I knew it would be $500! Now we know why they had to rerelease that set. Good to have the official info now.

Total cash grab. Let's update something we've had out for nearly a decade. Spruce it up with a couple of hundred more pieces and slap another $100 on it! Money money money who loves ya?

I'm interested in an analysis of where the 200+ parts were used. Hopefully that will part of a forthcoming Brickset review!

how much!! O_O

Wow,that's totally ridiculous. Lego you have saved me hell load of money down to very dissapointing Assault On Hoth and now this.... Now Lego this is just god damn lazy and expensive. I'd only want Han figure that's all,cheers Lego. Treating your Lego Star Wars fans great this year (sigh)

Inflation inflation, still only marks it up to $449.99, and with the bigger audience from recent years it could be lower than that as well. You'd hope that they'd at least acknowledge that it's a re-release in the press release though, wouldn't you?

Something about Han's hair piece and designer videos.

EDIT: Wait, is that a new Leia face print? Cool.

There comes a point no matter how much you can spend when you just have to take a step back and remind yourself no matter how much you love lego that its just a plastic toy... there is no way it costs anywhere near this to produce. (and i did go all out buying the disney castle to!) Well thats some money saved i guess!!

Will Brickset review this set?

Glad I got the original before it retired, only thing I'm interested in here is the minifigs and I have the feeling many will be in other sets so will just get them instead

Wouldn't it have made sense to use a recolored constraction figure lightsaber blade for the central beam of the super laser? It'd be just as visually appealing, and less likely to fall apart, since it's just one piece rather than several, and it's not like Lego can't afford to make a recolor for this set with its absurd price-to-part ratio. Or maybe Lego could put some actual effort into a Star Wars USC set this year. We've gotten one new bad one (Hoth) and one good one for a second time (this set.)

The first one (10188) never really interested me so I passed it up year after year with no regrets. Now that I have a 4 year old in the house who is addicted to LEGO and Star Wars, I just may have to get this sometime next year.

Way too many other $100+ sets to get first though. Heck even the Hoth UCS is higher on the list than this one.

Retire a set, re-release it virtually as it was and not long after said retired set, include a few updated minifigures and add another £125 because it's Star Wars.

I wonder if it's Lego losing the plot or Disney putting the tighteners on TLG. Both probably.

For $600 it should include a full sizes tie fighter and about ten more minifigures. Even then that price wouldn't be fully justified.

As disappointed as I am with it just being a re-release, I actually hope this succeeds. Maybe if it succeeds, we could potentially have a re-release of one of the bigger UCS sets (10030, 10143, 10179, 10212 ect.)

The first version released when I was to young to afford it. Once I had the money I never bought it because I wanted updated minifigures. This set has fulfilled the requirements for me. The $100 increase in price is still ridiculous, but I will take my time to save to buy it! (Maybe there will be a May 4th discount in the future?)

Awesome!

Another definite "No way at that price!" from me, paricularly as it's just the same as the old version. Seriously, LEGO, this is as good as it gets? You're turning into the Hollywood of the toy world with all these remakes....

As with ALL sets, the thing to do is to wait until there's a 'no exclusions' sale somewhere and pick it up at 20% off - which is still over the top, of course, and would still make me think long and hard about whether to buy it. I think the answer is likely to be "Never" with this one. Based on the announced international pricing this is probably going to be NZ$900 (the usual formula is to convert GBP to NZD then add at least 10%). For that money I got MISBs of 10240 Red 5 X-Wing AND 10225 R2-D2.

It looks like TLG are actually price-gouging at an already "collectable" figure!

Han Solo looks awesome.

If only it were as good as the rogue one sets.

The Disney Castle has 64 more pieces and costs $200 CAD less! What the heck?! These are both Disney-owned properties...

Being grey, this has so few unique pieces... this is a total ripoff. Han's hair will be available elsewhere soon. There's no justification for this. Disgusting price gouging.

I was ready to purchase this, but it's way overpriced. Pass.

Would people be as outraged if it was a re-release of the millenium falcon ucs!? Your outrage depends on whether you bought 10188 or not, meanwhile prices are falling for it making it a double slap in the face. The trade off paying 500 for a refresh versus paying anywhere between 500-1000 for 10188 aftermarket? No arguement there. Might just get that 10188 for retail after all!!

As someone who skipped on the original Death Star, I would still like to get this set. However, would it be advisable given the price increase?

come on lego

Let's see if this stays up for sale for 7 years like 10188; $500 might look pretty reasonable in 7 years...NOT!

