So when are we getting more Republic Commando toys? Is there a known sequence for The Clone Wars episodes? And how do you deal with a bad torso joint on your Clone figures? All this and more await you in this week's Q&A!

1. I thought I read somewhere that you mentioned Hasbro might be revisiting Republic Clone commandos again, but I have not seen or heard any more news. It would be great to get updated and better articulated figures of the hard to find and very expensive Boss, Fixer, and Sev. To quote Aragorn, "What say you?"
--Anush

Hasbro has indeed made comment of new toys based on the boys of Delta Squad, although since that announcement we also saw the pair of Galactic Heroes based on the Commando team. It's possible that's what they were referring to, but with Expanded Universe being what it is I expect to see one, two, or all four to have new toys at some point in the next couple of years. There hasn't been anything official, like "it'll be cartoon style" or "it's going to be in the Vintage line," but I'm crossing my fingers as the secondary market seems to indicate that people really really want a new version or a reissue of Delta Squad.

2. I was wondering what's going on with the Separatist Droid Gunship? Did it actually make it out to retail or is it one of those items that wasn't ordered highly by the stores? I have to admit I'm not even sure what case packout it was meant to be in. I've seen Cad Bane's Xanadu Blood, I've seen the Jedi Turbo Speeder, I've seen Plo Koon's fighter, but this ship has eluded me entirely! And if it HAS been released already, is it ever going to ship again?
--John

I've seen it at retail a few times, and I've got one sitting in my toy room. (I'm not thrilled with it, the canopy is so narrow it can only fit Battle Droid figures.) This item was released prior to the Jedi Turbo Speeder (which so far is the newest and last vehicle in the assortment, until Hasbro announces something new in presumably July). I've had the best luck finding this vehicle at Wal-Marts and Toys "R" Us as of late, so good hunting!

3. Since the Clone Wars cartoon is being made out of order, is there anywhere to find the exact sequence of episodes? It's an interesting approach to a tv show and I feel it gives Lucasfilm room to move around as far as story direction and pacing. Case in point is the Season 3 opening episodes (Clone Cadets/ARC Troopers), which take place before and after Season 1 episode 5 (Rookies), respectively. That being said, I'd still like to sit down and watch the show in chronological order. Anyways it's a great show and I already can't wait for Season 4!
--Joe

I've been searching for a chronology, official or otherwise, and have not found one yet. According to the producers of the show there isn't one yet, and while you say it's "interesting" I'd say it's an approach that rewards poor planning. It's nice for them to be able to reuse assets from an episode to make a prequel or sequel episode a year or two later, but it does nothing to advance the narrative, at least generally speaking. (The season 3 episodes focusing on Cad Bane kidnapping R2-D2 and C-3PO, plus the Hunt for Ziro episode, were both awesome.) I kinda miss a story that's always pushing ahead, which it seems we might be getting now, but not knowing the true timeline it can be difficult to tell.

...of course, the entire series is filler and we already know the ending, so why am I complaining? Here's hoping we see a real timeline soon, or if one of you guys have roughed one out, send it my way and I'll link to it on the front page.

4. Hey Adam, on my Denal figure, the waist is stuck. It looks like glue or something got on/in it from maybe when the belt was attached. Do you know of any way I'd be able to get that off without damaging the figure and possibly fix it so his waist would move again?

--Ron

Without seeing (and by seeing I mean holding) your figure it's tough to tell. Since the figure has a weird waist joint that's a little higher than the belt, you might be able to salvage it but remember you're always risking damage to the figure. I'd suggest either freezing it or boiling it. Sometimes paint gets in there, and by putting the figure in the freezer, you can actually crack the paint after it gets cold. I've done this with some other figures. Boiling it works too, but you need to be careful with your hands and not burning them. This softens the plastic (or glue, or paint) and you might be able to regain some movement. You might also break the figure-- it's hard to tell without seeing it.

And if it gets damaged? Well, a loose Denal figure is about $7 on eBay these days.

5. So in your nearly 900 years of answering Q&A's, what is the most bizarre question you have received?
--Chad

Considering the nature and depth of the hobby, having gone from a line with about 125 figures at the end of 1995 to some number pushing 2,000 today, the bizarre-o-meter is increasingly tough to calibrate. A request for some character nobody's ever heard of or cared about in 1995 might be laughable, but in 2011 it seems that as product requests go, nothing is off-limits.

To be honest, most aren't so much "weird" as "grossly outside my areas of expertise." I know about small plastic men and the people who sell them. Night life in convention cities, no idea. I barely know how to have a "good time" where I live, I'm a young old married fart who spends his spare time writing about toys for you guys. Early on I got a few requests for actresses' contact information, but I was never quite sure if that was a prank or not.

If it's about the product, well, no matter how bizarre the request, the information is relevant to somebody. Be it the case ratios, the assortment numbers, the UPC, what may be my trivial dismissal could be the most important thing on someone's mind right now. (Not that I won't make a crack about it, of course.) As far as on-topic stuff goes, it's generally pretty civil. Except the death threats, of which there have been few in the past decade and change. (And no, I'm not kidding about that.)

FIN

Boy howdy, has it been slow since Toy Fair. While there are a couple of mini-vehicles slated to hit Toys "R" Us soon, we still don't know where the Galactic Heroes AT-ST will (or won't) show up in the USA and well, it's a little sluggish, isn't it? Ah well. At least the Jedi Turbo Speeders seem to be hitting more heavily now.

Vintage Wave 6 still continues to ship from Hasbro, seemingly largely to Wal-Marts and online stores. I've also seen them at a few grocery stores, so they're definitely out there for those willing to look (or order by mail.) I've seen them the most at one particular Wal-Mart which I've hit up more lately due to a) my buying a bicycle and b) it being within a reasonable distance of about 5 miles. (Gas prices, you know.) So far it seems that the new mold AOTC Clone Trooper is the one I see lagging in sales, which seems backward to me as that's arguably one of the best new ones in the wave. Sure, we've got literally hundreds of different clones at this point, but this one is new.

Got questions? My mailbag's reaching the bottom. You know what that means: I get a vacation if you're all answered up, which may mean I can stop writing this column after... geez, has it been over 11 years already? So I guess you can also not ask your questions.

--Adam Pawlus

Got questions? I bet you do. Email me with Q&A in the subject line.