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Review |
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| Sculpt: |
| Imperial troopers trained to operate the massive All Terrain Armored Transport (AT-AT) walkers used in the Empire's attack on the Rebel Alliance base on the icy planet Hoth, as seen in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. The last time we saw a figure of this character, he was in the final wave of the POTF2 "Freeze-Frame" line, and ended up being offered as part of a fan club mail-in exclusive with Hoth Leia, Pote Snitkin, and the Death Star Droid. So, he was long overdue for a modern line overhaul. The Saga Collection's "Battle of Hoth" line was a perfect opportunity to do just that. The sculpt is highly accurate and detailed, especially on the body armor. The helmet, however, is too squat, and isn't proportional to the body. Also, the chest apparatus seems to be placed too low on the chest armor. Still, it's a decent effort, and army-builders should be thrilled with it: 8 out of 10. |
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| Paint: |
| The figure's torso, arms, and legs are molded in the medium gray of his body suit. There are white paint applications to the shoulder and upper-torso armor. The straps running from the chest armor to the legs is molded in light gray. The helmet, chest controls, and gloves are molded in white. The helmet has glossy black paint apps to the eye lenses, with gray, black, and silver paint decorations. There are red Imperial logo decos on either side of the forehead, with further red paint decos on the helmet. The chest control has gray, black, red, and yellow decos, with light gray hoses leading to the helmet, which are then glued in place. The rear chest armor piece has black, white, and silver paint details. The right glove has a silver paint deco. Both boots are painted white. There is no weathering on the figure, so he's very clean, almost pristine-looking. However, this was the way the AT-AT Drivers were depicted in the film. The Imperial blaster accessory is molded in black, with no paint apps. A very accurate and neat paint job, with no paint slop at all on my sample: 9.5/10. |
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| Articulation: |
| Ball-jointed head, shoulders, and knees. Head articulation is limited by the hoses attached to it. Planer-cut joints at the hips and wrists, with angle-cut elbows allowing for a two-handed grip on the blaster. There is no waist joint, as it would interfere with the placement of the leg harness: 8.5/10. |
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| Accessories: |
| Character-specific figure stand, Imperial blaster, and holographic mini-figure. Minimal, but pretty much in keeping with the character as seen on screen: 7/10 |
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| Packaging: |
| The same The Saga Collection card as the rest of the series, with a character-specific background image--in this case, the surface of Hoth, with a portion on an AT-AT's "foot" in the background. The insert image is a production still, and has The Saga Collection logo to the right of the character image. The figure's name is just below TSC logo, with its collection number (AT-AT Driver is Saga #009) just to the right. The cardback features a film image of the AT-AT Driver inside the cockpit, and has text that explains the context of the scene in ROTJ, along with the diecut display area for the Exclusive Hologram Figure: 8.5/10. |
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| Availability: |
| As of this writing, the AT-AT Driver has been appearing at retail for over six months. Initially it sold out quickly (being highly prized by army-builders), but it was rotated into several revision cases and can still be found on the pegs as of this writing; it is also available from most online sources: 8/10. |
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| Conclusion: |
| The AT-AT Driver was a good call for getting a new treatment, and it was embraced by collectors, kids, and army-builders alike. He'll be repacked in the upcoming Endor AT-AT Walker set, along with a retooled Biker Scout, so completists and vehicle collectors can look forward to seeing him again: 8.3/10. |
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