Been waiting in dread for the UK price. 45% price hike? Sold my old one this week for £409. Was hoping to be able to pick up the new one with a little bit of cash left over but I guess that was wishful thinking. The UK price of 10188 was always one of the few UK Lego sets with a favorable price compared to the US though.

Guess my first Star Wars UCS set will come later.

The new Dianoga looks great. Much smaller/more subtle/better than the last one. Shame they didn't use the 1x1 round tile with eye print from the Doctor Strange set. Gonna have to pick up Doctor Strange and repurpose the spare eye tile.

Yup, what @TheRogueRecon said...

Inflation or not that price is making my eyes water... Good thing I have the original that I managed to snag for £247.50 on May the 4th a couple of years ago. This is basically getting shafted twofold though -

1.) People that don't have the original now having to either pay a sky-high price or try and source an original from somewhere else.
2.) People like myself that have the original but like the new minifigures, waiting in hope that some of them will appear next year in other sets.

Wonder if it's reverse psychology from Disney? Discourage purchases of the flagship Star Wars set and buy our Disney flagship set instead! I hear plenty of murmurs of people that have either bought the Castle just recently or are going to buy it instead.

For $100 extra dollars, you'd think they could add paneling to the thing so it could be more accurate to the "real" Death Star" and make it more of a display piece as much as a play set. Nope!

*shrug* Seems like a lot of hubbub for very little pay-off. I would have preferred if TLG had come up with a design that I liked, but there's plenty of other sets that grabbed my attention this year. Giving this one a "pass" and devoting my budget to more appealing choices. I don't expect to like every set, but this one seems a bit lazy even by my standards (which are pretty lax most days).

As to whether it's a "cash grab", well, sure - it probably is. But, that's equally true of every set they make - they make the sets they think will sell, at the price point they think the market will bear. I kind of wonder if they missed the mark here, but the last Death Star was in production for something like 10 years ... they must know their target audiences pretty well.

What a ridiculous re-release with a rip-off price tag for Disney logo (pun intended) IMHO... I really don't get it why Lego re-release its longest run Star Wars set which was less than a year after retirement. There are handful of older UCS' that could be re-released as many fans are waiting for. Lego, please consider these for your next coming UCS':

1. Millenium Falcon
2. Snow Speeder (It'll be in 2017 rite? Pheww...)
3. AT-ST
4. Y-Wing
5. R2-D2
6. Imperial Star Destroyer
7. Imperial Shuttle
8. Vader's Tie Advance

Wish people would stop trying to blame Disney and put the blame for pricing at Lego's feet. I highly doubt Lego have a whole new licensing contract that meant Disney forced them to charge £125 more for a pre-existing set.

Someone at Eurobricks mentioned this along with the press release, ***emphasis*** mine.

"The LEGO® Star Wars™ Death Star™ was a huge hit with fans when it launched in 2008 and we are excited to announce that we have made some awesome updates and improvements to this huge model! Our designers added over 200 bricks and elements as well as 3 new minifigures. This 2016 version offers a great building experience to both those fans who have the original set, and those who may be new to the LEGO® Star Wars™ universe. ***This is not an indication of any future re-release or set updates.***"

I mean, after Insult on Hoth and now the Death Star... ?

$600 Canadian plus 13% tax == $678 total == uhhhhhhhhhh, no. . .

Lego's contract to produce Star Wars sets lasts until 2022 by all accounts, so Disney clearly haven't upped their licensing fee. This is just Lego being greedy.

Disney is not to blame for this. The castle is priced pretty well and other stars sets have been priced well. It has 4000 pieces so it should be $350 like the Disney Castle. This set is just like Hoth in that Lego tried to make what they thought people with children wanted, who are new to Lego. If you are an AFOL, you already have so many gray bricks and so many of these minifgs that you do not need this set. I do not own the original death star and I won't be getting this. I loved the Ewok village, but I just bought the set without the minifigs, because I already had 90% of them.
But I collect Star Wars Lego, and will be getting all of the Rouge One sets, because the each set is new and original except for the AT-ST, which I do not own a previous version.

I'm so confused.

213 more pieces... $100 more... Yeah, that makes sense.

Man, release UCS A-Wing, thus completing the alphabet fighter collection, or rehash Deathstar and bump up the price. Oh well, more money towards a new train!

^^^
It's a tad bit hard to shrug off the price being half a thousand dollars for... well.. it's really just a playset that you can get cheaper elsewhere for a much better deal. It's not a good value for what you pay at all, and there's no reason to buy this version because the original is available for cheaper along with other good LEGO sets that are bit but cost less.

Hoth - strike 1
Death Star - strike 2
What's the next big Lego Star Wars disappointment?

