Hasbro's Questions & Answers #75

Don't forget, you can submit questions in our forums and we'll try to get as many as possible submitted to Hasbro. We can send only three questions per week, so make sure they are good ones! Now, on to this weeks Questions and Answers directly from Hasbro.

You can also check out our Q&A Round-up, as well as our exclusive Headline Report over in our forums!

Q. The day before the recent Comic Con 2009, a number of pictures appeared online of what seemed to be new Indiana Jones figures, including signage that seemed to be right out of the SDCC display cases.  Within hours of them being reported on several sites, the pictures quickly disappeared from Photobucket, where they were posted.  Luckily, I saved the pictures to my own Photobucket, and here's the link: http://s56.photobucket.com/albums/g190/ebaymogul/ 

These pictures included utterly convincing “Hasbro-like” versions of a Raiders motorcycle sidecar with riders, and an ark spirit/ghost.  While these figures are pretty much 100% now believed to be “kit bashes” that are fan made (albeit with what everyone on the boards seems to agree was really remarkable skill,) could you comment on the rumor that these are the work of either Hasbro employees (presumably done for fun or as a gag,) or are mock-ups (including components from other 3 ¾” toy lines) used informally by Hasbro?  The theory is that while several of them are clearly kit bashes, the skill level seems more the work of someone working in the toy industry, and there are parts used that appear to come from unreleased Hasbro prototypes (such as Toht's salute hand and poker.)  The bigger question - is this - or was this - some hint of Hasbro Indy plans either past/abandoned or planned/future?

A. This was a hoax, and we had nothing to do with it, nor was it the work of a rogue employee having fun.  Whoever did it did a clever job, right down to replicating our "tent cards" that we use when showing items at Comic Con.  There remains no current IJ development, and nothing of what was shows bears any relation (other than Toht) to work we had done prior.

Q. As usual, your presentation at Comic Con was great. My question is why didn't we see more for 2010? Last year the presentation showed things coming out as far away as March of '09. That is almost eight months after SDCC. I am curious as to why is R2-X2 in the Empire Strikes Back wave? Isn't "he" one of two possible droids from the Yavin Hangar scenes in ANH?

A. We didn't show more of the 2010 line at Comic Con because the focus is always on what fans can expect for the next six months, with a just a sneak peek of what is to come.  The 2008 presentation was a little atypical because we had a couple of key exclusive delays (the Ep. VI Rancor and the Wal-Mart Comic Packs) that had slipped out from Fall 2008. We wanted to make sure they got exposure because they were pushed out to the early spring, when we usually don't have many exclusives. Also, because we would not be able to get the word out before Toy Fair on these. We don't have any similar items for 2010, so the balance of the line will be seen at Toy Fair in February.  As to R2-X2, he was meant as a refresh figure similar to some other characters (ARC Trooper, Scout Trooper, etc) and was not part of the original figures created for the Episode V wave.

Q. 2005's AT-RT vehicle was an interesting concept.  It's one of the few motorized vehicles that we've had in the line.  But the mechanics of the toy don't seem to replicate just how agile the vehicle has been shown to be in the Clone Wars animated series.  Given that appearance in the Clone Wars, is an AT-RT in the lineup for the near future?  And might it be retooled?

A. We are looking at a new version of the AT-RT to be brought into the Clone Wars lineup.  It is smaller than the Episode III version, fitting with the more slender design from the Clone Wars animation.  Currently, it's slated for the deluxe figure/vehicle assortment and should be out for the first wave of 2010.  Stay tuned!

Check back in a few weeks and we'll post the next round of Questions (and answers) as soon as Hasbro offers them.