Rapid Fire Imperial AT-ACT - RO - Vehicles (Class III)

A large version of the standard combat AT-AT, the AT-ACT walker features a dedicated cargo bed for the transportation of heavy building materials or combat munitions. It was deployed at major Imperial construction projects, such as shipyards and sprawling research installations.

Oy vey! The Star Wars 3.75” format has gone from suck to blow. And it may be the Rapid Fire Imperial AT-ACT Class III vehicle that brings the line to an all-time low. Our minds are inundated on how to rank and critique this waste of plastic fairly, but admittedly the bitterness, frustration and utter disgust we have for where the line has arrived is just disconcerting at best. As you can see, it’s hard to find words of love for a kids’ toy that is severely out of scale, void of any real action features and offensively priced. But that’s where we’re all at with the Rapid Fire Imperial AT-ACT. Can we "pick on" The Black Series 6” collectors for a moment? They are clueless when it comes to the 3.75” line. They scoff at the crap Hasbro has filled the shelves with for The Force Awakens and Rogue One lines, and are rightfully unable to process why longtime collectors are whining for more of these. Let us make it clear. We don’t want ANY of it. OK, let us qualify that. There are indeed some pretty nice simply articulated 5POA action figures. There is no way to deny this. But for the most part, the 5POA format is a letdown at best. But this is what 6” collectors believe we want more of and better quality. Many of them have never heard of The Legacy Collection or The Vintage Collection. Instead, they laugh at these terribly painted action figures are brag how wonderful the 6” format is by comparison. This isn't bitterness or resentment. Well, who knows anymore? But it is certainly frustration. The same goes for the corresponding vehicles made for the 5POA line. Longtime 3.75” super-articulated collectors don’t want a miniature AT-ACT with a NERF launcher. We can’t make this any clearer. But these are the only options for 3.75” action figures right now. And it’s like a knife in the gut. It’s hard to process that the Rapid Fire Imperial AT-ACT is the “big vehicle” of 2016. We are so far away from where we were that it’s painful. This vehicle doesn’t bring the magic of the vehicles from recent yesteryear. And it breaks our hearts to see something like this produced.

The Rapid Fire Imperial AT-ACT is a kids’ toy. From this perspective, you should be able to find some merit in this vehicle. But just a few short years ago, Hasbro gave everyone (kids’ as well as adult collectors) a chance to find an acceptable vehicle for his or her collection, and they managed to kill two birds with one stone. Who can forget 2008’s TLC Millennium Falcon? Or what about 2010’s SW [SOTDS] Imperial AT-AT (All Terrain Armored Transport)? These were massive vehicles loaded with detail, realistic action features and made with excellence that the line hasn’t seen since. We know what you’re going to say. Those days are long gone, and Hasbro cannot afford to make vehicles like this anymore. Whatever. They’ve made a ton of cheap and crappy sublines that were dead on arrival. Star Wars Command? Stick a fork in it. Fighter Pods? Um, yeah, forget about this one too. And other lines like Jedi Force, which are perhaps not an instant failure, just appear in stores without any formal announcement or warning. Hasbro alluded in the past that these “cheap” and kid-focused lines were there to bring quick and easy revenue and that they were made to draw a larger budget in the hopes to give us more of the things we wanted to see. That never materialized obviously, and the Star Wars line has progressively gotten worse. In fact, they utilized the opportunity to give us a line that longtime 3.75” collectors never asked for: The Black Series 6” line. We digress. The Rapid Fire Imperial AT-ACT is likely going to interest kids, and if that is the market that Hasbro wishes to focus on, then more power to them. That being said, the Rapid Fire Imperial AT-ACT isn’t for collectors. It’s smaller than the vintage Kenner Imperial AT-AT vehicle (the Rapid Fire Imperial AT-ACT only stand 1.5’ tall), and is completely dwarfed by the 2010 release. And all of the features it comes with screams that they’ve been made with a young generation of fans in mind.

The Rapid Fire Imperial AT-ACT comes with motorized walking and firing. It’s aesthetically awkward to watch. It would have behooved Hasbro to work in more articulation into the legs of this vehicle instead. Interestingly, there are both “hip” and “knee” joints in each of its four legs, but they barely articulate. This is no doubt due to the electronic mechanism. The instructions even warn that the head cannot be moved while the vehicle is in motion. This is a very complexly made vehicle, but the complexity has given it severe limitations. As vintage collectors, less is more. We feel that Hasbro should have instead worked in a ton of articulation, maybe add some cool electronics for the lasers, and then call it a day. There are a ton of built-in controls, but you can also download the Hasbro Star Wars StudioFX application and then control the Rapid Fire Imperial AT-ACT with your smart device. This is certainly cool and high tech. And perhaps this will appeal to a generation raised on devices, but why approach a toy and sacrifice its movement and size? It just seems like a backward approach to us. The center of the Rapid Fire Imperial AT-ACT easily slides out and can be transformed into a command station. You can then attach a zip line accessory from the Rapid Fire Imperial AT-ACT vehicle to the separated “command station” playset. Admittedly for us, this is significantly more appealing than a smart device application, but then again we’re old. You can set up a nice diorama with three pack-in figures included. There is even another projectile-firing cannon that can be affixed to the roof of the command station as well for additional play value. All of these extra options are faithful to things we all have seen in the vintage Kenner era. Even adult collectors will smile at these sort if inclusions. But trust us when we say that the scale is so terribly off here that it's going to be impossible to overlook its size issues.

Included are the Imperial AT-ACT Driver (which has been surmised by some to be a Hasbro concept – we’ll reserve judgment on that until later), Sergeant Jyn Erso and our favorite, C2-B5 a dark gray Imperial astromech droid. Surprisingly, all three figures look pretty good. Sergeant Jyn Erso has the sloppiest pain operations of all the figures here, but they’re not terribly applied. But more surprising is that she is a kit-bashed figure. She is all-new except for her arms and legs. The Imperial AT-ACT Driver is a retool and repaint of the Scarif Stormtrooper Squad Leader from the Two-Packs assortment with an all-new torso, and C2-B5 is a repaint of 2013’s SW [DV/ROTS] R4-P17 (SL06) Saga Legends figure. Hasbro is still dusting off this tooling to make new action figures for us! The figures are exactly what you expect them to be. And while we don’t know if these will all remain exclusive to this vehicle’s release or not, it’s probably a safe bet that at least one may never see re-release ever again. That’s how Hasbro works these days. The Rapid Fire Imperial AT-ACT is so tiny that there is only one spot to seat the Imperial AT-ACT Driver. And to his right is a NERF dart storage area (from which they’re launched). Too bad Hasbro didn’t utilize this space for a copilot instead! Clearly you get a nice dose of features, pack-in figures and plastic to make this an enjoyable plaything for a young Star Wars fan. But we wonder who will be plopping down the offensive MSRP for which this product has been set. Would you believe this item retails for $299.99? That is literally two times more expensive than 2008’s TLC Millennium Falcon and three times more expensive than 2010’s SW [SOTDS] Imperial AT-AT (All Terrain Armored Transport) vehicle. That’s ridiculously insane. If it does cost this much money to make a scaled down shell of a vehicle, then perhaps it’s just better for Hasbro to just cancel the vehicle program. Retail has likely already bought these for the 2016 Christmas season, so from Hasbro’s perspective this vehicle is already a success. But we expect this to be clearance fodder before the year is out. There are much better ways to spend $300 on Hasbro products. And you can start by searching on eBay.