AT-TE (#75019)

Every Christmas, I half expect the Lego company to send us a thank you card. Between the 5 sets I received, four for my son, and four for my daughter, I think we paid for someone's salary at the Lego store. It makes for a fun Christmas day, some families build puzzles on the table but we build Lego. The only drawback is the "Lego fingers" side effect (chances are good that you know what I'm talking about). I'm sure that just means I need to do this more often to build up my tolerance.

This year's big set was the AT-TE, Lego's third version (4482 in 2003, 7675 in 2008 were the two prior versions).

Here's the front view with the figures (the gunner on top was from 2009's clone trooper battle pack).

The set uncludes 5 minifigs: two Geonosian battle droids, Mace Windu, Coleman Trebor (a Jedi equivalent to Star Trek's "red shirt"), and the clone pilot. Ep. II Mace vs. the Clone Wars Mace really isn't a huge difference (this one has printed legs). Coleman is a nice addition, and I'm glad they put him in a bigger set rather than with the Spider Droid or Tank Droid sets.

Here's the side view...

Here's the pilot with the pull-out compartment.

The turret flips up for access to the flick-fire missile storage. I'm thinking about taking this out in favor of being able to house a couple more clone troopers.

The carry handle is a bit more sturdy than 7675, as this one is designed for fingers where the last one was designed to be carried by the dropship.

Rear view. Everything you dreamed it would be, and more.

I really like how the back folds up nicely when you open the hatch. There's also a convenient ladder which can tuck away underneath when not in use. You know how important it is to make it easy for the minifigs to climb in and out.

I used a few extra clones from my reserves to fill in the back (two troopers and one ARF from the 2011 battle pack). It really seems a little counter-productive to roll into battle with only one clone. You can't see it from this angle, but there's a small container in the back for holding the thermal detonators.

Here's 75019 on the left with 7675 on the right for comparison. I didn't realize until they were together how much smaller 75019 is.

Here's the top view, which really shows the difference in size.

Which one do I prefer? That's a tough question. I do like the smaller design of 75019, but you can't beat showing up to the battle with 7 troops like you can with 7675. If you already have 7675, you're probably not in a hurry to get this one as there isn't a whole lot of real difference between them. Don't get me wrong, it's worth the price tag. It's a very fun build with lots of play value when you're done. Over-all, I'd give it a good 8/10. The missing two points could've been made up with another clone trooper and maybe more room inside for troops.