Toy Bender

Another week, another round of Star Wars Nerd Questions! To be honest, there weren’t a whole lot of questions that were that exciting or super nerdy. There’s some decent stuff in here so you shouldn’t be too disappointed if you choose to click on the more button. Man, I’m a terrible self promoter.

Galactic Hunter asks a question about Princess Leia:

Galactic Hunter: As a follow-up to your revelation of a new Princess Leia - Slave Girl and Sandstorm Princess Leia planned for 2009, can you clarify if these are meant to be one in the same, or two separate figures coming next year? If they are one and the same, can we expect Sandstorm Princess Leia to accurately resemble the Princess Leia - Slave Girl we know once the cloak and goggles are removed? (From Shabby Blue)

Hasbro: Regarding Slave Leia, we have had a bit of a change-up in our plans and will clarify. Originally, we wanted to do the Sandstorm Leia, but have instead selected a different version of Leia for our EpVI wave. We think that you will find this Princess Leia every bit as interesting, if not more so (that’s all the info we can give!). We will eventually get to Sandstorm Leia, but we think you will like what we have for her in ‘09.

I think it’s funny that the person asking wanted to take the clothes off of the figure to reveal the sexy slave Leia beneath.

Imperial Ship Yards want to know about army builders:

ImperialShipYards: Dear Hasbro, with the re-emerging interest in the Expanded Universe, do you plan to include troopers that you can army build? I would love SOTE Coruscant Guard and Imperial Commando. Also the Brown Imperial Officer, Yellow and Red Patched Field Stormtroopers and the Imperial Commando from DF II. However, the figure I want most has to be Xandel Carivus’ Bodyguard Troops. I will do anything to get these made. I even paid to have customs of them made, but I want official ones, I would gladly sell you my soul to make them!

Hasbro: Some of our packs do indeed have troop building components such as the current Republic Commando/Super Battle Droid, and the WM exclusive Kasshyyyk Clone/Wookiee set. We plan to continue these here and there as we go forward with the line but will not make it an overt focus. Specifically regarding the figures you suggest, we do not have a way of doing Dark Forces in the comic packs, but some of the others may be possible someday if the line continues. We especially like the Xandel Carivus’ personal guard from Crimson Empire II as well, but to be honest the chances of this one happening in the next couple of years is slim given the other more prominent figures we are planning.

Jedi Defender wants another Fan’s Choice poll:

Jedi Defender: Over the past 2 years, you guys have really been going to town on the characters from the ToyFare 2006 Fan Choice Poll. Over half of the “Top 25�? finalists from that poll have been made into figures, with a few more rumored for 2009. Sounds like it’s time for a new poll, don’t you think? ?

Hasbro: Yes indeed, yes indeed. We have to say that poll was a great way to get the pulse of what resonates with fans, and it has been a great inspiration as we have planned out the line. At our current count, by the end of 2009, we will have released 18 of the 25 choices with another 3-4 likely in the 2010 line. We do think it’s time for a new poll (perhaps with a retrospective) and will talk with Toy Fare about the possibilities. Stay tuned!

I like fan’s choice polls, but almost every character that we’ve wanted to be made has been. This could end up being a boring list.

Jedi Defender needs to ask about everyone’s favorite relic hunter (and yes this does include Relic Hunter), Indiana Jones:

Jedi Defender: A few questions on the Deluxe Map Room Indy with Ark set. Why no poles (or even rings for poles) on the Ark? Will there be another Ark released later with the rings and poles? And where’s the Staff of Ra? Will there be a single-carded Map Room Indy released on down the line, with the Staff of Ra included?

Hasbro: The Deluxe pack is a bit of a hybrid but one we felt we needed to get out early since both this version of Indy and the Ark are so important. It was added later, so that is why the staff is in with the Belloq in Ceremonial disguise basic figure. The rings and poles weren’t in the scope for this one, but could be a possibility down the road.

Well of Souls (guess they are an Indiana Jones site, hey?) has a question about hats:

WellofSouls: Most (if not all) of the previewed Indy figures seem to have removable hats, which makes the hats seem just a little too large. Are there going to be any Indiana figures with hats sculpted onto the heads to avoid this problem?

Hasbro: Actually only one of the basic figures has a removable hat (the KotCS Indy); the rest are adhered to the head.

Woot! No chance on losing the iconic hat on most of the Indys. That’s good news for kids. There’s nothing worse than losing an important accessory like Superman’s cape or Indiana Jone’s hat.

