Q&A With JTA: Our Eighteenth Column! 10 Questions!

1. I was wondering if you could tell if McQuarrie Concept R2-D2's "arms" on his dome are removable. To blend the figure with the rest of the droids I was thinking of pulling the top arms off but I didn't want to break them off in case they weren't meant to be removable. Also do you know if that little T structure on the top of the dome is supposed to do anything? Mine is able to turn without rotating the dome itself but I'm not sure if it was meant to. (Nick A.)

JTA: The Concept R2-D2 figure has no removable parts whatsoever. Even the retractable third leg cannot be removed. It seems that Hasbro didn't want this figure to have much play value. But can you blame them? The McQuarrie Concept sub-line of basic and exclusive figures are totally catered towards collectors. Despite not having removable features, Hasbro did include some cool articulation like the "T" you've mentioned. On my sample, the "T" sometimes moves by itself and other times has helped move the dome for me.

2. Why must Hasbro make the hands in the figures so soft that they deform after holding a weapon for a while? Wouldn’t it be a better idea for them to make them out of a harder plastic that holds its shape? The Vintage Grievous would be great, but those legs are so soft and rubbery. What do you guys think? (Jacob)

JTA: Jacob, I totally share your sentiments that Hasbro should be using stiffer plastics in most situations, but the hands should have some "give" so we don't have to shove the weapons in their hands and possibly scratch the paint. I think it would be better if Hasbro makes it a priority to not put the weapons in the hands of the figures and in their own places in the bubble. (This has been happening more frequently thankfully.)

3. In Revenge of the Sith, just before it goes to Obi-Wan, Mace, and Yoda talking in a gunship, along with all the Coruscant Clone Troopers, there is a wookie. I was wondering who it was and why was it there? (Anthony)

JTA: I always thought for years that this was Tarful. If I am wrong, please someone in cyberspace correct me. But it looks just like him (judging by the white fur in the face and the shoulder armor and dreadlocks). I assumed that he was there to escort the Grand Army of the Republic, along with their Jedi general (Yoda) back to Kashyyyk since Kashyyyk needed back-up with the impending droid invasion.

4. Why has the Q&A become so erratic? In one week you did two within the span of a few days, not that I'm complaining I was happy about that. But what happened to it being every sunday evening? (Nick)

JTA: Our Q&A is erratic because our readers are erratic with sending in questions. (We're saying this with a big smile.) Sometimes we have none for weeks, then we get a dozen at once. I will try my best to keep the flow more even and not have multiples back to back. We definitely cannot get it back on schedule for Sundays at 6PM because there is no guarantee that I will get questions that consistently. (Sorry! But we said that this column is up to you!) :)

5. Do you think Hasbro will be doing ANY more OTC or PT vehicles anytime soon instead of just focusing on the Clone Wars? (Nick S.)

JTA: The weird thing is they already kind of are! The Hailfire Droid and the Republic Swamp Speeder have only been shown in the films, yet they're both in The Clone Wars packaging. But I know what you mean. There is a major drought with mid size vehicles from the films. I often speak with friends from the other fan sites and I have quickly learned that this is a big issue for many collectors. And what I don't understand is we have shown Hasbro that there is major collector support for the OT/PT vehicles. The Bespin Cloud Car has amazed me at retail. It may be the last one sitting there, but it hasn't clogged the shelves like Hasbro alluded it would when they told us for years they would not be making it again for the 3.75" line. Hopefully the 3D releases of the films will be reason enough for a plethora of new and reissued product to come to us again. And I bet Hasbro has a few special things planned for the 30th anniversary of Episode VI. (And if you don't Hasbro, please start working up something now so it will be ready in 2013!)

6. We saw Hasbro recently replicate the rocket-firing Boba Fett, which I saw frequently referred to as "the Holy Grail" of SW action figure collecting. Is this item (the real thing) truly deserving of that title, or is there another? What other figures are considered the rarest and/or most coveted? What are the stories behind these rare items and what items have recorded the biggest paydays at auction? (Andrew)

JTA: I have always been of the opinion that "Holy Grail" is in the eye of the beholder. For example, every new Sideshow Collectibles 12" figure is my newest Holy Grail... until the next one comes. And while there are probably a zillion levels of "Holy Grail," I like to divide them into two categories: attainable and unattainable. The original Rocket Firing Boba Fett is unattainable for me. More examples of "unattainable" include a carded 1985 POTF Yak Face, a carded POTF Anakin Skywalker, a double-telescoping vintage Darth Vader, double-telescoping Obi-Wan Kenobi and double-telescoping Luke Skywalker are all premium examples of Holy Grails. (NOTE: Linked items may not have current auctions at this moment.) Most of us would never be able to afford them. But then there are other more affordable vintage items. I have a "never removed" Blue Snaggletooth in a Kenner baggie with glistening silver boots (some samples not even in a baggie fetch over $1000). That would have to be the most important item in my vintage collection. I don't know of the actually recorded records of high auction sales, but make a note of the links in this answer and periodically check them to see what's brewing on eBay. Some of them are quite shocking! Keep in mind we have only addressed basic figures. It can get crazier with vehicles and play-sets and multipacks.

