1. As far as I'm aware, we haven't had a Removable Limbs C-3PO in the modern 3.75" line. Why is that?

Some problem with the paint apps, fear a kid might choke on the limbs, or something else?

--Chris

Define "modern," I suppose - my definition is 1995-present, but I freely admit sculpting seemed to take a big leap forward around 2000 and 2001. Regardless, we've had a few removable limbs C-3POs, like the 2004 Escape Pod version plus the 2002 Geonosis Droid Factory version (repackaged in 2006 and 2007.) Hasbro's last all-new C-3PO sculpt was in 2010, and they've used that one a few times since then. It's also worth noting there's a build-a-droid mold, which Disney used (and modified) to make a couple of golden droids - including C-3PO - in the past decade.

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2. Any insight or care to share your opinion on the lack of BOBF toy support? Fennec and a few Boba's. Even Funko has only released these characters and they usually offer more expansive character selections earlier. I know it takes year+ to get something new out, plus 2 years once preordered, but do we think this will be how Hasbro/LFL operates on new media going forward? I don't recall how long it took Mando to get new figures after the initial Mando/Jawa/Cara set. Thanks!

--Cousy

It's my understanding that since the Disney takeover, Disney/Lucasfilm have been a lot more hands-on with product direction and character selection. (And asset availability.) For that reason, it might be that someone at the Disney empire said "oh kids don't want Boba Fett" and therefore there's no 6-inch kid figure, no 12-inch Titan figure, or some other reason entirely. It's kind of baffling because I absolutely expected the old ca. 2008 Evolutions/Vintage mold to get re-rereleased last year (along with everything else under the sun) just to get any Boba Fett, old or new, on shelf so fans would have something to buy. That did not happen.

Between Hasbro's factory issues (thanks COVID) and everything else, there could be other reasons and strategies that were employed where someone said "oh, we can't get those reissues out in time for the show, nevermind" whereas Funko's factories (largely in Vietnam) could do it. Or something. We really don't know for sure the exact stories, and I do find it consistently odd that there are tons of old molds that could've been re-deployed that weren't. But, we're getting a 3 3/4-inch Fennec Shand now and she's incredible, plus some other odds and ends like Bib Fortuna (with the playset) next year. Will there be more? Hard to say - fan reaction to the show has been pretty mixed, and anything not specifically touching The Mandalorian may not be worth their while.

As The Mandalorian goes, The Black Series Paz/Cara/etc. were all out in November 2019, with the first 3 3/4-inch figures that weren't the AT-ST came out in March 2020. The next salvo of 6-inch figures, like full-Beskar Mando and the revised Stormtrooper (arguably a Rogue One figure, but whatever) were August 2020 with more in October 2020 and December 2020. Plus some repaints mixed in there for good measure.

Since the abandonment of the Force Friday concept, Hasbro has putt very little emphasis on having anything in your hands at the time of the show's debut. I assume Baby Yoda being a surprise made them want to make more surprises, but I don't know that for a fact - they were pretty darned good at having The Bad Batch stuff ready for us pretty quickly. I can only assume it's a strategy to keep spoilers from the shows getting out, which is a pity, because if they wanted to have the title character or top-of-the-call-sheet cast on-shelf for the show I think we'd all appreciate that.

In 2010 we saw a pretty dramatic shift from "Hasbro will make anything, the crazier the better" to "reruns, remakes, retools" when it comes to most waves. Fans love The Vintage Collection but there are precious few all-new figures in it - it would not stun me if someone over there said "let's only make things we're pretty sure any and all fans want, and will sell, and/or are fast to make using existing tooling." Moff Gideon took a little under a year to make it to shelves - which wasn't bad. As much as I would like every and any alien, droid, or bounty hunter from The Book of Boba Fett, I wouldn't beat up on the current Hasbro for not having them out yet.

But, like anything, wait a few months - and see if fan demands bubble up to Hasbro's ears. Other than fans saying "we want more" and "we want everything," I haven't been privy to a lot of high-levels of demand for anything specific.

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FIN

New stuff hitting stores mailboxes has been incredibly good and much improved over some of the recent rereleases we've seen flood assortments. The Vintage Collection went from being decent sculpts with lots of joints to figures with really good joints in the past year. The just-released Mandalorian Death Watch trooper, Ahsoka Tano (Corvus), and Fennec Shand figures have some of the best articulation I've ever seen. The plastic and paint choices are superb, and I'm working on the reviews as I write this. (I can do two things at once.) It really feels as if Hasbro has unlocked the potential this line always had, but generally fell short of reaching in recent years. Thank goodness they retired the weird new hip joints in favor of something simpler that has roughly the same range as 1980s G.I. Joe figures.

We also got a new Obi-Wan trailer this week and I can't say I liked what I saw. It looked kind of cheap, but it may be because the show is being developed for the smallest screens - phones and iPads - and doesn't look particularly cinematic, nor do the scenes seem particularly awe-inspiring in their cinematography. But it's a trailer - and you can't tell much from a Star Wars trailer these days. The Book of Boba Fett felt small-scale in a way that felt empty in a lot of places, whereas The Mandalorian seemed to lean in to the quiet quasi-isolation of its lead. I hope Kenobi is a story for the ages, but (with apologies to Frank Lloyd Wright) streaming shows are chewing gum for the eyes. As someone who also watches new Marvel and Star Trek and other shows, it comes, and it goes, and that's it - it sets up the next thing much of the time, sometimes offering something satisfying but increasingly serving as a parade of easter eggs.

I can't say I was excited by the May 4 crop of stuff - as a whole, I mean, there's lots of good stuff in it - and it seems welcoming for new fans. The Cantina Band is great to see as a 6-inch thing, but without a matching Cantina playset/bandstand I can't see wanting to build a musician army. But the new Mandalorian commando figures? OK. I love those. But I could probably go a few waves without new Stormtroopers and Clone Troopers.

--Adam Pawlus

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