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Q&A With JTA: Our Twenty-Sixth Column!

Posted by Paul | August 16, 2011 at 08:52 PM ET

Q&A With JTA continues with another 10 question column! Click through to access the Q&A database with our latest batch of questions!

Q&A with JTA

Hot Topics: You don't know me!, running changes and the Blu-ray Release Commemorative Figure & Mini-Poster Collections

Q&A With JTA: Our Twenty-Sixth Column!

featuring Paul Harrison

We always need your questions! Please e-mail them to [email protected]. Thank you!

1. What qualifies you to do the Q&A at Jedi Temple Archives? Aren't you relatively new to collecting? (name withheld per special request)

JTA: What qualifies me to do the Q&A With JTA segment is the same thing that qualifies you to collect; an unbridled enthusiam and passion for something we both love.... Star Wars. (Well, I am assuming you love Star Wars too, maybe I shouldn't do that.) Your assumption that I am new to collecting is beyond incorrect. I may have been a contributor to this fan site only since December 2008, but have been collecting non-stop since 1979 (when I was 5 years old). Of course there wasn't a whole bunch to buy for about 10 years (in between 1986 and 1994 mostly), but I was one of the people who eagerly bought a Star Wars Bend 'ems figure in 1994 at Toys R Us because it was the closest thing to 3.75" scale I had seen for years. (It was Bib Fortuna for those of you who are curious.) Since the neo-classic era, I have been a huge fan and supporter of fan sites just like you (again, maybe I shouldn't assume), sending in information including store reports and variations for years and I have even provided corrections to some of the biggest fan site contributor names you can think of who edited their posts as a result of my tip. Does this make me an expert? Hardly! But as someone who spends most of his time awake thinking about Star Wars, I think I can provide a somewhat enjoyable column to our ever-growing readership. So, I don't consider myself too "green" to host this column. You can feel free to consider that yourself however. It's just another thing I enjoy. I have found that the rare instances of criticism I may get (not sure if your question implies criticism or not, it's a little ambiguous) with this column typically stems from envy. Sad but true. But I really have to consider that a compliment!

2. Why have you stopped the Hasbro Q&A Round-up Report? I have always enjoyed the distilled information. I understand Hasbro lost your first Q&A, but even if JTA does not receive answers to their questions, I would love to hear what was said on other sites. It is far easier than scouring every site for answers. And please continue to provide answers to each question on your site, rather than a link. It's a real time saver.
(Brian)

JTA: That was handled by a JTA forum staff member who is no longer with us and Chuck and I are personally booked with other site duties. (Remember, we do this in our spare time.) We have asked for more regular staff help time and again and get very little response. It seems most of our readers want to stay readers. (It certainly is easier!) We need seasoned contributors that can do this with little to no training and the well of those candidates is running dry. It seems more and more people want to do their own thing so developing a true team effort in this day and age is very, very difficult. Plus, we weren't exactly sure how our respected colleagues felt about having their answers posted without readers having to go directly to their site to check it out. (It was a bone of contention between staff members here.) I never liked that, as convenient as it was. Our colleagues work just as hard as we do and I think that the Hasbro Q&A is a time for all sites to garner extra traffic. We didn't want to steal their thunder by having their answers posted. Questions with links to answers are perfect, but even that is a lot of work. We'll continue to talk about this, but right now, the Hasbro Round-up is shelved.

3. Hasbro has made a lot of corrections fairly quickly in the last year. Helmets, belts, lightsabers, cardbacks, and even entire figures have been changed in over a dozen instances in The Vintage Collection and Saga Legends. So why are we still getting Battle Droids with backwards necks? Hasbro even said in one of their Q&A sessions that they were aware that the necks are backwards. And they managed to make the eyes smaller on those droids, so it's not impossible for them to make corrections on those particular figures. Why is it so hard to correct the necks? (Warrick)

