Hasbro Q&A Sessions

[Darth_Anton]

  And somewhere, they also mentioned how with the Naboo/Endor wave, some figs actually got pushed back from it til next year or later - maybe that Qui Gon they talked about was supposed to be there.

I think they're specialy talking about TAC wave 2 which was to be Saga2 wave 8.

[Paul]

Yeah, the no modifying the comic pack figs was interesting, considering Han; they must have already done the tooling for him (or for the upcoming clone head Stormtrooper, which I assume is the exact same body). 

Right, it sure isn't the OT Tin Sandtrooper body.  I've tried the head swap and it didn't work.

[JesseVader08]

Can I nominate whoever had the question about Multi-Colored Stormtroopers for "Question of the Week"...

That's a "winner" for sure.  Ugh, what a terrible idea.  [insert barfing emoticon]

[Nicklab]

Here, here.  We already got the Blackhole Stormtrooper.  Are people expecting a red Stormtrooper now?  I know that whenever I've been at a Con and I've seen this guy in red Stormtrooper armor, I've been somewhat uncomfortable with the whole idea.

[CorranHorn]

I wonder how FFurg qualifies their statement about the Marvel 2-packs being hit of miss. They haven't been out long enough to justify that statement.

That was my question, and thus my statement which I based on posts I've read on various boards since the time the figures were first shown online several months back. Taking a look at the threads related to the comic 2-packs here on JD alone, you can see how there are those who really like the idea of "Marvel-colored" figures or hate it. And really since when does a product need to be released for collectors to have a strong opinion of it?

Yeah, the no modifying the comic pack figs was interesting, considering Han; they must have already done the tooling for him (or for the upcoming clone head Stormtrooper, which I assume is the exact same body). 

That was what I got out of Hasbro's answer as well. The Stormtrooper mod must have already been in place for them to get that into production a lot quicker than they could have with a modified Vader.

[Jesse James]

Yeah, those sound cool. I'm pretty sure there was different colored stormies, unlike the camo BDs.

And I nominate this for most missed point from a post ever.

I don't think OCB was nominating that question because it's "cool", and right now EU doesn't imply a vast array of rainbow colors for Stormtroopers.  Quite the opposite actually where the Clone's individuality given them by the Jedi is seemingly "taken" from them after Order 66 (or a little while past), and thus the all white Troopers from the OT...

I'd sooner Hasbro concentrated on actual EU designs before they went into rainbow OT Troopers, but a big part of me really feels this was inevitable if LFL wasn't opposed to the idea...  It's dumb though.

I'd rather see them do a Storm COmmando ala Rogue Squadron, or the original Zero-G Stormtrooper design than the all-too-easily-imaginable red, blue, purple. plaid, vertical striped, horozontal striped, and the holiday edition candy cane Stormtrooper variants. 

About the FFURG question, I don't have anything to do with the Q&A there Anthony but I think what CorranHorn's notion was, was that the fan-reaction to the packs was mixed...  And it was of course.  I know I hate them, yet other people I speak to think they're cool to have a set of...  Some just wanted the Han.  Not a home-run concept I think, but one that some like it, and some hate it (and while they're not out long I can say that, in my area anyway, they are pegwarming some...  at least 2 packs seem to be for me that is).  But yeah I can see the question though I can easily see Hasbro saying, "They were just released so we're not sure yet".  I haven't read every Q&A yet to know the answer, haha.

I think the Marvel Comic sets are REALLY aimed at collectors though...  I have a hard time seeing the kids get pulled into them much, but stranger things have happened to so what do I know?  But that point I think sort of influences the importance of early fan reaction as opposed to waiting a month to see if these are stagnating on pegs.

[Jeff]

Hasbro has informed us that due to their busy schedules as they get ready for Toy Fair 2007 and the launch of the 30th Anniversary collection, they will be reducing the Q&A sessions to an "every other week" schedule.

So, there will be no answers this week.  The answers to the questions that we submitted on 1/12 will instead be available on 1/26.

[Sems Fir]

Yeah I thought that was interesting too...  GH did a story once a little bit ago about a guy that had sculpted the VOTC Chewbacca which really is one of the finer sculpts of the modern line I think...  I find the who's behind the scenes to be interesting because sometimes you can almost tell the same guy did this or that...  That Chewbacca definitely has a look that makes you notice that same "style" almost in other figures I think. 

