This week, DSTChuck answers your Battlestar Galactica and Stargate questions! And it all starts after the break!

Chris Gren

Going jump in with questions: 1). With another (the Tigh/Gaeta) two-pack announced, does this mean that DST is leaning more towards the two-packs? 2). Is there going to be a 5th wave of action figures? 3). I know EVERYONE asks this, but is there any chance of a Number Three action figure? 4). What are the chances of a Cavil figure? maybe in a two-pack with Ellen

DSTChuck: Ok lets see:

1) No we do two packs when it seems to fit and it’s a good way to mix two minor characters to pull each others sales up or a main character and a lesser. I would not say it’s a focus - the higher SRP does concern us.

2) I would say at this point its possible but not guaranteed.

3) I think at this point chances are slim for #3 but never say never.

4) It’s a character we’d like to do…

Mike L

After getting the major characters out, is there any chance you may do anymore Pegasus characters? such as Thorn, Hoshi, Cains XO, ect? I could see Hoshi especially because he did become a core character on the Galactica.

DSTChuck: I think overall we’re done with Pegasus but your right if we did one I think it would be Hoshi.

Chris Gaskill

Hello. I am a huge Art Asylum/DST fan and I really love the Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek Lines, I own every one. With that said it is very frustrating when new figures are announced and prototypes shown and then after months of delays and continually pushed back released dates the figures are cancelled generaly due to, as you have said, lack of retailer support. Is it possible to get the retailer support first and then announce the new figures to us when all the orders you require from retailers have been placed and the figures are in production. This would certainly relieve a lot of the disappointment and frustration with fans getting so excited about the new figures, the ones that we have been teased with, only to have them ultimately not getting produced. If the type of situation continues to occur it could lose DST some valued customers. I am very pleased with the quality of your products and the selection we have gotten so far. Thank you very much for the wishes that you have been able to make come true with the figures that have made it to the shelves so far. Thanks again, Chris.

DSTChuck: Glad to have you onboard!

We very much understand your frustration and disappointment and we are right there with you. We do as much polling ahead of time as we can — it saves us lots of effort and money as well, but when you want to go out to comic stores the only way to really do that is Previews. Going forward we’re going to try and sharpen our focus as much as possible while that means less risky projects for a little while, it should also mean less cancelled items.

JP C

SERIOUSLY? You wrote: “The “leader wave” needs a little more support in the form of pre-orders from retailers for us to feel better about it.” and “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.” SERIOUSLY? This is YOUR FAULT! I was just about to jump into the Battlestar figures with the announcement of all the new characters coming soon, and I even bought “Longshot” Anders yesterday because he is so much better than the previous version. (Love the accessorized boots!) But now here you are telling me that you STILL have not put the Adama/Roslin wave into production? How can you operate like this? You LIE to your customers! Your in-store dates are an absolute joke, and EVERYONE knows it. YET, you continue to tell us the figures are coming on a certain date when you haven’t even said “go?” Isn’t that illegal? It’s certainly poor business conduct, and treating your customers like crap. It takes at LEAST three months for figures, once in production, to come out. If you haven’t said “go” for Adama/Roslin at this point, there is no WAY you can hit your advertised 8/12 release date, and you KNOW this, therefore you are LYING to your customers! Spin away, but this is exactly why your pre-order sales suck. Also, we’re in a recession - I am NOT about to tie up money I may need now on figures I have no idea when they will arrive because of your shoddy production process. Another reason I won’t pre-order? Because the Buffy Collector Club which you sponsored STILL won’t return the money of mine they have in pre-orders for figures DST CHOSE not to release. I will not pre-order figures again - but I will buy figures when they come out. This is a situation in which your company has placed itself because guess what? This industry is on to you. We know how you operate, and we wait and see because almost EVERY product you release has the same issues, and we as consumers are sick of it. You couldn’t even sell a Seven of Nine figure - THAT is pathetic. Like I said, I bought the new Anders, and all five of the new Minimates as soon as I could. I was excited for these new products mainly because I only had to wait a couple of weeks to get them, and they were absolutely coming, along with Series II which completes the character line-up. But now you tell me Roslin and Adama aren’t preselling ENOUGH for you, so you’re just going to wait and see, wait while more pre-orders drop away, while more interest in the property fades, and miss the window of opportunity presented by the broadcast of “The Plan,” the last of this version of BSG, to have new product on the shelf. How do you justify the way in which you operate, in which you lie to fans, waste your properties and never release products? I buy your products when they are released, but your current business model refuses to give me the chance to do so.

