January 2008 - Every couple of weeks, Hasbro will answer three questions per web site about their Star Wars products. Here are the questions and answers for this round:
1. Any chance of bringing forward that one vehicle that hasn't been out in the new line, the Twin Pod Cloud Car?
Answer: While there is a possibility we will update it in the future, the Cloud Car is much farther down on our list than other choices. It suffers a bit being not a very aggressive looking vehicle, and not that cool among among kids. It also seems to be one of the most abundant vintage vehicle and can be had very inexpensively, so we just haven't felt compelled to devote a slot to it yet...
2. Any chance of seeing Droid based Star Wars Transformers, like an R2-D2 or C-3PO that convert into something?
Answer: It's a matter of size, character expression, and natural fit between the modes. First, R2-D2 and C-3PO are already robots (well, droids). Generally, Star Wars Transformers make sense in the film context with their character tying into vehicles with which they are associated and there aren't any good ties with the droids and vehicles that are compelling (other than perhaps R2-D2 and a Starfighter). In addition, while R2-D2 would be our first choice, a robot mode for him have to change his silhouette significantly and would not really deliver on R2 that we know and love. That's why the humanoid characters work the best.
3. Are there any figures you completely under-estimated the demand for before it was released?
Answer: Absolutely. During Episode III, we completely underestimated the sheer number of Darth Vaders we would need due to the sheer number of kids that wanted to get perhaps the most iconic movie character of all time. Of course, Episode III exceeded our wildest expectations for the number of kids who "had to have" Star Wars, so that's a great "problem" to have that has continued to this day.
In fact, little known fact, to this day Vader has been the only character we have ever "solid-packed" in basic figure master cartons to keep up demand! That's right, during 2005, there were entire cases of Vaders being put out on shelf - you may not have noticed it because they would sell down quickly. In addition, the factories were working feverishly to keep up with increased demand on R2-D2 and Obi-Wan. Kid demand for these three remain at huge levels today, which is why we always keep them in rotation. There are also some figures that have chased more reently as well. Most notable were Commander Cody and Scorch in 2006, and McQuarrie Boba Fett this last year.
