I love vehicles.  (But not as much as you, you see.)  I was really excited about this release when images were first revealed.  It’s a neat variation that brings something new to the familiar two-legged walking tanks that are all over Star Wars.  However, Hasbro had some work to do to ensure that this vehicle wasn’t as underarticulated as the disappointing Rebels AT-DP, nor as infuriating as the poorly executed re-releases of the modern AT-ST.  Well, looks like Hasbro did the necessary work.

First of all, this looks great.  The movie prop design is pretty cool, and Hasbro translated it to plastic very well.  The cannon looks like it was plucked right out of World War II, and sure enough, it was inspired by German 88’s.  This gun is placed on an armor-protected platform, with the gunner in an open seat to the gun’s right.  The platform is then carried by a pair of “all terrain” mech legs.  The concept is not too far removed from its Clone Wars-era predecessor, the AV-7 Mobile Cannon.

The main gun fires a single red projectile (a decent distance).  The entire gun assembly, as well as the driver’s seat, can eject/blow-apart from the platform with the push of a button.  The legs position very well.  Unlike the barely articulated legs on the AT-DP toy and the noodle-like legs of the recent iterations of the AT-ST, the legs on this AT-DT have several movable joints which are sturdy enough to hold in place.  The “hips”, which are the joints closest to the platform base, are bal- jointed, so you can splay the legs a bit along with the typical forward and back motions.  This helps with stability.  The “upper knee” is a swivel joint, which clicks into various positions, and stays solidly where you put it.  The “lower knee” is not articulated.  The “ankle” is ball jointed, which I believe may be a first for these types of walker vehicles.  Between the 3 joints, 2 of which are ball jointed, you can achieve a fairly dynamic, but stable, array of display positions.

The weathering/deco on the walker is pretty good.  It’s not nearly as detailed or in depth as the weathering on the TVC Imperial Assault Tank, but you wouldn’t expect it from a $30 vehicle in the “budget” line.  Still, it has various splotches of mud and dirt, and the feet are particularly weathered heavily.  Overall it’s a nice effect.

The figure that is packed in as another version of the Mimban Stormtrooper.  Unlike the carded version and the trooper pack version which have pre-positioned arms to wield the sniper rifle, this figure is in a basic 5POA stance.  It looks like the 5POA stormtrooper, with the Mimban trooper helmet (with the blast shield).  It’s nothing special, nor would you expect it to be.  The mud is smeared all over the armor, and other details normally seen on stromtrooper figures are muted by the mud.  The figure works well enough to sit in the simplified “L shape” position (humans like to bend their knees, Hasbro!) needed to fit into the vehicle’s seat.  He comes with a blaster, but not the cape and rifle that were included with the other releases.  That’s fine, I guess.  He should be sitting in that seat, not firing a sniper rifle.  It would have been neat if Hasbro had sculpted a place on the AT-DT for the blaster to be stored, but whatever.  They can put a cup holder in the tank for $80, but they can’t put a notch for the blaster in there for $30.

Overall, this is a nice looking vehicle, interacts with the included figure as advertised, and has posability and stability.  The only real downside is that, and I hate to sound like a broken record (or “constantly buffering music stream due to poor Wi-Fi connectivity” for you kids out there), but there are only a very limited number of available figures with which to set up a Mimban scene.  There seems to still be no sign of the TVC Mimban Stormtooper, which would be the only SA figure that could logically interact with this vehicle.  As it stands, you have the included figure and the carded trooper as 5POA Mimban stormtroopers, and you have the Han Solo Mudtrooper and Mudtrooper medic from the trooper pack.  That’s it.  No officers.  None of Beckett’s crew in disguise. Certainly no Mimbanese to fight against.  And, maybe most unfortunately, no AT-Hauler, which, while perhaps not that exciting, was the very reason that Han joined Beckett’s crew.  It was also the vehicle that transported the entire crew during the Vandor Heist, and Rio even died piloting one.  How are we supposed to recreate the Han and Chewie shower scene without one?  We never got the AOTC LAAT/c, obviously because it was both too large and not retail friendly.  But the AT-Hauler is a perfect design because of its size, potential interactivity with other vehicles, and ability for the entire “hero” crew to fly on board.  Hasbro should make one.  They should also make General Antoc Merrick (Blue Leader) and General Antoc Merrick’s (Blue Leader) X-Wing.

Get one if you can find one.  Hopefully we’ll all have access to plenty of TVC Mimban troopers soon enough to go along with it, even just so that we can set up a Mimban vignette instead of a real Mimban scene recreation. Get one if you are able.  Vehicles rule!  Take that, you Filthy Sixers™©®!