Continuing their series of articles that celebrates the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, StarWars.com has just released a new addition by Pete Vilmur that takes a look back at the design of the Imperial AT-AT Walker (no Blizzak snow tires or tire chains needed for this bad boy).

See the intro below and then head on over to the main site for the full read and to see some extremely cool concept drawings and production photos.

"With 30 years now behind it, we've learned quite a lot about the making of The Empire Strikes Back since its U.S. premiere in May, 1980. Three decades worth of books, articles, documentaries, and interviews have revealed scores of behind-the-scenes stories about Empire, greatly enhancing our understanding of how the saga's fifth chapter was ultimately brought to the screen.

With our launch of "Empire Chronicles," a new series which explores many of the characters, vehicles, and settings from The Empire Strikes Back, we begin with an in-depth look at one of the film's most unforgettable pieces of military hardware: the All Terrain Armored Transport, or AT-AT for short. We've combed through dozens of sources documenting the creation of this intimidating weapon of the Empire, from early issues of the highly-regarded special effects journal Cinefex to the now-elusive video commentary tracks featured on 1993's Definitive Collection laserdisc set (remember those?). From these we've culled quotes or passages from the individuals directly responsible for conceiving, building, filming, or breathing life into the AT-AT, and have scoured our Image Archives for photos documenting its creation, some of which have rarely been seen."