The Good: Great Sculpt, Great balance, Decent rarity, Excellent detailing.
The Bad: The snowspeeder does not truly fit.
The Basics: One of the coolest Star Wars toys, Galoob’s Titanium Series Die-Cast AT-AT is exceptional!
It seems it might not have come up yet in my many reviews, but I have a bit of a collection of AT-ATs. I have the massive toy (which my wife got me for our anniversary last year and will be the subject of a review next week!), the Hallmark Imperial AT-AT and Rebel Snowspeeder ornament (reviewed here!) and many other AT-AT toys, figures and works of art (as well as a film cell of the AT-AT scene). AT-ATs captured my imagination at a very young age and ever since, I have enjoyed collecting the four-legged walkers. So, last year when I started working at the comic book shop, my wife came and helped out and in a particularly douchey move toward my wife, the owner of the store paid her with a Titanium Die-Cast AT-AT toy. This is pretty douchey in my book as my wife could have truly used the money he owed her and he knew that I wanted the toy. So, he was essentially giving her something to give to me, which is kind of squirrelly at the very least.
Fans of the Star Wars Trilogy will easily recall the opening sequence to The Empire Strikes Back (click here for my film review!) where the Rebels were discovered by the Empire on Hoth, a frozen wasteland. The Empire launched a ground assault using massive, four-legged vehicles called AT-ATs, which forced the Rebels into retreat. The AT-ATs were slowed down by Snowspeeders, small, fast flying vehicles that attempted to trip the machines and destroy them after they fell.
The Titanium Collection Die-Cast AT-AT is the fearsome Imperial Walker with a small Snowspeeder accessory. It is remarkably cool and deserves a prominent place in anyone’s AT-AT or Star Wars vehicle collection!
Basics
The Titanium Series Die-Cast Imperial AT-AT was released by Galoob and it is a vast improvement on the Action Fleet AT-AT(s) in every way. The proportions are more correct, the materials are more durable and the surface detailing is much more impressive. Cast in metal and plastic, the AT-AT is 4 3/4“ tall, 5 7/8“ long and 2 1/2“ wide.
The Titanium Series Die-Cast AT-AT looks great. It is extraordinarily detailed with such fine work as the gun flaps on the side guns jutting out and the tiny laser cannons on the front of the vehicle's "head" looking menacing and accurate. The paint job on the toy is exceptional with the gray body of the AT-AT featuring wear and weather marks at the joints, as if the vehicle had been alternately greased up and shot by lasers! The color scheme for the AT-AT is pretty monochromatic, but Galoob makes it look interesting and accurate with exceptional surface detailing that accents the molded details like the “neck” ribbing, ladder on the side of the body of the AT-AT and the finer detailing on the feet that make even the non-moving parts look functional.
Accessories
The Titanium Series Die-Cast AT-At comes with a small Snowspeeder accessory. The Snowspeeder is detailed with the same amazing surface details as the AT-AT and looks quite a bit like the MicroMachines Snowspeeder. This version is 2” long, though because the 1” vehicle is shooting twin red bolts of laser energy. This looks a little less realistic than the awesome coloring details, like the orange stripe across the back of the Snowspeeder and tiny, molded on grappling gun on the aft of the craft!
Playability
The Titanium Series Die-Cast has pretty limited playability, though it is designed to look excellent in many different poses. The “head” of the vehicle has about 45 degrees of movement, left and right as well as up and down. The legs move at the top joint and bend at the knees, but the ankles are not as articulated as the AT-ATs in the film. The AT-AT is virtually untippable.
The Snowspeeder accessory must be supported with hands for play and that lessens its overall value as an accessory. At least it looks cool.
Collectibility
The Titanium Series Die-Cast is part of a now-defunct line of die-cast vehicle toys that Galoob produced. The AT-AT remains one of the most popular and sought after in the line and now commands prices in the $30 range, which is not bad. It peaked in value a few years back and I suspect it will creep back up making this a decent investment piece given the popularity of the vehicle.
Overview
Fans of The Empire Strikes Back and AT-ATs will find this to be one of the essential Star Wars AT-AT and vehicle toys, making it easy to recommend!
For other Star Wars vehicle toys reviewed by me, please check out:
Vintage Collection Cloud Car
Saga Collection AT-AP Walker
Power Of The Force Imperial Speeder Bike
9/10
For other ornament reviews, please visit my index page!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |
No comments:
Post a Comment