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Galactic Hunter.com's Star Wars Q&A with Adam Pawlus
January 9, 2006
1. Is this the end of Star Wars?
I've noticed that all of the Targets, and many of the Wal-Marts in the
mid-west have reset their toy ailes and significantly reduced their Star
Wars section. In addition, it appears that out of the nine or so pegs left
in most stores, seven are for Attacktix and the new mini-Unleashed. Most
seem to only have two pegs for the new figures, and all are empty (at least
they got rid of the peg warmers). Some seem to have the new Titanium ships,
but I haven't seen any with Galactic Heroes or Jedi Force. There is also no
shelf space for anything other than the Attacktix box sets.
You've always said that the Star Wars line would quickly be abandoned by
Hasbro when it is no longer carried by all of the major retailers.
Any word on if this is just a temporary reset, or the beginning of the end a
la 1985?
--Dave
As Hasbro seems to be making new molds as exclusives these days, this gives me some hope about the future. But are we at the end? No. How about the beginning of the end? Probably not yet.
Aside from Ewoks and Droids animated toys, Star Wars merchandise was dead about two years after the movie. (And Ewoks and Droids were pretty dead at that point too.) Right now, we know that in 2006, we can expect over 50 packaged figures, at least 30 or so exclusive figures between the various multipacks, and I can't say that I really feel Star Wars is hurting with an offering that large, even if it does consist of lots of old molds. Short of maybe Ninja Turtles, I don't think there's another current, lively line able to support itself to that extent for boys action figures, so right now I think we're in good shape for 2006. 2007 should be the 30th Anniversary, which is a "gimme" year and very well may be the first TV show too. I have a very hard time seeing Star Wars go away from the Top 5 (Kmart, Kay-Bee, Toys "R" Us, Target, Wal-Mart) before 2008 unless the TV show goes unmerchandised or fails.
Star Wars has to shrink because in 2005, it was enormous. Over 70 basic figures, 7 Battlepacks, 4 Evolutions sets, 10 or so deluxe figures, 12 figures-with-cups, nearly a dozen vehicles and playsets, guns, lightsabers, role-play toys, and everything else can only be supported by the juggernaut that is a new movie. Which, in 2006, we don't got. Given the right mix of figures, the momentum can kinda sorta keep up, but retail wants to make their big sellers even bigger sellers, which is why Star Wars got embraced by the world at large in 2005 and in 2006, it's not yet known which line will be suckling at Mother Pop Culture's teat.
Your mileage will always vary from store to store-- we're in "reset" season which means lots of toy lines are going to be erroneously represented. So let's all join together and panic in about a month, because right now, most stores near me don't have any basic figures aside from a few stragglers from the end of Revenge of the Sith. You never know if retail's abandonment will totally destroy a line-- after all, Hasbro had enough invested in G.I. Joe to keep it going for a while as an online offering-- but hey, who knows. Not I, as it's too early.
2. Tell us what this is all about. What will this do to the allready difficult
hunt for SW action figures? If this turns into a Hot Wheel Treasure Hunt
line, I'm out!
--Matt
I asked Hasbro for more information to pass along but as of yet, no answer. My hunch is that we're probably looking at some sort of variant packaging, but that's being optimistic. In Titanium, "Treasure Hunt" is just a fancy word for "shortpacked repaint of something you probably have." As it isn't sensible or necessarily cost-effective to make repaints of figures, well, who knows?
The key thing with "treasure hunts" and/or "bounty hunts" from my notes-- as far as figures go-- is that these are indeed variations on currently existing product, and I think it's OK for me to share they have new "part numbers." (Remember .01 vs. .00? Well, it's kinda like that.) Let me preface this by saying I have not seen any of these myself-- but my money is on variant packaging, and for all the people wanting every holo variant and every "treasure hunt" variant, my condolences. But if it means more product on the shelves and/or it frustrates the people that buy 12 of everything to store in their basements, I'm all for that!
3. If you recall from previous columns, I've been a longtime collector of the 12" scale, and I was one of the fans last year who wished that Sideshow would take over the license. Be careful what you wish for, eh? While I've liked the sculpts, clothes, and accessories shown so far on the prototypes, I've become increasingly disturbed by the bile spewed by some collectors on the SC boards, some of which concerns the product but most of which is directed at Sideshow regarding their exclusives pre-ordering processes.