We need rings and poles! How else are we going to replicate that scene where Indiana threatens to blow up the Ark with a big flashlight? (In the “Spielburg’s a Puss” Special Edition.)

Jedi News wants to have a collector’s database:

Jedi News: Have Hasbro thought about setting up an official website that allows collectors to tick off their collection against everything ever released (including variants)? StarWars.com and others have tried this before but it’s not been up-to-date for a while now and doesn’t necessarily include variants – you’re obviously best placed to do this.

Hasbro: That is a pretty big task and right now, well beyond our abilities to devote the time and attention to go backward and cover past years. We will take a look at this for the current year and going forward - however, we think that the existing fansites remain the best way to get a comprehensive view of the recent past.

I love how people don’t realize how a business operates. To build such a site it would take a lot of resources (talent people, computers, software), time, and most importantly money to build such a database. And then once it’s built you have to maintain it. What’s in it for Hasbro to do this? They are a business whose sole purpose is to make money for it’s shareholders. What is proposed here is an enormous money pit.

Jedi Temple Archives has got a clone question:

Jedi Temple Archives: The 2008 Commander Gree figure was a huge improvement over the previous version, not just in likeness but in overall sculpt and articulation. Is there any chance we will see more uses of that sculpt in other clones such as the Utapau Clone or a Shock Trooper?

Hasbro: The Gree tooling is very specific to him so we wouldn’t use it for any other character. However, he has some nice articulation features that turned out well, and there is a possibility that down the road we would do other core Clones with this model. Right now, we don’t have any specific updates planned, but the Utapau Battalion would be a good one (along with Shocks).

Hurray for buying the same figures multiple times… again!

Sir Steve’s Guide has got a good question about Gunships:

Sir Steve’s Guide: Will the Republic Gunship be re-released to coincide with the release of the Clone Wars cartoon? Several are featured in the preview, and some even have new deco.

Hasbro: We can confirm that there is a redeco in the works, but can’t release info yet. Look for an announcement in the next month or two via our Republic News posts.

Awesome. This is nice in case you’ve missed the previous releases or need another one to add another one to your collection.

The Ultra-Geeky Award^TM

And now for the Ultra Geek Question of this time around. This time an old master returns. Sir Steve’s Guide has a superly nerdy question for Hasbro:

SirSteve’sGuide: The 3¾” action figure system has always straddled the toy market - on the one hand it’s small enough that kids can have plenty of toys in the system without taking up a lot of space, while on the other it’s not as big as many popular action figure scales out there so it’s seen as “less product”. With yet another round of price increases, this scale seems to be heading for a bit of a quandary: how does a $7.99 Star Wars or Indiana Jones figure in this scale compete with a similarly-priced 5″ or 6″ figure that sports as much detail and articulation and is perceived as being “more toy for the money”. Pack-ins can only take it so far - although obviously you are gambling on the Build-A-Figure concept to take it an extra buck farther - so the question becomes, is there any concern that the eight-dollar Star Wars basic figure will be the pricepoint the brand or the scale itself cannot breach, especially in a sagging toy industry fraught with market-erosion from both video games and the internet, all while during an economic recession? Is there any concern with this price increase over the potential loss of collectors, both hardcore and casual (including kids) alike? You say the majority of your cost concerns are found in new tooling, and the greatest hits-style lines have been selling extremely well for you the past few years, yet the greatest hits-style lines like Saga Legends have no significant tooling costs to worry about beyond routine maintenance since it is all re-releases (aside from the pit droid anomalies). In the past we’ve asked about why the Saga Legends line shouldn’t be a cheaper MSRP in relation to the main line and the answer was to support the system, but shouldn’t the recent increased income from the high-selling line of purely existing tools help defray the costs and thus help lower pricing on the main line?

Hasbro: We are confident that consumers will continue to enjoy our figure offering as a great way to experience the magic of Star Wars. To this end, we have worked to make sure that the lines have good value (firing projectiles in Clone Wars, Droid Factory parts to build and collect, and extra Clone gear in Saga Legends). Typically our discussions of “cost” have centered around tooling, since most questions are regarding new sculpts and added articulation, and we do set targets we must adhere to. However, that is just one factor that goes into our management of the line and there are many, many other financial factors that funnel into the end result.

Wow, could you make a question about prices any longer? Talk about being long winded and incredibly nerdy.