7. JTA has become one of my top sites for my Star Wars Collecting reading, thanks for the continued great work. 2011 has some great new figs & some even more amazing ones in the pipeline coming our way but one thing that has me puzzled is the distinct lack of the 20-30 dollar range vehicles. Last year brought us the Snow Speeder & the Cloud Car but Toy Fair had nothing new. Not even a repainted Jedi starfighter for the most obscure jedi available. Any ideas or thoughts of what those nerf herders at Hasbro are up to? Really at this point, how many new vehicles are there left to do or to do a new take on at this price range? Thanks & keep your site totally wizard. (Shawn)

JTA: Thank you for the kind words Shawn. Hasbro has neglected the vehicle line in general but I think it's only a matter of time before we start hearing of some new stuff. I really think Hasbro knows that we have a death grip on this line and that we'll always be hanging around looking for the latest Star Wars toys. They don't have the same luxury with their many other toy lines, especially the summer blockbuster films. They expend every last drop of energy to ensure those lines get the treatments they deserve. Hasbro mustn't forget the small people who got them to where they are today. They just got to come through for us soon. Right?!

8. Galactic Hunter just posted an article via Adam Pawlus' Figure of the Day about R5-C7. Seeing this post refreshed my memory about something I saw at your site. Although your review correctly identifies it as a droid on Coruscant during the Zam Wesell chase scene, I recall seeing this droid as sourced from Return Of The Jedi during your 2009 SDCC coverage. Can you clarify what that initial erroneous report was about? (Carlos)

JTA:I think you are very correct about that because that is something I asked one of our fields reporters when the event was taking place. Not much at all was known about this droid and many mistook it for one of the R5 units seen in the rendezvous point tactical meeting before the Battle of Endor. If you watch this scene carefully, there is one droid that could almost pass for R5-C7. (And there is ALSO one in Episode II on Mos Espa that could almost pass for it too!). We did an in-depth article on this obscure droid HERE. We suggest checking it out and the site where we got our photos from because everything you'd ever want to know about Star Wars droids can be found at that awesome, awesome site!

9. Do you have any information about a resculpted, unmelted carbonite block of Han Solo being released soon?I think it would be cool to get a Bespin Han without his jacket and in hand and arm cuffs included with it. They could (obviously) call it "Han Solo Carbon Freeze Chamber". Thanks! (Eric)

JTA: We do not have any information on any upcoming figures until Hasbro releases them. But we would wager to guess that if Hasbro makes another Han Solo in carbonite, it would closely mirror the 1985 POTF figure, especially if it was to be released in The Vintage Collection. I love your idea however!

10. I’ve searched for an answer to this question many times and have looked through past q and a’s but it still eludes me. How does Hasbro determine the numbering system for their various lines of figures? For example, the 2009, 2010, and 2011 The Clone Wars lines have repeat figures each year and each has a [unique] number assigned. (Chris)

JTA: This answer is our answer. Even our closest friends don't categorize the Star Wars line this way. With each line look change, it's essentially a "new" collection. That is why Hasbro starts the numbering from "1" every time. And while this isn't true all of the time, even a new assortment number is possible when the line look changes. The Clone Wars line has made life for Star Wars archivists a nightmare. Ahsoka Tano with Rotta for example has three (3) different collection numbers. (But we see her a figure in three separate collections. Does that make things clearer?) We believe that if the line look didn't change with every season, the numbering would have just continued from where it left off and the best-selling figures would have just been carried forward. (Even The Legacy Collection - blue and Legacy Collection - red are two different lines - and we categorize them as two different ones in our Visual Guides and Research Droids Reviews.) Why Hasbro does this kind of makes sense. Why would a new line look start at number 28? Or 67? It's sometimes crazy, but that is why they do this.

Are you new to Q&A With JTA? Click HERE to see our previous installments of this column. Each session is chock full of all the things you ever wanted to know about Star Wars collecting and the hobby in general!