Review : LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series 75313 AT-AT

As promised, we now quickly tour the LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series set 75313AT-AT, just to see if this big box of 6785 pieces which will be available on November 26 at the public price of € 799.99 really deserves all the superlatives used since the product was announced.

This imposing AT-AT returns all previous interpretations in a LEGO version to the rank of simple children's toys, no doubt about it. This 69 cm long by 62 cm high model is logically more detailed than any of the versions already marketed so far and it introduces a truly accessible interior from all sides and functional with its rows of seats and its support for Speeder Bikes.

The designers do not hide it from the first pages of the first of the four instruction booklets provided in this box, this product is directly inspired by the sketch Cross Section available in many books published in recent years detailing the different ships and machines of the saga. It is therefore on the basis of this extrapolation of the interior of an AT-AT that this LEGO product is designed.

The assembly begins with the "hips" and "thighs" of the AT-AT which must both keep in balance on the four feet of the machine and support the presence of the upper cabin extended by the cockpit . LEGO therefore does not skimp on the beams and Technic pins at this stage and it is no longer a question of building a simple reinforcement on which we will come to ply the finishing sub-assemblies as is the case for other products of the universe Ultimate Collector Series.

The four thighs quickly give a first glimpse of the worm-based system imagined to facilitate the positioning of the model and allow it to remain in balance while offering an impression of movement and without appearing too static on its straight legs. . This solution, which makes it possible to adjust the orientation of the legs quite finely, also has the advantage of discouraging those who would like to expose this AT-AT in improbable positions without first thinking about the constraints of balance. You understood it via the official video presentation of the product, you have to grind with the screwdriver to build provided, the legs are permanently locked in the chosen position and everyone will therefore have ample time to test the limits of the model before doing anything. The legs can technically be moved 180 °, but my various attempts to put the AT-AT in the prone position have all ended badly. With a little patience, however, it is possible.

The internal structure of the legs is also massively reinforced using Frames and Technic beams to guarantee them the necessary rigidity and the important footprint of the feet in the center of which there is a tire to avoid untimely slips and which are also equipped with new notched quarter-circle elements created for this box, also contribute to the stability of the model. You should therefore not be too allergic to the LEGO Technic universe to have fun by assembling this AT-AT whose inventory still has more than 1000 various and varied pins that connect the other 250 Technic elements to each other with at pass some fairly complex sub-assemblies.

The main cabin is based on a structure composed of Technic beams which ensures maximum rigidity and it is only when the interior fittings are installed and the neck of the machine is integrated that the installation of the module on the hips of the machine. AT-AT is done via four connection points. Small easter egg hidden behind the building: the two generators that allow the AT-AT to move house modules in the colors of the fictitious oil company Octan. I was afraid to see the AT-AT lose its balance several times but it is not, it remains firmly anchored on its four legs, even without having at this stage significantly changed the angle of some of them. they.

The cockpit, easily accessible by removing the side panels or lifting the top of the cabin, is fixed to the body of the AT-AT via an axis which allows it a very limited lateral tilt. You can either move your head by pushing it gently with your hand from the outside or use the "joystick" installed at the front of the aft cabin. The functionality is technically interesting but it exists mainly because it will be a question of presenting the AT-AT in its best light when you have found a place for it on your shelves and the orientation of the head contributes to the effort. presentation. The AT-AT head is clipped onto the body via a few pins and is steered by four flexible shafts with end caps on both sides seen in many products since 2004.

On this new version of the AT-AT in LEGO sauce, the cockpit is spacious enough not to have the impression of crowding Veers and the two pilots in it, as was the case on the model of the set 75288AT-AT. The two guns placed under the cockpit are presented as "realistic" and they retract slightly with each shot as on the screen, but you actually have to shoot one to make the other move and so on, the central axis doing the rest. The cockpit canopy is here simply embodied by a sticker placed in front of the pilot and the gunner.

All of the exterior cladding panels of the model are removable and each of the sub-assemblies is simply held on a support without a clip or fixing. You can therefore expose this AT-AT in mode Cross Section If you feel like it, just to reproduce the view well known to fans who have in their library one of the many books featuring this internal AT-AT cut. The installation and the removal of the various panels is fast and without risk, it is enough just to respect the sequence of installation so that the overlaps are done in the good order and that all these panels find their position.

If the solidity of the internal structure of the model is there, there are still a few annoying points at the level of the finishing elements with several parts which do not fail to come off with each displacement or some adjustments which have a little difficult to hold in place as soon as the AT-AT is handled. It is necessary to constantly check and recheck that everything is correctly aligned so as not to let too much vacuum enter the different sections, in particular at the level of the "head" of the AT-AT. LEGO recommends grabbing the AT-AT from below and only through the middle part. It is indeed the most reassuring and the least destructive solution, even if some parts of the trim of the lower part of the cabin may still remain in the palm of your hand. It quickly becomes a matter of getting used to, we know where these parts come from and how to put them back in place.