I didn't try for the first Luke exclusive because I wasn't that interested in the pistol accessory, but once I read some of the whiny protests (which reminded me of why I usually don't even lurk on collectors' boards), I decided to exercise my account and newsletter privileges--and the advantage of a professor's flexible office hours and university-speed network--and managed to order the Anakin and Obi-Wan exclusives with only a little wait time.
Now, I'm not a die-hard completist, having gone for the exclusives on a lark, really, just to see if I could get them, and for a few minutes I thought about cancelling my exclusive orders so that someone poised to commit hari kiri could have a slot on those wait lists. After reading some of the nasty comments, though, I got over that right quickly!
My question for you is that although you've stated that you're more of a 3.75" collector, I'd still like to hear your thoughts on the whole situation. After all, Sideshow's eventually going to get around to 1:6 scale clones, and then the blood will really spill....
--Annmarie
When I talked to Sideshow last year, they weren't fully talkative about the line, but they did indicate that you'll be seeing exactly what you're seeing-- Jedi and lots of them-- for a while. (The cost to make new tooling for armor takes a lot more work than sewing robes, it turns out.)
I am not currently going for all these, but I believe I am down for a Luke and as far as the prequels go... well, I let the 12-inch chips fall where they may. On the whole, I think making these "collectibles" is good for Sideshow but not so good for us. I personally don't see a benefit to crazy wait lists and product that presells out in less than a day with production runs in the low thousands for variants and other craziness. (There are other issues regarding other stores carrying them but that's another issue.)
Basically, if this happened to the 3 3/4-inch line, I would be in my car with a torch and a pitchfork heading for Rhode Island. (Yes, I am just that irrational.) The 12-inch line never really worked with Hasbro for a variety of reasons and Sideshow, if nothing else, infused more excitement into it with 3 figures than Hasbro has since... 1999?
My hope for Sideshow is that they look at what some companies did-- Master Replicas is a fine example-- and make some items open ended. Limited quantities are good to get the ball rolling but if there's a market for 30,000 Clone Troopers, it's foolish to not make them.
4. It seems to me that about 90% of the current ships from Hasbro are based on existing vintage molds. Do you know why they haven't done the same thing with the vintage Death Star Space Station play set? These are very expensive on EBay, and hard to find in decent shape.
--Steve
Over the many years in this hobby I don't think (although I could be wrong) that I ever asked Hasbro to reissue the old Kenner Death Star Space Station. This is in part because while I like it for what it is, it is fragile and when you get right down to it, is only fun because of its size. It's somewhat flimsy and hollow, and while it does have some neat elements to it, honestly, nobody is impressed by the "grappling hook" on the bridge anymore.
I doubt the mold is still available in working condition and I think someone else asked Hasbro about a reissue to which they replied "if we do one, we're going to do a new one." Which is the right attitude given some reissues don't have resized foot pegs. (Imperial Shuttle, anyone?)
As far as eBay goes, yes, a sealed box Death Star is out of the price range of most collectors, with recent closed auctions topping $500. However, you can piece one together from parts from various auctions for $100 or less, which is not really all that bad. The demand for a vintage Kenner playset and a modern Hasbro one (even a reissue of the old one) are different beasts, though, and depending on the price point we may never see something like this happen again.
5. I know that Hasbro likes to leak out prototype pictures of certain figures to get us fanboys drooling. So far, Hasbro has leaked out pictures of figures from the Hoth wave, the Geonosis wave, the Tatooine wave, and the Coruscant wave. The pictures from those waves were leaked out in that order. I just surmised that this was the order that the waves would be released in 2006 (Carkoon-Hoth-Geonosis-Tatooine-Coruscant). However, according to information released from the Hasbro France Trade Catalog the order of release is different (Carkoon-Hoth-Coruscant-Geonosis-Tatooine). With your inside scources, could you please tell us which order of release is correct. I'd like to know because I'm hoping to get my hands on the Commander Cody, the Utapaun Clone Trooper, and the Coruscant Firespeeder Pilot figures sooner than I expected in 2006 (If the Ki-Adi-Mundi is a hologram figure, then you can just add that to my list).
--JediValorius
In the interest of semantics and sating conspiracy theorists, Hasbro doesn't leak prototype pictures. They either release them to the media/retailers on purpose, or images get taken of stolen factory property.
