Darth Vader gets a LEGO® flagship
Posted by Huw,
First seen two months ago, the SSD was officially revealed 5pm EST today.
Here's the press release:
10221 Super Star Destroyer Executor , Ages 16+ 3,152 pieces, US $399.99, CA $499.99, €399.99, UK £349.99.
- Includes four minifigures: Darth Vader, Admiral Piett, Dengar and Bossk
- Also includes IG-88 figure
- Features over 3,000 pieces
- Measures nearly 50 inches (124.5 cm) long and weighs nearly 8 pounds (3.5kg)
- Includes display stand and data sheet label
- Centre section lifts off to reveal command centre
One of the largest and most powerful vessels in the Star Wars universe has been created as a LEGO Exclusive model. The Super Star Destroyer Executor served as command ship at the Battle of Endor and as the personal flagship of Darth Vader.
It is the first time that the classic dagger-shaped design has been produced as an official LEGO model.
"The thing I was trying to accomplish with this model was to get as close as possible to the original, both with angles and the whole profile of the model from the side," says LEGO senior designer Kurt Kristiansen.
His biggest challenge with this model was the sheer size. It is the longest Star Wars model made in LEGO bricks, measuring 124.4 centimetres (50 inches). It consists of 3,152 elements and weighs 3.5kg (8 pounds).
"When I was first given this challenge, my first thought was 'this is going to be a tough one'," he said. He planned the model by dividing it into separate sections before beginning to build at all.
The build also posed a few problems, though: "When you are developing a model, if you change something at one end of, you have to change it all the way down to make it fit. That's a challenge on something this big.
"I think Star Wars fans will love this model because it is the first time ever that the Super Star Destroyer has been made as an official model. The thing that makes this model authentic with the movies is the shape, but also the detail on the top. It is like a small city with streets and alleys."
A section of the top of the model can be removed to show a representation of the command bridge where Darth Vader and the other minifigures can be displayed. The model includes four minifigures: Darth Vader, Admiral Piett, Dengar, Bossk and an extra figure, IG-88.
The Super Star Destroyer is on sale from September 1, 2011 via http://shop.lego.com/ or LEGO Brand Retail Stores. Find your nearest store here: http://stores.lego.com
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I've added all the extra pictures to the set details page, so click on the picture to check them out, and there's an interview with the designer on YouTube.
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78 comments on this article
Oh, Dengar's a bit disapointing. I was expecting some sort of headress like the PoP one with less material at the bottom but no, a printed head with a bandana....
And why is Vader holding a hologram of HIMSELF. Shouldn't it be the Emperor?
Anyway, I won't stay completly negative :) The piece used for IG-88 looks so much better than the old one!
And the size of this model is insane, definatly one to display on the kitchen table!
The model looks awesome, especially the bridge. With all the detail on the top it is going to be hard to build. When I read about this 2 months ago, I sort of wanted it. Now, I REALLY want it. It looks so cool!!!!!!
I'm sorry but isn't this just a bit dull? And only four minifigs? Compare this to the Death Star, £75 more for what? Some more grey plates... well it just doesn't compare IMHO. Get your Death Stars while you still can!
First thoughts: HUGE!!!!!!!...Expensive!...Huge...Long...New Denger!...Huge!
Voyanui8768: If you look closely, you'll see that Vader is holding a hologram of the Emperor. Check again.
Well, I'm in this sci-fi stuff for the spaceships, so this is definitely a set I'm looking forward to.
$400 seems a bit much since the part count is only slightly higher than the UCS ISD, which sold for $300 initially. Then again, that was back in 2003, and this one comes with minifigs, so I guess that's not a bad price.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that this beast is 50 inches long!
1.25 meters! I'm 2 meters tall! Holy crap!
This thing will monopolize the dining room table once built.
And here is my customary complaint about pricing. $499 Canadian vs $399 US? Really LEGO? The Canadian dollar is actually worth MORE than the US dollar right now. Don't expect to sell many of these to Canadian AFOLs....
Wait until you see the Australian pricing.. We're in the same boat. The Death Star is US$399 vs AUD$699 and our dollar is stronger as well.. Oh well.
Very nice set indeed.
Great job Lego.
yeah. it's pretty sad that I can buy Pet shops at full retail, mark them up about $25, ship them to Canada and Australia on the buyer's dime, and those buyers still end up paying less than buying them in their own countries.
This is awesome, but not quite worth $400. It would have been better without the minifigs IMO, because it would bring the price down, and you can get all of them (or some variation) in other sets. Anyway, the build is very impressive, hopefully this will be my first UCS!
