Review: 75440 AT-AT
Posted by CapnRex101,
I have enjoyed the Starship Collection to date, especially the capital ships never represented in LEGO form before. However, memorable ground vehicles arguably belong in this series too, even though the name suggests otherwise. Its major purpose is to recreate classic Star Wars vehicles at a small scale, after all.
75440 AT-AT therefore dispenses with the usual Starship Collection branding and I think the Imperial Walker looks excellent at this scale. The attached Snowspeeder is a neat detail as well, adding a splash of colour, so this should be an impressive display piece.
Summary
75440 AT-AT, 525 pieces.
£59.99 / $64.99 / €64.99 | 11.4p / 12.4c / 12.4c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
75440 AT-AT looks outstanding on display, proving surprisingly accurate to the film
- Remarkable accuracy, for its size
- Realistic walking pose
- Impressive detail
- Snowspeeder is a fun addition
- A little overpriced
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Reference
Source - starwars.fandom.com
The Completed Model
The major concerns in developing a LEGO AT-AT are presumably ensuring that the articulated legs are stable and accommodating characters inside the cockpit. However, neither is an issue here, so the proportions of this model are pretty accurate for its size, perhaps more so than any other rendition of the vehicle.
The model measures 17cm in height and 19cm long, so it should look reasonable with previous Starship Collection sets, even though this is evidently an outlier. 75288 AT-AT is shown here for comparison and much though I like the 2020 design, its shortcomings are obvious, especially in relation to the smaller Imperial Walker.
The base is designed to match other models in this series, with the same curved edges leading to a printed nameplate. Part of me appreciates the consistency between sets, but I also wonder whether a snowy base would make the scene slightly more dynamic. Its shape could remain the same, but with white pieces drifting over the edges, like on 75306 Imperial Probe Droid.
Regardless, the black base provides a welcome contrast and secure connection points for the footpads. The legs are not intended to move from this position, but the hip and ankle joints are moveable. The knees are static though, incorporating the angled limb element frequently found on mechs for the bent knee.
I like the printed 2x2 round tiles forming the joint covers and the details on the ankles are great too, using skeleton arms to create the proper shape. The right front leg includes a clip to attach the included Snowspeeder, which is mounted on a trans-clear curved support with the tow cable trailing behind.
The scale of this Snowspeeder is accurate compared with the AT-AT and I think it looks superb. Reddish orange is a perfect choice for the accent colour and I think all the essential details are represented, including the cockpit canopy and laser cannons. There are gaps around the nose, although they are hardly noticeable at this scale.
The head is slightly oversized in relation to the body, but necessarily so to recreate its angular shape and the exterior details. The trans-red viewport and various laser cannons are accurate and using a wheel for the neck works well, with its moulded ridges resembling the flexible neck section of the onscreen AT-AT.
You can move the head a limited distance from side to side, though not up and down. The body armour is textured effectively, featuring 1x4 gear racks forming the ladders on either side. There is an appealing combination of smooth and studded surfaces too.
I am particularly pleased with the detail on the back, including a dark bluish grey 1x1 tile based on an area of exposed mechanical detail visible onscreen. Moreover, I like how 1x2x2/3 slopes are combined with wedge plates to form the angled edges of the armour, avoiding any potential gaps between panels.
Like many Starship Collection sets, this model contains a few more hidden details inside. This printed thermal detonator is a fun addition, albeit placed some distance forward of where Luke throws one in The Empire Strikes Back.
Stacks of 1x1 round plates represent Snowtroopers waiting to disembark on the AT-AT's upper level, while Octan's familiar green, red and white colours are noticeable towards the back. This is where the Octan-branded fuel tanks were positioned inside 75313 AT-AT a few years ago, so installing the same feature here makes sense.
Overall
Though not flawless, 75440 AT-AT is arguably the most accurate LEGO rendition of the AT-AT produced to date, which is remarkable, given its size. The proportions and details are close to perfect and I love the dynamic nature of the model on display, between the natural stance and the tiny Snowspeeder wrapping the walker with its tow cable.
The difficulty with these sets tends to be the price, especially considering the model's physical size. £59.99, $64.99 or €64.99 definitely feels a bit too expensive, but the quality of the design cannot be ignored and for those wanting a detailed, yet manageable for display, iteration of the Imperial Walker, this is a worthy purchase.
