1. Why do you suppose Hasbro bases the majority of there concept & design on production shots? The reason I'm bringing this up is because i'm a little tired of getting new & redone figures without there essential accessories. One of the more current let downs in my mind would be that the Luke storm trooper doesn't have that little comlink that Garrinden comes with. Even if he doesn't have a place to stick it on his belt I would still like to see him come with it, How hard is it just to mold a tiny little comlink?

There are too many others that really are upsetting as well, But i don't want to complain I guess i'm just glad i'm getting the luke in the first place, but without a comlink, he and the rest of the hero's would be squished in the trash compactor, why can't they just watch the movies for Inspiration.
--CP

I see what you're asking, and I think I can boil it down to this: "Why doesn't Hasbro make the accessories that I want?" The short answer: a) it's easy to be an armchair quarterback, b) things cost money, c) added accessories do not always equate to improved sales.

Hey, that's pretty good as a short one really. Basically, even though costs are going up, there are still costs that need to be met and profits that need to be made. Adding an extra part can cost tens of thousands of dollars in tooling alone, plus you have to hire a sculptor to make it, and then pay to get it stamped out and shipped to the USA, and so on and so forth. That, and if it doesn't "make" the figure, sometimes it's hard to get your hopes up. A Comlink with Stormtrooper Luke (without some form of holster) seems like an easily lost accessory, and it's not like C-3PO has ever come with one either. This is, of course, not to say I wouldn't mind having one.

When you get right down to it, it's not because Hasbro is lazy or spiteful, there are generally just a bunch of reasons why they don't want to do something. Another of those reasons is frequently the possibility of double-dipping on a figure, which I wouldn't necessarily expect here as I don't think a comlink would warrant a second purchase. But who knows if we'll get a Battle Pack one day with a bunch of extra accessories? There are lots of accessories over the years that we didn't get that would have been nice, and other figures still that came with inaccurate accessories or were lacking something that may have seemed important for the character. After nearly two thousand figures, it's pretty unlikely Will Hasbro ever be able to make all of the people happy all of the time? With thousands of toys, probably not, nor should they be expected to do so.

2. I've recently taken an interest in Unleashed Battlepacks. I used to think they were cheesy and badly produced because it seems a lot of the time that either the lightsabers or long rifles are all bent up in the packages for these two inch figures. However, recent additions to the line like the Arc Troopers and other Clone Wars figures have got me reconsidering this line. So, I have a few questions for you. Do you like Unleashed Battlepacks? What is your take on them? Will you ever include them in Figure of the Day? And lastly, do you think they will ever get around to making Jabba and plethora of his hench men in this two inch scale? I think Gramorreans or Amanaman would look bad ass in Unleashed Battlepacks.
--Kris

I'm not 100% sure I have the entire line, but I do have most of them. They're goofy little figures that seem best on a computer desk or a monitor, as toys they're pretty awful. Hasbro says they're consistently good sellers, I guess I can see why given you get four little figures for under $10. It seems like something moms might like, that kids might accept, and will in no way substitute for a real action figure. (Especially when a box of 4 can be $20.)

I really do like the idea of the line but the execution is... lacking. The head and face paint on numerous figures turned out poorly, I loved the ARC Trooper pack with Fordo but was less than pleased with the accuracy and the general low-level detail. Still, I bought them, which may make me a sucker.

My main beef with the range is the inconsistent size-- Snowtroopers are much bigger than Clone Troopers, for example. This is really annoying and it basically says to me that no collector should probably take the line too seriously, simply because Hasbro obviously doesn't. I like them for what they are, but they're just this goofy little thing that is kind of fun. If the line continues, I'm sure it will spill over to Jabba's Palace eventually.

As to Figure of the Day, a few were included in early 2008, but the column won't be including in the future. Upcoming entries are all slated to be 3 3/4-inch, as that seems to be what the readers of the column want to see. (Or so my reports tell me.)

3. OK, I'm not a big collector, I like the toys but dont collect all of them... THat said, my 5 yr old wants a Star Wars Leia figure. I've got the classic 1977 version, but I was wondering which NEW version is the best?
--Lou

The best figure for a smaller kid-- if you ask me-- is probably the 1998 "Princess Leia Collection" version that came with R2-D2. She has a cloth dress, is sturdy, has a so-so likeness, can sit, and functions as a toy. There are other versions that look pretty good, but have problems with limbs falling off or are unable to bend at the hips. This older figure is your best bet for playtime fun with a minimum of complaints.

4. I'm collecting more and more SW limited edition stuff of any kinds. Just out of my curiosity, what is your opinion with this merchandise line in terms of the future value?
--Chris

The reasons that a manufactured, mass-produced hunk of plastic or resin increases in value are many. Sometimes it's because the item is desirable due to its low production run, or because it's such an amazing piece. Other times it's hype-- a huge burst of excitement will push an item's value skyward. There's also the issue of history, which is the one thing that you can see pretty much always guaranteeing a product be "worth" something. There's a very finite number of sealed, 1978 Kenner Darth Vader figures-- Hasbro can make a million new Darth Vaders, but in the eyes of the fans who will shell out for a real classic, none of them will be an acceptable substitute. Hasbro's 2004 "Vintage" figure is nice, but it can never be that special original figure that was sold before Star Wars' sequel had a name. A copy is a copy is a copy.

