Hasbro Q&A Sessions

[Hobbie]

The CW line is also packed more heavily with core characters and troops, while the realistic has far too many lame (as in not action oriented) figures like the Oraganas, Yarna, etc. 

I think Legacy and Legends should be merged, and the film themed waves done away with.  Getting more core characters from the OT in there would help as well, as I never see Luke, Han, Chewie, or a Fett on the pegs anymore. 

Oh, and how about some single carded astrodroids!  Goldie is selling great, and it would be so freaking cheap to keep repainting a droid as almost a running change to keep them in circulation (astromechs never pegwarm!)

Actually, that idea would work really well for the CW.  Take a solid Clone Trooper sculpt and keep it in continual release with only his color/name changing.  The cardback could even stay the same, with just a different sticker slapped on the front to indicate his new info.  This would work well for astromechs and battledroids as well, as we have seen at least a dozen of each in unique paint during the first season (and will presumably see as many more in the second.)

[Brian]

Yeah, I'm really surprised that we won't necessarily be seeing more astromechs anytime soon.  Its an easy repaint, which Hasbro has often been fond of, and they always seem to sell pretty well.  I know I'd at least like R4 to go with Obi-Wan and his fighter - and they could really go nuts doing the astrodroid for each Jedi as well (as well as the inevitable starfighter repaints).  Sure, we could use the realistic astrodroids we've seen, but as in the case of R4 - that isn't exactly an easy figure to locate.  I know I was hoping to have an extra just to put in Obi-Wan's Delta 2 - and its not like it is readily available.  Why not stick that figure in the Legends line then?

[Jayson]

I'd be up for a new astromech set like the Entertainment Earth sets where they can get 5 new ones out in one fell swoop.

[Jeff]

Yeah, I'm really surprised that we won't necessarily be seeing more astromechs anytime soon. 

The Clone Wars show is cranking out characters like crazy.  Most "wish lists" from Season 1 have over 100 characters that they've shown so far.  There are so many characters with speaking roles and so many new "action" characters like Jedi, Clones, and Droids that they still need to do.  Unless they figure prominently into a multi-episode story arc (like Goldie did), there just isn't room for the Astromechs.

I'd even wager that Hasbro sort of knew/expected a lack of Astromechs, which is why the ship was re-engineered so that you can put a regular figure in there and not just an Astrodroid.  Maybe the kids are perfectly content with putting Rex or another Clone inthe Droid slot?

Don't get me wrong, I'd would totally buy any CW Astro Droids they made, but looking at what's coming in CW Waves 5-8, there really aren't any figures that make me say "I'd rather have Obi-Wan's astro droid instead of figure X".   Yeah, Kit Fisto's astromech would be neat to have, but I'd rather have the Jawas, Yularen, Windu, Gree, Etc that are already planned.

[Brian]

The Clone Wars show is cranking out characters like crazy.  Most "wish lists" from Season 1 have over 100 characters that they've shown so far.  There are so many characters with speaking roles and so many new "action" characters like Jedi, Clones, and Droids that they still need to do.  Unless they figure prominently into a multi-episode story arc (like Goldie did), there just isn't room for the Astromechs.

I'd even wager that Hasbro sort of knew/expected a lack of Astromechs, which is why the ship was re-engineered so that you can put a regular figure in there and not just an Astrodroid.  Maybe the kids are perfectly content with putting Rex or another Clone inthe Droid slot?

Don't get me wrong, I'd would totally buy any CW Astro Droids they made, but looking at what's coming in CW Waves 5-8, there really aren't any figures that make me say "I'd rather have Obi-Wan's astro droid instead of figure X".   Yeah, Kit Fisto's astromech would be neat to have, but I'd rather have the Jawas, Yularen, Windu, Gree, Etc that are already planned.

That's a good point Jeff.  Just looking over our various wish lists here, its crazy how many figures/characters are on those lists already.  To be honest, it almost seems like Hasbro is a little behind.  I know the lead time for figures makes it difficult sometimes to "be ready", but you think it would have been great to have more CW figures on the pegs during the season - maybe even being able to have characters like Cad Bane and Mace Windu available now.  Instead, we'll get the Fisto/Jar Jar wave - and then its basically nothing until the fall (a problem with the entire line the way it looks, at least according to the presentation).  Anyways, that is an excellent point Jeff.  There are only so many basic figure slots, and the number of "significant" characters from the series is pretty high so its difficult to find room for astrodroid repaints (which I guess not many - aside from maybe Kit Fisto's droid - have done much of anything outside of R2/Goldie).  Maybe slipping them into battle packs or droid packs (like the ones Jayson mentioned) wouldn't be a bad idea.

[Hobbie]

My point is less that the various astrodroids seen so far are such prominent characters, than that they are an easy and cheap way to flesh out the line a bit.  With 4-figure waves that almost invariably including a core character or two, astro repaints, like clone repaints, are a great way to get more variety on the pegs and maximize sales of a hot property, while not increasing expenses by adding to the tooling budget.  And kids really do love astrodroids!

BP's would be a perfect way of doing this - I suggested a Shadow Squadron or Blue Squadron set to coincide with the upcoming Y-Wing release, but Hasbro explicitly shot that down in a Q&A, saying that while some of those pilots were coming, no droids were planned. 

