LSW Set of the Week 5/6/23: Armored Assault Tank (AAT) - 8018 (2009)

Welcome to the new "Set of the Week" series, where a set from LSW over the years will be selected and we take a look at the set with, in some cases, more modern eyes and do a deep dive into the set at its time of release and how its aged, for better or worse.

A flashback to the box art design from 2009. It appears Yoda is a little distracted, but who among us can match the brave attitude of a single clone trooper going up against 4:1 odds and a battle tank?

This weeks selection is the venerable Confederate Independent Systems Armoured Assault Tank set released in January 2009, retiring at the end of December 2010, giving it a shelf-life of 2 years. At the time of release, the set cost USD $49.99, a price tag for a set like this that many modern LEGO fans would kill for! In Australia, the set retailed for around AUD $80.00, but with 3 B2 Super Battle Droids, 2 B1 Battle Droids, P1 Clone Trooper and Yoda minifigure, this value really holds up!

Released during what many will call the golden age of Confederacy vehicles, the AAT was the main battle tank of the Clone Wars for the droid army, and served in almost all theatres of war. The blue colour scheme is the progression from the original desert tan colour scheme, found in 7155, that would become well known at the Battle of Naboo in 32BBY. A seemingly easy Confederate victory would be foiled by the youthful Chosen One Anakin Skywalker destroying the Droid Control Ship and deactivating the planetside army and clutching a Naboo and a reversal of the "perfectly legal" blockade of Naboo trading.

At the time of release, this review by EuroBricks gives us a look at its reception, with the lack of numbered bags (a standard with LSW sets at the time) being a main drawback. The release of the new telescope piece, a now versatile a common piece was also quite interesting. The relative few finnicky technic pieces are also a boon to those who find such fiddling an annoyance.

7748: Corporate Alliance Tank Droid

8016: Hyena Droid Bomber

This set begun a wave of LEGO releasing a variety of other CIS vehicles as well, with the Corporate Alliance Tank Droid (7748) and the Hyena Droid Bomber (8016) providing ground and air support respectively to the advancing droid armies of CIS fans in 2009.

The real gold in this set, looking back with modern eyes, is the B2 Super Battle Droids (SW0230). The other minifigures within this set are quite ubiquitous, however these iconic droids of the Confederate Droid Army came with blaster arm attachments. This style of B2 droid are now quite expensive, with a variety of factors including age of the set, and brittle nature of the B2 leg joints making available stock of this figure quite rare. The only other set this figure came in, and a single figure, was Battle of Geonosis (7869) Currently, this minifigure alone goes for approximately AUD13, but there are only 3 available on BrickLink in Australia.

SW0230: A B2 Battle Droid w/ Blaster Arm

Nowadays, this set is quite rare to find in any condition, with no sets being available across Oceania, and globally few sealed sets are for sale on BrickLink. However, for the avid CIS vehicle collector, or army builder, one can't go wrong having a classic such as this battling it out against the Republic forces, likely supported by a set that has now achieved "white whale" status, the Republic Dropship w/ AT-OT (10195).

This review in 2020 by MandRProductions really gives insight into how well this set has aged, from the concept, execution and timeless nature of the AAT. This is obviously excluding the well-accepted britleness of the B2 legs which has plagued CIS fans for decades.

Overall, this set is an example of the quality and care that LEGO can give to Star Wars sets, and represents a golden age of LSW in general. Hopefully, LEGO will appreciate the demand for CIS vehicles and sets, and give us some more modern sets to pit against our heroes and friends in the current lineup of Republic sets.