes look at Hasbro Castle.

Sandtroopers.com: Have you (or would you) ever consider running a promotion allowing a few lucky Hasbro fans access to see the behind the scenes world of Hasbro? Seeing the process that goes into the planning, designing, testing and production of an action figure first hand would be very interesting to a lot of fans.

Hasbro: While we have offered behind-the-scenes tours to a few lucky winners of different contests in the past, it’s not something that we can really do anymore. With so many movie lines in development across the boys division, it really puts a strain on the system as we can’t risk having plot points, top secret projects and the like get out to the public. In any case, we think it’s far less glamorous than it seems!

Likely story, Hasbro. There are some of us here that have heard the whispers of the terrible, dark secrets that you attempt to hide in the deepest bowels of your toy offices and factories that lay under the looming shadow of Hasbro castle. Mark my words, a visit to the Hasbro offices is a one way trip.

Toymania asks a question that’s on a lot of people’s minds.

Toymania: Are there any playsets in the works? We really, really need a Mos Eisley bar (with light-up tables!) and a Jabba throne room.

Hasbro: There are no playsets in the works. We are concentrating our efforts on bringing out a healthy range of Star Wars vehicles, since we feel the figure/vehicle play pattern is the more dynamic one for Star Wars. In the past decades, playsets have really struggled in Star Wars (and in boys toys in general) as kids do not see them as the important “center” of their play experience. In Star Wars, there are few examples of buildings or settings that are truly iconic and would be the anchor of play sessions. The ones you mention would be narrowly targeted at collectors (kids are much more interested in the prequel trilogy, versus the original trilogy), and as such would not be something that we would look at if we did decide to pursue playsets.

Argh! Foiled again! One of the problems with playsets, especially the ones that have been made in the last few years is that they really are play orientated. Meaning, that Jabba’s throne room you want would be full of giant spring firing missle launches and be completely out of scale. Hasbro or another company should make playsets with collectors in mind… in fact there was a rumor floating around that Sideshow was going to do just that. There hasn’t been any word on it in a long time so that one might just go to the good idea graveyard.

Rebelscum decides its time to complain about accessories:

Rebelscum: Why, despite being pictured with them on the card’s front artwork, do nearly all Clone Troopers not come with rifles, but small blasters instead? The back of their cards even say, “Weapon of Choice: Blaster rifles.”

Hasbro: It’s a matter of cost. We usually don’t include both weapons if the figure is super-articulated or has deco - both factors which raise our costs. We do try and rotate the weapons around.

Hmmmm… I think what they are really saying is that they know you’ll buy a super articulated clone trooper with one tiny paint application regardless of what kind of crappy weapons he comes with.

Someone over at Mousedroid.com has way too much time on their hands.

Mousedroid.com: Regarding the Titanium series wave 1 of 2008, Saesee Tinn’s starfighter seems to carry the Imperial six-spoken logo instead of the correct Republic eight-spoked logo as carried correctly by the other Titanium Series Jedi Starfighters. Will this be corrected before this wave begins shipping?

Hasbro: You have sharp eyes. This was not caught before shipment began. Instead, it will be a running change.

Wow.

The very first sentence of this question from Mousedroid made me vomit in my mouth a little.

Mousedroid.com: Young Anakin Skywalker and Jar-Jar are well overdue for brand new sculpts, as is Padme Amidala, Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Trade Federation’s Battle Droid unit. We’ve already seen the upcoming Evolutions Qui-Gon Jinn, which would make a fantastic repack in the basic line. Now, with 2009 being the tenth anniversary year of The Phantom Menace does Hasbro have any special plans to commemorate this event, such as a special TPM wave?

Hasbro: We will have an Ep I wave in the 2009 line, but details on which figures are included will not be revealed until closer to that wave’s debut. We do agree that most all of the figures you mention could use a new figure in the next few years. Padme, at least, has a great new Ep I version coming in the Evolutions pack devoted to her this Fall.

There really are people that will buy a Jar Jar and a young Anakin Skywalker? Really?

And on that note, Action Figs.com asks:

Actionfigs: With photos confirming Tsui Choi from the Order 66 2packs now out there, are we likely to see Ratts Tyrell - another member of the same species - in 2008? Could we see 1-2 Podracer figures per year the way we’re now seeing Ewoks?

Hasbro: You will not see Ratts Tyrell in 2008, as we do not have an Ep I-themed wave in the basic figure line. We do have one [Ep I wave] planned for 2009, and we will be targeting a Pod Racer or two, but no word on which ones those will be yet. We’d like to think that, like Ewoks, we could systematically get to the racers a couple at a time and eventually produce them all.

Jar Jars, Anakins, and pod pod racers? What the hell is wrong with people?

Jedi Insider decided to ask about the Hasbro team:

Jedi Insider: Could the people who are answering these questions take a moment to introduce themselves and tell us a little bit about their roles on the Star Wars brand team?

Hasbro: It’s our policy not to publicly list our team members, but the team answering the questions is essentially the same one that we bring to Comic Con or Celebration - several design and marketing members who have been with Hasbro’s Star Wars team for a number of years. While one person in marketing is the “point” for making sure that the Q&A gets completed every other week, questions are distributed out to various team members in design, engineering, packaging, and marketing as needed to get the detailed answer. If team members do not answer back in a timely fashion, or give the appropriate level of detail required to satisfy the fan question, it is up to the senior director to mete out severe punishment. We cannot reveal precisely what that punishment is.

What they mean is they aren’t giving out who is working on these things because the nerds asking the questions are often times very frightening.

The Ultra-Geeky Award^TM

Now for that very special time of the month where we award one site the Ultra Geeky Award for outstanding nerdiness. This month, Sir Steve’s Guide takes back the crown with this baby:

Sir Steve’s Guide: Concerning pegwarmers and Saga Legends taking up TAC shelfspace, back on Sept 28th you told us “stores will be resupplied based on what has sold down, not based on what is sitting on what pegs, which is invisible to the automated ordering systems. So if Saga Legends is selling in those stores, it will be reordered. If 30th Anniv. is selling, it will be reordered. To finish that discussion - the stock of one has no impact on the other.” Understanding that you have the 2 separate SKUs and assortment numbers in place to avoid these problems, what your argument seems to miss is the rampant amount of human error in the process, pegging Saga Legends on TAC pegs (whether done by store employees, or customers who simply don’t notice the difference between the red accents vs orange accents of the basic cards), so in your argument, if Saga Legends takes up all the pegspace, TAC can never sell down and be reordered because it never leaves the back rooms to hit the pegs in the first place. Keep in mind, the TAC & SL cards are pretty much visually identical, and the assortment numbers which are supposed to separate them don’t stand out on packaging and at a quick glance appear the same (87500 vs 85770) especially for an overworked, underpaid retail employee who is trying to get too many things done at once. So how can sales be generated for a specific product if it doesn’t reach the floor in the first place?

Hasbro: What you outline is a problem if *only* one (or the other) of the assortment is put out at the exclusion of the other. The same risk - that of human error - has always existed with side-by-side figure lines in Star Wars. Since all case packs are clearly marked by assortment, and replenishment is directed automatically, the impact of human error is minimized.

I get the frustration with Saga Legends clogging up the pegs. I get that this is the time to try to get Hasbro to answer… but seriously there’s a line between frustration and ultra-geekdom.