Heavy industrial crane transport
The HI-CT walker, alternatively known as the heavy industrial crane transport or the Trask walker, represented a specific type of four-legged walker equipped with crane transport capabilities. These machines served primarily as cargo lifters on the moon Trask (an estuary moon), as well as on the planets Ferrix and Cantonica.
Description
The HI-CT walkers, exhibiting certain resemblances to the OI-CT manufactured by Kuat Drive Yards, were characterized by their robust armor and stable design. These towering machines, often seen dominating Trask's coastal docking areas, possessed sufficient power to hoist a submerged ST-70 class Razor Crest M-111 from the ocean's depths. Each HI-CT featured four strong legs and feet, a command bridge alongside a crew deck, and an extendable crane. The legs of the walker were meticulously sealed to prevent water intrusion, allowing for both terrestrial and aquatic operations.
History
Numerous heavy industrial crane transports were present in the vicinity of Ferrix City on the planet Ferrix circa 5 BBY. By 3 ABY, these walkers were utilized within the Worker's District of Canto Bight located on the planet Cantonica. Around 9 ABY, HI-CT walkers were observed patrolling the waters surrounding a black market port on Trask. One such crane was instrumental in recovering the Razor Crest, the vessel of Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin, after it crash-landed during his mission to Trask. In the same year, a similar but distinct another model was deployed by the New Republic Correctional Corps throughout the Karthon Chop Fields situated on the moon Karthon.
Behind the scenes
This mobile loading gantry debuted in the 2020 The Mandalorian Season Two episode titled "Chapter 11: The Heiress," where it received an audio description. The scene depicting the gantry lifting the Razor Crest was brought to life using CG by Industrial Light & Magic. The book The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season Two, published in 2022, explicitly referred to it as a "Trask walker." The official designation "heavy industrial crane transport (HI-CT walker)" was eventually revealed in a pre-order listing on Amazon for the book Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy, which was released on November 19, 2024.
According to concept artist Christian Alzmann, the initial concept for this walker envisioned it being constructed from repurposed All Terrain Armored Transport components salvaged after the fall of the Galactic Empire. However, this idea was later discarded following the walker's appearances in projects such as Andor and Star Wars Outlaws.