AT-ST Driver - TVC - Basic (VC192)

You may or may not know the story of the original The Vintage Collection AT-ST Driver from 2012, so we’ll briefly run through that tale now. In 2012, Hasbro solicited an idea to Kmart for a new The Vintage Collection exclusive. Hasbro offered them an “Ultimate Battle Packs” set based on the Battle of Endor, which included two AT-ST Drivers, two Ewoks, and an Imperial AT-ST Walker. Kmart was eager about the idea but wanted to take things further. The retailer was having excellent success with The Vintage Collection line. It was one of the few Big Box stores readily receiving a consistent stream of TVC products, and when it arrived, it sold immediately. Also, Kmart’s buyers were gigantic longtime Star Wars fans, and rumors abound that some were collectors like us. Instead of one “Ultimate Battle Packs” set, Kmart suggested that Hasbro break it up into multiple exclusives and ensure they’d all come in The Vintage Collection packaging. Hasbro took the idea back to the development team, and they agreed that it would be a fantastic way to get more TVC products out to market. As a result, this is how we got the Endor AT-ST Crew Special Action Figure Set (with Major Marquand and Lieutenant Watts), the Ewok Scouts Special Action Figure Set (with Wunka and Widdle Warrick), and the Scout Walker (AT-ST) vehicle. All became 2012 exclusives for Kmart. However, it took Hasbro much too long to add the AT-ST Driver to the basic figure line, and now here it is as a Walmart exclusive, part of the Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary sub-line.

Let’s not forget, the first appearance of this tooling of the AT-ST Driver dates back to 2010’s SW [SOTDS] Assault On Hoth multipack and a Target exclusive. That set provided us with the first super-articulated AT-ST Driver figure. With some revised paint operations and new head sculpts, Hasbro produced two new AT-ST Drivers for the Kmart exclusive Special Action Figure Sets. For The Vintage Collection basic figure release, Hasbro chose Major Marquand (the AT-ST Driver – not the AT-ST Gunner) and repainted it with Photo Real and a few other changes. It’s the exact figure otherwise and an excellent addition to The Vintage Collection. It is also another check-off of our “The Ninety-Six” checklist. In all honesty, it’s safe to say that none of us expected Hasbro to do anything else than a repaint and repack the previously existing AT-ST Driver action figures and slap one of them onto vintage Kenner packaging. That’s what Hasbro did, and the final result is excellent. There’s very little to complain about here. It’s a superb action figure that looks better than it ever has, thanks to Photo Real deco, and the vintage Kenner packaging is the gravy. Aside from picking a blue for the nameplate and the figure backer that’s a little too light and not as bright as the Kenner original, everything is in place here. We feel some aspects of the original 1984 ROTJ AT-ST Driver card art are better than the TVC version, but your opinion might vary.

Director Richard Marquand and producer Robert Watts played the AT-ST Driver and AT-ST Gunner, respectively, as cameos in Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi. We’re grateful to Hasbro that they chose the correct “driver” for the single-carded release of the AT-ST Driver. Sometimes it’s the small things in life. As you know, the AT-ST Driver is a super-articulated action figure. It comes with 23 points of articulation across 14 areas. The inclusion of the ball-jointed torso was a wise investment for this action figure. Although the hips are swivel points, the legs are thinner, and you get a nice range of motion from them, whether you want to place the figure in a running pose and seat the figure in the cockpit of an Imperial AT-ST Walker vehicle. The upper body movement is a little bit stiffer by comparison, but you get a good range of motion there as well. The AT-ST Driver comes with a removable helmet (with goggle down) and an E-11 blaster. The helmet fits over the AT-ST Driver’s head like a glove and stays in place as needed for action scenes or driving a walker. The figure still impresses after more than a decade. There is little reason for Hasbro to redevelop an AT-ST Driver for the basic figure line. We strongly feel that Hasbro’s done enough here to update and upgrade the figure to make it relevant for a 2021 release. Admittedly, we dislike the Lucasfilm 50 logo on the front of the packaging. We don’t understand how anyone agreed on that travesty.