Thanks for saving me the money though - I'll stick with ver 1.0

This year seems like a particularly bad year for Lego fans. Assault on Hoth was an embarrassment. The problems with the Porche were shady, and now people are complaining about this being a rehash with a $100 price hike. I however, would like to offer some refreshing views. I really like this. I was never able to get the first one, and I don't like dealing with the after market so this is great. I really appreciate the subtle changes they made. Sure the price isn't the greatest, but it is better than the aftermarket.
Also, we need to discuss LEGO as a whole. LEGO will always be an expensive hobby, and it always has been. If you are gonna complain about the price, maybe find a new hobby. I am always short on money, so I am often skipping on buying some of the best sets for other ones I had been saving up for. It's just the nature of LEGO

No way I'm paying £400. Never liked the old one as a set, but I do like the new minifigs. Hate to think what the figs will cost on bricklink/eBay.

Hey @TheBrickPal, what nickname shall we give this set to go along with the ever so excellent "Snowtroopers Bob and Tim's Suicide Mission on Hoth".....? Any suggestions anyone?

I have absolutely nothing new to add here, however I feel like I have to add my extreme displeasure here. $100 more for this?? Good lord. Where's the justification?? How can they justify inflation, when the last one only stopped being sold last year? And there couldn't have been that much time spent on it by designers/master builders, because it's practically identical to the old one. I'm so baffled and ticked off with all of this. Seriously Lego, you can suck it on this one.

The set looks great. But since I don't own t the original, I will not spend that much on this. Four hundred was a tough sell for me. No way on $500.

They JUST retired the original version. If they were going to re-release one, some of the older UCS sets would be better options.

I'm all for re-releases of classic sets (like they did for Main Street 15 years ago), but this one was literally JUST retired. Nuts!

I'm still waiting for Lego to write a press release for a licensed set that doesn't include the word iconic lazyjournalism

I still maintain there's nothing wrong with re-releasing a classic set like this. I suspect Disney and inflation are two factors contributing to the re-release and hike in price, especially with the average Star Wars set increasing by £5-10 each year since Disney got involved. My only fear is that if a UCS Falcon re-release ever happens the price will be astronomical given the £125 increase of the Death Star in the UK :-(

£400!!!

Yup, they can keep that.

I paid 274.99 on the lego website for the original. I also got double VIP points at that time which gave me enough for £30 off another set. £400 for this.... soooo glad i bought the original. will be worth more in the future too.

Lego, I missed your original run, but £400, seriously, I could manage £300-350 but £400 is a bit far.

Another proof that Lego is changing, And not for better.

It's amazing all the people looking for "justification" in the price. I'll assume they're children as I remember thinking this way also when I was 12 or so. The way it works in a free market is that prices are set by something informally known as "supply and demand." That is, if something is in short supply and/or in high demand the price will be higher than if that same thing is in great supply and/or low demand. Price is not tied to inflation or the cost to produce, although these are certainly considerations. Essentially, TLG will charge as much as they think they can in order to sell as many as they think they can.

Will Lego ever respond to all this bad press??? Probably not, just like the Hoth set.. No comment!!! How can we get Lego to respond to all this bad press on this set and explain the ridiculous price increase???? Answers on a postcard...

since the Disney has the brand in hand, prices are rising and it seems that the yield is lower. I am hugely disappointed by everything, these things make me never want to collect the star wars theme

I'm not a Star Wars collector, and the set itself is very big in play value... but does anyone actually think this is better than 2 or 3 modular buildings altogether? At least you get complete buildings with more attention to detail...

OK maybe weird of me to compare star wars to modulars, but I'm just looking at it now from a price/quality point of view...

Anyone else feel the same?

So my money is going to rogue one. AND next years modular. It cost £400. The same as this!

So many complaints about the price, yet at price per part this is the cheapest star wars set out there. It does include a lot of large parts and mini figs. The previous version was very under priced, but no one objects to that. There are City sets that cost more per part. Anyone complaining about the large price jump should have bought the original when they had an eight year chance. For new customers this is a good price compared to other sets.
Since Disney bought Lucas film the price per part has actually decreased from when the theme started out in 1999. The average ppp was about 15p now it is just above 10p. Yes ideally price should be judged by weight, and yes I'm sure Lego can produce parts much cheaper. But that's a whole other debate.

Is 12-14c per piece the new norm? Also the main laser beam is supposed to be much larger than the smaller beams that branch into it. I guess the Death Star got a weapons downgrade.

I'll get one as I have the other two DS, and this will complete the set. But it probably will not be a day 1 purchase..
And I'll use the VIP points to make the price the same as the previous one..

