Q&A With JTA: Our Fifth Column!

1. Is Hasbro likely to re-release the Imperial Shuttle for the 30th anniversary of ROTJ? We've seen the redesigned/re-tooled Falcon and AT-AT coinciding with the anniversarys of ANH and ESB and I was hoping that there might be a new version of the Shuttle Tyderium. (Daniel)

JTA: Hasbro did just answer this question recently during a March Q&A with BanthaSkull.com. Their answer? Here it is:

The Shuttle is not a strong enough vehicle to retool for a higher price point. It is not aggressive enough to really be a vehicle with a strong kid demand.

We completely disagree with their sentiment on this vehicle and we hope they cave one day (just like they did with the Bespin Cloud Car) and decide to make a slightly bigger one. I know I would like one big enough to house a crew of Endor Rebel soldiers as well as the rest of the gang as seen in Return Of The Jedi.

2. Why is the current vintage C-3PO so short and poorly made? The thing falls apart after the first time you dissasemble and assemble it back together. (Alan)

JTA: Alan, we partially agree with you. While we have read of other Star Wars fan sites that C-3PO is now appropriately scaled, we honestly disagree with them. Our opinion is that The Vintage Collection C-3PO is indeed too short. What we don't necessarily agree with you about is that he is poorly made. He isn't free of issues (like his thigh plate not staying on well) we have found a new respect for C-3PO. From seamlessly integrated parts to super-articulation, C-3PO really delivers collectors a plethora of things that should make them happy. Check out our Research Droids Review on him HERE and see if we can't help point out why this figure is not as bad as many of us think.

3. Do you think we will ever see the Gha Nachkt figure from the "Ambush On The Vulture's Claw" Battle Packs [set] repacked on a single card or otherwise? (Keegan)

JTA: We highly doubt it unfortunately, Keegan. Hasbro has been really "good" at keeping figures from The Clone Wars line that weren't part of the basic figure line exclusive to their respective sets. This may be good for the health of the line, but it's certainly bound to frustrate some collectors who refuse to re-purchase any repeat figures. And unless more generic Trandoshans get a bigger role in The Clone Wars show, it looks like Hasbro will be keeping them outside the basic figure line. (Even Bossk is looking to suffer the same fate.)

4. I found it surprising during a recent Forcecast episode where they were talking to Daryl Depriest of Hasbro he mentioned there was no plans for an update to the Tatooine Luke Skywalker figure. To me this figure along with the ROTJ Emperor figure has consistently disappointed me each time they have been redone since the POTF2 line back in 1995. I know a lot of collectors love the Resurgence Of The Jedi version of Luke, but I feel the lower half looks ridiculous and it doesn't even have proper peg holes in the feet to use a figure stand, the upper half is a huge improvement but I really feel this figure needs a definitive version. Do you and the collectors you know feel satisfied with the Tatooine Luke figures already released and what one do you consider the best? (Eric)

JTA: You aren't the only collector who hasn't been impressed with the Resurgence Of The Jedi Luke Skywalker. We have heard fans complain about this figure too. But if you want our opinion, we think this version of Luke satisfies the requirement for being the definitive modern update to the vintage figure. We think he looks well proportioned, has a phenomenal head sculpt and is painted beautifully. It would have been nice if Hasbro would have saved him for the basic figure line but we bet that he will one day make it out to that line one day. If Hasbro doesn't do this, then they are missing a great opportunity. Some would prefer to see a soft-goods shirt on this version of Luke, but we think he looks awesome as is.

5. Will we ever [see] a Darktrooper 3 pack that contains a phase 1, 2 and 3 Empire At War style? (shunter909)

JTA: We may not see a three-pack, but Hasbro has uttered a time or two that would like to revisit all three phases (with two of them already completed and released to date as part of the Legacy Collection). It looks like they are holding out on us for the last phase they still need to make. But we think it's coming shortly.

6. What have been your biggest dissapointments of recent years, in terms of product Hasbro has put out? Individual figures, concepts, sets etc? I think mine off the top of my head would be ---
- Gragra - I was really really looking forward to this amazing looking alien - unfortunately the figure let me down big time
- Kul Teska - not because its a bad figure - more that I just dont get it...? I don't understand why its SO huge -- just does not look right with the rest of the collection
- The demise of the Comic Packs and the rarity of the last releases - really annoying, that the last mass retail wave is so expensive to buy on the secondary market. I want an Exar Kun but not at that price
- and dissapointing to see at retail were things like Yarna, Xizor comic packs, Evolutions packs - all clogging the shelves and being blamed for the woes of the line. These were great, sculpted figures and items that look great in the collection - just a shame that they were either over-produced for the fan base or had erratic distribution. They dont deserve the [reputation] they are now tarnished with. (Matt)

JTA: We may not be the best people to ask this question, because in general we find it hard to complain about the stuff Hasbro makes for us. No, we're not kissing up to Hasbro, but we are thenkful that they have managed to keep the modern line going for longer than the duration of the vintage line now. But if we try hard enough, we think we'll definitely be able to find some things to complain about in the line. We take great exception with the clean white clone troopers and in particular the sandtroopers. There is just no excuse for this in 2010 and beyond when they aced it in 2005 (with the Evolutions figures). If it's a cost issue, then Hasbro needs to find other ways to save costs.

