Topic: NY Toy Fair 2014 Hasbro Q and A Thread

[DarthDrew]

Q: Hasbro has made some very nice EU Figures in the recent years, and are always in high demand on the second hand market. Is there a chance of seeing these hard to find figures repacked, perhaps in multi packs much like TFU exclusives sets? Such as a TOR, Kotor, CW set with repacks and perhaps a new figure or two in each pack so it would appeal to new collectors as well as the 'veteran' collectors as well as the kids?

[Luke Sprywalker]

You guys are doing a great job with the new 6 inch line and I like the character selections so far. Are you aware of the problems with the legs on R2-D2? The actual legs are made from very soft plastic and the snap on leg panels are very hard/stiff plastic. Before you ever take him out of the package his legs are bent, this is on every R2 I have seen at retail. When you open the package and snap on the long blue leg panel parts it deforms the legs even more as they bend inward to the body. It looks terrible on display with the rest of the figures in the line. If this is a collector focused line why re we still dealing with soft plastic problems? No adult is going to stab themselves in the eye with R-2's leg. If R2 or future droids are released do you plan to address this problem? Better yet can we get an all new sculpt about 1/2 inch taller and 1/4 inch bigger around?

[Tamer]

Anyone have any more questions? I am gonna compile all of these together.

[darthcrassus]

Here's a longshot, but why not:

Is there any chance we'll see a revival of the Action Fleet line from the late 90s? This was an excellent way to get well-made replicas of Star Wars vehicles for a low cost at a size that did not take up too much space. Unfortunately, we only got a handful of Episode II vehicles and none from Episode III, but with the Sequels coming out and a whole bunch of new ships it seems like it'd be a great time for such a line.

[Sjefke]

Here's my 2 cents worth:

Q) Is the 14POA/SA coming to an end with the current crop of 5 POA figures in the market and if so do Hasbro honestly feel that a majority of adult/seasoned collectors will stick with the brand after being used to 14POA/SA for so long?

That's the BIG question in my mind too.  The way you've posed it, doesn't leave any wiggle room for the Hasbro panel either.  The answer will either be , "yes", "no" or "uh?!"

[Tamer]

Here's my 2 cents worth:

Q) Is the 14POA/SA coming to an end with the current crop of 5 POA figures in the market and if so do Hasbro honestly feel that a majority of adult/seasoned collectors will stick with the brand after being used to 14POA/SA for so long?

That's the BIG question in my mind too.  The way you've posed it, doesn't leave any wiggle room for the Hasbro panel either.  The answer will either be , "yes", "no" or "uh?!"

You know what I was gonna make that a separate question, but see perhaps that one ought to start out list. I agree with you this one won't leave much wiggle room!

Ok, I think I have all the questions on the main list to date. I did tweak a few after hearing a few rumors from around the internet.

[CheesyKNAC]

Is Hasbro considering doing any of the EU figures in the 6 inch Black Series line? Would Hasbro ever do a Republic Commando in the 6 inch Black Series line, with the possibility of having the custom attachments for the weapon (i.e. sniper attachment, rocket launcher)?

[CHEWIE]

Please ask Hasbro why they are using oversized helmets for the Phase 2 removable helmet clones.  

The helmets are very oversized and are an eyesore, which is hurting sales.  They should revamp the helmet and offer multipacks of the clones with regular helmets using the VC45 body and the original ROTS #41 head and make the helmet non-removable, or create a new helmet mold if they feel it needs to be removable.  Something needs to be done because these helmets are extremely disproportionate.  

Photo reference attached with a version with the helmet better scaled.



Thanks so very much!

 

[CHEWIE]

7. As much as we are sure Hasbro gets annoyed by all the Star Wars customizers that are popping up, there is no denying that the movement is rapidly growing.  Furthermore, Star Wars customizers purchase more action figures than kids and collectors COMBINED to create their works of art.  A typical custom action figure will usually take 3-6 action figures to create just one figure,  and customizers have been known to buy up to 10 figures of a well articulated action figure just for something to sculpt onto (i.e. - CW MAce Windu or Vintage Aaayla Secura). Is Hasbro concerned about the loss of their best customers if they switch to 5 POA?  Also has Hasbro considered making action figure joints pop apart like Ponda Boba so even kids can get in on the customizing action?  I can see a huge increase in sales if you did.