JTA: May I answer your question with a question? Why has the Saga Legends 501st Legion Trooper for the last 4 years still have the incorrectly shaped stripe on his helmet despite years of us asking Hasbro to fix it? There are just some things that no matter how hard we beg and plead to Hasbro that they'll just never fix. We don't know why things like this don't get done, but we do know how annoying it is. On the other hand, many times Hasbro completely catches us off guard. Just like you have pointed out, Hasbro updated the eyes on the Battle Droids. But Hasbro told us in a Q&A once that the eyes would NOT be corrected. Go figure! Only a few months later after their original release the Battle Droids two-pack started showing up with eyes not looking like saucers. Hasbro's corrections (and their positions on corrections) are very inconsistent and I think some changes they make are borderline comical, especially when they ignore others that are more important. As much as updated/corrected/darkened colors for the lightsabers blades appease me, I would much rather see my 501st Legion Trooper have a helmet that isn't incorrect, especially when they've done it correctly once before on the Commander Appo figure! Hasbro has a lot to worry about so it's quite possible they can't truly remember what is and what isn't being revised in the basic figure line.

4. Hey Paul - Do you know what figures of the new Blu-Ray Commerative sets of action figures are direct repacks, subtle repaints, headswaps or new scultps? I am thinking of passing on these since most of them look like they are just old figures in a new box, but I want to be sure I don't miss anything if there is something new. Also, will these sets be found in the toy aisle with the rest of the action figures, or will these be in the movie section with the Blu-Ray sets? Thanks! (Mark AKA Studly Dudly)

JTA: Hi Mark. Hopefully by now you have seen our Research Droids Reviews on all six sets. But if you missed them, please click HERE to catch up on all the details of these very nice sets - we go into a lot and there are a ton of pictures, both in the package and out of the package!! In a nutshell, the only "new" figure is the tan Battle Droid in the Episode I: The Phantom Menace set. And the Han Solo figure in the Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi is a pre-pack of The Vintage Collection figure coming in October 2011. Many other figures have some slight paint operations variations, but nothing earth-shattering. These sets are absolutely the nicest commemorative sets we have ever received from Hasbro and I absolutely adore the mini-posters inside. But if you just aren't into straight repacks, this may be something you'll want to pass on because there are a lot of repacks inside.

5. Love the website, question about the Vintage & Saga Legends figures, most notably their numbering system; maybe I am OCD but I like to display my figures in order with numbers. With the discovery that #61 in Vintage will be the Mail Away Boba Fett and #66 C will be 2 of the SDCC exclusives from the ROTJ set, how are OCD collectors to display? We find out that #56-60 (the delayed wave of Aayla Secura) wont be out till 2012, but the rest will be out in Oct 2011? Do you think they will replace the delayed wave onto the new Darth Maul packaging? Can we assume that after #70 the Vintage line is done, as the TPM wave of 2012 will have their own backing, the ROTJ deleted scene figures are supposed to be on the new Darth Maul style card along with the Walmart EXC wave (don't get me started on that) In addition, the Saga Legends, there was supposed to be #24-32, we have 2 #31 (SpaceTrooper & Destroyer Droid) but one of the card backs has the Space Trooper as #29 but Mace Windu is marked as #29? Plus it was reported that the Obi-Wan Kenobi (EpisodeIII) was to be #24 but he is labeled #13 and has been out for a while, plus no #26?? (Jeremiah)

JTA: I am planning to ask Hasbro some of the same questions in our next Q&A to them, provided that no other fan site does, so I hope to have a solid answer for you. Both The Vintage Collection and The Clone Wars lines are very scattered and disorganized as of late. Waves are getting delayed, figures are getting held back and some figures are just nowhere to be found at all. There has been a recent change at Hasbro on who is in charge of the Star Wars line and we have to be honest, the line is falling apart in more ways than one. We didn't find out the status of Cad Bane In Clone Trooper Disguise and Clone Commander Jet until right before Comic Con, way after we already sent in questions asking about its status. I mean, come on, why should fan sites waste their Q&A questions only to find out from Hasbro, just much too late? And is it just me or when the answers do finally come, they seem to create even more questions, especially with some of the most recent Hasbro Q&A sessions? (Who the heck is answering our questions anyway?! One word yes and no answers are just not cool, Hasbro!). The Walmart exclusive wave is giving me indigestion. Yes, we have heard rumblings that it's NOT coming in TVC packaging, but what's more alarming is that other figures (general release figures) will be shipping with the Walmart exclusive wave, so does that mean that they will be downgraded to the same type of packaging? Again, this is something we need to clarify with Hasbro. We will also try to find out more about what is going on with Saga Legends. As you are already well aware, their Comic Con presentation was a mess and with little too new product shown, a lot of collectors are waiting with bated breath to see what the actual facts are. I know this isn't a good answer, but please hang tight. We plan to get answers.... if Hasbro gives us answers.