We do have issues with some of the figures and you can check out those comments specifically in our Research Droids Reviews, so we recommend checking them out if you're looking for our opinions on action figures. But overall, we think the Hasbro line is great. They need to focus on the films more and not let The Clone Wars line steer the realistic line into oblivion. Other than that, we're honestly quite happy.

 

7. You guys do great work and I turn to your website because the complaints that you guys make are legit ones. They aren't just made [for the sake of being] made. After finally running into a Commander Cody (TVC), am ecstatic that the belt was fixed and came with all the same accesories as the TLC did, however the helmet on this figure was YELLOW. Yes, it was yellowing already and I had to pass, I was willing to shell the 10 bucks at TRU but decided not to til I see one without this in the wild. Have you come across any like this? Every sample I see online has no issue, maybe I got lucky and saw one crappy one out of the batch? (John O.)

JTA: Both the TVC Clone Trooper and Commander Cody have samples where yellowing has started to occur. Interestingly, the Sandtrooper doesn't seem to have this issue (yet). We reported this annoyance in our Research Droids Review on the Clone Trooper and it appears that it is a chronic problem in the linw. Hasbro appears to be using inferior plastics which are causing this issue. The good news is that you'll be able to find some in bright clean white if you look hard enough. Unfortunately, you need to be a vigilant collector to make sure you are getting clean white action figures any more!

8. So Build A Droid is now finished. It was fun while it lasted. Unfortunately, I never collected whole waves so I have a very ecclectic inventory, which looks like the back closet of a Jawa sandcrawler. The only complete figures I have are L8-L9 and R3-M3, which are both great pieces. My kids have gotten very creative with the incomplete droids. We call our favorite Mal-Com, short for Amalgamation. While we would miss Mal-Com, I'd like to clear out the left-overs and get a complete figure. I am more than willing to part with most of them to get even just one interesting astromech. Not everyone can take the time to go to Orlando for the BAD swap meet. Is there a resource or link out there for trading BAD parts? (Jeff)

JTA: We have been working behind the scenes and discussing how to conduct our own Swap Meet here at Jedi Temple Archives. While we haven't solidified anything, we hope to have a spot in our forums where we can "store" available parts and send them out to collectors as needed. But we are still ironing out the best way to execute this. The Swap Meet at CV was the fruition of something we had wanted to do for about a year before and it's encouraging that it was so successful. Stay tuned to JTA as we hope to unveil something shortly. (Save those spare parts no matter what you do!)

9. Hey Paul, I have a The Clone Wars questions for you. First, do you know why the upcoming The Clone Wars Shaak Ti has eyebrows? Is this just an oversight on Hasbros part, or do they not pay close attention? Likewise, is this something that will be corrected? (Tobias)

JTA: We are a little bit confused by your question. We didn't see eyebrows on The Clone Wars Shaak Ti (image found HERE) just now showing up and the Geonosis Arena Showdown Shaak Ti/Geonosian Warrior version didn't have them either. Do you perhaps mean eyelashes? Although The Clone Wars version of Shaak Ti is faithful to her appearance in the television show, Shaak Ti doesn't have "white" inher eyes and this is something we are just going to have to accept for her in Filoni's interpretation.

10. With Hasbro stating that playsets are not items that will be considered given their tooling costs, has there been any talks with companies such as Sideshow to bring Star Wars environments and playsets to the market for fans who really would like to display their figures in memorable locals? If not, why would that not be an option to pursue? It has already been proven that Star Wars collectors are willing to spend money on high, dollar items such as the BMF, BAT-AT, Clone Tank and more. Sideshow offers wonderful environments for their 1/6 line and their price tag has yet to deter neither their purchase or the production of more 1/6 environments. I speak for many when I say that an updated 3 3/4 scale Death Star playset is long over due among other environments and if tooling cost is a concern for the final price tag, it shouldn't be for the reasons previously stated. If that remains the best reason then please help us understand why a partnership (already established with Sideshow) or any other company willing to bring this demand to the forefront could not be achieved. (Ted)

JTA: Sideshow has finally explained that they couldn't make playsets affordable for all collectors and therefore it would be a risk to make them. So it looks like we will need to keep badgering Hasbro to do the right thing and make a few key play-sets before they call it quits. A Death Star play-set is a no-brainer and we just don't know why they are dragging their feet on this. It could easily sell for $100-$150 if they made some proper enhancements. So we really don't know why they are unwilling (right now) to bring this set to collectors who have been supporting them since the beginning! We want Hasbro to deliver these play-sets to us. They make them the best and we just need to remain steadfast and keep reminding them that they are indeed wanted by us.