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The All Terrain Scout Transport (AT-ST) walker strides across the ground searching for Rebel troopers. The armored vehicle's blaster cannons and concussion launcher give the walker plenty of firepower, while the height and mobility provide significant advantages during attacks.
The
Wookieepedia entry for the AT-ST vehicle starts off with a clever and
humorous opening that reads "AT-STs
will no longer be deployed on planets with an abundance of trees or other
known obstacles such as rock-wielding primitives." This
quote comes from the "AT-ST service manuals" found in The
New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels and while it is indeed
funny, how true it is! The AT-ST
was first seen in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back,
but it was only a mere glimpse and didn’t take up much time in
the film (or as much as we had hoped). In fact, the vehicle must have
made a poignant statement because it was quickly developed for a toy
in the 1981 The Empire Strikes Back line. It was a popular vehicle
from the start and George Lucas indirectly made up for its brief introduction
in Episode V by having them the main obstacles for the Rebel Alliance
in Episode VI during the Battle of Endor. The vintage mold of the AT-ST
was slightly retooled (and dramatically repainted) and saw subsequent
and different releases in the modern action figure line over time including
the 1996 POTF2, 2002 POTJ and 2007 TAC Star Wars toy lines. And while they
were all cool for the time, forget everything you think you know about
the AT-ST (All Terrain Scout Transport) and be prepared to feast your
eyes on the definitive release (sculpt-wise at least) of it. Hasbro flat
out nixed the idea of rereleasing the old vintage mold for another round
and built an all-new AT-ST from the ground up. We must immediately express
that it is indeed a most incredible vehicle we have seen in a while.
Hasbro made so many major enhancements that we never expected to ever
be included in a vehicle of this size and we are completely amazed. None
of us ever expected a vehicle to rival the articulation of the most super-articulated
action figures, did we?
We
didn’t realize just how “tiny” the original and rereleased
AT-ST vehicles were until we compared it to the new sculpt. Probably
a good one and a half times bigger, it is certainly much larger than
its ancestor. The new AT-ST can be posed in so many positions and can
be manipulated into so many configurations; you may just think you
are playing with a Transformers toy instead of a Star
Wars toy. (We are not kidding.) It is very impressive to say the
very least. We are thoroughly flabbergasted with the amount and level
of articulation Hasbro has decided to include for this vehicle. It
will no doubt serve as the template for all future AT-ST releases.
We have counted 22 points of articulation (give or take one or two)
on this beauty so you can imagine that the AT-ST’s movements
are essentially limitless. You can spread its legs wide and far apart
to recreate it tripping on the logs during the Battle of Endor or
you can make it collapse down to roughly the size of a mini rig. What
a fantastic capability for a vehicle to be this versatile and add so
much play value while still being unbelievably authentic to what was
seen in Episode VI. Each “leg” on the AT-ST sports seven
points of articulation themselves, while the rest can be found on the
head. The AT-ST is simply a perfect vehicle. It also comes with a Return
Of The Jedi specific pilot, simply called AT-ST Driver. The driver
is nothing new and is a repaint of the figure that came in 2007’s
TAC The Battle Of Hoth Ultimate Battle Pack multipack. This time
around though he has dark brown hair and his uniform has also been
cast (or painted) in a slightly darker color. It makes him new enough
in our books, but certainly not of the super-articulated quality we
are dying for in our collections. He comes with an Imperial issue blaster
that is rendered basically useless if you remove the band attaching
it to his hand because he is unable to hold it otherwise. We find this
a bit unfortunate, but after all, we realize his major weapon is the
AT-ST, the blaster is just gravy. While it is great to get a pilot,
we got flustered trying to get him to fit nicely in his seat. This
particular figure’s legs go into a wide position when seated
and we had to futz with them for longer than we wanted to in order
get him to look good in the seat. We hope that when it is time to get
our super-articulated AT-ST Driver that Hasbro tests to see if he fits
in this vehicle without issues first.
If
we were to pick at the AT-ST, we would have wished that more color
was applied to its rather bland and dull gray body. It looks a bit
too blemish free and clean especially if you compare the paint job
2007’s TAC The Battle Of Endor Ultimate Battle Pack to it.
There are some great rust stain patterns on the vehicle, but we think
overall it is way too faint (in our opinion). Don't get us wrong, there
are certainly a lot of marks on this vehicle, but it could have absolutely
used more (and darker) spots. We suppose we will never be happy when
it comes to acceptable paint jobs, so we apologize for our [what we
assume are] unattainable standards. Things like extra foliage/grass
stains on the AT-ST’s "feet" are just some examples
that we would have liked to see get transferred over to this release.
No matter, despite these minor complaints, we really couldn't ask for
more from Hasbro, we are just being whiners here. Perhaps the biggest
improvement on this vehicle besides its massive amount of articulation
is the thickness of the legs. While all other previous versions of
the vehicle have had unsound and unstable legs, the new AT-ST
has legs that are solid as a rock. They are thicker and made of a stronger
plastic and there are extra parts that reinforce the utilization of
them and it is truly a masterfully engineered product. It would definitely
be egregious to pass on this vehicle. And once again, the enhancements
are truly astounding. The scale is true to form and the shape of it
is beyond the par you would expect. And then there are all the other
fine details like a retooled cockpit to hold two AT-ST Driver action
figures and flip-up “eye” ports that stay open until you
decide to put them down. Another nice touch is the removable chin gun,
one made in authentic scale, and another one that has been designed
to shoot a missile for the kiddies. Altogether, this Walmart exclusive
impresses and satisfies in every way, well, except for maybe the price.
At just shy of $44, it seems like another packed in action figure would
have made this price a whole lot more palatable. Even so, we hope that
this vehicle makes its way into your collections, because we are thrilled
with ours!
Collector Notes
AT-ST (All Terrain Scout Transport)
Assortment Number: 91943
UPC: 653569435068
Retail: $44.99 USD
Market Value: Click here to check the latest prices based on
listings.
AT-ST (All Terrain Scout Transport)
Status: AT-ST (All Terrain Scout Transport) is an all-new vehicle.
Articulation Count: 21
Articulation Details: swivel cockpit, hinge-jointed roof, hinge-jointed hatch, 2 front opening "eye" ports, 2 swivel cannon, swivel turret, hinge-jointed chin gun, 2 double ball-jointed leg extensions, 2 swivel "hips", 2 swivel "knees", 2 hinge-jointed "knees", 2 hinge-jointed "feet"
Accessory Count: 3
Accessory Details: interchangeable chin gun with action feature, 2 missile projectiles
Date Stamp: 2009
AT-ST Driver
Status: AT-ST Driver is a repaint of the figure from 2007's TAC The Battle Of Hoth Ultimate Battle Pack set.
Articulation Count: 10 points
Articulation Details: swivel neck, 2 swivel shoulders, 2 swivel elbows, 2 swivel gloves, swivel waist, 2 swivel hips
Accessory Count: 1
Accessory Details: removable helmet
Date Stamp: 2004