Topic: 2014 Hasbro Toy Fair Q+A

[The Spectre]

I took the list of questions Tamer sent me to the 2014 Hasbro Entertainment Toys Preview Event and managed to snag a few minutes with one of the Star Wars Marketing Team and Bill Rowley, a designer on the brand. The answers are paraphrased just a bit as it was hard to write everything down verbatim.



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?

A: 14 POA is not going away. The Black Series is set to continue for some time to come.



Q: Will the new Episode 7 action figures feature articulation more along the lines of the Black Series or Saga Legends or the new Rebels series?

A: Both collectors and kids will be happy.



Q: We are excited to see the new six inch Speederbike. What are the chances we will see other vehicles in the six inch scale?

A: Nothing planned as of yet. Sales of Speederbike will determine if more are made.



Q: Will the new Black Series 6 inch line be wide open for the new Episode 7 movie, Rebels, The Clone Wars or EU Characters or will it focus solely on Episodes I through VI? 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)?

A: There is a very good chance of the line encompassing some of the media mentioned as it goes forward. No answer on Republic Commando portion of question.



Q: The B.A.D. option (build a droid) just seems like a no brainer when it comes to producing great droids. Is there any chance we can continue to get multiple SW Droids a year (protocol droids, astro-mechs, gonks, etc.) in these configurations that will allow each new droid purchase to connect with our existing pieces from other droids allowing for unique combinations? When can we expect to see a C3PO done in this style? Do you think this could ever expand outside of the Droids arena again into getting other prequel or OT characters in the regular action figure lines as a great pack in per wave or for exclusive runs like you did for the Amazon B.A.D. set?

A: BAD is not ruled out for the future but it is more or less a Disney park venture at this point. No plans to do any non-droid BAFs. No answer on C3-PO portion of question.



Q: 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?

A: This was from Bill Rowley-  Articulation is judged on a case by case issue depending on the needs of the particular character and what kind of movement it needs to fulfill that character's role. New innovations in articulation are discussed and will be used whenever they are deemed necessary (this was after I pointed out Dagobah Luke as an example to Bill).



Q: Would Hasbro consider trying to make the joint sizes in its figures a standard size to allow for easier customizing? There's nothing more frustrating than finding a perfect piece for a custom, only to find that the peg is too large/small for the hole on the other figure you're using. Especially for heads - why can't the head pegs be all the same size so we can swap heads easily? This would make customizing easier AND give buyers an incentive to get more doubles as they can create more characters (imagine how many people would buy extra the Rebel Trooper body and then army build by adding different heads).

A: This was from Bill Rowley-  The figure's joints/pegs/etc. are determined by the dimensions of the figure, the thickness of it's limbs, etc. While it would be great to just pop parts on and off without grinding or cutting pegs, it is just not feasable across the entire line based on the various physiques of the myriad types of characters in the Star Wars Universe (Bill sited IG-88 as an example of this).



Q: Ok, Dear hasbro, will we ever see a re release of the six inch fett with Han in carbonite? And is there any fire to the smoke we have been hearing about perhaps this being released with a Six Inch Scale Jabba the Hutt?

A: Nothing is planned in this regard as we wanted the SDCC Exclusive to truly be something special for those that attended the convention.



Q: We saw last week that Medicom announced they are now producting six inch Star Wars Figures through their MAFEX Line. Is Hasbro concerned this could cause some problems for their recently released six inch line?

A: We are not worried about the competition. We are planning on expanding the 6" Black Series line in character selection including making even taller characters such as the Chewbacca and Vader in the showroom today. In fact, that is why we are opening up the packaging with more plastic and less cardboard to allow for larger characters to be visible in the boxes.



Q: While we are quickly moving towards a new SW movie every year, is there any thought to pushing out some of the most requested background figures from the OT and PT in the Black Series line?  There are quite a few figures that have been in the parking lot for some time and it feels as if there isn't a lot of time left to get to characters like this...

