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| Friday, 7th December 2007 |
| Hasbro Star Wars Q&A |
| Reported By - Phill - 23:13:51 (GMT) |
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Once again, Hasbro have come up with the goods! Take the jump to learn more about working in the happiest office on earth, why there won't be a candy-cane Vader under the tree this year, and what it takes to work for the big 'H'.
1. So - what's it like working at Hasbro ? Are the walls lined with case-fresh, mint-on-card figures ? Is there a giant vault somewhere containing one of each item from the Star Wars line - past and present ? Does the coffee lounge have a giant toybox where you can test the products ? C'mon - it's got to be a dream job for a fan - right ?
It's not quite the abundant vintage paradise that one might imagine, but toys do explode like popcorn kernels out of every nook and cranny. Actually, a lot of the stuff in offices and common spaces is mostly the "unglamorous" part of toy design - rough models, pre-production samples for debugging, competitive products, and the like. Definitely more a functional space than a workplace museum.
Space is pretty open in the Boys area, and that's part of the fun; people get to see what other people are working on and that fuels a cool cross-pollination among the teams. As far as office decor goes, recent products are mostly what is displayed since wall space is always a sought-after commodity, and upcoming or recent releases (TAC) tend to be the most exciting and get the prized space. While there are indeed Hasbro/Kenner archives that do boast some case-fresh gems, the archive is only partially complete. We have been there on a couple of occasions for "research" purposes...yeah, that's it....research.
2. There seems to be a distinct lack of a 'holiday' Star Wars figure for 2007 - did you take the hint from fans after the frankly poor ‘candy-apple' Vader last year ? Will we see this concept return ?
You won't see a holiday figure return for 2008, either…at least as we have known it. We didn't really feel there was anything we were excited about pursuing, and we have so many other ideas and projects in development for next year, it was a little hard to fit anything else in.
3. Given the amount of talented customisers out there, what are the skills you need to be a Hasbro action figure creator ? Product design ? Manufacturing ? Fine art ? Technical drawing ? Sculpture ?
All of our designers have either bachelors of science or bachelor of fine arts degress from schools like the Fashion Insitute of Technology (in New York), Cincinnati School of Design, Purdue University School of Design, etc. It's important that someone who is serious about joining Hasbro in toy design have a well-rounded skill set, including the critical ability to illustrate, work with and understand materials, cost analysis, project management, the ability to work with and across a wide-range of discplines, etc. We select designers based on their abilities to solve all sorts of conceptual problems related to toys - whether it is designing role play, girls toys, vehicles, soft goods, electronics...or action figures. It's rare for a Hasbro designer to work exclusively on action figures for any length of time.
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