Bantha Skull Q & A: Episode 3 - Part 1

Posted by Chris on 05/19/23 at 07:05 AM Category: Vintage Collection, Bantha Skull Q&A

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Once again, the response was overwhelming to our solicitation for questions. You guys are awesome. The response was so big that we need to split this into two parts. I would like to get to most of the questions this time since there so many great discussions to have. Let's get started with Part 1:

1) Does Chris (or Mrs Swanski) have BTS photos of him doing the infamous underwear shoots?
2) Why does Mr Nomadscout never show his face? Is he really a Jawa, or are the legends true that Bret is so unbelievably handsome that modern smart phones cannot cope and will explode?
3) Is CJ real, or is he the Beta version of Chat GPT?
4) What kind of mileage do you get from the HindenBantha? - Jason MAKMCSWF

Chris: These are excellent questions.

1) My Only Fans is at http...
2) Yes to everything you asked
3) He's real, and he's spectacular miserable.
4) It depends on the headwinds, but it's quite good. Very economical way to get around, but my local area isn't very dirigible friendly. There is a scarcity of mooring stations. I may toss my hat in the ring for town council and this is the issue I plan to run on. Southern New Hampshire will be a beacon of lighter than air travel if I get my way! I'm not sure if Bret will be able to answer this one because I got the HindenBantha in the divorce. He got the BanthaCopter. I won that one!

Bret:

1) Chris swore all the copies were destroyed during the divorce.
2) My Only Fans is at http...
3) Fake! He says he's a librarian. It would be way more believable if he said he was a soda jerk, or a town crier, or a switchboard operator.
4) The BanthaCopter sucks. I tried to fly it to Chris's house and clip the HindenBantha. However, New Hampshire's climate is not dissimilar to that of Pluto, and I had forgotten to winterize the thing before I left Phoenix. It froze before it reached the first marker.

Question: I love what the guys @SWTVC do with March Madness and desired 3.75" Star Wars figures. I have often thought that something similar for 3.75" vehicles, creatures, and playsets would be amazing too. How do we, as a community, most effectively help inform Hasbro about our most wanted world building elements? - bothan_blue

Chris: This is interesting, but for a reason a little deeper than the direct questions. The direct answer is that any grass roots "top 10" list campaign would work. Hasbro definitely pays attention. Not to toot our own horn, but Hasbro has now made 80% of the figures from our "readers' choice" Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary poll. But here's where it gets tricky. When we campaign for figures, there is an understanding of the price baked in. In 2023, when I say I want a new Episode IV Luke Skywalker, I'm implicitly saying that I'd pay $17 for it. The same can't be said of vehicles, and that's the problem. We really need to provide two pieces of information: what we want, and critically, how much we'd be willing to pay for it. The second part is all too often omitted. Talk is cheap, so fans run their mouths about wanting certain vehicles, but when the MSRP is higher than they expect, their wallets suddenly develop fishhooks. If the rumors are to be believed, all the youngins who have been acting like the Ghost is a no-brainer had better step up to the plate because I will be relentless in my criticism if something like that is not a success. Our collective unwillingness to back up our words has destroyed the line more times than Zion in The Matrix.

Bret: 1. That sounds like a lot of work. I heard that after every bracket, the SWTVC guys have to gorge themselves on fatty foods for 3 days and then hibernate until May.
2. On second thought, that might not be so bad.
3. I agree with Chris. For vehicles, it just takes some effort on the part of sites to champion some candidates, and the Hasbro team takes note. And I also support the idea that we together as a community are a giant pain in the tushy. We want what we want, and it has to be available at the exact price, quantity, quality, size, and retailer of our own personal choice, or else it's the end of the world. Figures are much easier to deal with. For example, we want Tatooine Luke. We can all agree he should be 3.75" tall, be scuplted with a great Mark Hamill likeness, have top notch articulation, and come with some relevant accessories. That's it. Easy. There's really no debate as to what we all mean when we say we want Tatooine Luke. But an Imperial Shuttle? How big should it be? What features? Should it be big enough to hold a squad of troops? Should it have a luxurious interior with an Emperor's throne? Should it have electronics/lights? How much should it cost? Should it be a HasLab? Should it be exclusive? What about a Cantina playlet? How big? How much? Exclusive? Modular? Should it include figures? Everyone has a different expectation. Just look at the Carbon Freeze set. Some people absolutely love the execution, some people hate it. Some thought it was too expensive. Some thought it should have had a different figure. Some thought it was too big. Some say it needed the block claw, but how much more expensive would that have been? Is $50 for half a set unreasonable so you have to buy 2? What if it was $100 for the whole set in one box? Let's take this rumored Ghost that Chris mentioned which some people are so keen on. How much should it cost? Should it have electronics? How big should it be? What figures should be included? Should they be exclusive to the set? Carded and/or loose? Should this be a HasLab or a retailer exclusive? If HasLab, should figures be tiers, or part of the basic offering? Bottom line: Everyone who wants a Tatooine Luke pretty much agrees on what that means. But something like The Ghost would mean very different things to different people.

