The View from the Turret

AT-43 — Wing Troopers

Posted on 29Jun07 Updated on 12Apr08

The new AT-43 U.N.A. fast attack troops, the Wing Troopers, are now available along with the Attachment Box: Wing Troopers. The Wing Troopers are a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand Rackham should be applauded for trying something new with the rocket exhaust stands each figure sits on. On the other hand it does not quite work from a practical standpoint. Of the 18 figures I got four were broken off of their exhaust plume. It is fairly easy to fix with the simple pinning technique common in miniature building but is annoying and also does not change the fact that they are fairly delicate and prone to snapping off their plume in the future. Perhaps more annoying is that the figures do not fit in the standard figure case. Worse is that Rackham did not make unique figures for the Wing Troopers. The torso and legs are the same as regular Steel/Star Troopers. The only difference is the G-Pack (jump pack) and the Multilaser. In a few cases the standard figure pose does not look too bad in the ‘jump pose’ but with others it just looks odd.

Above issues aside, the Wing Troopers are similar to the other U.N.A. releases. The basic set ships six figures to a pack with one leader figure (head) and one figure armed with a Laser gun. Option heads are included along with three unit cards (Sgt, trooper, and Laser gun). The Attachment Box also has six figures but is composed of a Sgt/officer with a combat knife, Laser Gun, Rocket Launcher, a medic with a grenade (now that’s a medic!), and two figures with Sniper Guns. Option heads are also included along with eight unit cards (Laser Gun, Sniper Gun, Rocket Launcher, and five leader). The figures are painted the same as the Steel/Star Troopers. The mold lines are noticeable and the face painting ranges from good to poor. The exhaust plumes are well done with colors ranging from blackish gray to white and yellow.

Overall the Wing Troopers are basically the same as the other U.N.A. figures. The exhaust plume stands are interesting and look good but are impractical. I think Rackham missed a chance to make some unique figures here.