Toy Bender

Here we are again! This time we’re on round fifty and I’m sad to say that a lot of the questions have been toned down in nerdiness by at least two or three notches. Still, if you like Star Wars there are some pretty decent bits of info that came out of this round so read on, my friends!

Rebel Scum opens this round up with a question about Titanium vehicle selection.

Rebelscum: I would like to say thank you again for the upcoming release of V-19 Torrent Starfighter and TIE-Defender. I was wondering since you have released a number of ships and vehicles ranging for the six episodes,Clone Wars,and EU if you plan to release the following ships and vehicles within the next year or two:

# Sith Fighter
# UT-AT
# SPHA-T
# Naboo Yacht
# Eclipse-Class Star Destroyer
# E-wing
# Republic Carrier
# Imperial Transport (ANH special edition)

Hasbro: We assume you mean Titanium. Yes you can look for some of these vehicles in 2009. Specifically we have plans for the E-wing, Republic Carrier, & UT-AT. Thanks for your continued support of Titanium. Keep your eyes open for these new ships and many more.

As a fan of the line, I’d welcome some more new vehicles other than repaints.

Actionfigs.com asks a question that I’m sure is on everyone’s mind:

ActionFigs.com: Does Nippet the Wokling come out of his basket? If so, might you be able to share a picture of this?

Hasbro: Indeed Nippet does. Attached is a pic. Enjoy!

I realize that I’m opening myself to a lot of criticism here, but I love me some Ewoks. More Ewoks I say! More Ewoks!

Galactic Hunter decides the time is right to ask about some classic Star Wars vehicles:

Galactic Hunter: We (Brian Wilke and I) discussed this a bit at Toy Fair, and the “big tuna” Rebel Troop Transport is seen in all three “Classic” Star Wars films. It’s not the most exciting vehicle, granted, but it’s a nice sized freighter. Why not resurrect it with more “playset” styled features in its belly and lid? (We modern collectors would just be happy with the piece as-is, but extra features never hurt.) What do our friends at Hasbro think? (It’s cooler than the Cloud Car, at least.)

Hasbro: This vehicle has been suggsested numerous times in Q&A over the last couple of years, primarily because it (and the Cloud Car) have yet to be updated for the modern line. Despite that, we do not feel that either of these are the best candidates for our (precious and limited) vehicle slots. They are not overally aggressive vehicles or in the case of the Rebel Transport, visually interesting. If we were to invest resources and tooling in a vehicle/playset combo as you suggest, our choice would probably not be the Rebel Transport.

I’d argue that the Rebel Transport is visually interesting, but I like Ewoks.

On the playset theme, Galactic Hunter also asked:

Galactic Hunter: For each of the prequel trilogy Hasbro developed one large playset. First we saw the Attack of the Clones Geonosis Arena Playset recycled as the G.I. Joe: Attack on Cobra Mountain Playset. Now we’re seeing the Revenge of the Sith Mustafar Duel Playset being recycled to create an Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull playset. Is there a contractual obligation with LFL to make at least one big playset per film? We’ve been told time and again that they don’t sell, but we see “our” sets used for other lines, and it leaves Star Wars fans a little bitter. So what gives here?

Hasbro: There is no contractual obligation to produce a playset; we tackle the best line-up for the movie on a case-by-case basis. For example, there is no playset for The Clone Wars… unless you consider the AT-TE a playset on legs as many kids probably will.

I plan on using it as a playset. I mean… as a display item! Yeah!

More playset questions from Imperialshipyards! It’s playset a go go!

ImperialShipYards: Often with these Q&A sessions, we get answers (especially about playsets) about the cost or retooling, new sculpts, etc. Is there any way you can break down this process for us so that we can have a greater understanding on why we get these answers? I think a lot of collectors who ask questions and get these answers get frustrated because we just don’t understand all of it. I think if you were able to explain it all to us, we’d be much happier!

Hasbro: Everything we do as costing associated with it from various areas and all of these are put together before we proceed in a project. We have engineers on staff whose exact job it is to accurately forecast detailed costing information for tooling, plastic prices, packaging specifications, deco, inter-factory transfer costs, transportation, labor, and a host of other things we need to get our arms around. This is vital when creating a product whether it is a single figure, a whole lineup like Legacy/Droid factory figures, a new or repainted vehicle, a new lightsaber role-play item….in short, the entire line. We have targets we need to hit, and in cases where there is an extraordinary cost associated with it (such as a playset) there needs to be a very high degree of confidence that we will meet our goals. In the case of playsets, we do not have confidence (based
on past experience with Star Wars and other brands) that we will have the market support for our ideas. That is why we have focused our energy on large vehicles, like the AT-TE, instead of playsets. It doesn’t mean that we will never do things like playsets, but it would have to be a “must have” for today’s generation of kids. That would mean that any new playset would not be drawn from the classic films, since they are not as relevant to the next generation of kids as the new entertainment will be. It’s too early to tell exactly where Clone Wars will take us, and whether there is a great persistent enviroment in there suitable for playset creation, but from what we have seen we think the big vehicle approach is the best one.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard a sadder statement from Hasbro than this, “That would mean that any new playset would not be drawn from the classic films, since they are not as relevant to the next generation of kids as the new entertainment will be.” The humanity!

