Star Wars Black: 36 to 12

Yesterday I set out what I feel is a reasonable goal for Hasbro’s 6-inch scale Star Wars Black action figures: Produce the original first twelve figures from 1978 in the new 6-inch scale line and it is a success (read “Star Wars Black: Defining Failure”). Poe Ghostal (website), in his comment to my post, modified that goal to “12+1” in order to get Boba Fett into the line, because, as he says:

. . .because without Boba Fett the whole exercise is pointless if you ask me . . .

I can totally accept that modification to my own requirement for success, but as I started thinking about it I found myself wondering how long it took Hasbro’s 1995 Power of the Force line to bring the original twelve figures into their new line. So I did some reading.

From Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive*. Enlarge Image!

Nine in Wave One

My copy of Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive* shows that the first wave in 1995 included nine of the original twelve action figures. Hasbro got a huge jump on things by launching nine action figures in Wave One with:

  • Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi
  • C-3PO
  • Chewbacca
  • Darth Vader
  • Han Solo
  • Luke Skywalker
  • Princess Leia Organa
  • R2-D2
  • Stormtrooper
From Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive*. Enlarge Image!

Two in Wave Six

It was then over a year before Hasbro again touched the original twelve action figures, bringing two more into the line so that by November of 1996 there were eleven of the 1978 Star Wars action figures available in the new Power of the Force line. By then there were also several other action figures and vehicles available; with the new 6-inch scale Star Wars Black action figures we can see Hasbro’s taking the same release and staggering those original twelve out (Wave One of the new line includes only one of the original twelve figures). Wave Six’s original twelve figures were:

  • Jawas (pack of two)
  • Tusken Raider
From Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive*. Enlarge Image!

Last One in Wave Nineteen

According to Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive* we then jump forward over a year to the second quarter of 1998 for the final of the first twelve action figures, the Death Star Trooper. By this point we’re three years — 36 months — into the 1990s Star Wars: Power of the Force line and Hasbro had released many vehicles, playsets, and action figures.

From Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive*. Enlarge Image!

36 Months to the Original Twelve

I know we won’t get anywhere near as many toys with the new 6-inch scale Star Wars Black action figures by August of 2016 — 36 months after the first wave is scheduled to be in stores — but looking at the past I’m standing behind my statement that the line is not a success until the original twelve characters are available in the new scale.

In looking at those original twelve I believe that all but one of them — the Death Star Trooper/Death Squad Commander/Star Destroyer Commander — are absolute musts for the Star Wars Black line to truly be a success. Regardless of whatever action figures are released for the line, if Star Wars Black is missing these iconic characters — in their iconic Star Wars outfits — then Hasbro has failed collectors.

I’m hoping that they succeed.

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10 thoughts on “Star Wars Black: 36 to 12

  1. Are Jawas and Tusken Raiders that necessary anymore? The cast of aliens and characters has expanded so much that I think of them as relatively minor players in the grand scheme.

    When there were only 3 movies they were certainly more iconic/prominent, but there’s just so many aliens nowadays that the Tuskens/Jawas have become somewhat easy to forget about.

  2. @General Tekno – The most important thing is that this is all personal opinion; I don’t think anyone talking about the line has run studies to figure out what we want/need. (Except maybe Hasbro, which I hope used years of sales data and market research to drive their decisions.)

    For me, the Jawa and Tusken Raider are iconic aliens in Star Wars and MUST exist in the Black 6-inch line. On Twitter, when the whole “original twelve” idea was coming together, I started with “original twenty-one” and part of me still feels that is the right answer to: what does the line need to be considered a success?

    But maybe that’s just because I want the Cantina aliens. Hell, I want the Cantina aliens before I want Boba Fett. And I don’t really want Fett if we’re not going to get all six of the Empire bounty hunters.

    I suspect there’s no one character mix that would ever make all of us happy.

  3. I don’t know that I need a Jawas. If they do one, they should do a two-pack similar to POTF2. The Tusken Raider, on the other hand, is a must for me. They scared the crap out of me when back in 77 when I first saw Star Wars thus I thought they were the coolest thing ever.

  4. @FigureFanZero – “I don’t know that I need a Jawas. If they do one, they should do a two-pack similar to POTF2.”

    I would also be fine with a pack that includes one Jawa and one droid (even if it’s an R2 repaint minus all of the R2 extras).

  5. I know it’s purely a personal observation but whenever I see Star Wars figures peg-warming, it’s always the Ook Plongs and Chichi Flims from the Prequels. And yes, I know the original figures included their share of secondary characters (eg Hammerhead) but if I, personally, was going to collect new Star Wars figures I’d want all the original trilogy characters first. It always feels to me like there’s almost some Lucas-pleasing shoehorning of the Prequel stuff going on with the releases.

    The Clone Wars stuff I can understand, as it’s still current but the flooding of the line with prequel stuff just doesn’t appeal to me and I’m sure I’m not the only collector who feels that way.

  6. @Iok – Wasn’t all of the Episode I figures a part of the release of the film in 3-D? With the other 3-D releases shelved (where did I read that?) maybe Hasbro can focus more on the Star Wars that I want.

  7. I honestly don’t know, as I don’t collect any of the new Star Wars figures. I’d hoped that much like the new DC Unlimited toys the Black Series would be a great point to jump-in for collectors who’ve missed the other stuff or don’t want the secondary characters but I’ve a feeling it’s not going to be like that and within a couple of waves we’ll be again back to the Weewoo Wamoos and 2nd Droid from Left (Visible if You Pause the Blu-Ray Special Edition) figures.

  8. @Iok – I’m guessing that the characters like that will be saved for convention exclusives and maybe some retail exclusives. That R2 mold will have to get some serious reuse in the first couple of years.

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