At € 800 for a few kilos of plastic, we could have imagined LEGO to ignore the stickers in this very high-end product. This is not the case, and we find in the box a sheet of stickers which, fortunately and with the exception of the one on the presentation plate, are intended for the interior trim of the model. You can also decide not to stick them, no one will really notice.

There are ultimately only a few Greebs on the surface of the AT-AT, these details usually created using very small parts, it is the visible tenons which are responsible for giving relief to the cabin. Each will have an opinion on the quantity of tenons which remains visible on the model, knowing that the external surface of the AT-ATs of the film is rather smooth apart from the few asperities embodied here by ingots and the presence of the scale on the flank this the machine. Personally, I find the balance between tenons and smooth surfaces to be acceptable.

Both Speeder Bikes supplied do not revolutionize the subject but they are perfectly suited to the storage spaces provided at the rear. It's always taken to fill the available interior space, at least on one side. The E-Web blaster cannon will also easily find its place in the cabin.

The endowment in minifigs is not likely to annoy collectors who could not or would not spend 800 € for a few figurines exclusive to this box: General Veers is a combination of elements already seen in the set 75288AT-AT marketed since 2020 with a pair of legs in two colors already used on Batman, Miles Morales or the Imperial Officer of the set 75252 Imperial Star Destroyer on sale since 2019. The two pilots, or rather the pilot and the gunner, are those already seen in the sets 75288AT-AT et 75298 AT-AT vs. Tauntaun Microfighters (2021), Luke Skywalker's minifigure is the one in the set 75301 Luke Skywalker's X-wing Fighter (2021), the Snowtroopers are those available in several boxes since 2019 and all that remains is the torso of the new Snowtrooper Commander and for the moment exclusive to this box.

We will also remember that LEGO offers us some female faces under the various helmets. On arrival, there is obviously not enough to fill the cabin of the AT-AT which is above all a troop transport vehicle and which can accommodate around XNUMX Snowtroopers, but we all know that fans of the range will at least find enough to fill a few seats in their drawers.

Luke Skywalker has a piece of string that allows you to hang the minifig under the machine. A plastic cable would have been more appropriate in a box at this price and this sewing thread is not the best taste. However, it is the ideal setting for this pure exhibition product, Luke would not have much to do in this box without this accessory.

The presentation plate gives us as usual some facts about the machine. LEGO says AT-AT is 22.2 meters tall, official site Starwars.com specifies for its part 22.5 meters. The "screwdriver" with its pad printed part at the end of the handle is stored just behind the plate.

As you can imagine, I have more affinities with this AT-AT at 800 € than with a Titanic or a Colosseum. But we must not be in bad faith and forget that this model is a very high-end product that will not be accessible to all budgets. LEGO generously sent it to me and as usual I put this free "test" copy in the game, so I will spend 800 € like each of the fans who will want to have fun with this model as soon as the product becomes available on November 26 next. This certainty does not prevent me from noting that LEGO is once again charging a high price for the know-how of its designers and graphic designers as well as the amortization of its molds.

The manufacturer also spends a great deal of energy and money in the design of the packaging of these high-end products, and this is undoubtedly beneficial for the “experience” of the consumer which obviously begins with proper unpacking. But this riot of illustrated boxes, printed under-boxes that you I leave to you the pleasure of discovering if you buy this product and that you open the box and of instruction booklets of several hundred pages obviously has a cost which is passed on. on the final price of the product. Without these elements, the manufacturer would probably have more difficulty in justifying the price of these few kilos of plastic parts.

Until proven otherwise, this first version of the AT-AT in version Ultimate Collector Series is therefore in fact the best possible official interpretation of the thing in LEGO format. There is no shortage of fan creations on roughly the same scale, and some are really quite successful. But they often overcome the many constraints that LEGO must respect in order to be able to offer a product that meets the brand's requirements.

The presence of a really usable interior space and the possibility of adjusting the inclination of the legs also make the difference and allow us to obtain something more attractive than a simple empty shell a little too static. The fifteen hours needed to assemble the set will reward the most demanding fans, thanks in particular to the many solutions devised by the designers to offer a model that does not require any artifice or support to stand up. In my eyes, the Millennium Falcon and the AT-AT remain the two most iconic vehicles in the Star Wars saga. I had the first via the set Ultimate Collector Series 75192 Millennium Falcon, I am now looking forward to adding the second to my collection.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at November 27, 2021 next at 23:59 p.m. (after the official availability of the product).

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.