[REVIEW*] 75080 AAT

Hello everyone.

I am here to review one of the Lego Star Wars set for the year 2015: 75080 AAT.  I would like to let you know that I am not a fan or I don't hate Star Wars.  So, this is my first time to have a Star Wars set.  In order to do a good review, I did some research about the AAT and previous AAT sets released by Lego.  

The AAT stands for Armored Assault Tank.  There are 2 designs for the AAT: one design is from the Episode 1: The Phantom Menace movie and the second design is from the Episode 2: Clone Wars movie.  This the 3rd version of AAT set released by Lego.  It is probably the smallest and cheapest version of the AAT.  The design is based from the version of Starwars Episode 1.
Let's start first with the basic information about this set.

Name: 75080 AAT (Armored Assault Tank)
Theme: Star Wars
Released: January 2015
Pieces: 251
Price: US$24.99, S$49.90


Box Art (Front)

The front of the box shows the main build design and the minifigures included in this set.

Box Art (Back)

The back of the box shows some play features of the set including how to launch the missiles, how to put the drones in the AAT and the cannon can rotate complete 360 degrees.

The Box Contents


The box contains 1 instruction booklet, 3 numbered plastic bags and 1pc 2x9 Dark Gray plate.  I don't know why Lego did not include the plate in the plastic bags.  Maybe they forgot to include it at first and they added it on the set later.

The Box Contents (Bag #1)


The contents of this bag build the base or the hull of the AAT.  It also contains the parts for Jar Jar Binks minifigure.

Bag #1 Build



The Box Contents (Bag #2)


The contents of this bag build the middle structure and the cockpit of the AAT.

Bag #2 Build



The Bag Contents (Bag #3)


And lastly, the contents of this bag build the turret and cannon part of the AAT.  The set also contains the parts for the two battle droids.

Bag #3 Build



Extra pieces:
These are the extra pieces you will get from this set.



The Minifigures

This set has 3 minifigures: Jar Jar Binks, the Battle Droid and the Pilot Battle Droid.  The design of the minifigures are not new for 2015 releases.  You can also get them from other sets.

Battle Droid

The design of battle is simple and plain.  He has a blaster rifle as his weapon.  If you have other Star Wars sets, you probably have this one in your collection.

Pilot Battle Droid

The design of the Pilot Battle droid is the same with the Battle Droid.  However, the Pilot Battle Droid has a blue-colored torso.  He also has a smaller pistol as his weapon.

Jar Jar Binks

Jar Jar Binks torso has the same design with the movie.  His legs has no prints in it.  It's head is one whole piece that you connect with the torso.  He also has a printed shield and a weapon made of antenna element and 1x1 trans blue round brick.

The AAT Build

Front View


Side View


Back View


At the bottom, is the hull of the AAT.  It is more bulky compared to the original design.  The hull is plain; there are no indications of the launcher tubes.  This is the probably the downside of this set.  At the middle of the hull there are two (2) hidden spring-loaded missile shooters.  This is one of the features of this set.  The shooters can be activated by a lever at the back of the tank.  

Push this lever to activate the spring-loaded shooters...



Main Cockpit

In the middle,  there is a hatch that you can open the main cockpit of the tank.   The cockpit is big enough to fit the Pilot Battle Droid while holding his blaster.  There are also two cannons at the sides of the tank.  Unfortunately, these cannons cannot rotate because they are connected by an axle.  You can position the cannons horizontally or vertically by pulling them out then connecting them the way you want.  

Turret Cockpit (Space is too small…)

Finally, at the top, is the primary cannon turret.  The turret can rotate complete 360 degrees and the cannon can be moved upwards ordownwards.  There is also a hatch in the turret that can be opened in order to put the Battle Droid inside.  However, the space inside is too small; the Droid cannot hold his pistol while inside.  

We can shoot you at the back also...


Stop!!! You cannot go any further...


Conclusion:
For a first time builder of a Star Wars set, I was really impressed with this set.   The build's size and design are almost accurate with the original design of the AAT.  Many will complain with the bulkiness and missing detail for the launch tubes of the hull; but for me, this design is still tolerable.  It will be difficult to put stickers (to represent launcher tubes) on the hull because of the curves on the bricks used.  The build is also sturdy and durable. You can easily lift the build by holding at the back of the AAT.

One way to hold/lift the AAT


As for the minifigures, I am not satisfied with the minifigures included in this set.  It's very hard for me to make the battle droids stand on their own (in plain flat surface) while holding their weapons.  Also, these minifigures can also be found from other sets.  I understand that the battle droids is a must in AAT.  But, I hope Lego put at least one unique character in this set or different design of the minifigures.

For Playability, this set has many play features.  From the spring-loaded missile shooters at the bottom of the build to the rotating blaster cannon at the top.  You can also put the battle droids inside the tank. With a smaller but durable size , the kids can play with this set very easily.

All I can say, this set is recommended if you're collecting Star Wars vehicles or you're building a diorama of "Invasion of Naboo" or you are after the parts for your MOCs.  Although there are no unique parts included in this set, you will get a lots of tan colored parts and a few brown parts.  But, if you're just collecting Star Wars sets with nice minifigures, I will recommend you to get better sets with better variety of minifigures.


I hope I did a good job for this review.  If you have some comments or suggestions, please share it with me.  It is greatly appreciated.  It will help me improve my review and photography skills.

That was a lot of spare parts for a simple set.

Nice review. Feels more compact than the last version but it ain't bad for fans who missed out the previous one.