Q&A For October 11, 2004

1. My girlfriend recently purchased the Vintage OTC Vader, Fett and Stormtrooper for me. The Fett and Stormtrooper have useless, small, shallow peg holes that don't allow pegging to stands. Can you explain this? Isn't the size/depth standard on the SW line?
--Tio de Snuggly

Luke also has the worthless, shallow holes. Leia has no holes. Other figures may have no holes but as they're in a box somewhere in the new pad, well, I'm not so sure. Why are they like this? Hasbro screwed up. It's not a glitch on a couple of figures, as far as we can tell they're all like this. It could have something to do with the assembly of the figures and the feet not being large enough to hold such a small hole, but frankly I think that's a load and they just didn't do adequate play testing on these.

2. I was just wondering since ROTS is going to have all new clone troopers, whats the chance of a reissued SA clone from the CW line on this new cardback? I was never able to get one, apparently they didn't make it to retail? And is there any chance they'll make EP3 SA clone troopers? At last my final question why did hasbro use Eeth Koth for the council scene with Agen Kolar and not even give us a repaint or body swap? For this reason alone I will be passing on this one! "BAD HASBRO"
--shawn

There's an old saying. Something like "we're always working on ways to make sure every collector gets a figure." Hasbro said it a lot and it seems highly unlikely they'd let such a great mold just sit on the shelf-- so stay tuned, true believer, Hasbro's recent recycling of old molds is going to be good in the long run. I think.

As far as Eeth Koth and Agen Kolar, there's another saying. And that's "Hasbro's Rhode Island Division Sucks." But you say "Adam, isn't the entirety of Hasbro now located in Rhode Island?" Well, yes. But back in the day, the Star Wars team in Rhode Island was responsible for the low-cost items, 12" line, carry cases, playsets, and the bulk of the exclusives. The mandate is to keep it cheap and to use old molds as far as I can tell, and from what I've heard over the years, so yeah, this is a crappy pair of figures. Will Hasbro ever give us an improved version of these figures? Tis possible. But the exclusive packs of the Jedi Council were done in part to satiate fan demand for the full circle of Jedi. And yes, it's disappointing, and in 2004 there's really no excuse for anything but the best from Hasbro. They've proven just how great they are with making some of the best figures out there, so things like this are a real bummer.

3. With the immense popularity of the virtually unfindable McQuarrie Stormtrooper, what do you think the chances would be of Hasbro creating The McQuarrie Collection? A wave of figures based exclusively on Ralph McQuarrie's most popular concept designs for the core characters. I'm not exactly sure when Hasbro could fit it into their timeline, but I for one would kill for a McQuarrie Vader (Vader/Luke 2 pack from that classic ANH concept painting perhaps?). It would also make a great opportunity to make the Stormtrooper available once again.
--Scott

Lemme tell ya a story.

I think "immense popularity" is a bit of an overstatement as I know few fans who have made a fuss of being unable to find him-- but I digress. Hasbro has had the feelers out for McQuarrie designed figures since roughly 1996 or 1997 when they held a briefly seen online poll asking about those, other Expanded Universe offerings, and other goodies. What they found out: we want them. But the Expanded Universe does aim to a much more narrow market segment than movie-based toys, so at the moment I'd say "wait for 2006." Hasbro can't rely on new and slightly different versions of Darth Vader from the four films forever-- so they will, at some point, probably give a fair amount of consideration for the Dark Lord of the Sith as he appeared early on. (With a gun. Awesome.)

As far as reissuing the McQuarrie Stormtrooper goes, it seems that on the whole most people got it who really wanted it-- while some of us could use another one or two, well, dem's da breaks. I've always thought it'd be neat to see a big boxed set showcasing the entire Fan's Choice line with a little booklet or specially designed box with information of the other figures they were up against, how much they won by, and so forth-- but odds are I'm in the minority here.

And while we're on the subject, I'd like to see the next Fan's Choice poll soon. It's been too damn long. We got the winner of #5 months ago, and the pseudo-winner of the so-called #6 just weeks ago.

4. Is the Galactic Heroes line a continuation of the 'Playskool' line from 2002 or is it a stand alone line? Are the figures from both lines pretty much the same height and style, unlike the new Jedi Force line? If it is a continuation, will they be releasing all the same sets again but with the Galactic Heroes logo? (e.g. "Fast through the Forest", "Stompin' Wampa", etc.)
--Jedi700

Galactic Heroes is basically a rebranding of the Playskool line that was available briefly in 2002, or is still available if you find the right, crappy Kay-Bee store. (We've got one in the west end of Phoenix that, as of September, still had the whole range.) The figures include repackaged and retooled versions of the Playskool figures, so yeah, it's technically more of the same. Hasbro has made no plans known for sets like "Fast through the Forest" and so far seems mostly interested in continuing the line as a figure set. Which I can dig-- as long as I see one all-new vehicle at some point. Slave I would be cool, as would a teeny tiny Jabba's Palace. Of course, that begs the question of how or even if to do a Slave Leia designed for preschoolers. The notion is so perverse I'd surely buy two.