DSTChuck: I am not sure there is a question here but I’ll do the best I can to find someway to make this productive.

1)Addressing the comments I made in a previous Q&A. I can only be honest with the fans, if it’s going to be late I tell you, and I tell you the reason why. You might not like the answer (and I would not if I were you) but its honest. Where is the spin? Do you think its fun for DST to develop, sculpt approve, prototype, advertise etc.. and item and then cancel it and get nothing back? I can tell you its been shocking to us here that some of the items we’ve solicited have not found support. If anything I think I am guilty of trying too hard to make an item happen, thus causing the delay. It would be easier to just cancel then when we hear from sales and move on.

2)The roll of pre-orders in production. To some extent every company that manufactures items relys on pre-orders. If the economy were better or the track record of an item was better, we’d rely on them for a smaller % of our planned run but it would still be a factor. Are fans/ retailers pre-ordering less DST items now since they are not sure the product will come out. I think I agree with you and that’s very possible and again I don’t blame them. BUT why were there no orders for Borg? We’d not cancelled a Trek action figure assortment before that and as you say its “pathetic ” to think we could nto get enough orders to go in production BUT fact is we did not. For BSG same thing, we had never before cancelled a BSG asst and this has several characters that were high on fans most requested list. The fact is times are tight and retailers are being very cautious as are fans. They do not want to end up with a product that might not sell. DST is being cautions as well, we’re picking our spots very carefully. Have we made some poor choices? No dout. But we’ve been able to re-configure some projects like Miniflyers and BSG Minimates and get them to fans in a way that makes sense - and we plan to continue to do just that.

3)DST has nothing and has never had to do anything with the Buffy collector club so I can’t comment on their business practices, and we’ve never endorsed them in any way.

Will Bueche

(This question has been prepared as a more even-tempered phrasing of a rather invective question submitted by another fan.) About the Adama / Roslyn/Cain wave and the pre-order threshold, are you bearing in mind that the recession may be causing many people to no longer place pre-orders? To place a pre-order without reliable information about when the transaction will occur means that those who preorder take the risk of being blindsided when a wave finally and unexpectedly arrives on these shores. And yet, once figures arrive, people do indeed buy — on a day or week when they feel safe, a week when rent is not due. I understand that DST takes an ultra-conservative approach that has served DST well, while other companies take greater risks and sometimes go out of business, but, isn’t it possible that the ultra-conservative approach may in this particular time be hurting sales more than helping them? After all, you’ve now seen how quickly the unexpected ToysRUs BSG figures are sold. People are still buying! They’re buying from the cash they have in their pockets. Times have changed. They buy what is released, not what is suggested may someday be released.

DSTChuck: Will much of what you say is very true! Its also very true to the core of our thinking. We are very aware of the struggles fans and retailers are having every day with the recession, its affecting everyone. You are also correct DST products traditional do very well once they are on store shelves, we’ve been very fortunate to have that level of fan support. I would not say however we are ultra-conservative. We’re not going to act like a company that’s here for a one time hit or miss. For example if we sell ALL the Enterpise D we made in our initial production run, we’ll still not have broken even. So we’re willing to risk it and buy some inventory for the right item but we need to see a good initial response or a trend that shows we’re going in the right direction. Have we made the right call everytime– No I am sure we haven’t, but we’re doing the best we can. We keep calling and keep coming up with ideas to keep an item in play and I know those delays can be very frustrating — we’re truly sorry and we regret every one!

Brian Petersen

Since Star Trek accessories (like the Phaser) look so beautiful, I was wondering if you guys would consider moving over to doing the handhelds from Stargate or BSG? I’d love a Zat or a Wraith Stunner with the amount of detail and sound quality that have been put into the Star Trek items.

DSTChuck: We’ve very much looked at ships and roll plays for both those properties, sales is just not sure they have a deep enough following to justify the very large production runs needed to make products like that.
Jesse Melo

since there’s no immediate plans for future waves of SG-1/ Atlantis, how long would it take to bring out the next wave if you guys give the green light? Is there head scans ready for the next possible waves? with Atlantis season 5 dvd sales over 100,000 in its’ first week, does that affect the thinking of adding future waves? These lines are done with great detail and would be a shame to be discontinued, would the success of wave 5 jump start talks? Thanks so much for these blogs, it shows your commitment to us fans! take care

DSTChuck: We’re not really saying we’re done with Stargate products, its more a wait and see. If the DVD movies do real well and the new show Universe takes off or Atlantis DVD movies happen we’re ready to get going, even with out a new show or spike in interest we’re still going to try and get some products out to fans in 2010.

