DSTChuck tackles your Stargate and Battlestar Galactica questions this week - including what figures you might find at Toys R Us, potential figures for a continuation of the Atlantis line and a Boomer overload on the way.  Check out the full list of questions and DSTChuck’s answers after the jump!

Blaine Rodenbaugh
Hey guys, a couple of BsG Q’s..
1. I know you said in the last blog “baby Hera only stayed a baby for a short time”-in reference to the 2-pack accessory- but the Hera accessory could be her at the 3 year stage, it would still be a lot smaller, and you wouldn’t have to put anything else with them.
2. Have you ever thought of continuing the line as 2-packs? I for one would love it, and I think it would be a good way of getting more sales, and more characters done.
3. Speaking of 2 packs, are there any other ones planned, and do you have any ideas yet on who would be series 5?
4. (lastly) Are you planning to have any SDCC figures to sell this year, exclusives particularly? And you had mentioned selling downloaded cylons to “some fans”, how do I become one of those fans? lol

DSTChuck:
1.   Blaine, I hate to break it to you but there is very little chance we’re going to make a Hera.
2.  We’ve done several two packs and if we pick the right mix they do sell pretty well, the problem is getting the right mix of characters while also getting out a character that might not be the most popular. The higher price point can also be an issue for some fans.
3.  Right now I think we’ve shown all the two packs that were in active development so we’ll see how they sell and determine if we can go forward with some of the other ideas we have.
4.  We have no BSG exclusives planned BUT the Cylon from NYCC was always planned to be brought to SD - so that kind of counts.

Andy Kinnear
Hi Chuck et all, Its been a while, so I thought I’d fire up a couple of new Gate questions…
1) Would DST ever consider sharing a behind the scenes development of either a Stargate or Galactica character (production security / trade confidentiality permitting?) As a collector it would be fascinating for me to get some insight into how completed characters like Colonel Mitchell or Dr Weir came into being, from design concept to shop counter product. Using one figure of one particular character for ongoing continuity?
2) There has been a vague rumor of a “big surprise” for Stargate fans at the SDCC this year. - Is there any truth in such a rumor? (This is simply a closed, “Yes or No” question!)
3) Do you welcome suggestions for possible “Build em accessories?” I had a think. - SG1: the Ancient Repository “Headsucker” device, a set of stone steps for an “offworld” gate if the gate is somehow re-released inplace of the SGC ramp, the Prometheus / Odyssey Captain’s chair, (in the same manner as the Atlanits Wave 3 Ancient Chair), and or The tripod mounted Jaffa Staff Canon? Atlantis: ZPM power unit console, (to hold three ZPM’s that come with the figures) offworld Pegasus DHD (resuse the SG1 DHD moulds) or, the Gatrium DHD table console?
4) I know you can’t do ships, etc. However, from a “figs representing the fleet” perspective, has there been any thought to doing Colonel Caldwell as the most regular of the X304 commanders? Equally, O’Neill, Mitchell or Sheppard in their flight suits, and or any space suited figures? (One body, that could be used for both male and female characters!) This would also round out the options for the regular characters alongside figures of other new characters? Thanks.

DSTChuck:
1.  Yes we would, that was on of the original ideas behind the blog, its just a matter of pulling all the information together.
2.  No SG BIG announcement from DST at SDCC this year, sorry.
3.  Thank you for the ideas.
4.  We look at just about every uniform change as something we might do for the core members of SG1.

Roddy DeHart
Will we see another incarnation of Rodney McKay?? Please?? Tshirt, black ops, space suit, blue stripe jacket, something!?

DSTChuck: Its possible but I think there are still new characters we’d like to do before we get to more Rodneys.

Andy Kinnear
I knew I was forgetting a couple yesterday! SG1 - Are there any pictures of the upcoming Wave 5 Horus guard at this point? Re Galactica - has the Razor wave gone into widespread distribution in Europe? None of my local retailers have received it yet. - I have seen several UK based entries though on Ebay? Thanks again.

DSTChuck: I thought we had shown those but I’ll check with marketing. He is sitting on my shelf approved. We do have a distributor in the UK in fact it’s the same company that handles Stargate. Perhaps the retails they sell to did not order enough product for demand?

Karl Sherrel
1. I realy like the “Longshot” Anders and Mortar Pack Cylon TRU exclusives. When will these be hitting the TRU stores?
2. Play.com has a pre-order for Saul Tigh Season 4 figure. Is this a part of Wave 5 or a one figure deal?
3. The Boomer/Athena 2 pack looks awesome and I look forward to adding to my collection. Is there any plans to release the Boomer in civilian outfit?