Wow as someone that if he remembers correctly spent days wondering if he could really justify £274 and no doubt something free and £10 in VIP points back a few years ago to get the original I am amazed at £399. I think Lego have made TWO big errors here. One not enough has been changed and Two the price.... watch no-one buy them and the old ones go through the roof on Ebay. I was considering buying a 2nd to re-sell last year (but couldn't afford it)

^^ I hope you're wrong... I'd really enjoy another 5000-6000 pcs set. It's been almost 10 years since we last saw one at retail...

1x Tower Bridge 4287 pieces £209.99 $239.99
1x Big Ben. 4163 pieces £169.99. $249.99
Total. 8450 pieces £379.98. $489.98
PPP. £. 0.04. $. 0.06

1x Death Star. 4016 pieces £399.99. $499.99
PPP. £. 0.10. $. 0.12

So who would like 4434 extra pieces for your money??? I know where I would put my money... If we keep buying these sets at these extortionate prices Lego will keep banging them out and keep pushing up the prices!! It's time to take action with your wallet and not buy this set!! We can start to make Lego realise there is a limit to how much we're willing to pay for what is basically plastic/abs..

The use of this many superlatives just makes my eyes twitch.
For a lazy rehash on an already ridiculous set...
I'm more annoyed by this ripoff than I should be, but really...WTF LEGO???
Many said it before, and many will, this is not a Collector's set...this is an unbelievably hilariously overpriced playset for kids....

@Batta87ve

Can we stop blaming Disney? Lego has a contract from 2012 till 2022 to produce Star Wars sets. Disney can't just decided they want more money from Lego, they have a pre-existing contract that must be honoured.

Just to be clear, the Star Wars license fee is the same now as it was in 2012. The Star Wars deal was renewed for 10 years in early 2012. Disney didn't buy Star Wars until the end of 2012. This price hike has nothing to do with Disney and everything to do with Lego's greed.

We will see what happens...... I am very surprised to find that nearly 10,000 people just on this website Own the old one....... I wonder how many years it will take for 1000 to own the new one. And if anyone will own both.........

I see why people are disappointed, but I also understand why they've done it. The updates are pretty cool and I love the new minifigures.

I am now left with a dilemma, as I still have set 10188 sat pristine and unbuilt in its box. Do I cash in on that now and get the new version, or keep the old one and build that???

Aaaaaagh!!!!

Just checked the date, no it's not April 1st, sorry TLG, you can keep this one at that price!!

WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? I can't believe it. So many Danish Kroner..

@TheBrickPal, Rehash Space Ball of Doom!

-Keep yourself entertained with hours of deja-vu, predictably, and "gosh haven't I seen this done before"!
- Explore the three levels of "been there done that" with the updated minifigures, who've we've somehow crammed some 200 pieces into so we can up the price!
-Swoosh around in Lord Vader's Tie fighter, which looks more inaccurate and horrible than ever seen before!
-Point the powerful "updated" superlaser at your enemies, as long as they're in a 6 inch radius of the beam, they'll feel the wrath of the superlasers poke!
-Did we mention those 'figs? I mean come on! That's the best (and only) reason to buy this set!

I already own 10188, so I won't be buying this one at retail. As for the price, there are 7 other Star Wars UCS sets with a higher price-per-piece than this one, so the price does not seem outrageous compared to other sets in the same series.

Over 2700 users have it marked as wanted. It will be interesting to see how many mark it as owned in the upcoming months.

Pretty much the same set.... add a few pieces.... compare to what resellers are selling it for.... people are paying that much anyway.... that's the justification.

You may have mocked me when I talked about it with Assault on Hoth but again I see this as potentially TLG's fall from grace. No i'm not sour about it because I don't even buy any of these sets, I just like to guess where Lego is heading.

I just did some hasty calculation of figures. If we assume each room, if sold separately costs about $30, and there are 12 rooms(6 rooms on the front and 6 on the back), then the Death Star would cost about $360. Adding minifigures and accessories + that little base on the bottom and the superlaser and also accounting for the fact the rooms aren't the same size, the set probably costs about $399. That's the price I'll be willing to consider buying it at.

Ok I Like The Build From It And I Know Its The Same Build From The Old One But I Rate The Set 7\10 And The Updated Figs Are Cool To Get.The Death Star Troopers,Death Star Gunners,Han Solos New Hair Piece,New Blue Imperial Astromech And The Last Thing A Updated Turbo-Laser With Spring-Loaded Shooters But The Price Is 500$ That's Crazy I Would Say People Save Your V.I.P Points.

