1. Can you believe that Hasbro/Disney actually released a pre-order -- the Acolyte Retro figs -- on time with new entertainment? It's not even like a year+ wait on them. I was kind of surprised they let the chance to make a Carrie Anne Moss fig go by, but then I actually watched the first three episodes to see if I'd want to buy the toys (slight spoiler alert: I kind of see why they might have passed by her--feels like there might be a three-pack with a Wookiee later on). Anyway, the point of this anecdote is that the merchandise actually made me bother to put a show I felt very meh about on. Like many of us, I have really scaled back and having things tied together at the same time made me a lot more interested.
--Mike

This question was sent in June 13. Backlog!

There's always a Monkey's Paw wish with these things - fans asked for "anything on a Vintage cardback" so in 2018 we got an opening salvo of repacks of figures that were selling below SRP from Hasbro's Walmart's The Black Series 3 3/4-inch line. They did what we asked for, but not what we wanted. Similarly, we asked for stuff to tie in to the new shows so we could enjoy them at launch - which I guess they technically did, but I don't have figures and the show is almost over. (And, depending on who you ask, the best thing they ever did or the thing that ruined Star Wars. Neither, obviously, is true.)

I find the character selection for this set odd - as I write this, as far as I know, one character for "flashback only" and five figures for "now" is an odd choice because one of these things doesn't play with the others, unless they pop up on the show later. And they might, who knows what Disney feels like doing with regards to a twist these days.

I'm glad they did it on time for once, and hopefully can stop being silly about "spoilers." We saw all the prequels and The Force Awakens with a large slate of figures that we could pre-order or own before the film, and I think it only helped the films' collective mystique. Also it helps me learn the names before I see the movie and that's very helpful for my enjoyment of a movie.

Given how a lot of these shows are going, I would assume anything not revealed by the end of the month isn't going to happen. I hope "The Stranger" gets a figure, since we got the helmet coming, but it's just as likely that the pre-orders aren't tracking strong and these figures will wind up being all we get. (See also, Andor so far, Young Jedi Adventures, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Ahsoka seems to have slightly more legs.)

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2. Do you have any insight regarding the packaging/box art for the Cantina? Do you think the base and Deluxe versions will share the same art with maybe a sticker to differentiate them? Or might they have significantly different artwork?
--DarthSpock

As I write this I haven't seen any packaging information, but I do buy a few of the HasLab toys so I have a hunch.

So this is my guess: A bigger box with an extra box inside it, or just a second, extra box with the extra parts. It will likely depend on how many of each model is sold, and how it costs out at the factory level. If they sell (for example) 90% Deluxe Cantinas, it may well be worth their while to make it the default and just leave some empty slots in the "standard" box.

Most big Hasbro toys (and Mattel toys) for collectors are one big box with multiple smaller boxes inside - maybe one for accessories, like we saw with Boba's palace and Deathsaurus. A sticker is insufficient in terms of this project - there are some big parts fitting in there, so Hasbro will either need two separate packaged items, or a simpler solution is just to make one graphical boxed item and a second boxed item for the add-on bonus parts with minimal graphical design on it. Mattel made Eternia with an exclusive King Grayskull figure for early backers only, and they just shipped him separately and ate the cost. That seems like a massive waste of resources, as it probably cost $5-$10 to ship each one to the customer, and that's not taking into account freight from China. And there were thousands.

I hope Hasbro doesn't do two completely different packages of product, mostly because MISB collectors might be incomplete and that could be bad for continued collecting if they miss a variant. So hopefully anyone in that boat is buying both flavors, and they can always sell one later.

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FIN

The Cantina HasLab ends tonight. It's a real nail-biter as stretch goals go, and I also don't know if we might see a rash of people pulling out near the end of we aren't getting all the figures. I could see some fans going "I'm not paying $500 for 3 figures!" and keeping their money, and maybe cashing out their older figures too. But, it met the 8,000 backer goal on Friday and that's great. The real question I have is how many of you - and the world's dealers and flippers - are going to show up to buy these things before midnight EDT and get those other aliens out? Given that it hadn't broken 10,000 by Sunday, I'm not hopeless... but I wouldn't bet on it.

Looking at Star Wars Hasbro toys lately, I would say something like this is pivotal for the brand - it either gives fans (and Hasbro) to spend time thinking about figures old and new, reissues, redos, and making an inviting brand statement. Or, it's a place to jump off. The big thing you collected for 45 or more years to fill someday may not be what you wanted, and then, why keep going? Why do a big Death Star or Star Destroyer or whatever else we might see one day? The line itself has morphed over the years, and now that we live in a world where 3 3/4-inch figures don't stand as well, cost a lot more, and aren't the simple, sturdy playthings with regular playsets and vehicles... is it even the line we want to keep collecting? I guess we're going to find out Monday night.

I hope it funds fully. If it doesn't, I'm really curious what this means for all of us. The 3 3/4-inch figure line is kind of a jumble where no group of fans can ever be truly satisfied, given how many bases are being covered now, and as someone who grew up on the original movies (and to a lesser extent, the prequels) I am feeling less and less open about picking up something that isn't part of that original toy world. The Acolyte got my money for Retro and Vintage is presently only 3 figures - it's not a big ask - but is it worth $50 for 3 random Force people I don't know if I'll ever do anything with again? Not really. But I'd pay $60 for 3 all-new random aliens from 1977-1983, no question, as long as they were done fairly well and were guaranteed new-to-me.

So, I hope this works. I hope it gives Hasbro to put out desirable new background characters from the movies more people rewatched dozens (hundreds) of times. I hope it brings lapsed fans back for another round, even if they missed it maybe they'll get excited with other new releases. And if not... well, despite being neat, Young Jedi Adventures is easily had on markdown now. I hope they make stuff people might show up to buy.

--Adam Pawlus

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