Q&A For January 12, 2004

1. How do you pronounce Asajj Ventress?
--SMDLAK

As of now, I don't believe her name has been uttered aloud in any merchandise, but as I do not buy books on tape, I could be wrong. I've just been saying it like "Massage" with the last name being pronounced pretty much how it looks.

2. Is the Snowtrooper (Battle of Hoth) shipping with the new Hoth figures?
--SMDLAK (Also)

The Snowtrooper figure is shipping again, but not with the new Hoth figures. The Snowtrooper is in a case with Hoth Han, Secret Ceremony Anakin, Throne Room Luke, and Pit of Carkoon Boba Fett. This is one of many cases of older figures we're likely to see in 2004.

3. Is the 12" line dead? Thanks to my local Meijer store I am now almost caught up with the 12" line. I actually found the Garindan wave this week. But, I have yet to hear about anything coming out after this wave. Have you heard of any next wave of 12" figures coming in the future. How about those old rumors of the 12" Max Rebo figures?
--Mako

It isn't dead, but it's not exactly doing well. Obviously, the lack of product indicates this, but with so many items sitting in development for years, it's hard to say where it's going and when those unmade exclusives are coming out. Right now, it seems that the line won't ever go away, but odds are it'll be operating in a reduced capacity for a while. Maybe a dozen or so figures a year.

4. Is there a listing anywhere of all the Jedi Master Points auctions and what the winning bids were? I won one auction myself (Clone Wars poster) and got it for what I thought was a low amount of points. It would be interesting to see what some of the rarer and more expensive items went for.
--Keith

As I sat out for the auctions, I'd very much like to know this too. Does anyone have an archived list of such things?

5. Is the rumor true about a R5-D4 figure for 2004? Plus with R1-G4 being made, is it possible to they (hasbro) will produce the other odd droids that were in the sandcrawler?
--REBELONE54

Last I heard from Hasbro, a regular R5-D4 has been on the drawing board for a very long time. The reason it hasn't come out yet is that another Droid often bumps him back, so odds are we will see him eventually, but I'll wager it'll be near the end of the line.

As far as other Droids? This is how I look at it: they actually made R1-G4. If this doesn't make you think that anything is possible, then you aren't paying very close attention. Right now, there are very few figures that I think Hasbro would honestly say "let's not make that one." This is, of course, excepting the Expanded Universe.

6. so i finally got a reissued imperial shuttle, and thought mine had a paint defect. the forward right side of the nose is painted a significantly darker grey than the rest of the cockpit. but looking at the photo archives on various websites shows that all of the new shuttles have this paint stripe on only one side of the nose. so is this based on a specific model from the movie, or what? i seem to remember something about the emperor's shuttle having some sort of grey stripe, but why only on one side? and why only on the right? i haven't seen any reference photos that show such a strange asymmetrical paint job...
--Michael

Are you sure you looked at the photo archives around the Web? Rebelscum's sample is as you describe, is is the Galactic Hunter sample (but it's hard to tell) as well as the one in my collection. I think most, if not all, are like this. The Emperor's stripe, if I recall, is down the middle of the "nose."

7. I was lucky enough to find a few Super Articulated Clones recently. When I got them home I tried to set them up with the rest of my Clones. Using the picture on the back of the card as a basis for a diorama I was disappointed to find that my Clones cannot kneel as in the picture. what's up with this? More poor product from Hasbro?
--BarbThomas1

Ugh. "I can't pose a figure exactly as it appears in this official and most likely pre-production photography. Hasbro sucks!"

Look, the poses on the back are based on unfinished items and, in some cases, the figure requires a lot of work to be posed in that manner. Is it perfect? No. But it's better than the best we've seen out of Hasbro and if it can't be posed the exact way it is on the package, well, this isn't exactly a new happening. As such, enjoy, it's probably the best articulation we'll ever see for a figure that's at this size.

8. This not a collecting question but any word on the Classic Star Wars trilogy DVD.Last year I heard it won't be out until 2005 after Episode 3 is done.Now,it seems that the great Lucas is going to release the classic trilogy on DVD this September.According to that announcement back in November.Did you attend that summit?
--Chad

I did not attend the summit in question, nor do I know of reports with any great detail from those who did. I've heard a lot of rumors from a lot of sources indicating the Trilogy is in production and could be out sooner than 2005. Since LucasFilm isn't going and squashing this huge rumor right now, and all the information, I think you should get your wallets ready for this Fall. And if I'm wrong, well, at least you'll have money set aside for the Return of the King Extended Edition DVD.

9. I was wondering if you know of a "Luke Hoth Attack" Variation? I bought two of them the other day, one to open to put with my wampa, and the other to keep in package, and i noticed that the blood on Lukes face was missing on one of my figures. Is this a true variation?
--Jason

Missing paint ops are far more common than you might think. I've seen Vaders missing the panel lights, lightsabers without painted handles, and so on and so forth. These things are out there, and in my opinion, quite neat. This isn't a known intention variation on Hasbro's part, like the different Battle Droids over the years or the Han Hoth jacket, but it is fun to find things like this and send them to the news page of your favorite sites so we can share with the rest of the class. At least I think so.

10. So lets say Hasbro decides a figure is going to be reissued. A figure that has been out of production for a while. Any of the current reissued figs on new cards like Leia, Vader, or Han. Do they actually begin production again or do they have an undisclosed uncarded quantity from their previous production run sitting in a wharehouse somewhere? Or do they do both? Just curious cause the amount of leftovers you might have on a production run might influence what figs get reissued. Assuming leftover figs exist at the end of production. I'd think they would melt them and use the plastic over again if that's possible. My understanding has always been that they begin production again using the existing molds.
--Vada

The figures are new product using existing designs... and most likely existing molds. The plastic is different in some of the figures, so these aren't repackaged or melted-down figures. (Melting them down isn't exactly an efficient way to get plastic, with the paint tainting the colors and all.)

These days, Hasbro doesn't let things sit in their warehouses forever like Kenner did in the old days. The items tend to get blown out to Kay-Bee or Toys "R" Us or whatever because storage is real estate, and there's money in real estate.

FIN

Week 2 of the new year. It's been good for LEGO fans, I'd say, if you live near a Target. Lots of goodies are getting marked down, and who can say no to $7 TIE Bombers? (Me, because the swine in back of me in line cleaned out the store before I could get one. But I digress.)

New figures are filtering out, new LEGO kits are showing up, what can I say other than this is a great way to start the new year? Can't wait to see what Hasbro has in store at Toy Fair, or their media event, or whatever it is they have cooked up for us in 2004...

Over at 16bit.com this week, we're gonna post a review of the Japanese version of the TransFormers Masterpiece Optimus Prime. They call it Master Piece Convoy, but it's the same toy with a few changes, some of which are definitely for the better. As it's a hefty toy, it'll be later in the week. (Why mention it here? I like it just that much.)

Oh, and some-- not all-- of the local Toys "R" Us stores I hit this weekend marked all of their Christmas goods down to 75% off. That means candy, LEGO, Playmobil, wrapping paper, or whatever crap Hulk Christmas Tree you want is on sale cheap. Since there's a Playmobil Nativity set that includes what appears to be some sort of biblical hobo alongside Jesus, a camel, a donkey, and a bunch of other goodies, I'd say you should keep your eyes peeled. It's a really nice set for five bucks.

Anyway, get those questions in for next week. Just email me with your inquiry, and we'll see what we can do.