Q&A Session With Hasbro's Star Wars Brand Team December 10 Round-Up

Jay Cochran - December 11, 2009
In order to make it easier for you to check out all the different Hasbro Q&A's that are posted around the Internet, we have gathered up all the questions with links to the actual sites the questions originated from where you can easily go to and see the answers. Here is the round-up for December 10th's batch of questions. Click here to check out the JediInsider ones.



Rebelscum.com


Rebelscum: Being a huge cantina fan, I am wondering if the two aliens that were seen in the original film release of ANH but were both eliminated in the Special Editions, Lak Sivrak and Arleil Schous, are still possibilities for a future release in the modern line? Also, Lak would be somewhat easy since his legs, hands and head are the same as the TAC '07 Voolvif Monn figure and could easily be re-used. I love
Arleil and hope he is not lost and forgotten in the echoes of time.

Rebelscum: Considering the difficulty involved in getting head variant and running change figures out in the Basic figure line, would you consider releasing collector targeted Battle Packs, possibly as exclusives, that consisted of head variants of troop builder figures such as the Rebel Fleet Trooper(which you said you are looking to get out in the next couple of years), Endor Rebel Soldiers, Hoth Rebel Soldiers, Rebel Technicians, Bespin Guards, Death Star Troopers, Imperial Techinician/Scanning Crew Troopers, Imperial Officers of various types, etc. It would be nice to have some variety amongst the troops whose faces are visible and Battle Packs that contained 4 troopers of the same type(again, say 4 Rebel Fleet Troopers in one Battle Pack) with each having a different head sculpt would be a great way to bring that about. You could still release these type of troop builder figures in the Basic line as these would just be extras on top of the Basic line releases of those figures.

Rebelscum: It seems the fate of the comic pack line is ambiguous. There has been little indication as to when we might see the next new wave of comic packs which should have hit the stores by now. It is understood there have been distrubution problems, but I was curious to know if and the comic packs showed at Comic-Con and the Wal-mart exclusive wave or still on tap. What is the status of the current unreleased comic packs?


YodaNews.com

YN: Are any of the following characters on tap for the Clone Wars line: OOM-224, Republic Gunship pilot Hawk, Wat Tambor, Nute Gunray, and generic gunship pilots?

YN: Have you ever thought about doing a promotion where a select amount of "tickets" were randomly inserted in Star Wars products with special codes on them, and five or ten of the tickets would be winners and get a VIP type tour with the Hasbro Star Wars team, spend a day in the meetings, pitching ideas, a prize pack., etc?

YN: Is Hasbro planning the same type of Press Day event this year at NYTF for the collectible sites as they have with years in the past? Hasbro has put on some fantastic shows in years past with sneak peeks, movie trailers, new products and more. Without blockbuster movies like last year, can we still plan on an event this February?



YakFace.com


Q1: With the new season of The Clone Wars in full swing and the recent airing of the action packed and merchandise laden episode "Landing at Point Rain", a few questions have come to bear. Will we in fact see a red version of the Y-wing Bomber and if so, will it be in 2010? Also, speaking of repaints/reissues, might we see a return of the Geonosian fighter due to it's prominence in this Geonosis battle story arc?

Q2: Dear Hasbro, I have a couple of questions regarding the new Clone Commander Cody (BD44) from the Legacy Collection. First off, from the articulation to the deco - what a marked improvement over the previous version - although there is one slight problem. Despite the figure's overall accuracy there is one familiar malady from which it suffers - he has been assembled with the belt upside down. On a plain clone trooper this oversight is generally looked past, but on this figure it causes 2 problems:

A.) the yellow and gray ammo pouches end up being on the wrong side of the body
B.) the Obi-Wan's lightsaber hilt is carried on the wrong hip (note: the figure on Cody's card back is assembled correctly)

Is there any chance that this manufacturing/assembly error will be corrected before the end of its production run? Oh, and one more thing... Now that Cody has a more subdued orange coloration, would it be possible to reissue his Utapau clone troopers (TSC-026) with this matching color as the previous version's paint is practically fluorescent orange in comparison. Cody needs his troopers to coordinate!


Q3: Since their reveal at SDCC, collectors who missed out on acquiring all of carded TAC McQuarrie Concept figures were overjoyed at being able to fill those holes with additions of the McQuarrie Signature Series boxed sets to their collections. Now that they have been released, those same collectors are in a state of disappointment as many of the accessories have been left out, leaving Jedi without the lightsabers, holsters without blasters to fill them and alternate head sculpts to never be displayed. What is the reasoning behind the short change considering the missing parts exist? Was it a costing issue? If so, why then were some of the figures repainted slightly from their original releases?