DSTChuck:
1.  They should be in stores now..
2.  Tigh is part of a two pack with Gaeta.
3.  We’ve been very anxious to get some #8’s out there after so many false starts but for now we’ll stick with the two pack and see how it sells, before we plan more figures..

Maik Wrase
I was wondering if you will bring out A BSG Boomer / Athena figure in the Flight suit?

DSTChuck: See the answer to Karl’s question.

Roddy DeHart
Can you make the next Atlantis Build it a modified Borg Alcove to be the Atlantis Stasis Chamber? It could come with a removable, clear blue plate in front to make it look like someone is in stasis. Or it could be an exclusive with a Carson Beckett Figure. I would buy a $30-$40 Alcove and Beckett. A Pegasus DHD would also be acceptable. Bring on Atlantis Series 4! Please!!

DSTChuck: I don’ t think that’s something we’d be able to cover the cost for, but you never know. Still working with sales to see how viable a four wave of Atlantis is without the show being on the air.

Kushmeer Farakhan
Hey again guys. 4 questions.
1. In the previous Q and A you mentioned that you wouldn’t put two minor or B characters in a 2 pack and would need an more major one in the pack to make sure it would sell. Well…who other than the obvious main cast members (Adama, Starbuck, Apollo, Six, Boomer, Baltar) would count as a major character. You said that my suggestions of 2 packs(Gaeta/Sarek and CAlly/Seelix) probably wouldn’t work because they are two B characters. Who exactly are the main characters in you guys’ opinion?
2. I’m happy to hear that we’re gonna get a Longshot Anders and more Cylon Centurions at Toys R us. When are they coming out and is series 4(Roslin, Adama, etc.) going to be at Toys R us too?
3. How many figures can we expect in the 5th wave? Obviously we’re getting Col. Tigh and Baltar but who else is a real possibility? I have a hard time finding BSG toy fan forums so I don’t know who everybody else wants. I know I really want a Tory figure as part of the assortment (my dream assortment would probably be Tigh, Baltar, Tory, Gaeta and Cally…and maybe Cavill) but I don’t think Tory is that popular with other fans online. Is she a good possibility? Are any of the ones I mentioned likely?
4. I know this was covered last time but there are MANY sites online claiming to be re-releasing Chief Tyrol? Any truth to that? Why are all the other toy sites having preorders for him? I’m trying to decide if i want to go ahead and try to buy a pricy one online or should I just buy the re-release? Thanks guys! Best toy site ever!

DSTChuck: Ok here we go Kushmeer;
1.  I think you pretty much listed the A characters on the show, the only change I would argue for is adding a Cylon as the A character.
2.  TRU should have new BSG figures right now. The waves and mix of characters comic stores get VS the characters TRU gets are not the same so I can’t really say. At this point I think we’re going to take BSG one wave at a time.
3.  Right now Tory is not on the line plan BUT I have to be honest with you, she has in fact been on the plan  before and we do have a sweet head scan I’d love to be able to use.
4.  I have no idea why fans would want us to make more Chief figures, he is STILL in stock at our webstore.  The recent listing we placed in Previews was to sell those, not to announce a new re-release.
Glad you like the site — drop by any time!

Jonathan Quirk
Could you please clarify what Jaffa figure will be in SG-1 wave 5? The Horus Guard that was announced (with the eagle helmet), the Anbis Guard seen at conventions earlier this year (with the jackel head), or both? Will one be a mail-away figure? Can you share pictures, please?!

DSTChuck: Horus Guard is the proper one to be included in the assortment.

Damon Klempner
Hi I was wondering if there’s a chance for Diamond to make a stargate sg1/ Atlantis ship series…I know the fans would jump at a chance to own some toy replicas of the gould and earth ships.

DSTChuck: The tooling cost and the production minimums required to make a full play plastic ship are much higher the sales our sales staff thinks they can sell. BUT never say never.

Agent 86
Dear DST,
1. Recently a fair amount of Battlestar Galactica merchandise has been announced as being exclusive to Toys R Us. I was wondering what that means for international fans of your Battlestar Galactica merchandise (both action figures and minimates). The local Toys R Us stores in Australia do not receive their US counterparts “exclusive” figures. Will the Toys R Us exclusives be available to international fans in the ordinary way (that is, available to international retailers to order) or will we have to resort to Ebay in order to obtain these new items?
2. Minimate Viper and Cylon Raider - HOW COOL! Thank you DST! Is there any chance of a Raptor or Cylon Heavy Raider down the line (with room for passengers) or would they be too big and/or costly to produce?
3. Ellen Tigh in action figure form? We can’t have a Saul Tigh without his ever-loving wife with whom he has been (in one form or another) for thousands and thousands of years. Their love story is almost as epic as Adama and Roslin. Not to mention their status as members of the “Final Five”. Thanks.

