Q&A For March 8, 2004

1. I am baffled by the results of the last Fan's Choice poll. I was surprised when the Imperial Scanning Crew Trooper was included in the poll since it's arguably one of the worst Star Wars figures ever produced with its horrible POTF2 muscular proportions, rehased parts, and inherently boring design. Besides, a Falcon carrying case with Scanning Trooper can be easily and inexpensively obtained through Ebay.

I was astonished to see it so quickly overtake the other figures in the poll, and finally win the poll outright! Why would somebody vote for this figure? Surely this is another hack, right?
--Nathan

Actually, funny you should ask this. For the longest time, this figure was going on eBay for about $40. And as you may have noticed as a recurring theme on this column, fans as a whole-- myself included-- are often unaware of just how much the prices on the secondary market change for these toys because there are hundreds of them and, frankly, it's really hard to follow everything. So, I did us all a favor and looked him up on eBay.

A mint loose complete one-- without the case-- went for $18.99. Of course, this one had the figure listed in the auction title. Several that did not received no bids and could have been had for $15, and a few actually sold for about the same price. Oddly enough, the loose figure got a whopping 11 bids, probably having something to do with the fact the buyer didn't have to pay for the ultimately disposable carry case. The case, I should add, that is one of the two worst Hasbro has ever produced. As such, I cannot see a single one that can be had more inexpensively via eBay.

As this figure is an army builder that was pretty tough to find in stores and could only be had with the purchase of an expensive toy you most likely already had and did not want, this is an ideal choice for a figure to package and sell as part of the Original Trilogy Collection. I myself only have one of the scanning techs, and would probably buy at least 2-3 more if given the chance. It's not a great figure, and for all we know Hasbro might make some changes to it before it gets released. It is hard to get, though, and as it was never available on a card before, I'd be happy to see it put out, especially in the OTC since those cardbacks actually don't suck.

Frankly, Hasbro can reissue every pack-in pilot or bonus figure on a card that they want, as far as I'm concerned, and I'd line up to buy the lot of them. (Except maybe the Swoop Trooper and Biker Scout from 1996.) A lot of us didn't want or need multiples of the vehicles or cases, and frankly, I can't think of anybody that got excited at the prospect of the Millennium Falcon case being refreshed with a new action figure. I mean, the case sucked the first time, and if you bought both Wedge variations, you probably already had two...

This brings me to another interesting point. (At least I think so.) Hey Hasbro, why not card us a Wedge Antilles figure finally?

2. Are there any plans for more animated figures like Padme or General Grievous?
--Todd

While I've never heard this officially, I was told by a source that the animated figures we have now were all a huge rush job. Last March when Hasbro said there were no plans for toon figures, they may have been telling us the truth. As such, there's no reason another batch couldn't be waiting in the wings for us, but I'm not hopeful. I'd like to see an Obi-Wan in the Clone armor, myself, so I don't have to blow the cash to get the maquette from Gentle Giant...

3. Hey Adam, just wondering if you knew anything about the future of the 12" scale MARMIT figures, or the 12" Star Wars figure series from HASBRO for that matter? Are these lines dead? I hope not....
--Geri

Right now, from everything I've been told regarding cancellations and product announcements, there are no plans for additional 12" scale action figures under the Star Wars license aside from the Original Trilogy Collection Luke Skywalker, Stormtrooper, and Boba Fett. No Marmits, no more Hasbros, no nothing. This does not mean that the lines are dead, frankly I expect to see a few 12" figures for Episode III. But for now? This is it.

4. Is ther any way for a schmuck like me who basis his entire collecting around 12" figures to some how help Hasbro in getting the line on track and one of the best 1/6 scale lines out there. I have a ton of ideas and know how to make this a line that will do very well but don't want to waste my time sending stuff to a normal line in Hasbro only to have it ignored. I am not even talking a job I just want them to make something great that they are capable of doing. They just need to know what the average 1/6 scale collector is looking for.
--Will

For whatever reason, Star Wars has always been the red-headed stepchild of Hasbro's 12" offerings. If you look at their G.I. Joe line, you can see they're capable of making some pretty awesome stuff at nice and low prices. Because their research has indicated that they should remake certain characters, or that 12" collectors don't open stuff, the prices stay high and the quality stays low. There's no hope for a fan getting hired on because, I think by this point, they would have asked one of the countless fans who consider themselves a plastic armchair quarterback of sorts to help out, and I don't think there are any collectors on board the Star Wars brand these days outside the people that got into it by virtue of working on it.

