Imperial AT-ST (Scout Walker) - POTF2 [R/G] - Vehicles

Height: 8.6 Meters Tall
Manufacturer: Kuat Drive Yards
Type: Scout Walker
Affiliation: Empire
Weapons: laser Cannons, Concussion Grenade Launcher

When Hasbro/Kenner announced the return of the Star Wars toy line, collectors quickly became overzealous and wanted to know when the vehicles were entering the line too. They followed very soon after the first wave of basic figures, and collectors couldn’t wait for what their plans were after that. One of the first vehicles released in The Power Of The Force “2” [Red] was the Imperial AT-ST (Scout Walker). Collectors were surprised Hasbro made the Imperial AT-ST (Scout Walker) one of their priorities for the modern line because we didn’t have a modern AT-ST Driver to interact with it. But for one reason or the other, it was part of the inaugural releases of the vehicles for The Power Of The Force “2” [Red] toy line. There might be a couple of ways to assess the Imperial AT-ST (Scout Walker) vehicle. Some might call it a retool and repaint of the vintage Kenner Scout Walker from The Empire Strikes Back line. That isn’t necessarily incorrect. But we feel a better assessment is calling it an all-new vehicle based on the tooling of the original vintage Kenner vehicle. It has been cast from the original vehicle but sports a new copyright date which means the original tooling has been altered. There are some detail differences as well.

It's refreshing to see the Imperial AT-ST (Scout Walker) back in the Star Wars toy line. It’s likely Kenner/Hasbro will get out all of the original vintage Kenner vehicles out in the toy line. But it will take years to get the most popular ones out. And we wonder if some won’t ever see a re-release. The new version of the Imperial AT-ST (Scout Walker) vehicle looks great. The same play features from the vintage Kenner release are once again available to you with this release. The side turrets rotate a full 360 degrees, so you can hit your target no matter where it is. You can switch the legs from stand to walk. And then by depressing the button, you can operate the "stomping" legs to charge into battle and attack the fur balls below attempting to take you down. The cockpit/canopy has both an opening lid as well as a pilot's crow's nest. The dual-layered panel functions wonderfully too. Lastly, you can place Imperial figures into the cockpit gunner station to pilot the vehicle into battle. Sadly, at the time of this vehicle's release, we only had the Stormtrooper, TIE Fighter Pilot, and Han Solo [Disguised As A Stormtrooper] figures to add to this vehicle. We can expect more members of the Galactic Empire in the future.

The Imperial AT-ST (Scout Walker) is beautifully painted. And based on the paint operation, there is no doubt that this vehicle is modeled after the ones from the Battle of Endor in Return Of The Jedi, and not the ones from The Empire Strikes Back during the Battle of Hoth. The brown mud/dirt on the vehicle’s feet and legs prove this. Although Kenner/Hasbro is updating the figures, they’re doing very little to update the vehicles, aside from a few retooling tweaks here and there and all-new paint jobs. So, collectors have been struggling to get the bulky figures to fit inside of the cockpits. It’s time to tool all-new versions of these vehicles so that the line feels fresh and new, and that the figures they’re making to interact with these vehicles fit inside of them. Perhaps it would have been ideal if Hasbro waited to re-release the Imperial AT-ST (Scout Walker) vehicle. There is little collectors can do with it at the moment, and many characters are missing from the line that are needed to interact with it properly. But as a standalone piece, we’re sure collectors will be happy to add it into their collections. In the meantime, enjoy a fresh take of the vintage Kenner vehicle. It’s nice to see it again.