With the final season of The Clone Wars, Lego were kind enough to provide fans with two brand new sets: the long awaited 501st Clone Troopers, and a new Separatist AAT.

The AAT comes in at 286 pieces, so for £35 it may feel like you're not getting a lot of bang for your buck, hence it losing a star in the value category. I was almost tempted to drop it down to 3 stars, but the minifigures are pretty darn amazing, and from a collectors point of view will probably claw back that initial spend in years to come.

The build is split into 3 bags, and took me roughly an hour to get through. The instructions had no especially awkward or hard to follow steps, and shouldn't cause an issue for builders of any age. For those who aren't fans of stickers, they are in mercifully short supply here, with just 2 identical Separatist logos to go either side of the tank body. As these just go onto simple smooth 2x2 plates it would have been nice for printed plates to be provided, but in a set which is pricey enough for its size I guess the use of stickers kept the cost from creeping up that bit more.

The build itself is definitely satisfying, with the striking blue/grey colour scheme taking shape very enjoyably. There is a little repetition with the tank being symmetrical, but due to the size of the AAT it doesn't take long to whizz through these parts and so doesn't feel like a drag. There is also only a minimal use of Technic parts, which often form the core of Star Wars sets.

Once assembled, the AAT has a couple of cosmetic issues, but a lot going for it playability wise. Due to its smaller scale, it doesn't quite capture the front shape of the tank in the way that earlier sets such as 7155 and the more comparable 8018 did. Instead, it's much more like the tan coloured 75080, with the front end being more of a bump than a smooth curve. The turret, however, is the most glaring issue, being hugely oversized. I don't know if this was done to put it in better scale with the minifigs, but if you have other AATs in your collection then this will seriously stand out.

On the playability front, the turret turns a full 360 degrees, and the barrel can be elevated. The top hatch and front of the tank both open up, making room for the two Battle Droids provided. The side cannons swivel, and the two spring-loaded shooters can be fired from levers nicely integrated into the back of the body.

Minifigs wise, this is where the set gets a lot of its desirability, with Ahsoka Tano and a 332nd Clone Trooper (called "Ahsoka's Clone Trooper" in this set). The printing on both of these is fantastic, and at this point the 332nd trooper is exclusive to this set. It is a little bit of an odd choice to pair them up with a AAT, given that canonically the only mission they served together at this point in the Clone Wars was the liberation of Mandalore, but I'd prefer this to the alternatives of a new Republic Gunship or Venator which would have been considerably more expensive! In addition to these, you also get the pair of Battle Droid pilots. The printing on these is clean, but they aren't anything particularly special, and the fixed legs don't allow for much in the way of dynamic posing.

Overall, a fantastic little set. Sure, the scale is off on the AAT, and the price-per-piece isn't exactly a steal, but it's a nice model on the whole, has a great deal of playability, and Ahsoka and her Clone Trooper are two of the nicest minifigures out at the moment. Highly recommended.