Can they do better? Sure. Is it going to happen? No. They can sell us two G.I. Joe ninjas and a DVD for $20 or less ($10 at Target), but they've never gotten us a sub-$19.99 Star Wars figure in that size, and nobody can tell me that this is the going rate of the plastic to make the 12" Yoda.

5. Hey Adam, my complaint is simple (well, not quite), what's up with all the rereleases of all these ALREADY released (like 15 times) characters like leia, han, luke, chewy, and C-3P0!!!! There are two groups, the new collecters and the old experienced ones. Hasbro says they're trying to re-release older figures for the new generation of kids and collectors, and I say why not make new sculpts of these figures like that new "vintage" line, that way they please all of us. The "hall of fame" line was a big mistake, its almost as bad as making Palpatine Supreme Chancellor. All I'm saying is there are so many figures that I could think of that haven't already been made or re-sculpted for the recent line. For example (here are just a few)- Ree-yees, the skiff master, cheif chirpa, emperor's royal guard, grand moff tarkin, captain needa, ugnaughts, a decent stormtrooper, tusken raider ep.IV, a detailed gammorean guard, and an emperor with real cloth, teeth showing with anger, and a smaller hood! Instead of re-releases of R2-D2!!!! oH YEAH!! Let's keep buying R2-D2s and build an army so we can rule the universe!!! (*heavy breathing*) Sorry I havn't been brief but I think we all have to stop this madness and tell Hasbro, "Hey, we already have these, can you please start making some new figures worth going all the way to the store for." With the few great waves like "Jabba's Palace" and "Hoth wave" that came out with in the beginning of the year, I thought it was going to be good, now, I have a bad feeling about this!
--Adam S.

In 2001, Hasbro released a 300th Edition Action Figure of Boba Fett. He had a few more joints than most other figures, cost $10, and had different-- if iffy-- packaging. Fans bought it in droves because despite the high cost, it was of a higher quality than pretty much anything else on the market for Star Wars at the time.

In 2004, Hasbro has announced a dozen, essentially "ultimate" versions of their action figures. There's a new Stormtrooper, Boba Fett, Lando, Chewie, Darth Vader, C-3PO, R2-D2, Luke, Leia, Han, Yoda, and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

These are made as commemorative figures for collectors and for "utlimate" figures to play with, although the ornate packaging will probably make most parents think twice about letting little Johnny play with them.

These have excellent, high-quality packaging, the kind of articulation that we as a fanbase have begged for since 1995, high-quality sculpting, better than average likenesses, cloth parts, and more. While I would have liked to have seen fewer characters from A New Hope in terms of their outfits, can I really complain that they're producing the kinds of figures that I would be able to use in close to any diorama I might set up? No. I can't. And neither can you.

It's hard to make R2-D2 or C-3PO look new and interesting, but I've seen the new C-3PO and let me tell you, they did it. I'm not thrilled at the $10 prospect, I don't see how a plastic clamshell should make me want to pay double for a figure, but I can't argue that these are much better than what Hasbro currently sells for $5. That new Vader is, as the kids may say, the bizzomb. I seriously doubt that you'll be complaining when you see them in stores except to complain that they may be a limited release. If the Stormtrooper is any good, I know what the biggest complaint of 2004 is going to be...

6. I have a quick question about Gentle Giant's upcoming Bust-Ups. Are there plans to have these released at stores like Target, WalMart etc?
--Kevin

These are a direct market thing. This means Suncoast, Sam Goody, comic shops, Media Play, perhaps Tower Records, and stores that are basically alternative venues to buy toys.

7. I was wondering if anyone has measurements (or a really good guess) of the AT-AT replica from Master Replicas. This thing looks great, but for the price I'm really hoping it is bigger than the 3 3/4" scaled toy.
--Chris

It's bigger than Hasbro's, but it's not huge. If size is your marker of if it will be worth the money or not, my advice to you is to wait and maybe consider the one rumored to be coming from Code 3.

