It's time for the full review of Hasbro's Imperial AT-AT. But this massive vehicle can't be contained by a single website...so in an unprecedented move, Jayson Krebsbach from Yakface.com, Paul Harrison and Chuck Paskovics from JediTempleArchives.com, and Dan Curto from Rebelscum.com got together and had a candid conversation about this super deluxe vehicle from Hasbro. In the spirit of collaboration, we've taken our conversation and broke it down into three parts, one part of which is presented below. To read the entire discussion, you’ll have to visit each site!


AT-AT Roundtable Review: The Body

Paul:  I am so impressed with the ladder and the three unique levels on this thing. Impressive, most impressive.

Chuck:  I was very impressed at the details of the inside. Let's talk about the troop holds!

Jayson:  Kind of hard to work inside if you have larger hands (which I don't - TMI).

Paul:  How awesome is it that both sides of the body cavity open up? The play possibilities are endless?!

Dan:  Useful for lighting!  :-)

Paul:  That's for sure! Now we can see our action figures inside this thing! I love the "red light" thing!

Chuck:  And, not only that, but the bottom door opens up to a usable space

Dan:  The body interior is based on that book, right?  The incredible cross sections book?

Chuck:  Not completely, but I think that is where they derived it from (AT-AT Incredible Cross Section)

Dan:  Nice!

Chuck:  The multi-level look and the speeder bike bay were definitely based on the cross-section book.

Paul:  Yes, Incredible Cross-Sections book. That is also where the Hoth Speeder Bike Patrol concept for the Battle Packs set came from too! I have a picture of this in my Hoth Speeder Bike Patrol review.

Dan:  Right...I remember that. I love how the exterior panel opens up and the bottom half can be used as a platform for blasting rebels… probably not too many though, or else the door will fall off!

Chuck:  Agreed! And, the top door can be left closed, but with the multi-level features of the bay it doesn't look out of place to still have the bottom open.

Paul:  You get the sense that you know how far off the ground these troopers are from the actual ground battle… it really puts things in perspective!

Dan:  They are HIGH up off the ground! I wondered how they got inside there…

Paul:  We all did, Dan! LOL!

Chuck:  Well, they used those cool repelling lines of course!

Dan:  Yeah, those rappelling lines are great fun!

Chuck:  They don't stay very level with troops on them, but they are pretty cool!

Dan:  There was the landing platform thing on Endor on ROTJ, but nothing in TESB.

Paul:  True!

Jayson: Maybe it kneels down like and elephant.

Paul:  They had time to think ahead in ROTJ, but the Battle of Hoth was sudden, not too much planning involved!

Dan:  …figured they had some kind of disposable parachutes.

Paul:  Now that's clever! The first airborne troopers!

Dan:  Hey, there's got to be SOMETHING inside those Snowtrooper backpacks!

Paul:  LOL! But probably not enough height to allow for enought time for the parachutes to release.

Dan:  True.

Chuck:  Base-jumping from an AT-AT?

Dan:  I was surprised that the bottom trapdoor opened to such a large area....really a third floor level.

Chuck:  I know, a full hidden area!

Jayson:  I really like those rappelling platforms for the simple fact that you can haul 4 troopers up at the same time. They are both functional and go a long way towards the playability factor for kids. Though I'm a bit disappointed in the retractable cable from the belly.

Paul:  Why are you disappointed in the cable, Jayson?

Chuck:  Agreed Jayson, I also think the 'hook' should have been the grapple gun.

Dan:  The hook doesn't really "hook" too well.

Chuck:  The functionality I liked, the look of it was pretty plain.

Jayson:  That and the noise it make when retracting.... yikes... the attachment point is a little clunky and the sound made while retracting him is awful.

Chuck:  Yeah it is pretty loud!

Dan:  Why don't the troop platforms retract?

Chuck:  Reminds me of a fishing reel with the drag set too loose!  Cost savings I assume Dan, you have to do it manually with the wheel.

Jayson:  Just don't activate it when your wife and child are trying to sleep... trust me!

Dan:  Haha! What are your thoughts on the hangar bay?

Chuck:  The detail they added in the Speeder Bike bay was amazing.  They could have easily made it very generic, but they put full detailing inside.

Dan:  Adds a fun play element to the vehicle for kids.

Jayson:  The flip down view screens are cool.

Chuck:  When the Speeder Bike is not loaded it can very easily be used for troops, complete with foot pegs.

Jayson:  Some of the foot pegs positions are tough to get at though especially in the back under the cubby hole.

Dan:  Good point on fitting in the troops. At first when we heard about this, I thought the speeder bike launched out completely, like a missile...but that would be strange....why is it backwards?

Jayson:  Do speeder bikes have reverse? I don't think so.

Dan:  Maybe they are more concerned about landing that launching?

Chuck:  Too much room would have been sacrificed in the main hanger to put the speeder in 'rear' first. But, even the cross sections book had them in front first.

Dan:  Also, the outer door has pegs to display troops on it. A nice touch.

Chuck:  Definitely nice. All the 'lowering' doors on the AT-AT were made to be used. Aside from the area behind the neck, very little wasted space.

Paul:  This is true Chuck. The AT-AT does account for a lot of detail!

Jayson:  I wonder if a E-Web can be stored back there?

Paul:  I would like to store a Probot in my AT-AT!

Dan:   I also like the 2 windows on the sides and the window into the main body.

Paul:  Yes, I love those windows too!

Chuck:  I also loved the addition of the 'stabilizing' bar they added to each foot. Very movie accurate!

Dan:  Oh yeah...that was nice. Some have complained over the size of the feet, but these didn't really bother me so much...they add balance to this heavy toy.

Chuck:  I didn't have a problem with the feet size either.

Paul:  The new Snowspeeder looks great under those feet!

Dan:  I know...I need to get that Snowspeeder!

Jayson:  Nope, a more finished foot bottom would have been nice - maybe as a pop in insert.

Chuck:   >SNAP<   Once they go on though, they don't come off

Dan:  Haha!




Overall Thoughts

Dan:  Overall, this is a fantastic toy and I think it's totally worthy of a "toy of the year" award or something similar.... a great addition to the line in general, and also a nice BIG vehicle that we've seen over the years!

Paul:  I totally agree Dan!

Chuck:  Agreed. They seem to get bigger and bigger each year with their 'big' vehicle assortment!

Jayson:  Definite TOTY contender!

Dan:  So, what do you think we might see next for a big vehicle? 

Paul:  Jabba’s Sail Barge!

Chuck:  30th anniversary for ROTJ is coming soon Paul...

Jayson: Slave I  ;-)

Dan:  A sail barge would be GINORMOUS!

Chuck:  Star Destroyer bridge again!



The Rest of the Roundtable Review

The Roundtable Review isn't over yet, because this is only one part of the full review! The panel had a lot more to say about Hasbro's Imperial AT-AT, so read more details from the chat session after the jumps!

The roundtable review for the AT-AT's Head section can be found over at JediTempleArchives.com.

The roundtable review for the AT-AT's Accessories & Features can be found over at Yakface.com.


Once again, A HUGE thanks to Hasbro and Hunter PR for providing us with this generous gift. We hope we have done it justice!