This week’s double-dose of AskDST brings you up to date on your latest Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica questions. Find out what’s to come in all three lines and see if your questions get answered this week!

Blaine Rodenbaugh:
So I am totally excited about the new Leoben/Starbuck 2-pack. I really hope they’re coming out in June. I have a few Q’s. I noticed the Leoben has Chief’s legs (nothing wrong w/ saving costs) but would it be at all possible to use the SG1 legs that have their pants tucked into the boots, like Leoben? Also, you had said that 2-packs and exclusives don’t count as the 3-per-year waves you’re limited to… does this mean we’ll be seeing more? Maybe an Anders in flight suit or Starbuck in dress blues? I think it would be easy to do using bodies & heads that already exist and it would certainly keep hungry fans at bay waiting for waves. Also I’m hoping with the more main characters coming out, you’ll be more successful in product sales…will we be seeing Baltar, Tigh, and Tory soon? And is there a possibility we’ll be getting a viper and raptor to put our “flight suiters” into?!?!?!

DSTChuck: For production planning it is very difficult for parts to cross licenses as you suggest. Right now we’re just not sure the level of support for more BSG figures so we’re going to see how series 4 and the latest two pack do and go from there. IF it sells well then yes there are several other figures we’d love to do.

Agent 86:
Dear Sir/Madam,
1. With the lack of Lucy Lawless’ approval of the D’Anna Biers/Number Three action figure preventing the release of the planned “Civilian/Downloaded Boomer and D’Anna/Number Three” two-pack, is there any chance the D’Anna/Number Three figure could be replaced with another figure (for example, with the “Flight Suit” Athena) so that the two-pack can still be released?
2. In respect of Lucy Lawless’ approval (or lack thereof), is the issue that Ms Lawless has not responded to DST’s original request for approval or has Ms Lawless requested changes be made to the action figure prototype before she will provide her approval? If it is the former, has DST been chasing and/or reminding Ms Lawless about the need for her approval to permit the figure’s release?
3. Did Lucy Lawless have to approve the release of the D’Anna Biers/Number Three minimate figure (which came in a two-pack with Boomer)?
4. Is there anything we fans could do to guarantee the release of the D’Anna Biers/Number Three action figure - other than trying to “petition” Lucy Lawless to approve the release of the action figure?
5. When will we find out some information about series 5 of BSG action figures? Will the next assortment of figures be announced and/or shown at NYCC or at some other convention later this year? Can DST give any hints about future figures/characters? Will the previously shown “Flight Suit” Athena be released in series 5 or by some other means (for example, in a two-pack)?
6. What future two-packs or other multi-packs can we fans look forward to from DST? Will all future two-packs include one already released character or is there a chance future two-packs will include two unique characters from BSG who don’t already have action figures? Can DST give its fans any hints as to future two-packs?
7. Is there any chance DST would tweak the design of the Cylon Centurion to increase the range of movement in the ankle joint? I don’t know whether I just received a faulty figure, but I find it incredibly difficult to get the Cylon Centurion figure to “stand” (even in the most basic of poses) because the ankle joint does not allow the range of movement required to balance the figure in a “standing” position. I would be likely to purchase multiple Cylon Centurions, but only if I could be assured the figures would be able to stand.
8. As the accessories being provided for the BSG figures have really improved since the series 1 figures, is there any chance that an Athena (Number action figure might come with a “Hera” accessory? As the first human/Cylon hybrid child plays a pretty large part in the mythology of the show, it would be great to have Hera as an accessory, even though it would be a little larger and more detailed than those accessories previously released by DST with the BSG figures.
9. How does DST choose which “outfit/costume” to release a particular character in? Is it based predominantly on the ability to re-use the body-sculpt or does DST generally try to use the character’s most “iconic” costume. For example, Galen Tyrol’s most “common” costume seems to be the bright orange “jumpsuit” that the character wears, however it was released in the green fatigues. Was this done because DST thought they could get more re-use out of the fatigues sculpt? And what approach will DST use towards a character like Baltar who early on had an iconic costume consisting of the white lab coat, but has since changed his costume to the business suit (while Vice President and President) and now sports a more shabby attire as “cult leader”. Or does DST aim to release variants of characters who have had multiple iconic costumes - like Lee Adama in flight suit and in a business suit? Many thanks. Cheers.

