Q&A with Hasbro

Because we love you, I took some time out to speak with Hasbro's wonderful designers to answer some of the questions you sent in.   Well, obviously, there's a lot they won't (and can't) talk about just yet, but I did do some asking to the best of my abilities.   And here's some paraphrased answers.

1. What is on tap for the 12" line for 2005?

A. What you see is pretty much the lineup for the year, no additional regular stock or exclusive stock is planned for 2005.

2. What's the deal with the larger Titanium ships?

A. Two Action Fleet-sized vehicles will be released, the Millennium Falcon and Darth Vader's TIE Fighter.

3. Will there be a retooled Dwarf Spider Droid without the wind-up walking mechanism?

A. We're going to wait and see how the existing one does before revisiting this character.

4. Will we see the Republic Commando figures, or Quin Lon Vos?

A. We're big fans of the EU, and we're waiting to hear from fans and seeing what else is out there before we go this way.   Right now, we're focusing on the movies but there are lots of places to look for future releases.

5. Will you bring back Action Fleet?

A. Not this year, we're focusing on other product for 2005 like Force Battlers and Attacktix.   We may revisit this line down the road.

6. Will there be new Cantina figures in 2006?

A. Yes.

7. Will the Early Bird Figure set ship in a plastic tray like the original?

A. Not sure.

8. Any chance we'll see a Turbo Tank vehicle?

A. It's high on our list, but it's an expensive item.  It could happen some day.

9. Will Hasbro be rereleasing more Unleashed figures like Boba Fett, Han Solo, or Yoda?

A. We're doing a new Han Solo in a Stormtrooper outfit, and there's a new Yoda fighting the Emperor.  There are no plans for a new Boba Fett at this time.

10. Will Unleashed continue in 2006?

A. Yes, and no.   (Hasbro's team would not elaborate on this answer.)

11. Will we see Hermi Odle and Gargan?
A. We're not currently in a rush to do Gargan, but we're always interested in Jabba's Palace for other characters.  There's a lot of room to play there.

12. Are there any intentional paint variants on the two plain white carded Revenge of the Sith Clone Troopers?
A. Yes, at least two are coming down the line but we are not prepared to talk specifics just yet.

13. Will there be variants of the three-pack of Clone Troopers from the Deluxe Assortments?
A. Quite possibly, but not necessarily very soon.

14. Will the final three figures of Collection 1 (Obi-Wan Pilot, Mustafar Sentry, Turbo Tank Driver) have action features?\
A. No.

15. I heard a rumor they're going to do the other 8 of the original 12 figures to "finish up" the Early Bird Kit.  Is this true?
A. No, this is just an Internet Rumor.   The Early Bird Kit is a one-off product, or as we like to say, "the circle is now complete."  It's just a one-time thing to bring it back to the beginning and we don't have plans to do the other figures right now.

16. Will you do another Early Bird set for a hypothetical TV show (note: George Lucas confirmed both live action and animated shows coming in his presentation)?
A. It's an interesting idea.

17. Which is the right color for Palpatine's saber for figure #35?
A. Red.

18. Will Hasbro make more production of the Holographic Emperor?
A. No.

19. Will we see figures of the Medical Frigate Luke and Leia from ESB soon?
A. Not likely.

20. Will Hasbro revisit the Ultra line of figures (Ewok with Glider, Jabba the Hutt, Wampa, etc.) and do more of those?
A. No plans at this time.

21. Will we see more animated figures from the Clone Wars?
A. Yes, some three-packs with some new tooling are in development.   (No word was given as to who you can expect.)

That about wraps it up for now.  We did pull out some interesting tidbits on G.I. Joe (comic book pack #9 is still coming!), and on Attacktix (Star Wars isn't the only license being used for the gaming system, it seems) but beyond that?  We're still asking.  Things like the future of Star Tours will be inquired about again soon, as some things didn't currently have a definitive yes or no answer.

By far the biggest surprise was something Hasbro didn't confirm, but something a little bird told us from around the convention hall. We heard rumors of a head shot of Christine Hewitt, one of the two Tonnika sisters, floating around the Hasbro booth.   Also, the guys at Sandtroopers.com posted a handwritten letter from the actress basically saying that things we moving on the development of an action figure based on her.  Rumors from last summer have indicated Hasbro has been trying hard to do this figure, but, obviously, Hasbro is trying very hard to do lots of things.  While the official word is still a hard no, it is interesting that fan interest has pushed a lot of people on such a minor character which I, for one, would very much like to add to my collection.   While announcements from the actors don't necessarily mean jack squat, you may remember that the very first word on an Admiral Motti figure came from the actor quite some time before its release, so hey, it'd be nice, eh?   For the time being the only existing version of either Tonnika sister is from Galoob's lovely Action Fleet line, so if you have to have a chick with a green spandex suit and can't convince your significant other to do it for you, you can always go the micro route.

A fun tidbit for those who don't know is that in the movie, the sisters aren't exactly identical twins-- there's a slight height and outfit color difference.  If you were to get one figure, though, odds are you could either customize or just pretend that you have both.  Hey, beggers can't be choosers.

--Adam Pawlus