Set ID: 8129 AT-AT Walker
Number of Pieces: 815
Number of Pieces: 815
Year of Release: 2010
Minifigs: 8
Purchased Price: About SGD 177
AT-tack!
As a kid, the AT-AT is always a symbol of invincibility. Rising from the snow, it ploughs through the battle field in Hoth with speed that will hardly alert the traffic police, but stands majestically above all and beat the hell out of the enemies. As a kid, I am very curious how the interior of the AT-AT might look like, to be so well protected from the outside while blowing the Rebel Troopers into smithereens. Finally, with the building of this AT-AT, I get my curiosity fulfilled. Or at least, the LEGO version of it.
It is quite rare that a re-release of a LEGO Star Wars set is of lesser brick counts, lower price or lesser details. This set can be considered to be a precedent. Inflation of the price aside, the brick count is about 200 less than that of 4483, released in 2003, and definitely lesser than the UCS version released in 2007 (10178). Aesthetically speaking, it is certainly a yard shorter than the other two sets too.
This AT-AT is probably one of the most posable vehicle in recent times. The four slender legs can be bent at different angles to simulate the elephant-like walking motion and the head can be swung from side to side, carefully though.
Play features include a hatch that can be opened to access the cockpit, as well as a removable control room in belly of the beast. The cockpit is rather plain and without a control panel or joystick. Much care will have to be exercised when opening the side panels of the AT-AT as there will always be tendency for a hinge or a panel to come off in the process. I have also crushed the cockpit a couple of times when I was building it, as it was put together by clipping the panels to one another.
Luke is able to access the AT-AT by climbing up a whip? I thought string mounted on a winch will be more appropriate. The stiffness of the whip is quite a far cry from the cable that Luke was climbing in the movie. For a start, it is waaaay too stiff as compared to the rope.
The only resistance against the AT-AT is the miserable satellite gun station that is manned by a solitary Hoth Rebel Trooper. For additional reinforcement, this set can be combined with the other Hoth battles sets that were released over the years.
Building Experience
This is a rebuild for me. I have previously dismantled the set and sort them out into brick shapes and that helped the rebuilding process a lot. With so many grey bricks, it will be easier to locate the right bricks based on its shape / type. Construction starts from the base of the body and followed by repetitive steps of putting the four legs together. Plenty of hinges, Technic pegs and clip-ons are used to secure the other panels to the body. I do like the details on the rear of the AT-AT, and the clever use of a LEGO pistol to represent the piping on the exterior of the AT-AT.
Head is the last addition. I keep thinking the head is not fixed properly to the body and attempted to exert larger force to press the head in, only to crush either parts of the cockpit or the body. The pilot can access the cockpit via the hinged hatch on top of the head and the hatch has this unique design that requires you to align the it carefully before it can be closed properly. This is not an easy process as I struggled to find the right angle to close the hatch every time. To make matter worse, some parts will usually come off in the process of closing the hatch. Very fragile design.
The rebuilding process revealed the lack of quality for the recent LEGO sets released. Many of the bricks seemed to have gone out of shape or expanded while it was in storage. The usual tightness of putting two bricks together was very apparent when rebuilding this set. This is probably also why some of the parts have a high tendency to come off when the AT-AT is moved. Quite disappointing, I must say.
Minifigs
How many sets nowadays come with eight minifigs? And if they do, the price will probably be quite astronomical. Although the minifigs in this set are not really something to shout about, the quantity was enough to at least set up a proper play set without having to acquire other sets.
Luke Skywalker is the hero in the AT-AT battle scene, clambering up the cable to decimate the occupants and brought the AT-AT to its knees. There are plenty of details on his helmet with a reasonable amount of details on his torso. A blue bladed light saber completes his attacking option. Not too sure how the C3-PO can help to fight the AT-AT but his inclusion in this set is also a welcomed gesture.
Talking about details on helmet. Nothing beats the helmet design of the AT-AT pilot. Covering the totally black head is this pilot helmet with incredible details of the visor, ventilation stripes and logo. Although the helmet looks a little too big and out of proportion to the minifig, I have no complain.
The pilot chauffeured three compatriots in his AT-AT - General Veers and two other Snowtroopers. The former has a torso printed on both sides and a difficult-to-decipher expression on his face, probably to demonstrate his authority over his two subordinates, who happen to have more awesome looking laser guns than him. The Snowtrooper can be found in abundance in many other recent sets, carrying a hollow backpack behind him.
Han Solo has a trademark smirk on his face and high level of details printed on his torso. Han is always seen in his opened jacket over a white crumpled shirt inside. All these are captured on the design printed on the front of his torso. In 2010, printed leg piece was still quite a new concept and in Hans, we have the additional designs printed on his leg piece to reflect his belt and gun holster.
The Hoth Rebel Trooper wears a grin (I have to say very similar to the expression on Hans' face, except for the colour of the eye brows) and a well designed helmet on his head. Oversized, the goggles does look better when placed on top of the helmet rather than across the face. His belt is printed on the torso piece unlike that of Hans too. Hans' belt is printed on his leg piece to reflect a lower slung belt as compared to the Hoth Rebel Trooper.
Conclusion
As a Star Wars fan, you MUST have an AT-AT. Period. I cannot remember if there is another LEGO Star Wars set that stands taller than this (not counting the UCS ones), and its always nice to have a set that lends its vertical presence to balance those mostly flat scene sets or aerodynamic flying machines.
+ Its an AT-AT
+ Very posable (check out the "-" on this point)
+ Plenty of minifigs
- Fragile and difficult to carry around and change poses
- Whip? Since when? Give Luke a cable/string please
- A little repetitive in the building process. There are four legs, what do you expect?
