I need to write an intro for Q&A, don't I? Crap. Uhhh... what do we have this week? Deleted Scenes Figures! Just what color is Luke's cloak anyway? Does Jedi Force have a future? Is it possible, the Recon Shuttle is making it out? All this and a nice little tangent on all things Dejarik (there aren't many) in this week's Q&A!
1. Just checked out the Vintage "Deleted Scenes" wave figures, and am wondering why Luke's cloak isn't black. Shouldn't it be black, not brown??? And are we still getting a proper Jabba's Palace Luke with cloak, or did this figure replace that?
--Greg
Generally speaking Hasbro plans ahead for variants on figures lately, so while they haven't explicitly stated that they'll do another "Jedi Luke" this year, I do anticipate one in the near future.
As to Luke's coloring? Well, right now licensed products show the cloak to be brown-- the super-authentic stuff from Windlass is doing brown, Lucas says it's brown, so it's brown. Based on some of the photography of the costume as seen in Star Wars Chronicles, I'd say it's inconclusive. There's a photo of Luke in Jabba's Palace where the cloak is clearly brown. There are also a few shots of the costume against a red background in which it appears to be black, but it could be due to the lighting. This could be another Hoth Han Jacket issue, but right now I'm erring toward brown. (Kenner figures take precedent in these arguments, you see.)
Since 2007 we've received almost one Jedi Luke every year, except they skipped 2011. I would anticipate they're planning one another one very soon, and my crystal ball says you should definitely see one before or in 2017. (Which, funny thing is, that would bother me in the past. But I've been writing about these damn thing since 1995 so at this point, I can do five years waiting for something standing on my head.)
2. Any word on how the Jedi Force line is doing? My nephew loves the line but, other than the figures and vehicles that came out in August, we've heard of nothing else coming out. Hopefully we'll see some news at Toy Fair?
--Keith
There are indeed new figures and vehicles on deck, but most of them are going to be based on Phantom Menace-- so Qui-Gon, Darth Maul and his speeder, and a small smattering of new stuff will be hitting stores in the not-too-distant future. Beyond that? No idea.
Hasbro has basically aped Imaginext's style, and considering last year's small selection it would appear they're also borrowing their release rate. Very few new items come out-- you see a new assortment, and it could be months before a new DC character or another dinosaur make the rounds. In that sense, it's very much like a 1990s or 1980s toy line which is great for kids (less new distracting product) but boring for collectors or anyone who can buy a $5 toy without blinking.
So yes, there will be more-- but not much more. Not all at once, anyway.
3. I have two questions about the dejarik hologame. I always wanted to see oversized versions of the dejarik figures produced in the 3 3/4" line, which has never happened. In 2007, when Sideshow produced their dejarik table and figures at the 1:6 scale, I bought it. It's the only thing I have ever purchased from Sideshow and it is fantastic though very delicate (the metal figures bend easily--keep away from children). Within the past week, folks at rebelscum.com have added the full line of Star Wars miniatures from Wizards of the Coast to their photo archives and one of the sets had the dejarik figures in them. I had never bothered to follow the miniatures line and knew nothing about these, but they look pretty good. (So I immediately went to ebay and bought a mint set of 8 dejarik figures for what seemed to me a very reasonable price--I inadvertently followed your advice and waited several years and bought the set.) So, here are my questions...
1. To your knowledge, are there other representations of the dejarik characters out there or did Sideshow and Wizards of the Coast make the only ones?
2. I am curious if there are rules for dejarik. When I google "dejarik rules", there are a bunch of links to what I think are fan-made rules. I didn't see an official set of rules on wookieepedia. What do you know about this? Are there official rules? Is there a best set of fan-made rules?
--David
As far as I know, no official game rules (or for that matter, game) have been produced for Dejarik-- which is a shame, considering what a cool bit that was. (Long-time readers may recall my failed attempts at getting one of the monsters made for Fan's Choice.) I do not have access to the entire West End Games Star Wars RPG library, so if there's something in there I'm relying on you guys to correct me.
In addition to the miniatures from Wizards of the Coast and Sideshow's table, Hasbro made a few representations-- the interior of the Galactic Heroes Millennium Falcon has a few mini clear ones, as does the big Millennium Falcon from 2008. Also, the 2000 Dejarik Champion Chewbacca has a table with a couple of small monsters on it. As far as toys go, there really aren't all that many yet, but it's one of those weird things that I assume someone has to be gunning for. It has been over 30 years-- when will they get figures?
