CTR: Is there any truth to the rumours that the 12” lines are being phased out?
BO: I can say right now that as long as we can be, we will be in the 12” Star Wars business. We’re very happy with the way G.I. Joe has done. Where it makes sense we will keep making 12” figures. With Buffy, we’re more focused on the statues, but maybe in a few years we’ll approach Buffy again [in the 12” format] if there is a strong enough demand for it. For some of the properties that we’re not doing 12” figures for, partners like Hot Toys and Go Hero are doing great 12” product, so there’s plenty out there for the customers. For our focus, I think we’re hitting it at the right places.
We have forty plus active licenses, from the small to the big, and its really difficult to do, say, Jaws 12” figures. Though it would be so awesome!
CTR: Sideshow Collectibles is the first company outside of Hasbro to produce articulated G.I. Joe action figures in North America, and over the past year your collection has rivaled the Hasbro line as the quintessential Joe line. What plans do you have for this line in the next year?
BO: First off, I appreciate that comment, but personally I think the quintessential G.I. Joe collection is the Hasbro line, and that is the official response from Sideshow Collectibles. (Sideways happy face) It has been great to see that the fan reaction has been as positive as it has been to our line. In terms of what is happening with G.I. Joe, I think the pace we are going at right now may frustrate some collectors because we haven’t hit on whatever character they want, but I defer to our Star Wars line where we got to Darth Vader and we’re eventually going to get to Boba Fett. We are going to get to Destro, we’re going to get to Zartan. We are actively working on them.
CTR: Haven’t we seen the first teaser picture of Zartan already?
BO: That’s not a 12” figure. We are actively working on the characters that everybody wants but it takes time to find what works best for the characters with what we have currently, so if we don’t have an appropriate body for a character, like the Baroness, we sure the hell better be working on it and we are. We are going to address all the fan favourites and we promise not to take as long as we did to make the Vader when we get to Destro and Zartan. It’s our obligation to do them. We’ve seen dioramas so far and we’ll see more dioramas. We’ll see some statuary, Premium Format Figures, and what ever else the fans ask for. A good prototype would be what we’ve done with Star Wars overall. I don’t think you’ll see any G.I. Joe bronze, but the other major categories we’ve developed with Star Wars is how we’re addressing G.I. Joe, but in a smaller scale that will be acceptable to fans. Will there be busts in the future? There possibly could be but we haven’t actually designed any thing like that.
