Stargate Action Figure Q&A

GateWorld continues our on-going Q&A with Stargate action figure creator Diamond Select Toys, with questions submitted by readers at GateWorld Forum! We are now taking questions for the next round, so visit the forum if you have a question you don’t see answered here — or in these previous installments:

DST has just announced Series 2 of Stargate Atlantis, featuring Dr. Rodney McKay, Teyla, a Wraith Queen, a limited Field Ops McKay and the Previews exclusive Athosian Teyla, all in 7-inch plastic glory! These figures will be available in early 2008; Series 1 (Sheppard, Weir, and a Wraith officer) should be in stores next month.

On the SG-1 front, Series 3 is now available with Cameron Mitchell, Vala Mal Doran, Black-Ops Daniel Jackson, and an Ori Prior. Series 4 is expected in December, with Jonas Quinn and Desert Camo versions of the original SG-1 team (Jack O’Neill, Samantha Carter, Daniel Jackson, and Teal’c).

Questions below are organized by each release series. Our thanks to everyone who submitted questions, and to Michael and Chuck at Diamond Select Toys for participating.

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Are the wave 1 figures gone forever? Am I shut out? Are subsequent waves still available?
Chances are yes you are out of luck if you want that exact figure, we have some of series 2 and 3 still in stock and the core team is back this winter in their desert camo outfits so you will have a second chance at Jack.

If DST ever plans to release another Jack O’Neill figure, will he be packaged with the correct Gate piece?
The camo assortment will have all the proper pieces.

Why was the convention exclusive Daniel Jackson figure not packaged with glasses?
In some cases like that we can’t pack with accessories due to the way the steel tools used to make the figure are set up.

Why do none of the Daniel figures to date include vests?
Each figure we have to make sure it hits a certain costing level and we hoped Daniel could carry the vest but he was not able to. That does not mean he will never have a vest.

Should we expect future figures of Cameron Mitchell to be packaged with the piece of the D.H.D. he will come packaged with in Wave 3? If so, will future Vala figures be packaged with the other D.H.D. piece, or should we expect her only to come with the Ori communication device?
If we go back and make those characters in a new assortment then you never know what we will pack them with. It might even be something 100 percent new.

Why do Cameron and Black Ops Daniel have the Wave 1 legs, as opposed to the updated knee joints style that we saw in wave 2?
Cam and Daniel body style was the O’Neill, so he got the cut knee.

Why was Black Ops Teal’c packaged with the glider gun, when it was originally shown in the hands of Offworld green Teal’c?
We had the glider planned for a figure that did not end up finding a home so we slid it in there so we’d be sure fans could get one.

Is there a chance of having a Season Ten Off-World Vala in the near future? Also with a better face sculpt? The Off-World Vala we have now does not look like Claudia Black.
If we do more SG-1, Vala is on the short list for sure. Ponytail, anyone?

For a figure to be considered will it have to have been part of the show for a decent length of time or as long as it was memorable enough would you include it? I’m thinking in particular about a set of Teal’c, Daniel, Jack, and Carter from the episode “1969.” I think it would be great to have them all in their hippy form, but is one appearance enough to be considered?
There is no hard-and-fast rule, but one shots are not something we look at strongly.

Why do the SG-1 teams not have the Air Force patch? You have the SG-1 patch and the Earth patch — is it due to copyright from the Air Force?
It was just a judgment call.

The Ori Prior in Series 3 appears to be William B. Davis from the episodes “Babylon” and “The Fourth Horsemen.” Any special reason why he was chosen for the Prior figure?
We thought it would be a neat wink and nod to sci-fi fans.

I liked the thought of collecting figures for the mail-in Jaffa offer. Will we get the chance to send in for another special figure in Wave 4?
We’ll keep the mail in offers coming as long as we can.

If DST decides to make another mail-away figure offer with, say, Series 4 or 5 of the SG-1 line, will DST accept the proof of purchase from Series 3 since that wave had no mail-away figure?
I think we would but we’ll see when that time comes.

The desert camo uniforms in Wave 4 seem to have green “splotches,” which look nothing like the desert uniforms from the show. Will the color be changed before wave 4 goes into production?
All figures for Wave 4 that you have seen are hand prototypes, so we’ve got a little ways to go still.

What colour will the Jonas Quinn figure be? Will he be in a desert camo uniform like the rest of Wave 4, or in the regular green SG-1 outfit?
Green to match the first couple releases for the team.

When can we expect a Black Ops Carter?
Again — if we do more SG-1 that’s another one that would be high on our list!

What is DST doing about all of the broken hands that are happening with the Colonel O’Neill figures? (The store I bought them from will not exchange or return the figure.)
We had a few request back when the figure first came out, and if your store can’t help you contact DST customer service.

The one figure I would like to see more than any other is a Kull Warrior / Super Soldier. Since you now have Anubis, it would make sense. Any plans?
We’ve considered Super Soldier in the past, so you never know.

Which of these villains are we most likely to see in action figure form first: Apophis, Baal, or Adria?
For what its worth, I like Baal and we have a SUPER SWEET head scan of him.

Do you have the license to make toys specific to the SG-1 movies (“The Ark of Truth” and “Continuum”)?
Honestly we’re not 100 percent sure, so we’ll have to ask MGM when the time comes.

The Atlantis Dr Weir and Colonel Sheppard figures have incredible details and likeness to Ms. Higginson and Mr. Flannigan! Are the tactical vests removable from the Field Ops versions, or are they moulded to the torso? Do the standard figures come with tac vests, like the SG-1 figures?
Glad you like them. They both were GREAT when we scanned them, and the folks’ at Jean St Jean studios jobs get better with each wave (if that’s possible). Yes, the vests are removable.

