7675 - AT-TE Walker Review

[dWhisper]

Ever notice how lame Star Wars vehicle names are? I think they should have named it "The Cougar"

[soup64]

I love this set! It's the only CW set I've bought so far (besides a clone battle pack). I love the missile firing action (even though they shoot out of a random armor opening). I love the redesign of the legs, and I appreciate the little handle that TLC put on top. The canon may not be to scale, but I think that it being exaggerated is just fine to me. All in all, a great set. I bought it while it was on sale at Target for $81. Good deal for me.

Prices to parts 7/10
Availability 10/10
Minifigs 7/10- I love Rex, but I would have loved more troops (I guess that's what battle packs are for) sold
the other figs. They just creeped me out too much.
Swooshability 8/10- I just pretend that my hand is a LAAT/c, then I shoot off the missiles. Great fun!
Build Quality 10/10- Sturdy and fun to build.
Reviewers Tilt 10/10- This is my favorite PT vehicle. It's a beast.
Overall 8.5/10

[findyourfix]

This set is a good revision of the EP 2 set. The legs are far mor articulate, but could have done with a knee joint of some kind. I was wondering what the heck the little handle was for (TLG doesn't add parts just to add parts, after all), then BLAMMO! news of the LAAT/c came out and I just about wet myself. The cannon is a little big, but cool. The only real problem I had was the lack of any covering for the undercarriage. All in all a fantastic, highly playbale set, even if you believe in 6 legged cougars! (<---joking) Of course it's Star Wars, and a 6 legged cougar may just be out there waiting for the next arena sacrifice...hee hee.

[Drock]

Being in love with Star Wars walkers since the day I saw The Empire Strikes Back, I was instantly mesmerized by the All Terrain Tactical Enforcer (AT-TE) when I first saw it in Attack of the Clones. Unfortunately for me, my days of collecting Star Wars LEGO only dates back to around 2007, so I missed out on its LEGO model, Set #4482. Much to my liking, the mechanical, overgrown beetle has been revamped and re-released in the edgy new Clone Wars style.

From Lego.com:

Stomp all over the Separatists!

When droids attack, it’s time to call in the mighty AT-TE! This powerful 6-legged walker features details straight from the Clone Wars, including positionable legs, movable cannons, firing missiles, and armored hatches and cockpit that open to reveal the cabin and troop bay inside. Even with its flying STAP vehicle, the battle droid doesn’t stand a chance against Anakin Skywalker™ and the clone army of the Republic!

* Includes Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka™, Captain Rex™, Clone Trooper™ and Battle Droid™ minifigures, plus Rotta™ the Hutt!
* AT-TE Walker has 2 missiles that really fire!
* Cannon on top rotates in all directions!
* Hatches open to reveal the inside cabins and troop bay with 4 seats and extra equipment!
* Open front to access the cockpit and to slide out the pilot seat!
* Measures 15½" (39cm) long and 8" (20cm) high!

Set Name: AT-TE Walker
Set Number: 7675
Theme: Star Wars - The Clone Wars
Year Released: 2008
Pieces: 799
Price: 89.99 USD | 99.99 EUR | 149.99 AUD
Minifigs: 6

Box Front

Features the standard (for sets released at the time) blue "Star Wars" logo with clone helmet.

Box Back

Shows off the functions of the vehicle, along with other available sets.

Instruction Manuals

Two manuals, 75 and 55 pages. The Fronts of the manuals feature the same artwork as the box.

Random Instruction Page

Pieces used for each step are called out.


Parts inventory

This is shown at the end of instruction manual #2

The Stickers

There are a few stickers. Overall, not a horrible DSS. The stickers are what give the top of the AT-TE most of its Republic dark red.

The pieces

The pieces were divided into twelve un-numbered bags. This set seemed to contain an unusually high concentration of technic connector pins. 124 pins, including 50 of the small black ones. Besides the technic pieces, as expected, this set contains a lot of light and dark bley pieces but nothing overly exciting.

The Minifigs

The entire cast of characters. Included in this set are: Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Captain Rex, a Clone Trooper, a Battle Droid, and Rotta the Huttlet.

The Jedi

Jedi Anakin "Skyguy" Skywalker and his padawan Ahsoka "Snips" Tano. At this point, these two are pretty ho-hum. They are also available in several other sets. Still, they have good detailing, especially Ahsoka's headpiece.

The Clones

Ah yes, it is the Clone Wars so we should probably see some clones. Here we get one generic clone trooper and Captain Rex. The captain's torso, legs, and hands are the same as the standard clone trooper. He has blue arms, though, instead of white. Also, Rex has a new face that I haven't seen before. He is sporting a nice five o'clock shadow. The real sweetness of the Cap'n is his helmet. I love the blue accents around the mask, and down to the tiny details of the yellow lines printed on the top of the helmet. I believe this is the only set that contains Rex, besides the '08 Comic Con exclusive package set. Also included is a baggie of clone commander accessories, and two long rifles. One for the clone trooper and one for Rotta, I guess.

Clone Customization

The baggie of dark bley clone gear is comprised of: one kama, one pauldron, two helmet lights, two small blasters (Rex prefers them to one larger blaster a la Jango Fett), one visor, and two helmet antennae.


