Like some of you, I am fortunate to live close to a big chain store that laughs in the face of street dates. So when I saw this on the shelf 2 weeks early, I yelled “woohoo!” and ran to check out.

I’ve never had an AT-AT before. The first one I ever wanted was in 1981 and it was made by Kenner. I never got it, and for some reason I never got any of the previous LEGO versions either.

So I was super excited to put this together. The box is rather large and has great shots of all the features and minifigs. I love that it has the 40th anniversary branding, and the background shot of AT-ATs on Hoth is fantastic.

The minifigure selection included is pretty much perfect. Luke is the same from recent sets but he now has the frosted trans blue lightsaber blade and a couple of thermal detonators. There is still a little orange bleed through the white parts of his flight suit but it is fine. The stormtroopers are great too and I really like the shape of the helmets and their tan gloves. I do wish they would have included the fabric kamas though. We also get two AT-AT drivers and general Veers. They are all extremely detailed and have fantastic printing. And all three can fit in the cockpit! If LEGO would have included a micro-fig holographic Vader though, it would have just been the icing on the cake. “The shield will be down in moments, you may start your landing.”

I took my time with the build and savoured every minute. It was nothing complicated but there were a couple tricky tight areas. I do not know if there’s were any new parts but there were definitely a few I had never seen before. I really enjoyed the smaller builds too. The speeder bike has a lot of detail and the E-web gun is a genius use of tiny parts. And both of these have a dedicated storage spot inside the walker.

Once completed, I felt it was a little smaller than I had anticipated. Sure I’ve seen videos and saw the measurements but I thought it would be taller, maybe? It does not really fit size-wise with the most recent snow speeder or AT-ST. But, it still looked pretty sweet “crushing” a snow speeder under one of the legs. And I’m not complaining. I would not change the size of this. It is perfect for play AND display.

But they really nailed the proportions and shaping of this. It’s one of those sets you can’t help but stare at it and admire the design. It is so well balanced that you can pose the legs to make it look like it is walking and the articulation in the ‘neck’ means you can really aim at those fighters coming in. And it is surprisingly sturdy. The legs may wobble a bit but it does not fall. And you could probably throw it off your roof and the head would still be attached to the body.

Having watched comparison videos, I really feel like this could be the best AT-AT design yet. But if you have a previous one, you may be fine to skip this especially if you are lucky enough to have the motorized one. But I would happily pay full MSRP for this all day, every day. I think it is priced appropriately. It looks amazing, the vehicle is iconic, and it has enough presence to make it a centerpiece of many collections.