Q&A With JTA: Our Fourteenth Column!

1. In The Vintage Collection (2010-2011 so far), how many variant car backs are there? I know of the Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader pill change, the 2 version of Luke Skywalker in the ROTJ series and the 2 versions of the Senate Guard in the AOTC series. Are there any others? (Jeremiah)

JTA: Actually there are a few more! The Sandtrooper had a color change in the background of the sky. The original is dull, the revised in brighter, almost a purplr color. The Clone Trooper (VC15) has two different card back styles. If you look in the background of the photo where the gunship is behind the clone trooper, the first version was very dull and slightly dark. A running chnage came through and updated the dull yellow background to a brighter color. A similar phenomenon has happened with Clone Commander Cody (VC19) as well. (See Cody's variation HERE.) On the first run, Clone Commander Cody has a very "dull" orange color. Subsequent releases have brightened up that orange color tremendously. And if you want my personal opinion (it's my column, so I am gonna give it anyway), there are some changes on the figures that are much more exciting than the cardback changes! Boba Fett has been repainted in mid-run (see our report on this HERE), the Clone Trooper has been corrected (see our report HERE) and Luke Skywalker (from the Return Of The Jedi wave) has two distinct versions where one has a hole for the lightsaber hilt plug, different lightsaber hilts and changed hair color (see our report HERE). We will be including all of these variations in our Research Droids Reviews, as soon as I have time to organize them all for a new photo shoot.

2. Regarding the Rebel pilots, especially the new Battle for Endor sets, I noticed that Ekelarc Yong has a chest plate accurate to a B-Wing pilot, even that the ROTJ Y-wing pilots have Lt. Telsij´s [styled] chest plates, just as the "Arvel Crynyd" [had] from 1999´s Rebel pilots Cinema Scene. You didn´t point it in your JTA review, so what your opinion about it? [Did] Hasbro make a mistake, or can we accept different suits for ROTJ Y-Wing pilots? (Alex)

JTA: I am not an expert by any means when it comes to the various subtleties of the Rebel pilot uniforms. And I even tried to check some reference material in the Star Wars Chronicles coffee table book to help answer your question and I haven't comes across any images that clearly explain this. If someone out there in cyberspace has more information, please pass it along and we will post an update. To be honest, the films don't show these details very clearly so unless there is a source that shows these differences, I am afraid that I won't be able to give a good answer until then. Hasbro has the best access to the most incredible source materials, and while I would not put 100% of my trust in them for accuracy, they do a pretty fine job all around, so it may be the safest bet to accept what they did as correct. But let's see if anyone out there has a better answer.

3. Now that EU figures are coming back, how likely do you think it will be that Shadows of the Empire will come back in the line? (Nick)

JTA: When it comes to the Expanded Universe, it really is pot luck. I am not sure how eager Hasbro would be to get more SOTE figures back into the market. The last few they made were absolutely incredible (minus the Leia with cankles) but they sat and sat. In fact, my local Walmart has about 4 of these just sitting on the shelf at full price still. I would love to see them update the POTF2 figures in full and also a few more characters that they haven't made yet. I think SOTE was a fantastic bridge between Episode V and Episode VI and think it's a fertile ground for some great toys. Let's just hope and pray that Hasbro has some more ideas up their sleeves!

4. Can you please solve the mystery of the vintage Snaggletooth for me? And I am not really talking about the blue one. Who the heck is the small red figure actually supposed to be? Is he in the Cantina or in the Holiday Special? The reason I ask is because he looks like a mix of two different characters. Please advise. (Robert)

JTA: Robert, many of my colleagues disagree with me on my assessment of Snaggletooth. But you have actually pointed out something that I have mentioned more than a few times in my own debate. I truly believe that due to the lack of reference materials in the vintage era, Snaggletooth is actually a hybrid of two different characters, one from Episode IV and one from The Holiday Special. The head is clearly Takeel from the Cantina (which can be clearly seen in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope). And the body is mostly Zutton from the Star Wars Holiday Special (minus the hands and feet). It seems that licensees are mostly undecided too because he hasn't been made the same way twice really. And he tends to be last "cantina" alien attempted. The 1979 figure is really no different than Hammerhead, Greedo and Walrusman which all have bizarre outfits and features that aren't authentic to the film. So take your pick, because he really can't be relegated to one source.

5. I am so sick and tired of seeing Saga Legends clog the pegs. They ruin any chance of new figures coming to my stores and no one is buying them. Why does Hasbro keep shipping them? (Jack)

JTA: Jack - Saga Legends will not be going away any time soon. They are a way for Hasbro to build essentially free money for the tooling budget so they can bring us the impressive new figures they are as of late. And they are a different assortment number and should have no effect on The Vintage Collection line or the figures making their way to your retail stores. I don't know where you live, but Saga Legends in my neck of the woods sells insanely fast. Please note that there are some stinkers that just sit (like the AOTC and ROTS Clone Trooper figures) but overall they sell briskly. I have wanted to pick up another set of the bounty hunters so I can get updated paint jobs (as we've reported on in the past) and I have having a great deal of difficulty finding them anywhere. And now Hasbro is added new figures into the case assortments to mix up the line a bit more. In fact, the very hard to find Spacetrooper from the last wave of the Legacy Collection is making a return appearance through this medium. In short, if you want to continue seeing all-new awesome figures in The Vintage Collection, please be a little more tolerant of Saga Legends. The line is essential to the overall health of the brand. (And it does sell for the most part.)