Q&A For July 25, 2005

1. Where would I start looking for a Don Post R2-D2?
--Roger

The answer to this, and most of the questions I get here, can be answered by one of two omniscient sources-- well, they're close to it. One is Google, the other is eBay. These sources are basically the de-facto go-to place when looking for any questions related to buying or selling items currently on the market, but no longer on the primary market. Assuming you actually want to buy one, and you're not just curious about the going rates, I would advise you to spend lots of time with these sources, your favorite search tools, and possibly buy/sell/trade forums. If I recall, I saw this item in the Neiman Marcus catalog for about $7,500 new-- and all it does is light up and maybe beep, it doesn't even move. Frankly, if you want a really good life-size R2-D2, I advise you to either wait or make use of the various resources through the R2-D2 Builder's Club. Building one yourself will likely result in a much better overall item at a better overall price.

In a semi-related note, did you see what the Interactive R2-D2 toy from 2002 is going for? Hey Hasbro-- if a toy from 2002 is hitting $400+, it's time to consider a reissue.

2. I was reading your last two Q&As. What I had been thinking about was the "harsh reality" issue. My rant is here, that I get the feeling of Hasbro acting as if there were almost no collectors outside the U.S. . Okay, I'm exaggerating, and things are not that bad (here in Germany we have almost no exclusives, apart from TRU, who by the way kind of shocked me as they recently sold the CIII Vader for nearly 25 Euro), but Hasbro isn't - at least in my opinion - paying enough attention towards Europe and other countries. If collectors want information about new stuff, they go to the Toy Fair and the Comic Con in the U.S. . There, Hasbro representatives can be met and information be obtained. What bugs me is the fact that I don't remember any Harbro representatives or information about brand new Star Wars stuff (or both) at the Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany, although it's one of the biggest toy fairs I know of, or at the Jedi Con in Germany. Measured towards the international appearance of shops there, the exhibition "Spiel 2004" in Essen, Germany is widely known, too, but the Hasbro representatives only showed board games there (well, no surprise, the exhibition is rather about board games, but has a good comic section, too.) I'd really like to see representatives on the "Spiel 2005" in October, but I strongly doubt Hasbro will show anything about Star Wars there. That's just an example. So Europe is like a Black Hole : No information, no news. Everything brand new comes out from the U.S. .
As 4-inches reports, colour variants even aren't regularly sold in Germany - so according to them we won't ever see the "Shock Trooper" red colour variant here. Like the blonde hair variant of the Saga Endor Rebel Soldier. Never arrived here. I'm not sure about blue and red RotS Royal Guards.
I consider Star Wars a *world-wide* phenomenon, and so I would expect a company that seemingly has the world-wide rights for SW stuff act like acknowledging world-wide collectors, and not just putting the focus on one country, no matter how big it is. To me, it's like as if Lego would produce Star Wars toys primarily for the european market and not for countries outside Europe.
That's my rant.
I must admit that my point of view is kind of distorted by being a German collector, and things could be worse, but in fact I'm fed up with the neglecting of Europe's collectors. Harsh reality.
--Andreas

Cold harsh reality and rose colored glasses tend to go hand in hand, so let me try my best to clear a few things up for everybody, as best I can.

First of all, US collectors do not have access to Hasbro. It's very difficult to get the wonderful Hasbro Star Wars team to chat with you, even if you're press, or a vendor, or someone that they don't want to go out of their way to talk to. On the whole Toy Fair is an industry event (of which Galactic Hunter is the press part), and the bulk of the people in the showroom-- and I mean this with all due respect-- know about as much about the toys they show as you do about the refrigerator or microwave in your home. Beyond the basics, they're really not well versed in Hasbro lore-- it's not their job to answer what are, in the grand scheme of things, the fairly trivial matters which concern the likes of you and me on a daily basis. At San Diego, there's a bit more interaction-- but even that's only once a year and there are some things that are as good as confirmed which they can't even discuss.

