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NYCC Hasbro Roundtable Discussion

Posted by Bret on 10/06/17 at 10:02 AM Category: NYCC ‘17
NYCC 17


Bantha Skull was part of the second group of outlets to meet with the Hasbro Brand Team. The team consisted of:

Steve Evans, Design Director
Andy Ochiltree, Senior Manager, Global Brand Marketing
Steve Bono, Senior Design Manager
(with a cameo from Jeff Labovitz)

Amazingly, there were only three outlets represented in this group, so it was a pretty intimate setting. Besides myself, there was James Burns from Jedi News UK, and another gentleman whose name and outlet I did not catch, because I'm a terrible person. We spent about 20-30 minutes going over the various products that are either just now on shelf, or coming soon. We were shown some Forces of Destiny action dolls, the brand new, smaller, Mighty Muggs (similar in stature to Funko Pops!, as many have pointed out already), the Darth Vader Black Series Helmet (very cool), and some lightsaber role play items. We were also shown a few new figures from the 5POA TLJ line, and the big reveals were the 3 OT 6" figures along with a TLJ Rey and DJ.

After viewing the display, we sat down with the Brand Team, and held a discussion that was briefly about the Black Series 6" figures, and then moved quickly to The Vintage Collection. The Brand Team continues to express a strong desire to connect with fans and fan sites to get feedback about TVC, an "ongoing conversation", as they've called it. During this session, the Hasbro team asked us more questions than we asked them, which I thought was great.

Note: I did not record the audio of the session. Chris told me about 7 times to do this, but I didn't feel comfortable asking to record the group session. There was no one-on-one, which I would have asked to record. The notes below are based on memory, so that's as good as a high fidelity audio recording. Or is it?

The discussion began over the topic of 6" figures. I personally didn't really have much to say here, but the topic of repacking older, hard-to-find figures came up, as well as whether or not collectors keep the figures packaged. The gentleman whose name I did not catch mentioned that he was part of a younger generation who would like to see more prequel characters, and noted that he was particularly happy when Qui-Gon was released.

We moved on to a discussion about TVC, and we were asked what we'd like to see. We all agreed on the need to complete the "92" and Yakface. James joked that Paul from JTA might finally stop complaining if this goal was accomplished, but we all agreed nothing would satisfy Paul for very long. Steve Evans rattled off the names of the usual suspects that we need for this vital subset, such as Sim Aloo and the Power Droid. I mentioned the mustachioed Bespin Guard, which he also knew about. We were all on the same page here, so it's clear to me Hasbro has this goal in mind. Steve mentioned Sy Snootles, which we liked the idea of, and when asked, we also agreed such a figure would be best served in a boxed set, rather than taking up a carded slot.

We were asked what media the team should draw from. It's clear that the OT was our main thrust, but that all media should be fair game, including the old EU, new canon, video games, etc. I mentioned that even though I was not a comic book reader, the comic 2-packs were among my favorite offerings and that many fans would love to see a return to this format, even for characters that are somewhat obscure, and possibly even non-canon. They asked us what we think about Rogue One, and we were in strong agreement that collectors (except for that incorrigible Blue Knight) consider Rogue One part of the OT. There were a lot of characters that could have been produced from existing molds, but for reasons not explored, we only got 4 SA figures. (Note: From what we know about TVC so far, Rogue One has a decent emphasis.)

I mentioned that Hasbro must have their hands full with the new schedule consisting of annual movie releases. The team indicated it's kind of a double-edged sword. They certainly aren't struggling to find characters to produce, as they might have by year three under the old schedule, but at the same time, there simply isn't enough time to get to everything. Our best hope is that TVC is a huge hit, and they are able to ramp up production in the future. But they seemed to acknowledge that they may never "catch up."

We discussed beast and deluxe figures, and agreed that toys like the Probe Droid, Wampa, and Rathtar were good for the line and that Hasbro should keep 'em coming. As for vehicles, I mentioned that we could use a new U-Wing, as it was the featured vehicle of Rogue One, and the previous offering was undersized and did not sit well with collectors.

Note to Hasbro: There may have been a bit of confusion as to whether we were discussing a 6" scale or 3.75" scale vehicle here, so if the Hasbro team is reading this, we definitely were discussing a 3.75" revisiting of the U-Wing. It should be big enough to accommodate a two-pilot cockpit, and a cargo bay to hold the entire team. And Bistan needs a place to mount his door gun!

We also mentioned Blue Leader's X-Wing, and they seemed very warm to this idea. Just my impression, but it was possible they already have this in some kind of development.

Note to Hasbro: Please make this a Big Wing version, and not a "budget-sized" vehicle. This should be a TVC vehicle, and the General Merrick pack-in should be of the same quality as a basic Vintage Collection carded figure.

Playsets vs. environments was brought up. I mentioned how I personally liked the concept of the BB-8 transforming playset, but that I would have preferred such a playset be geared as more of an environmental set piece rather than a toy. The set seemed to try to blend both, and while I thought it was executed well, and even the price point wasn't bad, I emphasized that many collectors look to display their collection out of the package, and film-accurate set pieces are a great way to do this. We discussed how past lines (notably TAC) were known for including tremendous accessories that greatly aided in display. James mentioned the cantina pieces, and we all agreed this was a fantastic idea. Small pieces that can join with others to build a scene would be great at some point. As for playsets, there was talk of plastic vs. cardboard. Hasbro has executed cardboard playlets well in the past (POTF2 Cantina and Jabba's Palace) while the vintage Death Star made excellent use of both materials. The younger rep (apologies again for not getting his name) mentioned that the environmental pieces that come with some of the deluxe 6" figures are outstanding, and we thought this was a good example of what we might like to see for 3.75"

This segued into a discussion about pack-ins. In general, I think we all agreed that pack-in gimmicks aren't a big draw for most collectors (although the TAC coins were probably the best of the bunch), and that we'd rather see more effort put into accessories and set pieces instead of a pack-in that is not interactive with the figure itself.

The session ended at this point, but I managed to ask some quick questions about the Force Link technology. We know that the current device has the character phrases and sounds loaded on board, and they are merely activated by the chip inside the figure/toy. I assumed that the device must be preloaded with such sounds for at least the next few waves of figures and toys, but at some point, the well runs dry. Andy mentioned that there is a plan for how to handle this in the future, but didn't get into too much detail. This might mean that the device can be upgraded somehow, or it might mean that a new device is on the way. I said that I personally found the technology to be fun, and of all the pack-ins and gimmicks I've seen over the years, this one seems to add the best play value so far. We also know that a Jyn Erso 5POA repack/refresh is coming soon for this line, which is basically the same figure as released before but includes the Force Link chip. I asked if there were plans for any other "repacks" like this, but it seemed there were none planned at this time.

I'd like to take a moment to echo the sentiments of my colleague, Chris, from when he attended HASCON. Steve, Andy, and Steve were tremendously frank and open in their discussion. It was a real pleasure to speak with the team in this format, and I can only hope we get to do it again in the future, and I'm more hopeful that we can keep an ongoing dialogue. I would also like to thank the Litzky Public Relations team for setting up the event and for inviting Bantha Skull to participate. It was great meeting everyone involved.

As for our readers, we hope you will comment below on the what we've posted here, and let Hasbro know what you like and don't like about the line, and to give as much feedback as you can about what you would like to see, particularly for The Vintage Collection.



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