Agent 86

Dear Sir/Madam, Not really a question, more of a comment. Lucy Lawless, the actor who played D’Anna Biers/Number Three on “Battlestar Galactica” is going to be at San Diego Comic Con as part of the “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” presentation. Is there any chance that DST could approach Lucy Lawless at SDCC and obtain her written approval to release the already sculpted D’Anna Biers action figure? Thanks.

DSTChuck: We would have loved to but something like that has to be handled by the studio as part of a larger relationship and to the potential benefit of everyone that makes BSG products.

Jesse Melo

HI Since the first SG-1 series is next to impossible to get, has DST thought about a 2 pack of repacks of series one? Example Jackson and o’neill in one of them and a serpent guard with another but with an apophis head instead? This way it will keep the rarity of series one packaging intact and at the same time allow new fans the opportunity to collect the hard to find original SG-1 team. Thanks

DSTChuck: We have considered numerous ideas to get more of the initial Gate and the core team into circulation we’ve just not settled on the right combination to do that.

Callum Templeton

Hi, I am a Big Fan of your Stargate Figures and I don’t know if you’ll be able to tell me but I heard a rumor that Stargate SG-1 Series 5 wont be coming out. I was wondering if this was true? if it is, is there anyway to bring them out? like what is the best website to order from that will help you guys at DST out? thanks for your time^^ Sincerely Yours Callum Templeton

DSTChuck: Callum, were not giving up yet its just that the order are much lower then they were with previous waves, maybe its character selection, maybe it’s the economy, maybe folks didn’t like our sculpts, maybe it’s the economy. Whatever it is, were going to do our best to get these out there..

Blaine Rodenbaugh

I had asked about an “Eye Patch Tigh” figure on the ToysRus site in the last blog, but it went off the site so I assumed they just didn’t know it would be a 2-pack, but now it’s back up there for pre-order, and it says TRU exclusive, so I was wondering what the differences would be between that one and the one in the 2pack? Would you also be able to tell us if there are any other exclusives coming our way soon, and if series 4 really will be out August 12???? Thanks guys!

DSTChuck: TRU will be the only one getting that partial version of Tigh. They are proceeding in production but will not be in stores in August. We were asked to get something else BSG in stores in that slot and this wave will come shortly after those.

Kushmeer Farakhan

hey there again, guys. Questions, Questions! 1. What is the current status of the 4th wave of figures for BSG? I know a lot of it depends on preorders but well, not everybody is able to preorder. I have financial issues but I tried to get a credit card just to preorder the wave and I was denied so I couldn’t do it. Is there any possible system that can be worked out for those who don’t have credit/debit cards to do preorders or some kind of reserves? I’m a loyal fan who plans on buying most to all of this line(I just bought a Chief Tyrol from scifigenre.com) and I know I’m not the only one who has this problem. 2. Back to the top of my first question, if preorders are still low for the 4th wave, can we have it partially or something? I want all 4 of them but I think most of us would be satisfied if we can only have Adm. Adama and Roslin maybe as a 2 pack. 3. I was overjoyed to see that Tigh and Gaeta 2 pack but i’m a little saddened to see there’s no actual 5th wave planned. What happened? What on earth happened to the Baltar figure? Is it a actor approval issue with him? Any chance on that Tory figure we touched on last time? 4. Just a comment here. Thanks for going with Eyepatch Tigh over regular. It’s more iconic and again, i’m just thrilled to finally see my favorite character as a figure. Thanks, guys.

DSTChuck: 1) While we’re happy that you want to help, we don’t want any fan to do anything they should not do to help move a line forward. OF primary concern to us is retailer support so if you have a local store go in and tell them that you want BSG figures and offer to out a small deposit down so he can order them for you. We do not expect everyone to pre-order, if we did we’d have no stock the day after the item comes out, we just use that as a gauge along with retailer feedback to plan our production.

2) We’re far from giving up on these figures!

3) There are no problems with any of the actors from BSG I have meet most of them and they are VERY supportive and happy to see themselves as action figures.

Kushmeer Farakhan

Oh, and one more quick question(sorry for the seperate sendings). What’s the deal with the Starbuck/Leoben 2 pack? It’s been pushed back a billion times. Is it coming out? I can’t be the only one who wants it. How are the Tigh/Gaeta and Athena/Boomer ones doing so far? Are either in any danger or are they more sure things?

