It's time for another Q&A flashback for me to celebrate me writing about toys for 30 years! How self-centered!

Today: The return of action features? (From 2007!) (Somehow, action features have not returned.)

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It's time for another Q&A flashback since I've been writing about toys online since the Clinton administration! How self-centered!

Today: A rumored set of POTF2 Jabba's Palace aliens? (From 1999!) People were hungry for Jabba the Hutt's entourage then... and little has changed.

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Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: Moff Gideon (single card, Epic Hero Series). This one was released about a year ago, and was marked down about nine months ago. I haven't seen one since January or February, but it's a decent enough figure especially for the price. It's sturdy, shiny, and generally feels great. And now that The Vintage Collection one shipped, odds are our people will ignore this perfectly good footnote in toy history. Read on!

I've been writing about Star Wars toys since I started a newsletter back in August of 1995. So let's take a look at some old questions in the mailbag to see if we had any good updates!

Today: THX-1138 toys? (From 2004!)

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Want a Republic Gunship next week?  You have options.

Some fans have asked the question "How would you feel if the new HasLab Republic Gunship didn't fund?" It would be incredibly unfortunate. The ornate model is loaded with detail, stands, ammo, figures, and the fanciest paint in the mass-produced moderately-priced vehicle business. It would be bad... but there are ways to fill that gap in your collection.

The good news for those who are OK accepting older toys is that Hasbro has been busy. Nobody can take away the massive legacy of toys that Hasbro already manufactured.   Literal millions of action figures, vehicles, and playsets are out there - many in the original packaging - and you can buy them any time you like.

From 2002 to 2013, Hasbro produced seven action figure-sized Republic Gunships. The Vintage Collection one is very expensive above $700, and the Crumb Bomber just seems to be plain rare. The rest are now all fairly inexpensive given their size, age, and how many fans probably skipped them. And if you back the Gunship and just want one right now, you have some options on eBay.

2002 Saga Attack of the Clones Republic Gunship - buy-it-now on eBay for a sealed box is $245. This is pretty much the same as the TVC 2013 release, except for the figures (which can be had separately with slight changes) or the Gun Pods (ditto.)

2003 Clone Wars Command Gunship - sealed box buy it now is $300-$350, plus or minus shipping. Interestingly this was the cheapest of the Gunships, selling for a shockingly cheap for the time $29.99 when it was brand new. The deco was not based on any particular on-screen appearance.

2005 Revenge of the Sith Republic Gunship - many are up buy-it-now for $250. I am pretty sure this wasn't based on any particular on-screen appearance.

2006 The Saga Collection Gunship - current listings are mostly over $450, but sold listings are under $350. It seems unlikely this particular version will make a return appearance, so it might even be worth picking up now. It was a Toys R Us exclusive, and I remember running around trying to find this one. It was superb.

2008 The Legacy Collection Republic Gunship last sold for $320. This "Lucky Lekku" model was exclusive to Walmart and featured unique nose art. As with all of the ships, open box models are a lot cheaper on the secondary market.

2009 The Legacy Collection Republic Gunship (Crumb Bomber) is in short supply. I don't see any boxed ones for sale, and "sold" listings are $300 or more for unboxed samples.  No boxed samples of this Toys R Us exclusive seem to be for sale at this time at any price.  This release was notable not only for its distinctive nose art, but retooled side doors.  The cargo doors now fully enclose the vehicle, and the doors behind the cockpit fold down.  Additional firepower was added to the cannons with more fold-out firing rocket launchers.  If you only bought two Gunships, odds are this would be one of the two you'd want to get.

2013 Toys R Us The Vintage Collection Republic Gunship - This one is expensive. At an SRP of $119.99, it was the most expensive version before the HasLab, no doubt resulting in many fans skipping it. Heck, I almost skipped it as it was one of the most expensive vehicles ever made and nearly $80 over the price of the original mold. "Sold" listings are above $700. This one is very similar to the 2002 Republic Gunship, and features added stickers, 3 pack-in figures (which are repaints of other releases), and two Gun Pods. Other than the stickers, the 2002 model is probably a perfectly viable substitute for most fans displaying the open toy, with the packaging itself being a huge draw.

Did you know... Hasbro made some of the most obscure movie-specific Jedi from the Battle of Geonosis during The Clone Wars era of the Star Wars action figure line? It's true! There are several figures you probably forgot you had, or don't realize that you missed. And lucky you, I reviewed many of them back when people were busy pretending to not like Star Wars anymore.

Not all of these Geonosis-themed figures were actually on-screen, but their packaging backgrounds say otherwise. If you're wondering "Which characters has Hasbro never made to go with those Republic Gunships?" these aren't them.

Hasbro hasn't made new versions of many of these figures in over ten years. Many are increasingly expensive, but given the level of obscurity in The Vintage Collection I would not bank on most of them to be remade. (Obviously, some shown below are in the current HasLab and very much are up for/due for a new release.)

Nicanas Tassu	Sephjet Josall	Que-Mars Redath	Selig Kenjenn
Roan Shryne	Khaat Qiyn	Sarissa Jeng	Roth-Del Masona
Rodian Jedi	Joclad Danva	Coleman Trebor	Pablo-Jill
Tarados Gon	Agen Kolar	Saesee Tiin	Shaak Ti

It's time for another Q&A flashback because I've been writing about Star Wars toys online since August 1995!

Today: Boobs? (From 2005!)

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Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,264: B5-R4 (The Book of Boba Fett, Droid Factory) wants to buy yez a drink. While very similar to R4 droids from the past 20 years, the paint mask shapes are different, and it's more of a grayish blackish color more than a green like we've seen before. The drink harness is a little different too, as are the drinks. You won't be disappointed by it, even though you might be saying "I swear I have something like this at home." Read on!

It's time for another Q&A flashback for me to celebrate me writing about toys for 30 years! How self-centered!

Today: Why are my figures sticky? (From 2002!)

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All new today!

This week in Star Wars Q&A - HasLab chatter and bringing back old items! Also will fans ever make really good vehicles? Maybe!

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It's time for another Q&A rerun, but with added modern context! That's what the kids want, right?

Today: The fate of Hasbro 1:6 scale action figures (from 2013)!

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Now at Disney (thanks for the heads-up Phil) it's a Star Wars R2-B0025 Halloween Droid Factory Figure. It's the second pumpkin droid - the first was BB-8 in orange from 2020. The name R2-B0025 is a good choice, however it is unfortunate they did not hold off to deploy this nomenclature until 2085. Shipped, the droid is going to be around $27 after tax and shipping.

It's time for another Q&A flashback for me to celebrate me writing about toys for 30 years! How self-centered!

Today: How did people know to save stuff?

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Star Wars: A New Hope Returns to Theaters for 50th Anniversary, so says StarWars.com. That's a nice thing to celebrate on my 30th anniversary of writing about Star Wars online! The site does not elaborate which cut of the movie will be shown - the original, the current streaming Maclunkey cut, or a new cut.

August 1 marks my 30th anniversary of writing about Star Wars on the internet! (I know it says July 31, but it's late and close enough.)  On August 1, 1995, I wrote the first email newsletter issue of Adam's Star Wars Newsletter, where I tried to report to the world that the rumor of the Kelogg's Froot Loops cereal mail-in Han Solo Stormtrooper Disguise figure was real. (It was!) It was a big surprise.

While the newsletter is on indefinite hiatus, Star Wars Q&A has been in rotation since about 1998. So why don't we look at more or less random old questions from the past decades and see if the answers have changed any? The Final 12? What would make a great end run if the line actually ended?

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