ImperialShipyards decided to dip into the nerdy well with this one:

ImperialShipYards: I think we can all agree that the KOTOR figures released last year were very popular. Any chance we may see a few more characters from the game? Bastilla Shan, Carth Onassi perhaps? I also wondered if you had considered a player character figure. While technically you already did the character, I won’t say how for fear of ruining a plot element for anyone who has yet to play the game, but how about a “battle pack” or 2 pack like the “order 66″. I was thinking maybe a somewhat generic figure, male and female versions in a couple of different costumes from the game with swappable heads for different hair styles/ colors and different ethnicities. I think the McQuarrie rebel trooper body would be an excellent mold with minor retooling and different paint. I really love that head sculpt. The McQuarrie figures in general look like they are right out of the game except for color. For 2-packs maybe pair one player character body with one of the main characters?

Hasbro: We do think that at some point we will get to Bastilla Shan (although there is no timetable), and with the success of the Dark Horse series it makes characters like Carth a greater possibility for future years as that series continues. However, we don’t know about the player character idea for KotOR. You have some interesting suggestions, especially using existing tooling (a big criteria for doing ideas like this). While we still doubt we’d do these, given everything else floating around, we will take a look at some point.

What’s with uber-geeks and their obsession with interchangeable heads? Who’d want one of these figures besides this guy? And on the subject of Carth… man he was such a baby in the game. Oh don’t kill everyone! You’re a murderer! Lame.

Jedi Defender asks about what we can expect from future Clone Wars waves featuring “classic” figures:

Jedi Defender: During the Toy Fair collector event, you briefly mentioned the possibility of a third basic figure line hitting the shelves at the end of the year. The line was going to be like the Saga Legends repack line, but focused more on bringing back figures of characters that would compliment the Clone Wars line. Is this still going to happen, and if so, are we talking mainly Jedi, Clones, and Droids in the line?

Hasbro: There will indeed be a third basic figure line this Fall, once again called “Saga Legends”. Unlike previous Saga Legends, this one is kid-focused around the animation and will consist of hero characters who are prominent in the animation, but who will not have an animated version for their character right away or who we are looking to get out there in greater numbers to take advantage of the excitement that the movie and TV show will generate. The lineup consists of figures you might expect: Anakin, Obi-Wan, R2-D2, Yoda with Kybuck, C-3PO, numerous Clones and droids, and others.

All of the figures will be existing. It’s too early to say whether the line will continue longer than through Spring. Because this line was created to complement the animated line, and be particularly kid-focused, we aren’t planning on doing any particular fan-request figures in this line like we have done with past Saga Legends.

Hurray! More clone repaints!

Jedi Temple Archives

JediTempleArchives: When can collectors expect to see Hasbro packaged Force FX lightsabers arrive in stores? And on the same note, can they expect any new products in this line within the calender year?

Hasbro: This Fall (approximately August) will see the first Hasbro-produced sabers hit market. Since the factory and production line is the same, it’s our intention to make the transition seamless. There will not be any new products slated for 2008, but there are some on tap for 2009. Stay tuned for more info on those at the end of the year.

I’m excited to see if Hasbro has made any improvements to the Force FX lightsabers or if they’ll drop the ball on this. Let’s hope its the former!

Sandtroopers

Sandtroopers: With the new release of the clone wars AT-TE vehicle coming up, are there going to be any more plans for producing more large scaled vehicles? Is it going to depend on the sales of the AT-TE?

Im stoked to see Hasbro making larger Star Wars vehicles. The one vehicle I would love to see the most is the Clone Turbo Tank. Im sure a lot of other collectors especially ones who collect mostly clone trooper figures would go into a frenzy if Hasbro planned on doing this!

Hasbro: We do think that the large vehicle format is the way to go to unlock the excitement of the Clone Wars, but whether we do another one will depend greatly on how this one does and what other vehicles await in the Clone Wars animation. By this Fall, we should know a lot more on both of those scores, but if what we have seen of the early animation holds out for the rest of the series, the future looks very bright.