DSTChuck: No problem man it all works out in the end. We had to push the two pack back to line up with some other production to make the lower production run possible but we’ve go it scheduled and moving along now! I HOPE your not the only one that wants it or we’re in big trouble. The two packs do ok for us, not so well that we can do lots of them but they have their place. I think with Boomer almost no matter what the order are we’re going forward with that two pack- we almost have no choice after all the stops an stops that characters figure has had.

Andy Kinnear

It was recently commented on a SG1 figures thread that SG1 Wave 5 was not seen at SDCC because preorders have been poor, and it was not going into production. (Ie its suspended / cancelled). Although I am skeptical and seriously hoping someone has a rotten sense of humour, is there truth in this? If it is true, does this mean the DST / AA’s Stargate line now dead in the water?

DSTChuck: Lets say the Stargate line is suspended for right now, we’re going to let the franchise itself get going again and take it from there. No one here thinks we’re done making Stargate products!

Brian Petersen

I have to say the best special feature of the new BSG complete series DvD set is one of the coolest action figures ever!

DSTChuck: Oh hey man glad you like it, a project like that rarely comes along but when it does its real cool and we hope it will greatly expand the number of people aware of the toys.

Callum Templeton

Hi DST would it be possible for you to post in package shots of Stargate SG-1 Series Five?Thanks^^

DSTChuck: If they existed we’d be happy to post them but for now, sorry.

Will Bueche

Just want to say I was impressed by the unique Cylon included in the BluRay series set — there are painted bulletholes across it’s chest and shoulders. The bulletholes are especially well done, with two shades of grey/black (similar to those bullethole stickers you can get for your car). Well done. I can’t endure another Cylon variant personally so I won’t ask for myself, but on behalf of anyone whose Cylon army is still short a centurian or two, I will ask: Do you plan to sell this particular Cylon outside of the BluRay series set?

DSTChuck: No sorry we might do something LIKE it but that will remain exclusive to the set.

Mike L

Hi guys! A couple of questions… I’ve seen a couple of different paint stripes on the Adama figure, and I was wondering if the actual figure will just have the red stripe, or if he’ll have the red&yellow stripe? I was also wondering if the ToysRus exclusive Tigh will be different from the 2pack, and if so, how? And lastly, I almost bought a plastic model of a Raptor that apparently has been made to fit 2 figures into, and it was selling on a site for $200. Now, I’m sure I’m not the only crazy who would pay it, and I know your plastic ships sell for about $40. Is there any chance we’ll see maybe a viper and raptor for the 7inch line? I know plenty of people who would gladly pay $40-$50, and I think it’s very reasonable! Thanks again for the blog-love you guys!!

DSTChuck: Yes Tigh will be different from the two pack and we envision multiple Adamas beign done before we’re done with the line. Right now we have no plans to make plastic ships for the BSG line but its discussed almost daily around here.

Will Bueche

On the heels of my note about reluctance to place pre-orders, I just received word that ToyRocket.com, one of the sources for BSG figure pre-orders, has filed for bankruptcy protection. Could you shed some light on whether DST will still be shipping them the various upcoming BSG figures (wave 4 and the related 2-packs)? Or had ToyRocket not paid DST for these yet? (This question only matters if they intend to try to continue operations during their bankruptcy protection). Anyway, my lesson is learned: Don’t pre-order in this economy!

DSTChuck: I am sorry but I can not help you with that, that will be taken care of by the credit department and sales. If they do end up closing we’re very sorry for them and their staff as well as any fans that will be affected by their closing.
Constantine Romanello

Dear DST/Art Asylum, I’m a big fan of Stargate Atlantis. Whilst the show has ended, I hope and pray that you will still continue the Atlantis figure line. I realize that the economic crisis has hit all of us. But, I am positive that if we fans could stand by our show for the last 5 years, we are able to stand by and support the next waves of figures. The show is blessed with wonderful characters e.g. Dr Beckett, Dr Zelenka, Major Lorne, Todd and Michael (Wraith 2 pack), Hybrid Ford that it is such a shame to not let these figures see the light. Please, have faith in us fans/customers as we put our faith in you.

DSTChuck:I have to be honest with you the cancellation of Atlantis caught us off guard and certainly does not send the message we all want to send to the retail community. We’ve not given up yet though.