8. I was wondering which early 2003 figures Hasbro had recarded. I have only managed to find the Anakin (Secret ceremony), Boba Fett, Han Solo--Hoth (brown coat Not the blue), Ayla Secura, Barris Offee and the Yoda and Chain. If memory serves right I had heard all of the first sixteen with the old backs were to be recarded, so is this true, or did Hasbro just recard those few because they were rather difficult for some to find?
--gumper

Hasbro releases figures on new packaging to keep the line fresh and unified. It's harder for a passive fan to identify a figure as old and therefore inferior if he/she doesn't see an obvious sign, and a lot of these figures that were reissued were good enough to warrant additional production.

When you say "all of the first sixteen with the old backs," keep in mind I've been doing this since 1995 and your comment is vague. I assume you mean the 2003 figures being repackaged in the gold striped packaging? If so, no, only some of these are being repackaged and there are no plans for Padme, Mace Windu, the Library Droids, or frankly most of those figures to be reissued.

Hasbro releases figures when they see a demand that needs to be filled, and this is why the OTC is filled with figures you and I have, and often in multiples. It makes sense for Hasbro to always have a Han, Luke, Chewie, Vader, and so on and so forth ready for the consumer to buy. But at the same time, I have yet to see repackaged Hall of Fame figures anywhere outside of one local K-Mart and most of the case with Anakin, the Snowtrooper, and all of them are at Target. But they are selling. As for Aayla, she was really hard to get in 2003, moreso than many of the other figures. So that's why she's back. Why Ephant Mon hasn't been reissued as of yet is beyond my comprehension. (Hey Hasbro, OTC fodder here...)

Also just to keep things clear, in case someone is reading this, when the reader says "recard" he means "reissue in new package," not "take the old stock, open them, and put them in new packaging" because Hasbro doesn't actually do that. (I bring this up because I have people saying that they do, and they don't.)

9. Are we ever going to see more articulated clone troopers -why couldn't they ship a few cases with different mixes to put more of them out there? Hasbro has to know that there are plenty of army builders waiting to buy them, right? Also, will the snowtrooper (sorry, snowtrooper OFFICER) ship again in any mixes this year? thanks
--Shawn

I know of no plans to recard that Clone Trooper, which really surprises me. This would be a fantastic addition to Hasbro's repackage-a-palooza this summer as most fans never saw one in stores. The Snowtrooper is still shipping alongside the newly packaged Boba Fett, Anakin, and so on and so forth.

10. Have you heard any news or fairly official rumors about future waves of new sculpt basic figures past the Cloud City assortment? I know I remember hearing a rumor a while back about a Coruscant wave. I'd love to see another Endor wave and a Death Star II wave.
--Marc

Last year, Hasbro told us there would be roughly a case of figures every month with a loose theme. And so far, it seems like it isn't as exciting as it originally sounded. There are no known plans for any figures past this summer's offerings aside from rumors, and odds are Hasbro will let things dry up a little because of the upcoming toys for Episode III. I've heard no rumblings yet of preview figures, but I'm really hoping Hasbro opts to do a mail-in one last time as a sneak preview for this final film. And if it's a top-secret figure, that'd be cool too.

The rumored superposable Stormtrooper is going to be a "vintage" figure, and a lot of the other figures we've heard about may be on hold, like the vast majority of 12" figures. They may come out, they might not. I just hope someone in Hasbro is keeping a nice record so we can someday read an article about what may have been.

FIN

So that's it for the week. This is going to be a weird year, I think, because Hasbro has some of its finest offerings alongside some of its least inspired. Also, some of its finest offerings are its least inspired. The "Vintage" Vader (I'll be using quotes because I think it's a horrible term for a new figure) looks like pretty much what everybody wrote in wanting when they chimed in with their hopes for a Darth Vader 500th Edition Figure. I mean, on the whole, it seems to be that Hasbro more or less got our requests and will now make the best ever versions of these figures with some of the nicest packaging ever. The downside is that they opted to make them limited releases, frankly I'd rather these go out in the mass-market assortments from now until the line ends so kids can get some truly wonderful action figures instead of Luke "six joints" Skywalker.

The thing that has me the most curious about these twelve new figures is if fans will bite. Surely, they'll snap up the Stormtroopers, Vader, and Boba Fett, but what about the rest? Will this inspire Hasbro to make better, more expensive figures all the time? Or will it just make us realize that the super posable Clone Trooper was some sort of fluke bargain figure? Time will tell.

That's all for this week. So get those questions in for next week. Just email me with your inquiry, and we'll see what we can do.