star wars "saga"

[Ran]

You could ask them why the last few waves have been so difficult to find in stores. They will probably say it isn't their fault, or whatever that generic reply was when they were asked in previous Q&A sessions.

Don't worry about asking this, but I wonder if they would ever consider re-releasing BG-J38 as a carded figure. I just did a search on ebay and BG-J38 is going for $30. I'll assume the answer is "no".

[Senor JabbaJohnL]

You could ask them why the last few waves have been so difficult to find in stores. They will probably say it isn't their fault, or whatever that generic reply was when they were asked in previous Q&A sessions.

Don't worry about asking this, but I wonder if they would ever consider re-releasing BG-J38 as a carded figure. I just did a search on ebay and BG-J38 is going for $30. I'll assume the answer is "no".

There are a few questions about the distribution issues. We know why the last waves have been so hard to find; I'd rather know what they're going to do to make sure it doesn't happen again.

We also have a few questions about re-releases, but not that wave . . . I probably won't ask it in the official interview but I might be able to just chat with them as well.

[anarky]

Truth be told, I'm not sure why they haven't figured this out yet. It happens in multiple lines, always at the end of a subline (though, occasionally, as with the Pursuit of Cobra Joes and Vintage/Whatever Legends Is Called This Week SW, the drought starts earlier). I've heard the retailers don't want waves without core characters, but, at some point, couldn't Hasbro say, "Yo, we're the biggest toy manufacturer in America. We know these characters. We know our fans. Howsabout trying a fucking wave without another Obi-Wan or Duke?"

[Ran]

There are a few questions about the distribution issues. We know why the last waves have been so hard to find; I'd rather know what they're going to do to make sure it doesn't happen again.

We also have a few questions about re-releases, but not that wave . . . I probably won't ask it in the official interview but I might be able to just chat with them as well.

I'd be interested to hear about the answers they give you.

[anarky]

FYI, JJL: If JT refers to "AF," it's the website actionfigs.com. He is not instructing you to autofellate.

[Senor JabbaJohnL]

FYI, JJL: If JT refers to "AF," it's the website actionfigs.com. He is not instructing you to autofellate.

JT's not going. But I can only hope that Steve won't make me do it.

[anarky]

Damn, I'm still going to be the only person here who can verify JT exists and isn't Steve.

[anarky]

All joking aside, any chance you might see if there's a tactful way to ask, "How did you fuck up Mara Jade? Seriously, are you retarded?"

The first Mara Jade figure was the Emperor's Hand, in the original EU wave.

The second Mara Jade figure was the Emperor's Hand, in a comic pack.

The Fan's Choice Poll specified that the Mara Jade up for consideration was the long-awaited Jedi Master version, who is best known from the cover of Vision of the Future, where she's wearing green robes and has her hair done very differently. This figure won, with many people discussing on various forums before voting, "Do we know for sure this isn't the Emperor's Hand figure yet again?" I believe a Q&A or two put this to rest; the figure in the poll was the Jedi Master. So she won.

And now they've revealed the Fan's Choice winner... Emperor's Hand Mara Jade.

The woman is the most popular EU character of all (or at least was before Clone Wars, I don't know how Miley Tano goes over with fans), and has at least five distinct outfits that would make cool figures (and that's just off the top of my head). Three figures, fifteen years, and they're all the same fucking uniform.

I know people who would commit murder to get their hands on the Jedi Master and Arica outfits, and wouldn't mind the wedding dress. (I personally am not one; I would only hit someone with a truck to get them, and be careful to go really slow so they'd only have a painful compound fracture in each leg and maybe a non-fatal but still very serious punctured lung or something.) How can they be so clueless, particularly when people tried to clarify this and got a very different answer?

[Ran]

Based on the above Mara Jade rant, I'll assume new figures were announced.

There are a few questions about the distribution issues. We know why the last waves have been so hard to find; I'd rather know what they're going to do to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Missed something the first time I read this. Why are the last waves hard to find?

[Senor JabbaJohnL]

I didn't get a chance to ask anything about Mara Jade - my Saturday was chock full o' panels and the only member of the team I saw on Sunday was the sculptor, and time was short anyway. Derryl said in the Curto Burns Collector Cast that both the Emperor's Hand and Jedi versions would be coming, though he didn't say when. So many different sites got to ask questions, so one of them might have asked for more details. The online Q&A when they discussed Mara Jade was run by Jeff instead of Derryl; Jeff wasn't at CVI but really doesn't seem to be nearly as into SW or collecting as any of the other Hasbro team members, so he might have just been wrong, which I wouldn't doubt.

Ran, they overestimated the impact of the TPM 3D release, thinking it would bring in new collectors, so they produced the first Vintage wave in higher numbers (in addition to repacking many of the figures in the next two cases). The movie didn't really bring in any new collectors, so it caused a bottleneck. The warehouses are sitting on cases of older product and they're trying to still get it out there (this affected the vehicle line as well - the Naboo Starfighter and green Fighter Tank probably won't ship to stores, so online is probably the only bet on those).

On the topic of re-releasing build-a-droids, Derryl asked if I would be annoyed if they re-released build-a-droids elsewhere since they made the promise that the figures would be exclusive to the Droid Factory/Legacy Collection figures and collectors might have gone out of their way in tracking down difficult-to-find pieces. I told him no, as they already re-released the silver Death Star Droid in the Target sets, so the precedent exists, so I think BG-J38 could have a chance (I mentioned him, but we were talking more about HK-47). They're still trying to re-release some of the harder-to-find figures from previous years, so there ya go.

If you're at all interested, here's the official interview I did with Hasbro, and here is information from my talk with Derryl.

[Ran]

Thanks for the info. Good job with the interview. Glad to hear there is at least a chance of getting that B-A-D.

Does that mean all of the post-TPM waves will end up at discount stores like Ross or TJ Maxx? I know one of the Vintage waves made it to those stores after Christmas last year.

[Bizarro The Grin]

yOU SHOULD ALL READ MY ARTICLE!!

mY bATH wITH dERRYL aT cELEBRATION vi

[Ran]

Just looking through stuff I didn't get. Was there anything cool about the TAC R2-D2 w/ Cargo net? It looks like an average figure with a cool accessory. Amazon has it for $8 and free shipping.

Amazon has Wedge for $10 with Super Saver shipping. I'll probably at least buy Wedge from them this weekend.

[Senor JabbaJohnL]

That R2-D2 was a repaint of the original 2004 VOTC version, which has seen rerelease many times. This one has green shit on his feet and flecks on his body. The panel is glued down, which seems like a missed opportunity since the buzzsaw already existed on the 2004 one so they should have just left it unglued. The accessories are indeed the real selling point - I have R2 tied up on the sticks, and while it's hard to get all the characters stuck in the cargo net (though it is possible), I do think it's a worthwhile purchase.

[jjreason]

Pegger and I still at your mercy for the TRU multi packs - Ewoks & Yavin pilots are whatever. He contacted me asking for an update, so I'm reiterating our begging to you here & now. Help us, douchebags of Vynsane.com, you're our only hope.