Q&A With JTA: Our Thirty-Fourth Column!

1. I read your NY Toy Fair coverage all over again and came across something that I missed the first 10 times. :) Is it true that The Vintage Collection will be going away in 2013? And it is even true that a return of the Build A Droid concept will return? (Perth K.)

JTA: Let us preface our answer with this: Nothing is true until Hasbro confirms it themselves. There were rumors galore when I attended NY Toy Fair that The Vintage Collection would indeed be taking a rest in 2013 and the return of the Droid Factory line would be making a comeback in its place. I personally feel saddened by this. But while I am saddened, I can't really say it's a bad move on their part. I (as well as most other fan site writers) am (are) part of the classic Star Wars period. Just one line look (not counting Ewoks and Droids which birthed and died in the blink of an eye) existed for the eight years the vintage Star Wars product graced the shelves. As a result, this has left an imprint on our psyche that makes us seek more of this today. Thank the Maker that The Vintage Collection, which by the time Hasbro wraps up this third modern phase of it, will have brought us over 100 figures and many of these are definitive versions that will never need a revisit again. But you of course already know that. Will I miss TVC if this comes to pass? Absolutely! But I am also getting worked up for more Build A Droid figures which is easily the second best line of figures Hasbro can give us after our beloved The Vintage Collection. If you think about it, TVC has not brought us many droids, yet they are easily in the top three most favorite types of characters Star Wars fans like to see made as action figures. The return of Build A Droid will guarantee at minimum one new droid will ship with every new wave of basic figures. That definitely excites me all over again. Some collectors feel this is an unfair marketing ploy and they're forced to buy action figures they don't want. I say stop whining and let those who support the line fully by purchasing one of every figure (like me) reap the benefits of getting a complete "bonus" figure from this. But to sum up, if I had my way, The Vintage Collection would be the line look until Hasbro loses their license. It will never get old. I don't care what anyone else says.

2. Hey Paul, a question for you guys. Wave 9 of The Vintage Collection seems to have passed most people by. I consider myself fortunate to have found Ponda Baba and Bastila Shan at retail, but I never caught sight of the one I wanted most, the Echo Base trooper. I didn't buy it online, holding out hope I'd find it at Walmart or Target. It's come and gone, obviously, and now it sells online for over $25. Is it possible now to find this figure at a reasonable price? Or has it achieved Gamorrean Guard unobtanium status? (Jace V.)

JTA: Wow, this is one figure I haven't been following too closely. In fact, after I realized I had about 6 of them in October last year (please understand I sometimes buy multiples for local and distant friends), I returned about three of them back to Kmart for someone else to grab. (They're gone now obviously.) Unless we make another big stink about this figure, Hasbro likely won't hear that this figure will need another chance at retail. But I fear it's too late now anyway to do anything about it. I am pretty confident that we're saying goodbye to The Vintage Collection since Hasbro is knocking out ALL of the figures they announced at Toy Fair by the end of August. What does this mean? I think 2012's San Diego Comic Con will be a huge eye opener for collectors. And it's a good bet that the new basic figure line will be announced. While it's quite possible we'll see a TVC finale of one or two more waves of figures (possible to doubtful), Hasbro is blatantly wrapping up The Vintage Collection. So, we should prepare ourselves for this and not be blind to the signs. Click HERE to see what this figure is commanding on eBay right this moment. Also, if you bookmark this link you may be able to find it for a deal one day. Wave 9 is definitely one of the "rarest" waves of The Vintage Collection. That being said, keep in mind what happened to wave 4 (the Attack Of The Clones wave). Most of the collecting community never saw these figures once until they started showing up at Five Below and FYE in the mall for less than $5 each. Maybe a surplus of wave 9 is waiting to make its way to discount chains. Maybe it's not. I have no proof of this either way, but I've learned that anything is possible in this collecting age. FYI - our review on this figure can be found HERE.

3. How do you manage so many lines in your Research Droids Reviews? I understand you have been collecting from the beginning of time, but you also review Sideshow and Gentle Giant stuff. How do you do it? (Frank L.)

