AT-RT Walker With ARF Trooper - TCW [SOTDS] - Deluxe (Exclusive)

An ARF trooper in Captain Keeli's unit scouts the enemy's position on an All Terrain Recon Transport (AT-RT) walker. The ARF trooper drives the walker across the rocky landscape of Ryloth to gather information about battle droids heading toward Republic forces. The AT-RT can move quickly and is armed with a blaster cannon for assault missions.

There are quite a few The Clone Wars characters that completely shock us on why Hasbro has not attacked them for the basic figure line. Their platform for choosing characters usually is based upon how often they appear in the series of if they’re part of a multi-episodic story arc, but sometimes there are just some characters that deserve to be part of the toy line based on how awesome they are or look. Captain Keeli fits this description perfectly. A very colorful clone leader, it’s a shame that he hasn’t been on the forefront of Hasbro’s mind from the first time we saw him in the television show. Perhaps we can be temporarily satiated as we have one of his ARF Troopers via the Walmart exclusive AT-RT Walker With ARF Trooper Deluxe set, but we believe it will be counterproductive and just make you wish you had Captain Keeli even more. The Deluxe line (now called Class 1) really has some hits and a few misses. Hasbro heavily relies on including repaints and repacks in this sub-line. That’s exactly what this set is, but it looks unique enough to be considered new.

In the Season 2 phase of The Clone Wars (red) line look, Hasbro introduced us to an excellently updated AT-RT vehicle in the AT-RT With ARF Trooper Deluxe set. This sculpt has been the standard going forward and thank goodness it has all the necessary features to be considered definitive. Repainted to look like one of the clones under the leadership of Master Ima-Gon Di, the included ARF Trooper in this deluxe set looks more like a maroon version of 2010's TCW [SOTDS] Jungle Camo ARF Trooper (CW24) figure from The Clone Wars film released as a basic figure. The camouflage pattern is unique and catches your eye from a distance, but you’ll be more impressed with the included articulation. Based on the original 2009 [S2] TCW ARF Trooper (CW10), the figure is the epitome of what a clone action figure should be. 100% ball-joints, the ARF Trooper is very amenable to the infinite array of poses you choose for it. We do have to note that it seems the molds at the factory level seems to have gone through a ton of use and the ball-jointed aren’t as crisp and utilitarian as they’re intended to be. In fact, the right ball-jointed wrists on our sample is thin and frozen in place. We’re frightful that if we use force it might break. (We don’t take risks.)

The AT-RT looks great just like the ARF Trooper and Hasbro gave it a wonderfully decorated paint job. There are rams horns painted (one on each side) on the front of the carriage and while the vehicle has a gray body, there are plenty of different colors to accent it and give it some spark. The AT-RT Walker has six points of articulation. There are two joints in the walker legs and then the chin gun has two points of movement also. The back antenna is removable and the “cockpit” has been perfectly designed to seat the ARF Trooper is a very realistic fashion. We’d much rather get every possible version of the AT-RT before hasbro reissues another BARC speeder again for us. It’s just a cooler vehicle. At $16.99, this set is appropriately priced. In an era where action figure are ranging from $8 to $10 each, it’s comforting to get a miniature vehicle and action figure for almost the same price. We wonder what is going to happen to this sub-line however as Hasbro is having a hard time getting out all of the sets that were planned in this line. (To date, two are either canceled or in limbo.) We’re hoping we see the Deluxe line continue, but its future seems uncertain.