Willrow Hood

[Darth_Anton]

Scott's gonna have a heart attack...

The back of mine and Coleman's heads are in that picture, to either side of this head /\ . 

[obi-dad]

Man,  we collectors need to get a life!  I was very disappointed myself when I found out this was a joke, but come on people!   After reading all these replies, I agree, this was bad timing and a bad place for this joke.  Closer to April 1st would have made it more appropriate, though just a heart-breaking.   At least we know Hasbro is listening enough to know we want these figures - that's the first step.   I definitely would have bought these figures before many of the ones shown.   However, I also am getting to the point that I am done with prequel figures (well, for now getting quite sellective)..  I am tired of clone repaints, but I would buy boring figures like the Lars clan in a second.  Go figure.

[Darth Slothus]

Man,  we collectors need to get a life!  

Wow....that's sounding like something P. Wise would say...

realistically...you're commenting in forum on a SW collecting site nonetheless telling folks to 'get a life'?! It's the path we've chosen...I'm not ashamed of it, are you?

[Straxus]

Darn... I think it would have be really cool to have a X-tra crispy Beru and Lars Action(?) Figures. I am only half joking...I would buy a few of each just for humor value alone! The same would apply if they had made the Funeral Padme Action(?) Figure...

We need to do full customs of all figures on that joke screen, complete with package. As an addition to standard "Saga" formatting, we could add in a bold exploding image "Best Wave Ever!"
A blaster charred Aaya Secura corpse would have made that collection even better!

Yes it was a bad joke on Hasbro's part, but I seriously would have bought the entire wave of figures. Maybe they could make it an Entertainment Earth Exclusive collection...hehe

[Nicklab]

I think that anyone who was in the room for the presentation knew by the time Hasbro got to the "Xtra crispy Owen & Beru Lars" that this was a gag.  Seriously, a total of some 6 figures of corpses in some state of charring?  If you couldn't figure it out pretty quickly, then you probably don't have much of a sense of humor.

And if you think about it reasonably, why would Hasbro make figures of dead people?  I mean, they are supposed to be ACTION FIGURES.  What kind of action feature are these figures supposed to have?  Rotten decomposition smell action that starts wafting from the figure a couple of days after you open the blister card?  It was this train of thought that made the proposition of a dead Padme figure seem utterly repulsive and ridiculous to me.

Was it unfortunate that Willrow Hood and Yarna d'al Gargan were lumped into the group?  Yeah.  They have strong cult fanbases and the ICMG petition has been going strong for some time.  And I know that this site has been a stronghold for that movement.  I would also venture a guess that ICMG and Gargan probably had respectable showings in the Fan's Choice Poll but they just didn't break through the way some people wanted.  It's a poll.  Things like that happen.  But for us not to be able to laugh at ourselves in this kind of situation?    I think that once you start to take things too seriously, you're not having fun with them anymore.

[ruiner]

Honestly, I don't think it's tasteless - like Nicklab said, when you see dead bodies on the screen you should automatically realize that it's a joke.

Yeah, it does sting a little seeing ICMG and Yarna up there but do you really expect Hasbro to make those two anytime soon considering how small their budget is for new tools?

[Morgbug]

Nick,
I entirely see the humour from the charred figure routine, no doubt about it.  I also note that a lot of people would buy the charred Owen and Beru figures. 

And while I see your point regarding ICMG and this site, Yarna is sort of a different ball of wax entirely.  No petititions, no rabid fansite following, no running mate routine for fan club president.  And yet both of them managed to make the top 25 requested figures in a poll. 

So where exactly does the humour come from in mocking two popular, requested figures?  Given that they hadn't announced all of the FFC voting results, why make fun of those two figures in particular?  Is it funny in retrospect?  I suppose, but I'm still more than annoyed that they'd have the gall to do that to the supporters of that line that want those figures.  Why not use Jacen Solo or anyone else that did poorly in the poll?  Does that mean I've got issues?  Well yeah, but not with star wars toys, with other, unrelated things. 

I didn't see any of the other 'major' star wars retailers mocking their fan base?  Did you see Master Replicas joking about making anything?  Gentle Giant?  Nope, those company's egos aren't that large, at least not yet. 

Frankly I'd love to see Gentle Giant make a bustups version of Willrow Hood.  How fast would Hasbro scramble to correct that joke once that happened?

[Nicklab]

I think the process of the presentation becoming progressively more absurd as it went on is where the joke lies.  The premise gets funnier and funnier as Hasbro announces things that are more and more ridiculous.  That's just basic humor at work, and it worked itself up to the punchline of the supposed release date of April 1, 2007.

Where I think it's not funny is that this particular community has gotten so wrapped up in the ICMG petition that anything approaching a joke on the subject just isn't funny anymore.  In other word, it's being taken too seriously.  We are after all talking about Star Wars toys.  While it would be kind of cool to add ICMG to my own Cloud City display, I'm okay with waiting for this figure and I'm okay with making a joke about it.  It's certainly not a matter of life or death and I don't think it should be handled with such kid gloves.

If anything, I think "the joke" has pointed out that Hasbro recognizes that there is demand for at least some of the characters they mentioned.  Hence the joke.  They wouldn't know to make the joke if they weren't paying attention.  They do read forums on a regular basis in an effort to tap into ideas for figures.  No doubt this is where the ideas for some of the Clone Troopers due out in the next 6 months came from.  An interesting aside from the joke?  One of the designers at Hasbro offered freely after the Q&A that he would be interested in making a Yarna figure some time in the near future.  That might mean they could also be interested in ICMG at some point, too.  I think it would actually fit in with a Cloud City themed wave.