4. I found the new 2012 Clone Wars figures at my local WalMart and I was wondering which ones are new. I am not really concerned with slight paint ap differences, but new molds or newly kit bashed. I think the Anakin and Cody figures are, but the rest looked pretty much the same as I remember from last year. Can you help?
--Steve
I'd consider the new Chewbacca's face paint to be a big improvement over the 2010 release, but that's me. The "new enough to be interesting" figures are the Phase II Clone Trooper, Anakin Skywalker, and Commander Cody. Cad Bane is "just different enough to make you mad." The figure is the 2009 mold, but with extra (and differently painted) weapons-- the 2009 version had 3 guns, this one has at least 6. I just got it on Saturday and haven't cracked it open yet, but it looks like the same old mold with new guns... and that's always a head-scratcher. Sometimes it's new, sometimes it isn't.
5. Could it be? Has the Obi Wan Attack Shuttle been reborn as Anakin's Attack Recon Fighter??
--Patrick
Patrick's question was rhetorical-- he attached a picture answering it-- but I needed something to fill out the column as my mailbag, she be empty.
On the left, the version of the vehicle as shown at Toy Fair 2011 in New York. On the right, the just-leaked photo of the just-released toy (it HAS been sighted at one retail outlet) which Hasbro didn't even bother to tell us was coming, even when we asked, re-asked, and asked again if the Recon Fighter would be coming out. With a new name, new package, and new pack-in figure, this blue ship should be everywhere shortly. I guess the question is now, will Hasbro release a red repaint as an exclusive? Here's hoping-- I hate having "holy grail" and "lost" products if it can just get cranked out so we can rob it of future mythic status.
FIN
I had a rant about pricing here but I realized that this is basically a topic not worth bringing up, beyond this: I can live with $8 or $9. $10 is about my ceiling, unless Hasbro basically vows an "all-or-nothing" model on new releases. I want to see a figure that's either a new sculpt, a substantial change of a repaint, or a figure with no change at all-- I would be very happy to see an end of "just different enough to make you mad." Hasbro's pricing increases-- not the figures themselves-- is what put an end to my army-building. I have no reason to drop $10 on a duplicate anymore, next to go will be "just different enough to make you mad." Make it easy for us to give you business, and we'll keep flushing away our cash. (Great example: new Battle Packs.)
Anyway, here's another thing. I'm thinking about running a giveaway contest-- basically, a big box o' Star Wars toys, all carded/boxed, some brand-new just-released and some from the last few years. My question to you, what kind of contest should I run to give 'em away here at Galactic Hunter? Custom contest? Coloring contest? Best, most shameful collecting story? I'm all ears.
--Adam Pawlus
Got questions? Email me with Q&A in the subject line now! I'll answer your questions as soon as time (or facts) permit.
Contest?
How about a contest where you submit a pic of your coolest or most unique "custom" Star Wars memorabilia. Has to be original/not mass-produced. Pretty much a one-of-a-kind type of thing (for a one-of-a-kind prize, of course).
Price
Welcome to the $10+ club collectors in my neck of the woods have been dealing with for years now....
My roommate, who's a fellow collector, and I finally just took the plunge of ordering cases online. Between the utter lack of product on shelves, and the fact that when you do find something in NYC it averages around $12-13, it was finally time to stop the nonsense and just buy by the case....
As for a contest, sounds fun! I'd vote for something that would give a relatively level playing field to everyone. Maybe ask people to submit their best toy run stories/photos? Best because of either how awesome or pathetic they are?
Contest
You could do trivia, really obscure stuff, or maybe best original artwork, or funnyest photo using Star Wars action figures, or combination Star Wars and other figures, maybe best original short story.
Luke's cloak is brown.
I saw the original Jedi Luke costume at the Smithsonian in the 90s, and I can confirm that both the cloak and the over vest thing are dark brown. The vintage Kenner and very first 96 Kenner releases had it right.
The very first 1996 releases
The very first 1996 releases of Jedi Luke were (depending on the variant) dark blue or black, I (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) don't believe there has been a *brown* cloak 3 3/4-inch Jedi Luke since the 1983 figure out of the Kenner/Hasbro family.