DSTChuck: Ok Agent 86 here we go;
1.  For international customers right now since we are not selling to TRU worldwide they have been nice enough to allow our sales folks to offer to international distributors. Now will they order them, that we can’t do anything about but they are being offered to the buyers. IF you want them tell your local store to bug their distributor.
2.  We’re not sure where the Miniflyer line is going to go but we have lots of plans that we think are pretty cool if the fans support the first release.
3.  We’d LOVE to do all the “skin jobs” at some point, especially the final five BUT you never know.

JP C
Thanks for the return of the BSG Minimates! Very excited to finally have the chance to pick up some of those previewed characters!
1. Would it be possible for DST to invest in a Minimate bald head with ears? I’m thinking Captain Picard and Tigh here, bald on top and hair on the sides. Both the Tigh and Picard Minimates suffered likeness-wise because without the ears their faces are all scrunched together. Your Back to the Future Doc Brown did something similar and looked great, as did the New Caprica Tigh with his hat!
2. What kind of packaging should we be looking for with the BSG TRU?
3. When is the Longshot Anders wave supposed to hit TRU? And thanks for another BSG surprise with that one!
4. How is the Roslin/Adama/Cain wave looking these days?
5. Will the SGA Keller figure ever be offered individually in the DST store? Can’t track a good one down locally and don’t want the others!

DSTChuck:
1.  A bald head with ears, that might be a little odd but you never know. Glad you liked the Doc Brown.
2.  All the TRU Minimates will come pack in the peak a boo window box just like Marvel line has been done.
3.  Longshot and the rest should be on stores now or will be at your local TRU very soon.
4.  The “leader wave” needs a little more support in the form of pre-orders from retailers for us to feel better about it.
5.  I don’t think we have any plans to go back and make more of any Stargate figures — especially just for the web store.

Mike L
Hey guys. With all the new Toys R Us exclusives, is there any chance we’ll be seeing more “re-makes”. Possibly a Dualla and Starbuck figure in their dress blues? Also, I remember complaining that the Gina action figure’s hair was way too blonde. Can you let us know the same problems won’t happen with Roslin and Cain? I’d much rather their hair be too dark than too light. And finally, can you fill us in on what accessories will be coming with wave 4 and the new 2-packs??

DSTChuck: I think for now with BSG we have so many characters we still want to get out there and so many other versions of popular characters that we’re not looking at straight re-makes right now. We always do the best we can to QC the productions of our lines so that the plan of course.

Blaine Rodenbaugh
So I have some BsG questions…
1- The Admiral Adama figure on Toysrus.com has a gold stripe, and on the Dst site has a red stripe. Can you tell us if this TrU one is an exclusive with different paint, or which is the correct one?
2.  Will there be any way to buy Saul Tigh through your site, or is there going to be a different one without his eye patch?
3. Has there been any confirmation on upcoming figures? Pleease, we would love to know who’s coming next!
4. lastly. Are the figures set to release going to be on time, or will there be anymore delays? Thanks a lot guys!!!!

DSTChuck: You have come to the right place Blaine.
1.  There will not be a paint variation on the SAME Adama, we have a couple versions plans reflecting some of his more iconic looks.
2.  For right now I think the first Tigh we release will be in the two pack with Gaeta. Those should be in all comic stores, web retailers and the diamondselecttoys.com site.
3.  We have not planned any waves past what you know, we are not holding back the information.
4.  We always HOPE to release something on time and do the best we can to achive that but there are so many factors we can’t control, its get frustrating for us as well. I can tell you right now the newest wave will be late. Sales is still trying to collect orders for us to pass the “go” threshold for this line.

Blaine Rodenbaugh
Ok, so I know I’m asking a lot of Q’ s about this, but I received an email saying that my pre-order of Saul from TRU’s site could not be completed, and that they were backordered…then today I checked the site and Saul and Adama were taken off completely. Is there a problem with the figures? What’s the deal? I was so excited about them!

DSTChuck: Blaine, do you think by sliding them in in small doses I would not notice?
But I am sorry to say I have no idea why TRU would change the list or such. You would have to ask them.

