In this week's Hasbro Star Wars Q&A session we have some mathematical learning "fun" with the Droid Factory series; we get the basics on Bonus Clone Gear trunks; we strong-arm Hasbro a little more for, his excellency, Jabba The Hutt's dais; and we try to intervene in the catastrophic disaster zone that is the Carbondale, IL Wal*Mart. (We'll fix global crises, famine, and disease at a later date. We're talking about an action figure calamity here!)

Galactic Hunter: In the last Q&A on another website you indicated that the Droid Factory count is now up to 18 figures (10 astromechs and 8 protocol droids). Does this number include the already-assembled droids in the Wal*Mart Droid Factory sets, or are we actually getting 18 build-a-droids in the basic line now in addition to the Wal*Mart sets? Can you break down how many droids are expected in each remaining Build-A-Droid wave, because the math doesn't seem to make sense compared to previous information you've given. —Reader & Mathematician Shabby Blue

HASBRO: We can confirm that from this Fall through all of 2009 there are currently plans for 18 buildable droids to be delivered in the mainline Legacy Collection/Droid Factory assortment.  Of course, this is always subject to change as things do tend to change around here and there in the basic figure plan.  This does not include the Wal*Mart exclusive C-3PX.  Keep in mind that this is an 18-month total; if you just want to look at this Fall alone, the plan is to deliver 4-6 Astromech Droids and 2 Protocol Droids; the Astromech count will vary on how close to the end of the year our last wave (EpIV) is coming in.  Right now it's at the very end and may be realistically more like a January '09 wave.

[Britney Spears' & Editor's Note: Math is hard, ya'll!]

Galactic Hunter: The Bonus Clone Gear pack-ins seem like a great idea. Is there more than one accessory in the lockers, and will there be a variety of different accessories (binoculars, weaponry, bonus armor, alternate helmets)? Also, is there any chance that we might get something else to plug into the slots on our Clone Troopers' backs? (The antennae are great, but surely a hovering Hunter Droid or something else would be welcomed!)

HASBRO: We are going strictly with Clone Trooper weapons in the "lockers", and picked up the spare weapons from the Battlefront II Clone Troopers multi-pack (we are using most of the weapons although not all).  There are no plans to include other types of accessories right now.

Galactic Hunter: We know that Hasbro has looked at (and exercised) many different ways to bring us Jabba The Hutt, but, to date, there hasn't been an update for his throne/dais since the vintage Kenner years. With his key role in the Clone Wars animation, is it possible we'll see an animated Jabba The Hutt with the more realistic stone dais? (It has the "realistic" look like the vehicles in the animation.) And what would be the chances of getting the roasting spit with Jerba meat to cook in the background? (If you're going to do it, we Jabbaholics are a greedy bunch. Taxidermied Tauntaun and Jerba heads; rip-apart Gamorrean Guards; and a the odd skulls and bones to scatter around our Rancor pits -- all are welcomed.)

HASBRO: An animated Jabba The Hutt is in the works, but the dais is not part of the plan right now due to the need to keep this at kid-friendly price points. Later on down the road, for either Clone Wars or Legacy, we hope to create a new dais.  Patience on this one; it may be a while but we are near 100% certain that it will come barring any unexpected developments.

[Editor's Note: Fine, but we're like Jabba The Hutt. Now we're going to nag for Chef Porcellus (i.e. the Asian Guy) to go with the roasting spit — consider him the 15% interest we demand! No less...]

Also, please note from the forums because they're just adamant about this:

Galactic Hunter: "And for clarity, here's the count as of last night. The Carbondale, IL Wal*Mart still has 21 yellow Naboo Soldiers & 14 black Endor Soldiers. [That's] almost 5 pegs (out of 8 total for basic SW figures) are figures that are almost 2 years old now."  — Could someone send a Hasbro Retail Rep out there to round those up? We have no idea where Carbondale, IL is, but we're sure it's an important market. Is there going to be any sort of culling old stock before Legacy Collection and Clone Wars debut?

HASBRO: On the basic figure situation, retailers are discontinuing both the 87500 30th and 85770 Saga Legends SKUs before the 7/26 changeover.  This means that any inventory left at the end of the period - like the Carbondale Pile-Up - will be cleared out to make room for the new Clone Wars animated, Legacy/Droid Factory, and new Saga Legends.  They may linger a bit but they will not get in the way of bringing in all new items tracked against the new Assortment numbers.

[Editor's Note: So now everyone knows where to find the motherload of Naboo Soldiers and Endor Soldiers. Hurry before they're clearanced!]