6. Like many people, my patience with Hasbro is running thin. I appreciate all [JTA does] to get the information out to us. I really wish Hasbro would do an annual (or even better semi-annual) roundtable with you and other people who run some of the more prominent fan sites. They could use it as an opportunity to get your response to figure line ups and carry forward figures before they make their final decisions. You and others like you know what collectors want and it would seem to be in their best interest to get this input. Whatever they are doing is clearly not working. Also, thank you very much for pointing out that the prototype Boba Fett mail away figure will be VC61. I have been trying to figure out which figure filled that slot for some time now. Not that giving him the VC61 designation makes any sense, but at least I will be able to sleep better having filled that gap on my spreadsheet.. (Bob)

JTA: I (and I am sure my colleagues) would love to be part of a roundtable discussion with other fan sites to discuss the state of Star Wars collecting. I think we need to address getting back to basics or get down to the foundation of what made the Star Wars line the greatest toy line ever. With our voice we can speak on behalf of the collecting community to better express the frustration fans and collectors are feeling with the state of the Hasbro line in general. We could maybe bring this up this idea and see what their thoughts are, but I am not sure how receptive they would be. Star Wars is one (albeit big) property they have to worry about and I kind of think they know there will "always" be Star Wars fans waiting for new figures to hit. I really do believe they take advantage of that. And I think that is maybe the reason why there is a wider disengagement than ever before between Hasbro and collectors. We have been more than patient and it's high time for Hasbro to get the momentum fast and furious again and make us all a little bit happier. I am not speaking from an entitlement perspective of course, you know how I feel about that. But they have got to pull TVC back to the OT. I believe another one of the biggest problems with the line is sensory overload. We no longer need Saga Legends (and I was the biggest fan of the line in its early days), especially now since the retail is equalling the TVC line. All figures should be packed in The Vintage Collection line look going forward including all the realistic styled action figures. Too many sub-lines causes confusion and the different price points further confuse (well, that's sort of going away now, isn't it?). Like you've reiterated, how can the Boba Fett (Prototype Armor) be designated as VC61? What the heck happened to the VCP numbering system for mail-aways and exclusives? Worse yet, how can the Mouse Droid and Salacious Crumb be VC66 and VC67? There are issues on every level of the Star Wars line. It's crazy! We can do all these things like roundtable discussions and petitions, but Hasbro needs to be receptive to the feedback (the facts). I am not so sure they "care" at the moment. There are too many other distractions that need their 24/7 coddling. But let's see what we can do.

7. Hello - First of all I love your site, read it daily! Keep up the excellent work!! Anyway, I have a question for you. I don't remember seeing this answered specifically before..... In regards to the Prototype Boba Fett mail-away figure... has there been any word on what UPC symbols can be used for the mail away? I remember on the previous Fett mail-away, there were several different ones you could use. It wasn't limited to just the Vintage ones. I'm asking because with the price of Vintage figures these days, I really don't want to have to cut up the package. (Gary)

JTA: Thank you for your feedback Gary. JTA strives to provide quality content as much as we can. We truly appreciate your feedback. The Vintage Collection will absolutely be included and I would bet my collection that the "Shadow Of The Dark Side" line look figures, including The Clone Wars and Saga Legends will also be included. Hasbro wouldn't dare exclude those assortments from the mail-away promotion. There are too many figures out there and it serves as double insurance to sell more product out there if customers are in need of a few UPCs for the mail-away promotion. What I am not sure will be included however are past Assortment Numbers like The Legacy Collection, Legacy Collection or the older Saga Legends figures. I kind of think that Hasbro would want to include those as well, but we will need to wait and see until a scan from the insert becomes public, which I suspect will soon. (And I bet our friends at Sandtroopers.com will probably get the first scan of this item.) If you're a reader who has this scan, please send it to us! :)

