Imperial AT-ST Walker And Imperial AT-ST Driver - TBS [P3] - Vehicles (Exclusive)

The two-man AT-ST is a lightly armed walker featuring chin-mounted laser cannons and side-mounted weapon pods. The two-legged transport, dubbed the Scout Walker by many, serves as a recon and patrol vehicle.

Hummina… hummina…. hummina…. Boner! What the heck? This is some sweet victory! Out of the blue a Star Wars collector finds the Imperial AT-ST Walker And Imperial AT-ST Driver at a local Walmart and that’s about the only confirmation the collecting community received that this set even exists. But immediately a hope was ignited within the very disgruntled 3.75” Star Wars collecting community. Is Hasbro finally waking up? Did they really just release a truly collector-focused vehicle into The Black Series [Phase III] line that doesn’t take up half of your house? Is this a mirage? All of these are valid questions. But the Imperial AT-ST Walker And Imperial AT-ST Driver is a reality and it makes us very happy collectors. We can confirm however that the “assumed to be a Walmart exclusive” (confirmation forthcoming) Imperial AT-ST Walker And Imperial AT-ST Driver was something that shouldn’t have excited us all as much as it did. But after a very few disappointing years, this ray of light appears and gives us a new hope. What’s sadder? Getting exhilarated about something we have bought multiple times already, or getting excited because we’re interpreting its release as a tangible action that Hasbro still cares about the longtime 3.75” collector who has sunk thousands and thousands of dollars into their bottom line for over two decades? Oh, and that despite repeated attempts to make us feel sad about clinging to an age old format (3.75” scale), there is now a case in point example of confirmed viability that the (collector-focused) 3.75” action figure format still has merit. Hasbro DID just produce this set didn’t they? Hasbro often snags themselves in this double talk all the time. But instead of the attacks, let’s focus on this very positive and momentous event. Because if this is just the beginning, we could be in for a fantastic ride. With a $59.99 MSRP, the Imperial AT-ST Walker And Imperial AT-ST Driver is affordable and fairly priced in this era of collecting.

Hasbro’s first The Black Series [Phase III] vehicle was the huge First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter. Whatever your position on that successful vehicle (Hasbro’s words, not ours), it’s really an impractical format. People are forging minimalist lifestyles in this day and age and all of us are running out of room fast. Unless you’ve been collecting from the beginning, you’ll find that not many current Star Wars collectors “buy them all”. Living spaces are smaller and there isn’t room for a toy that is as big as the dining room table. Anything is possible for the future, but we don’t feel confident that the 6” vehicle line will continue, let alone with any regularity. We digress. It’s nearly insane that the SECOND vehicle release in The Black Series [Phase III] line look is a 3.75” scaled vehicle. Hasbro themselves have said that it’s too expensive to produce these and that they’d have to sell them for more than we’re willing to pay. So why the shocking change? Back in 2009 during the Golden Era of collecting, Hasbro tooled an all-new AT-ST (All Terrain Scout Transport) vehicle and released it as a Walmart exclusive. All collectors were ecstatic for its release and rightfully so. Hasbro overused versions of the vintage Kenner vehicle for way too many years. And they decided to produce something new. While we were eager for it, it ultimately disappointed. It couldn’t stand unassisted for any length of time really and it came with a cheap pack-in figure that none of us wanted. Still, it was a good first step for things to come. Over the years, Hasbro released repaints of this vehicle. In addition to the original 2009 LC AT-ST (All Terrain Scout Transport) release, Hasbro snuck this vehicle into 2010’s SW [SOTDS] Attack On Hoth set, 2012’s TVC Scout Walker (AT-ST) Kmart exclusive and most recently in 2014’s TBS [P2] Battle On Endor – a Toys R Us exclusive multipack. This version marks this vehicle's fifth release. And this one is probably going to be the best for a couple of reasons.

It would probably be erroneous of us to claim that this Imperial AT-ST Walker is flawless because it isn’t. It IS significantly improved, however. The vehicle can stand unassisted very well, but it’s multiple points of body articulation make it difficult to pose. It still possesses that clumsiness a bit which make certain poses difficult. The points of articulation lock in “stages” instead of where you want them too. The joints don’t have a the smoothness of a ball-jointed area of articulation. But maybe that’s not to important here. With a little bit of patience you can make the Imperial AT-ST Walker attain a nice array of poses. And you’ll likely be impressed with the types of aggressive poses this particular release can sustain unassisted. Overall, we’re thrilled that the thing doesn’t fall over if you look at it the wrong way. All of the joints are tighter this time. Whether this was just dumb luck or an intentional upgrade, it’s certainly not a figment of our imagination. We’d like to give Hasbro the benefit of the doubt that they did something to the parts that created better friction this time around. But we’ll likely never get a direct answer from them about this. Pretty much every release of this vehicle has come with loose joints, so this is a true blessing. As far as the pack-in figure, Hasbro seems to love Major Marquand as much as Princess Leia. So yes, he is the super-articulated figure packed in with this vehicle too. This means (to us) that this vehicle is truly based on Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi. The paint operations certainly could be based on some scene from Jedha, but the pilot is just a dead giveaway that this is from Episode VI. The Imperial AT-ST Driver has a slightly different paint job here, but he is super-articulated with 23 points and we love him. We’re very happy about this release. Again, that is probably a sad sentiment in retrospect, but hopefully Hasbro will keep this behavior up for their original market, and that NEW vehicles will soon follow.