Saturday, November 17, 2012

For Those Stuck In This Scale, The Star Wars Action Fleet Battle Pack #2 Still Underwhelms


The Good: Good sculpt
The Bad: Poor articulation, No collectible value, Underdetailed, Odd figure choices
The Basics: The Star Wars MicroMachines Action Fleet AT-ST Battle Pack is mediocre, even for fans.


Even before I picked up the new Vintage Collection Imperial AT-ST Scout Walker (reviewed here!), it turns out I had an AT-ST in my collection. I found that interesting, as I have never been particularly fond of AT-STs. It appears I picked up one of the Galoob MicroMachines Action Fleet Battle Pack #2 AT-ST (Chicken Walker)s and then forgot about it. This is a very basic AT-ST toy and it is part of the Action Fleet line that had dramatically inconsistent scale, save for the tiny figures used in the vehicle toys and playsets.

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 were supported by AT-STs, two-legged chicken style walkers. These were more prominent in Return Of The Jedi (reviewed here!) on Endor, but were initially in The Empire Strikes Back.

The MicroMachines Action Fleet AT-ST is the small Chicken Walker with five of the tiny action figures that fit this scale of toy.

Basics

The MicroMachines Action Fleet Imperial AT-ST (Chicken Walker) was released by Galoob and it is a basic toy. Cast only in plastic, the AT-ST is 4 1/2“ tall, 2 1/2“ long and 2“ wide.

The MicroMachines Action Fleet AT-ST looks basically like it is supposed to. It is cast detailed with such things as the side guns jutting out the sides of the vehicle's "head" looking more or less accurate. The coloring is very basic with the gray body of the AT-ST that does not have any wear or weathering marks. The color scheme for the AT-ST is pretty monochromatic and Galoob kept it very basic, though the chin guns and side weapons are cast in a darker plastic. The front windows (at the “eye” position) are open.

Accessories

The MicroMachines Action Fleet AT-ST comes with five mini-figures. The Imperial AT-ST (Chicken Walker) comes with an AT-ST Assault Pilot, Scout Trooper, Lord Darht Vader, Royal Guard and a Sandtrooper. The AT-ST Driver is detailed and colored with black and gray highlights to look like what it is supposed to. The Scout Trooper is molded with a gun in its right hand. The three other figures are molded with two-handed grips on their gun (Sandtrooper), force pike (Royal Guard), and lightsaber (Darth Vader). All figures are articulated at the waist (to allow sitting) and at the arms for movement that moves both arms and both legs in unison. The legs are molded to a base or playset for this scale. The AT-ST Assault Pilot fits in the cockpit head of the AT-ST (Chicken Walker). The presence of the Sandtrooper and Royal Guard in this assortment is somewhat baffling and illustrates a lack of understanding of the scenes in which the Chicken Walkers were present.

Playability

The MicroMachines Action Fleet has pretty limited playability and it falls over exceptionally easily. While the “head” of the vehicle has over 180 degrees of movement, this vehicle is not as articulated as the actual AT-STs. The legs move at the only one of the top two joints and they do not bend or have any other articulation. The AT-ST tips exceptionally easily.

The gun ports on the cockpit head rotate as well.

One figure is able to fit into the cockpit of the AT-ST.

Collectibility

The MicroMachines Action Fleet is part of a now-defunct line of die-cast vehicle toys that Galoob produced. The AT-ST was the centerpiece of Battle Pack #2 and was not at all limited, arguably because the Action Fleet did not have a consistent scale.

The Imperial AT-ST (Chicken Walker) toy’s price plummeted and has never recovered.

Overview

Fans of The Empire Strikes Back and AT-STs are able to pass this toy by; it does not fit the scale or quality of other Star Wars toys.

For other Star Wars toys from Galoob, please check out my reviews of:
Micromachine Star Wars Set 4
Titanium Collection AT-ST Imperial Walker
Action Fleet Slave I

4/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my index page!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |

No comments:

Post a Comment