Hasbro's Questions & Answers #41

     Don't forget, you can submit questions in our forums and we'll try to get as many as possible submitted to Hasbro. We can send only three questions per week, so make sure they are good ones! Now, on to this weeks Questions and Answers directly from Hasbro.

Q. In 2005 it seemed that collectors were mad about Clone Troopers, any way we could get them.  Hasbro stepped up to that challenge and delivered  A LOT of Clone Troopers.  Two years later it seems that the interest in Clone Troopers seems to have tapered off.  Anecdotal reports from collectors online has them sighting good numbers of the Galactic Marine and the Saga Legends AOTC and ROTS Clone Troopers, and the troops are not selling the way they did in '05 and '06.  Have we hit something of a paradigm shift in troop building?  Have collectors gotten their fill of Clone Troopers?  Or do you think that collectors want to build different armies at this time?

A. The demand for Clones is still mighty, but there is no question that many collectors want to see more of the other types of troop builder figures as well.

Q. It seems that Hasbro is constantly looking for new and fresh ways to keep core characters in the Basic figure line.  Has a more accurate Revenge of the Sith version of Chewbacca (as seen here: http://images.wikia.com/starwars/images/thumb/c/cf/Chewie.jpeg/260px-Chewie.jpeg ) with his cool bronze bowcaster been considered?

A. We haven't considered a new ROTS Chewie, but that's an interesting take. Thanks.

Q. Can you give us some insight into how the Basic Figure line is planned?  Are there a set number of slots, or is it flexible?  Is there competition for those spots in the line?  And does the design team independently work on figure designs, or are they "commissioned" with designing specific figures?

A. We figure out at the start of the year how many basic figure items we will have to work with.  There is usually some flexibity in the number to increase (or decrease) by a couple.   We all bring some favorites to the planning, and there is a good amount of back and forth, especially on collector-targeted figures, which makes the process fun.  The design team is an integral part of the process, so they won't work on an item until is collectively approved.

Check back in a few weeks and we'll post the next round of Questions (and answers) as soon as Hasbro offers them.