Galactic Hunter.com - Star Wars Q&A with Adam Pawlus


	Galactic Hunter.com's Star Wars Q&A with Adam Pawlus January 30, 2006 1. I'm a collector of the 3 3/4" figures & would buy an occasional Unleashed figure. My question is this: Instead of making ridiculously TINY Unleashed "Battle Packs", why not make some Unleashed figures in the 3 3/4" scale? Imagine the Clone Trooper Battle packs or the Wookie Warriors in 3 3/4" scale! I'd but 'em ALL I tell ya!! Who cares if there isn't any articulation. I imagine that without articulation, it would keep production costs down. I'm not suggesting that they replace the regular action figures... Just try 1 or 2 Unleashed 3 3/4" waves & see how they fare. Do you agree? The 3 3/4" figure is a main portion of Hasbro's bread & butter. I can't believe that this hasn't crossed their mind. Or has it? --Rich Funny you should ask-- I brought this up in 2003 when I was at Hasbro HQ for the first look at Clone Wars and other items at their media event. Both Hasbro and the collectors within earshot hated the idea, but I think it'd be a sound one-- an "extreme" pose 3 3/4-inch figure (or two) for about $10 with a really nice base? I'd be for that. Hopefully new Hasbro team members will get wind of it and consider it, but I think it's something they're considering-- although the one answer I'd expect to hear back is that similar scale means confused customers, and that can sometimes be a problem. 2. I have been calling my local Walmart about three times a week for about 4 weeks. They only had the first couple of new figures twice. Every other time I called or went there the pegs were completely empty. Any idea when can expect to find them available? I'm starting to get worried that they'll never get them in. Also, are Target stores getting any figures in? They have been as bad as Walmart. --Seth First of all-- don't call Wal-Mart. Like most people, they're underpaid and genuinely don't know toys remotely as well as you may assume they do. You could ask if they have a specific figure and they'll say yes without looking because they have dozens of supervisors, collectors, customers, and other people breathing down their necks with questions and the last thing they want is a question from a collector. Not all store employees are cursed to be this busy, but many are, and from those I've spoken to, they really appreciate it when you don't call, especially three times a week. Which, of course, sucks if you're like I was and didn't have a car when I was 12. Target, Toys "R" Us, Entertainment Earth, Wal-Mart, and (from one report) Kay-Bee are getting in Saga Collection figures. The thing is, a single collector can easily clean them out when new figures are shipped at one per case. So your best bet is to go as frequently as you can, or get them online through a trading buddy or another source. They're all over, and I've seen figures from both waves so far. It's just a matter of getting out and looking above all else. 3. Why is Hasbro releasing the Plo Koon & Ki-Adi Mundi Holographic figures WITHOUT leg articulation?! It's not like they don't have the molds for the articulated versions!!! Don't they have any idea that we would like them to be albe to sit in their jedi council chairs?! --JediBear123 Hasbro is pretty cheap and a lot of fans didn't much care for the molds from the Toys "R" Us packs that had the knee articulation. Could they do better to make them sit, stand, and what have you? Sure. But Hasbro-- with very few exceptions-- views spirit/holographic figures as an excellent way to use the same mold to sell you a new and different figure, thus saving them tons of money and allowing the figure tally to go up because selling you a figure you have with no paint at full price = profffit. (Three Fs for extra profffit.) They usually use whatever mold is around and in good condition for some of the repaints, and it isn't always the most pleasant choice. Might we see better articulated ones in the future? Sure. I heard-- and I don't know how much truth there is to this-- that Hasbro hasn't found a way to replicate soft goods parts in a holographic form as of yet that meets their liking, which is supposedly one reason the Holo Leia from 2005 used a mold that none of us would have preferred. So, for now, this is what we get. Which is far from great, but I'll take a less articulated Ki-Adi-Mundi holograph any day over Stealth Jetpack Armor Anakin. 