by Adam Pawlus

A lot of these figures look like ones I already have. Are the people at Hasbro recycling molds already?
While exclusive figures do seem to be reusing existing molds, the main line toys do not-- not yet, anyway. Chewbacca (Wookiee Rage) and Darth Vader (Lightsaber Attack) do not share the exact designs from the recent Vintage Original Trilogy Collection figures of the same characters, although it does seem that they were designed alongside one another. On the other hand, Toys "R" Us' exclusive Holographic Yoda is a repaint of a Saga version of the character and Lava Reflection Darth Vader from Target is a repainted version of the 2002 Silver Vader, which was previously used for the 1997 Final Jedi Duel Darth Vader. The Battle Droid, Super Battle Droid, and Destroyer Droid seem to be made from previously available molds, albeit slightly modified versions.

Where are my favorite other Original Trilogy characters?
While some characters from the other films are being salted in multipacks and may show up as exclusives, Hasbro stated in 2004 that they might be given a rest for 2005 so Revenge of the Sith can take center stage. While some top notch versions of C-3PO, Darth Vader, and other characters are coming, it is unlikely that new versions of Luke, Leia, or Han can be expected in the season of Revenge of the Sith for 2005, unless a new theme debuts before the holidays.

I heard they changed the cardbacks already. What's the deal here?
Early reports indicate that the big Darth Vader has gone from purple to a more blue color. The same thing happened in 1999 with numerous variations of the Episode I cardback due to changes surrounding the Innovision logo. Running changes are pretty common, and happened again in 2002 when Saga figures had backgrounds at one point at launch and then did not.

Will all figures include the grey rectangular bases? Or any bases?
Hasbro has decided to include stands with most Collection 2 figures and a few Collection 1 figures. Collection 1 stands so far have been specific to the character and his action feature, namely R2-D2 and one of the Obi-Wan Kenobi figures. For Collection 2, three different molds are being used and repainted to represent different environments.
A Ship stand looks to be a corridor or a room in a building. It has been painted to represent a couple of different environments but the specifics are unknown.
The Mustafar stand has been included with two figures so far and there is little differing the two.
Finally, a Kashyyyk stand has been repainted to represent Kashyyyk and what we presume are other worlds.
Each stand type can connect in a number of ways, much like the Dagobah stands from the Original Trilogy Collection. They can form a little arena of sorts, but are tricky to assemble into any meaningful shape and, of course, you end up with fewer stands than you would like.

Why are there so many specialized Clone Troopers?
Hasbro dropped the ball with these guys last time, despite there being a lack of variations on them. Only five different designs were in the movie, which Hasbro translated into nearly 20 figures-- problem is, many were hard to get and there wasn't much variety. This time there's plenty of variety and Hasbro will be producing so many figures for army building purposes that you may not need to buy several of each-- two or three of every Clone (plus repaints) may be sufficient to build a good basis for an army.

What's with this new packaging? Isn't there a greater chance of theft like there was when G.I. Joe made the switch?
It is possible, but it's your duty as a fan and as a collector to not participate in this kind of behavior. The new packaging is also glued on two points rather than one, requiring that you rip the package to remove the figure. Previous packaging for G.I. Joe was glued in one place so figures could be easily removed and reinserted.

Will they bring back the OTC cardback?
Yes, but it is not known for how long. The upcoming exclusive Holographic Princess Leia figure for StarWarsShop.com and San Diego Comic Con will appear on a cardback nearly identical to those used for the OTC.

Why were there release dates if most stores ignored them?
To be honest, we're not quite sure. While few toys leaked to stores before the target Episode I figure launch, countless cases were unloaded early for Attack of the Clones and as such, this does have a precedent.

Why is Target making our lives miserable with this limited Lava Darth Vader?
With over 1,000 Target stores getting 24-72 figures each, it is not expected that this will be difficult to get for long-- you can read much more on this figure, how other exclusives have fared once the hype wore off, and more here in a previous Q&A article.

What do I get by mailing in the Early Bird Kit form from Wal-Mart?
"New" versions of R2-D2, Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia from A New Hope. Chewbacca is the "vintage" figure with a new head, and R2-D2 appears to be the mold used for the POTJ Naboo Escape release as well as the Hall of Fame and OTC version-- the one with the wheels. Luke and Leia are new sculpts, or are heavily modified to the point where we are comfortable referring to them as such.

Are we getting more Jedi Master Points?
No, these have been dropped from the figure line. Hasbro has not made any mail-in redemption offers known for 2005.

Will Hasbro only release 56 figures in the basic ROTS assortment?
It seems like this might be it for Revenge of the Sith in 2005, but the line will most likely continue to include numerous characters before it loops back around and incorporates more figures from the other five films.

Will there be any prequel trilogy items in the new packaging?
Some Expanded Universe characters will appear in gift sets but not a lot of other prequel characters are expected at ths time. There are absolutely no known plans to include non-Revenge of the Sith figures in the firey packaging.

Will there be Collection 1 and Collection 2 figures?
Yes. The designations are similar to what we saw in 2002, with the Collection 1 focusing on core characters (i.e., people with decent screen time and often action featres) and Collection 2 covering minor characters (i.e., set dressing, figures without any meaningful "action feature," & cannon fodder.)

Will there be Clone Trooper army builder packs?
It certainly does appear Hasbro is dusting off its Clone Wars three-pack molds and giving them new heads for release later this year. While we are hoping they will not include hard-to-find variant repaints, it is unknown what their plan is at this time for these.

What’s the deal with the variant Senate Guards?
While quantities are unknown, there will be two flavors of the Senate Guard. Both use the same packaging, but one is a red guard very similar to a cross between Kir Kanos from Crimson Empire and the vintage Emperor's Royal Guard Kenner figure, and the other uses the same mold with a new head, blue coloring, and a few minor tweaks. As this and most figures are packed at one per case, you may not be able to get both versions simply by purchasing cases. The same assortment number has been known to include either version, so be sure to ask if you're worried about such things.

Is it true that the early assortments each have 12 figures at one per case?
Yes, but there are going to be a lot of cases shipping to your local stores. If your local stores aren't doing it for you, try one of our sponsors. Future assortments have several new figures at two per case.

Last updated May 9, 2005.