All-Terrain Scout Transport (AT-ST)

from "Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Scale: 1:48
Initial Release: 1983
Medium: Styrene
Kit Rarity: 3

About the Design

Affectionately known as the “Chicken Walker” because of its jerky bird-like movements, the AT-ST only made a three-second cameo in “The Empire Strikes Back.” But the plucky little vehicle was such an audience favorite that it was given a primary role in the Battle for Endor that climaxed the final film in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, “Return of the Jedi.”  Decades later, it would return again as an abandoned piece of Imperial military hardware commandeered by a gang  of local raiders in a memorable "Seven Samurai"-inspired episode of the Disney+ TV series "The Mandalorian" 

About the Kit

Released just prior to the May 25, 1980 release of "Return of the Jedi," MPC's AT-ST kit was a simple "Snap" kit designed for beginning modelers.  All the hatches were molded into place and the fit, especially in the cockpit area, was somewhat crude. Nonetheless, with some work, the kit built up into a nice little display piece, an essential part of the "Star Wars" vehicular Pantheon.

It was re-released two decades later by AMT/Ertl with new box art.

This model was built from an original 1980 issue.