Imperial Speeder - RO - Vehicles (Class I)

AT-DP Pilots are elite ground vehicle pilots for the Empire. Equipped with unique armor, they are formidable opponents for all of the Empire's enemies.

Hasbro certainly knows how to make most out of their tooling, and we’re much happier about getting the same vehicle repainted than another straight repack of it. Originally released in The Force Awakens line as Ezra Bridger’s Speeder, the vehicle gets an Imperial makeover along with a “we really don’t know if this is a new figure or not” (we’ll explain) AT-DP Pilot and is simply called the Imperial Speeder. Originally seen in the very first episode of Star Wars: Rebels, the Imperial Speeder encapsulates the action sequences of that very first episode very well. Albeit a simple vehicle, Hasbro has crafted a well made toy for kids and collectors. It has a few hidden surprises, but nothing from the original is different or new here save from the removable cannon, so unless you don’t have Ezra Bridger’s Speeder then it's altogether new for you. Colored in a bleak white scheme, the Imperial Speeder represents the coldness of the Galactic Empire well, we just wished that Hasbro would have more carefully matched the coloring of the AT-DP Pilot a little more carefully. Oh, and don’t you worry, we’re going to get to that pack-in figure very shortly. It’s one of the most perplexing figures we’ve encountered in the post POTF2 modern collecting era to date.

The Imperial Speeder is great for what it is, and it’s part of the only vehicle assortment that we feel has the most fair MSRP. The handlebars articulation, the back hatch opens up for storage as well as possesses a spot to store the E-11 blaster that comes with the AT-DP Pilot and of course the same lightsaber stowing area is present here, even though the figure doesn’t come with a lightsaber. The paint operations on the Imperial Speeder are VERY simple, but lovely. We don’t have any complaints to speak about with regards to this. The materials are bendable yet sturdy at the same time. The vehicle keeps its shape nicely without any annoying bowing or warping. And the design allows the Imperial Speeder to remain at a flat 180 degrees at all times, with or without the AT-DP Pilot. This is wonderful. Not many of The Clone Wars era vehicle maintained an upright or “straight” position because either the weight of the figure was too great for an unbalanced vehicles, or the design just wasn’t there. A simpler design seems to work well here. Any vehicle that beautifully interacts with its pack-in figure makes us very, very happy. This is certainly true here.

OK, now how about that AT-DP Pilot figure. If there is one figure that leaves us at a loss for words on how to appropriately describe its status, we’d have to say it would be the AT-DP Pilot. Not since The Power Of The Force “2” line have we seen an approach this similar. Remember how the latest Luke Skywalker or Han Solo figure would appear to be a reuse of parts from the previous version? But they were still different in their own way? Well, that’s probably the best way we can describe the AT-DP Pilot. For all intents and purposes, the AT-DP Pilot should be considered an all-new figure. But when you compare the figure part by part, the limbs, torso and head looks identical (almost) to each other. However this pack-in version is smaller and some of the finer details of 2014’s R AT-DP Pilot (SL14) Saga Legends figure are missing on this version. The figure has also been repainted. So, we’re going to say that the AT-DP Pilot is an all-new figure, but is heavily based on the tooling of the Rebels basic figure. Hopefully that’s not too much of an oxymoron for collectors. Our only complaint is that Hasbro messed up the coloring again. These characters are more black and white than green and mint.