But I do think that the topic is touched on so frequently here that people have become hyper-sensitive about it.  The nature of humor is such that invariably someone or something gets picked on.  Either they can accept the comments as a joke or they can't.  If it's such an outrage, then write a complaint to Hasbro's customer service. Or a more powerful gesture would be to vote with your dollars and not buy Hasbro's product.  IMO, it was just a joke and needs to be taken as such.

[Morgbug]

Unfortunately Nick many of us weren't at the presentation and as such don't have the context that you refer to.  There was no building for those of us not in the room, there was simply reporting that came out as nothing but mockery.  Remember, you were there, most were not.  Although I have to fail to see the procession of the ridiculousness.  Again, that may indeed be in the context you had the benefit of.  I see nothing particularly ridiculous in announcing Yarna and then Willrow, both managed to find their way onto an online poll that was supposedly serious.  Yeah, I got it as soon as I saw the crispy figures.  Context, think about it.

Are we taking it too seriously?  Obviously, but the whole point of a discussion board is to voice opinion and not all of it can be positive and blowing sunshine up mighty Hasbro's ass.  And yes, I completely agree with your point about hypersensitivity, particularly amongst the group here at JD.  But that you come in here and be condescending to people that didn't have the benefit of seeing the progression of the humour is a little disappointing, to say the least.  We had and have not had the benefit of the progression or context of the presentation until your comments of today.  So I consider it to be surprising with the tone and attitude you're presenting.  I think more highly of you than that, so color me surprised.

As for voting with my wallet, that's already happening.  Gentle Giant, Sideshow, Tomy/Medicom/Kubrick, etc. are all getting more of my dollars.  There's many products I'm opting to not buy, either because they are simple rehashes/repaints, they are blatant cash grabs (tin sets with one new figure?) or they simply hold no interest for me.  On top of that I'm selling off lots of my Hasbro product at the moment (not here, the list is at snowtroopers.ca if you're so motivated ). 

It's a joke, no doubt about it, but it's not nearly so easy to figure out if you weren't at the presentation.  A little disappointment isn't so unreasonable, now is it? 

[Nicklab]

Unfortunately Nick many of us weren't at the presentation and as such don't have the context that you refer to.

The audiocast of the presentation is available on Hyperspace if you want to listen to it.  Check it out HERE.

Listen to it, and I think you'll be able to detect the snarkiness in it almost immediately.  First off, they called it the "Best Wave Ever".  Comic Book Guy or VH-1's Best Week Ever anyone?  Then there's the progression through Willrow Hood, then Gargan, then the "X-tra crispy Lars 2-pack", Funeral Pyre Qui-Gon, blasted Jawa 2-pack and Funeral pyre Vader.

Obviously the telling of a joke loses it's effectiveness in the retelling.  Hopefully the audiocast can put this whole affair in context.

[JediMAC]

If Comic Con was ON April 1, it might've made a little more sense.  Saying they'll be released on April 1 to turn it into the intended joke was a little silly though...

I wasn't too pissed about it, as I was kind of appreciative that Hasbro could A) Show it had a sense of humor about things, and B) Acknowledge the popularity of ICMG in the first place.  They certainly had me fooled after the first two figures, and I was even thinking the Crispy Owen/Beru set was slightly possible as well, but when the dead Jawa 2-pack came up, it became crystal clear what was going on.

Cruel to tease Scott, and ICMG fans world-wide, like that, sure.  I did find Yarna's inclusion in that set to be very discouraging though, as she should be right near the top of the "To-Do List" over at Hasbro by now.  I mentioned as much to them, and like Nick said, they pretty much said they'd get to her eventually.  I'd assume the same is true of ICMG.  He's become such a pop icon of collectors now, that they'll eventually throw Scott the bone and get that figure made.  Hell, it's no more boring a figure than that lame Naboo Soldier that's coming out in the next wave.

Anyway, Willrow is definitely on their radar, so I think that's the positive we should try and focus on, and just know that if we're patient, we'll probably eventually get him some day.

I also want to make sure everyone's caught a glimpse of mousedroid's great shirt that he had custom made for Comic Con:



Great stuff, Rog'!  

[Jesse James]

Roger's shirt had me cracking up.  I needed the laugh...

About the Wilrow Joke I can look at it two ways...  One is Hasbro just jabbing fun with no intent of saying "We will never make this(these) figure(s)", and really just trying to have fun with it... 

The other way of looking at it is that there's a certain level of condescending smugness by doing the "joke".  There could have been a bit of a mix though...  I think the better way to have handled it would've been at least acknowledging whether you meant it sort of in a literal sense, or if you weren't ruling this or that figure out...  Ease the sting of it.

Anyway though I think there's hope yet and Matt did do a little chit chatting to get some thoughts on the joke, and the figures...  I think Scott's got reason to keep his demand for this one going yet.

[Jedi_Assassin]

We should stop buying our stuff through the major stores and get them through private dealers like i do most of the time.

[Scott]

We should stop buying our stuff through the major stores and get them through private dealers like i do most of the time.

If that happened you could probably kiss SW figures goodbye

There needs to be retail sales of the figures to make a profit on the exorbitant price Hasbro paid for the license (unlike GI Joe)

[CHEWIE]

Yep, retail is the way to go.  Gotta has the masses exposed to this stuff each time they walk into a toy aisle.