AT-AT Commander - TVC - Basic (VC05)

The AT-AT Commander may just be a figure that will stir up some controversy, but we hope it doesn't. While he isn’t the first “generic” AT-AT Commander figure we have received in the basic figure line (remember the 1998 POTF2 Imperial AT-AT vehicle pack-in figure?), it is more than evident that he is definitely NOT General Veers. If you go and dust off 2006’s TSC General Veers (SAGA 007) figure, you will notice immediately that it looks exactly like the actor in The Empire Strikes Back. But this new figure in the opening act of The Vintage Collection makes it clear that he definitely isn't Julian Glover. It just isn’t happening. (General Veers has four red squares above four blue squares on his ranking badge, but this figure only has three of each.) And since General Veers is the only AT-AT Commander we saw in the film, this more generic AT-AT Commander could be sourced to somewhere in the Expanded Universe. But don’t worry because we are not going there. For all intents and purposes, this figure is sourced from The Empire Strikes Back in our opinion. Besides, with all of the Imperials running around in the background on the Star Destroyer, we may have just seen this character and not known it. But what you can be confident of is that Hasbro culled together another stunning figure for the debut wave in The Vintage Collection. AT-AT Commander addresses all of the issues that General Veers had and more. And let us be clear. We absolutely love 2006’s TSC General Veers. But this figure is a significant upgrade (especially in sculpt, articulation and stunning deco). While we would have loved to see an upgraded General Veers, this figure may just do everything you need it to for your various dioramas (and especially for your new big AT-AT vehicle). We are honestly very happy that Hasbro is revisiting (and perfecting) figures that were just released in the basic figures less than half a decade ago. It shows us just how far technology has come and affirmed their commitment to collectors to make some pretty remarkable action figures and get the best possible versions out to us.

AT-AT Commander fills the space nicely for your “vintage to modern updates” checklist for this character. He is super-articulated with 14 points of articulation. And he is even more nicely accessorized. Coming with a removable helmet, removable chest plate, removable goggles, and an Imperial issue blaster, AT-AT Commander has all the bells and whistles you could ever want for a figure whose character had so little screen time in this outfit. But besides coming with a plethora of accessories, the details on them like the blue, red, white and silver markings are flawlessly painted and we have never seen a better execution of a paint job. These accents have been painted in such a way that we honestly don’t know how any human or machine could have painted it with such precision. Even the rim on the helmet painted in black in perfect with clean lines and also has beautiful silver details on the backside of it as well. Unfortunately, somehow Hasbro goofed with the color they chose for the uniform. It is definitely too light and the shade of gray used really needed to be darkened a few shades first before we can call this definitive. We’re actually surprised that this slipped by Hasbro and Lucasfilm, Ltd. In fact, the uniform is so light that you almost need to do a double take to ensure that it is indeed gray. AT-AT Commander still looks good though. He is complete with a lean frame and all the different points of articulation work well together to give you multiple posing options. Although his “skirt” is made of a very pliable plastic, it still inhibits full movement of his hips, but this is something that we often trade for authenticity. But again, the completed product of the AT-AT Commander is pretty darn good and we suspect that due to his generic presence in the line and the multitude of various portraits in our collections now that collectors will indirectly be army-building him.

One thing that bothers us (very slightly) is that Hasbro decided to go with the lumpy ranking badge that we first saw on 2009’s TLC Captain Needa (BD 40) (interestingly, Hasbro used the torso and arms of this figure to make the AT-AT Commander). While we really don’t want to complain about it, we would like to advise Hasbro that there is a much better option instead. We suggest beveling out the area a few micrometers on the section where the badge goes on the action figure and then placing a separately molded piece that would sit in this newly created groove. This way Hasbro can nicely paint it and it will sit in a little “bed” and lay flat against the figure’s body without having a dramatic “bump” for the ranking badge. It’s only a slight setback, but we aren’t exactly sure why Hasbro can’t think of these little enhancements first. When fully assembled, AT-AT Commander is quite a sight to behold. It is really an amazing action figure. Not only do the pieces fit well and interact well together, they just look phenomenal together too. The chest plate lies close to the body and maintains the sleek look of this character, and the goggles fit around the head with the helmet on his head. This should serve as proof that Hasbro now has the ability to do anything that is needed to create the most accuracy in the basic figure line. (They just need to double check the palette of color a little more closely however.) The Vintage Collection has given us another great figure in the line. Those waiting for an upgrade to General Veers may need to wait a little bit longer, but there is no denying that this is the best AT-AT Commander for now. And to see this figure again in vintage-styled packaging makes this purchase all the more noteworthy. With the new AT-AT vehicle, we think that makes this figure an absolute must-have. But it will ultimately be up to you. We cannot wait to pose the relatively new 2009 LC AT-AT Driver (BD49) with this figure as well as fill the AT-AT with lots of the 2009 LC Snowtrooper (BD55) figures as well. There is so much to look forward to and while the AT-AT Commander may be only a small piece of the big picture, it is a very important one nonetheless.