4. Since Hasbro is so much into repacks, why don't they reissue the highly requested & harder to find figures such as Biggs Darklighter, Captain Piett, Ree-Yees, Admiral Motti, Space Trooper, Dark Trooper, Mara Jade-Skywalker, TC-14, R2-B1, Naboo Gurad, Naboo Security, Sidious Holograph, Sio Bibble, Amidala:Battle, Pit Droid 2-Pack, UK Exclusive Pi Droids, Asia Battle Droid from 2-Pack, Bo Shek, R4-M9, Padme: Ceremony & Homestead, Coleman Trebor, Clone Wars Non Animated ARC Trooper (RED & BLUE!), Assaj, Pablo Jill & VOTC Stormtrooper. I see most of these going for good money on Ebay, so the demand IS out there! --BingoWitch1013 This may be a difference of opinion, but you say these are all going for good money-- this is one of a few things that I have to pick a nit with. Also, there is no Mara Jade-Skywalker figure. There's a Mara Jade figure, though. Perhaps Mara Jada-Skywalker will come out with Leia Organa Solo. But I digress. When Star Wars figures are released, MSRP tends to be between $5 and $7. Factor in sales tax, inflation, and so forth, and any older figure you buy-- I'd say pre-ROTS at this point-- is easily "worth" about $10 shipped, if not a little more depending on how it's shipped. So if you can get it on eBay for $6 + $6 shipping? Cough up some money. I've been young and I know what it's like to collect on $2/week allowance with garage sales as your only outlet for Star Wars-- you CAN get what you want with a little patience and persistence. Some of these are indeed going for retail price or more, but the thing is, it seems you just listed many "hard to find" figures. I use quotes because a lot of these you can actually get without too much trouble. Some, like the foreign Pit Droids, well, that's a major issue and Hasbro will hopefully revisit it as an exclusive for the right partner. ($200+ for the set is too high for all but the most hardcore collector, but in some cases, none but the most hardcore will want every droid in every color.) But the red ARC Trooper? That's a semi no-brainer-- but if Hasbro does it again, I'd rather see a newer, better version that has the helmet painted correctly. (The blue one, you can get. Seriously, this is Star Wars collecting, a hobby which a lot of people-- not you guys, you're all cool with me-- got in on to sell stuff on eBay. And a lot of them are getting burned.) As far as the others, some are rumored to get new releases, and others-- face it-- can be had for a fair price. "Good money" isn't double retail, "good money" is $20 or more. R2-B1 and TC-14? I feel your pain, and yes, these would be nice to reissue at some point down the line. (There's only so many figures Hasbro can sell in a year.) But BoShek? I see 3 on eBay right now for under $5 with no bids. As far as closed auctions go, I see several. The average before-shipping price is about $6 or $7, which I not only consider to be cheap, but I think Hasbro would be poorly served to reissue a figure that has such low demand that it can't even go for what it sold for plus original sales tax in 2002. I see a closed Sio Bibble for $10, and I personally consider Sio Bibble a figure we should all be astonished even got made once, let alone wice. Mara Jade can be had for $15 or less, and here's hoping we see her again-- with a new sculpt, as Hasbro's craftsmanship in 2006 kicks all kinds of butt compared to when she came out in 1998. I consider $10-$15 to be a darned good price for hard-to-find carded figures that are over 5 years old. Ms. Ventress was resculpted (and highly improved) in the 2005 Jedi vs. Sith Battlepack. I'd suggest you snag one of those. (Or on eBay, someone sold a lot with her and an ARC Trooper for $26-- which is, as far as I'm concerned, a very fair price.) R4-M9s are going for about $5. Surely, that's a good enough deal? But some figures, like Pablo Jill, the Droids, and so forth are expensive figures and may require some trading or vulture tactics on your part. People sell collections all the time-- consider watching trading forums or eBay for these collections, figure out how much you can afford, and sometimes it's worth buying a $30 lot of figures to get 2 or 3 items-- you'll have lots of trade fodder left over for your next deal. A lot of people quit collecting every week, and they just want to get the stuff out of their house-- take advantage of this, be sure to let them know you're interested in their figures and offer them a fair price for the figures. (For example, maybe if they have a dozen figures