What repaint of the new clone trooper mold would you like to see? And which one do you think Hasbro is most likely to actually make? - 200,000 Units

Chris: Unfortunately for me, the one I'd like to see most is a movie-based 212th. I'm heartbroken that Hasbro went with the 212th deco from The Clone Wars. As far as most likely, I would say that the 501st makes the most sense, but with both VC240 and VC248 still in-stock at many Fan Channel outlets, I doubt Hasbro would go back to that well this soon. I still think it would be movie based, so that leaves the Shocktrooper as the most prominent that can use the base Phase II mold without additional tooling. If they do, I pray they make it Episode III accurate.

Bret: Most of you probably know I'm into the 501st. I've already lamented Hasbro's choice to issue VC240 501st and VC248 332nd clones using the old VC45 mold when the new sculpt was already in development. This is tragic for me. I would buy lots of those two using the new mold, but I would buy only one or two of almost any other unit. I've only gotten one VC269. I had ordered 6 more from EE, but cancelled them shortly thereafter, because I just wasn't interested in the all white version. The clone I want most of all is a proper Captain Rex (with both helmets).

Should I dip into my savings to purchase Hrchek Kal Fas and Leesub Sirln, or should I keep holding out for them to appear on TVC cards? - Martin M.

Chris: I don't like to spend other people's money. It makes me very nervous. I can just say that if I didn't have those two figures, I would be angling to get the TLC versions sooner rather than later (and if my usual luck held, Hasbro would announce the repacks a week later).

Bret: I would love to spend other people's money, but since I give not one bleep about keeping the figures carded, I wouldn't wait. Besides, if Hasbro ever did a proper Cantina environment, it would be weird if a carded Leesub Sirln was placed next to the bar.

If we ever get a HasLab Death Star, how would each of you like it to be designed/laid out? Follow-up question, because I'm greedy: Which non-vital organ fetches the best price, as we know that hypothetical HasLab will likely cost as much as a new car? - sironStories

Chris: I would want it to be modular. Hasbro, if you're reading this, whenever an ultimate Death Star is ideated within the community, modularity is the number one request. This way, the layout is ultimately in the hands of the collector. If the Death Star were merely a bunch of rooms that could be connected and/or stacked, I could lay them out according to my display space and not vice versa. As far as the organ, I'm pretty sure it's the craw.

Bret: I've always thought modular was the way to go for the reasons Chris stated. A good example on a much smaller item is the Carbon Freezing chamber. Lots of people complained that it was only half a set. But if they sold it as 2 pieces together in one box, fewer people would have bought it because for a lot of collectors, it takes up too much room. Half a set probably got more people to buy it. I would think the same concept applies to a Death Star. But I have no idea how Hasbro could market 20 different rooms, all sold separately, that connect with each other. What retailer would sell that? Walmart would get stuck with the tons of hallway pieces, while the trash compactor would sell out instantly. And over how many years would this project last? If they made the compactor in 2025, would it be 20 years before we could complete the Death Star with the Tractor Beam control tower? If a Death Star were a HasLab project as everyone seems to assume, then could you offer different "levels" of backing? Like $300 "Bronze" gets you a control room, a briefing room, a compactor, and a prison block, while $600 "Silver" gets you those rooms plus the gunner station, the TK-421 room, Tarkin's command center, and the tractor beam control tower, while $1000 "Gold" gets you all of that plus a hanger bay, some hallways, the "swing across the chasm" area, an elevator, and the throne room? It all sounds very complicated and something that will piss off more collectors than it would please. But I'd be happy with something like that, and I'd probably spring for the whole thing. But if Hasbro were reading this, I would beg them to stay away from designing something with curved walls that echoes the old Palitoy set. I see a lot of fan ideas out there that seem to assume there would be curved walls. This is utter nonsense. The Death Star is too large for curved walls to be perceptible, and such a design element in a toy would hurt the efficiency of the modular design and reduce the available space to pose figures.