5. Hey Adam. I just bought the Target exclusive Boba and Slave I. My question is this, why the hell doesn't Boba come with his rocket? I figured that they put it in with the accessories so it wouldn't fall out in the package, but no dice. I'm MIB kind of guy so I carefully opened it and after about a half an hour located the accessory pack and presto, no friggin rocket! Can you please find out what gives?
--Jawa01

Cost cutting, most likely. Hasbro dropped the rocket from the Ultimate Bounty gift set as well, I'm assuming mostly for cost. (The conspiracy theorist in me thinks they wanted to try and make that 300th Fett be somewhat special and as such left it out of future releases. But I got no proof for that.)

6. Whatever happened with Hasbro using the Realscan technology for their Star Wars figures? I'm assuming that they aren't using it? For instance, the Gentle Giant Stormtrooper bust-ups are a dead-on likeness while (in my opinion) Hasbro has yet to release a Stormtrooper sculpt that could compare to a Gentle Giant release.

Now that the Ewok movies will soon be available on DVD, do you think that there's ever a chance that Hasbro will make some figures from them?
--Rich

Well, that Vintage Stormtrooper in the 3 3/4" scale looked pretty great to me-- it may not be perfect, but it certainly is good. The Realscan technology is a tool, so even if they scan someone's head, that's just part of it. It still has to be painted, and cleaned up or even tweaked further to look right in that small size. We'll probably see a Stormtrooper created with those means in the future, when Hasbro realizes that they can make a mint by selling preposed but still somewhat posable Stormtroopers in dozens of poses on the same cardback.

As far as Star Wars TV toys, I wouldn't hold your breath. Most people aren't exactly going nuts over the announcement of the Ewok movies by virtue of the fact they're Ewok movies. And as far as the toons go, while I was originally downright thrilled to hear they were coming out, the lack of season box sets and the dropping of several episodes and the original opening and closing to both series has left me cold. At this time, I'd say you'd be lucky if Hasbro started cranking out more Ewoks as they appeared in the movies-- we're still a few short.

7. This is in response to question 3 of your Q&A for October 4, 2004.

FOX has acknowledged that there is a bad batch of ANH DVDs and they are offering replacement discs. If you suspect that you might have one of the "bad" discs, call FOX's customer service at 1-888-223-2FOX to get a replacement. The errors range from stuttering/skipping at the begining of certain chapters and players locking up/freezing at those chapters.
--Azteka

Thank you, good sir!!

8. In reference to the question about Anakin knowing he had kids, doesn't Obi Wan say in Episode IV "This is your father's lightsaber. He wanted you to have it, when you were old enough"

Another "from a certain point of view" comment?
--Evan

Like most story inconsistancies in these films, this one can be summed up with a single quote from The Simpons: "Is a little blind faith too much to ask?"

I believe everything I've read has indicated that they knew Padme was pregnant-- so that's true. And odds are Anakin would have wanted to pass along what he knew-- I mean, why wouldn't he? There's a lot of conversations that probably took place off-screen, and in war people say all sorts of things to one another. Maybe the origin for this line will be forced into Episode III in some ham-fisted way, or, more likely, we'll just accept it came up while they were eating lunch some day and Obi-Wan said "sure thing duder, I'll make sure if you ever have a kid-- which, the last time I checked, may be against THE CODE WITH WHICH WE LIVE-- I'll pass your crap along to him. And no, we're not going to visit Padme again... sheesh, you two should get a room."

9. Hello.I am really psyched about the new VOTC figures that have been released this year.My favorites are Chewbacca and Boba Fett.Do you think Hasbro will find a way to make a Darth Maul figure in this line that looks as good as these others?Also,how do you pronounce the name of Lando's co-pilot in ''Jedi"(Nien Nunb)?
--Eric

As of yet, Hasbro has expressed limited interest, but interest nevertheless, in seeing the Vintage line continue. I think it has potential, and should continue if for no reason other than to satiate the market's love of the Stormtrooper, Darth Vader, and Boba Fett. I know numerous fans have mentioned doing a Power of the Force series, and I have no doubt fans would go bonkers over "vintage" style Prequel toys-- well, maybe a few. Within reason.

Four figures from each prequel in a deluxe-package, $9.99 format may be excessive. But who wouldn't want Darth Maul, Jango Fett, a really great Qui-Gon Jinn, or the world's finest Mace Windu?

10. Is it me or do those OTC figures seem old?
--norman from human resources

Well, as many of you have noticed, some of those figures are old candidates from the Fan's Choice contests, and the articulation is often very 2001. Yarua looks a little old, and his odd paint job and old-school joints make it seem like this was a lost 2000 Episode I figure. Despite the 2004 copyright dates on these figures, it's widely thought these designs were sitting on the shelf until the time was right, and it apparently is now right. Not that I mind-- Hasbro can bring unused molds to market all the time for all I care. Despite their flaws, this new wave is quite possibly my favorite batch of prequel figures yet. And with the rumor of variant heads being used to make more handmaidens, I couldn't be happier-- assuming it happens. All I need now is a friggin' Queen Amidala that can sit on the throne in the Royal Starship.

FIN

After an insane amount of work, bruises, and boxes, I have moved. And now I'm tried and annoyed that I HAVE NO HIGH SPEED INTERNET because my provider has made a number of screw-ups. Namely, they opened the cable outlet thing, removed numerous cables and wires, and left it that way. So I'm uploading this on dial-up and can't access my GH email (long story) but please, send in your queries anyway for when I can get to them which should hopefully be Tuesday.

That's all for this week. So get those questions in for next week, and if you could put "Q&A" in the subject line, that would greatly help my email filters find your message. Just email me with your inquiry, and we'll see what we can do.