As far as Hasbro non-US goes, well, I tend to ignore that. The product list is right, but this is because at work, I get a big fat spreadsheet with assortment data of what ships when, and if you look at (haha, plug) Entertainment Earth, you can see the shipping dates of everything according to what Hasbro says it will be in the USA. (Search on keyword 85770 to pull them all up.) Which, right now, is Carkoon, Hoth, Geonosis, Coruscant, and a million Coruscant remixes. (Tatooine would be next, I presume. Order today, blah blah blah.)
Ki-Adi-Mundi is indeed a holo figure, which I consider to be a mixed blessing, but there you have it.
6. What do you think the odds are that Hasbro will re-release the Imperial Shuttle? I know the first release was in 1983 and then an FAO Schwartz version later on. I would like one for my collection and I am wondering what one I should get? The older version, the FAO, or should I wait and see if Hasbro releases it again? Just wondering what your thoughts are?
--Newfiend
On the side of "unlikely." When FAO got it, they sold some of them-- and online stores bought the rest for reasons I'm not at liberty to disclose cuz I'm not entirely sure the story myself. The modern release was close to $120 BEFORE tax and shipping when it came out-- $120! If you look on eBay, that's close to what it goes for now. As it's a reasonably small percentage, my advice to you is to buy the one that's available right now because it's very close to what a hypothetical-yet-improbable rerelease may cost.
7. What exactly is your beef with the 500th figure? Sure
it was overpriced, but so is most of this stuff to one
degree or another. And besides, with the plentiful
lack of playsets and other such peripherals, would not
most collectors have paid about $7 to $10 for just the
meditation chamber alone? Have you seen just how much
those Saga Trash-Compactor sets go for on ebay? Sure,
great sculpt and all, the 500th figure it isn't as
exciting as the average $16 pricetag would suggest.
But the most overrated figure EVER? In my opinion,
that distinction could be shared with every Padme
figure from the entire Saga line, Ephant Mon, and
every obscure, ancillary, and pointless character that
most collectors go ga-ga over, not to mention all
these freakin clone variations that I couldn't give a
rat's behind about.
--tierneygreen
OK, if it isn't obvious, here's why I think this. The 500th Vader took an existing figure (VOTC Vader), and found a way to get you to pay another $5-$10 for it. Due to how it was packaged, his codpiece is bent and he's happy to see you. The removable helmet look a little wonky, and for $19.99, you could buy an Evolutions set that was arguably much better with pretty much the same accessories... AND TWO WHOLE EXTRA FIGURES.
By comparison, some would say Fett #300 is overrated. I disagree. He cost $3 more than an average figure at the time, had a 100% new sculpt, a fan-demanded action feature, a surprising fan-undemanded action figure (removable pistol in holster), had a marvelous sculpt, and came in one of the better boxes of his day. The key word here, though, is NEW SCULPT.
Ephant Mon was a huge, hard to get figure with glorious sculpting, marvelous accessories, and an opening mouth. Overrated? Pshaw!
Padme overrated? I have to argue with that because I don't think there's anyone out there who believes that the Padme figures are the best thing in the line, nor does Padme as a toy command any real fan love outside that of the lovely Ms. Portman herself.
Clones? Them's fightin' words. How many Clone Troopers did you see on clearance? None? OK then.
Vader 500 was crap. Were it a new sculpt or the first use of that sculpt, I'd let it go. But it's going to be on store shelves in February or March on a "Saga Collection" package and then start shipping at two per case in nearly every case for $6 a whack. If you can honestly say that the 500th Vader wasn't an overhyped, overpriced, second-rate collectible figure, I assume this was indeed flamebait and I bid you GOOD DAY sir.
(As a final tangent, Celebration III could be seen as overrated, but at least he could talk.)
8. OK, we've had Jorg Sacul and now we've got Baron
Papanoidia on the way. (As well as the rest of the
Lucas clan)
But , if it were to happen, what do you think the best
avenue would be for us to get a plain 'ol flannel clad
George Lucas action figure (maybe with a bullhorn or
something). And do you think such a thing can and will
ever happen?
--Kirbuck
Jorg Sacul was a special case in a time where George said there would never be a figure of himself made. It was for a fan convention, and as such, Mr. Lucas gave it his blessing.
The Baron is a movie character-- so it's sensible. Apparently Kenner/Hasbro did ask about doing a "director" figure and was shot down because the director didn't appear in the movie. (Before anyone gives me runaround logic about Expanded Universe, kindly don't bother.) I would personally love to buy a flanneled Director figure. However in the Star Wars toy universe, he doesn't fit the existing play pattern. Maybe, just maybe, you can cross your fingers for Celebration IV's exclusive.