SirStevesGuide.com

SSG: The new Battle Droid figures in the Geonosis Arena Showdown sets are quite nice, but there are a few issues too, even aside from the eye design problem which you've already talked about. On the long-awaited commander, the yellow chest circle is positioned incorrectly, it should be moved up a bit as was shown correctly on the package art, as well as the 1999 OOM-9 figure and the 2007 Saga Legends two-pack figure. Then there's the issue of arm position: in the films, whenever the droids hold their blasters, they do so with both hands, yet Battle Droid figures from the last 4 years still can't do this, despite this new sculpt being made as a big upgrade. And finally, there's the the battle droid neck, which is assembled backwards with the angle bar in the front instead of in the back, and separately it telescopes into the torso rather than pivots down the way it does in the films, especially odd since we've had previous Battle Droid figures that could pivot. What caused these issues? It can be assumed that the Target sets won't be modified, but before either of these droids gets re-released, will we see any of these issues addressed?

SSG: Back in January, we asked about what happens to pulled-back pegwarming figures, and at the time you hadn't bought back some in a while so your answer focused on other methods of using the packaged figures, but on October 2nd you answered another site that this year's pulled-pack figures were being destroyed. How exactly are they being destroyed, and are those destroyed materials being recycled in some manner, or are they just destined to become landfill? Can Hasbro further clarify the details of this issue and address rationale behind this measure which could negative effects on the environment?

SSG: With the updating of Imperial trooper figures lately to have more accurate designs and sharper sculpting, the Biker Scout is so far one of those figures left out. Although one of the "vintage-style" figures, the existing Scout figure could use some upgrades including sharper armor and undersuit sculpting, a slightly larger helmet, more accurate arms including the missing elbow pads, less bulky shoulders, and better range of motion for the head, knees, torso and hips. How likely are we to see an updated Biker Scout figure like this? What would hold something like this back from being delivered in the foreseeable future?


CollectorStation.com

CollectionStation.com: To some SW fans, Luke is THE hero of the saga, and is seen as never more triumphant and important than his final cinematic duel in the throne room of the 2nd Death Star. Yet Hasbro has dragged their feet every time with this iteration of Luke, despite releasing 6 Luke Jabba's Palace costumes in just the last 5 years (TLC '08, TAC '07, TSC '06, OTC '04, 2 different figures for Saga '04). In the past 14 years of the modern line there have been just 3 Luke Death Star IIs, and all are incomplete in some way: POTF2 Cinema Scene 1997 (preposed, soft sculpt, limited articulation), Saga 2003 (limited articulation due to action gimmick, preposed, Harpo Marx face), and now TLC 2009 (ill-fitting recycled limbs, wasp waist and odd proportions accented by reused limbs, incorrect belt, odd hand poses); and that's putting aside the whole "wrong lightsaber accessory every single time" issue. Now you've answered another site that the belt won't be corrected in this run, which suggests we won't be seeing Luke DS2 for a while again. We do appreciate that you've been trying to get the design better this time, but whether conscious of it or not, Hasbro clearly seems to have a problem with Luke Death Star II, so what is that problem? Who is drinking the Haterade, why does Luke DS2 keep getting the short end of the stick?

CollectionStation.com: Wizard/ToyFare's Fans Choice top 30 poll has begun, but a few anomalies have cropped up that we'd like to get official word on. First is the picture of Bom Vimdin, the image comes from the Holiday Special rather than ANH, which version would we get should he win? Same with the ROTS Palpatine pic being from the scene where he announces the formation of the Empire rather than the claimed Senate Duel look, which would we get? There's also the suggestions that Cliegg Lars might have removable legs yet no mention of his hoverchair, and that Queen Apailana might get packed with another Naboo character despite being closer in size to a full-sized adult character than a youngling and not remotely Comic Pack-worthy. So would Cliegg likely have removable legs and/or his hoverchair, and would Apailana likely come with a second Naboo character?

CollectionStation.com: Although Aayla Secura is getting a Clone Wars figure in 2010, your answer about a new realistic version said it didn't make the cut for 2010 and may have to be an exclusive. What about, instead of that trouble, just revisiting the ROTS mold and tooling up a new set of arms? You don't even need to tool up hands or the right shoulder since that figure has satisfactory versions of both, just new arms with working elbow joints. That could be a significant budget savings, she could be in one of those re-release waves that occasionally come out, and you'd get another popular Jedi figure definitively made. Any chance of seeing this happen in the foreseeable future?


