Tasu Leech (Kanjiklub Gang Leader) - Hasbro - The Force Awakens (2016)
Star Wars Collectible News, Photos, and Reviews

Toy Fair 2014: Your Questions To Hasbro Answered: Part III

Posted by Paul | February 19, 2014 at 09:46 AM ET

Here is Part III of our Hasbro Q and A, of which there'll be four (4) parts. Our disclaimer: There could be misspellings, formatting issues and possibly a few other mistakes of which I will edit over time, so I ask for your patience. Please enjoy as we shed some additional light on what is happening with the Hasbro Star Wars line. Click through for more!

 

Q: I commend Hasbro for their re-opening of the Geonosis battle pack series. Prequel Trilogy Jedi always sell well in retail, particularly those collected for the Geonosis arena and the Jedi Council. But it seems Hasbro has been avoiding re-releases of certain characters on purpose. So my question is, why doesn't Hasbro give in and update Jedi like Eeth Koth, Adi Gallia, Depa Billaba and others to today's standard even though they will sell like hotcakes?

A: Female Jedi aren't that popular interestingly. One of Hasbro's recent Jedi, Stass Allie was a terrible peg-warmer in The Legacy Collection line. Hasbro isn't close-minded to future female Jedi releases, but you will see a reduction in how many PT products get made right now and it's not too likely if Hasbro chooses background Jedi like this. An update to Eeth Koth would probably be a lot more likely than Deba Billaba.

Q: Will the newly sculpted, larger-scaled Sandcrawler that includes motorized tracks with simple bi-directional control, compartmentalized storage inserts for action figures, extendable droid-loading tube, multiple hatch doors, electronic sounds and light up features come with something more than 2 pack-in Jawas? That is to say, will there be any droids included?

A: The Sandcrawler has sadly become as likely as a new Sail Barge. In order to make it the way collectors want to see it would cost them more than they're willing to pay.

Q: Can you do subscription or membership so us collectors won't miss a figure? Like Mattel and the He-Man stuff?

A: Hasbro would never go this route.

Q: TBS 6" line has obvious joint peg holes, especially in the knees. Some others 6" lines (like Marvel Legends and Marvel Universe) too. Why wasn't decided to cover those holes instead of showing up? Is it related to the price/cost for developing a whole structure or is it jus easier for attaching? It seems that it'd be the same, since the joints are just in their place by pressure and the peg, most of the time, doesn't go as deep to the outside of the plastic.

A: It is a costing issue, but Hasbro feels that they have done a good job at reducing the glare of them by matching joint color and other deco "masks".

Q: Are we going to see some of the other action figures that we collectors lucked out on on, in The Black Series as well? I'm talking about Imperial Navy Commander, the Sandtrooper from 2012, and the ARC trooper from 2011.

A: You may see another Sandtrooper, but it probably won't be the one from The Vintage Collection. (Editor's Note: I guess that means a dirty sergeant?) Imperial Navy Commander is possible but not likely. And the same might be true for the ARC Trooper Commander.

Q: Will we still get clone trooper figures during the star wars sequels?

A: It's way too early to talk about plans for Episode VII. (Editor's Note: I told all of you they wouldn't answer these questions!)

Q: OK. Here's a real, actual serious question. Why do you keep carrying forward figures that sit on pegs for forever?

A: Hasbro planned these case assortments in advance for the premier of the last two PT films in 3D. They had to scramble to get things out once they learned the films were indefinitely cancelled. The good news is that future assortments should interest both retail and online shoppers with great characters, and awesome harder to find TVC carry-forwards.

Q: I like the fact that you sometimes offer entire waves for purchase on hasbrotoyshop. I would be tempted to buy entire waves of figures if there were no re-packs, or if there were no carry-forwards (is that the term) from previous waves...unless the carry forward was a troop builder figure. My question is, why don't you offer pre-orders of individual figures, as this would allow you a good idea of what figures are the most popular, and let you know which ones to produce more of? That way, toysharks won't buy them up and drive up secondary market prices like they did with Darth Plagueis and other figures like Starkiller.

A: It will never be a perfect world and Hasbro feels they are doing their best to support the market. They are always open to revisiting things which is why this year should be great for collectors. Figures like Starkiller yoummentioned will be just one of many figures that will be used as "case filler" in the coming year.

Q: Will you ever consider reissuing dioramas? The Jabba's Palace one from the late 90's or early 2000's looks really nice, and with it being made of paper, it could be a cheap production.

A: No production is cheap anymore. You wouldn't want to pay the prices Hasbro would have to charge if they made them.

Q: Why did production of Comic Packs stop? From what I have seen in various Comic Packs online (for I do not own any), they seem to have pretty good figures that you wouldn't find in a regular line (like expanded universe stuff). Thank you!

A: Sub-lines come and go and sales didn't meet goal expectations. (Editor's Note: That's because Hasbro repackaged five of the crappiest carry-forwards possible in the first wave of the red Legacy Collection line with only three all-new sets.) Besides, the EU is on hold for the time being. Hasbro received a directive from Lucasfilm to stay away from EU characters now.

Q: We love the past exclusive multipacks (ewoks, Jedi knights). They are great ways to get us new characters with little new tooling. Can we expect more of these focused on some of the Original Trilogy. A lot of new Jabba's Palace & Cantina characters could be made with existing figures.

A: Hasbro is working with retailers now to develop their exclusive plans, so they cannot give any indication of what is coming. (Editor's Note: I did ask Derryl DePriest specifically about more Geonosis Arena Jedi Knight sets and got a big old "no" to that answer.)

