Adam Savage seems to be making the rounds with some of the legendary filmmakers of Lucasfilm.  Here he sits down for an hour long conversation with Ben Burtt.  And it was really enlightening to take in his perspective on the history of sound design with Lucasfilm.

Adam Savage's Tested - The Iconic Sounds of Star Wars with Ben Burtt

Someone posted a list of their desired Haslabs on anotheR Site, which Jayson made the comment that one will be the next Haslab.

List below:

Episode I: Naboo Royal Starship
Episode II: LAAT/C Gunship Carrier
Clone Wars: Twilight
Episode III: Turbo Tank
Bad Batch: Havoc Marauder
Solo: Lando's Millenium Falcon
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Inquisitor Shuttle
Andor: Luthen Rael's Fondor Haulcraft
Rogue One: U-Wing
Episode IV: Mos Eisley Cantina
Episode V: GR-75 Medium Transport
Episode VI: Imperial Lambda Class Shuttle
Mandalorian: Mandalorian Gauntlet Assault Craft
Book of Boba Fett: Boba's Rancor
Ahsoka: Ahsoka's T-6 Jedi Shuttle
Episode VII: First Order Troop Carrier

LOL, that was me!  I threw a lot of $**t at the wall, and something might have stuck.  So when Jayson confirmed that Hasbro was looking at one of these as a possible Haslab I wasn't terribly surprised.

Out of the whole list I think you can narrow this down to 5 or 6 that have better odds than the others.  As for when it might happen?  Your guess is as good as mine.  One thing that I will say from the outset is that it would be nice if Hasbro delivered the Ghost before launching another TVC  Haslab campaign.

Beyond that?  I'm of the opinion that vehicles that have been made before in the modern era might get struck from the list.  That would eliminate:
Episode I: Naboo Royal Starship
Episode III: Turbo Tank
Solo: Lando's Millenium Falcon
Rogue One: U-Wing
Episode VI: Imperial Lambda Class Shuttle


So then I think it might come down to relevance.  Which of these has NOT appeared in entertainment within the past 2-3 years?
Episode II: LAAT/C Gunship Carrier
Clone Wars: Twilight
Episode V: GR-75 Medium Transport
Episode VII: First Order Troop Carrier


That would leave:
Bad Batch: Havoc Marauder
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Inquisitor Shuttle
Andor: Luthen Rael's Fondor Haulcraft
Episode IV: Mos Eisley Cantina (also appears in season 1 and 2 of The Mandalorian)
Mandalorian: Mandalorian Gauntlet Assault Craft
Book of Boba Fett: Boba's Rancor
Ahsoka: Ahsoka's T-6 Jedi Shuttle


So what are potentially the weakest selections on that list of seven?  I would eliminate the Inquisitor shuttle and Boba Fett's Rancor.  We never see the interior of the Scythe class shuttle.  And after the failure of the Black Series Rancor Haslab, I can't see Hasbro offering ANOTHER Rancor Haslab.  Beyond that?  What might be an item that Hasbro would NOT want locked behind a Haslab paywall?  For me that's the Cantina.  I could see that being offered like the TVC Jabba's / Bib's / Boba's throne room.  But I do see the potential where Hasbro might consider offering a Cantina denizen figure dream pack as a lower cost Haslab.

With all of that criteria taken into account I think it would narrow the field to include:
Bad Batch: Havoc Marauder
Andor: Luthen Rael's Fondor Haulcraft
Mandalorian: Mandalorian Gauntlet Assault Craft
Ahsoka: Ahsoka's T-6 Jedi Shuttle

What other possible criteria could cut a vehicle from Haslab consideration?  I do see the potential where Hasbro might not want to lock the Gauntlet behind a Haslab paywall.  And that's because Gauntlets show up in multiple media, and they're numerous.  There are a number of them in the Mandalorian fleet in The Mandalorian season 3.  Would Hasbro want to deny themselves the potential for multiple sales per customer?

So, I think it might come down to these three:
-Havoc Marauder (The Bad Batch)
-Fondor Haulcraft (Andor)
-T-6 Shuttle (Ahsoka)

The third and final season of The Bad Batch is reportedly coming towards the end of 2024.  Would there be sufficient support for a Havoc Marauder?  That's unclear.  Especially since Hasbro has only offered one member of Clone Force 99 in The Vintage Collection.  Everything else in TVC has been another Clone, and not a member of the Bad Batch.  Would Hasbro do what they did with the Ghost and offer the team in conjunction with a Haslab campaign?  The precedent is there.  And if Hasbro waits to launch the campaign after they deliver the Ghost, then the Havoc Marauder might be more topical.