Chris Rinehart
Hello, Any chance of making a sticker sheet available with patches to customize Stargate figures? i.e. - Air Force patch, SG-1, -2.-3 etc., Earth patch, Atlantis, various country flags, ships and fighter pathces. They could be included with the figures or as a mail in or even a download that could be printed. Thanks for your time.

DSTChuck: Sorry I do not think we have any plans for some sort of sticker sheet.

Jonathan Quirk
Will the next series of Atlantis figures focus on season 5, like the last series focused on season 4? Richard Woolsey is a very popular character (and very familiar with genre fans due to “Star Trek: Voyager”), and if you did a Woolsey figure, then I figure (no pun intended) you could use the same body sculpt for a McKay figure in the new uniforms, and re-use the Keller/Carter body for a new Teyla figure, too (which would round out the season 5 main cast). Also, fan favorites like Ford, Lorne, Zelenka and Beckett could probably all be done with re-used series 1 Sheppard bodies (which would surely save money). Even with tough financial times, please assure us that the Stargate line won’t be discontinued!

DSTChuck:I think if we go forward with more Atlantic figure Woolsey is defiantly one we would strongly consider. Ford and Zelenka are on the list as well.

Mike L
1-I was wondering if you guys used similar head sculpts for the Ro’Laran Star Trek figure, and Admiral Cain? I think the star trek figure really looks like Michelle Forbes, but the Cain prototype looks “off” slightly.
2- Speaking of Michelle Forbes… With you guys already having rights to her face, and Anna Paquin’s likeness as well(rogue bust). I was wondering if you guys had considered the TrueBlood line, seeing how the Buffy line did so well??

DSTChuck:
1.  RO and Cain were done by totally different sculptors, so there is not re-use. Sorry you do not like the Cain as much, while many years have passed between the two shows I think the Cain likeness is pretty good.
2.  Right now no plans to explore the True Blood license.

Blaine Rodenbaugh
Will the Gaeta figure be coming with a removable leg and crutches???

DSTChuck: Hello again Blaine.  NO he will not have a removable leg.

Jonathan Quirk
Since waves 1 and 2 SG-1 figures are almost impossible to get nowadays, have you considered releasing two-packs of the SG-1 team in their trademark green uniforms, similar to the ST:TOS re-releases, to allow new collectors to get the entire team? Perhaps an O’Neill / Daniel two-pack, followed by a Carter / Teal’c pack? I realise you wouldn’t want to under-mine the value of the original releases by simply making more of the old figures, but perhaps you could make “new” versions of the classic team using existing sculpts: the General O’Neill head with brown hair on the Colonel O’Neill body, Daniel with a green bandana, Carter without the cap, Teal’c with hair, that sort of thing. This would serve as a good way for collectors to get invested in the SG figure line, and help improve interest in the later waves (most people wouldn’t want, say, a Hammond or a Baal if they didn’t have an SG-1 as well).

DSTChuck: We have considered some sort of SG1 box set with gate but we’re not moved past just discussing it.

Kevin Drinka
How well are the 12″ Stargate figures doing? Will we see the rest of SG-1 and Sheppard’s team from Atlantis?

DSTChuck: They are doing ok, based on sales I think its possible but not guaranteed that the line will go forward.

T.J. Burnside Clapp
I would love to know if you’re ever going to come out with a Dr. Carson Beckett figurine from Stargate: Atlantis. I have many friends who would definitely buy one (or possibly several!) if they were available. Thank you! -TJ Burnside Clapp

DSTChuck: We’d LOVE to. We’ll just have to see.

Blaine Rodenbaugh
Hey guys! I noticed that the number 8 two-pack was bumped up almost a month. That’s unsual b/c they’re normally pushed back. Any reason for it ?(not that I’m complaining) And also, I received an update email from dst, and it had pictures of the Tigh Gaeta 2-pack, but it’s not yet on your site?

DSTChuck: The Number 8 two pack seems to be moving along well, so cross your fingers.

Kurt Borden
How about an Apophis figure to go along with the release the new cut of “Children of the Gods?”

DSTChuck: Right now no plans for Apophis, sorry.

Kurt Borden
How are pre-sells going for the new SG-1 line? Are the numbers where they need to be? Should we ordered a few more? In terms of pre-sells, what is best for us to do? Should we pre-pay in a local comic store or reserve through an online store. Do orders with amazon or your own DST cite count towards pre-sell numbers? Will SG-1 wave meet its late summer ship date? One last question where is the Horus Guard photo?

DSTChuck: The numbers currently are a little less then we’d like them to be. I am sure the show being off the air is hurting support at retail.