Review : LEGO Star Wars 75201 First Order AT-ST

Today we take a quick look at a set that does not really deserve all this attention: The LEGO Star Wars reference 75201 First Order AT-ST with its 370 pieces, its four characters and its crazy public price of 64.99 €.

Before getting to the heart of the matter, I would say all the same that I am a "complete" collector of the LEGO Star Wars range. I buy whatever comes out, be it good, less good or particularly bad, but I'm not a die-hard fan of everything LEGO can produce on the subject. Collecting doesn't always mean approving.

That being said, the set 75201 First Order AT-ST is a symbol in my eyes. This little box perfectly embodies the difference between what a LEGO toy can and should be and what a derivative product is made to order on behalf of the license holder concerned.

We are therefore no longer talking here of a construction toy allowing free rein to the creativity of those who acquire them. It is indeed a pure product derived from a work, this box reproducing in this specific case two scenes from a film and nothing else.

The official product description speaks for itself: "... With this set, the child can stage a perilous LEGO® Star Wars mission by escaping with the First Order AS-ST ... Recreate your own scenes from the blockbuster Star Wars: The Last Jedi ..."It's also a bit pretentious, I saw in the film only two very short scenes that I can really reproduce with the contents of this box: the one where BB-8 takes control of an AT-ST whose cabin is torn off when the machine moves and the one where Finn and Rose flee using the machine, still piloted by BB-8.

LEGO therefore applied to reproduce these two scenes of fifteen seconds in total seen in the film. The Last Jedi and does it pretty well. The only problem is that this set only reproduces these two scenes even if it does it quite well. The name of the set is also misleading. It is not an AT-ST. These are two short scenes from a movie that feature a piece of AT-ST. "AT-ST Escape"Or"Shed Battle"would have been more appropriate names.

LEGO could have proposed a removable cabin for the machine, just to be able to reuse this AT-ST in other adventures out of the imagination of the youngest. Fans of the LEGO Star War range being particularly fond of these AT-STs, this set could even have become a bestseller with interesting content and successful features ... After all, this is the concept championed by the brand and incidentally by the description of the product.

The public price of the set also allowed some largesse in terms of parts. But no. Anyone who usually shows boundless indulgence for LEGO will have already drawn the usual response to this type of criticism: "... It's LEGO, build the rest yourself with your pieces ...". Too easy.

Worse yet, the content of this set actually offers only limited playability and borders on the pure product of exhibition despite the two missile launchers placed under the frontal cannon. The AT-ST is not really capable of different poses due to a low number of joints in the legs. The rotation of the cabin, or what is left of it, via the dial placed at the back will not amuse many people. The young fan can always have fun killing Phasma with Finn ...

I could have forgiven the sloppy and rough side of the thing if the craft was at least complete and presentable in some diorama. Besides, let's leave aside "... the hangar lift to build ..."uninteresting with its basic mechanism and its measurements which do not even allow to reach the platform of the AT-ST.

Finally, let's talk about the public price of this box: 64.99 €. How did LEGO come to estimate that at this price, this set would find its audience? By counting on the success of the film and the hypothetically "iconic" character of these two scenes? By betting on the three minifigs of Finn, Rose (in First Order ) and Phasma already seen in the set 75103 First Order Transporter (2015) but delivered here with a helmet whose pad printing has been slightly refined and that collectors will therefore want to obtain whatever the rest of the contents of the box?

We will never really know by what chain of decisions this set ended up on the shelves of toy stores. On the other hand, we know that LEGO generally works on the basis of concept arts that are not always very explicit or faithful to the final result of the work concerned. We also know that Disney has a say in the products derived from its licenses. We can therefore always find some ready-made excuses to explain all the mediocrity of this box and to distribute fairly (and arbitrarily) the responsibilities between LEGO and Disney.

We will especially remember with nostalgia the set 75153 AT-ST Walker (2016) based on the action from the movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story with its 449 parts, its complete AT-ST, its three minifigs including Baze Malbus and its public price of 54.99 € ...

In the end, I now watch the set 75098 Assault on Hoth (Ultimate Collector Series) released in 2016 with surprising benevolence, seeing it go down one place in the ranking of the worst LEGO Star Wars sets, brilliantly dethroned by this First Order AT-ST ...

Note: The set shown here, supplied by LEGO, is included in the game. To participate in the raffle, simply post a comment on this article before March 31 at 23:59 p.m.. You have every right to disagree with me, this is not eliminatory.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.