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Q and A of the Day: Day 6

Posted by Paul | September 09, 2013 at 08:44 PM ET

Welcome to our next Q and A of the Day post! This column will be published daily, weekly, monthly, or just based on how many questions I get emailed – but no more than one a day. Feel free to send in your questions and I will put them in the queue. Click through for Q and A of the Day: Day 6.

Q. Like it seems other collectors feel, I really adore playsets and wish we had them to look forward to in the line. For me, a good playset is a great base for any display. I love the Carbon Chamber POTF2 mail-away set (I just set up a nice little display with it), and the tiny Endor bunker set from the same era. The Episode I playsets were kinda neat, but since I am primarily a vintage fan looking around there isn't much else in the modern line, and looking back the majority of vintage stuff and its mostly cardboardy-goodness doesn't seem to fit well with the modern detailed figures .

That said, I realize that Hasbro doesn't find them cost effective, which makes sense to a certain point. I do wonder, though, if its more what they released for playsets last (Prequel) not that people won't buy playsets. The BAMF and the BAATAT are pretty much playsets in my eyes - and both seem to have sold pretty decently even at super high price points.

With all the ROTJ themed stuff coming this year, of course I secretly wished for a Sail Barge, I understand what a remote possibility that ever is (though I would be happy even with the scale issues if we got one similar in size to the BA-vehicles above). But the one thing I haven't heard anyone really talk or ask about is a new Ewok Village.

The Ewok Village is one of the most iconic playsets of all time (Star Wars or not) and to be honest even a large reuse of old molds would still work. Add some new/improved accessories, and maybe some electronics (some flickering lights to simulate fire and lanterns, some forest sounds, perhaps C3PO telling his stories, Ewok murmuring). Considering the size and complexity of the BA vehicles, it seems like this could be delivered realistically somewhere in price between them (3 trees, base, accessories, small electronics package).

Is this something that has been asked about, or am I alone in thinking with the Ewok/Endor themed stuff recently and in the pipeline that it seems like a logical idea?

Thanks for all the great work, AWWriter=

A: You may not know this, but I personally asked Derryl DePriest why they haven't reinvented the Ewok Village playset or at the very least tweaked it and reissued the 1983 version in the modern line yet at Celebration VI. What you likely won't want to hear is that the answer is the same old excuse they give for other playsets (like the Death Star playset) and "less" iconic vehicles. And the answer is that "there isn't a market for them".

You probably will get a bit defensive at my own surveillance of the hobby. I feel many collectors are big talkers and very poor walkers. I don't mean this as a harsh criticism to you or anyone directly, but we often beg for stuff and then don't support it at retail or wait until it goes on clearance before we pick it up. There is no way that will work and I think it's all come to a head. Hasbro is more reluctant than ever to take chances on niche and collector-focused items in this day and age. I am not defending the bad choices they've made and their avoidance to give us what we want, but I do believe Hasbro has felt these ripples for years now and are overprotecting their bottom line.

There are of course exceptions. The 2010 SOTDS AT-AT exceeded expectations (and it's evident why this happened). And even the BMF did very well, not so much in the TVC packaging, but the TLC packaging sold very, very well. An Ewok Village? Well, it's a great backdrop for your little fur balls, but is this something that Hasbro can get kids interested in also? Probably not. They would have to rely on the collector market and that has dissipated to the lowest audience yet. I will not reveal my sources, but I have been told that the Amazon Slave I has been produced in some of the smallest numbers of all exclusives. Yet it still sits in stock at Amazon.com because so many of you are waiting for the price to drop. If a very small production run of the Slave I can't sell through in a month, how in the world will an Ewok Village?

I don't expect all collectors to buy it all like I do, but when Hasbro produces a The Vintage Collection Landspeeder for $24.99 for TARGET, don't whine about the price. Buy it. The box alone was worth it for me and the toy inside is spectacular. Even The Vintage Collection Tauntaun. I can't tell you how many complaints there were about collectors dropping $25 for that. And I can't tell you how many I saw on clearance at TARGET for $9.98. (That's when I really knew the Star Wars line was headed for certain doom.) Of course it was a rip-off. But how many times a year do we have to drop that kind of money for an over-inflated MSRP. And it an item won't sell through at full price in classic vintage packaging, I don't think there is much hope for anything else selling through.

I don't expect Hasbro to make a modern Ewok Village or Death Star playset. First of all, with rising costs in China they would be inordinately expensive in today's economy and they can't wait for us to hold off until the first sale price we see. How can we make it work then? I think Hasbro should create a program where collectors have to pay a non-refundable pre-order for playsets (the full price). Then we could either step up to the plate and support this line, or not put our money where our loud mouths are. If they made an all-new Death Star playset, I would not even think twice about paying $200 for it. Would you? I would pay $250 for Jabba's Sail Barge. And I would pay about $150 for an updated Ewok Village. If Hasbro said they would make them if they could get 2500 pre-orders, would you step up to the plate and pay those prices for them to make it for us?

Hasbro was on a roll with making a ton of Ewoks, but they seem to have stopped on a dime with that now. I don't know why. Hopefully more Ewok surprises are upcoming. They sell like crazy and on average we support them when Hasbro makes them. But one set where we did spend our money on was the Ewok five-pack from Toys R Us. While fairly priced, I didn't expect that to fly off the shelves like it did. It just goes to show the power of interhcangeability and extra accessories. If you bought two sets to open up, you really have ten unique Ewoks you could "make" for your collection.

I say all of that to make the point that 2012 was the year that Hasbro should have taken the risk and produce the Ewok Village. It should have been a TVC exclusive with a few updates and maybe include two exclusive Ewoks. I think it would have sold like mad. But alas, that time may have passed and new Ewoks (aside from the Kmart exclusive) are no longer in the forseeable future. Hopefully that will change and we can remind Hasbro how much we want an Ewok Village playset again.

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