1. I've backed all of the HasLab [The Vintage Collection] Star Wars projects (I think) - Sail Barge, Razor Crest, Ghost, Mos Eisley Cantina - in the hope that they'll eventually get around to a BMF Rebel Blockade Runner. Is my hope at all reasonable?
--Thomas

Short of a regime change at Lucasfilm, or someone putting their thumb on the scale at Disney for it, or the miracle of appearing in a new streaming series or movie, I don't think we have a lot of hope for Hasbro - specifically Hasbro - to make a big Blockade Runner. If we could live in a world with an XXL kiddie line ship for $100-$200, maybe, but fans would complain and I don't think Hasbro has the desire to try it. If they made the best Epic Hero Series Blockade Runner that could be "good enough," let's say - I would throw down money for one.

I don't know if Hasbro could manufacture one for The Vintage Collection that fans would find satisfying for under $600. It couldn't be in scale to the other vehicles, because according to Wookieepedia it's 126 meters long. The Millennium Falcon is 35 meters (and was close to $500 for Target last time), and the Sail Barge is 30 meters (and was over $500 last time.) At a minimum, a new Tantive IV would be as big as a Barge. Something closer to scale would be too big for fans to enjoy, and I think the best you could hope for is a hallway, some escape pods, and a couple of rooms in a shape of a ship. I'd love that - but would it be worth $500 or more to the customer? And indeed, how much is too much? I feel once you hit $200, it's expensive. At $500, it needs to be really good. Anything over $600 gets into a level where I would have a hard time doing it unless it was literally the only Star Wars purchase I made that year. If Hasbro wants to axe 3 3/4-inch The Vintage Collection other than HasLab, I'd be up for it, but once we hit $700 or even $1000 I would bet that unless Hasbro significantly reduced the minimum units to run it to 3,000 or fewer, every single crowdfund will fail. You can get people to spend $5 or $10 hundreds of times, but it's going to be like pulling teeth to get me to part with $650.

If Hasbro can deliver a Kenner-ized (read: out of scale) Blockade Runner for $500 or under, collectors may be receptive to it. I don't know that it would be better than the hallways we've already got, minus the fact they come in a shell that is effectively a budget prop replica. I think some fans will be infuriated if it isn't absolutely huge, and maybe they should just get Micro Galaxy Squadron at this point. Perhaps the best course of action would be a reissue of the hallway with some bolt-on parts - like an Escape Pod bay - because a whole ship may be tough to do once you get to the "dollhouse" level rather than the "action toy" level.

Fan demand for higher quality products and Hasbro's desire to charge us accordingly is sort of the tragedy of the collector lines. Mattel just delayed - or killed - its Snake Lair Playset after letting fans vote for a design that was clearly a $80-ish toy, and instead plussed it up to a $300 mega-item. And that's $300, on a brand without all that much new stuff with girth. No matter how good something is, we're all dealing with space issues and eventually you're going to hit a wall. Literally.

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2. I have the new Darth Vader VC334. What is the best DV (with an open hand) for choking Captain Antilles aboard the Tantive IV? Please advise. My three playset hallways will be here this week. I need a Vader to choke Antilles for that scene.
--Allen

You may already own it, and Hasbro would probably be well-served to make one with a hypothetical HasLab Tantive IV as no kid is going to be given a strangle Vader and at $400+, no kid is going to be able to afford one. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe a figure exists that meets my basic requirements - an open hand to choke the guy, Star Wars-specific costuming, and some assurance the figure can stay standing while choking a bloke. Even the first two requirements would probably be sufficient, but you're going to need to use your imagination and some assistance to make anything work with gravity.

Hasbro (and Disney) are unlikely to make a figure specific to strangulation, even if the odds of a child buying it are pretty low. Maybe someone will make a better hand, or some sort of support stand kit, but it's more likely another manufacturer will some day get a license for a properly scaled mini-statue that suits your needs. (Also it's been 20 years, a new and better Captain Antilles figure would be nice.)

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FIN

There's not a lot new happening right now - but one of the hottest topics a few years ago was "Will 3D printers change the industry?" From the customer perspective, the answer has been a resounding no. The product output hasn't been great for consumer-level printers, and I frequently said things like single-piece figures like army men (or some new format which takes advantage of the properties of the printers) would have to be done, but I figured at some point we might see people start to scan figures and put them up online to download.

There are obviously parts and pieces (and customs, and originals) of Kenner and Kenner-compatible bits, but I was also surprised to see Keshi Corner Stacks post .stl files of rare Japanese Keshi Gomu figures - the little rubbery, eraser-like figures that generally come unpainted. Think M.U.S.C.L.E. (Kinnikuman) or Monster in my Pocket. These are pricey, hard-to-find Japanese collectibles and now you can grab 3D files that Mac OS Preview can open and spin around. And if you're nasty, print out yourself. My pal Seth tells me there's rubbery filament too, but I don't know how well those turn out yet. What makes the 1980s Keshi figures so appealing is that these were made before Nintendo had a proper style guide, so your Zols and Geemus and Link and Mario all look closer to old box art and instruction manual artwork. If you don't speak Nintendo, that means they're "off" in a pleasing way similar to Walrus Man, Greedo, Snaggletooth, and Hammerhead Kenner figures from 1979.

Due to the nature of the materials, I don't think we'll be able to print out a good-quality homemade indistinguishable-from-the-originals replica of an old toy in my lifetime - but maybe we can get something else that's pretty close. The Keshi figures look like they can come out pretty well, or even be remixed into a larger 2x or 4x item that can stand on your desk to battle your Figma Samus or Link. Hopefully people will continue coming up with stuff, there are plenty of files you can buy on Etsy for original Kenner-adjacent creations and my birthday is coming up, the Universe should deliver unto me a 12-inch one of these or something.

The print-out quality isn't perfect yet, but you can get some great files and start customizing them to fit your needs. If you have painting skills, you're in for a treat. I don't think Hasbro is in any danger of losing business to an unpained Joruus C'Boath print-out at home but as soon as these things can spit out higher-resolution output and people start making paint masks you can print out to help us talentless hacks make our own toys, all bets are off.

--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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