It may not be exactly screen accurate in its proportions but it is sleek
Good minifigure complement
Awesome set overall

Yeah, this one's going to be hard to acquire. No, it's not the best AT-TE based on more recent outings, but it was the first, and I'm of that era. I really like the first 5 or so years of LEGO Star Wars, and I just never got the Episode II sets with clones. Having only just a few sets missing from those earlier years of LEGO Star Wars really makes the completist itch flare up, but sometimes you just have to let things go (until you magically find that one [releatively] low priced one).

@NotProfessorWhymzi said:
"those clone helmet designs are the worst. change my mind."
Perhaps they are not the best helmet design, but they are only the worst by default. If it weren't for the piece under the chin hindering movement, they would be significantly better, however, what you are missing is that these helmets are consistent with the likes of Boba and Jango Fett also using a black head underneath for the visor. The restricted movement is also not too disimilar to that of the Jango and Boba, and the original Stormtrooper design, and what would later come with the Phase II clones used from 2005 to 2011. The visor cutouts with a black head underneath was also a staple of the Snowtrooper and Imperial Scout (although initial uses did have a printed face with a visor, the principle remains the same). While Imperial Troops are not Clones in either Canon or Legends, the initial intent with the Clones was to imply that they were in the Original Trilogy, and that is also represented in how many of the troops all share a trait with Jango and Boba Fett's minifigures.
And there is one major advantage that all of these helmets with the cutouts have that newer ones with printed visors do not, and that's the ability to swap the heads underneath with whatever color you want. With the prints that would later come with the Phase II Clones, you could actually enhance your Clones with a simple head swap to make them all the more cooler, and there's no reason you couldn't do the same with the original Phase Is. With a stolen pauldron from a Sandtrooper, a trans-neon orange head, and some orange or yellow arms swapped in, I bet you could make a great custom clone that's purist and reversible to suit your needs, no sharpie or paint required! (We lost so many Clones to those in the early days...) Similar things could be done with any color arms, legs, and heads, and any cloth pieces that feel appropriate, but the visor is the face, and when you can make that unique, it's something to be celebrated.
So yes, while the helmet design is not the best, it's consistent with other helmeted troops from that time, unifying them all with a concept that can be seen as neat, and it offers a play opportunity that's unique that new helmets cannot despite their lovely attachment holes.

@MCLegoboy said:
"Yeah, this one's going to be hard to acquire. No, it's not the best AT-TE based on more recent outings, but it was the first, and I'm of that era. I really like the first 5 or so years of LEGO Star Wars, and I just never got the Episode II sets with clones. Having only just a few sets missing from those earlier years of LEGO Star Wars really makes the completist itch flare up, but sometimes you just have to let things go (until you magically find that one [releatively] low priced one)."

I have bought, at times for peanuts, dozens of sets in the past that I never, ever thought I'd get. This is in large part to the ignorance of the sellers getting rid of their collections and unaware of what they have, or sometimes found lost in a huge bulk bin of mediocre sets. I've also chanced upon estate and desperate moving sales. Sad to say I've yet to find this one!

I also like that early Star Wars had alternate or suggested builds, including some of the original UCS sets.

Amazing to see this today, almost 20 years to the day it appeared as my morning Christmas present! I had been drooling for this set all of 2003, but I put it on the backburner once I realized the first AT-AT (4483) was also coming out later in 2003. That epic set turned out to be my 15th birthday present, which was a great move because it made the smaller, less expensive AT-TE more palatable to my parents' wallets. In fact, in retrospect, I'm amazed they still got me a big LEGO set for Christmas in 2003. They had been on the fence about my LEGO obsession since 2001, after I turned 13, but my generally good behavior and lack of interest in most other things teen boys in the early 2000s were into kept them at a bit of a loss.

Anyway, back to Christmas morning, 2003. I was particularly elated to get the AT-TE and build it because I missed out on getting the Republic Gunship in 2002 and really just wanted the clone troopers. The Star Wars: Clone Wars micro series had just concluded its first chunk of episodes and I was definitely clone-crazy! There were several battle scenes where the AT-TE featured prominently, and it was the clear forerunner to the AT-AT. Over many weeks and months in 2003, I fantasized about a hypothetical battle between an AT-AT and an AT-TE. Would the AT-AT's heavy armor protect it from the AT-TE's superior firepower? Would the AT-TE's six legs give it more maneuverability around the larger, slower AT-AT? Both had speeder bikes inside, so I imagined some crazy speeder bike duels could ensue.

Once I had the set built, I loved it. The trans-neon green windows were a wonderful touch, as were the printed disks for the leg joints (something future AT-ATs and AT-TEs abandoned, sadly). The space inside for both clones and speeder bike was sufficient, and the stickers weren't too burdensome in spite of their size. I also got a small digital camera and the AT-TE became the subject of some random digital pictures, along with the X-Wing and Dagobah Hut set I also got later that day.

In 2004, I definitely got no LEGO for Christmas, and as I neared high school graduation in 2007, the subsequent Christmases saw only token BIONICLE sets. Anything else, I bought with my own hard-earned cash, setting a precedent that would continue for the rest of my life. Christmas 2003 with the AT-TE therefore stands as sort of the end of an era, one I will forever cherish in my heart.

The trans-neon-green windscreen is my favourite thing about this set. If I ever got the new version - unlikely, given my barely-existent Lego budget at present, but the thought is there anyway - I'd bricklink the window parts in that colour and replace them. It may not be canonically accurate, but it adds character and I just really like it.

@MCLegoboy said:
"
And there is one major advantage that all of these helmets with the cutouts have that newer ones with printed visors do not, and that's the ability to swap the heads underneath with whatever color you want. With the prints that would later come with the Phase II Clones, you could actually enhance your Clones with a simple head swap to make them all the more cooler, and there's no reason you couldn't do the same with the original Phase Is. With a stolen pauldron from a Sandtrooper, a trans-neon orange head, and some orange or yellow arms swapped in, I bet you could make a great custom clone that's purist and reversible to suit your needs, no sharpie or paint required! (We lost so many Clones to those in the early days...)
"

I actually did that a few times, slapped on a blue or transparent blue head onto the figure, then called it a Clone Commando.

I am missing one of the four original clones that came with the Gunship, and I do agree with the sentiment that later clone figures were a massive improvement in almost every regard. But you are not wrong in that making a custom by swapping the head was certainly a play advantage for those early clone figures.