Now, there's the issue of Europe and the rest of the world. Allow me to reiterate: you are now Hasbro US' core audience. Hasbro is an American company with worldwide distribution. The line is currently developed with America in mind, which is why the toys adhere to American safety standards, and are printed in English packaging. Germany, Canada, and the rest of the world is more of an afterthought-- yes, Hasbro wants to sell their wares worldwide, but Hasbro Germany and their ilk are really more distributors than developers. The hundreds of toys are conceptualized, developed, and engineered in the USA (and manufactured elsewhere) because, well, that's how the business works.

Star Wars is a worldwide phenomenon, but lots of things are big in varying degrees the world over. If you look at worldwide box office takes, you can see that the entire world outside the USA's take is about the same as the USA itself-- as a nation, we're media and entertainment sponges. And as such, we get a little spoiled-- we are the main focus here, and even with overseas popularity in a brand being huge, it doesn't make sense to send a representative to a foreign nation to market a brand to what is a very niche market. On the whole, toys are a disposable good-- they're meant for kids to tear up and collectors as an afterthought, and while this mentality really no longer exists in the USA, it seems to some extent to be a reality overseas. LEGO knows where it's bread is buttered, and that's in the USA. Sony and Nintendo often give a lot of extra goodies to the USA as well, because we're an enormous market.

To give a comparison, look at Transformers. I don't believe there's a TF-only convention in Japan anymore, but the USA gets conventions and appearances by American designers. The toys are engineered in Japan mostly, though, but they never bring that design team to American shows to ask questions because it just plain doesn't make a lot of sense. Likewise, sending American toy makers (artists, marketing team members, etc.) to Germany doesn't make a lot of sense, either.

...but as I often say, as an American collector, we get screwed too. Japan gets tons of awesome collectibles in Star Wars that never sell elsewhere, like Episode I's Palm Talkers, various Pepsi items, capsule toys, and many others. And if you're like me and a big fan of Zoids and Transformers, there are tons of items that are import-only. You have good tastes, and unfortunately, where you live is not conducive to you getting those tastes met. Hasbro doesn't import all its toys overseas, and it's not just Star Wars-- Transformers sold in the USA aren't all brought over to Europe, and there's a significant lag on G.I. Joe as well.

It's very unlikely that the worldwide toy market will eventually shake down to the point where all nations can get toys from all other nations quickly, easily, and at a fair price at brick and mortar stores. I have to go scour booths at conventions for interesting X-Dimension Microns, unusual ALIEN toys from Hong Kong, and Australian Batman toys.

It's no bed of roses here in the states, either-- if you think for a second that those redeco Clone Troopers are going to be hanging in stores everywhere, you've got another thing coming. New items are always tough to come by in the States, some moreso than others. The grass is always greener on the other side, you know-- I know collectors of plush Steiff toys and Hummel figurines that see you as being in a prime location! I don't deny that it isn't fair, but this is the nature of the business. As Star Wars slowly dies, it's very likely you'll see some rare and hard to find American items show up in Europe. Many He-Man fans can point to several figures that were available in your neck of the woods that weren't sold here, it's just how the ball bounces. It's the same reason American Anime fans are annoyed they can't get fully translated Japanese shows the second they air-- the market doesn't currently dictate a need for it. If Germany had as many collectors as the USA, I can guarantee you that more attention would be paid to it, and that your product line would be significantly better.

So what do you do? Come to the USA for conventions and/or shopping trips. Shop online. Trade with online friends on forums. Write letters to Hasbro Europe. Or better still, start a collector shop-- there are distributors of American Hasbro product that will ship overseas for distribution, for a price. I wish the toy world was more fair, but it's not. If it were, I'd have seen the Cybertron toys in US stores when their Japanese siblings hit-- about seven months ago-- and there never would have been an issue with finding those Bonus Pit Droids many moons ago.