Besides Kit's R6-H5, we've seen Ahsoka's R7-A7 pretty prominently in the Ryloth trilogy in both her Jedi Fighter and a Y-Wing, and since both of those vehicles are coming, you'd think it'd be smart to get that droid on a peg or at least in a 2-pack with Ahsoka.  Plo Koon's R7-F5 was seen in the Malevolence arc, and besides all the other Shadow Squadron astros, the Green R5 unit has shown up three times now, which should defintely make him peg worthy.

[Scott]

My kids play with the toon and movie astro droids interchangeably so I think Hasbro's point has some merit. 

[Daigo-Bah]

I think the best idea I've read so far is a return to non-themed waves.  I'd love a couple OT characters every single wave for sure, instead of waiting months through PT and EU waves to sell through.  I wouldn't mind trading for the BAD parts I'd need, either.

[Keonobi]

I too would like a return to non-themed waves.  In fact, get rid of waves all together.  I'm sure the people who buy figures by the case wouldn't like this, but why not just release a figure when its ready.  For example, Hasbro could decide they want to have 12 figures shipping at a given time.  When a figure has been shipped for a given period of time, or volume, they discontinue that figure and replace it with another one.  That way they can keep "A" figures in the rotation longer (for example pilot Luke) while only offering ICMG for a comparetively shorter time, and since that's a collector focused figure, there would be greater drive among collectors who want it, to get it.

This would also allow them to return a figure to the lineup easily.  For example if they made the definitely Rebel Fleet Trooper and it blows away their estimates on sales, they could simply send it for another production run and increase its time on the shelves, as opposed to having to wait to rerelease it in the Legends line two years later.  This would require more in depth understanding of individual sales volume/velocity than I think they currently keep (I'm guessing they instead look at case versions), but would allow everyone to get what they want.

[Darth_Anton]

I dunno. I like having waves I'm not interested in so I can not run around looking for them.

[Keonobi]

I dunno. I like having waves I'm not interested in so I can not run around looking for them.

Like i said, collectors who rely on the case makeups to decide when to look/order may have a problem with this, but it would allow Hasbro to more easily keep a figure in rotation longer, or make running changes, etc.  There's probably excellent business reasons why this wouldn't work, probably due to the sheer complexity of tracking that production, but it would allow a more diverse blend of figures, would allow for a single product line and would eliminate weak/strong waves.  Instead it would require you, DA, to shop all the time

[Hobbie]

Hasbro has stated that they do assortments rather than individual skus for figures because their customers (the big retailers) only want to deal with assortments, not a large number of individual figs.  (which presumably would have to be packed and shipped separately, and be a nightmare for the distribution chain)

[Keonobi]

Hobbie, my point was they should essentially go to a single sku, just vary what is in that box.  They wouldn't need to ship them each figure separately, just stop distinguishing one assortment from another.  Just ship "Hasbro Star Wars Action Figures".  No wave 1, wave 1.1, wave 1.2, etc.  Heck, have one bar code of the figures too, thereby saving Walmart some miniscule amount of their computing power.  I don't think Walmart would have a problem with this, because to them, a Star Wars figure is a Star Wars figure is a Star Wars figure.  The only reason they care about getting assortments, is because Hasbro releases figures in waves, it isn't the other way around.

[Hobbie]

I guess the way you describe it it sounds even more confusing.  Are you saying that Hasbro should just randomly pack the cases in China and hope they come out in a decent assortment when they arrive on the store shelves 3 months later?  It seems like the wave variations at least allow them to keep track of what is going where, if they or the retailers really want to know. 

If you just wish they could more quickly put a figure into circulation or take it out of circulation, there's not really any reason why they can't do that now.  In fact, they've said before that they've adjusted future assortments on how things are selling.  The main hook in the works, as I see it, is the delay between production, shipment by boat, and then warehousing, both by Hasbro and then by the retailer.  I imagine there's always a few months of figs "in the pipeline" that have to be dealt with before any changes could be made.

[Keonobi]

This might just be a misunderstanding on my part, but my assumption was that Hasbro ships from China on a, more or less, constant basis.  Therefore they wouldn't exactly be just "hoping" an acceptable variety ends up at the stores.  My thought was for Hasbro to have a more steady stream of figures.  Essentially they would have (taking this year as an example) started out with Luke, Han, Ben, Spacetrooper and the aliens shipping.  Then once that's been going for a bit they sub out two of the aliens for the Frigate Luke, then after a week or two they sub out the Spacetrooper for the Hoth Trooper, then they replace Ben with Needa, and then Luke and Han with Leia and Ugnaughts, etc.  Meanwhile the cases keep going out the door.  So, yes, conceivably cases could arrive in a different order than the change was made in China, but that shouldn't be an issue, because a given figure, Leia for example, would continue to ship for the usual amount of time that a figure would have typically shipped, she just wouldn't be tied to a wave.  Essentially the cases would be almost constantly changing, but the case ratios would always be an acceptable variety.  They would replace "A" figures with "A" figures (Luke for Maul or Vader, etc.)

My general complaint isn't that there is too much of a delay between shipping, its that you can go months without seeing anything new, then they push out 3 waves in just over a month.  By phasing in characters individually it would maintain interest for a longer term.

Frankly, I doubt Hasbro would adopt this model, as positive as this would be in maintaining an interest level at retail, I fear it wouldn't allow Hasbro the level of control they desire over the distribution chain.  For example if a test showed an elevated level of lead after a product has been shipping, they would face an enormous logistic problem.  So, I'm not going to hold my breath on this.   I was more or less thinking out loud (even though I'm typing) about a solution that allows a more steady stream of things to find in stores.  It just stinks that we've only seen 8 new Legacy figures since about Thanksgiving.....