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

Posted by Paul | May 30, 2011 at 12:03 AM ET

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

Q&A with JTA

Hot Topics: Episode IV Princess Leia Organa, play-sets and Jocasta Nu (again & again)!

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

featuring Paul Harrison

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

1. Why do you think Hasbro is so intent on NOT doing Jocasta Nu? We've been screaming for a long time for a figure of her but each time they say no. Why? (Nicholas)

JTA: Hasbro has learned from collectors for years that we cry "Wolf!" a lot. This doesn't mean that most of us rallying for Jocasta Nu really don't want her, it really just means we're a loud and obnoxious squeaky wheel (as well as a very vocal minority). Hasbro needs more than begging and pleading from fan sites and their readers to ensure that Jocasta will be a success at retail. Figures like Willrow Hood and Yarna d'al' Gargan (two figures that to this day still shock me that they were translated into plastic to this day - I'm thrilled, don't get me wrong) were equally pined for by collectors yet one performed remarkably better than the other. But why? Willow Hood was obviously the clear success, but was this because he was only in the first revision case of wave 5 of the Legacy Collection and less were made of him than of Yarna (who was part of a line look launch where many more cases were produced to fill opening day demand), or was it because collectors who read sites like ours and our colleagues actually listened to all the fan sites and heeded our (and others') warnings that figures of this stature needed to be purchased if we ever wanted to see novelty figures like these again (and helped to spread the word)? There are many, many sub-questions that need answering first. And deep down inside I believe we will see Jocasta Nu. Her winning the #2 spot in the Fans' Choice poll is not something Hasbro cannot just overlook. That's my two cents though. Probably no other site wants to see Jocasta Nu more than Jedi Temple Archives, but we need to buy figures like Malakili and Fi-Ek Sirch to show Hasbro we're serious. You've heard it a million times, we vote with our dollars.

2. Do you think that one of the reasons Hasbro doesn't want to do anymore Star Wars playsets is because of the poor reception of the "Disturbance at the Lars homestead" set? (Nick)

JTA: The Disturbance At Lars Homestead Toys R Us exclusive was a total and utter debacle. The killer is that is was some silly EU take on what we [did not see] saw in Episode IV. It was based on the fan film TROOPS. And because I am a conspiracy theorist, I believe that because Hasbro has been "anti-playsets" for years now, this was almost intentional. Our incessant whining to them that we'd like to see them resurface again doesn't seem to soften Hasbro's heart much at all. They have it in their minds that playsets won't perform well and I am sure they judge the performace of Disturbance.... as a good reason why they shouldn't jump head first into a money pit. So I think they released this one first after years of nothing to prove to us that playsets are dead in the water. I think if they released products that fans actually want, they would have a proverbial cash cow on their hands. Before I quit collecting, I must have a modular Death Star, Jabba's Sail Barge and an ultra cool Catina play-set. It kills me that the Star Wars line has been pretty much the same for the last [more than] half decade. Since 2005, it's been basic figures, mid size vehicle, exclusives...repeat. (Oh, and some wonderful sub-lines that Hasbro murdered, like Evolutions and Comic Packs - and it appears their next target is Battle Packs. Three figures for $24.99 Hasbro? Yeah right! But I angrily digress.) There have been some wonderful and great products, but we just have got to see something new and fresh new. And with all of the amazing action figures we have now, we really need some jaw-dropping playsets to used as back-drops for them.

3. Hello! greetings from London, U.K. My question is: When are we going to get the ultimate 3 3/4 Princess Leia Organa from Episode 4?! (Michelle)

JTA: Hi Michelle. Hasbro would have to be asleep at the wheel if they don't provide us with an ultimate and super-articulated version of Episode IV Princess Leia Organa in The Vintage Collection. It's really the only time they can do this that will make collectors happy as pigs in poo. I am quite fond of the 2004 VOTC Princess Leia Organa figure, but please don't misunderstand me. It is far from perfect, yet there is something very likeable about it. I would prefer if Hasbro abandoned soft-goods for the figure (which is a rare statement for me) because I can't see how they could do the figure justice if they decided to go this route. But then again, they would have to go a completely different route from the 2005 TSC Early Bird figure too. While that figure is not necessarily a total nightmare, I would take the 2004 version of the 2005 any day because there are a lot more options for posing her. The hood up has been a bone of contention for many collectors for years. We want it but it often never turns out the ways we want it to unfortunately. But how should Hasbro visit an all-new premium version? It is quite a perplexing thought and no two fans agree. Give us a basic version without all the complications, but focus on a great protrait is what I feel. You may feel differently of course. But bottom line, Hasbro MUST take full advantage of The Vintage Collection and give us some ultimate versions of Princess Leia Organa, especially the ones they haven't shown to much love to thus far in the line. (P.S. I think that if Hasbro did decide to go with hood up, they would need to do some sort of "face transplant" (a slice of a really good action figure face glued to the face area inside the hood) in order for the figure to be believable. Painted flesh for faces just doesn't work, look at Han Solo (Hoth Outfit) with hood up. The paint job on the face is usually terrible. Do like a Face/Off (the movie) type of deal so that a realistic face can be applied to the "face" behind the hood. (If that makes any sense - it's hard to describe without a visual.)

4. I have a question for JTA's Q&A. It seems like a lot of people are frustrated by the distribution problems. I was wondering why Hasbro wouldn't just expand its online store to meet customer demand? The Hasbro Toy Shop website has such a paltry selection and is often out of stock - at least when it comes to the hot figures. However, it seems to me Hasbro could both make more money and make it easier for collectors to find the figures they want by just offering a better selection online. Why hasn't Hasbro done this? (Dom)

JTA: We just recently collaborated with the other fans sites for the Hasbro Q&A and our intention was to ask this question directly to them (we all wanted to ask it) but it appears that no one ended up asking it. And we still haven't received our answers back yet. (Hasbro is claiming they didn't receive our question but we have proof otherwise. We will post these as soon as Hasbro decides to answer us on this issue.) The whole distribution is an enigma and we want to hear this from Hasbro themselves. They have hinted that changes in distribution will be improving, but we need many other things answered. It's been a terrible six months for sure. Things look up here and there, but seem to return to the way they were. I will go on record however as saying that I believe The Vintage Collection has exceeded expectations and Hasbro is trying to play catch-up. Hasbro has expressed since 2006 that less and less collectors were buying figures and it came to an all-time low in 2009 with the Legacy Collection. Since The Vintage Collection came right after, I am sure the ordering numbers didn't increase that much, yet a whole new group of collectors started collecting again. But let's wait to hear what Hasbro says.

5. Is the Eeth Koth wave the last wave of CW before August? Hasbro has been tight-lipped about what’s to come in the CW line, and we usually see the last wave of CW around April or May, and then we have the period of waiting for the packaging change. Just wondering if this still holds true this year. (Jacob)

JTA: Jacob, by now you have seen all of the stuff leak out and the plethora of pictures that have surfaced. But you know what's annoying? Hasbro kept saying more was going to be revealed at Comic Con (which more definitely will), but why couldn't they let all the collecting sites know at Toy Fair that Chewbacca and Savage Opress was coming?! Ugh! (Not that we didn't know that already, but you know what I mean.)

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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