8. Why not use the same kind of model base/articulation for Star Wars figures as they do for G.I Joe figures? I mean if a lot of people use a G.I. Joe figure as a platform for giving their custom figures the articulation they want, and Hasbro seems to have no (cost) issues with the articulation points on Joe figures, why not use the same kind of figure base for Star Wars figures as well? It seems if they did something like that, everyone would be happy. Would it be safe to assume that the Black Series Training Luke we are seeing could be a trend for SW action figures to feature the well loved Joe style joints and movement?

^ It's funny - those two questions *almost* contradict each other.  From a customizer point of view, I like Q7 a lot more... because if we get more standard sculpts and the like, then we lose so much variety with Star Wars abd lose incentive to buy all the variety of figures for our customizing needs.  I also don't care for GI JOE body parts for customs or the hip joints and solid rock torsos (makes boil-n-pop harder).  Guess it's all from a certain point of view.

[CHEWIE]

What is the plan to bring out a B.A.D. C-3PO?  That protocol droid sculpt is by far the most loved by the collecting base... and C-3PO is by far the most popular protocol droid... so... when is this coming?

 

[CHEWIE]

How about an all white (slight weathered) Republic Commando in the 3.75" Black Series?  You could pack this guy 2x per case and nobody would complain.

 

[darthdaddy]

7. As much as we are sure Hasbro gets annoyed by all the Star Wars customizers that are popping up, there is no denying that the movement is rapidly growing.  Furthermore, Star Wars customizers purchase more action figures than kids and collectors COMBINED to create their works of art.  A typical custom action figure will usually take 3-6 action figures to create just one figure,  and customizers have been known to buy up to 10 figures of a well articulated action figure just for something to sculpt onto (i.e. - CW MAce Windu or Vintage Aaayla Secura). Is Hasbro concerned about the loss of their best customers if they switch to 5 POA?  Also has Hasbro considered making action figure joints pop apart like Ponda Boba so even kids can get in on the customizing action?  I can see a huge increase in sales if you did.

8. Why not use the same kind of model base/articulation for Star Wars figures as they do for G.I Joe figures? I mean if a lot of people use a G.I. Joe figure as a platform for giving their custom figures the articulation they want, and Hasbro seems to have no (cost) issues with the articulation points on Joe figures, why not use the same kind of figure base for Star Wars figures as well? It seems if they did something like that, everyone would be happy. Would it be safe to assume that the Black Series Training Luke we are seeing could be a trend for SW action figures to feature the well loved Joe style joints and movement?

^ It's funny - those two questions *almost* contradict each other.  From a customizer point of view, I like Q7 a lot more... because if we get more standard sculpts and the like, then we lose so much variety with Star Wars abd lose incentive to buy all the variety of figures for our customizing needs.  I also don't care for GI JOE body parts for customs or the hip joints and solid rock torsos (makes boil-n-pop harder).  Guess it's all from a certain point of view.

While I certainly have used G.I. Joe parts to create a Star Wars custom action figure before, I too am not a huge fan of using Joe parts for Star Wars custom action figures.

[CHEWIE]

Not to derail this thread, but I wish that GI JOE figures were in SW style which would make them easier for me to customize and cross over between the two lines!

 

[CHEWIE]

The recently revealed 5POA “Cowboy Jedi” Kanan is already seeing a huge backlash by collectors - it seems that the majority of the consumer base would prefer for all of these 5POA figures to "go away."   

While we appreciate the cheaper pricepoint, doesn't it seem like a better approach would be a more "mid tier" line priced around $8 MSRP?  More along the lines of the quality of Movie Heroes Jar Jar and Padme Amidala?  That way you are also crossing over into the collector market - having the adult market interested in the "kid line" seems like a better approach - remember how successful Legends used to be when it appealed to both kids and adults?

 

[Tamer]

Lots of good questions. Folks I will get em sent in to Dan. He thinks all should be well to go tomorrow.

I can't promise all of these questions will be able to be asked and I am gonna rank order em today as frankly folks we have asked some pretty similar questions in the past and got some pretty canned or "perhaps in the future" responses so I am going to try and get to the ones that don't give em much wiggle room.

Trust me, we will be asking them the 5 POA question as that one seems to be at the top of the list as far as folks being concerned. I dread their answer to what articulation the EP 7 figures will have. I think we all already know to be honest.

I am not locking this thread, but I am setting this list as of now so if you add anymore there is a good chance they won't make it to Dan in time.