New from Sideshow Collectibles:

Premium Format Figures

12" Figures

1:1 Busts

Super Deformed Medcom Figures

An interview with Sideshow

We had a chance during the convention to get together with Sideshow Collectibles Production Manager, Scott Klauder and their Affiliate Manager Corie Clayton to talk to them about all of the great Star Wars lines, including the new 1:1 figures, that they are producing for the Star Wars fans. Below is a synopsis of our conversation with them.

JTA: Tell us about the 12" Jabba the Hutt.

Sideshow: Right now it is in China going through the manufacturing stage. We are trying to do Jabba in a vinyl rotocast, that way it will cut down on the weight of it and we will still be able to get in all the detail at the same time. We didn't want to do it in polystone because then it would not fall into the 12" category and the price would have been in the $200-300 range.

JTA: You did get it at a great price point.

Sideshow: The base will be sold separately and it will not be all that heavy either. We did that so that if people wanted to buy Jabba they did not have to commit to spending the money on the whole environment. The base will be made of polystone as well as some fiberglass. It will be a solid piece and the arm rest, pillows and hooka pipe will all come with the base.

JTA: The Salacious Crumb expansion pack is a great idea.

Sideshow: Yes we like them along with the Sith Probes. We'll offer them with more 12" but don't look for things like lightsabers to be added because they are already part of the character, so look for other things that would be unique to the character. For example, as far as the exclusive extras go, we were thinking of adding a dooku lightsaber to the Anakin figure, but then we would not be able to do a Dooku since his hilt was already made for Anakin.

JTA: What will the exclusive accessories be for Bib Fortuna and Princess Leia in her Boussh disguise?

Sideshow: Bib's exclusive will be the staff and for Leia it will be the Boussh helmet and it can be swapped out with the other head.

JTA: I see that there is a promotion flyer being handed out at the convention that is being shared with you and Acme Archives, can you tell us about that?

Sideshow: We are going to start distributing for them and we should also have some exclusives together.

JTA: Back to the Scum & Villainy line...we know that you have said in the past that you were going to try to stay with the human sculpts since you have the parts for them already. Once you go past Dengar and the Fetts there are not that many in the Scum & Villainy category that use human parts. Will we be seeing the likes of IG-88 and the other non-human bounty hunters?

Sideshow: Well, we still have not come to a conclusion of what to do about the droids since we'd have to make all the parts separately. It is a possibility but right now we are just trying to figure out how to do it.

JTA: Will we be seeing a line of clones to be included with the military line along with the Leia in Boussh disguise?

Sideshow: As for the Clone and Stormtroopers...well, eventually you are going to see them. We are trying to work out all the different pieces of armor that would be needed and how to create them so you won't be getting them one after the other. We'd like to spread it out over a few years and have variety to the troopers.

JTA: The Premium Format line looks great with the addition of the Dagobah Luke and Yoda and the Boba Fett. What else is in the works for this line?

Sideshow: Well...that is it for right now...we may have another announcement later this summer, but if not then at Toy Fair at the very latest.

JTA: Can you tell us about the life size R2-D2 and C-3PO?

Sideshow: That is the new deal...we'll be making those at a 1:1 scale. They will run about $7,000 each. We are looking at possibly adding sounds or maybe a motion sensor to them so for example R2's head would rotate a bit when you came into the room. But things like that we are only exploring right now. And these are only the star of our 1:1 "figures". The word "figure" is very important here because if we were to do an actual replica not only is it harder to control the production of it but it would send the price up even higher.

JTA: A 1:1 scale Han in Carbonite would be a great idea.

Sideshow: Everyone seems to want a Han in Carbonite...

JTA: How will the 1:1 figures be fabricated and ship?

Sideshow: Well, these that you see here are just prototypes, but once we got them back overseas will look at how to manufacture them and they will probably include some fiberglass and some poly-resin on the outside (a sort of polystone material). The Terminator 1:1 figure comes in five boxes and we are going to look to see if we can keep the weight down and ship it in 1 or 2 boxes. It'll make it easier to get it in and out of the house. R2-D2 may not need assembly but the C-3PO will need some assembly. But don't worry about assembly, they will come with instructions, in fact, the Terminator came with a DVD showing two of us putting it together!

JTA: The 1:1 figures look like they will be a great line. I have a question about the packaging for the 12" figures. Some collectors like to have a mint box for their collections, especially for your 12" line since the box is part of the whole presentation. DO you have plans to change the way the 12" figures are shipped to protect the packaging?

Sideshow: Not at this time, but we will be more than happy to send out a new box to the collectors that request one. Also, we'd like you to let your readers know that if you would like a mint box all they need to do is to make note of it during the order and we will make sure that they get one.

JTA: Great! Thanks for your time.

Sideshow: Thank you!

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