Great. If it even makes it here it will be around $800 - $1000. I havn't even seen a UCS Shuttle here yet.
The scale is really lame. The minifigs are nearly bigger than the small star destroyer???????? Come on!
sigh, that will cost a lot to ship to Newfoundland, along with that hefty Canadian price tag
I love the overall shape and the underside detail, but the top superstructure greebling looks, well, lazy.
Look at how many times a 1x2 grill used. Or the 1x2 plate with bar. It's all I see! Couldn't they mix it up a little bit?
If they'd included 4-LOM and Zuckuss instead of a dodgy-looking Dengar and another Bossk, I'd be sorely tempted to save up for this. Instead I'll be waiting for a sale.
$399? that is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PRICEY! I was hoping that this set would be at least $300 but $400 is way too much. I want the minifigures though (except the Darth Vader)
I agree why can't they make a 4-Lom and Zuckuss Minifigures (Wait! Who is Zuckuss?)
That Dengar looks cartoonish, I like the torso alot but that head is strange looking. The admiral looks very cool, nice head and torso. The other figures are a bit dull.
Looks like they got smart and added a second support. I hated the way the 10030 Star Destroyer would bend over time. It looked really lame sitting on a shelf and people would walk by, "I think your Star Destroyer is melting.." Well, no more of that.
Oh yes, very good, very good indeed. The only thing I wish is that the command bridge inside was bigger. But I think I have found my Christmas present!
Love the ship and want it, but I'm really struggling to get my head round the pricing - same price as the Falcon (in UK) but 2000 parts less.
Could live without the mini-figures as well, if there not in scale and it's not a play set they seem a bit pointless.
Tempted to agree with 'redgreenblue' and get myself a death star.
This set is so big! It looks pretty boring however, so I think this will just appeal to SW fans.
I agree with woony2, how can Lego justify the price with 2000 parts less than the Falcon. I think Lego seem to take advantage of us AFOL knowing, most of us, will buy the UCS sets regardless of price.
^. I did think the exact same thing regarding the Falcon when I initially read the announcement yesterday. However, having had time to reflect, could it be the size of the pieces have anything to do with it? Yes, the Falcon has a few large plates, but this baby has a fair few more. And then, when you come to the intricate pieces, I'd imagine the SSD would win the contest again. Just a thought.
I saw this and I thought Dengar looks odd, and IG-88 is too tall. Although the printed cylinder is good. Same hologram piece for Darth with the Emperor as Yoda oddly had in the Republic Frigate.
Pricey, a little too pricey.
Dengar should have had the boggan in white with a white bandanna for the mask. However, he's better than the old one.
Even my dad was impressed by this and he's not really impressed by LEGO that often. :) I doubt I will be getting though
@GreatBear Exactly right, based on today US$ (1.00) vs. CANADA$ (1.02) the price should be US $399.99, CA $391.99. It ripoff as large as the ship itself.
The figures on this are a joke, there should be more and they should all be new.
Oh my, 400 dollars! Quite a lot of dollars. But this thing is LONGGGG!!!! Almost 4.16 feet (50 inches) The question is, where does one place this and how. Not so much impressed with the minifigs. A small A wing would be more interesting.
400 dollars for this? The sad thing people will pay it.. Sorry, but the figures are really nothing amazing and were all done in the slave one set a few years ago (It looks like all they did was break out the old molds) IG-88 looks like every other assassin droid in that little 10 dollar pack that was out a while ago, Dengar? Who cares.. I mean really, you can find him( prob for a lot cheaper) on BL, and who cares if it is the 'old' oneand Darth was on a magnet, albeit prob lower quality. and you get an imperial general... woopee (at least the did not put Grand Moff Tarkin on it) But what would you rather pay for? a 15 dollar mag set or a 400 dollar 'super' star destroyer that is not to scale? Yes Yes, I know they could not make it to scale, but my point is that if you are going to shoehorn figures into a non-scale set (AND Charge $400 USD for it), make them special, like the SW Death star for minifigs, not to scale obviously but A LOT of figures in it and things to do. This set can only sit on a counter....
Plus while I have not watched Empire recently I belief the scale between the super destroyer and normal star destroyer may be a bit off.
I think Lego is trying to rip off the fan once again IMO.
But I also think they will be trying to sell these like the first giant star destroyer (one without figs)... for five years. then clearance
The set in my opinion looks massive. But once again most likely due to massive price tag, I will very likely call this set a miss. The model is exellent though.
Price is pretty much what I was expecting, but the piece count is wayyyyy lower. A bit disappointing in that regard, but otherwise I'm still looking forward to this set. Just gotta wait for some kind of sale or double VIP point thing...
