1. Remember the 6" scale Epic Force figures (old OB1, Bespin Luke, Vader, EP1 OB1)? Do you know if their lightsabers are removable from their hands? Or are they sculpted / glued in place?
--Randy

Sort of-- they can be removed in some cases, but that wasn't the intent of the design.

2. I was thinking about the McQuarrie concept Vader and Luke recently and I think they need a playset. The scene where they are fighting in the white hallway is one of the more well known images of Star Wars concept art and McQuarrie art. What do you think about a cardboard mail-away playset? I'm thinking something similar to the cantina or Jabba's palace playsets from POTF2. It's just a fold out paper product but I thought they were really a neat item at the time. Do playsets like that still fit the Hasbro business model or are they just too dated/simplistic?
--Dan

Playsets of any kind are an unlikely addition to the line. Playsets based on concept art? No chance. Hasbro has proven super-reluctant to even offer pop-up cardboard dioramas in any capacity, as a lot of fans still would love to see movie-based ones. I'm going to say there's no way it will ever happen unless Hasbro does a 180 and changes their mind overnight, or unless the diorama license gets contracted out to someone else.

And even then? I'd put this on the "unlikely" list.

One thing fans all seem to agree on is that we want more playsets, but I don't ever see fans demand the same ones, or in most cases, anything specific. Were I Hasbro, I'd be skittish too-- if we all got together and asked for the same thing, it might make sense, but I'm seeing people go on about how the greatest playset Hasbro could ever do would be Palpatine's office. And I have to assume I'm not the only person hoping they're kidding but probably aren't. When you get right down to it, there are some great scenes that would make a lot of sense to replicate with your toys but most of them might be a tough sell at high double or low triple digits. For example, I think Hasbro could whip up interest in a super-cool Cantina, a pimped out Jabba's Palace, or God's Gift to Death Stars. But as much as I love it, and while it's be my #1 choice, I don't think a super-plush Bespin/Cloud City would be a big seller... and I'd assume a McQuarrie Concept Space Corridor would be even less of one. Right now, anyway-- you never know if Hasbro decides to do a McQuarrie-based Battle Pack down the road and needs something for a backdrop. Your best bet with this sort of thing is probably to talk to some customizers to draw up something you could print out on a fancy printer, and then cut up and fold out yourself.

3. I usually do not complain about what Hasbro does or does not do. For the most part I am very pleased with what they release. With respect to the Legends Sandtrooper, however, I am PISSED OFF!!! Hasbro responded to a question posed by Rebelscum.com on the question of whether or not we will actually get the Sandtrooper figure we voted for(Super Dirty Evolution w/ gun) and they responded "A possible sixth version, super-dirty using the Evolutions body, will likely not make the line unless we re-release additional quantities for a last shot next Spring. If we get that chance, we will....until then, we will likely have just the five". This is beyond belief to me! I voted for this figure and next to the Darktrooper it recieved more votes than ANY other Star Wars figure in almost the entire line from 1995 til now and we can not get what we voted for, great. Are you as pissed off about this as I am!
--Jeff

It's good someone cares, I guess. With Saga Legends, Hasbro has decided to do a lot of figures fan's didn't ask for-- like Chewbacca. And man, do I not care. I got all the figures the first time around, and I presume a lot of fans did. There's no shortage of them out there on the secondary market so if you want them, there's absolutely nothing keeping fans for getting them for roughly original retail.

This figure WILL be released again, as it's my understanding the rerelease of the entire Evolutions boxed set which includes it will be the "grey" flavor. So yeah, wait a couple of months and you can get one in the stores once more.

If you really want one (or more) of this figure, check your favorite forum's trading section. I have no doubt there will be people who want the clones but not the Sandtroopers, so you might be able to get a bunch quite easily.

4. When i open my battlepacks and vehicles they usually have nice artwork behind them and i try my best to preserve whatever i can as its brilliant for dioramas. BUT hasbro makes it impossiable for us to re-use these backgrounds whilst removing the figures! i think the artwork is brilliant and they put a fair amount of time into it, so why do they make it impossiable for loose collectors to remove it?
--Rich

It's difficult, but not impossible. If you have scissors, a small knife, and the patience to cut a lot of tape, you can salvage the cardboard parts without too much trouble. Just be prepared to spend 10-15 minutes on each set, as that tape can be tricky at times. The main problem with reusing the backgrounds is that for them to look cool, in some cases, the figures have to be floating there and that's just not going to work.

The packaging, sadly, is not usually designed to be a playset or diorama for collectors (with the exception of Galactic Heroes, of course.) Hopefully Hasbro will make a couple of changes in their box design philosophy and start allowing fans to easily manipulate their packging into a nice backdrop.

