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[Erdbeereis]

The Separatist army attacks in their Armored Assault Tank, crushing anything in their path... That is, until a certain green dwarf uses his power to fight back.

Let's join the fierce battle!


8018 AAT (Armored Assault Tank)


Set Info:

Name: 8018 AAT

Theme: Star Wars - Clone Wars

Released: 2009

Pieces: 407

Minifigs: 7

Price: 50 USD - 39 GBP - 50 EUR

LEGO S@H

Brickset

Bricklink


Some more information:

This set was also released in 2000, but in an episode I version. Episode I AAT on Brickset.


Now, let's begin.


First, the box

On the front of the box is a little battle scene, but Yoda seems to hav his mind on something else...


The back, as usual depicts some of the sets features like the ever-popular flick-fire missiles, and some other '09 Star Wars sets.


Instructions and Sticker Sheet

Nothing out of the ordinary here.


Random manual shot.


Inventory.


I thought that these "posters" looked very nice.



The Parts

No numbered bags, the same as most Star Wars sets. I always find it odd that Star Wars sets never have numbered bags, while most other sets, even if they're small, don't.


All spread out. The set comes with a lot of blue, both dark and normal, plus bley and dark bley.


Dark blue is a wonderful color, and this set has a pretty good amount of it.


That new telescope piece has to be one of my favorites. It has many uses, and looks great. Before getting this set, I had never seen that rounded black piece. Apparently this is the first time it has been in a set other than Racers. Black piece.



Minifigs

The set comes with 7 minifigs. 3 super battle droids, 2 battle droids, a clone trooper and my favorite, Yoda!

Here you can see that the SBDs have new blaster arms, which look great.


New SBD arm. Lots of detail.


The clone trooper and Yoda. Nothing new on the clone, but we get an all new Yoda, who I think looks great. I don't normally like the Clone Wars minifigs because of their strange animated faces, but for the "alien" characters such as Yoda and Plo Koon, I don't really mind. The new frosty chrome colored lightsaber hilts look nice as well.


Yoda's youthful side shows here. The neck hair although a bit odd, is also a nice detail.


Yoda's head is made of the same material as Plo Koon's as far as I can tell. Sort of a firm rubber. His head has lots of good detail, like the wrinkles.


Here's a comparison between the old Yoda, and the new Yoda.

Old


New


I have to say, I like the new one quite a bit better.


A single in-build picture

This is sort of the half-way point in the build, just before the back starts to build up.



Extra Parts

Nothing out of the ordinary.



All Finished!


First comes the little speeder, which fit in the back of the AAT. Personally, I think this is a bit pathetic, but I might be crazy.



And now the main event, the AAT!

Here it is in it's full glory. I really love the design of it. The lines are very smooth, the color sceme looks great and it seems to be quite accurate to the real thing.

LEGO version:


Real version:



A front view. For some reason, I think the AAT's shape is excellent.


This view reminds me of the Slave I. The shape is very odd, yet it looks really cool. It's sort of "swept back" if that makes any sense.


The back.


Here you can see the speeder area. The speeder just slides in.


Let's back it out boys!


The turret area, which also includes...


...The world's most cramped cockpit! This looks hard on the neck...


I thought this looked lovely. It fits perfectly with the rounded design of the AAT.


This spot is just begging for 2 1 x 1 dark bley tiles. Come on TLC, why not?


The gun turrets look excellent, although I would have liked to see the blue pieces replaced with dark blue.


My new favorite piece in action. In my opinion, the best small piece since the cheese slope.


Zee bottom.


Here you can see where the speeder goes. This looks a bit roomier than the other droid seating area...



So, we've reached the ratings!


Price: 7/10 (Not bad, but $40 would have been better.)

Pieces: 9/10 (A very nice selection of dark blue, and very few small technic pins and such.)

Design: 10/10 (Very accurate, and also sleek.)

Build: 10/10 (Not repetitive at all, and few finicky little areas.)

Minifigs: 9/10 (Yoda is excellent and the new SBD arms are great, but it would have been nice to get one more clone.)

Playability: 6/10 (There's not really much to play with, unless you love flick-fire missiles...)


Overall: 51/60


When the Separatists need backup, they call in their friends from Bikini Bottom!



I find this set to be excellent. Great design, and what's not to like about Yoda! The price may be slightly high, but compared to the price hikes we've gotten for other sets, this one isn't bad at all.

