Hasbro Star Wars Q&A, 4/9 Answers Options

[NightViper]

I'll make this a dual thread. We now have the answers from the last round, and we need questions for the next round...

Anyway, here are the answers:

1) For the Expanded Universe figures last year, what decisions - outside of fan polls and the Force Unleashed video game - went into deciding which characters you chose? Hasbro produced obvious, high demand characters, but then they also produced more obscure figures that honestly had some fans taken by surprise. Such as the Lt. Sunbers/Amani and other comic packs.

We keep a list of comic packs that we think would make great candidates for future packs. Sometimes, we are motivated by a significant update to an existing character that may not have seen an update in some time and we may not have in the works. Other times, we are motivated by a new design that we could add that would make for a great new feature. Occasionally, we like the idea of a non-traditional army builder. All three of these were the basis for the Amanin pack you mention. Our designer for that pack loved the tank story and felt that he could do a version of the Amanin that truly rolled up like the aliens do in the story. We embraced the idea, but the ability to get a bendy-wire armature that really allowed the figure to roll up proved too difficult and the design was compromised, so instead we focused on just getting a nice new sculpt. We love our army of Amanin aliens. As for other EU selections, it sometimes is just a story or character that strikes us as interesting and feel like a natural extension of what we see on screen in the movies, such as many of the Rogue Squadron characters or numerous Jedi we have done from the Republic series. We are sorry to see a decreased focus on the EU for the near term and hope that one day we can see additional opportunities that pay tribute the great characters created for novels, comics, and video games.

2) In the Star Wars Crossover lines, we now have robot modes that are Droids. Such as the Battle Droid/Clone Wars AAT Tank, Magna Guard/Magna Guard Fighter, and Battle Droid Officer/Episode I AAT Tank. At the beginning of the line, it was said that Hasbro was hesitant to make robot modes that were robots. However, it seems that something has since changed. Would Hasbro ever then reconsider "Beast Mode" Crossover figures? Such as Dewbacks, Wampas, etc. that convert similar to the recent "Transformers Universe" Cheetor and Dinobot figures?

We decided that since the droids were the natural adversaries of many of the characters we were doing, and were popular among kids, that we would pursue them for the Star Wars Transformers line. We don’t see the beasts in the same vein of general popularity, and don't have plans to do any at this time.

Answer #1 is a nice, in-depth response. I like! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-ironhide.gif)

This post has been edited by NightViper: Apr 27 2010, 04:18 PM

[Detour]

1) Why are Star Wars figures so much smaller than other Hasbro lines in the scale, like G.I.Joe and the various Marvel lines?

2) Why do some toys' head sculpts stray so far away from the original actors' likenesses? The "Sandstorm" and "partial Stormtrooper disguise" versions of Han Solo bear very little ressemblance to Harrison Ford, which is an awful thing indeed.

[awa64]

1) Oota goota solo?

2) What processes do you use to prototype larger, interactive toys--playsets, large vehicles, and the like? At what point in the process do they get kid-tested?

[Daith]

Well Glad to see my question answered with the spite edited out. Still bummed about most of the EU being thrown away to exclusive only fodder again though. Makes me wonder if the Secret Wars pack for the Marvel figures will continue on with other series or just fade away and leave the main line alone.

[Dake]

Rats, I forgot and missed this round of questions, but I guess I'll put one out there for the next:

-Did the last of the Titaniums have the same production run as others? It appears the Nebulon B Frigate and Outrider specifically are extremely rare in the world - even online auction sites have very few examples commanding unbelievably high prices. Is this simply a case of retailers not restocking the end of a line; do you have knowledge of whether to expect these at secondary retailers like Marshall's and Ross, or were they really manufactured in very small quantities and those of us who haven't seen them by now are just out of luck?

[NightViper]

I never saw the Outrider either (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-screamer.gif)

[Dake]

1) Why are Star Wars figures so much smaller than other Hasbro lines in the scale, like G.I.Joe and the various Marvel lines?

It's really more that Star Wars figures have stayed mostly the same, only becoming more in scale to themselves such as Leia is no longer as tall as Chewie, while lines like Joe and Marvel have grown over the years. Joes and Marvel are no longer really 1:18.

[NightViper]

Our latest answers!

1) While we know that there is no full redeco planned for the 3 3/4" scale Clone Wars Y-Wing, is there any possibility of a deco inversion? Instead of white and yellow, yellow and white? So that fans could have a show-accurate deco for Anakin and Ahsoka's bomber.

Right now there are no more versions planned on the Y-Wing. It is likely we would do the red deco next, if and when we release another one. We are hopeful that we'll get to a new version in 2011 or 2012.

2) What scale is the upcoming Crossovers Yoda in robot mode? Will he be shorter than the other Crossovers robots?

He will be a little both shorter than other Star Wars Transformers robots. It's still basically the same size vehicle, so the difference won't he buge but it will be noticeable.

[Dake]

Our latest answers!

1) While we know that there is no full redeco planned for the 3 3/4" scale Clone Wars Y-Wing, is there any possibility of a deco inversion? Instead of white and yellow, yellow and white? So that fans could have a show-accurate deco for Anakin and Ahsoka's bomber.

Right now there are no more versions planned on the Y-Wing. It is likely we would do the red deco next, if and when we release another one. We are hopeful that we'll get to a new version in 2011 or 2012.

Actually, the version we have is the Anakin/Ahsoka version; the inverted scheme would be the rest of Anakin's squadron.

I'm ok for the red one in a year or so.