you want, offer them $8 or so each plus shipping, not $3 each shipped. My apologies if you're already doing this, but most collectors who write in want to sell their figures for $30 each and pay $3 for the ones they don't have yet, including brand new ones.) So, allow me to wish you the best of luck. You can get some very good deals when buying small lots, and it may take you a few months to get some of the figures on your list. And in some cases, it's going to cost you. Still, Hasbro is on a reissue streak, and anyone paying any attention at all can see Hasbro has an eye on the Expanded Universe this year. I know full well Hasbro's first attempt at Mara Jade could be greatly improved, so when Hasbro asks what kind of figures you want to see redone, be sure to be vocal. Ask on the forums-- "did anyone else miss out on this figure?" Hasbro watches, and if lots and lots of people agree that they missed out on a figure, Hasbro's bean counters will notice, see that the molds are still available, and say "let's crank out another 60,000 ARC Troopers in blue and red for these guys, they're good people after all." Hasbro does pay attention and we as a fanbase do have their ear, especially when it comes to old molds they can reuse. When the POTF2 Y-Wing was selling for $90 or more, we spoke up, and a year and change later, we got an OTC Y-Wing. Which, well, is also going for about that these days. The point is, Hasbro would very much like to use old molds, and if fans are vocal and consistent about what we want, it's a pretty safe bet we'll see old molds (AT-AT) and repaints of old molds (Gunship) to our hearts' content. 5. What are the odds that some really cool storyline appears in the upcoming Clone Wars TV series (CGI animated?) involving these guys and suddenly those pesky peg warming warriors become highly sought after. Has this happened before that you remember? Not counting vintage trooper army builders, if that makes sense. By the way, where did all these figures go? What did the big 3 (TRU, TGT, WM) do with all the figures? Return 'em to Hasbro? --Tony Parents and kids are the real force behind all toy sales-- collector disinterest is somewhat moot. Store clearances are a beacon to mothers, they can sniff bargains miles away and will buy pegwarmers for their spawn when they're cheap enough. Sure, Neimoidians may be boring and abundant, but at $1? That's a fine price for a toy for a child, even if said child will use it as firecracker fodder. While it's possible in some cases that Hasbro will send a rep to take back unsold figures for store credit, I have not heard it happening with this one-- but I did see these guys by the truckload on significant markdowns, and even bought a few more myself at those low prices. (Hey, Anakin needs to have two to cut down on the Mustafar playset, right?) I don't think it's likely the regular one will ever be viewed as sought-after because of his peg-warming status (collectors never forget), and his big stupid gun. I do, however, still want more of the silver one, and if these do appear on a future TV project Hasbro may be a little gunshy to release more of them because there's no single race in the Star Wars Universe that sells this poorly across the board. 6. I saw the 19.99 metal ARC fighter at Target today and was surprised by how small it was. I thought that it was supposed to be the same scale as the Action Fleet vehicles. I passed up on it. The droid Tri-fighter did seem to have the right scale (though at 20 bucks, not the right price, for me anyway). Why do you think Hasbro made it so puny? It's only about twice as big regular small titanium series ARC. What other ships can we expect in the Action Fleet scale? --Robert That pretty much is Action Fleet scale-- which begs the question, what is Action Fleet scale? The answer is simple-- whatever they can fit into that size of a box without going over. So while it's not the most impressive thing on Earth, it is the correct size for its product type. 7. After the end of last year when Hasbro started to inundate us with repacks, repaints and kit bashes, I decided to clear out stuff in my collection and narrow down the focus to unique characters and unique sculpts (except troopers and droids where made sennse to repaint good ,molds to make new astromechs, clones, etc). I figured for example since I had the POTJ Tusken sniper, I didn't need the same sculpt with a Massif, or the OTC version that had new paint.) Upon