Given the sheer amount of articles I’ve already written previewing the LEGO Star Wars Winter 2015 sets, I wouldn’t blame anyone who thought I’d already talked about them. But even so, there’s still a couple left to discuss! Moreover, they’re more sets from the Star Wars prequel trilogy, including a movie-based vehicle we haven’t seen since in almost 15 years–the LEGO Star Wars AAT 75080 cruises into battle this winter!

Considering how prominent the Trade Federation AAT (Armored Assault Tank) is in the Star Wars prequel movies, I was shocked when I realized that a full-sized movie version of the AAT hasn’t appeared in LEGO form since the year 2000!

It’s true–while the LEGO Clone Wars AAT 8018 was released in 2009 and there have been several mini LEGO AAT sets released over the year, there hasn’t been a single plain old movie Separatist AAT LEGO set released in 14 years.

The 75080 LEGO AAT set contains 251 pieces, so it should fit finely in the $24.99-$29.99 price range. The Clone Wars LEGO AAT sold terribly at the $49.99 price point for 407 pieces, so pricing this AAT lower is a smart move on LEGO’s part. While the AAT will be a bit smaller, the far lower price will make it much more appealing to buyers (at least, hopefully).

LEGO 75080 contains three minifigures, and all three are characters that fandom is a little, uh, “divided on”: a LEGO Jar Jar Binks minifigure, Pilot Droid minifigure, and Battle Droid minifigure. The Battle Droids are well-liked by (some) children but despised by adults, whereas Jar Jar Binks has probably been the butt of more jokes than any character in Star Wars history.

That said, Jar Jar is an incredibly important individual in the Star Wars saga (and instrumental in Emperor Palpatine’s rise to power), and a lot of kids love Jar Jar Binks, so it’s really tough to fault LEGO for including him in a set when we haven’t had a new Jar Jar in a few years.

The LEGO 2015 AAT vehicle will feature a rotating cannon and side blasters, an opening hatch to place a Battle Droid into to pilot the tank, spring-loaded firing missiles, and of course–wacky, ridiculous Jar Jar Binks hijinks!

The LEGO Star Wars AAT 75080 set is scheduled to be released in January 2015, but some shipments of the set are sure to sneak out into stores before the 2014 holidays. Stay tuned to the Bricks and Bloks Facebook Page, as I’ll post updates as soon as the winter 2015 sets arrive in stores and online.

Thoughts on the LEGO Star Wars 2015 AAT 75080 set, LEGO fans? Are you happy about this prominent prequel-era vehicle returning to the battlefield, or are you over the Star Wars prequels (and Jar Jar!) at this point?