9. I was at a local K-Mart tonight and found a Darth Vader carry case, much like the one offered at Wal-Mart not too long ago, but this one had pack-in ROTS figures of Darth Vader and Obi-Wan. I hadn't heard of this item being released, and was wondering if you knew anything about it, whether it be a K-Mart exclusive or a wide release item?
--Hanns
This stealth exclusive came out for $29.99 near the end of 2005. It has only been seen at Kmart, and it's either a shared exclusive, or theirs. (I know online stores were not offered it.) For the price, it's no prized pig. $30 for a $10 case, 2 $5 figures, and no accessories. What a piece of junk! Still, variant/packaged collectors are advised to hit their local Kmarts and snag 'em while they're there-- it's not going to be an item you'll see for very long.
10. Here's a really dumb question for you--one that should get posted.It came to me after reading through this past Q&A column.
Why didn't Hasbro market the new mini Unleashed as Battlefront Unleashed?Why not try to capitalize on the popularity of the games?Makes sense as these are supposed to be battles as you pointed out.
Also if the (Real) Unleashed were slow sellers and took up too much shelf space why is the packaging THE SAME SIZE???? Why not cut the packaging down a bit and cut the cost of the pack then?
WotC's Star Wars miniatures are still better than these guys.Have you heard how well these are selling so far yet?
--JediHellion
Oh, many questions.
First, Battlefront. Well, who knows? The games are popular, but the games, books, and comics are largely separate entities from each other and toys. You get some crossover, but the hardcore gamers are not toy people as a rule. I think the "Unleashed" name is going to cause the most confusion, but as I have recently spotted art for a "Battlepacks Unleashed" logo, well, they seem to be thinking about that too.
The new Unleashed are hardly the same size as the old. They're much smaller in terms of dimensions and weight, so... yeah. Nothing to speak of there.
Here in LA they're selling quite well. At Entertainment Earth, we're constantly getting in more and more orders for them which we fill as quickly as Hasbro sends us the product-- and many Wal-Marts got a giant floor dump of them in December which they blew through in the markets I've watched. So I think they're doing well, but as any new item during Christmas goes, that's not hard to do. As the months go on, it should be neat to watch if a line largely based up of nameless characters will do well.
(I like SW Minis too, but I don't believe they're going to get a lot of support in terms of being the superior product as far as paint and distribution go.)
FIN
Well, new year, new whatever. It's been an interesting one so far, given as we're not two weeks in and we've already seen the new "Unleashed," a line about which I'm still somewhat ambivalent, and Star Wars Transformers, a line I'm still trying to grasp. (I like what I've played with. Although I'd really like it if they had the standard Transformers 5mm standard size fists.) As far as toys, though, I'm quite pleased with them-- they're odd for Transformers, and they're odd for Star Wars. But I have a hard time faulting any plaything which I can pick up and fiddle with and at the end, I've had a fairly good time.
The new Unleashed, well, hm. So far I've opened one set. Two of the four figures in it-- the Federation Droid Army's Destroyer Droid and the Battle Droid with both his legs on the stand-- are pretty nice and stable. (Awkward poses on both, but you live with what you get.) The other two kinda suck. The other Battle Droid more or less stands OK but it seems a little warping and there's no way he'll stand up, and the other Super Battle Droid seems to already be having warping problems. Impressed, I am not. It's not a suitable replacement for Unleashed and seeing how the stands are non-removable, I'm not overly optimistic about the compatibility between Han Solo and his Tauntaun come Wave 3.
I'm waiting on pins and needles for the new basic figures, which I have not had the fortune of seeing. I have, however, seen the "Star Wars Customs" motorcycles and it seems Vader is a pretty constant sell-through. I'm curious to see how it'll go past the first two waves, as we no doubt all are, seeing as these are a real rarity in Star Wars toys-- a product that absolutely, positively, does not try to do anything to appeal to the collector. (Galactic Heroes, Force Battlers, and Jedi Force all have SOME appeal. At least to some of us. Not all. But hey, you take what you can get.)
Looking ahead to 2006, I'm seeing a mostly good year. My chief concern at this point comes from vehicles and playsets, as my action figure collection has been nicely decked out to the point where I'm hard pressed to identify gaping holes in my wish list that aren't un-remade vintage figures or mega-obscure aliens that Hasbro will no doubt get to. And, of course, obscure Marvel Star Wars characters. (Which would make me quite happy.)