I would've thought they had more sculptors in-house to tweak the sculpts too really.  The times of keeping them inside the company seem to be gone though for most toy manufacturers.

I apologize for bringing up an old question / answer, but Hasbro's reply could fall under the mmmm....okay catagory.  It's true that there's not that many sculptors in house that work on the Star Wars toy brand (yes, I do know how many sculptors are in house), but stuff still does get done inside as well as outside.  Those two inch figures are all done overseas and not in the states.  Pretty much every figure that Hasbro develops gets tweaked for approval.  Since the company let most of the sculptors go and there's numerous toylines and not enough bodies to sculpt freelancing is the way Hasbro goes.  Overall, it's cheaper for them to outsource than pay a staff's family healthcare.  It's a shame as there was so much talent that went by the wayside all for the bottom dollar.

Robert
www.behindthetoys.com
LEAD EDITOR
BLACK S. U. N.

[Diddly]

Hasbro has informed us that due to their busy schedules as they get ready for Toy Fair 2007 and the launch of the 30th Anniversary collection, they will be reducing the Q&A sessions to an "every other week" schedule.

So, there will be no answers this week.  The answers to the questions that we submitted on 1/12 will instead be available on 1/26.

Hmm, that sounds really suspicious. Are they going to go back to the weekly format once Toy Fair/Launch of TAC is over with? If not, I''m thinking that this Q&A could be on its last leg, which I believe a few people around here were predicting a few weeks ago.

[Jesse James]

I'm not shocked by their decision for some pretty obvious reasons.

[Jeff]

The Hasbro QnA for JD from 1/12 has been posted...

- Tantive Rebel Trooper Close-Up?
- 2007 Wave 3 Vader: new or repack?
- Death Star Trooper: new or kit-bash?

[Jesse James]

Guess we beat ourselves on our own first question.     hehe

[MetalJedi]

The best way to manage the line, as we have been doing very successfully for the past two years, is to stick with a balanced approach. We balance our cases to ensure that we have the best mix at retail for both kid-targeted figures and collectors, ensuring the best retail "turn" on the pegs. Producing solid case packs of "niche" characters is a sure way to doom the productivity and would lead to these types of figures being dropped entirely, which nobody wants to see.

Yeah, solid cases of troop builders would definately "doom" the line since they would never sit on the shelf longer than 24 hours(if that). 

[Jesse James]

Kind of a boring week overall...  So far anyway.  Win some and lose some...

I thought the question about angle-cut articulation on the knees was a simply silly one though considering that articulation style was pioneered by another toy company and abandoned because it sucks...  It works far better on the arms while it limits the knees.  Then again I think the knee joint is no less important than the elbow really...   I just feel the angle-cut works better for the elbow joint since it allows for wider range of realistic posing while the angled knee really is only good for 2, and perhaps 3 good poses...  It was a failure for 21st's toy line initially and it was a failure when implemented on Star Wars figures too (Sith Training Maul, Fleet Trooper, etc.)

Then again I'm also of the opinion that I don't think you should get short-changed on ANY figure's articulation...  Ball/socket knees and elbows (sometimes angle-cut elbows to save) with wrist joints should be standard...  That's hardly super articulation (or "super articulating every figure" as Hasbro put it, which isn't what anyone has asked for really), that's just what the new standard ought to be at this point...  Drop the ankles if the feet are a "neutral" sculpt (IE: Not like Cody's ankles) and you're doing great.  I love SA as much as the next guy of course but I'm ok with the Saga Death Star Gunner too...  To me, he's pretty much just as perfect as a VOTC Stormtrooper really.

Anyway though...  The other question that caught my eye was the one asking if the 501st Stormtrooper from the Rose Parade was going to be released.  That was pretty commonly known (from StarWars.com) that it was a gift to the 501ster's so I thought that was a wasted slot, but whatcha gonna do I guess?  I guess that was just not known to everyone maybe.

[Paul]

Something else I got out of the Q and A this time is that there are 15 Comic packs and 25% of those will be Marvel.  That bascially means that once the Luke and R2D2 pack hits, we will be done with  with Marvel Comic Packs.