Q: Love the Ewok catapult and Scanning crew from last year. can we expect to see more deluxe sets with accessories like these? Something like an imperial console with gray Death Squad Trooper or a torture rack with droid? Both would include existing figures with new head sculpts.

A: Kmart is still eager to provide these types of exclusives. They have performed very, very well and we would like to see them continue. However, it's still too early as we are working on exclusive plans now.

Q: Will we see Droid Factory return in some extent? Maybe as multipacks? Droids seem to be a hit with collectors and kids. They building parts also are a great way to promote creativity in kids.

A: Hasbro hoped so. They admit it's a wonderful pack-in premium and would even make a fantastic multipack boxed set again. (Editor's Note: I asked if this meant something similar to the Amazon.com set, or just a box of Build A Droid. All I got was a smile.)

Q: With rumors of a new approach to case ratios and carry-forwards making the rounds, what are the lessons that you have taken away from the plainly awful strategy of the past several years in that regard?

A: To make the first wave of a new line more diverse and change case ratios more aggressively. (Editor's Note: Hasbro confirmed they did reduce the production numbers of the first wave, which is probably why we're not seeing four cases worth hanging from pegs and just a few problem "children" instead.)

Q: For the 6" Black Series line, can you please commit to a "C-3PO" that is Vac Metallized? This is so critical. A non-Vac-Metallized version will only invite anger and resentment to a line that is already under debate and divisive contention among collectors. Can you also please commit to using actual fabric for figures with large swaths of drapery like capes (Darth Vader, Lando Calrissian) and cloaks (Jedi characters) and only use plastic sculpted fabric for things like jackets, coats, pants and things that are tight to the body or generally do not flow or hang off the character's body?

A: C-3PO is a very likely candidate in The Black Series 6" line and if Hasbro made him he would absolutely come with gold vac-metallization. Hasbro plans to use more premium types of fabrics with 6" figures going forward that need soft-goods.

Q: Would they consider developing a Darth Nihilus in the 6" or 3 3/4" format of the black series? Are there any to plans change/vary the packaging of TBS figures? If you ask me, the packaging has become more and more monotonous and just misses the mark when they're lined up and displayed. It leaves something to be desired. In essence, all we want is full articulation with a card that has some depth and gravity to it. The packaging should set the context and should pull on the strings of the mind; in a single glace a story should be told. That's why the VC is so beautiful, it took us back the that moment when we first fell in love with Star Wars and the limitless potential that was science fiction. It's the cheapest form of time travel that I know of. Full articulation, mind numbing detail in sculpt and paint work, the cards are a true pleasure to behold. I don't understand this regression. Hasbro needs to stopping dumbing down the product and give collectors what we want. Makes sense given the fact that we're the one's with all the money.. P.S. bring back holograms in the packaging and/or figures please.

A: Hasbro is proud of their Evolutions Darth Nihilus action figure so it won't be revisited. But even if Hasbro did, EU is taking a hiatus in the basic figure line. You have probably already seen Hasbro's exciting new TBS packaging by now. Hasbro also will not try to make every non-TVC line look like TVC. That is what partly makes the line so special. So Hasbro will reserve it for if and when the line returns.

Q: can you bring back the cantina band.

A: Updates to the cantina aliens would make great action figures.

Q: Something to think about down the road for the kiddie lines... we envision some big "action feature" accessories that fire missiles with figures for the new films... however, most kids really don't play with that stuff unless it's a little more functional and it just gets tossed to the side. So why not instead include things a little more functional (like a computer, a small piece of a wall, etc.) that appeals to both kids and adults - i.e., shouldn't you try and appeal to as many potential buyers as possible?

A: It all comes down to cost. Hasbro barely meets budgets with the figures alone, so anything extra now will have to be analyzed one by one.

Q: Is your stance changing at all with playsets/environments? The more kids I'm around, I see more and more evidence that they care a lot more about things like that for their figures to fight, hide, etc. than flying around their figures in Jedi Starfighters. Oh and please, if you do make playsets/environments, please don't make them cardboard. We know the cantina/Jabba cardboard POTF2 ones failed and don't expect to see you go down that road again. I'd rather pay $50, $100 or more on a good playset than $20 for a cardboard one.

A: No. You may want to pay those prices, but parents would never pay those prices. Hasbro's test markets show that interest in playsets, while there, just aren't at the forefront of what kids want to see. The real issue however is cost. It could be detrimental to the line to have a line of playsets with all of the expenses behind it fail because of cost.

       Digg!    

Related Links

Jedi Temple Archives comments powered by Disqus

-Click HERE to return to the home page-

Channels

 

Follow Us

JTA Info

Affiliates

Hasbro

Gentle Giant

Sideshow Collectibles

Hot Toys

LEGO

Mattel

Disney

Disney Store

Acme Archives

Hallmark

Trading Cards

Store Reports

Research Droids Reviews

Visual Guides

Books & Novels

Convention News

Movie & TV News

Rants & Raves

Special Reports

       Facebook

       Instagram

       Pinterest

       Youtube

       RSS

Home

Contact

News Archives

Site Search

Image Use Policy

Disclosure Policy

Privacy Policy

RDR Index

Visual Guide Index

Bantha Skull

Collector's Cantina

Jedi News

Star Wars Figuren

Star Wars New Zealand

Star Wars is a Copyright and Trademark of LucasFilm LTD. This site is intended for informational purposes only, and is not in anyway associated with LFL. All Visual Guides, images, and content are the property of JediTempleArchives.com, © 2004-2019 and may not be reused without permission. Please do not direct link to any of the content on this web site.