DSTChuck: Ok folks, I’ll do this one but lets PLEASE try to keep the questions to maybe 3 or 4 parts. I think if I get another 9 part question my head might explode! Plus I did want to be done with this by the time BSG came on tonight.
1. As I have said in the past, we’re for sure looking at ways to get that Boomer figure out to fans.
2. None of the above. Since Mrs. Lawless was a guest star on the show, she did not give her ok for her likeness to be used in merchandise. It has nothing to do with the figure.
3. No, Minimates are not considered likeness.
4. Not as far as I know….Universal and Sci-fi are the ones dealing with this not DST.
5. Our plans for wave 5 are not set yet. We’re waiting to see the last few episodes and the movie “The Plan” as well as see what sales are like on series 3 and 4. IF all goes well we might be able to show at SDCC.
6. There is no set plan for the two packs IE one new one and one old one or one good guy one bad.
7. We are not aware here of any issues with the Cylons standing. You might have a bad figure. Please feel free to contact customer service.
8. I don’t think we’d do Hera as an accesory …PLUS well you better catch up on watching the show!
9. We start with the list of characters we want to do and cut from there. When we have close to a final list we look at outfits then we look at the overall budget for the line and see how many “new” parts we can afford and go from there.

James White:
You guys have great products and I love the overall look of the new Ronon figure but as wondering Why was the decision made to give Ronon the straight cut for the bicep articulation? This really takes away from the look of the figure if you try and pose it in any way. The articulation for the BSG Anders figure would have been much more preferable and allowed for better posing ability. Thanks for taking time to answer our questions.

DSTChuck: To be honest I am not sure and you’re right, I think. Looking back, the style we used for Anders would have been better.

Brian Petersen:
Why does the PX Gina figure come with brown eyes? Her eyes are blue.

DSTChuck: Are you sure about that?

Andy Kinnear:
What the heck, here’s one for Stargate too! I for one would be willing to pay for the Stargate pieces from the SG1 Earth gate and ramp, as well as the Atlantis Gate and atrium floorpieces. Has any recent consideration been given to selling the gatepieces separately? - Perhaps stamping them on the back to preserve the collecability value of the in-figure pieces? Eg: “Not SG1 Wave 1 Gatepiece” Or Not Atlantis Wave 2 Gatepiece?”. Having collected most of the existing SG1 characters released, and hoping for Atlantis (A certain Scottish doctor) I have to say am very impressed with the quality of your work. Although a Gate figure collector, I have seen up close your Trek and Galactica figures too. Bravo on the excellent attention to detail, and please keep up the good work!

DSTChuck: We’ve had several requests for more gates and ramps so we’ll have to see if there is someway we can get more of those out to fans of the show and the line that might have missed it the first time around. Thanks so much for your kind words, I will pass them on to the team.

Blaine Rodenbaugh:
So I just recieved my RAZOR series action figures, and I’ve gotta say, I don’t know what went wrong. First, the prototype for Gina was right on the money, but I noticed you guys shortened her neck, and went with a light blonde hair- Why the changes, now her hair is off, and she looks like a hunchback? Secondly, I am so dissapointed with the Kendra. She’s got the gold pins of an admiral on her neck?!?! and her arm patch says Pegasus, but it’s yellow, not blue! (she did have a yellow one, but read colonial defense) So did I get faulty toys, or is this how they all are? And will series 4 be the same quality, and will they still be released Feb 25th?????

DSTChuck: Some of the Gina figures did have a problem with the head being placed too low on the neck — sorry its something we caught pretty late in the game.