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33 comments on this article
This is currently on sale in Target and on Amazon in Australia for $75.
That's roughly $52 USD, or £38 GBP.
Boring grey. I prefer gingerbread.
I feel like that 1x2 jumper plate on the aft needs a https://brickset.com/parts/design-24866 to complete the model
The cable effect with the clear arm supporting the Snowspeeder is fantastic!
Please make a foto of this and 40806
And folks complain that F1 cars are all the same!
@CapnRex101 said:
"Though not flawless, 75440 AT-AT is arguably the most accurate LEGO rendition of the AT-AT produced to date, which is remarkable, given its size."
Really? You consider this to be more accurate than 75313? I'd like to hear that justification. I look at this version, and I can't explain exactly what's wrong, but the legs look too chonky compared to the motion picture.
@sjr60 said:
"And folks complain that F1 cars are all the same!"
In what way is this the same as anything we have had before? The vehicle has appeared many times before, of course, but the design is completely unique.
@PurpleDave said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
"Though not flawless, 75440 AT-AT is arguably the most accurate LEGO rendition of the AT-AT produced to date, which is remarkable, given its size."
Really? You consider this to be more accurate than 75313 ? I'd like to hear that justification. I look at this version, and I can't explain exactly what's wrong, but the legs look too chonky compared to the motion picture."
Indeed, the legs are too chunky and the head is too big, but the same is true for 75313 AT-AT, albeit less so in the case of the head. However, the legs are also far too wide on the Ultimate Collector Series model, which is less of an issue here. Of course, 75313 AT-AT is a far greater challenge because its legs need to be much stronger, so the inaccuracies do not really bother me.
I would say they are about equal, for their respective sizes. The bigger version obviously has more intricate detail, but you have to take the scale into consideration.
Lovely set. Well worth £20. Can’t see in the review where the other £40 goes though. Is there a part 2?
I loooove this range. I was pretty determined to get the full set until the Kylo Ren ship came out with an extra-extra ridiculous price for a ship I was never going to be all that excited about to begin with, but if I pretend that one doesn’t exist I’m still *pretty* determined. I’m happy they’re expanding to some of the more interesting ground vehicles!
How does it look with any of the many Advent Calendar Hoth micro builds? I realize the AC snow speeders are four wide and the one here is five-wide but I wonder if they're close enough to not matter.
I really wish the base had been white. I'll probably rebuild mine in white and expand it to make a larger diorama.
Wonderful little model but it really is overpriced like most sets in that collection. I guess the lack of minifigs doesn't help either.
The Snowspeeder build on this seems to be the same scale as the one in 2003's 4486 AT-ST & Snowspeeder, which could make that classic set a surprising companion piece to this latest one.
Other than the black base, which I find a little jarring and illogical, I really like this. The Snowspeeder is a brilliant addition.
The unnecessary nameplate irritates me a little too, as it obscures part of the AT-AT! I'd be omitting it from my build (when the discounts arrive).
@Tuppence442 said:
"The Snowspeeder build on this seems to be the same scale as the one in 2003's 4486 AT-ST & Snowspeeder, which could make that classic set a surprising companion piece to this latest one."
That brings up an issue I have with this set. I like the AT-AT well enough (in spite of the weirdly off proportions of the legs). The Snowspeeder I'm not entirely sold on. It really needs something to represent the forward bulge between the engines and the main guns. Unfortunately, it seems the clip-tile is half a plate too high to line up with the D-snot. The first version solved that easily by separating the forward portion of the wing from the engine block. Other than using the same trick, the only other solution I'm coming up with is to replace the D-snot with another clip-tile.
Can't wait to get and build it!
Hope there will be more vehicles added to the Starship Collection, cause this is great! Love these simple display pieces. They don't take up much space, are very well designed an in a good scale and just absolutely beautiful.
Amazing looking set. Great size. Lots of energy. Designer nailed it. IMHO.
Surely from a purely mathematical viewpoint AT - AT would equal zero.
I wasn’t a fan at first (and probably am still not) but I do like how the trans clear support gets hidden by the tow cable. I just think there’s so much else (at better value) to leverage my limited LEGO budget. To be honest, I’m more excited for BDP these days than many standard LEGO offerings.
