REVIEW - 75313 AT-AT DISPLAY CASE BY IDISPLAYIT

INTRODUCTION

It's been a while since I have written a review. And this review isn't about a LEGO set, but of a display case. I am not in the habit of showcasing my sets, but for some I do make an exception. Some of you might have seen my review for the Pure Display (iDisplayIt) Case for the Millennium Falcon. This time I am doing a review for another display case for a special LEGO set and that is the 75313 UCS AT-AT.

Ever since I started eyeballing UCS Star Wars sets, and that started a while ago, I have been hoping for an official AT-AT set to be released. And in 2021, my dreams came true. At the time I didn't want to fork out the cash for that set, but just before Christmas 2022 I bit the bullet anyway. I purchased the set and started building. To be honest; the build was quite disappointing for me. A very tedious, repetitive and boring build with stuff falling of the AT-AT just upon looking at it. It's an understatement to say that the build wasn't very enjoyable to me. However, the end result does compensate the build process.

That means this set deserves a special place in my home. If you have read the review of the display case for the Millennium Falcon you will know we had some fun proposing to put the model in the living room. My wife (Kitty) will surely appreciate that hehe. My plan is to display it in the guest room and relocate the Millennium Falcon, but since both are so big and you need the space of about twice the height of the display case to be able to place the case over the model, it's hard to place it on a high cabinet. I like to place it one on my boardgame cabinet, but more on that later.

Before we start, I like to express my gratitude to Steve Chan from iDisplayIt. I proprosed to do another review and he was so kind to send me the coolest version of the display case within 24 hours. Thank you so much! Let's dive in so I can tell you more about the different versions of the case.

CASE INFORMATION

As I stated in the introduction, there are multiple versions of this casing. Usually, there is one with a black and one with a white base. However, this one comes with a Vinyl background and floor. This means the background and floor are printed with a Hoth like scene. 

The price of the regular display case is (with and without print):
EU: 140 Pounds or 115 Pounds (ex tax)
GB: 168 Pounds or 138 Pounds (includes tax)
US: 224 USD or 184 USD (ex tax, I assume)

The GB price is including tax while the others do not. I had to pay taxes when I received the package in The Netherlands. All prices exclude shipping. 

Approximate External Size (cm)

Ext. Length 80cm
Ext. Width 34cm
Ext. Height 66cm

Approximate Internal Size (cm)

Int. Length 78cm
Int. Width 32cm
Int. Height 65cm

THE BOX

As usual, the box comes with "Fragile" tape indicating it should be handled with care. 

CONTENTS OF THE BOX

What I like about these cases is that everything is neatly packed and well protected.

 

THE BUILD

The beast is standing-by and the Galaxy Explorer is around to follow the progress. Until I manage to put the Millennium Falcon on the boardgame cabinet, the AT-AT will probably reside left of the monitor.

When you remove the carton, the plexiglass panels are exposed. They all have a blue protective film to avoid scratching.

There is one unnumbered bag with parts. No new parts or parts in new colors :wink: There is also an instruction manual which included a link to the website and Facebook page.

 

The panel below is the printed floor. It shows a snow-like terrain which obviously matches the iconic Battle of Hoth scene from The Empire Strikes Back.

The back panel shows a generic snow-mountain-environment to match the floor. This scene has a painted feel to it and it's not simply a random picture. Bobb Ross would be proud of this. A little Van Dyke Brown....o wait, there not a lot of brown in the scene.

The display case is starting to take shape and you can already see the scene where the AT-AT will be standing.

I absolutely love the background.

Low and behold, the finished display case. Assembling the case is a breeze. The mechanism with the "pins and connectors" is really easy to follow. Took me around 15 minutes or so to build the case. Most of the time was for unpacking and removing the protective film.

THE DISPLAY CASE

For now this will be where I will locate the display case. It's important to choose the correct spot, because once the model is placed in the case, it's very hard to move it. You can push it around a bit, but you CANNOT lift the case with model. The case is to protect the model from dust, not to move it around.

For the purists; Luke needs to be attached to the bottom of the AT-AT. But the last time I touched the bottom, lots of stuff fell off and I had a hard time putting it back on. So I don't touch the bottom anymore....ever!

As you can see in the bottom left corner, I didn't place the display case correctly.

It sure is an impressive sight to behold and the printed panels really add value to the scene. At this point I wanted to write that I wished the Millennium Falcon case would come with a printed background. Then I suddenly realized, maybe there is one with a printed background nowadays. At the time of writing my review for that case, there wasn't one with a background. I looked it up and of course, there is one. I sure wish my version had such a cool background.

Anyway, back to the AT-AT. It does feel a bit too big to place on a desk hehe. On the other hand, it is cool to look at when you are doing some work.

Rule number one; take a shot from below to make something look more impressive. And it sure does look impressive.

And a final picture where I correctly placed the case on the base.

REARRANGING THE DISPLAY CASES

The initial plan was to place the AT-AT in the guest room with the Millennium Falcon. However, my board game cabinet is too high to put the MF or AT-AT on top of it. There is enough space, but I can't place the case over the model. But I had an epiphany. The board game cabinet consists of two Kallax cabinets. I can empty the top cabinet and put it on the floor. Put the MF or AT-AT on it and lift it on the lower cabinet. I decided to relocate the MF so the AT-AT can take its place for a while. Maybe I will switch them in the future.

 

Here they are, both in the guest room. Looking at the MF, I do miss the cool background the AT-AT has. I might try to get a background for the MF as well. Maybe I can get a separate panel or something. 

 

And one final picture of the AT-AT and display in the guest room. Who doesn't want to wake up with a huge Millennium Falcon and AT-AT in their room :D

THE VERDICT

The verdict from the Millennium Falcon case review can be copied here and it would be exactly the same. These display cases are a fantastic solution to protect your sets. Obviously, they do add up to the price of the set, but in my opinion protecting USC Star Wars sets like the Millennium Falcon or AT-AT also protects the value of the sets. I definitely recommend getting these cases to display your sets and to protect your collection.

Again, a big shout out to Steve and iDisplayIt for providing me with this case!

Thanks you for reading this review. All pictures can be found here.