The All Terrain Defense Pod, or AT-DP, was part of the first wave of vehicles produced in the Rebels line, along with the Phantom Attack Shuttle and the TIE Advanced Prototype.  Overall, it was a pretty decent effort by Hasbro, and as I mentioned in the Phantom review, finding these vehicles in the store was really the last time I felt anything resembling the ol’ thrill of the hunt. 

The AT-DP is based directly on Joe Johnston concept art for a 2 legged scout walker for ESB.  The artwork was actually used as the basis for an EU (now “Legends”) vehicle called the AT-AR, or All Terrain Advance Raider.  The design was resurrected by Filoni for Rebels.  At the time of release, I wasn’t yet into the show, and didn’t actually recognize the Johnston DNA. I believed that the vehicle was a cartoon design, and wouldn’t go with the aesthetic of my realistically styled collection.  This was disappointing, as even the vehicles in The Clone Wars line were realistically styled.  I was cursing Hasbro for going full cartoon, and producing a crap vehicle.  Although I was late to the party, once I got into the show, I realized that the design is not only a homage to early sketches, but actually works well as a transition between the Clone Wars era AT-RT and the OT era AT-ST.  I feel Filoni has really done an outstanding job in this capacity.

As for the toy, it’s a nice looking effort by Hasbro.  The lines are sharp, and the paint details are clean.  There are a lot of nice details and greeblies all over the vehicle.  The AT-DP stands with confidence, and has a few moveable parts.  The head swivels at the “neck”, the cannon swivels at the chin.  The cannon shoots a spring loaded missile.  The canopy opens and has room for one pilot to sit, and a second to pop out of the hatch.  The small hatch is a separate piece, which allows for a figure to stand and survey the next target. 

The legs, at first, appeared to be articulated when I took the pieces out of the box. However, I quickly learned that the only point of articulation is at the “hip”.  The “knees” and “ankles” do not move.  Each leg is essentially one piece, although the construction looks as if articulation was right there for the taking, so that’s a disappointment.  As it is, the hip articulation doesn’t really add anything for display value, but only works if you’re playing around and manually stomping rebel scum.  Or lothcats. 

It’s a pretty cool looking vehicle, and a good choice by Hasbro, as the AT-DP makes many appearances in the Rebels series.  I usually love vehicles, and the design and plastic realization are very nice, but I can’t quite get over the lack of leg articulation.  I give this a 7.