@CapnRex101 said:
" @sjr60 said:
"And folks complain that F1 cars are all the same!"
In what way is this the same as anything we have had before? The vehicle has appeared many times before, of course, but the design is completely unique."
Star Wars obsessives everywhere say, 'Quite true. Totally different'. :-)
Great midi-scaled AT-AT.
Looks excellent and nice touch with the Snowspeeder.
A bit high of a price, little high, but will be on the Amazon lookout for their 20% off.
$30, take it or leave it.
Seems to me proportionally-wise the legs need another stud length added to both the top and bottom sections. Will give that mod a go once I manage to acquire a copy of this set.
And agree base would benefit better having a white color scheme than with black in this instance.
We have the butthole tiger and now the butthole AT-AT
$85 here, most overpriced piece of crap I've ever seen
Not bad not bad
…why did they not just take the excellent/stable (and well-valued) gingerbread model design and give it the original colors/printing? Without the unique Vader figure and the extra ropes/tiles from decorations, they could have easily tossed a couple more pieces into a slightly-scaled-up speeder for display, or instead for a fresh minifig-scale probe droid. Ditch the base and you could toss in a pilot and a snowstormie or two and easily match the original $60 price point instead of jacking it up.
This just comes off as a completely unnecessary redesign that crams in less functionality and less overall content despite them practically having a better option gift-wrapped in front of them.
@pteric said:"We have the butthole tiger and now the butthole AT-AT"
That's how it deploys stormtroopers: https://www.deviantart.com/leucophaeusolitaria/art/Untitled-1026827279
@Kalking said:
"…why did they not just take the excellent/stable (and well-valued) gingerbread model design and give it the original colors/printing? Without the unique Vader figure and the extra ropes/tiles from decorations, they could have easily tossed a couple more pieces into a slightly-scaled-up speeder for display, or instead for a fresh minifig-scale probe droid. Ditch the base and you could toss in a pilot and a snowstormie or two and easily match the original $60 price point instead of jacking it up.
This just comes off as a completely unnecessary redesign that crams in less functionality and less overall content despite them practically having a better option gift-wrapped in front of them."
If they'd done as you suggested, it would too big to fit in with the Starship Collection. I mean yes, it's not a starship, but this way, it would still fit in a display with the others. And they might well do more ground vehicles in the collection.
The midi-scale sets are ok. It's sad tgat they don't include any fun, unique figs. They're way overpriced, but quickly get reduced. I just don't have much appetite anymore for non-minifig compatible sets.
@Kalking said:
"…why did they not just take the excellent/stable (and well-valued) gingerbread model design and give it the original colors/printing? Without the unique Vader figure and the extra ropes/tiles from decorations, they could have easily tossed a couple more pieces into a slightly-scaled-up speeder for display, or instead for a fresh minifig-scale probe droid. Ditch the base and you could toss in a pilot and a snowstormie or two and easily match the original $60 price point instead of jacking it up.
This just comes off as a completely unnecessary redesign that crams in less functionality and less overall content despite them practically having a better option gift-wrapped in front of them."
Because it is part of a display series, so it is done in the same style as the rest of the series.
'A little overpriced' - If viewed with a non biased lense this is 20% overpriced
A white baseplate wouldve taken this 6/10 to a 7/10
@Kalking said:
"…why did they not just take the excellent/stable (and well-valued) gingerbread model design and give it the original colors/printing? "
Be...cause it has a lot of problems? The first of which is the giant s'more that's slapped on top:
https://images.brickset.com/news/125072_Gingerbread%2013.jpg
The three top armor plates should all come together cleanly, not with giant steps. The design is also incredibly simplistic, which is only disguised by all the icing, gumdrops, and light strings. The shaping is off, as was noted in the review. It's too big to fit in with the rest of the Starship Collection. And it's too fragile. It works well enough for what it is, but would look like a 4+ model if converted to greys.
@StyleCounselor:
I've hit a point in my SW collecting where I care more about detail and accuracy than minifig compatibility. If you want both, that pretty much limits you to the UCS line, and I've got higher priorities than trying to keep up with those. This series gives me exactly what I want at an affordable scale, and I can pick up a few other sets for the minifigs I want.
@KyloBen1012:
Methinks your lens is at least 10% too biased.