Set Review - Microfighters AAT 75029

Moving along again in the Microfighters subtheme of Star Wars, we come to a very large couch straight from the 70's.  This comfortable settee features a windscreen, turret, and dual flick-fires.  The color is a beautiful tan Naugahyde.

Wait, not furniture?  But it looks like an overstuffed sofa!  I wondered about the weaponry bits.  In that case, I suppose this will be a very different sort of review.  I wanted to dislike this set.  I saved the AAT for near the end of the series, partly because it came from the I-II-III trilogy but also because it didn't appeal to me.  But now that I've built it I like it even worse.

There are a few minor building techniques that are nice.  The 1x3 curve top arch over the 1x2 curve top brick is a neat little maneuver though it was more of a necessity.  The 1x3 curve top brick has not yet existed in tan and apparently running a new color through the mold was not worth it.  That and perhaps some extra connections were preferred.  It was also refreshing to see a straight stacked connection at a 45° angle.  On the sides some sort of greeblies use standard bricks but they are turned on the stud.  The ubiquitous flick-fires use telescopes on the ends which as far as I know is a first.

Beyond that I find this to be a weak set.  The telescopes pop-off of the flick-fires and the flick fire bases are not well secured.  The turret on the top is very loose and would have benefited from some sort of clicking turntable.  The gun uses a red 2L axle in an otherwise black assembly.  Don't they still produce black axles?  And shouldn't the gun be grey and tan anyway?

Last but not least is the connection of the 2x2 dish on top.  This connection is made with a 1x1 round plate sitting betwixt the studs of the plates below.  Generally this is an OK connection when the studs below or all on a single plate.  But when there are multiple pieces, this connection becomes weak.  The slight tolerance and give of two pieces next to each other no longer provides a good clutch for the single anti-stud.  In this case, given that the connection is only holding a dish, it's passable.  Otherwise I would probably spend a whole paragraph complaining about it...

Oh and there's a new droid *yawn*.

The bright side of this set is the tan quarter round domes.  Apparently these pieces were important enough to produce in tan for the first time.  They might come in handy for my little Micros Eisley Cantina if I can ever get around to finishing it.

At $10 for 90 parts and a battle droid I might otherwise pass.  Maybe at 20% off I'd consider it.  The series collector is going to buy it no matter what but for the rest of you, I'd check into a bedroom set first.

All the Microfighters:

Or get 'em all in one shot:

Set Review - 30052 AAT Mini

Since I haven't been able to track down the new Friends animal or Star Wars planet series yet, I'm going to subject you to another review of an older set.  I don't remember where I saw something about this set but once I saw it I had to have it.  Imagine my surprise when I went to ebay and saw it for $2.99.  Imagine my higher level of surprise when I ended up being the only bidder.  Woot!

Having been on the hunt for tan cheese slopes for a while I was pleased to see them here; only to be disappointed that I could never use them otherwise.  See, when I build a set it stays that way forever.  Including the extras.  They always find a way to be incorporated into the build.

The efficiency of the set was almost confusing.  My other passion is trying to build sets from just the picture itself.  Easier for minis, harder for modulars.  Throw in an extra piece with an unexpected use and I had to crack open the tiny folded pamphlet.  The set has need for 5 tan jumper studs yet I was surprised to see one included as an extra.  Even more surprised was I that the sixth one was no extra.  Rather than throw in one solitary tan 1x2 plate, the designers opted instead for an extra jumper plate to fill the void.  It works perfectly and there's no need to increase the unique piece count.

The hovering tank is fairly stable on the boat studs but can be subject to tipping if the the turret is swung around the wrong way.  Thankfully it's easy enough to get a grip on and swoosh around without falling apart.  Or out of your hand.

If this were new I would say pick up a bunch for the tan parts.  You'd end up with a bunch of jumper plates that way though.  However none of the parts are so uncommon that you couldn't build this with pieces out of your collection.  Maybe you'd need a short order to complete it.  Buy it used on Bricklink for $5.50 or consider the average part out value of $7.  Or find a steal on ebay.