Jedi Temple Archives asks about the vintage remake line:

JediTempleArchives: In a recent Q&A about the Vintage Line, you made this comment:

“The stable of real strong versions of core OTC characters to anchor future vintage waves is getting thin, we just don’t feel the future is there for Vintage as we have been bringing it out.”

I’m not sure how you’re getting to that conclusion. There were 92 figures in the original Kenner line, not to mention how many characters were never realized in plastic. So far, there have been a total of 23 figures in your “vintage” line, so you’ve still got close to 70 figures to make, just to catch up with Kenner . I understand that you’re looking at “core” characters, and not all of the original Kenner figures were of “core” characters, but if you’re aiming this Vintage line at older collectors who remember the original vintage line and are looking to spark some nostalgia, ANY of the original Kenner figu res would do that.

Hasbro: Of course there are plenty of solid figures left, but you are assuming that all vintage figures sell-through to collectors at the same rate. Actually, they do not. Core characters and strong troop builders do the best, with lesser-known characters trailing behind. Why this is, especially when the recent mail-in redemptions encourage even purchase across the line, is still a bit of a mystery but does point to the fact that we need to craft Vintage waves with the same sensibilities with which we approach basic figures…a mix of core strong heroes to support the smaller-run more obscure characters. In the main basic figure line, it is easier to compensate a number of lower-volume characters, but in a smaller assortment like vintage, each and every choice is important to helping us get to where we need to be volume-wise.

Here’s the deal: Why would I pay ten bucks for a figure that’s almost exactly like all the other figures they make? The answer to that is when the characters were pretty damn compelling. Hasbro’s main point here rings true since they’ve released a lot of them best characters already. Pretty soon you’ll end up with waves of third string aliens that no one will buy at such a high price point.

Sir Steve’s Guide asks about the big Millennium Falcon that’s rumored to be in the works:

SirSteve’sGuide: While it’s our site policy to avoid rumors, our readers have been wound up a bit on this one so they demanded we ask…. It seems like there was a lot of hype and rumor about a new Millennium Falcon vehicle for the main line, including the leak of a Target DCPI number that came with the AT-TE - which Hasbro is indeed materializing. There was a lot of expectation that Hasbro would unveil both the AT-TE and this new Millennium Falcon at Toy Fair, and while the former appeared, the latter did not, so might you comment on these Falcon rumors at all? If nothing else, a simple confirmation or denial would ease a lot of collector tension.

Hasbro: We have no comment on anything to do with a Millennium Falcon item, other than to say that it is not our policy to comment on certain rumors especially as they pertain to items that may appear in the Target (or any other retailer’s) computers. Often, there is a reason for this secrecy because some items may be part of that retailers promotional tactics such as the Ultimate Battle Packs at Target. Whether or not there is another such concept in development will not be commented upon for this reason.

Interesting… while they didn’t confirm it’s existence they certainly didn’t deny it!

TheJawa.com demonstrates their complete lack of understanding of a capitalist based economy with this question:

Jawa.com: Why is it that the GI Joe line figures come with stands and more articulation that SW, yet are still $2 on average cheaper than SW figures? $6.99 average for SW versus $4.99 for GI Joe? When SW basic figures were first given stands, we were told the price increase from $5.99 to $6.99 was necessary to cover the cost of the stand?

Hasbro: You can’t necessarily compare across lines in an apples-to-apples manner. There are a host of other parameters used in establishing and setting our targets. Lucasfilm royalties are also one factor that we must build into our line which other brands will not have.

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…and the fact that many, many more people are collecting (or were collecting) Star Wars figures over G.I. Joe. If people are willing to pay that much for a figure, Hasbro will sell them for that price.

Yoda’s News must have read my mind:

YodasNews: Now that you have put the super articulated touch to the 501st clone, can you please move the Clone Commando to the top of the list of the clones who need super articulation? Great figure when scorch came out and the exclusive ones are cool as well, but after just getting the new comic 2 pack all white one, I really noticed how limited his posability is. Really what he needs is knees and ankles and that would be a big improvement over the current figure. Oh, and as a nit pick, shouldn’t the visor on the white commando have a blue tint just like scorch’s visor?

Hasbro: We agree that the Clone Commando is in need of an SA figure. As of this writing, we don’t have one slotted in but will look for a way to update it to SA when we have a chance.

I’ve stopped buying any Clone Commando figures due to the lack of decent articulation on them. They can’t even bend their knees. That’s so 1978.

Well, that about wraps it up for this round. Sorry to say there weren’t any Ultra Geeky awards given out this round since the questions were surprisingly tempered. Come on you hideous beasts with nothing better to do, come up with some obsessively geeky questions!