8. Have you heard if hasbro is still only planing to release 1-2 EU figures in the vintage collection each year? (Mike)

JTA: As of right now, yes. When the realistically styled The Clone Wars figures make their debut, it's going to be a lot harder for Hasbro to release only one or two a year. And personally, I am so over EU for right now. Don't get me wrong, I loved most of the Comic Packs and I really liked many of the EU takes on the Original Trilogy released during The Legacy Collection, but Hasbro really went off course by the end of TLC/LC's run and the line went south (fast). And I feel that the EU product focus was partly responsible for effectively killing the line. Comic Packs died and Evolutions died. (I am not saying that the EU was completely responsible for this, but I can tell you that EU fans are much louder vocally (whining) than they are big in size). That includes me too so don't take offense. I can prove that the EU fans comprise a much smaller bunch of fans by the number of hits in our RDRS on EU product when compared to OT/PT product (with a few rare exceptions). Hasbro must focus on OT stuff right now while they're in The Vintage Collection mode. There will be plenty of time for them to return to the EU in full force. I really hope they keep EU basic figures very, very limited. I am not impressed at all with Bastila Shan or Nom Anor. (Please don't send me hate mail.) If it was any other time maybe I would be excited, but right now I am fixated on what OT goodness Hasbro has planned for The Vintage Collection. Call me a sociopath or call me crazy, but I would MUCH RATHER HAVE R1-G4 and Gargan repackaged in The Vintage Collection than a new Bastila Shan or Nom Anor. Sorry is that is sacreligious (or nutty), but it's all about the OT as far as I am concerned. Let's go Hasbro! I can however make one exception to my position. Because of my increasing affection towards The Clone Wars, I cannot wait to see as many realistically styled The Clone Wars figures as possible. I am first and foremost a Tartakovsky fan, but the Filoni television show has gotten so good that I am really a big fan of it now and can't wait to see non-animated versions of the characters in action figure form. Besides, the stories in the televsion show are becoming believable canon and that's what I love the most about the EU.

9. I was shocked by Hasbro's response to your Q&A with them regarding the running change of the Kit Fisto figure. Are you? Are they really going to fix that figure this late in the game? (Sam)

JTA: I was shocked too. I honestly don't know what the truth is however. But truthfully, I am more shocked that fans got upset over Anakin Skywalker not being designated as Darth Vader in wave 2 of The Vintage Collection? Yes. Granted Anakin Skywalker (and Luke Skywalker for that matter) are much more popular characters than say Kit Fisto, but calling Anakin Skywalker "Anakin Skywalker" when he is technically "Darth Vader" is not the end of the world. Actually, as far as the basic figure line is concerned, I think it would make things a whole lot easier if Hasbro called any version of Anakin outside the black iron lung "Anakin Skywalker". I mean, what's the big freaking deal? An Episode III Kit Fisto on an Attack of The Clones card (especially since the character has episode-specific likenesses) is much more egregious. But no one made a stink about it all (except for me - well, that's all I know of). We'll see what happens. I personally would love to see this change done. There is no denying that the Kit Fisto figure is from Revenge Of The Sith. I would like to see him designated as such. (On a related note, I also think the upcoming Aayla Secura should be on an Attack Of The Clones card, but alas, she is coming on a Revenge Of The Sith card. Incorrect? No. Not her first appearance? Yes. Do you SEE the things that keep me up at night? I need therapy for sure.

10. My order got cancelled for the Delta Squad set at TRU.com. Am I totally screwed? I am ready to hurt someone. (Joe)

JTA: Joe, please keep your cool! Toys R Us stores are just NOW getting this gorgeous set in stores as I write this column. I ordered a set online and found one in the stores just a few days ago. I now have my set of two. Look for it in complete detail in our Research Droids Reviews on Thursday. It is one impressive set. It's definitely a hot item, but there will be plenty for everyone. It was a frustrating time trying to secure one online. I will give you that. But unlike the Revenge Of The Jedi Comic Con exclusive, this exclusive should indeed meet demand.

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!

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