Review: 7657 AT-ST

Set ID: 7657 AT-ST

Number of Pieces: 244

Year of Release: 2007

Minifigs: 1

Purchased Price: About SGD 50

All Terrain Scout Transport a.k.a. The Chicken Walker. Big blocky head and skinny pair of legs, that's what made this vehicle so iconic. Judging from the number of AT-ST released over the years, the designers in LEGO must have had a crush on this machine.

Not withstanding those mini sets, the AT-ST appeared in 2001 (7127 Imperial AT-ST), 2006 (10174 UCS Imperial AT-ST) and 2009 (8038 Battle of Endor). I have only constructed the 2001 set before this so it is easy to say that the six years have made a really big difference in terms of the improvement of design. But judging from the pictures of 8038, the AT-ST found in that set is not as detailed as this one.

What always amaze me about the AT-ST is its ability to balance the big, bulky head on its two skinny legs. Whilst it is easy to simply brush that off, it does take a lot of precise calculations to ensure that the machine stands steadily when completed. It is so steady that even if you poke it gently, it will still remain standing. Kudos to the designer!

Rather naked cockpit

There are quite a number of posable elements in the AT-ST. The legs and the guns can be bent or turn to your fancied directions (although the legs have to be bent in a certain configuration in order for the AT-ST to stand steadily).

The cockpit can be accessed from the hinged hatch on the top, with a pilot seat and a clip to store his laser gun. Unfortunately, there is a lack of joystick or other form of control and control panel, which therefore makes the interior of the cockpit rather plain. A set of gear is built in to allow the entire cockpit to be rotated with the turn of a knob found at the back of the AT-ST.

Building Experience

This set was released in 2007 when numbered packs were not invented yet. And with most of the bricks in grey or dark grey, finding the right bricks took some effort. Even the pilot was dismembered with various parts found in different bags! The whole building process was made more challenging by my insistence to build this at night, with limited natural lighting. My manual was badly bent and dog-earred when I found it in the box, courtesy of a rather small and flat box design.

The rotating mechanism

The construction commenced with the turntable mechanism, which the cockpit resides on, and followed by the cockpit itself and then the two legs. The whole process took no more than 45 minutes, despite all the difficulties with the sea of grey bricks and limited ambience illumination. With exception of the guns mounted by the two sides of the cockpit, the rest of the AT-ST were rather sturdy and solid when built.

Thank god, there is no sticker in this set! The only opportunity that the stickers can be used are on the two 2X2 round bricks found at the rear of the AT-ST, supposedly to represent the ventilation holes of the cockpit. The bricks were printed instead. Nice. I know I always say printed bricks inflate the price, but at only SGD 50 for this set in 2006, this is definitely not even close to be defined as 'expensive' at all.

I happened to find two extra 2X1 dark grey bricks at the end of the construction. Despite relooking at the manual several times, I still cannot figure out where I have missed out. The set doesn't really look any lesser without these two bricks so I'm not going to lose sleep over it.

Minifigs

Only a AT-ST pilot is included in this set. He comes in an all grey outfit with print only on the front of the torso piece. He has the chin strap printed on his face too and he certainly looks cool with those huge printed pilot goggles.

Conclusion

+ Steady despite standing on two legs
+ Smooth mechanism for turning cockpit
+ No stickers!

- Cockpit rather plain
- Side cannon rather flimsy
- Only one minifig