Will Boba Fett's Throne Room be re-released at any point as Jabba the Hutt's Throne Room? - BiMonSciFiShawn

Chris: In my opinion, Hasbro would be very foolish not to take advantage of the duel display capability of this set in some way.

Bret: Collectors are terrible people. If the same exact set were in an ROTJ box instead of a BOBF box, would more people have bought it? Either way, it looks awesome, and should be an amazing way to display your scum and villainy. I doubt Hasbro is going to re-issue it any time soon, but it would be nice if they did something after the fact to acknowledge the ROTJ-ness of the set.

How do I fix a broken support rib beam thingy inside of the back of a couch ? As a man, I feel I should know this already and I feel much shame in having to ask. - Maarek Stele

Chris: I'm very embarrassed for you that you had to ask. As a man, there's certain things you simply must know. You must know to brew a good pot of coffee. You must know how to change the oil in your car. You must know how to play at least five different versions of poker, and finally, you must know how to fix a broken support rib beam thingy inside of the back of a couch. Since you don't know, I'll tell you. You throw out your couch and buy a new one.

Bret: When I was stationed in Germany, a fellow lieutenant convinced me that I was a girly-man because I didn't know how to change my own oil. He took me to the self-service garage that was on our small post, and showed me how. Then he handed me a bottle, and told me to add more after I drove it home. So I did. Sadly, he was not specific as to the quantity of oil that I should have added. So I added too much. I completely blew out the engine, requiring $3500 in repairs (in 1997 money) instead of the $25 to have just had someone more masculine than I do it for me. Dump the couch and buy a new one.

Do you think we will ever see any PT vehicles in 2.0 or do you think there's any reason for the lack of them? Possibly demand or they no longer have the tooling to reissue the old ones? I'd buy a new gunship no matter the price. - DiscoVoltaire

Chris: I pray that we do. One problem is that TVC has an identity crisis. With the bar for "TVC quality" constantly getting higher and higher, I feel Hasbro is reluctant to go back to the molds from the "toys" of twenty years ago, and can you blame them? We throw fits when older figures that aren't up to today's standards are released in TVC. The other problem, Hasbro tried to release existing PT vehicles late in TVC 1.0, and they were a flop because it was too soon to repack those vehicles in 2012, but companies usually don't understand nuance like that. They tend to make broad stroke takeaways spoken like Frankenstein's monster: "PT vehicles bad." So those are two things I can see creating an uphill battle for PT vehicles right now. But I definitely think the demand is there, and I if would personally invest in TVC LAAT Gunship futures if I could.

Bret: As a (near) completist, I generally dislike re-issues. I have exactly 8 gunships in my collection. One each of all 7 variants, plus a second one from ROTS. I really don't want another, especially if it's just a re-issue or repaint. If it were re-tooled, I could give it a shot, but I assume the cost wouldn't be thrilling. For the collectors that haven't had the opportunity to add one to their collections, I absolutely understand the draw. But anyway, as for the bigger picture, I think Hasbro probably is still shying away from PT themed items ever since the TPM3D debacle of 2012. There does seem to be a resurgence is PT love over the past few years, perhaps due to the exhausting drama surrounding the ST. And the return of Hayden Christiansen (and even Ahmed Best) has been greeted with a lot of enthusiasm. It takes time for Hasbro to turn the Battleship (see what I did there?) but I would predict we'll see more PT figures and vehicles in the next few years. TPM turns 25 next year, so maybe.