If you decide you want to collect toys-- any toys-- there's going to be a cost of entry. There may be hundreds of old toys to buy, lots of books to read, a language to learn, contacts to make, and so on and so forth. For the record: I like Germany, am of German descent, and enjoy the concept of Oktoberfest. I ain't hatin', it's just the way the business seems to work.

3. First off, the repaints of the clone trooper and commander look cool, so how (if there's any other way) can I make sure to get them instead of waking up early in the morning just to see if they're there?

Also, your site tells me that K-Mart will release the Jedi Temple battlepack and toyr'us will get the other, but rebelscum says k-mart will get both. Which one is true?
--Parisiex

The case packs and distribution of these new Clone repaints are wholly unknown to us. They may ship like crazy, and given the demand, we hope they do. We also hope Hasbro has the foresight to repackage them in 2006 in the new packaging. Your options for getting these figures are the same as any other-- so you can trade, make friends with store stockboys, order online, or just wait and eventually luck out. Fans are fickle and prices drop all the time, so if you wait a while (a year or two) odds are you can catch a break-- but hey, you know and I know that we all want these and Hasbro will eventually rerelease them if we still want them and the prices are too high.

As far as the Battlepacks, here's what I heard. Kmart will have two of them-- one is the Jedi Temple, the other is TBD. The Hoth Battlepack is most certainly a Toys "R" Us exclusive. The Clone Battlepack is a Target exclusive. Jedi vs. Sith, Jedi vs. Separatists, and Rebel vs. Empire are all open-stock items.

4. Why, in the name of F***, is Hasbro stiffing us with as this repainted, repackaged crap. Is this it? Has Hasbro actually entirely stopped producing new sculpts? The battle packs, bounty hunter set, carded millenium falcon carry-case Wedge (!!!!!), Target exclusive Lava figures - all bad enough - but now even in the basic ROTS line we are effectively being stiffed with an entire wave of 12 'repaints'.....where is all the so-called 'goodness' that you promised us?
--Dr. D

As stated earlier, I mentioned some items you'd likely love and others would likely frustrate you to no end. Target's Premium figures (Lava Reflections, etc.) are a big frustration because on the whole, they're hype-drive toys that aren't very good, and generally overpriced. The fact that they keep selling out means there's going to be more, and there ain't nothing anyone can do about that. At no point did I promise anyone Fall of 2005 would be a land of delights-- some of these items really suck. On the other hand, I'm actually interested in many of the repaints. All the Clones and Droids? Bring 'em on. Wookiees? Sign me up! Obviously not all of these are slam-dunks, but these final figures are obviously quickly engineered stop-gap figures to make sure that there's new figures to meet the demand of collectors. If Hasbro were smart, they'd ignore us and crank out more figures that are currently selling out like crazy, like Darth Vader, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and other things that you'd hate.

If you don't see any high marks at the end of 2005, well, I'm sorry for you. It isn't a season of new sculpts, but we just had 60 ROTS carded figures (with few retreads), some post-OTC figures, with new Saga Collection figures coming this year-- just what do you people want, anyway? I'm more or less pleased-- repaints are a fact of life these days, so just be thankful that most of them are on the happy side of good. The biggest offender, to me, is the Kay-Bee nine pack. The other items, more or less, are forgivable and in some cases surprisingly nifty. (The Anakin and Obi-Wan Lava Reflection figures are actually good looking, it's a crying shame they didn't just put them out as basic figures because kids would snap them up all day long in the absence of other versions of those characters.)

At least Wedge turned out OK, eh?

5. Concerning Question N'8 from Q&A on 11th of July - I'm from Bulgaria and we had here back in 1999 the two-packs for Ep1. So initially they had the Battle droid WITH hole in the back and kind of more yellowish plastic (btw, I think the guy means the backpack with the antenna when saying "radio pack", witch is not included in this version). After a while the droids were already without the hole on the back and of better (in my oppinion) plastic. So I think it's just a running change, because there were no differences in the boxes and it didn't depend on the main figure in the pack. The "no hole" droid was the second in release, that's all:) I hope that answers to the question and can be of some use.
--Ivo

Thanks, Ivo! I did not know that.