Han's Hideout

1. Following up on a question from a previous round of Q&A - we asked you about the future of the second Imperial Scanning Crewman and you said he's in the EU Wave... but that's the case where the second Bespin Guard is, so we think you may have confused your variants. Is the second Scanning Crewman displaced at the moment or will he definitely make the basic figure line in 2010, even if it takes a card change before we see him?

2. Again, a follow up from previous - no Bespin Han in 2010, eh? I have to tell you, that's a huge bummer to a big Han fan like myself. With the 30th Anniversary of ESB, I thought he'd be a lock for 2010. Now you have to tell me which Han we're getting in 2010 so I can regain confidence that my main man is going to be treated all right in 2010! If you can't tell us which Han it is, can you at least tell us the source he's from?

3. Well, we're heading into the home stretch for 2009. By the time we get answers to these questions, we could very well have the final 2009 wave (Willrow!) in our hands. Looking back at the past year, with the Legacy drop-off issues you've had to deal with, where there any big surprises? Any item that sold more than you were expecting? Any item that didn't sell as well as you'd hoped? What were the team's favorite items for 2009?


JediDefender.com

1) On the topic of the recent "way too purple-y" Jango Fett figures: In a past Q&A answer, you said that (due to the timing) you couldn't change the Target Geonosis Arena Jango Fett to a blue/gray version, but that you had a blue/gray figure planned for 2010. Is that still happening? If so, are we talking basic figure line or some other release?

2) The recent Fan's Choice Poll highlighted a few of the resculpts that the community is clamoring for (Tarkin, Ponda Baba, Dr. Evazan). We'd like to toss a few more out there for consideration as well - the Star Wars entertainers! What are the chances of revisiting and updating the Cantina Band Members, Jabba's Dancers (including Oola), or the Max Rebo Band Members?

3) When you started planning the 2010 basic figure line, did you approach the year with the idea that the line was maybe "burned out" on any particular film? For example, maybe one of the six films where you felt that the 'parking lot' was running a bit bare now that you're thinking in terms of "more A, less C (or D) list" characters these days and ultimately ended up skipping that film for 2010?


Dewbackpatrol.com

1. With next years line up completed can we get some of my favorite info? How many Legacy figures? How many CW figures? What movies will be represented? How many waves? How many figures from each movie? How many comic packs? How many of the super build a droid figures that I hope continue? Any info would be great! Thanks!
– Dewbackunter

2. Collectors are noticing a particular pattern with the Legacy/BAD waves lately. Often, a wave hits a store only once and is snatched up completely by one collector (including myself). In many cases, news waves completely skip stores. I could hit 10-20 stores in a day and find nothing that I am looking for (I don’t usually hit 20 in a day but it has happened). This leaves many collectors with only the option of purchasing figures online. That is not always the best option for collectors who care about perfect paint applications (I hate crooked eyes) or perfect card condition. And, sometimes army builders snatch up multiples so they sell out very quickly. Is this the future of SW collecting?
– Rozwell

3. Recently I watched the Clone Wars movie and Episode "Rookies" with my son. During our viewing we both noticed that the shuttle that delivers Ahsoka, Commander Cody, and Captain Rex is a very cool ship and definitely has the feel of the Imperial Shuttle. Has Hasbro looked into creating this vehicle?
–Empire1980


Jedi News

1. A while ago you confirmed a jacketless Cade Skywalker figure. Will this figure be all new or a retool of the previous Cade figure? Any pictures of the figure would be cool as well :-)

2. Saga Legends is obviously the medium for ensuring that previously released "Core Characters" are still readily available for kids and collectors (that are perhaps joining the hobby late), so I was wondering what the reasoning is behind including re-packs in the regular Legacy Collection line (in some cases, more than once, e.g. Anakin Skywalker (Jedi Hero), Jango Fett etc), particularly when it leaves gaps in the numbering system for those collectors that don't want to buy these figures again? This is especially true here in the UK and Canada where the Saga Legends line has been taken in preference to the Legacy Collection.

3. The "Scramble on Yavin" Battle Pack has been very hard to find at retail or even on eBay. Please can you confirm if this Battle Pack will be re-released in the new Red\White packaging and if so, when? Also, how do you decide on which Battle Packs to re-release?