JTA: Well, I am not sure how to answer that. I am a huge Star Wars collector and I do have some obsessive-compulsions (as those that have been to my house knows - shut up Chuck), so the money I earn sort of automatically gets diverted that way by itself. It's not something I consciously think about which may be exactly what my problem is. I have cooled down a bit when compared to 2006-2010, but I love and enjoy this hobby very much. I have been known to skip some meals to get that latest Sideshow 12" figure or Gentle Giant's latest Mini Bust. All kidding aside, I just do it I guess. It isn't necessarily the easiest thing to do financially, but I truly enjoy this hobby. I must get what I must have. That's the best answer I can give you.

4. I can't believe how much attention your "Movie Zeroes" rant got. I don't think I ever saw so much response from readers on a fan site's article. It took me hours to mill through the wide range of feedback. (Ouch!) I was happier to see your clarification the day after because I always considered JTA a site that was exempt from petty bitterness/anger/contempt. I didn't think the tone of your article warranted some of the nastier responses, but do you think you will continue this sort of rant in the future. (Zachary)

JTA: Just for the record, the column is called "Rants & Raves". It's intended to be equally balanced. Part of the problem is that we never made an official "Rants & Raves" banner and it just gets posted like a regular article. This may allow people to think that these posts are just a platform for my latest tirade when in actuality I have used this area of space to not only point out things I think are wrong with Hasbro's direction (again - Paul Harrison's feelings - not the Gospel truth) but also rave about how awesome some basic figures like TCW's Luminara Unduli or TVC's Dengar are. Anyway, yes, I felt this rant got a little bit out of control and steered off into territory I had no intention of it heading. Is that a call to be more mindful of the words spewing from my mouth? Absolutely! But for goodness sake, I am a writer with an opinion. If I didn't spout off strong comments sometimes, JTA would become a rather amoebic site to visit, wouldn't it? And from the audience I have helped to build here at JTA, by evidence of the daily site posts' feedback (from RDRs to daily news posts for example), it seems that people keep coming back for a reason. I really don't want to defend my position on this any further however. I hopefully have quelled the ridiculousness that I am a Hasbro hater when it's the complete opposite (especially in my heart of hearts) in actuality. I clarified that I am so disappointed with the first wave of Movie Heroes.... and actually the line in general. I still feel it's a misstep in Hasbro's marvelous progression forward to make the best action figure line of all time. But because I am not an executive and don't pay the bills, my opinions in the ends mean very, very little. Despite this, I will still support and get excited for the things I do like and appreciate in the Hasbro brand.

5. Do you plan to do a review of the tan battle droid from the movie heroes line? I'm curious as to if it is a repaint or a repack. I've recently started reading your reviews of figures and they are awesome. And with Curto being fired, I'm definately going to use them more often...especially to see if a new figure is a repaint or a repack since I'm not interested in getting repacks. (Eddie)

JTA: Hi Eddie. Yes, I will eventually get to that figure. I took a detour and started hitting the Revenge Of The Sith figures from 2005, but I will take a break from them and cover new stuff too. I plan on returning to the Movie Heroes line once the new wave hits stores in my area. Thank you for your generous words about the reviews and we're honored you will be using them "more often" now. As far as Curto, he's a very good friend of mine and I have been privileged to call him my friend and colleague. (You'll find a ton of other site administrators who will say the same thing.) If you've been fortunate to forge a friendship with him in person and/or online, you'll quickly find out he is one of the nicest guys on earth and can talk about any facet of Star Wars until you're tired of listening (which never happens honestly). And he's been an invaluable resource to me. He's helped me with some facts I have forgotten and he's even let me in on some secrets (that I've managed to keep quiet all of these years). This includes details and insight on how some figures got made. He has great relationships with 'important' people indirectly related to this hobby, so he's also a perfect source for networking. (We gently jibe him.) :) I hope he returns soon in one form or another in a collecting site venue. He was an invaluable resource at Rebelscum.com, but he can utilize his gifts elsewhere and we can't wait to see what happens. :)

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!