Hasbro takes a stab at crowdfunding, starts off with massive vintage Star Wars toy

Hasbro is taking on crowdfunding and is taking an unusual approach to it. But if you’re a diehard fan of the company’s toys, Haslab, as Hasbro calls it, might be an exciting concept for you. The crowdsourcing program kicks off with something massive—quite literally. It’s a 4-foot long, 14lbs recreation of Jabba’s Sail Barge from Return of the Jedi. Launching Haslab allows the company to develop more premium toys that would seem a bit too much for the mainstream toy market. It’s for enthusiasts who are willing to shell some precious moolah for limited edition toys.

What’s unusual about this crowdsourcing platform is that Hasbro will announce a possible project and if the product meets its preorder goals, the company will make the toy. If it doesn’t the toy won’t get made and its backers won’t be charged for the preorders. In the case of the Sail Barge, its target is 5,000 preorders at a very premium price of US$500 apiece and the company hopes to reach this goal before April 13. The Barge is part of Hasbro’s newly revived 3.75” “Vintage Collection” of Star Wars action figures. It features a fully detailed interior with removable panels, fabric sails a special figure of Jabba himself, as well as a production booklet how the vehicle was translated from the movie to the figure.

Source: io9