Battle Droid
I don't have a picture of the "clanker" by itself, but it is just the standard Battle Droid we've been seeing for years. It has two straight arms instead of one of the new style twisted arms. This was done properly though, since the Droid's function in this set is to fly the STAP, not be an infantryman.

Jabba's little Punky Muffin


How could such a cute little guy be the source of all the trouble in the Clone Wars movie?
Hutts must not sprout hands until they mature a bit. They also get much uglier.

The STAP


Fairly similar to the one that came with the 7654 Droids Battle Pack, except this time it's in Clone Wars Blue. The Battle Droid clips on using his hands. This is the reason that the droid in this set has two straight arms.



The AT-TE

As mentioned above, the AT-TE contains a lot of Technic parts. You start out building the main frame of the vehicle:


Once the frame is built, the legs start being added. Building the legs was very tedious. The four corner legs are similar, except that they are mirrored about each axis. If you are very meticulous and pay close attention while building the legs, you can build all four at one time. I chose to follow the directions step by step, building one at a time. Each corner leg is held in place by a rubber band. When you push down on the walker, the legs will act like they have shock absorbers in them. (they spring back into place). This makes it easy to stand the walker without worrying about positioning the legs.

I was ready for a break at this point, so this is where I left off after one sitting:


Next up was the addition of the two center legs. They are similar to the corner legs, except that they are a little beefier. These two legs are strictly ornamental, though. The walker will stand perfectly stable without them. If only the Republic's engineers could have learned from LEGO's designers, they could have saved the cost of two legs.

Once the legs are attached, the rest of the build goes really quickly. The exoskeleton (continuing with that whole beetle-reference thing), is made up of plates which connect to the Technic pins showing in the previous picture.


The Completed Walker
Ready to tactically enforce stuff in any terrain.

Side Elevation


Plan View


Front Elevation


Rear Elevation



Features and Functions

Top Cannon
As you can see in the picture above, the cannon will not sit level by itself. It can only be balanced when a minfig is seated at the gunner seat.





The cannon does rotate 360 degrees in the X-Y plane. If facing forward, it can only pivot about 10 degrees up or down in the vertical direction before hitting the top of the walker. When turned, though, the cannon has a better vertical range.


Real Firing
This vehicle is devoid of the beloved flick-fire missiles, but it does feature two of the "real firing" missiles. The idea is that when you push down on the back end of one of the front panels, the front of the panel will lift up and fire the missile. It only seems to work sporadically though. When I tried making a demonstration video though, The AT-TE was acting just like my son though. He'll do something cute at home for mommy and daddy, but then won't do it when we have company. :hmpf:

So the best I can do is show the picture from the box of what it's supposed to do.


Be safe, though. Sometimes it does work properly, so don't aim it at yourself, other people, or pets. It may not be an official Red Ryder carbine-action, 200-shot, range model air rifle, but you can still shoot your eye out.



The "Handle"

The instructions show this Technic piece, which slides up and down easily, as a place to pick up the walker. We now know that this is also so the AT-TE can be picked up by the Republic Dropship from the 10195 Set


The Cockpit


The cockpit is a tight squeeze for one clone. The front folds down and the seat pulls out. Otherwise, you would never be able to get the driver in and your AT-TE would be more like an AT-SD (All Terrain Sitting Duck).


The Interior

The top rear panel flips up to reveal seating for four clones, a rack for four blasters, and a jug of gatorade. Similarly, the front top panel flips up to reveal two more seats, a storage drawer, and another jug of gatorade. The interior is probably the weakest link of the set. The interior is open on the bottom.


The rear seating area, as well as the front drawer and gatorade jug can be taken out so you can load up your clones.

I think LEGO did a good job recreating this one, and capturing its spirit. My only complaint is that in the LEGO version, the top is flat, while in the real version, the top is sloped/curved.

The full set

Both vehicles and all the minifigs.


Ratings

Playability: 7/10 The set is well put together; it doesn't fall apart easily. Also, if you do not have the Republic Dropship set, you can easily simulate one with your hand, dropping off the AT-TE for ground attack. The firing missiles are kind of disappointing, as they don't seem to work consistently.

Design: 8/10 Much better than the first attempt (Set 4482). This one looks more grandiose, though it is still far from true scale. The exterior is nearly perfect, closely matching the real thing. The interior is really weak as mentioned above. Of course this is LEGO, and it leaves space open (no pun) for modding and improving.

Minifigs: 6/10 There are some good ones here. Anakin and Ahsoka get around a lot, but they should, as they are the main characters of the Clone Wars. Captain Rex is the real gem, as he is exclusive to this set and the Comic Con exclusive set. Also, Rotta is somewhat rare, but not all that coveted. Also, it would have been better if at least one more clone were included. There should be at least one to drive the AT-TE, one to sit in the gunner's seat and one on the ground. I guess spending another $10 on a Clone Walker Battle Pack could fix this.

Value: 7/10 The price to parts ratio is about what we can expect for Star Wars sets. The set seems nicely sized for the price once it's put together.

Overall: 7/10 A nice display piece, and a must-have for CW LEGO collectors. It looks good and has some interesting minifigs.


Closing Thoughts:

We need another Clone so embarrassing situations like this don't arise:

Anakin: Rex, if you're down here and he's in the gunner seat, then who's driving?
Rex: Sir?
Rotta: Uh Oh! Nyuk Nyuk!