Ryan Luxford:
Have you considered making figures of actors that you have licenses for for multiple toy lines such as John de Lancie - you have already made Q for Star Trek, you could make Col. Simmons for Stargate Nicole de Boer - You have made Ezri, you could make Dr. Alison Porter and put her in a 2 pack with Paul McGillion’s Carson Beckett. Ronny Cox - as Kinsey from Stargate & Captain Jellico from Star Trek NG Robert Piccardo - as Woolsey & the Doctor from Voyager Grace Park - Number 8 from BSG & Lt. Satterfield on SG-1 Aaron Douglas - Tyrol on BSG & played a Jaffa & MOAC on SG-1 Dean Stockwell - who has been on Star Trek, BSG & SG-1 Granted some of these actors had such a minor roll on other series, but it would help cut costs simply because you can use molds you already have to complete more figures. Even if you were to sell these figures in packs such as Ronny Cox or Grace Park people who only collect 1 of the 2 lines would still buy just for that one figure.

DSTChuck: Its kind of fun when an actor or actress appears on multiple shows but that does not really enter the picture when we plan a line out.

Blaine Rodenbaugh:
Wow! I just at the NYCC DST booth, and the series 4 look AMAZING! I know I did some complaining about the Razor series, but if these come out like the prototypes, the likenesses are incredible! They REALLY look like the characters! Is there anyway to tell us what accessories they’ll come with? And my only really question about the line — Is anything being done about Roslin’s height? I see you’re using the six’s legs, and it makes her taller than all the other figures, and Roslin’s pretty short– Oh, and will her and Adama have removable glasses? I hope they’re out mid Feb, I can’t wait, they’re soo good!!!

DSTChuck: We don’t usually bring accessories to a show, they are small and get lost and seldom display well. We’ll see if we can’t get some pics out on the Blog in the time before the figures release. I think we’re going to have to stick to the plan we have for Roslin’s figure. YES we hope to have glasses with Adama.

James White:
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You for SG1 Series 5. WOW… Now to the questions that I know everyone wants to hear.
1. Will Black Ops Sam come with a vest?
2. Will the Case Topper Black ops Mitchell be the T Shirt or Jacket version (will he have a vest)?
3. Will we see any new mail away figures with this wave or future waves? Thanks again. That is an awesome line up.

DSTChuck:
1) I think so
2) I think Just a T-shirt
3) We have not decided for sure one way or another if wave five will have a new mail away figure.

Brian Petersen:
Thank you! thank you! thank you! Thank you for SG-1 wave 5. I’m super excited for it! The character selection is amazing and I can’t wait to add them to my collection! I have a few questions, though:
1) Will Mitchell also feature a cap or just the plain headsculpt used in wave 3?
2) Since the Ba’al’s design is centered around “The Quest,” could we possibly expect his iconic dagger to be included in his accessories?
3) Are there noticable differences in O’Neill’s and Hammond’s coats or will the medals be mostly similar?
4) Will the Horus guard feature a replacable head similar to the Serpent guard?
5) Can you tell us whether or not Atlantis wave 4 and SG-1 wave 6 are in discussion?

DSTChuck:
1) I think just a plain head.
2) I do not think the dagger is planned for an accesory.
3) I think the plan right now is to make the jackets similar, however the medals are unique to each character and actually reflect their in-continuity service awards.
4) We’ll have to wait to get final costing to confirm but we’d like to have a replaceable head.
5) Before we get too far with either of those we want to see how the current product sells as well as get a good look at the new show.

Jonathan Quirk:
Now that DST has created both Serpent Guards and now Horus Guards, are there any plans to create Apophis and/or Heru’ur to command their loyal troops? Possibly as a two-pack: the same generic Jaffa body could be painted gold for both, just with new heads (and possibly swappable helmets, ala the series 1 Serpent Guard)?

DSTChuck: To be honest we have not looked at them.

Roddy DeHart:
Now that we have a Horus Guard, which is eagerly anticipated, can we have an Anubis guard from the movies??

DSTChuck: DST does not currently have any rights to the original movie.

Roddy DeHart:
For Atlantis Series 4, can the built it item be the BASE for the control chair? It would be nice since it would allow the chair to spin, and is reminiscent of Atlantis itself (looks like a snowflake). Example here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Atlantischairroom.jpg

DSTChuck: We’ve never thought of that for an accesory…

Callum Templeton:
Series 5 of SG-1 looks Great,is the Horus Guard being made, as the one shown at the NYTF was the Anubis Guard?,And could you tell us accessories SG-1 series 5 come with? Thanks.

