Digesting The Official Site’s HasLab Article

Yesterday's HasLab article on the official site had the BIG news that the HasLab Sail Barge campaign is now available in Canada. That's huge news. We're happy for our friends north of the border, and we're happy to have new brothers and sisters in the fight. Together we win the battle to 5,000! What shouldn't be lost is that there is A LOT of good stuff in that article. If you have the time, we highly encourage you to read it. If not, here are few of the more interesting points.

Although rereleases aren’t out of the question, Evans says Hasbro is concentrated on creating new, highly-articulated figures to populate Jabba’s sail barge, so expect to see some complementary action figures released in 2019.

So far, Hasbro has announced that rounding out figures already in production will be the Klaatu Skiff Guard and Saelt-Marae...

Wait. So far? There's more coming? Do we dare dream of the most important Sail Barge character to never be made: Taym Dren-garen.

By the way, Hasbro, if you're reading this and looking for ideas...

Unproduced Jabba's Palace / Sail Barge Passengers
Unproduced Skiff Guards / Sail Barge Combatants

“We’ve done a lot of fan votes and they’re great,” says Ninivaggi, but that approach has its limitations. “You can click on a fan vote as much as you want. We’re not 100 percent sure if you’re really getting the full grasp of what the fan community wants.”

YES! Thank you, Joe. I really hope that HasLab becomes the platform to decide future Fans' Choice winners. Voting with your wallet means a lot more than clicking on a button. It also eliminates the ballot stuffing campaigns. Please make this happen.

In keeping with the detailed work that separates The Vintage Collection from its regular 3.75-inch scale sister line, Jabba’s sail barge will include removable side panels, fabric sails, and the Hutt gangster himself, with plans to use the new “Photo Real” paint-application technique to bring his visage to life.

Is this the first use of "Photo Real" on a 3.75" product? I feel like it is. If this was mentioned at Toy Fair, I missed it. Once the Sail Barge video started, I was too busy screaming like a tween at a boy band concert.

Once they had determined the sheer size, there was plenty of room for ingenuity. “You get to the point where it’s like, ‘Well, what else is behind these panels? What don’t we see?’” Evans says. “And then we start using our imagination and, to be honest with you, that’s quite a fun bit.”

This is why my fellow collectors who grew up during the vintage Kenner era should absolutely be in on the Sail Barge. It's not only nostalgic for Star Wars, it's also nostalgic as a toy. Some of the best Kenner toys were the ones were the designers used their imagination and then, in turn, we kids would use ours. It was the quintessence of play. This is evocative of such classics as the Imperial Troop Transport, Droid Factory, and Mini-Rigs.

Say, who was one of the designers of the original Imperial Troop Transport?

Years ago, toy prototypes relied on wax-modeled figures and wooden carvings for larger ships and vehicles. Now, those intricate sculpts are rendered with special software and computer generation, then 3D printed.

An interesting tidbit.

“We’re at a stage now where we’re applying the paint and doing the deco,” Evans says.

YES PLEASE! We can't wait to see this.

“It’s incredible the way the fan sites are building their own rationale behind why you should buy it,” Evans says, including some that have introduced their own countdown clocks. “They’re brilliant!”

Oh sure. Give JTA more pub. THEY'RE ALREADY #1! They don't need anymore help.

If pre-orders fall short, “we’ll have that one prototype that will stay in Mark Boudreaux’s office and he will weep over it every morning,” Evans jokes

No one wants to see this happen. Even people who aren't in on the Sail Barge are rooting for it to make it. If you want to back the barge, click below:

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