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Dragon Star Wars models.


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Is there more than one Star Wars model coming from Dragon? As far as I know only the 1/35th AT-AT has been announced. I have also heard a price around $500 but that can't be right. What kind of sales would they expect with that pricing scheme?

 

I was was also reading that the AT-AT versions shown in the new Rogue One movie are not the same version. I read somewhere that they are bigger since they are really the cargo version of the walker as indicated by the large orange containers carried.

 

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The Imperial walkers you see in Rogue One are indeed different from the walkers seen in Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi (on Endor), Rebels, and the comic books. The walkers in Rogue One are AT-ACT's (All Terrain Armored Cargo Transports) as opposed to the AT-AT's (All Terrain Armored Transports) seen in ESB et al. The AT-ACT was not built for combat/assault but it was given limited firepower to defend itself. Some differences include its size. It was bigger (wider and taller) then the AT-AT, its head was designed differently, simple defensive weapons, and rather then having an armored main body to house Stormtroopers, speeder bikes, and other deployable weapons systems the AT-ACT had a hollowed out main body to hold heavy cargo containers, resupply shipments for combat operations (think HEMTT) or construction machinery. Also, unlike the highly trained AT-AT pilots/drivers AT-ACT pilots/drivers could be any qualified Imperial soldier. Even the AT-AT's themselves changed over time in terms of size and capabilities so that the AT-AT's seen in Rebels are different then those seen in ESB or scattered throughout novels and comic books. Even in The Force Awakens we can see the evolution of the AT-AT's design.

 

Dragon was supposed to release an entire "Battle of Hoth" line in 1/35 and 1/144 in 2 or 3 phases:

http://www.themodellingnews.com/2015/12/large-scale-at-at-dragon-makes-your.html

 

ATAT-SWFB.jpg

 

  Dragon-Models-1-35-STAR-WARS-AT-ST-Snowspeeder-image-3.jpg

 

3ee2f5156f81c5134c5a54c7e11a0e0e.jpg

But last I heard (which was this past summer so things can and usually do change) we are talking pricey...2nd mortgage type... stuff if or when these hit the shelves. I am a HUGE Star Wars fan and collector of pretty much anything Star Wars and as much and all as the AT-AT in 1/35 would be cool to add to my collection if it indeed commands $500+ USD dollars I'll be passing. Heck an original, still in the box, mint condition Kenner 3.75" AT-AT rarely commands those prices and for diehard Star Wars collectors its up there for "must have".

 

Time will tell I suppose.

Cheers!

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Hey Don thanks for the info. I managed to pick up a large At-AT model which I think was part of a board game. Not quite sure on the scale but probably close to 1/48 or more probably 1/72nd? It is already built up with its own base and stands about 13" high. I like it and I was planning on rebuilding it with a better paint job but it is not bad at all. And as I said, that silly $500 price tag for teh Dragon version sure is going to make it super difficult for me to even think about picking it up. Maybe that is why it has been delayed? Maybe a rethink to see if they can drop the price? Dragon had some huge artillery pieces which you would think would be equivalent to what the AT-AT would take in terms of plastic.

 

Anyway still hopeful we will see the kit in the near future.

 

Edited by skyhawk174
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So I did some quick calcs on the height of this AT-AT. I based it on some dimensional info I found on line as to the height of the "real" AT-AT. According to that info it is 22.5m in height. So the Bandai one in 1/144 will be about 6.13". I checked the one I already have and it is about 1/68 scale at 13" high. That Dragon one will be about 25.3" high. HOLY BANTHA Batman that will be a big model!!! No wonder they are quoting such a high price.

Edited by skyhawk174
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  • 2 months later...
  • 3 months later...

At this point, common sense would say, for whatever reason, they bugged out on these kits. As the old saying goes, "If it's too good to be true, it probably is".

Very disappointing.

Edited by B.Sin
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On 8/7/2017 at 8:33 PM, skyhawk174 said:

Maybe they are waiting for the next movie to be released? There is that old saying too "No news is good news"?

Maybe, but I wouldn't get my hope's up.

Edited by B.Sin
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It is strange when you really think of it. There was a ton of hype and excitement over these when they were first announced and when images and such began to appear and then...nothing (reminiscent of a certain 1/48 F-14D Tomcat kit :rolleyes:...LOL!). I wonder if the price was deemed to be too high to be feasible? Who knows but its certainly odd. But...you never know....

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Hmmm I would think after having paid for a Star Wars license to make the kits I would want to recoup some of my money back. And as we all know anything Star Wars seems to be money in the bank. I have already started saving my pennies for the day it gets released. Missed out on the 1/48 AT-At resin version many years ago.

 

Oh well hope lives eternal.

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5 hours ago, Don said:

 I wonder if the price was deemed to be too high to be feasible?

 

That's a calculation you do before you start on a project.  Especially for an established manufacturer like Dragon, they'll have a decent feel for what it will take to bring a subject to market and whether a project is likely to succeed at that price.  Could be there was less distributor interest than expected when they brought it to the Toy Fairs, but I really doubt that they developed a prototype and *then* said 'this will be too expensive'.

 

1 hour ago, skyhawk174 said:

Hmmm I would think after having paid for a Star Wars license to make the kits I would want to recoup some of my money back.

 

My guess is, they didn't have a Star Wars license.  That either they were negotiating for one and it fell through, leaving them unable to complete the project, or, they had hoped to leverage the prototypes into gaining a license, but it didn't pan out.  Because, like you said, that would be a major investment to simply abandon for no reason.  (assuming the kits HAVE been cancelled, which does seem probable) 

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I'm thinking it's probably to do with a licensing issue as well. Disney is known for being pretty strict on their merchandising and it's very possible an agreement on something couldn't be met. Remember when Zvezda had and then lost the license on their Pirates of The Caribbean Black Pearl model. Not sure what the exact issue was there, but they had the license pulled on that. Luckily they came back and got the license for the Star Destroyer model though so that's a good thing. 

 

Bill

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Bandai killed it, much like how conflicts with Revell's license blocked sales of Bandai's kits outside Japan. It could've worked for Dragon if Bandai remained Japan-exclusive but Bandai got around whatever terms their license had. To make matters worse, almost everything Dragon announced was already or eventually produced by Bandai.

 

Had Dragon kept their 1/6 action figure line around, they would've had more choices. But then there's also Hot Toys...

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