The ‘Star Wars - Microfighters’ sub-theme is one which has a very unique style which fans like to call ‘Chibi.’ It’s basically models which are out of scale for Minifigures which also have exaggerated proportions for particular elements of the model. It’s a huge improvement over the previous ‘Planets’ sub-theme in terms of successful products. This is why henceforth it has taken its place and has proven to be successful in sales, and indicates why it will return in 2016 for a third wave.

Minifigure

As with all ‘Star Wars – Microfighters’ this set also comes with one Minifigure, in this instant it is a AT-AT Driver which has only appeared in one other set (75054 - AT-AT) in this exact variant.

This variant comes with a small black pistol and is the fourth design of the AT-AT Driver in the LEGO medium. The ‘135 - Sand Blue’ colour is a huge improvement over the previous design which had greys instead. I believe the 194 - Light Stone Grey’ is also accurate for the helmet judging by the reference I found from the movie. The printing on the head, torso and legs is outstanding; this is definitely the best variant of the character in the medium.

Sadly this Minifigure has two problems one is the use of a Clone Trooper head which has even shown up on the new First Order Stormtroopers. Unfortunately I don’t see this tread going away anytime soon, it’s pretty sad given how inaccurate it is for Star Wars fans. Honestly substituting it for a blank head would have solved that particular issue. The other problem in terms of design and accuracy is that the shoulder pads are absent; I’m not exactly sure how it could have been achieved other than printing, having small fabric would have been redundant given how small this detail is. These two issues aren’t anything too major to take away from this incredible Minifigure; one of them could easily be fixed with one additional head element, it’s these type of issues I feel should be raised to improve upon future products.

Building Experience / Display Attributes

The Microfighter AT-AT took up to 10 minutes to assemble given how small the model is. The set contains two small unnumbered bags and one instruction manual. The model starts with the main body which uses three SNOT (Studs Not On Top) assemblies; two on the sides and one on the rear.

The rear has a clip which could allow you to clip the AT-AT Driver’s pistol onto it if you choose to. Next we follow with the head which has an awesome amount of detail and representation given how accurate it is in this scale. One thing I dislike about the head is the absence of the small ball joint system which doesn’t allow its head to move around more freely; another easy fix with only five elements:

• 1x 6039479 - Plate 1X2 Ball Ø5.9 Middle
• 2x 4211397 - Plate 2X2
• 1x 6043656 - Plate 1X2 Ball Cup / Friction Middle
• 1x 4211398 - Plate 1X2

The next is the four legs which have significantly very large feet to hold the model well when posing it and to remind us the sub-theme’s exaggeration of proportions, which does help. I partially like how the legs are being held with the technic plates. The final assembly is adding the flick fire missiles which are placed in a suitable and open area unlike other particular sets.

Final Analysis / Conclusion

I absolutely adore this Microfighter model. It’s a very unique addition to the Star Wars theme given that it’s fully poseable as well being so cute and have a sense of character and emotion similar to the LEGO Creator animal models on a smaller scale. Even with those minor quibbles I mentioned it still feel it’s not worth missing out. Therefore I would rank this first place as the best Microfighter LEGO has produced.

Design: 10/10 – The design and execution of the sub-theme makes this one cute and unique LEGO Star Wars product that you wouldn’t normally find in the theme.

Build: 7/10 – The building experience is not very exciting however the use of SNOT and the assemblies of the limbs are very intriguing for new builders at such a ‘small’ price.

Minifigure – 9/10 – This AT-AT Driver variant is an outstanding design, one which is near perfect and a great successor over the last three variants.

Playability: 9/10 – Lack of the small ball joints takes away from movement in the head otherwise the playability for such a small set is outstanding!

Parts: 7/10 - Not prettiest parts selection as is with the most Star Wars models with all the greys however it does have multiples of different elements if you wanted to use them elsewhere.

Price: 7/10 - I don’t agree with the prices of these Microfighters, for 88 pieces this is not really good value for money however the Minifigure and the concept of this particular model makes up for it.

Overall: 9/10 - Definitely everything a young kid would want, some small nit-picks may frustrate AFOL’s, like me!

This set is currently available in stores and online, you still have a chance to pick one or more if you haven’t already. Or if you already own one I would suggest picking up the ‘75074 - Snowspeeder’ as the instructions encourage the customer to pair with this model. Great stocking filler for Christmas!