AT-DP & Driver - R - Vehicles (Exclusive)

AT-DPs (All Terrain Defense Pods) are ground attack walkers driven by AT-DP drivers and deployed by the Galactic Empire to quell any resistance.

The Rebels toy line started off on shaky ground right from the beginning. Forecasting on Hasbro’s part didn’t come close to meeting retail expectations. And at line launch, many collectors were left feeling frustrated because so few cases of wave 1 Saga Legends figures made it out to stores. Another thing that worked against the Rebels line was the port strike on the California coastline. Many Star Wars toys sat on the ocean for weeks and weeks and eventually made it to retail too late. Even store exclusives got hurt by the poor distribution of the line. The most obvious victim was 2014’s Rebels AT-DP & Driver, a TARGET exclusive that, well, just hardly made it out to any TARGET store in the USA period. In fact, most of the supply was sold through Amazon.com, and this is where most of the collecting community was able to secure their very own sample. Not much new was brought to the table with the AT-DP & Driver “vehicle and figure” set. Both are straight repacks of their single releases. But to help get the vehicle and figure out there is bigger numbers, Hasbro felt that a combination packs, as a retailer exclusive, would make a viable release. But that viability died thanks to the back-up of the line across the board. We never saw the AT-DP & Driver ever at any TARGET in our area. But this experience is the same for most other collectors. Thanks to Amazon most of were able to secure it for our collections.

The inaugural wave of Rebels “Class II” vehicles introduced us to three vehicles that are part of the Rebels television show. All three were repackaged with a figure and added to TARGET’s exclusive program for the 2014 holiday season. It’s easy to see that many of the vehicles in this line are designed from concept art by the renowned Ralph McQuarrie, the esteemed Joe Johnston, and many, many others involved in the creation of the Original Trilogy Star Wars universe. This hopefully will be enough to engage the longtime collectors. The AT-DP is a dead ringer for the scout walker concept art produced by Joe Johnston. The vehicle is simply approached, but well designed. It has some weightiness to it and comes with an extremely simple paint job. There is no worry here about getting a vehicle with sloppy operations to ruin it. Also, there is a small decal sheet to help accentuate the vehicle, and they’re all very easy to apply. The vehicle looks great. We just wish it came with more flexibility and articulation. Although the AT-DP is a straightforward vehicle in the Rebels toy line, it does take a few moments to assemble it. Directions are included, and they’re easy to follow. The joints, when fully assembled, are tight. But that might not be saying much since each leg ends up only having one point of articulation each (at the hips). The cockpit is designed very well. Hasbro added a great amount of detail to the vehicle in general, but the ridges, bumps, and controls on the cockpit door are astounding.

Also included is the AT-DP Driver. It’s a straight repack of 2014’s R AT-DP Driver (SL14) figure. Imagine the perfect melding of 2007’s TAC Concept Snowtrooper (Ralph McQuarrie Signature Series) (30 42), 2009’s LC Episode V Concept Art Snowtrooper (BD48) (Joe Johnston design) and 2009’s LC AT-AT Driver (BD49). You would probably be left with the Rebels AT-DP Driver. The AT-DP Driver action figure certainly isn’t realistically styled or designed that way by any means, but we think it would be a fair entry into any concept art sub-collection or the like as it sports a very traditional “concept” appearance about it. No matter where you feel the best assessment is for this character, there is no denying that he is one of the Galactic Empire, and it’s a shame that we didn’t see him in any of the films because he would have made an incredible addition to the Star Wars universe back then. At least we have him now. According to some of the television stills we have seen of the AT-DP Driver, we think Hasbro’s color palette is off in a few spots. For example, in the television show, these characters have an off-white mask and a light gray helmet with matching light gray body suit (which is underneath of their chest and shoulder armor). The figure however looks to be colored in more of a mint green color instead. When it comes down to the nuts and bolts of it, we don’t think this discrepancy is terrible, but it is noticeable. AT-DP & Driver is a nice collaboration of vehicle and rider. But maybe release it this way from the start?