Wait til BOGO 50% buy 2 for $600, sell one on ebay for $325-$350. After ebay fees you'll have $300 in the one you end up keeping.
It's sad that lego used snape's head for piett.
Well, LEGO is a company that wants MAX PROFIT just like anyother companies. $400 for this?? At least Death Star came with good amount and outstanding minifig collection. I guess LEGO did their research that LEGO collectors and Star Wars collectors will buy them or people who wants to make profit selling on eBay will buy and people new to this LEGO collecting will buy so at the end of the day it will sell. No matter what we say about the price, LEGO will not change anythnig, they said they are listening to the customers but not all of 'em. Just look at Minifigure Series, they raised $1.99 to $2.99 we complaint about the price but LEGO stick with $2.99 and people bought them anyways. Because LEGO knew complaint will die off and people will still buy.
^^^ Good plan... IF TRU ever does a BOGO for these AND if TRU does not inflate the price to $450 per (I am surprised they did not do that when the first 'batch' of their SW Death Stars did not sell out during the BOGO)
The price per price ratio for licensed sets is getting very high. Compare this Executor set with the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal had almost twice as many pieces as the Executor, and yet it was about two-thirds the price of the Executor. So, with its low price per piece ratio, the Taj Mahal was excellent value for money. This Executor - not so good value for money.
If I'm going to spend 400 bucks on a Lego set then I'd get the Death Star. At least it has 24 minifigs many of which are exclusive to that set. Plus all the features and playability. I don't understand why Lego would price this to 400 USD, compared to the other prices of this set in other places, like Canada and Australia, 400 is cheap! Oh well, I don't even have 400 dollars to buy it so I guess I really shouldn't complain.
€400 seems a bit high... ah well, sounds like a good investment to buy near the end of the production date! ;-)
$399.99 is a little high for this baby. I love big builds, but I hate the prices of UCS sets. The only reason I would ever buy a UCS is for the minifigs. In this set, the only fig I don't have a past model of is Admiral Piett. I already have Bossk and Darth Vader (although the one I have is lost, but I'm getting the '7965: Millennium Falcon' to replace the lost one). I was thinking this might be $249.99 or $299.99 and if we got lucky $199.99 (I wasn't sure on the exact size), but I'm disappointing and now no longer want this set. I will have to get IG-88 and Dengar off eBay or BrickLink though.
I agree with almost everybody here..... it's expensive. And very big. But, I think it's worth buying it!
Erm, guys? Look who we've got: http://www.brickset.com/profile/?Nabii LEGO Designer Mark Stafford! :) Look here, too: http://www.brickset.com/brickLists/?5289
At least this UCS is worth buying. When Lego goes small and cheap we get this yawner:
Obi-Wans Jedi Starfighter: http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=10215-1
Well, maybe if we all feigned disinterest in this set and agreed not to buy it right away, Lego will lower the price :-D
My father..a LEGO collector like me....dreamed of this set. He loved the ship, the movies and he waited for LEGO to make one....10 long years he waited. He would have been so happy...sad he passed away. Oh, how I wish I could give it to him. I will miss is my father dearly and I will buy this set just for him.
@ ApolloVI - that kind of 'worked' on the UCS Obi-Wan’s Jedi Starfighter...in that no one really wanted it so they knocked the price down for a while. I think there's enough interested in this set that it won't happen twice, but if everyone would sit it out for a while (in protest of the high price) it might force Lego to rethink their pricing.
It is great, but after a second thought, the price sucks. Le me explain why. I'd like to see the inventory to check how many pseudo plates 2x1, or pieces 1x1 does it have it... Then I see price is not fair. 250€ and it would sell like hot cakes, 400€ is far away from fair price.
... in my humble opinion...
If you go to brothersbrick there is a picture of the instructions showing the inventry for this set. This may make up your mind to buy or not. I may just download the instructions and build from parts I already have. you may have to improvise a little but that's ok.
All these Americans should stop complaining about the price. 400 US$ is only 280 Euro. That is 30% less then we have to pay. I wonder how much shipping across the ocean would be. And for 240 Euro ( 2 boxes in my suitcase) I can fly up and down New York.
The price takes all of my excitement away. The bridge sceen is much smaller than I envisioned.
Yes the Bridge is somewhat small. And you cant seem to place it back if the minifigs are there. :( Unless I am mistaken
I just saw it first hand at Brickworld yesterday..that ship is awesome!!!!!
I'm a Star Wars nut, but honestly don't see how I can justify the price for this.
