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Below are the responses from the Hasbro USA Brands Team to Mousedroid Round #5. Also check our affiliates at Rebelscum and Yodanews for Question Round-Ups.

ROUND #05

QUESTION #1:

Dear Hasbro
When comparing the designs from the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy, I don't think that anyone would argue that the designs of the prequel Characters, droids, creatures and vehicles are much more complex. Characters specifically are much different. The characters, specifically aliens, of the Original Trilogy are very "Human" shapes, where with the prequel trilogy we get a lot more aliens who are not so human is shape. We get serpent like characters such as Oppo Rancisis, bug like characters like the Geonosians and characters who have a much smaller stature (Tsui Choi, some of the podracers) or have a smaller skeletal structure (kaminoans, some of the podracers).

Having said that, do the design that Lucasfilm have created make it harder (from a design, engineering and cost perspective) for you to turn them into 3 3/4inch figures? Does or has this level of detail/complexity effect your line-up choices? Is there anything that you have been trying to do, but just cannot get it "right" and have put it in the "too hard basket"...at least for now?
Commander Collars

HASBRO REPLY:

Generally, the challenges of both are equal but different. There are positives and negatives to both the Classic and Prequels. In the classics, props had to be created using pieces of real objects, but had to be constructed to make us feel that they were futuristic and other-worldly.

This was due in some part to the limitations in technology which made the prop/set designers work under more “real-world” restraints. These restraints created unique and in some cases more believable design solutions. Conversely, the CGI technology of the modern era allowed Star Wars to explore more conceptual designs. However, these design do not always have to meet restraints of actual physics (ie. R2 fitting into a CGI starfighter that is not thick enough for him to fit in or a Destroyer droid that unrolls but the CGI parts actually occupy the same space in ball form.) The challenge with CGI is to really create an object so that you believe to be real. In both cases, the goal is to transport us to different time and place but the means to get there are different. As for actual sculpting difficulties, small characters are fine, since the demands for articulation on these characters are usually relaxed (and there are plenty of small figures in the OTC as well, including Yoda, Jawas, and Ugnaughts. Anything that is taller but very thin (like Battle Droids legs) pose a challenge from the standpoint of making sure there is enough articulation to meet collector needs.

We can sculpt pretty much anything, and we can get anything to move, but getting them to look great (like the on-screen version), move, and be durable and not fall over, is the biggest challenge.

QUESTION #2:

Hi there Hasbro,
This question is in to a background Tatooine vehicle - The 9000 Z001 Landspeeder, (the UFO like craft that's parked outside the Cantina to the right of the front entrance when Luke & Obi-Wan arrive & walk in). To date, apart from the one included in the Mos Eisley Lego set, I believe there has been no toy made of this unique vehicle to speak of.
Will we ever see this make it's debut in the 3&3/4" line some day? As a huge OT fan - & particularly of EPIV, this would simply be a dream come true for me!
Cheers,
VintijDroidGutzz

HASBRO REPLY:

We have actually thought about doing that before, but put the idea aside since there are still many more great, aggressive vehicles yet to do.  Someday we could look at it, but it will probably be a long while.

QUESTION #3:

Dear Hasbro,
The Titanium Series collectibles was effectively ignored at Toy Fair this year. Does this represent a lack of interest in the brand, or nothing more than a lack of product to show?
MTFBWY
Darth Windu

HASBRO REPLY:

We could not cover everything at Toy Fair this year, and Titanium was one of the lines that we just didn't have the space and time to explore fully. Rest assured that the basic vehicle assortment will continue on for a long, long time. We have a lot of great vehicles, and quite a few new tools, coming up later this year and are developing many exciting entries for 2009 as well. We plan to take a more in-depth deep dive at Comic Con this Summer..

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