AT-AT Driver - R - Saga Legends (SL18)

These Imperial drivers pilot the powerful All-Terrain Armored Transport walkers to destroy the hidden Rebel base on the ice planet Hoth.

It’s maddening. How can the nicest AT-AT Driver sculpt to date only come with five points of articulation (with one really inhibited head joint to boot) as well as “not the greatest” deco? Articulation junkies are going to have to suck it up because the AT-AT Driver from the Rebels Saga Legends line is hands down the nicest modern sculpt of the character we have ever seen. Customizers will have more to deal with on their plate because if articulation is your bag then this figure just isn’t going to itch you where you scratch either. Granted, it has some deco issues, but from a sculpting point of view, Hasbro hasn’t done better. Trust us when we say that it hurts us more than it hurts you to admit such a thing. Strong opponents of this simply articulated nonsense from the start, we are seeing Hasbro improve this line by leaps and bounds and it is becoming more and more unsettling as time moves forward. We noticed immediately that the AT-AT Driver is missing some important deco details and the deco it does have is a little bit messy in spots. But we almost forgot about those issue immediately when we saw what Hasbro did with the sculpt. It is simply irresistible. AT-AT Driver from the Rebels Saga Legends line will be our “go to” figure from here on out because it not only captures the spirit of the 1980 vintage Kenner figure, it has been treated with a divine sculpt that has made all previous sculpts (ESPECIALLY the portraits) completely obsolete. We are guaranteeing you that you will not find a better head sculpt for the AT-AT Driver than this figures in the entire Hasbro line.

When we dug out the older AT-AT Driver sculpts (for our gallery’s comparison shots), we were shocked and amazed to realize just how badly the helmet sculpting was on most of them. Specifically, the super-articulated 2009 LC AT-AT Driver (BD49) is the worst and has what we would consider an atrocious head sculpt by comparison. As the super-articulated “giant” of all AT-AT Driver action figures, he ends up now to be looking like the worst of them all. Clearly, super-articulation shouldn’t be the most important thing when the sculpt is this bad. OK, so maybe you’re thinking that the removable helmet needed to be larger to accommodate the head. We’d have to agree with you. But even the lanky, thin and awkwardly sculpted limbs feel wrong and out of place at this point. AT-AT Drivers wear bulky thermal uniforms. The Rebels Saga Legends figure address this detail quite well. But the Legacy Collection figure does not. When you compare the two side by side, your stomach will get queasy. They’ll be no way for you to admit that the 2009 Legacy Collection figure is better than the 2014 Rebels Saga Legends version. (This is why we have ALWAYS been against removable helmets on Original Trilogy Imperials. It’s not Hasbro’s fault really. They just can’t make them compact enough without resorting to a pea-sized head.) If there is a way for you to still see the 2009 Legacy Collection AT-AT Driver (BD49) as superior, well, there isn’t much we can do to offer support in that respect. We also have to add that the new chest box and tubes look better than ever too.

We openly admit that 5POA is not ideal for collectors. But we imagine with the advent of better technology and sculpting techniques that these figures are going to start looking better and better the longer the Star Wars line exists…. with or without super-articulation. We also aren’t turning our heads and overlooking the major problems with the paint operations either. The AT-AT Driver isn’t strewn with issues in this area, but it isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination either. The paint is spotty in places and the lack of finer details like on the helmet and chest box (and uniform) leave a great deal to be desired. You may or may not be aware, but we saw the backs of multiple AT-AT Driver helmets in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Not modeled after the 1980 vintage Kenner figure exactly, the Rebels Saga Legends AT-AT Driver’s helmet is inspired by the Imperial who doesn’t have a red stripe going down the back of his helmet. Interestingly the 2009 LC AT-AT Driver (BD49) action figure is also painted in a similar manner. The point here is that this deco is screen accurate. It wasn’t as if Hasbro was saving a few pennies leaving off the red stripe. (Or maybe they just killed two birds with one stone.) Again, we cannot reiterate enough how impressive the sculpt of the AT-AT Driver is. If we had the courage and talent to use this figure’s head sculpt on the Legacy Collection body, we would try it. We will however leave that to the experts. In the meantime we’ll hope and pray that Hasbro updates the AT-AT Driver in the collector line with this impressive head sculpt (at the very least).