Bantha Skull’s HASCON Q&A

Since I know there is little chance of this being read at the end of the article, I'd like to start with the thank you's and acknowledgements. Our formal interview was conducted with Steve Evans (Star Wars Design Director) and Joe Ninivaggi (Director, Global Brand Strategy & Marketing - Star Wars). Additionally, we had great informal discussions with Mark Boudreaux (Senior Principal Designer - Boy's Toys), Andy Ochiltree (Sr. Manager, Global Brand Marketing, Star Wars) and Chris Nadeau (Creative Director). The entire team was incredibly accessible, gracious with their time, passionate about the line, and tremendously informative. I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to them all, both personally and on behalf of Bantha Skull. Some of the reader-submitted questions were really more statements or concerns. I can assure you the concerns were all met with a definitive "got it" or "understood" by the team members. The fans' excitement about the return of the Vintage Collection is clearly shared by the Hasbro team members themselves.

I'd also like to thank Alyssa from Hasbro's PR team for being such a helpful facilitator during this process. I literally wouldn't have made it in the door without her help. Finally, I'd like to thank my good friend, Paul Harrison of Jedi Temple Archives. Not only did he serve as the "boom operator" for the audio recording for this interview, but his companionship over the course of the conference was much appreciated. Also, if you haven't done so already, please listen to their interview with Hasbro HERE. Okay, onto the questions.


Bantha Skull: Will mail-away figures come back for the Vintage Collection?

Steve: No plans for mail-aways at this moment, but we were talking about them the other day. We need to work out a way of doing it properly and efficiently on the global scale that we operate.



Bantha Skull: Any thoughts on a skiff?

Joe: A new skiff?

Bantha Skull: Yes.

Steve (clarifying): A better sized one.

Bantha Skull: One where the figures can stand sideways between the railing and the center section.

Steve: We can talk about that. Maybe. Yeah, we can talk about it. No plans (at this time).



Bantha Skull: Is the BB-8 playset a dry run for a Death Star?

Steve: A lot of people think it is a Death Star. We threw in a trash compactor as a little homage. Again, possibly. Possibly. I think the Death Star is classic enough to be able to do that. I'm glad that we're able to get a playset out to the consumers. Let's hope it sells well. I have more plans for playsets.



Bantha Skull: Now that super articulated 3.75” figures are back in play, will you be bringing back multi-packs:

Editor's Note: Due to difficulties of the audio recording, a verbatim transcription is not possible. In fairness to the interviewees, we do not wish to attribute quotes directly to individuals because of this. Any inaccuracy in this reporting would be due to unintentional misrepresentation on Bantha Skull's part, and should, in no way, be considered a direct quote from Hasbro representatives.

Bantha Skull's interpreted answer: Whether 5POA or super articulated, multi-packs are under consideration to include the “Special” Vintage Collection multi-packs.



Bantha Skull: In the vintage days, or even in '95, collectors were able to “collect them all”. Now that the line is so huge, collectors are focusing on specific segments, such as Cantina aliens, rather than collecting all the figures. Do you feel pressure to maintain momentum in those segments so that those collectors don't die off?

Steve: It's a tricky balance. One of the things I noticed in the six inch, when we did the A New Hope 40th Anniversary (line) where we had 12 plus the 2 exclusives, it gave a collection within a collection to where people finished (the set). There was lots of elation about getting those. There was a hunt for those with the ability to finish (the collection), which is quite interesting to me. We talked about Rebels (in the Star Wars presentation when a fan asked about completing the Ghost Crew). So those "collections within a collection" I look at as very inspirational and sort of a catalyst for doing more to finish them off. So that opens doors to me. It doesn't actually give me pressure, it gives me (opportunity). It helps us pitch the idea if we say it's within the collection.

Joe: We try not to develop open ended. We have that closed mentality in mind like Steve's saying with the 40th Anniversary.

Steve: We're leaning on themes more.

Joe: Exactly.



Editor's note: I phrased the following question extremely poorly. In actuality, I said “2001” instead of “2011”, “Death Star playset” instead of “Death Star set”, and overused pronouns. I was tired. I was up late watching the Patriots get blown out by the Kansas City Chiefs and then pouting about it until 1 AM. My apologies to the Hasbro team for such a poorly stated question. I could see the confusion on their faces. I would honestly omit #6 entirely, but Steve somehow managed to provide some good information despite the woefully worded question.

Bantha Skull: For the (2011) SDCC exclusive Vintage Collection Death Star (set), you went off the 6x9” paradigm to do the Salacious Crumb and Mouse Droid figures. Would you ever consider (going off the 6x9” standard) to do some of the bigger figures, such as Ephant Mon or Hermi Odle, on a jumbo card as an exclusive to get those characters into the Vintage Collection?

Steve: Exclusives is where we can play. It's our sandbox to do any price point, any size, all the quirky stuff. There are pros and cons to exclusives in terms of getting it and the prices they hit on Ebay sometimes, but I personally leverage exclusives to be able to do things like that. I wouldn't like to be limited in doing a figure just because I couldn't get the packaging. I might not be able to get it in the mainline, but could (leverage) exclusives especially if it's something fans really want. You deal with certain retailers and they're like “give it to us”. So no, I don't think that stops us from doing it if the character is the right thing to do.

Editor's note: Let Hasbro know in the comments if this is something you'd like to see or wouldn't like to see.



Bantha Skull: Will you be doing a toy pic photo contest like what you did for The Force Awakens?

Joe: I'm not sure yet what the plan is on that. I'm sure we're going to talk about it soon if it is happening.



Bantha Skull: Is an AT-M6 a possibility in today's landscape?

Steve: I'm very sorry for (repeating the same answer), but anything is a possibility. It depends on how things turn out.

Editor's note: It was another terribly worded question on my part. “Possible” and “realistic” are two entirely different discussions.



Bantha Skull: Will the Walmart exclusive Black Series figures that appear in the Vintage Collection be repacked as is, or will there be any tweaks or additional accessories.

Steve: Repacks will be as is. We have to do them as repacks. Any going in and tooling stuff changes the way we have to account for them. Repacks will be repacks. Where I can, I will try to tighten up any loose, sloppy deco, if there's any of that. Can't add or take away on a repack.



Punched or unpunched? Punched.

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