A Tale of Two 1:6 Scaled AT-AT Drivers

Some calls him a "Pilot", some calls him a "Driver". Whatever he is called, this guy piloted the behemoth elephant-like All Terrain Armored Transport (or simply called the AT-AT) that is enough to give a little boy ie me, the shock and awe effect that lasted me a good 27 years to date. WOW!
Here I have two 1:6 scale AT-AT Driver in my collection. The only two toy companies that ever produced this guy in this scale. The one on the left is by the American company "Hasbro" and the one on the right is from a Jap coy called "Marmit". Marmit is the first ever company that produces high quality Star Wars 1:6 scale action figures (careful not to call them "dolls") and being so, their prices were of course very "high" as well. However due to whatever reasons I do not know, their range is a small one which only consisted of 1. Stormtrooper, 2. Sandtrooper (orange and white pouldron), 3. Boba Fett, 4. Tie Fighter Pilot, 5. AT-AT Driver. Rumours claim a Darth Vader and Royal Guard in the making but these does not materialize till date. Nevertheless, we shouldn't be reeling on this anymore since Medicom and Sideshow are already in the fray giving us much better, more accurate 1:6 scale Star Wars figures we can only dream of barely 2 years or so ago when Hasbro once rulled the genre.

Modified Hasbro AT-AT Driver
I owned Hasbro's version of AT-AT Driver since 23 Nov 2000 (yes, I kept records of my purchase) and he stay as he is for the next 7 years before I decide that he is actually good enough to still have his place in my display cabinet, but not before I carry out some update on him. In his original form, he was always looking up, about 20 degree elevated, when standing straight. And his stumb like claw-hands doesn't seem capable of holding onto anything at all. His bloated steroid body doesn't help his overall appearance too. Quite impossible for him to pass through the imperial trooper selection phase let alone pilot an expensive hardware like the AT-AT.
What I did with this guy first thing first is to swap over his body using a DML's body in place. Hollow up the neck portion of the helmet and put it onto a DML's headsculpt - I used those 1st generation sculpt aka ugly mug, since he will eternally be display with his helmet on anyway. Swap away the ugly stumb hands and repainted the boots plus add a little weathering. Touched up the helmet paint details and spray generously a coat of gloss paint to give his head a little sheen. The results is quite encouraging. The helmet initially look oversized but after the remodelling, it doesn't seem so obvious anymore. Further comparison with the Marmit's sample convinces me that the helmet is just about the right size.

Marmit's AT-AT Driver
I finally managed to buy this guy late last year at Simply Toy's shop in Plaza Singapura. He came lose and was without his blaster. But it all seems well when I only pay S$70 bucks for him. I consider it a steal. First thing I noticed of this piece is that its chest plate and shoulder armor plates are turning blue-ish. But I guess it is an easy fix since I can just repaint it white if situation turns worse with time. Overall, an excellent piece with practically no need for any form of touching up nor parts swapping nor modification. Some folks will be more oblige to change the body to a more articulated one but for me, the marmit body that it originally came with is good enough. The only gripe I have comes with the rebreather box on his chest. The details were in a form of a decal while the Hasbro's counterpart actually had details molded on. Better details there for Hasbro which is a rare thumbs up. Nitpicking there.





The Imperial Logo?
More nitpicking but I feel this is necessary as this symbolise the House of the Emperor! So which is which? For all my knowledge of Star Wars, it seems like Hasbro (again?) got it right this time. However, it is not difficult to get the Marmit's logo right. If you look at it again, you just need to paint a white circle in the middle covering that red one is all that is need to be done. But white paint over any paint which are darker are always a pain to do. The key is multiple coats which needs patience.

Finally, the real deal.