Why was the Weir figure repainted to be a Black Ops version? Will the non-Black Ops version be released as well? (Also, which episode of Atlantis was the Black Ops idea based upon?)
Each version of Weir and Sheppard will have a different paint scheme to make them easier to distinguish.

On the open-jacketed versions of Dr. Weir and Sheppard it looks like the jacket is sculpted seperately. Does this mean the open jackets will be removable and come with alternate t-shirt arms?
While to add detail the jackets ARE sculpted over a torso to add depth, they are not removable.

Will DST consider making an accessory pack of weapons and show specific artifacts and items (something along the lines of the Buffy weapons and magic packs)?
I don’t think so, sorry.

I have noticed that the weapons really seem to come in an idle state and the hands aren’t really formed for holding them in any sort of “action pose.” The zats in particular are in their closed form, rather than open and ready to fire away. Was there any particular reason why these accessories were chosen this way? Should we expect to see something close to some open zats in the possible future?
As we do more figures and if we update them that’s something we’d consider.

Will there be any distinguishing differences between the accessories that come with Avalon Vala and Season Nine Offworld Vala? I’ve seen a zat and a green control crystal. I’m very anxious to hear what else she may come with!
By now she is on shelves so we hope your happy with her.

Instead of pieces to build an accessory like the Stargate for the figures, would DST consider including pieces with the figures to construct a life size role-play toy/prop replica? Not anything too large, but maybe some something like a G.D.O., zat, or Goauld hand device? Or maybe something like a Replicator?
I think all the items you list (as most would be) are too large and complicated to include so we’ll most likely stick to the same vein we’ve been doing.

Will the D.H.D. have power crystals inside?
Nope.

What happened to the M.A.L.P. we saw in the Toy Fair photos? Is it a work in progress or possibly the Wave 4 build-accessory?
It had to be cut from Wave 3 for costing but now its alive and well in Wave 4.

Why were there no accessories with the Daniel/Anubis two-pack?
It was a costing and production issue.

Because Thor was released with a round-mouse-like object, does this suggest a possible control console in mind for a future wave?
Sorry, but no.

Although you do not have the license to make playsets, do you have the license to make an Ancient control chair with O’Neill or Sheppard like the “captain’s chair” dioramas that were done for Kirk and Picard? Are there any plans to do so?
I see no reason why we could not do that, but we have no plans for now. We’ve got a long way to go to just cover the Atlantis team.

You recently announced that the Desert Combat figures will come with the transport rings. How will the rings be broken up with the figures? One ring per figure to build four rings, or the total number of five rings but in “quarter-stacked segments?”
Two of the figures will come with 1/2 each.

Does this mean that future SG-1 and Atlantis main cast figure sets will have a different piece of equipment or technology from the Stargate world to build, like the Earth gate with Green Off-World SG-1, the M.A.L.P. with Desert Combat SG-1, and the Atlantis gate with waves 1 and 2 of Atlantis?
I think by now you’ve seen all the accessories for the first four waves of SG1 and the first two waves for Atlantis. Hope you like them.

Does fan input have any impact on desions about which characters are being made or what accessories that they come with? If so, can you give an example of a figure that was influenced by fan requests?
We’re still really just covering the core members of the team but I will say the outcry for hinge knees lead to the change in Series 4.

Does DST have the license to do Minimates of both SG-1 and Atlantis? i was thinking it would be great for the Stargate that we have now. It’s a perfect fit for them in this scale. What do you think?
We don’t like to give out specifics of our licenses BUT Minimates would make sense — right?

Will the SG-1 and Atlantis series’ be alternated (say, one wave of SG-1 figures, them a wave of Atlantis figures, then SG-1 again and so forth) or will the two series be released independently of each other?
We’ll try and mix them up but I don’t think we have an exact rhythm locked in yet.

Would DST ever consider running a poll, with the most popular character being made as a “fans’ choice” release?
Generally we shy away from things like that. The percentage of fans that respond to online polls is not always a reflection of the fan base’s overall intentions or wishes.

Given how re-use is important to keep costs down, is it more likely that we will see characters like a Jonas Quinn head on an existing SG body than entirely new characters like Hammond or an Unas?
In general, yes — but we don’t make any decisions 100 percent based on cost.

Would you be willing to share the process of how you design a figure, from the start when you decide which characters to make, right through to the point it is sent for mass production?
Love to — just not in a forum like this. That would be long! If that’s something the forum wants, just tell the mods to hook something up with us.

Do you plan on doing any more two-packs (like the Ascension two pack) in the future?
The Ascension pack did pretty well so its something we’re considering.

On the chance DST ever makes an Apophis in gold serpent armor, is it likely a matching serpent helmet would be included or left out as done with Serpent Teal’c?
It will depend on the costing of the other figures in the series or two-pack.

Given that the head/neck articulation does lend itself to “head swaps” would there be any chance that we could see a figure with an extra head as an accessory? It could be, say, with hat and no hat, or different hair styles from different seasons of the show.
Nope, that’s something we traditionally shy away from.

Will there be a Comic-Con exclusive?
Not for the ’07 SDCC.

How far ahead have the lines been planned or is the planning very flexible with changes being constantly made?
We plan about three waves at a time, so two ahead. We don’t like to change unless its something HUGE — if we did, we’d always be updating based on last week’s episode and never get anything done.

What is your favorite Stargate figure so far?
Sheppard in Atlantis Series 1 — I LOVE the expression, I think its pure Sheppard.

Which SG-1 figure has had the best sales from the DST Web site — or have they all done equally well?
They have all done well. If I had to pick, I think Jackson might be in a slight lead.