Scout Walker Vehicle

One of the coolest vehicles, in my opinion, had to be the AT-ST or as we called it back in the day, the "Chicken Walker". I recently came across this ESB-boxed example on eBay for a good price - it was missing the pintle-mounted blaster (as many are) but I had a loose example I scavenged for the part so it worked out well.

The box features another fantastic Kenner tableau that I've replicated below...

Had to prop up the hatch to keep it from clocking the AT-AT driver in the head, unfortunately. The other vehicle in the background is a period model kit, I like the "forced perspective" that using a smaller prop gives the composition.

By the way, anybody notice anything funny about the figures used in the box art, or more particularly, their weapons? The AT-AT Commander (or for we in Canada who bought it from Sears, "General Veers") is toting the blaster that came with the "Rebel Commander" and "Luke Skywalker in Hoth Gear" figures, not the weapon he was packaged with, the so-called "Bespin blaster".

I know that soldiers at war often liked to use captured weapons (see the GI carrying a captured German MP44 assault rifle in the pic above) so I guess this makes sense ;-) This seems to happen not-infrequently in the world of Kenner box art - I seem to recall a box showing Stormtroopers wielding Hoth Stormtrooper long rifles. Must've thought that the firepower of the standard Blastech E-11 was somewhat lacking ;-)

Here's a view of the AT-ST's cockpit. Some great detail there and plenty of room for the driver, but how Chewbacca might fit in is another story!

Sorry about the sideways pic, but the box side illustrates a very weird play feature of the toy. Pressing the central button (seen also above) makes the legs jerk up and down... apparently this is supposed to simulate "walking" but honestly, it just looks like a seizure. Thank goodness the legs lock in place so the walker can stand up on its own.

One last pic of another part of the toy that is frequently lost - the lower blast shielding. Make sure if you buy a loose example of this vehicle that all of the parts are present - but even if not, it seems like the part is fairly readily available on eBay.

I like this toy a lot and I'm glad to have one in an ESB box. It also came in an RotJ box, but it's so much better to avoid any notion of Ewoks altogether ;-)