Thanks, and happy building!

[Natman8000]

Nice review! I really like this set but my only gripe is how the colors mix. I think they should have left regular blue out and kept it simple with dark blue.

[Erdbeereis]

Natman4000, on Jan 18 2009, 09:16 PM, said:

Nice review! I really like this set but my only gripe is how the colors mix. I think they should have left regular blue out and kept it simple with dark blue.

I agree. I'm never quite sure why TLC mixes colors sometimes, especially when the actual vehicle doesn't have different blues.

[Darth Yoda]

Erdbeereis, on Jan 18 2009, 07:23 PM, said:

I agree. I'm never quite sure why TLC mixes colors sometimes, especially when the actual vehicle doesn't have different blues.

I think that in this case, regular blue is cheaper to make than dark blue...

[VBBN]

Thanks for the review! Wow, I want this set, but it is a bit pricey. And I wish it were tan or brown. Bu, for what we have, it's okay. I feel the interior could use a bit of modding however.

[MaxGoof]

Does this tank not come with any stickers so that it can have the Separatist army logo designs on it?

[Algernon]

The old Yoda is WAY superior to the new creepy version.

This set isn't bad, probably the best out of the Winter 09 wave, but I'm still not blown away.

[Erdbeereis]

MaxGoof, on Jan 18 2009, 10:33 PM, said:

Does this tank not come with any stickers so that it can have the Separatist army logo designs on it?

It does, I just didn't apply them.

I took a picture of the sicker sheet didn't I?

Algernon, while I agree that this version is a bit strange looking, I personally like it better for some reason. On the old one, the lack of eyes turned me off a bit...

[darkrebellion]

Well thanks for this amazing review Erdbeereis . I think your review is excellent and what I need to get convinced by this set (Almost always I don´t like so much a set from the first look I need a good review and good pics to convince me that it is actually very good ). This set looks incredibly great . The minifigs are very good but I need to admit this new Yoda still needs to grow a little more in me . The color scheme is very cool but I certainly hope they released the tan one . I think the box art looks somewhat cartoony too, just like the box art of the Comci-Con exclusive of the last year. I think the color issue is because it adds more detail to the set. Just imagine all the ship dark blue, bley and dark bley and you will find that it would looked really bad .

[PMJ]

GRRRRR! I already made a review! I just needed clearer pics!

[Algernon]

Erdbeereis, on Jan 19 2009, 05:41 AM, said:

It does, I just didn't apply them.

I took a picture of the sicker sheet didn't I?

Algernon, while I agree that this version is a bit strange looking, I personally like it better for some reason. On the old one, the lack of eyes turned me off a bit...

Well, that's been more than accounted for here, since the new eyes are WAY too big...

Honestly though I'm biased since I hate all the CW figs. Creepy.

[Erdbeereis]

PMJ, on Jan 18 2009, 11:15 PM, said:

GRRRRR! I already made a review! I just needed clearer pics!

Eurobricks welcomes more than one review of a certain set, so no need to freak out.

@Algernon, I agree with the points you mentioned, but I'm still very happy to own a Yoda minifig, especially since I never had the old one, and I don't think this one is bad at all. It's always nice to hear different opinions, so thanks for your input!

[hollisbrick]

Great review! (as always )
Personelly this is one of my favourite SW sets ever probably, so sleek, accurate and it looks awsome
But I'm running out of room so I guess I have to skip this one
Great review nether the less

[I Scream Clone]

Well done Strawberry, with a cool Yoda and nice dark blue pieces you have almost convinced me to buy this baby!

Great photos, and lots of explanation make this a from me

[Svelte]

Great review, Erds. Fantastic pictures

I think the Jan Star Wars launch has been top quality, with all the sets being pretty good. This is one of my favourites, even if I am in the 'new Yoda is creepy' school Like you, I don't have the old one so it is nice to have the little green munchkin at last and the paint job is excellent.

The build is fun and solidly brick-emphasised. I agree that the normal blue angle wing pieces on the side guns would have been better as dark blue. I would have liked the turntable to be a click one rather than loose as the top gun section can swing around a little.

I also think this is one set where the stickers do complement the build and design, mainly by keeping the through-line of blue down the front of the AAT. Maybe I'll take a pic and post it in this thread so others can see the difference, if you don't mind.