5. I was wondering if the new Commander Keller has a belt that fit's around his waist. I have seen pictures with and without. I think it looks better with the belt and was wondering if Hasbro did this so that the collector's could choose the way that they wanted to have it? Also do you know when the release date is for this set?
--Brad

The most recent test shots I've seen do not, but those are test shots-- even packaged samples can change before the final product is released. At this time it's looking like it won't, and these sets are (at the last I heard) due out before the end of the year. So we can all scramble like idiots among the holiday shoppers in a futile attempt to score these sets during the holiday insanity fest.

6. I thought I would ask you about this even though it isn't part of the Hasbro line of figures. I've heard that the Disney "Stitch as The Emperor" figure has been pulled from the shelves and discontinued due to a licensing issue. I don't know if this is true because you hear all sorts of things, but in a way it makes sense because I recently visited Disney/MGM in Orlando and found piles of the other figures and absolutely no Stitch figures.

Any idea what is going on here?
--Mike

I'm 99% sure it's a fan (or uninformed dealer) rumor-- this sort of thing happens all the time as someone makes it up and everyone else believes him, echoing it on eBay and elsewhere. Stitch is supposedly the most popular character in the wave, so it's just selling well-- there is no known "licensing issue" unless you know of some weird loophole that may cause *ALL* Stitch merchandise to be called into question. With Disney's interest in the development and ownership of their own intellectual property since the Pooh debacle, this is pretty gosh darn unlikely.

In 1995, the same rumor came with the arrivals of C-3PO and Princess Leia figures-- fans all over insisted they'd been recalled, had lead paint, and so on because they were hard to get. It happens a lot in this hobby and there's very rarely any truth behind it.

7. I do not collect Star Wars figures at the moment although I do have a sizeable hand me down collection of the original figures. Anyways, I collect Kubricks, Palisades' Muppets and the 25th Joe line. I'm not totally sure how I stumbled on your site, but I think it might have something to do with the Hasbro Q&As that have been occuring for both Joes and Star Wars. Reading your work, however, has gotten me totally into Star Wars again, but I am only interested in the Vintage Saga collection and Vintage Original Trilogy collection. I have searched (googled) but have been unable to find too much about these series. Can you point me in the direction of a helpful site or tell me yourself the history of the lines, how much I should spend to acquire a complete MOC collection, their availablity, and possibility of what is to come?
--Andrew

Funny you should mention this-- I was at a Wal-Mart a week and change ago that I hit regularly and I stumbled on a cache of VOTC Lando, Obi-Wan, Han, and Leia with no prices on them and a bunch of Episode I figures. No joke. So there can still be a LOT of freak sightings of older figures, 2006 figures still pop up from time to time. And, apparently, so do 2004.

Here's the long and short of it.

- No vintage for 2008 -- the line is on hiatus
- Lots of Vintage figures were rereleased elsewhere in cheaper forms, so if you want loose figures, seek those out
- There are 12 figures from 2004, 5 figures from 2006, a mail-in figure from 2006, and 6 from 2007
- They originally sold for $10-$12 each
- George Lucas in Stormtrooper Disguise-- the mail-in-- might cost you
- Their 2005 "cousin" was the Evolutions line, boxed sets of super-poseable figures from the saga. Evolutions returns in 2008 but with an Expanded Universe bent from comics, games, novels, and elsewhere

The line started in 2004 as a celebration for the DVD release and proved fairly popular, so Hasbro did more in 2006 and 2007.

Your best bet is to buy a small collection on eBay-- you can get a "lot" of 6 or more figures for about $30, so you can snap up a whole series in a hurry. The 2007 line is still available and you can order them online fairly easily. The 2006 line was considered a flop more or less, so you can get some figures (Greedo & Han Endor especially) for a couple of bucks each. 2004's line is still pretty popular but many of the figures came out again elsewhere, so they're kinda cheap. I'm sure with a little patience you can buy an entire collection in one (or two) fell swoops.

8. I know you're an opener, so how the heck do you get these little [Pit Droids] to stand? I've had a heck of a time getting the Pit Droids and Saga Legends Battle Droids to stand well. The Pit Droids don't have foot pegs, and the Battle Droids end up coming out of the packages with such bent body parts that after a day on a stand they end up pulling the stand over.
--Dave

The Battle Droids are a victim of a design flaw-- they do bend in a warm room if left on a display stand. I'm not sure if it's the materials or the actual shape of the figure that's the real problem, but it's a real problem, so taking a lot of time to pose them properly really does make a big difference in ensuring their standing upright. The key here is to make sure they're leaning or standing free, a display stand may cause them to bend.

