AT-RT Driver - ROTS - Basic (III 54)

Specially trained clone troopers operate AT-RTs (All Terrain Recon Transports) on patrol and reconnaissance missions across the jungle terrain of the planet Kashyyyk.

The artists and creators of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith pulled out all the stops with all of the various clone designs they made. Some styles were more aggressive than others, but if you own any “making of” book of this film, you know that the various clone concept art was nearly overwhelming. Sadly, many cool designs never made it into the film, but thankfully Hasbro came to the rescue so to speak and still developed action figures based on clone concept that didn’t get the green light from George Lucas to ultimately appear in Episode III. (Star Wars collectors really reap the many benefits of both worlds, don’t we?) One of the neatest designs that did get final approval was the AT-RT Driver, who end up having a small, but important part in the conclusion of Order 66. After the Battle of Kashyyyk, the AT-RT Drivers were commissioned to patrol the various swamps and terrains of Kashyyyk for signs of life.... and surviving Jedi. Sitting atop their AT-RTs, the drivers of these vehicles were very difficult to see, but they fit right at home with the other Kashyyyk Troopers (the Swamp Troopers) that served in the 41st Elite Corps under the direction of Commander Gree.

Super-articulated much to the happiness of collectors everywhere, the last three official figures of the Revenge Of The Sith line went out with a bang. The detailed sculpts and the premium articulation proved to collectors that the basic figure line would be changing in very positive ways going forward. But the AT-RT Driver in particular showed that a pilot to Hasbro was just as important to super-articulate as was a generic clone trooper or even a Jedi. Appearing on early product listings as a Turbo Tank Driver, obviously this little hiccup was corrected in time thankfully so we didn’t get an inappropriately named specialty clone on its packaging. (We never got to see a Turbo Tank Driver in Episode III, so it’s a really good things that Hasbro was able to fix this mistake in time.) But Hasbro didn’t initially catch all of the mistakes on this figure before its release. The first versions of the AT-RT Driver figures came with an incorrectly painted helmet (in the “face” portions). Early versions were all brown (not pictured in our gallery) and the corrected version adds some white to give the “face” of the helmet more depth and dimension. The added white does tremendous things for the figure.

The AT-RT Driver fits perfectly on top of the Hasbro produced AT-RT vehicle. At the beginning of the 2005 Revenge Of The Sith product year, Hasbro released this as a vehicle set called AT-RT With AT-RT Driver. (Interesting that they were able to name this figure correctly, yet the super-articulated basic figure was in danger of becoming the Turbo Tank Driver isn’t it?) But when this original set was released, most collectors were very disappointed with the severe lack of articulation. Hasbro certainly didn’t see the need to work too much articulation into these pack-in figures. We suppose it worked well at the time and it was a cool “statue” to pilot your AT-RT. The great news is that you can be mad or disappointed no more. Hasbro has completely made up for it with the release of the AT-RT Driver basic figure. Not only does it have the premium articulation we’ve come to expect, it also comes with a decent amount of accessories and even some play features (relegated to one weapon only and NOT the figure itself). This figure is an exciting as the super-articulated Clone Trooper (III 41) figure. And we’re thrilled Hasbro put so much effort into it. (Editor’s Note: Hasbro took it a step further and updated the AT-RT Driver and released it as 2011’s TVC AT-RT Driver (VC46) figure.)