At this point in the hobby, we've had modern Star Wars for 10 years. (Although I know some of you insist that the 1995-1997 line is not part of the "current" line. To you, I say you are deluded.) And as such, it's getting a little difficult to identify gaping holes in significant parts of the films which have absolutely no toy representation in the 3 3/4-inch line, which is, to me, the one that matters. As some of you have asked what kind of stuff I feel would be ideal in the coming years before things start to fizzle, here's my wish list, in no particular order.
1. Blockade Runner Vehicle/Playset.
Reason: It's the first ship you see in Star Wars and involves a significant amount of action involving several crucial characters in two films.
It'd be a good toy because: you can hide the droids in an Escape Pod and have Darth Vader choke a guy while lots of people shoot and/or get shot. AND you can use it for some Revenge of the Sith action. It could also use some firing rockets to appease those who enjoy such things.
2. Klaatu Action Figure (regular, first seen in 1983, aka "Woof").
Reason: To shut us fans up and give us an update to one of the best vintage action figures.
It'd be a good toy because: hmmm. Well, he is green.
3. Expanded Universe Figures Redux (limited line).
Reason: See above. There's a handful of characters NOT from the movies that would likely sell-- why not give 'em a whirl to mix things up a bit?
It'd be a good toy because: lots of Expanded Universe characters look pretty cool and despite the poor timing of the 1998 line, they did blow through retail. Seeing Mara Jade resculpted would bring a much-needed YOUNG female human to the line, perhaps revisiting ARC Trooper Alpha would get people excited as well. Characters like Lumiya, Black Hole Stormtroopers, and a McQuarrie Darth Vader would help flesh out this hypothetical assortment with characters that would likely sell through without a high degree of the "who the hell is this?" factor that plagued some figures like Prince Xizor from 1996... until about 1998. While they're at it, let's see Luke and Leia from Splinter of the Mind's Eye and give the line some much-needed hero figures. (And Jodo Kast. To save on tooling.)
4. Star Wars Transformers-- but bigger.
Reason: Star Wars Transformers are good and reasonably cheap-- but lack compatibility with the 3 3/4-inch figures.
It'd be a good toy because: you could have a $40 X-wing piloted by your Luke action figure who could turn into a giant robot. Ridiculous? Sure. Awesomely fun? On paper, I'd have to go with "yes." The proportions on the vehicles are good, and with a little work, could be even better. The current line isn't compatible with anything save for, sort of, Action Fleet or Titanium Ultra ships. Action figure compatible SW TFs would send fans into a tizzy and pave the way for another 3 3/4-inch crossover we all very much need to see. Plus it combines Star Wars, giant robots, and a higher price point. If Hasbro could want anything more, I have a hard time imagining it.
5. In 2007, give me a real reason to "collect them all."
Reason: nothing drives sales and interest like a genuine reason to find a genuine need to buy everything-- so pack in an incentive we can't resist.
It'd be a good toy because: any time you can get a "bonus toy" by buying other toys, everybody wins. While some fans have suggested a fairly unrealistic desire to have a decent size Death Star playset come piece by piece, with one figure at a time, I find that improbable and probably hard to pull off. But the concept is sound-- what can you build piece by piece that would make fans want to buy 50-70 action figures, some of which they may have? Jabba's Palace? The Cantina? Discovering the right environment to build that can be reasonably stable is tricky, but Palisades has proven that, in concept, it can be done-- just look at Invader ZIM series 2 and the original plan for Sesame Street, with giant facades you can build if you buy a whole series. Toy Biz has done something similar with Marvel Legends, and Hasbro has done it with its Transformers PVCs in the past. Bonus parts of a greater whole are a good thing, so let's have it. (Heck, surely you can make a Speederbike through these means.)
Over the holidays it was pointed out to me that I've been doing this for a while and did a lot of columns. "How many?" I wondered. Well, I know a few got lost in the sands of time (i.e., accidentally uploaded over an old file with no backup) and it seems I'm somewhere between 400 and 500. So, between Rebelscum (where you can read my old columns), Yakface (where they were deleted for reasons I don't know in all honesty), and here (still available), I've answered a lot of questions. (Most of which are kinda obvious now.)
So for next time, 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.)
Click here to read the previous installment of Galactic Hunter Q&A!
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