A: We will never stop releasing Original Trilogy characters. No answer on the Prequel Trilogy portion of the question.



Q: 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.

A: The Republic Commando is in discussion, but I cannot say when it will be slated for the line nor what deco it will end up with.

[Spookymufu]

who said "we all" love the GI Joe style of joints? I dont, the waist and hip joints look HORRIBLE, that will be a deal breaker for me buying SW figures, I hate the GI Joe hip joints, looks like a diaper

[Tamer]

who said "we all" love the GI Joe style of joints? I dont, the waist and hip joints look HORRIBLE, that will be a deal breaker for me buying SW figures, I hate the GI Joe hip joints, looks like a diaper

LOL. I think the original poser of this question meant more for the range of movement than perhaps the overall look. Frankly I would sacrifice a bit of the aesthetic look for better movement. If it means JOE articulation I am all for it!

Dan, great job on the questions. I am gonna have to buy you one of those mini-voice recorders or perhaps a phone app that does the same thing? Definitely hate the idea of you trying to write down all those answers are you are interviewing. Great job though, and thank you for asking a few of those toughies. I think there is enough here to give folks a bit of something. A lot more than last time that's for sure.

[Clonehead]

The responses were a lot less generic this time. Thanks for asking my question.
Shawn, you are in trouble over the answer.

[Luke Sprywalker]

Great job Dan! Just wish my astromech question was in there...

[Tamer]

The responses were a lot less generic this time. Thanks for asking my question.
Shawn, you are in trouble over the answer.

Ain't that the truth.

[Tamer]

Great job Dan! Just wish my astromech question was in there...

Sorry bud, it was on the list, but they only give you so much time as you well know.

[The Spectre]

Sorry I couldn't ask them all, but with how crowded it was I was lucky to get the 5-7 minutes I was able to talk to them. Some of the questions were very lengthy so that took time as well. At least this time out I got more than just the standard "I cannot comment on that " or "no plans at this time" answers.

[Tamer]

You asked all those in 7 minutes? Wow!

[CHEWIE]

who said "we all" love the GI Joe style of joints? I dont, the waist and hip joints look HORRIBLE, that will be a deal breaker for me buying SW figures, I hate the GI Joe hip joints, looks like a diaper

I'm not a fan of the GI JOE style either, as compared to most Star Wars figures.  I don't think they look as good, the figures are more wobbly, can't do traditional boil-n-pop, etc.  That's just me though.

 

[CHEWIE]

Great job Dan! Just wish my astromech question was in there...

Sorry bud, it was on the list, but they only give you so much time as you well know.

Yeah, wish my clone helmet question was asked, but that's okay (really glad the Republic Commando one was).  I know it's hard to get all the questions in.  I sent the helmet question to 3 sites last time, and Rebelscum and Sandtroopers never even posted their Q&A for some reason for SDCC... did they??

This time, I also sent a custom figure to Paul at Jeditemplearchives to hand to DePriest in person - so hopefully they get the message finally and realize how oversized the bucket on the right is!



Thanks for taking the time to ask as many questions as possible, it's appreciated... the collecting community has a hard time getting Hasbro's ears these days, that's for sure!

[DocOutlands]

Nice work - and some decent answers!  (other than the BAD being a Disney Park exclusive...)

[Tamer]

I think one of the greatest things is the fact were aren't going to see 5 POA for every figure and that even though EP 7 and REBELS is gonna dominate the action figure lines at least the OT is gonna stick around!

[DocOutlands]

You pretty well nailed my excitement.

[Tamer]

You pretty well nailed my excitement.

I read a report over at JTA that they are saying Lucasfilm wants them to limit their EU and prequel offerings. Well, not offer em at all, but think we are lucky they are still agreeing to doing some OT characters.

Hey, as I am writing this, I saw JTA has posted up some great news from their Q and A Session:

http://www.jeditemplearchives.com/content/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=13156