On September 11th, we sent our seventeenth batch of questions to Hasbro to once again take part in their
Star Wars Question and Answer sessions. Today, we've got the answers to those three questions!
1. What was your gut reaction to seeing the raw Fans' Choice Poll data/results from the various websites? Were the choices more or less varied than you were expecting? Any trends that you saw that surprised you or any characters that popped up that were completely off your radar until this initial batch of results came in?
** One surprise was how even the results were - drawing from all six films and the EU. Of the films, though, each of the films has at least 3 votes, except for, surprisingly, EpV which had only one character (Toryn Farr) in the top 30. Given that, EpV is generally acknowledged as the fan favorite, it either points to how thoroughly we have covered the film (unlikely since there are many great character re-dos to go), or that fans want to see as-yet-unmade characters generally over re-sculpts (more likely, as there are only five resculpts on the entire list, and the first one, Dr. Evazon, appears at #10). Of all the selections, the strength of Jocasta Nu surprised us. We do not think she would be a strong or compelling figure ourselves, but if she did win we would draft her into the lineup. Some of the strength of fans' desire for her could be precisely because we have expressed that we would not consider doing her ourselves, so if she does win it's a victory for the fans who wanted her!
2. What can you tell us about the upcoming Clone Wars "Anakin Skywalker with Desert Skiff" deluxe set? That wouldn't happen to be a repaint of the 1996 toy that originally came with Luke would it? Or is the 'Desert Skiff' something new from the series?
** We are using the mini-rig from ‘96 but including an ACW Anakin and changing the decoration on Skiff. It is not in the new entertainment. This assortment is intended to be a way kids to get a low-priced figure and vehicle as a complete purchase/play experience. This assortment will have some “mini-rig” type off-screen items as well as authentic speeder bikes and small single person transports.
3. Also, some of the retailers are taking pre-orders for a new batch of Galactic Heroes 2-packs. One of the sets listed is a new "Darth Vader & Stormtrooper" set - is this one all new or are they repacks/repaints? And how about "Anakin & ARF Trooper" pack - repacks, repaints, or all-new?
** The former is a resculpt set with more dynamic character poses, while the latter is a repack of a previous set.
