1. Where’s The Vintage Collection Blurrg? Everywhere I look, it seems like people are begging for a Blurrg. Do you think Hasbro will take the wrong lesson from the failed Haslab Rancor? I know it’s a different scale, but will they assume there's no longer a market for creatures in the 3 3/4 scale? As of right now, there’s no creatures or even vehicles on the horizon. Are adventure sets taking the place of small creatures/vehicles? Can’t we have both?

--Joey

I assume the last chance to get one - without a massive change in vision at Hasbro or Lucasfilm - was as a pack-in with the Razor Crest. (Also I was asking Hasbro for one during The Clone Wars and they weren't interested then and neither was anyone who wasn't me.)

The Rancor was a $350 6-inch item, and you're asking about a 3 3/4-inch scale item that, probably, would cost $30 or so. The important thing to remember is that Hasbro's The Vintage Collection line has few to no vehicles, one playset per year, and a smattering of figures - I don't think they have a place for it in the line, short of doing it as a convention exclusive. Fans aren't asking for it in droves, so no, you're probably not going to get one. And I want one. They were cool in Ewoks: The Battle for Endor too!

It's possible at some point someone - Target or Walmart - will demand a $40 exclusive for this scale, and that's when you might see a Blurrg. Short of fan demand or making them a recurring thing in another show, I doubt we'll ever get one in the scale of choice.

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2. What do you attribute the interest in the green space rabbit, Jaxxon, too? Not only did he get a fancy 6-inch action figure, but he has also been identified as a go-to character for covers of both Marvel & IDW Star Wars comic books. Also, do you see a 3.75" scale action figure in the legomorph's future?

--David

Jaxxon's enduring popularity is less in and of his own qualities, but rather as a symbol. For years, whenever you said "Marvel Star Wars" to people they said "giant green space rabbit" back at you - not the Hoojibs, not the Nagai, not Kiro and the Iskalonians, not Lumiya, it was all about a rabbit. He made a huge impact on fandom to the extent that seemed to be the main thing anyone bothered to remember, despite a lot of really cool stuff in there like the Tagges and that biological living ship or Zeltrons or anything else I could toss out at you. It's like the Stormtrooper hitting his head - I can't explain it, it just is. At best, it's a joke, and you "get it" if you know who he is. Sort of like if I ask you if you're a friend of DeSoto and you know the right response phrase.

Hasbro's 6-inch Jaxxon action figure is a mishmash of two different Luke figures with a new head and shoulder piece - so it's possible Hasbro will someday make one as a 3 3/4-inch figure. (I want a Kenner-style one, personally.) Right now the Expanded Universe offerings are largely fan channel exclusives, and they've mostly done troopers, so I'm not super duper hopeful we'll see him until he has a TV appearance. But that isn't out of the question anymore.

The direction of the 3 3/4-inch line is scattered - it's hard to know what to expect, or when, or more importantly why. Much of the 6-inch line is tied to anniversaries or are reissues tied to characters about to reappear on TV, or that got real expensive and needed a reissue. 3 3/4-inch is all over the map, with some of the very best figures I've ever seen being released alongside repaints of figures that I never would've have asked to run again, but there they are. I still think there should be a dedicated Mando 3 3/4-inch assortment - even if it's at the expense of "classic" for a year - but that's me.

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FIN

Be sure you send in your questions for next time. The mailbag is out of on-topic questions, so if you got some, send some in.

As 2022 plods along, I keep asking people in the toy business the big questions - like "so what are you guys doing for convention season?" With Toy Fair 2022 in New York City deep-sixed, people our age who are us have Star Wars Celebration and Comic-Con International in California on deck. Will they happen? Who knows? Will they happen at full capacity if they do? Not likely.

The "no exclusives at the event" thing could be something that spreads New York Comic Con attendees had to order stuff online. Exhibitors and vendors likely don't want to have hundreds (or thousands) of fans waiting in line for hours to buy a toy that they could just as easily send them. (And not pay to transport to the event, too.) So even if the big events do take place, I wouldn't be surprised if the toys were mail-order only or were sold in advance so you could pick up your order like so much take-out food. (Back in the day, BotCon pre-registrants could pre-order toys, shirts, and other stuff in advance. It's a good idea, particularly if you can use it to build-to-order and leave no fan behind.)

With some events happening and some not, the future of events in 2022 are probably going to be up to whatever mutation comes into being and how it rubs up against the city hosting the event. I would assume an event with 200,000 people squished together in crowded halls and tightly-packed lines to buy exclusive figures just won't fly when you as a manufacturer can make more money using less manpower to just sell items online and throw your announcements on YouTube/Twitch/TikTok/etc. As things go back to normal, eventually, I really hope they just skip convention-only exclusives completely in favor of something like HasLab - "you've got six hours to order this, then we cut it off, but you have to wait 6-9 months to get yours" is a lot better than "you have to wait in 2-3 hours of lines, get a hotel room, and pay to check it in your luggage home."

This is what happens when people get spoiler-crazy about The Book of Boba Fett, which was indeed awesome, and we have much to discuss. Soon. So go watch it. Also for my fellow older fans, Playmates is doing a new line of Star Trek figures that look pretty good and aren't too expensive. No sign of any complete crews yet, but it's a start.

--Adam Pawlus

Got questions? Email me with Q&A in the subject line now! I'll answer your questions as soon as time (or facts) permit.

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