£350 for a huge grey 3152 piece monster (with 5 minifigs) that I would have to dismantle pretty quickly as it takes a stupid amount of space.
or
£353 for Fire Brigade, Grand Emporium AND Pet Shop, 6445 pieces (over double!) (with 11 minifigs, fire dog, fog, cat, parrots and fish) and will look awesome displayed.
Would have loved to have this model, but I think I would struggle to justify £200, £350 is madness.
After reading through the comments. In comparing the Death Star 10188 at the same price, In terms of minifigs, the Death Star is the winner many times over. Now looking at other items. For 400 dollars, one can get the Imperial Shuttle (259 dollars) plus another 1 or 2 or even 3 items worth 150 dollars. Then that is more sets as compared to only 1. I guess it will stay long also just like the Death Star.
Good job on the "screw Canada" pricing, Lego.
This set looks awesome !!!
I would like to mention that TLG price their sets based on weight and not by piece count. So those who think that this set is worse value than the Millennium Falcon based on parts are not quite right. Although the price of Lego has gone up this year sadly.
TLG just simply dont want to sell in australia
So amazing....I will not make the same mistake I made with the original UCS Star Destroyer (i.e. not getting it...ever). This sucker will be mine, and though I may not be able to build it initially, it WILL become one day the centerpiece of my Lego Star Wars collection!
I dont see the greatness in this set, its flat, long with no big top sticking out, what is this anyways? What does it do? Not a set to get at all, save your $400 for other SW sets to make a bigger collection.
It is currently showing up in the LEGO Exclusives category ...
http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Product.aspx?p=10221&cn=245&d=100
Another boring overpriced LEGO set. I really feel LEGO are running out of ideas now with the Star Wars theme.
Some Star Wars ships just don't lend themselves to LEGO sets, simply due to scale - and this is a good example (plus it is dull). How the heck can you display this monster unless you live in a palace? 4 minifigures plus IG-88 (not a minifigure)?!? LEGO should have put all the bounty hunters in at the very least.
LEGO would have been better off redesigning the regular Star Destroyer.
I wonder if Lego will take note of all these negative comments and restructure their pricing. This must be the set with the worst comments that I have ever read.
I know there are hundreds more AFOL other than these on Brickset, but surely these initial comments must count as some sort of wake up call for Lego.
@meccanotwitch-Thats's a good thought, and I really hope LEGO does just that. Do you (or anyone) know if LEGO has done that before?
^ Obi-Wan’s Jedi Starfighter is an example. Don't buy it, and the price will come down.
I agree with most of these comments. When I first saw this set, I was barely interested. The minifigures and some detail on the bridge are hardly a consolation for the (in my opinion) overall boring appearance of this set. If I want to devote my time to building a UCS set, it would be something exciting and fun like the Death Star or Millennium Falcon, not something monotonous with thousands of miniscule grey parts and a couple already done bounty hunter minifigures. I'm far from impressed.
Very boring IMO. And the minifigure count... 5? Really? Doesn't the death star have upwards of about 15?? This is pretty disappointing overall. It's too bad they didn't do something like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshal-banana/5786158313/in/set-72157626809606992 (as posted in the forum recently). Now *that* I would pay $600 for in a heartbeat :)
@paul88 that model is 10k in pieces. that would be way costly. that would be way over 1000$$
@moloko: I knew that :) (on both accounts...the "600" was just a dream number of course) They could at least re-do the first sandcrawler or even re-release it. It's a sore spot for me because it's one of my favorite star wars vehicles, but never bought it when it was at retail :(
Also it has now been announced the the fact plate says 'turoblaser', quite a bad typo for something so expensive Lego.
"Turoblaster"??? That is Turrific.
Looking at the shop at home, the death star is perhaps the oldest set available, SW and very high piece count, this is probably the replacement, so get the death star while you can. I have one and its awesome! :D
@nadnerb112: Who are you kidding? it looks good, and besides, re-using unlikely parts for new things is one of LEGO's trademark things!
@Andrew85: Oldest is the green brick prier, oldest SW is X-Wing. What's :D mean, by the way? It seems to be used a lot on Brickset.
@LEGOlas1: Look at the ":D" sideways, and you'll understand. :)
Ha Ha! I just realized that I like the mini star destroyer more then the actual flagship! I feel bad for the guy who made this, looks like it took like a year to design (that's an exaggeration) and it seems as if not many people are willing to buy it.
@ LEGOlas1, I mean one of the oldest sw exclusives available, and its now done three years on the production line so I think times nearly up. Also :D is a very smiley face
@Andrew85, the Xwing fighter (http://brickset.com/detail/?set=6212-1) was released in 2006. The Death Star (http://brickset.com/detail/?set=10188-1) was released in 2008.
Thanks, Alemas and Andrew85.