More Hoth Trooper identity issues! We look at Evolutions action figure paint problems. And is it time to panic about your mail-in figures? All this and more can be yours!

1.My question is about the Hoth Rebel Soldier from the 80's vintage line. Which character is he supposed to be? It's no wonder we have yet to see him redone in a more modern look, I bet they are scratching there heads over at Hasbro as well. I'm sure it's a mixture of all of the troops at echo base. But what would we see if they made a new version of this figure some time soon? My hope would be someone like deck officer or the guy who tells Derlin the shield doors must be closed. Could you shed a little light on this mystery for me.
--CAP

As far as I know the specific Kenner vintage toy was not meant to be any one character. He's wearing an outfit that's closer to the ones worn by the various deck officers and whatnot in the flick, and so far Hasbro (and Kenner) only cranked out figures wearing that extra bit of armor or the jacket or whatever on their torsos.

As far as I know there's no immediate plan to make any more Hoth rebels, but hopefully they'll get to one eventually. Odds are Hasbro could fabricate this vintage Kenner one (or one that's close enough) just by making a new head and a new torso.

2. I recently opened my Evolutions Sith set to take out the Darth Sidious figure. He was packaged with his hood over his head. I drew off the hood and noticed the cloth had left several marks on his head. The marks have proved resistant to rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover. Any suggestions for getting him clean?
--Greg

Your mileage may vary, but generally speaking I've found you can do a lot with warm water-- and by warm, I mean freaking hot-- and some paper towels or reasonably soft towels. Any time you use something that can take off paint or marks, there's danger that it may take off the paint you meant to keep on their heads, so be really careful when employing and products made for that purpose. You may just have to live with it, as sometimes a figure's cloth bits can stain the plastic.

3. I thought I remembered Hasbro make any figure carbonite toy ? Am I crazy or just wishing?
--Andrew

There was a block accessory released as a Star Wars Fan Club exclusive Bespin Freezing Chamber playset a few years ago. A thin piece of cloth would close over a figure, giving the illusion of the figure being "frozen." Short of using ice in the freezer, this is one of the best concepts I've seen so far. It was almost rereleased around 2003 as a Target exclusive, but that never ended up happening.

The complete Carbon Freezing Chamber playset is worth about $10-$15, which may be worth getting to futz with. It's cheaper than retail, it includes a unique figure with a head sculpt of a (now) ex-Star Wars team member, and it's not like Hasbro will be making a newer better one any time soon.

4. I finally broke down and bought the new Rise of Boba Fett Slave 1. I am having so much fun going over every inch of this thing. While I was carefully examining the instructions, I noticed something interesting in the jedi starfighter section. I mentions that the "fighter can dock in the Hyperspace Ring". The only hyper-ring that exists is the movie version and the toon fighter does not fit. Can we seriously expect a new ring for the new fighter mold?
--Will

At this time the only 3 3/4-inch action figure scale Hyperspace Ring is the movie one, and it does indeed fit on the new Clone Wars-stye Jedi Starfighters. I tested it as soon as I got it, and mine does fit. (You may have to leave off some rockets.) No new rings have been announced (or aside from this, mentioned at all) so I am not expecting a new one-- Hasbro doesn't seem to be making more of this kind of thing since it doesn't really add much to the ship as a toy.

5. I have a question regarding the Boba Fett Mail-Away offer. While I sent my proofs and checks back in August, It's November and I still haven't gotten anything in the mail. Hasbro cashed my checks in early September - right around when everyone started getting their "damaged fetts," and Hasbro decided to send people new ones.

It seems like everyone online gets their figures within a month... especially those who order 10 or more at once... Some people online claim to have sent in their proofs even later than me, received crushed Fetts, and got their new minty Fetts already! I haven't even got mine yet, crushed or not!

Should I be worried? Do they send an email when they ship? Should I call the bank and cancel my checks? Despite extensive searching, I can't find a single email address or any contact info for me to contact Hasbro about this.
--R

Generally speaking I like to give an offer 90 days-- which is what Hasbro/Kenner said it would take in the 1990s. When you send off for your figures earlier than Hasbro may have been prepared for, given these figures had an 8/1 launch date, it's possible there may be additional hiccups.

Since Hasbro said 6-8 weeks on the order form, I'd say at 9 weeks you may wish to consider contacting Hasbro Customer Service via their web site. Since you probably sent for yours in August, I personally would not be concerned about my orders until some time in November. (Could be now-ish.) Since the offer is good through early next year, I would suggest not to worry, but be prepared to give Hasbro a call this month if fate or the US postal service doesn't deliver your toys.

FIN

I originally had a complaint about the complaints being written about the initial complaints about the Her Universe line than thought that it was ridiculous. On all levels. Clothes are boring, clothing discussions even moreso. So, let's talk The Clone Wars.

This season has been peculiar in that many episodes seem to be sequels or prequels to previous episodes, although if you look at the production list of the first two seasons, this sort of thing has been going on a lot. The episode "Voyage of Temptation" was actually the first appearance of Duchess Satine and Pre Vizsla, but the people at Lucas produced a prequel which aired before it as part of the first season's batch of episodes. The series not only airs out of order, but is produced out of order. That brings us up to this season.

I've seen a few complaint emails come in about the bizarre nature of "Secrets Revealed," which seems to be code for "here are the secrets of episodes you already saw but weren't really concerned about in the first place." It's been a pretty weak year so far, with (if you ask me) about four or five really good episodes and some that were, well, less than good. It seems any time you focus on Padme, you're in for a dull thirty minutes. Thankfully we got the neat Droids cartoon throwback I wanted in "Evil Plans" and a bizarre but highly entertaining "Hunt for Ziro" which was one of the things I was both hoping we'd see-- tons of Hutts-- and not see-- the ending of the episode. Organized crime in Star Wars is packed with interesting characters but sometimes what we get are Egyptian lizard people selling poison tea to schoolkids. (Seriously, I'm not making this up.)

So if you've been sour on The Clone Wars this year I don't blame you-- but there's still quality in there, and no TV show tends to have a perfect record in terms of quality episodes. (Ask any Star Trek fan.) If you're curious what's been great this season, I'd suggest checking out "Clone Cadets," "ARC Troopers," "Evil Pans," and "Hunt for Ziro." Ziro's episodes have actually raised a ton of questions about Hutt families, specifically surprising the heck out of me by revealing that Ziro has both a father and a mother, who you sort of meet, but I don't want to ruin the fun for you. Just watch it.

...and if Lucas' camp is watching, if that live action show falls through, just give us a show about these Hutts. I could watch crime stuff, bounty hunters, and bizarre dancing and food all day long.

--Adam Pawlus

Got questions? I bet you do. Email me with Q&A in the subject line.