So if Hasbro does decide to make a Mungo Baobab figure, what's the best way to distribute it? Lets look at some of the options.
1. Basic carded figure. - This is the main Star Wars action figure line. A Mungo figure potentially could end up here, but I personally don't believe this is the most likely option, unless he wins a future fan's choice poll. Spots in the basic line for EU figures these days are rare and for 1980's EU characters are practically non-existent.
2. Exclusive single carded figure - What we're talking about here is a figure exclusive to one department store, online store or convention. Not a terrible idea, it's happening with Jedi librarian Jocasta Nu, but for some reason I don't think we will get Mungo this way.
3. Exclusive 2 figure pack - Here we have what I think are the best options. First is the idea of two figures with a DVD containing a Droids episode. Hasbro has admitted that they had been thinking of this very thing in the past. They tried this recently with The Clone Wars, but since they came only with repacked figures that probably most people had anyway, I'm not sure how successful they were.
Another 2 pack idea is something similar to the comic pack format that Hasbro ran for several years. These sets were popular with a lot of collectors, but the problem for Droids fans is that very few of the TV series characters actually appeared in the Droids comic series. So a comic pack for Mungo is out of the question. But... what about a book pack? For those old enough to remember, back in the 1980's Star Wars movies, comics and TV episodes were often adapted into children's books, some with records or cassette tapes, some without. These books usually were around 30-some pages and featured nice new art and a concise version of the story that they were based on. Here's a few examples:
1. Basic carded figure. - This is the main Star Wars action figure line. A Mungo figure potentially could end up here, but I personally don't believe this is the most likely option, unless he wins a future fan's choice poll. Spots in the basic line for EU figures these days are rare and for 1980's EU characters are practically non-existent.
Original Mungo Baobab figure card
2. Exclusive single carded figure - What we're talking about here is a figure exclusive to one department store, online store or convention. Not a terrible idea, it's happening with Jedi librarian Jocasta Nu, but for some reason I don't think we will get Mungo this way.
3. Exclusive 2 figure pack - Here we have what I think are the best options. First is the idea of two figures with a DVD containing a Droids episode. Hasbro has admitted that they had been thinking of this very thing in the past. They tried this recently with The Clone Wars, but since they came only with repacked figures that probably most people had anyway, I'm not sure how successful they were.
Another 2 pack idea is something similar to the comic pack format that Hasbro ran for several years. These sets were popular with a lot of collectors, but the problem for Droids fans is that very few of the TV series characters actually appeared in the Droids comic series. So a comic pack for Mungo is out of the question. But... what about a book pack? For those old enough to remember, back in the 1980's Star Wars movies, comics and TV episodes were often adapted into children's books, some with records or cassette tapes, some without. These books usually were around 30-some pages and featured nice new art and a concise version of the story that they were based on. Here's a few examples:
These books, without the records, could work very much like the comic packs, and could be a great way to get figures of some of the earliest Expanded Universe characters out there that many of the older fans still crave.
But what about Droids? The good news is that there are lots of Droids book adaptations that would work in a series like this. Here's a look at a few of them:
These are just a few of the options. There are several more from Droids, Ewoks, the movies and other Expanded Universe adventures. Most of the books are around the same size and the ones that are a little larger could be adapted into the same format with a little tweaking. Overall, this seems to me like a good way to bring out classic Expanded Universe figures, help this beautiful artwork again see the light of day and bring us that coveted Mungo Baobab figure. Is there a possibility this will happen? I don't know, but until Hasbro or Lucasfilm says no, anything's possible!