As a kid, the AT-AT is always a symbol of invincibility. Rising from the snow, it ploughs through the battle field in Hoth with speed that will hardly alert the traffic police, but stands majestically above all and beat the hell out of the enemies. As a kid, I am very curious how the interior of the AT-AT might look like, to be so well protected from the outside while blowing the Rebel Troopers into smithereens. Finally, with the building of this AT-AT, I get my curiosity fulfilled. Or at least, the LEGO version of it.
It is quite rare that a re-release of a LEGO Star Wars set is of lesser brick counts, lower price or lesser details. This set can be considered to be a precedent. Inflation of the price aside, the brick count is about 200 less than that of 4483, released in 2003, and definitely lesser than the UCS version released in 2007 (10178). Aesthetically speaking, it is certainly a yard shorter than the other two sets too.
This AT-AT is probably one of the most posable vehicle in recent times. The four slender legs can be bent at different angles to simulate the elephant-like walking motion and the head can be swung from side to side, carefully though.Play features include a hatch that can be opened to access the cockpit, as well as a removable control room in belly of the beast. The cockpit is rather plain and without a control panel or joystick. Much care will have to be exercised when opening the side panels of the AT-AT as there will always be tendency for a hinge or a panel to come off in the process. I have also crushed the cockpit a couple of times when I was building it, as it was put together by clipping the panels to one another.
Luke is able to access the AT-AT by climbing up a whip? I thought string mounted on a winch will be more appropriate. The stiffness of the whip is quite a far cry from the cable that Luke was climbing in the movie. For a start, it is waaaay too stiff as compared to the rope.
The only resistance against the AT-AT is the miserable satellite gun station that is manned by a solitary Hoth Rebel Trooper. For additional reinforcement, this set can be combined with the other Hoth battles sets that were released over the years.
Building Experience
This is a rebuild for me. I have previously dismantled the set and sort them out into brick shapes and that helped the rebuilding process a lot. With so many grey bricks, it will be easier to locate the right bricks based on its shape / type. Construction starts from the base of the body and followed by repetitive steps of putting the four legs together. Plenty of hinges, Technic pegs and clip-ons are used to secure the other panels to the body. I do like the details on the rear of the AT-AT, and the clever use of a LEGO pistol to represent the piping on the exterior of the AT-AT.
Head is the last addition. I keep thinking the head is not fixed properly to the body and attempted to exert larger force to press the head in, only to crush either parts of the cockpit or the body. The pilot can access the cockpit via the hinged hatch on top of the head and the hatch has this unique design that requires you to align the it carefully before it can be closed properly. This is not an easy process as I struggled to find the right angle to close the hatch every time. To make matter worse, some parts will usually come off in the process of closing the hatch. Very fragile design.
The rebuilding process revealed the lack of quality for the recent LEGO sets released. Many of the bricks seemed to have gone out of shape or expanded while it was in storage. The usual tightness of putting two bricks together was very apparent when rebuilding this set. This is probably also why some of the parts have a high tendency to come off when the AT-AT is moved. Quite disappointing, I must say.
Minifigs
How many sets nowadays come with eight minifigs? And if they do, the price will probably be quite astronomical. Although the minifigs in this set are not really something to shout about, the quantity was enough to at least set up a proper play set without having to acquire other sets.
Luke Skywalker is the hero in the AT-AT battle scene, clambering up the cable to decimate the occupants and brought the AT-AT to its knees. There are plenty of details on his helmet with a reasonable amount of details on his torso. A blue bladed light saber completes his attacking option. Not too sure how the C3-PO can help to fight the AT-AT but his inclusion in this set is also a welcomed gesture.
Talking about details on helmet. Nothing beats the helmet design of the AT-AT pilot. Covering the totally black head is this pilot helmet with incredible details of the visor, ventilation stripes and logo. Although the helmet looks a little too big and out of proportion to the minifig, I have no complain.
The pilot chauffeured three compatriots in his AT-AT - General Veers and two other Snowtroopers. The former has a torso printed on both sides and a difficult-to-decipher expression on his face, probably to demonstrate his authority over his two subordinates, who happen to have more awesome looking laser guns than him. The Snowtrooper can be found in abundance in many other recent sets, carrying a hollow backpack behind him.
Han Solo has a trademark smirk on his face and high level of details printed on his torso. Han is always seen in his opened jacket over a white crumpled shirt inside. All these are captured on the design printed on the front of his torso. In 2010, printed leg piece was still quite a new concept and in Hans, we have the additional designs printed on his leg piece to reflect his belt and gun holster.
The Hoth Rebel Trooper wears a grin (I have to say very similar to the expression on Hans' face, except for the colour of the eye brows) and a well designed helmet on his head. Oversized, the goggles does look better when placed on top of the helmet rather than across the face. His belt is printed on the torso piece unlike that of Hans too. Hans' belt is printed on his leg piece to reflect a lower slung belt as compared to the Hoth Rebel Trooper.
Conclusion
As a Star Wars fan, you MUST have an AT-AT. Period. I cannot remember if there is another LEGO Star Wars set that stands taller than this (not counting the UCS ones), and its always nice to have a set that lends its vertical presence to balance those mostly flat scene sets or aerodynamic flying machines.
+ Its an AT-AT
+ Very posable (check out the "-" on this point)
+ Plenty of minifigs
- Fragile and difficult to carry around and change poses
- Whip? Since when? Give Luke a cable/string please
- A little repetitive in the building process. There are four legs, what do you expect?