That would leave the Fondor Haulcraft and Ahsoka's T-6 as the remaining ones to consider.  We've just come off of the AHSOKA series season one, and I think the support would be there.  And if we're looking at the criteria of what might be timely after the Ghost gets delivered?  ANDOR season 2 looks like it's coming in 2025.  The Fondor haulcraft is likely to return.  So the potential for it to be topical is substantial.

I'm interested to hear what other people think.  Because my methodology could be off here.  And it's definitely worth people voicing their own opinions here in the spirit of dialogue.

Without a doubt, one of the most recognizable creators from the Original Trilogy was ILM model maker Lorne Peterson.  Check out this fantastic interview that Adam Savage, himself an ILM veteran, has with Lorne about the nuts and bolts of creating some of the iconic miniatures from the Original Trilogy.

Adam Savage's Tested - An Interview With Former Star Wars Modeler Lorne Peterson

It was interesting to hear Adam mention that he replicated some of the OT miniature work for Galoob.

I found two Ross stores, but both are close to an hour's drive away from me.  It's didn't seem worth it to make the drive.

I would be happy to be wrong about the Tonnikas, or Lucasfilm, or Hasbro's stance.  I just feel like there are more constructive things that the community could rally behind that are attainable.

A Blurrg or a Howler would definitely be nice.  But IDK if Hasbro will go there with a creature in this line.

I think it's more likely that we might see vehicles in the Epic Heroes series.  And probably something that's on the simpler side.  I think we can *POSSIBLY* look to the Marvel Epic Heroes line and its vehicles for an idea of what might happen.  But I'm have a difficult time figuring out what that might include if the vehicle line is going to hit a price ceiling of $39.99.

I hope this will not be an excuse to re-release the REBELS speeder bike in new deco for Sabine.  I'd prefer that to be re-made from the ground up in TVC as it's seen in AHSOKA.

Quoting myself the SW The Vintage Collection Facebook group, because I simply can't bring myself to go through this again:

I can’t express how much IDGAF about these finalists. We’ve got one candidate that might be interesting, but is largely in contention because Momaw Nadon (Hammerhead) checks an O96 box.

And the other(s)? A masturbatory exercise that makes people in the collecting community feel better, but will likely not succeed in persuading Lucasfilm Licensing to change their position on the Tonnika sisters. I spoke with actress Christine Hewitt at Star Wars Celebration 3 about this - in 2005. She couldn’t explain the situation, and neither could Hasbro at their SWC3 panel - when the guys from Sandtroopers posed the question to Hasbro with Hewitt in attendance they would not say anything. Fast forward to today? And the Star Wars brand team at Hasbro has turned over. The people at LFL licensing have not. I stopped banging my head against the wall on this topic years ago.

I thought I understood the general concept of this poll at the outset. But I don’t think it’s achieved its goal. I haven’t had a candidate from my list in contention since the first round. I liked some of the top ten, and was persuaded to stay in it until there were 4 left. But the structure of the poll makes me feel like it’s a card trick where the choice is being forced on you. I don’t feel like the goal of this poll has really been achieved here. It’s simply reaching that 50% +1 via artificial means. And I’m just not going to vote in this round.

I’m interested to see how the participation numbers look if/when that data is released. Did it increase or decrease over the course of the process?

Quote from: Nicklab on December 12, 2023, 12:38 PM

I'm taking Hasbro at their word for the $24.99 price.  Because if you've been in a Target store lately, you've got to see all of those $28 deluxe figures lingering.  Hasbro pushed pricing too far, and I think they've come to recognize that.

No doubt about it.  No one is buying Paz Vizla for $33.48.

My question though, is what is Deluxe about this Jango Fett?  That is 100% a basic figure IMO.  Over the last year or two, Hasbro raced right pass inflation into price gouging.

Don't you know, Rob?  It's paint apps!!! 

I think it's ridiculous, too.  It's like the Boba Fett tax all over again.  But this time it's anyone NAMED Fett.

I think the real culprit here is that volume sales are down, and costs are up for manufacturing in China.  That's the end result of the growth of the Chinese economy and its labor market - increased labor costs, and the "global supply chain" issues.  Plus, those license royalties have got to get paid somehow.  So who's going to do it?  Us, of course.  And Hasbro is all too happy to give us that "gift".