Thanks for sending in your questions and keep them coming for the next Q&A (take the link above or on the left hand menu), we need your questions by next Friday, 11th April, please.
Read on for the Questions and Answers...
1. How far in advance do you plan a new figures release, how long does it take to develop a figure and can you explain some of the design and build process? Also, how much input do LucasFilm have in the design of the figures and do they request certain figures to be made?
Genenerally, the mainline assortments and stand alone items (those offered to all retailers) are planned from 15-24 months in advance. Exclusives are developed on a shorter lead time - 8-15 months depending on whether there is new tooling involved and the complexity of the item, and are usually developed as retailer promotional windows become clear. For the mainline, we plan out a year's worth of product at once, and then develop systematically, wave by wave, as we go through the year. Sometimes, there will be changes as we go through the year depending on schedules and deadlines. In about six months time we should have a good idea of what we will be doing for 2010. While we brainstorm and come up with the broad brushstrokes of the line, Lucasfilm has a great deal of input (and complete approval) over all figure selections, sculpts, etc.
2. We know there are 2 Mandalorian Comic Packs coming but with more having been written about Mandalorians (Legacy of the Force series of Books, etc) will there be any more Mandalorian figures coming, for example Mirta Gec, Goran Beviin, Ram Zerimar or maybe Jodo Kast?
At least one of those figures will be coming out this year. The rest have not been slotted into the lineup anywhere, since it is relatively difficult for us to do novel figures without the visual reference of a comic to draw from. Given the popularity of Mandos, though, there is a chance we will be looking at more down the road.
3. Have there been any further discussions between yourselves and Sideshow Collectibles with regard to the production of play-sets? If so, are you able to shed any light on this?
There is no new news to report on this front.