The high-end collectible stuff is tricky-- it's a business, and part of it is knowing where to draw the line. I've seen large numbers of collectors turn their nose up at a piece simply because the production run was too high, even if it's in the low thousands or just a few hundred. Another issue to consider is how much it cost in the first place. It's not abnormal for a $5 figure to climb to $50, but I can't recall that I've seen any recent (post-1995) toy launch at $60 and climb to $600. Some of Gentle Giant's items shot up quite a bit, but it's not "historic" yet, nor are Sideshow's, nor are Master Replicas'. New licensees come and go, driving prices of the modern-era stuff up and down. There was a time where Kenner's and Hasbro's 12-inch figures from 1997 were actually worth a small fortune. Yet the Kenner originals from 1979 still command a pretty penny-- and short of the fanbase dying out, odds are nothing will change this. For some reason, Icons' original lightsabers don't seem to be all that in-demand despite being the first made-- probably because later releases are just as expensive and largely just as good. Oh, and they're not dating back to anyone's childhood who is likely to want them.

Most high-end collectibles I've seen tend to go up slightly or hover around the initial asking price, unless there's a massive amount of interest in the item. Due to the fact that there's so much Star Wars stuff (and DC Comics, and Marvel, and so on) it seems less and less likely that any piece will shoot skyward without some sort of built-in significance.

The collectibles game is a roller coaster for "investors," so I suggest you buy stuff you're going to leave behind after you die, and if by some lucky break it ends up being "worth something," well, good for you. Even with the Hasbro stuff, very few of the higher-dollar items tend to stay high-dollar for long. Fans are fickle, and hundreds of new licensed items are released every year. It's going to be hard for anything to stand out once the shiny newness wears off. If you think I'm just being a snot, let me ask you this: when was the last time you thought about buying some of Icons' Star Wars prop replicas? Some of the stuff really is hard to get and that's why you won't see it on eBay... but a lot of it stops being interesting to people right after they finally get it in their hands. Blame the never-ending production cycle and short attention spans of fans, and the fact that when an item starts off as being prohibitively expensive in the first place, it generally has nowhere to go but down.

5. Hasbro, via their Q & A and apparently a conversation with Dan Curto, have confirmed that Tonnika sisters figures are not going to be produced. For me its interesting keeping track of news like this because subjects like that will make good projects for custom figures since a custom won't be overtaken by a Hasbro figure down the road. In Hasbro's Q & A I've seen two responses regarding a phase II Captain Fordo figure from the originial Clone Wars cartoon - the first (from 2006 or 2007 before CW3D) indicating that such a figure was likely to eventually be made, the second (more recent) suggesting that any Clone Wars figure from this point would be from the new series. Legacy wave 3 would've been a great place for Fordo as a repaint instead of the Salecaumi trooper - so, any hope for Fordo or any other first series Clone War figures? Any other figures you think might be in the category of won't-be-seen?
--John

After 13 years, it seems like the Tonnikas may never see production. The stories for this are many and varied, and I know what my sources tell me, and I believe them here. This isn't to say there's never going to be a way to fudge it, but that's the story for now-- and that's the attitude you should take toward everything anyone tells you, including Hasbro, me, or anyone else in this hobby.

Since 1995, Hasbro has proven one thing: nothing is unrealistic when it comes to the 3 3/4-inch action figure segment. There was a time when Kenner said to me "we will never do another Han Solo in Hoth outfit, certainly not with the hood up." That was 1996. There were times we were told more Ewoks, specifically Woklings, were pretty unlikely. We were also told vehicles were on their way out, and just this year we've seen quite a few new space ships haven't we? You can't tell the future, you can only speculate based on the attitudes and actions of a company in the present. I can't forsee the future, and neither can Hasbro. Management changes, the market's desires change, and the product will be changed accordingly.

I personally believe you will see a Phase II Fordo in plastic unless Hasbro is reading this column and decides not to make it out of spite. It won't be soon, but there's another 10 years on this license and fewer recognizable characters to do up in "realistic" style. Hasbro told us new Clone Wars cartoon-originated figures were pretty unlikely a few years ago too, and yet here we are with Quarren Soldiers and Mon Calamari Knights. Your own toy collection is evidence that anything can happen, just make a big enough stink about it and if it's a decent idea, it'll happen. Heck, even weird ideas happen-- how else can you explain BoShek, Willrow Hood, a new cartoon-style Jar Jar Binks?

FIN

I wrote the column like a week ago, but this little bit I'm writing just now. I just came back from Phoenix, and it's really quite amazing how the toy ecosystem varies from town to town. (Something I actually have people writing in to deny on an irregular basis.) For example, in the areas of LA which I cover, you're extremely unlikely to see any of Wal-Mart's Droid Factory exclusives. Yet in Phoenix, I had a few chances to pick up multiple sets-- if I wanted to-- over the weekend. It just goes to show the value of remembering to ask your trading buddies or asking on forums if anyone might have access to something before overpaying on the secondary market-- sometimes, you can get lucky.

As you saw on the front page last week, my big score were Target's two Ultimate Battle Packs. As the weekend went on, I noticed prices really did vary-- depending on the location, prices were $62.99, $69.99, or $72.99. Judging from your comments, it seems that even the lowest price is too high, and you've largely decided to wait for the big clearances. I can't say I blame you. The one strange thing was that it seems few stores had units at all, and those that had any out on the shelves had none in the back-- and only 1 of each, max, on the shelves. I have no idea if this means one should be spooked into buying at full stroke, or if more are on the way, or what. There seemed to be plenty of the G.I. Joe gift set, which I'm actually interested in-- but have no interest in paying $63. $30, maybe. $15, absolutely. But not $63.

All in all, for Black Friday, it seemed really tame in my neck of the woods. There were lots of crazy stories from the weekend, but on Planet Dull, it seemed like a reasonably busy Friday-- although some of these Wal-Marts were just as busy when I used to pop in during my lunch break many moons ago. So who knows-- I found some other toys I wanted too, so I'd call it a good weekend, and from the look of things as far as expected exclusives before 2009, I think I can pretty much call it a year as crazy toy runs go.

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!