6. From the Clone Wars Value Packs (figures packed with a bonus Clone Trooper), were those Clone Troopers straight repacks of an earlier Trooper, repaints, or were they an exclusive new sculpt? And what about the bonus figures that come with the ROTS Deluxe sets (Wookie Warrior with BARC Speeder, Clone Trooper with AT-RT) which, I believe were only available at Kohl's? Were these just repacks of the same figures that were available on cards?
--Kidhell

The Clone Wars Bonus Packs from Wal-Mart were indeed repaints. The primary figure (Anakin, ARC Trooper, Yoda) were the same as regular releases. The Clone was a repaint of the 2002 Red Clone Trooper figure. These are different enough that Clone fans should track them down-- I know I don't consider my squad complete without them!

As far as Kohl's deluxe sets, these aren't even repaints. While the Wookiee looks a twinge darker than his Sneak Preview counterpart, Hasbro didn't mean to create a new figure, and it could just be the lighting in Kohl's. The Clone is identical. For those wanting a complete set of every opened action figure, these Sneak Preview items are not necessary for your sets, and at $19.99 each, aren't such a killer value.

7. My question was that i am a collector of the Star wars figures and i haven't seen any of the last wave of figures in stores(e.g. mustafar anaking, r2d2 and so on. I daily go check out the target in town and work at toys R us, and have not seen any action figures come in. Is that wave in back stock or what is going on?
--W0LFPAC2K

Hi, you must be new here. Star Wars figures are hard to find when they're new, pretty much without exception. Many fans haven't seen these in stores, or at all. It's good that you check your stores daily, but many stores have "back door deals" and it's very easy for a single collector to clean out all the new figures out of a store when one case has two or three sets. There's no conspiracy, but you might have to be just a little more patient before these become available to you at retail.

8. Has Hasbro ever clearly stated why they seem so dead set against producing a figure of Quinlan Vos? He's been requested by collectors for years now, and it can be argued that he isn't even EU (which Hasbro also seems dead set against exploring further) being that his appearance is based on a background character and he was mentioned by name in E3.
--Jeff

Ah, here we go again. Hasbro is hardly against exploring the Expanded Universe-- we're getting non-movie Clone Troopers soon and every now and again they throw us a bone with concept art figures or some other new, unusual creation. Quin, while well known to comic fans, is about as well known to most buyers of these figures as any random Cantina alien or Jabba's Palace denizen-- which, you may note, aren't anywhere to be seen this month, either. With 2005 being a movie year, Hasbro is primarily focusing on characters that should sell to a wider audience-- their success in this is in question, of course, because look at some figures. The Neimoidian Warrior is a great figure with a good sculpt, appears on film, and is shortpacked, too-- and he ain't selling.

This is a character Hasbro is aware of and just doesn't plan on doing this week. They're not out to get you and the mention of his last name in Episode III and debatable cameo in Episode I make him a slightly better known individual than some, but still, it's not like he's a super-exciting figure, visually. (Not that a Grievous Bodyguard repaint is.) This just isn't the right time for the figure, even though fans bombard me with requests for him. All I can say is keep writing and asking Hasbro, and Hasbro, if you're reading, do me a favor and put him in your next Fan's Choice poll-- if fans really want him, they'll vote for him.

9. This may have been covered a while back but could you clarify again (if you have an answer) Will there be a release of the ROTS Deluxe Clone Troopers pack with all three colors together. I've seen it listed on several sites and have been checking ebay every once and a while (no hope finding them in stores) and I find plenty whites and single color packs. I'm not an army builder but I am sort of a completest with a budget and before I go and fork over the dough for all three 3-pack color variations, I'd rather just buy one white pack and one pack that has all the colors in it.
--Marc

While I have yet to see it, Hasbro photography and what we've been told leads us to believe there should be a set with all three colored Clones in a single package. I have yet to see visual confirmation of this, though, so you may need to fork up the money. On the bright side, though, you'll have extra white Clones!

