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Bursting out of Star Wars Episode I the fearsome AAT is one of my personal favorites. When I first saw it on the shelves of Zellers I knew I had to have it. After saving up for it I finally brought it home to terrorize my Jedi. To date Lego has made two versions of this tank. Although the newer one is bigger and perhaps more detailed, the first rendering is still a force to be reckoned with.
Name: Trade Federation AAT
Theme: Star Wars Episode I
Set Number: 7155
Pieces: 158
Year released: 2000
Minifigures: 2
Price: USD $20.00 (when released)
Helpful links:
Brickset
My Brickshelf
Peeron
Box
As Usual first up is a picture of the box. It has some nice CGI effects including the lasers and explosions, which are very similar to today's box art. I love the little icon in the top right corner. I wish Lego would start adding them to the box art again.
As I no longer have the original box here's peeron's:
Minifigs
Minifig wise, we only get two standard battle droids. One to act as a pilot, the other as the gunner. I think that a set like this should have at least one more minifig, either a Naboo guard or another battle droid would fit the bill nicely.
Accessories
The battle droids come armed with two megaphone blasters. I always thought that these two blasters were more powerful then other blasters, because the usual one by one plate has been replaced with a bigger cone. The gunner also gets a pair of binoculars... to bad he can't use them.
Models
There is only one main model in the set, which is also built in one part (no numbered bags here).
AAT overview
Wow looking at this thing from the front you can see how deadly this thing is. I count thirteen guns including the printed designs on the large round pieces. For a 9 year old set it's also pretty detailed.
Back View
Alas the back view of the set isn't nearly as spectacular as the front end, mainly because there's plenty of out of place blue bricks. Honestly would it have been that hard to swap them for some tan or brown pieces?
Top View
Here's a top view of the tank, and yes the hatch and the big round pieces are printed. A little bit of tiling wouldn't hurt in my eyes.
Engines/Gun Rack
I always loved the use of the circular pieces in this set they just seem to fit so well as engines. Here you can also see a little gun rack that Lego included for the droids. Due to their location they look a lot like booster engines.
Cockpit
The printed hatch piece is made to be easily removable to allow you to put the battle droid in and out. Besides having no controls inside ( I suppose the pilot just plugs's into the AAT) there are also some large cracks on the side.
Turret exterior
The turret is built on a turntable so it can rotate, but only a little since it gets jammed against some other blocks. I like the choice of piece for the hatch. The gun barrel is good as well being very detailed.
Turret Movement
The main gun is also built on hinges so it can move up and down. This picture shows how far the turret can rotate in one direction and how high the gun can go.
Turret Interior
I sure hope that the Trade Federation's health care plan includes chiropractor visits, the gunner is going to need it. The top hatch is connected via hinge bricks to allow it to move up and down. Behind the gunner is a pair of binoculars. The joystick being used as an antenna is also a nice touch.
Finished set and Comparison
Lastly here’s the finished set, and a photo of the 2009 AAT from Brickset, to compare with:
8018 Armoured Assault Tank
Rating Time!
Price 8/10 The finished model is pretty big, the price seems fair.
Playability 7/10 The tank is nice and swooshable, but you need to have some other Star Wars sets to destroy with the tank.
Minifigures 5/10 Two standard battle droids, again another minifigure should have been included (even Jar jar would have been nice). Also the battle droids should have blue markings on them they are pilots after all.
Design 6/10 From the front the AAT looks really nice but the backside is very lacking since there are random bits of blue throughout.
Total 6.5/10
Overview
As one of Lego’s first Star Wars sets 7155 is a decent set, with plenty of nice tan pieces. Although not one of the best sets out there it’s still faithful to it’s movie counterpart, and holds a place in many of my childhood memories. If you can find this set for a good price on E-Bay or Bricklink I recommend picking it up if not maybe you should instead buy the newer version.
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