Imperial AT-AT

[Rob]

Apples and oranges... I'm guessing they started by deciding they needed to fit x number of figures in the head for playability, and once they had that number, making the body to scale would have been insane.

[iFett]

Am I pissed it's not close to scale?  no.  It's still better than the vintage mold and I dig all the play features so I'm pretty happy (even though I don't care about the play features)  Who knows...Maybe we'll get that ultimate $150-$200 version by 2018.

[jedi_master_sal]

I"m going to get this, but I'd have been happy if the head could only fit 4 figures and be more in scale with the rest of the body. This AT-AT did not need a speederbike (and the crappy old mold to boot). All that did was inflate the price even more, though $99 is a good price for this.

I'd have rather the actual AT-AT been bigger or the head smaller to seem more in scale.

What I'd love to see now is a comp shot with the new snowspeeder underfoot of it, ala the scene in ESB. You'd think Hasbro would have done that. Oh but wait, maybe that's still not in scale either...

Just have to wait and see now.

Like I said, I'm getting this, but only 1. Before Toy Fair I was entertaining the notion of up to 3 of them. That notion is gone.

[speedermike]

What I'd love to see now is a comp shot with the new snowspeeder underfoot of it, ala the scene in ESB. You'd think Hasbro would have done that. Oh but wait, maybe that's still not in scale either...

Actually, Hasbro never seems to pose their toys in play situations.  They don't even put figures in the vehicles.  I understand it's so that retailers don't get confused, but it really shortchanges the playability of the product.

[Nicklab]

Apples and oranges... I'm guessing they started by deciding they needed to fit x number of figures in the head for playability, and once they had that number, making the body to scale would have been insane.

Agreed.  Hasbro said during the presentation that they originally planned to sell the AT-AT at the same price point as the Millenium Falcon  ($149).  And they had to fight hard in order to get the price down to a $99.99 price point. 

The head of the AT-AT is about where it needs to be in order to house as many figures as it can.  With that in mind, how much bigger would the main hull need to be in order to be in proportion with the movie model?  The answer is that it would have to be significantly larger.  Perhaps too large to be affordable to produce.  And too large to get into stores at that $99.99 price point.  It's about making a compromise in order to get something better to collectors.

A very telling question was posed to the Hasbro brand representatives during the Q&A.  They were asked "Do you make toys, or do you make collectibles?"  Every brand rep from Marvel, GI Joe, Transformers and Star Wars said universally "We make toys".  If you want a collectible that's geared towards an incredibly detailed level of accuracy, you should probably look to companies like EFX, Sideshow or Gentle Giant.  And for a footnote from Toy Fair, what did I see around the AT-AT display in the Star Wars section of Hasbro's showroom?  Reporters and photographers swarmed around the AT-AT so that they could take in every detail.  And they seemed universally impressed.

[poodachoo]

A very telling question was posed to the Hasbro brand representatives during the Q&A.  They were asked "Do you make toys, or do you make collectibles?"  Every brand rep from Marvel, GI Joe, Transformers and Star Wars said universally "We make toys".  If you want a collectible that's geared towards an incredibly detailed level of accuracy, you should probably look to companies like EFX, Sideshow or Gentle Giant.

that's good to know.
If there was a company that made star wars vehicles to scale with the 3 3/4'' action figures highly detailed with accurate head sculpts then we all probably would look towards them.
but there is no compeditor company and all the other company's that make collectables make odd and ends as per there licence's, agreements and outlook's.
Its a catch 22 situation.
maybe they should have mailaway interchangeable more accurate head's eg the at-st's interchangeable chin gun. 

[Jesse James]

Ultimately if you're wanting a scale AT-AT, you're looking at something literally the size of a Great Dane dog...  If you've never seen one in person, google it, but I'm sure most of you have.  It's not feasible from Hasbro by any means.

The head's a decent size in the interior.  I think if there's complaints they're likely to go on the exterior's proportions somewhat.  The interior's nice.

And the nice thing about the Speederbike "asshatch" is the bike's removable and there's instantly more room for troops there then.  Ditch the bike is my advice.  One of the photos in our gallery shows there's some of those "control" panel type deals like have been in other large vehicles, back in the rear hatch.  To me it's just more room for figures.

I'm still not positive I'm buying an AT-AT or not because it's just how I collect, but it was definitely impressive to look at and makes for a neat toy.  I think it's infinitely supierior to the Turbo Tank (though kids like stuff on wheels).  I like the AT-TE more, but that's me.  I think for most collectors, this is probably the pinnacle that only the BMF reached so far, and it's $50 less.

I liked the little details like smaller opening doors and the ankle pistons and things.

[JediJman]

Personally, I love this thing.  It's close enough to "scale" for me.  There are dozens of improvements for just $99...the Endor paint ap TRU Exclusive was $99 and that was several years ago!  The light up cockpit screen and dual body doors are enough for me to get it.  I will say that I could have done without the Speederbike, but I don't think that would have changed the price, so fine enough to include it.  The hatch and ejection are a nice play feature for the kids as well.  I would have rather had extra figure compartments, but that's more of a wish than a complaint.  Excellent job on a great toy at a great price Hasbro!

[Brian]

I'm really looking forward to this as well.  I'm all for accuracy in the toys, at least as much as possible, but still understand that if I want it exactly like the movies I should be looking to the higher end lines for that.  Sure, this new AT-AT still has scale issues and all of that, but as a toy, it looks amazing.  Pretty nice looking, and lots of play features.  I still haven't picked up the Turbo Tank, but looking at the Falcon and AT-TE, I think that Hasbro has really done a great job with these large vehicles (and vehicles in general), and I think kids would be really jazzed to get any of these under the tree at Christmas time as well.  Good stuff all around.

[speedermike]

While I would never have considered not buying this, I'm more excited about now that I have seen a video of it.   That wierd t-shape thing that comes out of the top actually MOVES THE HEAD like a marionette!  Totally cool!

[iFett]

That wierd t-shape thing that comes out of the top actually MOVES THE HEAD like a marionette!  Totally cool!

Was wondering what that thing was for and if there was a thing inside the body to move the head like the vintage mold, but I guess that answers that.

[Carpeteria3000]

They can do better, but with this new AT-AT, they just didn't.

Agreed - it's Michael Fright or nothing, as far as I'm concerned.

[CHEWIE]

Like most people I've talked to, I'm looking forward to this too.  I think Hasbro did a fantastic job.

[Dressel Rebel]

They can do better, but with this new AT-AT, they just didn't.

Agreed - it's Michael Fright or nothing, as far as I'm concerned.

Damn!! 

I'd have been happy with Hasbro's new version with a slightly bigger body, smaller correctly shaped head and it's current height.

But I've got $500 for this before $100 for Hasbro's.

[Jesse James]

Unfortunately Fright's would probably cost you a lot more than $500.