Hasbro, do you have any plans to ever salvage your presence at retail? It's a mess that you created with 3 per case TVC Lando/2 per case TBS Lando. You must fix it. If I was a young child at the toy aisle, I would theorize Star Wars is about heroic Lando Calrissian fighting against the evil retro Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Inquisitors. - sambuca

Chris: I'm not Hasbro, but I will still give my two cents. When you say retail, you really mean brick and mortar in this context. Online retail doesn't have these same problems. Yes, Hasbro has exacerbated the issues at brick and mortar with poor case assortments, but they didn't cause the problem. Ultimately, brick and mortar is simply a dying paradigm for boutique items, which is what I consider collector toy lines. Aside from "loss leader" exclusives designed to generate foot traffic, it makes more sense to have boutique items centralized and shipped on-demand to where the customer is, than it does for Walmart and Target to distribute them proactively, and try to guess where the demand is. The traditional "showroom" marketing of these items is just too cumbersome in 2023. Lest you think this doesn't bother me, it does. Brick and mortar is a huge part of my collecting experience. But the old ways are dying. I don't like it, but they are.

Bret: Distribution is almost purely a retailer problem. Hasbro can only share feedback when their products are distributed to stores in a way that annoys customers and hurts potential sales, but they can't physically make Walmart's distribution centers and warehouses ship the proper volume of SKU's exactly to the right stores at the right time so that every customer can find the figures and toys they want at the moment it is convenient for them to walk into the store. Nevertheless, retail giants like Walmart and Target are vital to the overall health of TVC. There needs to be TVC items on shelves for people to buy, but only at the quantities that are healthy. I mean, how many times do collectors complain that the shelves are empty at a their particular store? But think about it. Retailer wiggle room is probably razor thin with regard to TVC. If Target puts out too few figures on the pegs they will immediately be scooped up by the 3 local hardcore collectors that frequent that store. If you're not there getting newly arrived cases as they're just being stocked from the backroom, you've probably missed them for good. But the good news is the store sold through, and will buy TVC from Hasbro again. On the flip side, if they buy one or two too many cases, those figures will take months to sell through, and may block that store from getting the next wave. Whenever I see a lack of TVC product in Target, my assumption is that's a good thing, because they sold out, and probably made the right call and didn't order too much. Meanwhile, that same Target is stuck with pegs full of Black Series that haven't sold. As an online buyer, it makes me happy when the TVC pegs are empty.

How committed do you think Hasbro is to the O96? - theradioactivecat

Chris: Not very. At all. Commitment on Hasbro's part comes via tooling in main line where they are assuming the risks. Hasbro's commitment does not come from exclusives. That's the retailer making the commitment. Hasbro can't have it both ways. When something comes out like Carbonized, and the fans balk, Hasbro says not to worry about it because exclusives are "on top of the line." They then can't then take credit for it when the exclusives are good like the recent Walmart 096 figures. Walmart gets credit for that commitment, and not Hasbro. The Original 96 initiative launched in 2020. Lets look at Hasbro's main line commitment to it: Power Droid (partial tool), Jedi Luke (partial tool), Boba Fett (newly tooled), Zutton (repack), Lando Calrissian (newly tooled), Teebo (repack), Yoda (repack), Lobot (partial tool), Bib Fortuna (partial tool), and Scout Trooper (low partial tool). I will also give them credit for Tessek (partial tool) in the Jabba's Court Denizen 4-pack because that's a Pulse exclusive. Does two 100% newly tooled figures in four years sound like commitment to you? And let me be perfectly honest, the only reason we got that Boba Fett was because of the tooling reuse it offered. No, Hasbro is committed to The Clone Wars, the Mando-verse, and token efforts for the Disney+ show du jour.

Bret: What Chris said. And this supports my personal collecting habits. It sounds to me that O96 means two things that are, at this point, almost mutually exclusive. I assume (since I don't care about the cards) that O96 enthusiasts don't simply want this for the packaging alone, but also want a proper modern figure inside the bubble. Hasbro can't afford the tooling to satisfy this demand, but they can afford a little re-tooling sprinkled in among mostly straight repacks of older (inferior) figures. To me, this could be the purpose that Retro serves. It's nonsense to me, but they could eventually sell all 96 Kenner figures in Retro/5POA format, and you could build an entire complete set for the a tiny fraction of what it would cost to do the same with Kenner figures. Since I open my stuff, I don't want remakes of existing characters in the main line that I already own and deem "good enough" just to satisfy a demand for the packaging. But anyway, like Chris said, Hasbro isn't trying too hard to get this done, unless retailers step in to offer exclusives.

As stated, if we didn't get to your question in Part 1, don't fret. We should be able to address it in Part 2 (or 3...or 4 if it skips over part 3 like part 4's are known to do).