Imperial Assault Tank Driver - TVC - Basic (VC126)

Celebrate the legacy of Star Wars, the action-and-adventure-packed space saga from a galaxy far, far away, with this collection of premium, highly-detailed 3.75-inch scale figures and vehicles. (Each sold separately. Subject to availability.)

It appears that Hasbro is getting back to basics and the Imperial Assault Tank Driver is evidence of this. We’ve all asked them for years why they can’t take older figures and their parts and make all-new characters for the 3.75” super-articulated line. And they’ve done this finally with the Imperial Assault Tank Driver. Sadly, it counts as a “new” figure for their “bean counter” purposes. But at least they’ve refreshed the parts enough to feel like an all-new figure. Hasbro took 2016’s TBS [P3] Scarif Stormtrooper Squad Leader and then retooled the torso. They retooled the figure's torso to make the ball-socket peg for the head sculpt smaller. “Why did they do this,” you ask? They retooled the torso’s ball-socket joint so that it integrates with the head sculpt of the Imperial Hovertank Pilot from 2017’s RO Jedha Revolt four-pack. Yes. Hasbro utilized the head sculpt of a 5POA figure for a The Vintage Collection figure. It feels a bit painful in retrospect, but in all honesty, their 5POA action figures are incredible and well done, and we believe that Hasbro can almost get away with doing this. The Imperial Assault Tank Driver followed the Imperial Combat Assault Tank, but it didn’t feel like we waited that long in between their respective releases. It would have been the best if Hasbro got the Imperial Assault Tank Driver into the first wave of The Vintage Collection. Had they done this, we believe that it would have solidified more sales and it would have created anticipation for the fans of this line. Let’s take a closer look at the Imperial Assault Tank Driver.

As explained, the Imperial Assault Tank Driver is mostly made up of parts from 2016’s TBS [P3] Scarif Stormtrooper Squad Leader figure. As you know, the Scarif Stormtrooper has everything fans of super-articulated 3.75” collecting adore: fabulous articulation. We’ve always felt that this sculpt is a work of art. The sculpt is as utilitarian as it is fluid. While this figure contains many pieces of bulky armor, Hasbro tooled the figure in a way where it is functional and possesses the ability to be posed in a wide array of poses thanks to the wonderful articulation system it boasts. Loaded with 29 points of articulation, Hasbro enhances their 3.75” figures with swivel thighs which adds more movement to an already well-articulated action figure. Aside from the swivel thighs and the ball-socket head, the rest of the Imperial Assault Tank Driver contains ball-jointed articulation. These points high-resolution in the wrists and hips which are two areas that often don’t receive this premium articulation. Mentioned earlier, Hasbro retooled the figure’s torso, but that’s not all that is new. They’ve also tooled a new belt so that it matches the onscreen character. The Scarif Stormtrooper has a very different “lower skirt” on its outfit, and Hasbro replaced it with a new part for the Imperial Assault Tank Driver. With retooling and new parts, Hasbro made the Scarif Stormtrooper sculpt look like an entirely new figure. It’s quite amazing to see how the based sculpt is rendered unrecognizable with the new parts added and paint operations updated. Hasbro paired a revised E-11 blaster with this figure.

How about that deco? Well, the Imperial Assault Tank Driver has a straightforward paint job in general, but we believe that Hasbro could have done more to make it look a little bit better than it does. Normally, they’ve made past troopers, and army builders look fantastic. But the Imperial Assault Tank Driver tends to look a tad bit dull. For years we’d complain how the clone troopers and stormtroopers looked too clean and white in the action figure line. Hasbro would rarely give these action figures dirt or wear on their armor parts. This final deco was always part of the final touches of an action figure in most Hasbro Star Wars lines. But in 2008 Hasbro stated that they needed to discontinue this because of cost. All of a sudden the clone troopers in The Clone Wars (and other main lines) went from having brilliantly gorgeous dirt applied to them to then see figures with sterling white finishes arriving on shelves instead. Collectors became disappointed. And in all honesty, it's not until 2015 that we started seeing this deco technique return to the toy line. Admittedly, the approach is different now. Instead of a final wash, the battle-damage and dirt now look like it's applied in a “dot matrix printer” fashion. In high resolution photography, it looks pronounced (and sometimes a bit contrived), almost as if the factory applied it like how newspapers print text and images. He Imperial Assault Tank Driver has dirt deco on him, but we feel more is needed. Something is missing. Overall, it’s great to see the Imperial Assault Tank Driver in The Vintage Collection. But we’d also like to see a better approach at the figure’ deco too.