The Pit Droids I've been lucky with usually, but there are two cheats I advise you to try. Cheat the first: lean them against something. It works. Cheat the second: double-sided scotch tape. Works like a charm, trust me. I used it for the POTJ Salacious Crumb, and it was the best material I've ever seen for use on smaller figures like this.

9. Can you confirm how many different variations of the SL Sandtrooper there are? I remember a Hasbro Q&A where they stated the Super Clean version with a Black Pauldron was replaced? Can you confirm this?
--Jeremiah

We've gone over this before, but it's a holiday, so I'm gonna phone this one in.

So far, Hasbro has released several versions of the Saga Legends Sandtrooper. They are: 2006 Mold (Grey pauldron, dark mud), 2006 Mold (Orange pauldron, light dusting), 2006 Mold (White pauldron, no dirt), 2005 Evolutions mold (Orange pauldron, light dusting.)

Hasbro not only talked about a black pauldron Sandtrooper with no dirt, but packaged samples exist and they even solicited this item in assortments. Not a single one has been seen from a non-Hasbro source yet, so this item officially has not been released and may not ever get released, as the cases that were supposed to ship with black pauldrons actually shipped with white pauldrons. If you see one in the stores, show me, as I have seen no proof that the company ever released it to retail yet.

If you're a loose collector, though, you can put a 2006 Sandtrooper shoulder pad on a 2007 white Sandtrooper figure and it's the same thing it would've been. It's possible a carded one may hit stores later but seeing as it was supposed to have been out, and another flavor replaced it, it's anybody's guess.

10. Do you know any details on the new K-Mart tins yet? Are they like the last ones where the figs were "just different enough" or are they straight repacks? I don't usually hit the big K's in my toy runs and was wondering if I needed to start.
--Wade

Hasbro says "soon", and some Kmart exclusives just have a habit of spontaneously showing up. Until there's an actual sighting, I'd avoid the Mart of K as it could be a while, but then again, most collectors don't hit Kmart so it might be good to haunt their aisles.

The figures aren't significantly different from previous releases. Aside from the fact Oppo comes with a lightsaber, there's nothing really notable about the figures. As the artwork of the tins, to my knowledge, hasn't been shown yet I can't tell you what to expect there. Unless the tin art is unique, I plan on passing on these as there are no significant changes outside the one lightsaber, and I'm pretty sure the saber is a repack of an existing saber.

FIN

A lot of people seem to be finding the new Target exclusives which officially aren't "out" yet but are of course sitting in back rooms awaiting someone to either ask for them or for the impending reset. Me, I'm waiting-- I hate asking employees to look in the back because, by and large, 99% of requests I make to a store employee other than "can you ring this up?" get answered with a look of pure, 100% extra-virgin scorn.

It seems that people are finding Target's "Ultimate Battle" sets, or the AT-ST deluxe kit. Both the Endor and Hoth flavors look pretty cool but the bad thing is that between the new Galactic Heroes, ships, and Battle Packs, your Target bill could be as high as $250 before you even think about buying duplicates. I'm a big fan of new cool toys but I gotta say that spreading them out a little would be nice-- the same thing happened last year, too. Plus there's new basic figures hitting, so it's going to be a pricey Q4 yet again. It's a good thing Hasbro doesn't have any high-end vehicles this year because we'd probably see Hasbro SW product cannibalize sales of other Hasbro SW product. That or collectors are, on the whole, filthy stinking rich and money is no object. Which I doubt.

I got my new Wave 4 comic packs this week, as you saw on the front page a few days ago. I'm still largely impressed with them, not just the series, but the line as a whole. I mean, I don't get why Hasbro doesn't flat-out abandon the basic figure line and switch to this. $10-$12 for two figures and a comic, or $7 for a figure and a coin? The only way the line could get better is to up it to $15 and toss in some scenery bits or build-a-figures. If you currently are not buying comic packs, I suggest you go out and grab one or two. (Surely you have $10 to blow.) The new wave is pretty good, but there are some excellent sets through the entire line. I highly recommend the Obi-Wan Kenobi & ARC Trooper Alpha set as well as Anakin Skywalker & Assassin Droid. Oh, and Purge is a good set, mostly due to the comic. And Hobbie is really awesome.

Usually I take a break from Q&A from Thanksgiving until New Year's. Traditionally, this has been because my question backlog goes to about zilch as Hasbro news goes into hibernation, but courtesy of "secret" exclusives and about half of the 2007 line being released in a 3-month window, it looks like we're going to keep on trucking for a while. If we get a few more questions, of course. Otherwise it's probably going to be seven straight weeks of FOTD. Oh boy, I can hear the joy in the front page visitors already.

Got questions? I bet you do. Email me with "Q&A" somewhere in the subject line and hopefully I'll get to yours in the next column!

Click here to read the previous installment of Galactic Hunter Q&A!