New Death Star model at LEGOLAND Windsor
Posted by Huw,
Yesterday I visited LEGOLAND Windsor with my family to attend a press event organised by the park's PR agency Freerange, to see the new Death Star models in the Star Wars miniland area of the park.
The Star Wars display has been open for four years and is largely unchanged other than the addition of two new models this year: a 2.4m diameter Death Star and a Death Star trench scene.
If you've not been before, you might find my report of the opening event in March 2012 of interest.
My comment in that report about the low level lighting still stands and unfortunately it's simply not possible to fully appreciate, and photograph effectively, the models because of this. I guess it looks cool but it makes discerning details difficult.
The Death Star itself looks fantastic. It's surrounded by a swarm of X-Wings and TIE-Fighters and, as with many of the displays in the SW area, there's movement and lighting effects: X-Wings and TIEs circle the station above the trench and every so often or at the press of a button, I'm not sure which, and...
...the weapon is illuminated and fired.
The trench model shows an X-Wing being chased by Vader's TIE, which is something like 4m long. It's encased in perspex making photography difficult particularly with the spotlights shining on it.
Every so often the X-Wing discharges its payload at the target, via some LED strips.
Here's Vader's TIE in pursuit
A monitor on the wall shows the Death Star under construction. I'm not sure where it was made, it doesn't look like the Windsor model shop.
Elsewhere in the display: is this what Assault on Hoth should have been? :-)
There's no doubt that it's an impressive addition to the Star Wars miniland display. It's a great attraction and one which every Star Wars fan will appreciate. I just wish it could be seen daylight to fully appreciate it, though...
This weekend there are loads of Star Wars related events going on including Star Wars characters wandering the park (here's my daughter Chloe with one), speed-build, mosaics, costume competitions and so on. Yesterday the park was rammed and I suspect it will be today and tomorrow too given the reasonably dry weather we're having at the moment.
I've been going to LEGOLAND since the LEGO club preview weekend in March 1996 just before it officially opened, when my daughters were four and two. There has been a lot of change in that time but one thing that has hardly changed at all is Miniland: I estimate that 75% of the models are the originals from the 1990s so consequently they are looking very tatty and in some places a bit grubby too, with green algae in pools and mud on models.
Since Merlin took over the LL parks in 2006 there has been investment, but not much of it has gone into improving the actual LEGO aspects of it. I guess it's easy to see why: would rebuilding the miniland displays encourage more people to visit and spend more money there? Probably not. But, I think it's terrible that the park's raison d'être, at least its original one, has been so neglected, particularly considering miniland at Billund is kept in pristine condition.
I'm told that the only way to encourage Merlin to do anything about it is to complain. There are screens near the exit to provide feedback and I certainly made my views clear on this aspect of the park yesterday.
Most families won't notice or care because they are there for the rides and there's no doubt that there is a lot of fun to be had in the park for young kids. There's even a new ride that my daughters enjoyed: Mia's Riding Adventure.
It's still a great day out: the crowds there yesterday are testament to that. If you're planning a visit with kids pick when you go carefully unless you are prepared to queue for hours. I used to take my girls on school inset days early in the season when the park is at its quietest. If you're just going there for the Star Wars display it won't make a lot of difference when you go although the middle of the day will be the quietest time at the top of the park where the display is.
Thanks to Tansy at Freerange for inviting us: we had a great day out and it was good to go there as a family again, even though we are now four adults. :-)
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21 comments on this article
Looking good. Has it been four years since our 2012 visit? http://brickset.com/article/2724/me-and-my-homies
Can you believe it...
Bah! Where is the attention to detail in the trench run? The torpedoes fire out of the sides of the nose portion of the X-Wing, not from the lasers on the s-foils.
I did wonder about that aspect myself but I'm no expert.
I went to Legoland Windsor for the first time last Autumn and was surprised at how tatty the Miniland models were, I presumed that perhaps it was just 'end of season' dirt and would be cleaned over the winter break, but obviously not.
As anAFOL what stores located inside the park do you recommend, do they sell individual pieces in all of the LegoLands (been trying to go since I was a little kid but for reasons I didn't understood my parents could not take me there, now I understand why but I appreciate that my parents instilled a sense of economic responsibility).
@Lordmoral: honestly, none of them. Apart from a couple of exclusive sets, the rest are full RRP and no VIP points. So grab the exclusives, and head to Westfield's London and go to the official Lego store.
I've now been to three LegoLands around the world, Windsor; San Diego and Malaysia; and Windsor was probably the best conditioned miniland. I've been surprised three times now by the lack of maintenance done on the models; just simple things like the pulley system for the boats. The number one thing it has reinforced is that Lego needs to be displayed indoors.
As to the article, the Death Star is not done justice by photos. It really is epic. And photography is further hampered by kids pressing the action buttons constantly!
@Lordmoral, what @sixpax said: none of them. They are all RRP. No VIP points and usually no offers although this weekend you could get a gold 3PO with SW purchaes over £75.
PaB at LLW has been shunted down almost out of sight to the discount store by the laser shooting ride. There was nothing of note available and prices are astronomical.
There are, however, some exclusive sets available and also a selection of polys in the big shop. I'll be writing about them later.
Nice article, but the first thing I noticed was the X-Wing firing its laser cannons instead of its torpedo launchers. The laser rays bending into the trench vent are pretty ridiculous. You'd think that people creating such a scene would know this.. I suspect they've done this on purpose because the laser cannons are a more prominent feature, but it's still pretty silly ;-)
Oh, God, having read this at the first time I thought it was a new UCS model... IT'S A TRAP
Both Death Star models (the one at Windsor and the one now in California) were built at Merlin's studio in Malaysia.
^^^^^^ thank you both for the answers.
I was there last week and all of this was in place then.
Those models are really incredible
I haven't been to Legoland since 2002. Im going to visit again during the summer and am looking forward to seeing the Star Wars displays although it's a shame good photography isn't possible. I first visited in 1997 when miniland was just about all new and pristine. It'll be interesting to see the condition of them now 19 years down the line. Do all the moving vehicles and other moving parts and associated sounds all still work?
^ No! You might see the odd train or boat moving but the bulk of it is broken. The Thames didn't even have any water in it for the boats...
A couple of years ago I was in Legoland Günzburg (Germany). Ther was a 1:1 scale X-Wing starfighter on display. The X-wing, like the new Death Star and trench scene, was in a dark room with blue lights on.
I don't understand why they use this blue light, and why are these models in a dark room. I'd prefer to see the original colors.
@Lordmoral: Legoland Günzburg has a huge chpice of loose parts in the Fabrik Shop. Prices are quite high (90 € / kg), but you can find a lot of useful parts (at least 100 times more different parts than in the PAB wall of any Lego stores.
@Ookamieq That was my first thought as well ! I thought after the Assault on Hoth, that Death Star looks out of this world. Sad now :( (Although on a side note, those models do look very cool).
OuterRimTradingCo. beat me to it.
@Yellow - the X-wing was put in the area where the Hero Factory ride is. There are usually two groups of ride arms, but they dismantled one side to put the X-wing there. I guess it kept it out of the weather. Not sure where else in the park it would have fitted. I think they just kept the lighting the same as it is for the ride normally. I thought some spotlights could have lit it up more, but maybe they went for the Dagobah level of lighting.
It was quite impressive though.
(We stop in Gunzberg on the way back to UK from Hungary)
Flec
I was there Monday, I didn't realise the Death Star was new. (It was my first time)...