Q&A: July's Almost Here!
Monday, June 30, 2008
It seems Indy mania has subsided slightly, probably because we're all excited about next month's huge, ridiculous push for new toys and statues and stuff. We look at the Droid Factory, more exclusives, and yes, because you asked, realistic versions of Clone Wars characters. Read on, gosh darn it!
1. The EE Exclusive Astromech packs are amazing. Do you think you could get another set or two made because the first two sold so well? (well the first set is still in stock at Entertainment Earth, but set 2 is only available from Ebay and a few other e-tailers). Now Hasbro could use the R5-D4 mold to get us Red Leader's red and black astromech from ANH and even the R1-G4 mold or the build-a-droid R7. [edited for space] Which droids would you like to see in a new Astromech set?
--Mister XX.XX
As stated before, it's extremely unlikely that we'll revisit the Astromech packs concept-- for one thing, other stores are getting lots more droids, so it seems a sure thing that if there's an easy repaint to do, it will get done eventually. Also, you may notice that the item is still more or less available-- so while the demand was great and it sold well, it's still around. And it came out in 2006.
I've got a wish list for multiple droids I wanted to do back when this set was initially proposed, and many of them are already in production-- for example, I just got R2-T0 from Wal-Mart, which I never would have assumed Hasbro would make. My top choice-- and one I wanted to do for those boxed sets-- is R3-01, so hopefully we'll see that announced this year at some point. Thankfully Hasbro didn't do it, because now we might see a new, better mold used to make it than the R3-T7 mold which would have been used in 2006.
2. As Hasbro is set to unveil its Clone Wars line of figures based on the animated movie, do you anticipate realistic versions of the new animated characters like Captain Rex or Shaak ti like female jedi?
--David
In the short term, no. In the long term, perhaps-- if the figures show up as "real" in the comics, I think it'd be a safe bet. As Hasbro needs to make new figures in the basic line, it's entirely possible. But I wouldn't expect anything just yet, as putting out "realistic" and "cartoony" versions of anyone but top-top-top tier characters all at the same time would probably be bad at retail.
3. In your opinion, based on the SW figures that have been available for purchase since the line was re-introduced in 1995, which figure (or figures) and vehicle (or vehicles) have become the hardest to find since their initial release?
--Sean
While some variants are tough to get, and some exclusives like the 2002 Silver Darth Vader from Toy Fair New York are tough to get, really, nothing is all that scarce. Hasbro made these things in the thousands (or tens, or hundreds of thousands) and there are plenty to be had on eBay, Brian's Toys, flea markets, comic shops, conventions, and so forth. I mean, time helps-- people get bored and realize the "rare" figures they've been hoarding are being hoarded by hundreds of other fans, especially when they show up on clearance or at a dollar store. Prices change with demand, but honestly, in the digital age (if you have some money) there's virtually no such thing as a rare modern figure.
Patience-- but mostly short attention spans-- help "rare" and/or "valuable" figures to gradually become more available with time.
4. Do you think we will ever see Comic Packs that include figures such as Jorus C'Boath, Dash Rendar and Leebo or possibly a Guri or Noghri figure? I love the Comic Packs however there are two coming out this year with Fett-esque figures that look exactly the same! Am I the only person that wants a Admiral Daala or Splinter of the Minds Eye figures?
--psnitkin
I certainly hope so-- and depending on what the market demands in the next year, I think it's a safe bet that these will eventually make an appearance. Most comic packs that are more than just plain ol' humans do fairly well, so it stands to reason that major characters or weird looking individuals might sell well, depending on how Hasbro does it. I'd expect to see Fishing Vest Luke if we ever saw some of the Shadows characters you mentioned, but it's hard to say what Hasbro will dole out in the coming months.
5. With the build a figure concept being on tap for Star Wars this year, is there a possibility for the old droid factory playset to be released in the near future? It certainly goes along with the theme.
--DD
The name? Yes. The theme? Eh, kinda. The original playset is a real winner of a toy, but lacks a Star Wars-y feel by today's standards, as those other creations don't match anything we've seen in the saga all that closely. I do hope we see a droid factory, or something as the line continues because it might be fun and adaptable to a few scenarios. My guess is that the old tooling is shot by now, or lost to the ages, plus it's packed with choke-hazard parts that could be a problem. Don't hold your breath, but maybe we'll get lucky and some droid part-specific environment or accessories could come down the road. (But in all seriousness, no, we're not going to see a Droid Factory unless it appears on TV.)
FIN
That's all for now! Thanks for all your questions-- bonus editions of Q&A are likely to start popping up soon. I've got a lot of plates a-spinnin', so I can't say for sure if it'll be this week or in the future, but stay tuned for that. Lots of nifty new items showed up over the weekend, and I've got basically no idea if they're going to be exclusives or what. Isn't it fun? With the launch of an entirely new line less than a month away, I'd say this is about as much in the dark as we've ever been. Hopefully, if nothing else, we'll get some idea of who's going to have exclusives in July, and what they are. How else am I supposed to know which stores to beg my friends to stalk while I'm working at Comic-Con so I can make sure to get my junk?
(It'd be funnier if I was kidding.) Oh, and I spent a good chunk of Sunday looking for the new comic packs at Wal-Mart-- no luck there-- and then seeing Wall-E and playing Ticket to Ride as it was released this week. Good stuff, on those last two.
More next week. Or during the next week. I'm trying to get something special ready for you all on Friday.
Got questions? I bet you do. Email me with "Q&A" somewhere in the subject line and hopefully I'll get to yours in the next column!
Posted byAdam16bit at 12:00 AM
Labels: QandA
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