Imperial Assault: Book and Model by Emil Fortune

     Imperial Assault: Book and Model by Emil Fortune is similar in design to Stealth Mission: Book and Model and Rogue One: Book and Model - there's a book with diagrams and details on various spaceships and vehicles plus a paper/Styrofoam model building kit (this time of an AT-ST).

     But...the book is fantastic and blows the other two out of the water!!

It's written in an Imperial propaganda style unlike anything I've seen before. Example: "The dark days of the Clone Wars are over, and a new order rules the galaxy! With the treacherous Jedi and the Separatists destroyed, our wise and glorious leader Emperor Palpatine has taken back control for the people." And it goes on in this way, lauding the Emperor and defaming the Jedi and Rebels.  I loved it! The whole book was written in this perspective even when describing the vehicles. Example for TIE fighters - "It is a short range fighter launched from a carrier or space station, piloted by the finest combat aces we possess." What a fun take on the subject matter!
     And DETAILS! Let me tell you what, this book contained loads and loads of details on each vehicle. If you're interested in knowing everything there is to know about Star Wars ships and other assault craft, then this is definitely the book for you - at least on the Imperial side of things. In a concise format, it relays everything you could possibly want to know about them - who made them, how many weapons they have, what special features they possess, how many troops they can carry, how big they are. It's all right here with simple diagrams to boot. I was quite impressed.

     A collection of interesting facts:

-AT-STs have long blades attached to their feet for slicing through barricades and fences to allow ground troops to advance.

-AT-DPs helped in the 291st's campaign against Thalassian slavers on Galpos II.

-Scout Trooper blasters fire when the hand grip is squeezed - they don't have traditional triggers because of the troopers' thick gloves.

-AT-ATs can actually transport up to 40 troopers.

-AT-ACTs are taller than AT-ATs.

-Lambda-class and Sentinel-class shuttles are nearly the same except for the Lambda being smaller.

-Super Star Destroyers are Executor-class Star Dreadnoughts.

-The Emperor's Super Star Destroyer is called the Eclipse.

     And this is just a small smattering of what this book has to offer!
     As for the model, it left something to be desired. The design is much more rickety than that of both my X-wing and U-wing. Some of my pieces were even cut wrong such that it didn't go together exactly like in the picture, but it still worked. And the instructions left you to figure some steps and corresponding matching parts out for yourself. I figured it out just fine, but it took some struggling.
     So this time around, we have a wonderful book but a lackluster model. Regardless, it's a worthy purchase.