10. I was thinking about getting the new Star Tours figures. Whats the best way of getting them without ending up with damaged cards/figures? My options are: a) calling up Disney and having them sent...I don't know how they ship or pack. Is this safe? b) I know someone who is going in September. I could ask and see if they can grab the three new figures. Am I in danger of them being sold out?
--SebulbaJohnny

Now that these are showing up (yes, Wave 4 has finally hit), fans are wondering what to do. While it shocks us that ShopStarWars.com hasn't stocked them, it doesn't mean you're out of luck. Here's what you need to know:
1. These are $10.00 a pop at the park. If someone on eBay is offering sets for $40-$45 shipped, that should be considered a good deal.
2. Previous waves have been around for a very long time and some Disney Parks still have them.
3. Disney will sell you pretty much anything in their gift stores through their DelivEARS service. Tax and shipping charges may apply, and these may make eBay prices look attractive.

If you are ever concerned about packaging condition, make sure you ask the seller what kind of guarantees they offer for packaging. And by this, I mean eBay sellers, Disney, and all other dealers. Fan expectations for mint figures sometimes borders on insane, with fans expecting C-11 figures. Most sellers just see packaging as something that keeps the toy safe, a disposable part of an action figure. Obviously, you do not-- and who knows what your friend things? Will a corner ding stop him or her from buying a figure because it's beneath your standards? Obviously, this can be a problem. As such, if you're worried, I'd make sure you either have someone as anal about package perfection as you pick them up, or make the trip and do it yourself. Don't blame Disney if you get a C-8 figure-- sometimes that's how they arrive at the store!

Will these be around for months? All signs point to yes. Hasbro has yet to make a Disney item that seems to be impossible to find in the months following its launch.

Finally, there is a way to get a price break, sort of. If you have an annual pass to Disney parks, one of the perks we've heard about is 10% off at the gift shops-- so that's a buck off.

FIN

One of the very unfortunate things about this hobby is access. Even the best connected collector will need to call in favors to get a complete set. If you live in a city like Los Angeles, you have access to Star Tours, but all the other exclusives can be difficult to get. If you live in Germany, the Celebration III Vader was briefly sold at Toys "R" Us-- but that's just one item that was hard to come by. To keep collecting like you want to, stay informed, and also be prepared to shell out some money here and there. I had to overpay for my Target Clones-- it ain't fair. And to add insult to injury, if those Target Clones were normal figures, I'd probably have bought twice as many, if not more. I like troop builders, especially Clone Troopers, enough for them to make the bulk of my collecting budget.

Also, there's a lot of speculation out there on Wedge. Based on my "insider info," the figure you buy at ShopStarWars, Entertainment Earth, and any of the other accounts that order this-- and I'm told other accounts will be able to order this-- are all the same. ShopStarWars has a slightly higher price, but includes a bonus case and trading card. It's possible other vendors will include their own bonus items as well, but who knows what the plans are of the likes of Big Bad Toy Store, possibly Amazon, and what have you.

...and in the interests of stoking some flames, has anyone seen a Hasbro logo on the Star Tours Jedi Mickey & Yoda set? Judging by how bizarre the Yoda looks, and that the Lightsabers don't seem quite normal, I gotta say I'm curious if this is another close-to-Hasbro-but-not item like the Starspeeder. I guess we'll know as soon as more images surface, but until then, well, I know I'm confused. (And before anyone quotes previous reports, don't forget the Starspeeder was originally rumored as a Hasbro item too!)

For next week, just email me with your question and I'll put it in queue. (If you do not put "Q&A" in the subject line I cannot guarantee it will get through due to the high volume of spam these accounts get.)

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