Imperial Shipyards (Scroll down)

1. Dear Hasbro, we are eagerly waiting for the release of the upcoming at-st, sandtrooper with dewback, and gelagrub battlepack, is there any reason your targeted street date for the release of these offerings is so far off?

2. Dear Hasbro, we are all loving your new Freeco speeder and thought the frosted glass was a very nice touch. Wouldn't it have made more sense to release this great vehicle with a Winter Geared Obi Wan or Anakin or Captain Rex and are we going to see these nonproduced winter environment figures in the future?

3. Dear Hasbro, I would like to know if there is any attempt at a schedule for Australian star wars legacy collectors?, it seems to me that all of the figures that are on the pegs are Clone Wars, Clone Wars, Clone Wars!!! when we do get some legacy it's always seems to be wave 4 in blue and white packaging i haven't even seen new stock for 6 months.. so why is it that all that is ever stocked on our limited pegs is clone wars figures when the show is not even on air in our country?


JediTempleArchives.com

Q. The Target exclusive Geonosis Arena 2-packs seem to be selling through nicely. The character choices in these 2-packs give us a nice mix of army builders, core characters and some fan requested Jedi.

Since the revelation of these sets we have already heard some rumblings that a second series of Geonosis Arena 2-packs may be in the works, and that either Jedi knights Sarissa Jeng or Sar Labooda might be in consideration for that release. But first it seems worth asking how has the response been to the first round of Geonosis 2-packs? Does it seem likely that we might see a second round of Geonosis 2-packs? And might a second such wave give us the opportunity to get Anakin Skywalker with his green lightsaber from the arena, or perhaps a new arena battle Padme?

Q. Looking forward to 2010, we've been seeing indications about potential wave themes for the Legacy basic figure line. Particularly, that there will not be a wave of figures representing A NEW HOPE. Will the Legacy Collection and the following movie based figure line that's set to launch next summer continue to follow an individual movie theme for each wave? And can you give us an indication of which movies will be represented in these waves for 2010?

Q. A number of collectors expressed disappointment with the recent news that a Bespin Han Solo figure, which had been previously confirmed, has been pushed back in the pipeline. The news from Comic Con seemed to indicate that THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK would be a core theme for 2010's line as the 30th anniversary of that movie. Can we perhaps expect a different Episode V Han Solo in place of the Bespin version? And might that be an update of Han Solo in carbonite? We have not seen a TESB version of Han in carbonite since the POTF2 days.


SWCollector.com

Q1) I am really glad that you have made much needed updates to two of the core characters from the Phantom Menace (Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan) and I am hoping that there will be more coming soon. Do you have any plans to add new Episode I versions of Anakin, Padme, Jar Jar and a much desired super articulated Darth Maul to the line in the next year or two?

Q2) We know that you do have some new astromechs coming up in the Clone Wars line, but that Ahsoka's R7-A7 is not among them. Does this mean that we are finally getting an animated R4-P17, or maybe Kit Fisto's R6-H5?

Q3) I've been getting pretty fed up with getting figures home, opening them up, and then discovering one of their hands has been permanently mangled by the accessory being rubber-banded into its hand. Surely there's got to be a better way to package figures so that they aren't damaged by their own packing materials?


Sandtrooper.com

1) Why do you move the foot peg holes around from heel on some figures or in the arch (middle) of the foot on others? Is there a reason why don't you keep them on the heel all of the time? I have these stands and it seems that the figures with the hole in the middle does not sit all the way down on the stand.

2) You have basically said on several sites that the comic packs are not meeting sales expectations. my question is how will this affect the throm and exar kun wave and the walmart exclusive wave? will these still be released this year?

Right now the last wave of five packs (including the Exar Kun/Ulic Quel Droma pack) is pushed out to Spring 2010, and we don't expect that it will be out until March at this point. The Spring 2010 packs (including the ones shown at Comic Con) are cancelled, while the Wal-Mart exclusives have been delayed; they are likely to make it out but we don't know when.

3) Last night I recieved and read Star Wars Legacy: Issue 41. There is some great Mando fodder in that issue! Any chance that will become a comic pack? A green and yellow or a black and gold Hondo Karr and his wife as a two pack? Heck, you could even do Auch's and Mandalore Ordo as repaints off the Hondo Karr! The Hondo Karr figure,with a new head could potentially make 4 characters that wouldnot warm the pegs!


If you don't see your site listed and have a Hasbro Q&A Round posted and would like to see your site added to our Round-Up, just shoot us an email at Questions@Jediinsider.com.


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