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Set Name: AAT Set #: 75080 Theme: Star Wars Pieces: 251 Minifigures: 3 Year of Release: 2015 MSRP: USD $24.99 INTRODUCTION Unfortunately, as a child who was just beginning to appreciate the magical world of LEGO, I missed out on the original 2000 AAT. And then I was in my LEGO dark ages when the 2009 revision was released. When I found out that LEGO would be releasing another AAT in 2015, I couldn't wait to see the first preliminary pictures after many years of waiting to finally get my hands on an AAT (which I might add is one of the few prequel vehicles I actually like). And when those first pictures of the 2015 AAT leaked, it was immediately welcomed with hate and criticism on the internet. People did not like its beefy hull, its small stature, and the minifigure selection. After the full-sized (but in my opinion over-sized) 2009 Clone Wars AAT, a lot of people felt like this was a step down. However, I did my best to remain optimistic. I was relieved it was based on the Episode I version, since I don't like it painted blue as much as tan, and the smaller size meant less pain on my wallet! Given its low price and my yearning to have an AAT in my collection, I decided to be an early adopter of this set and experience it for myself. Here is the back of the box, which features photos demonstrating the play features, as well as a bunch of CGI pictures of the minifigures interacting, which I don't think I've seen on box art before. Here are the contents of the box. We get three numbered bags, one loose piece, and one instruction manual. Thankfully, there is no sticker sheet (although one could argue this set actually needed stickers, which I'll get to later). MINIFIGURES I don't think anyone will be buying this set for the figures. It comes with 2 battle droids and Jar Jar Binks, none of which are new designs. For a while, people thought the battle droids would have new arms, but I can confirm that they do not. While all of the figures included make sense for the set, it would have been nice to get a new, exclusive figure such as Boss Nass. Here is a plain battle droid with a blaster, which I'm sure we all have by now. Here is the pilot battle droid, another figure I'm sure many of us already have in our collection. Given what this set is though, an AAT needs battle droids for functioning, so it's hard to complain about their inclusion. And finally, we have Jar Jar Binks, which I've read is the same version as the one included in the 2011 Battle of Naboo set. He carries his Gungan shield and weapon. Somehow, this is actually my first Jar Jar Binks minifigure. Finally, my Lego SW minifigure collection is complete... THE BUILD To give you an idea of what the build was like, I took a photo after each bag. Here is the vehicle after the first bag: After the second bag: And after the third and final bag: THE AAT: Here we can see the AAT's profile, which I think pretty accurately captures the design of the tank, especially given the scale. From the front, we can see the "chubbiness" of the hull which many complained about, and the GLARING lack of the six frontal launch tubes. As much as I hate stickers, this set really could have benefited by having them (or better yet printed pieces) that depict the front launchers. However, the spring-loaded shooters are concealed, which is nice. There's not much to see in the back, aside from the mechanism used to shoot the launchers, which is similar to many of the 2015 sets. The pilot can fit comfortably in the center of the tank, even when holding his gun. And the other battle droid can fit in the turret, but its pretty tight, and he cannot hold his gun (but why would he anyway?) Boy, that looks like a comfortable position! The top of the tank, if you're curious: And because I also have the 2014 MTT and plan on displaying them together, here is how they look next to each other: Not bad, not bad at all. (IMHO ) And here it is next to the 2014 Advent Calendar AAT. Take that, anyone who thinks this one is small! CONCLUSION AND RATINGS Minifigures: 5/10 - The figs are pretty boring and none of them are new, but they make sense for inclusion in the set. It just would have been nice to get an exclusive fig to give this set more selling power. Parts: 8/10 - There are tan pieces, lots of them. I like tan. I like it more than the blue of the Clone Wars version of the tank. Build: 8/10 - It was a fast and simple build, but with a set this small, that's pretty standard. Price: 10/10 - Given the number of pieces (251) and the price ($24.99) that pretty much hits the golden ratio perfectly, and I while I think $20 would make this set much more tempting for some people, I do think $25 is fair considering the original one was $20 15 years ago and contained far less pieces. Design: 9/10 - I am positive that a lot of you will disagree with this rating, but given the scale of this set, I think the LEGO designers did a pretty good job of re-creating the tank at this size. It's not blocky like the original and its not on steroids like the 2009 version. Yes, its small, but I don't mind that. The AAT isn't supposed to be a giant vehicle. The only deduction I took off of the design score was the lack of frontal launch tubes. Playability: 9/10 - As a toy, this is very playable. You get a turret that spins a full 360 degrees, spring-loaded launchers, and minifigures representing both the "good guys" and "bad guys". What more can you ask for? Overall: 82% - I'm sure many of you will disagree with this score given how much hate this set has gotten on the internet, but honestly, I like this set a lot. I'm happy with it, and while I won't deny that it is indeed small, I think it captures the design of the AAT very well, and its smaller stature makes it both easier to store for display and open to the possibility of buying multiples for building an army. I really dislike the fact it does not have any frontal launchers which I think is an essential part of the AAT, but I suppose stickers on curved pieces are a pain anyway. If you already have 7155 or 8018, there's probably little reason to get this set, but if you're like me and don't have any AATs yet, I honestly think its worth grabbing. If you have the MTT, if compliments it nicely, and at $25, its hardly an investment. All in all, even if I'm the only one that feels this way, I'm glad LEGO made this set, and I think it makes a nice addition to any SW prequel collection. As I said about the 2014 MTT in my review, I doubt these will be flying off of shelves given the timing of its release (although I only saw one at the Target I found it at), but the low price will make it tempting for many, unlike the MTT. Hope you enjoyed reading this!