DSTChuck: Check out the pictures from Toy Fair. Some accessories were shown as well. The build an accesory is the UAV.

Andy Kinnear:
Hi folks, I have just seen the figures on display at Toyfair of SG1 Wave 5 - you were right they are great, and I can see them selling like hot cakes! A few questions… General’s Hammond and O’Neill will sell like nothing else on Earth. Does this mean General Landry’s chances of getting produced in the future have increased? (Thank you so much for doing General Hammond by the way.)

DSTChuck: If you are correct about Hammond’s sales then you never know..

John Barrie:
Hello AA, well the Waves of Stargate Figures released by DST are incredibly awesome. I’m really curious, how the actors are involved in these project.
#1 Are all figures based on the scans of the actors, and which aren´t. Do the actors approve their figures?
#2 What happened to the Woodland Camo Figure(s) announced in Wave 1, is their a chance to see SG1 released in this camo,…we fans would like it…!
Sincerly, J.B.

DSTChuck:
1. Some of the actors were scanned and some are free sculpts. We’re not going to give that information out BUT if you can’t tell then I guess the folks at Jean St. Jean are doing their jobs. SOME of the actors do get to approve their figures but most do not.
2. We had hoped to make the woodland camo as an exclusive back then but no one came forward so I am not sure what will happen to those.

Agent 86:
Dear Sir/Madam,
1. Many moons ago, there was mention of a “behind the scenes” look at the sculpting of BSG - Series 4 (Adama Snr, Adama Jnr and Roslin). Are we fans still going to see this and if so, when?
2. Should BSG fans give up any hope of one day owning a “Number Three/D’Anna Biers” action figure (other than the already released minimate figure)? Can DST “spill the beans” on the reasons behind Lucy Lawless’ refusal to approve the release of the figure?
3. Is there any chance of utilising part of the Number Three/D’Anna Biers sculpt for another figure? For example, a “white coat” Number Six (from Caprica) using the Number Three upper body and the Caprica Six legs and head?
4. Any hints as to upcoming BSG action figures? DST previously teased fans about the release of a number of other figures with some cryptic clues - can we get some more hints/clues as to upcoming/unannounced figures? Many thanks. Cheers.

DSTChuck:
1) Yes I very much hope so! You will see it as soon as I can get Jean St. Jean to pull something together.
2) I would not count on getting a #3 figure
3) The #3 figure was never tooled so there is no way to re-use any of the parts, since they do not really exist.
4) I would love to tease all of you but we honestly have not locked down the next wave yet.

Tim Absolon:
Hi DST! I’m a big fan of Battlestar Galactica and I’ve had a lot of fun collecting the BSG Minimates and Action Figures. I understand you addressed the cancellation of the BSG Minimates in a recent Q&A (although I still hope you’ll find a way to release them), but I recently received an email canceling my preorders for the Boomer and Deanna Cylon boxed set. Has this set been canceled or is it also “on hold”. Boomer and Deanna are two of my favorite characters and definitely my favorite Cylons. Please do whatever it takes to release them. I’ll buy them in two-packs with characters I’ve already got figures of if I need to. I’d also love to see a Colonel Tigh and Doctor Baltar made. My numerous Sixes are lonely without the two main men in their lives! A Felix Gayta and Ellen Tigh action figure would also be good - but no pirate leg for Gayta. When are you going to release the spacesuit Boomer that was shown ages ago? That looked like a cool figure, although I prefer the other Boomer that was meant to be coming with the Deanna. Plus the more Boomer figures the better since there are so many Boomers on the TV show. Please keep making BSG toys! Good luck with getting the minimates released - I will buy them.

DSTChuck: I’ve addressed that particular two-pack in several Q&A’s before as well as more details this week. Sorry. We’d love to get all the Cylons out there as well as the good doctor, but time will tell.