going through and cleaning out my collection, I decided to get rid of the Maul on Sith Speeder game. The figure is a minor change to one of the other Speeder riding Mauls, this one has a brighter red face paint and dirt at the bottom of his robes, it was something I decided I could do with out. I listed it in many trade forums with other figures hoping to fill out my ROTS and TSC (The Saga Collection) needs. I am getting many inquiries on what I'd want for this. I don't even remember how or when I got it, I believ ein an overseas trade. So I tried to do some research, knowing it was a harder to find piece in 2000 and apparently released by FAO in the US and released overseas. But I can not find much at all on it. I even had trouble googling a photo to show a buddy of mine. I did find that the Toysrgus.com archives say only 450 were made, is this true? Exactly how rare and "valuable" is this thing? --Dan While the Maul on Sith Speeder game (with figure) is quite rare, 450 is most likely dead wrong. That's supposedly the number FAO ordered, but this item was most definitely sold internationally. I bought one from FAO, and two came from the UK (same package with a sticker.) Hasbro's minimums are usually in the tens of thousands, but this item shows up so rarely that I would be shocked if that many really existed. So it's a rare item, and it's really just a tiny variant, and here's the kicker: nobody seems to care. The most I've ever seen this item sell for is $70 on eBay (so far, I don't watch every day) and that's really a puny number for an item most people actually believe never saw release in any form, anywhere. Snotty as it may sound, I say make people compete. It's a hard to find item and frankly, it's the rarest Darth Maul action figure collectible that isn't a variant or an error, as far as I can tell. It's worth something, so see what the market will pay. I don't ordinarily advocate shooting for the stars, but hey-- it's not like everybody's got one of these. 8. A few questions about the new Saga Hoth wave. Is the R2-D2 the same figure as the mail away/early bird version? Is the Darth Vader a straight repack, and if yes, what release is it? --MarleyEds R2-D2 is the Early Bird version with added brown deco and extra accessories. (The Early Bird version was the VOTC version with a panel glued shut.) So it's just different enough to make me want it, but your mileage may vary. Darth Vader is based on the Vader 500 figure, which itself was an overpriced and less articulated version of the VOTC Vader. If you're looking for the best basic price Vader, The Saga Collection version is it. For $7 or less, he's great. However, the Evolutions and Vintage OTC versions are better, although they do cost a little more. As I type this, Saga Vader's helmet flew off and under my desk (as I opened it not 5 minutes ago) and this dome doesn't stay on worth a damn. As such, you may wish to buy some glue. 9. I recently purchased the Master Replicas Anakin Skywalker FX lightsaber and absolutely love it! I am interested in the Luke Skywalker Episode VI lightsaber, but am wondering why it (and the Mace Windu one) require six batteries instead of the three that the Anakin and Vader sabers use? Is the Luke saber an older, less-efficient design? Do you have any personal preferences on these sabers? Are they all the same, or are any "better" than the others, in terms of design and light/sound features? I guess I am looking for a review of sorts on these before I purchase another one. I really want the Luke one, but the Vader saber is on sale at many places and I'm tempted to get that one instead of the Luke one. Help! --Greg First, a tangent-- I just got word that the Anakin Skywalker Episode III FX saber is gonna be going bye-bye soon. Fair warning! The sabers are redesigned as technology permits, and some use more (or less) batteries. Functionality is the same, but battery life changes as they try to make them run longer on fewer batteries. They light up and sound all the same, including the new ones with two blades which you'll hear more about soon. 10. I was having a look thru the Lucasfilm web site the other day and happened to pick up on this: http://www.lucasfilm.com/inside/history/?page=8 Why does it say 1986 and include an animated cartoon-style picture of Jar Jar and Amidala? --Mike I... uh... what the Hell is that from? Anyone? FIN Seriously. What is that? 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!