Can anyone confirm if it is a fully operational Death Star? Perhaps that could explain the price....

Planet Zapping is such a cute way of saying The destruction of every man, woman, child and living creature in a matter of seconds.

At any rate, LEGO Group just saved lots of LEGO Star Wars fans who bought 10188 some money. I doubt even LEGO investors will go crazy for this one...

To think I considered selling my old 2005 Death Star II set in anticipation of an update. Glad I never got around to it.

Just thinking out loud here, do you think Brexit has anything to do with the U.K. Prices rising? I don't know a whole lot about is so if someone does, please enlighten me.

Needless to say I'm pretty ticked. Get You're act together Lego.

^^ Brexit will have definitely changed how our prices compare to other countries intermittently, but the value of the GBP has improved somewhat since the original announcement - it won't even happen for a while!

We've just had to get used to high pricing here in the UK. People can murmur all they like about a 'UK Lucasfilm tax' but I just think TLG assumes we are willing to pay the prices they give. But proof that this doesn't always work is that I used to buy a steady 80-90% of Star Wars retail sets between 2008 and 2014, but I have cut down on this to more like 60-70% now, because the prices are sky high.

@magpie9, "Anyone complaining about the large price jump should have bought the original when they had an eight year chance." Right, so many of us have 400 freaking dollars to buy A LEGO SET with. I SOOOO wanted the original, really, I did. What kid wouldn't look in the catalog and beg their parents to get it for Christmas? Or a birthday? Or right that minute? How many adults collectors saw that and wept tears of joy at the sight of it? But $400 is a TALL order for a toy. And if they re-release it, fine. But $500?!?! Then give us meaningful updates, like the outer paneling of the station I was hoping for! Then it would be better worth the price! Ugh, oh well.

Four hundred quid!!! That is ridiculous. When I saw that I had to double check the calendar to make sure it wasn't April fools day. Is this a record for the most expensive set? Hard to believe that 10253 has 137 more pieces yet it is £230 yes £230 less than this. I know there is licence costs etc but this really is a p*** take. Some ask why we are so annoyed at what is basically a children's toy, Lego clearly aren't pitching this at children, how many kids have £400 to spend on one Lego set? This is being pitched at adults who Lego think will pay exorbitant prices for anything with a UCS badge on it.

The good thing is, this one will likely be around for years just like the last Death Star - except this one will be because no one wants to pay for it.

I was going to get this since I don't have the original...Then I saw the price.

At least the Winter Village Toy Shop clone the Winter Toy Shop were the same price. It was pathetic and lazy on Lego's part, but at least the price stayed the same.

Ok I have one more comment. Is it just me or does Grand Moff Tarkin look like an old Lord Business?

Why did you have to re-release 10188 Lego?! I was getting tired of it and-BAM! A new one jacked up $100!

If you only want the updated minifigs, then here's an idea: order their components from the excellent Bricks and pieces service.

For that price, they could have included some tile pieces to smooth out some of the room flooring (like for the hangar, some hallways). It just looks SO similar to the last one. Why not use the opportunity to redesign a few of the rooms?

@dude45 SW minifigs are licensed so not a chance you can gef stuff like heads, torsos, printed legs and headgear

@merman: I see now that you're right. You must provide a special code printed on the instructions as a "proof of purchase" to order those parts from Bricks and pieces.

I am sure I paid £274.99 for the original. Cannot justify this set. Won't be long before people are selling the set of figures for £200+ ??

Shame you can't click like on people's comments.

It's very obvious TLG intentionally retired the old set last year with the sole purpose of re-releasing it with a marked up price point. I believe the 200 pcs and different minifigures are nothing more than just being there to help reduce their pricing guilt.

For those asking about surface panels, given their current pricing strategy, if they were to add them the new price point would be closer to US$700!! And that would create even more dissatisfactions.

I think this is Legos attempt at dealing with the aftermarket sellers charging ridiculous prices for sets. If you can't beat them, join them. Lego need to be careful, they are running the risk of pricing people out of this hobby. If they ever did rerelease the UCS falcon, no doubt with a couple of minor revisions it would be around £700. Lego and many people are losing perspective on how valuable their toys are, it is still just a plastic building toy and Lego needs to remember this.

I am and am not surprised at how many expensive sets LEGO keeps releasing. Clearly this fits the trend. The problem is, no originality. The set looks great. It really does. But it looks like the last version with updated figures. Clearly that is what people want. LEGO knows this. But is it worth an extra $100. Unfortunately not for me. I didn't have $400, I won't have $500 for this one set. I may consider getting Batcave AND Brick Bank AND another set to equal the price of this one, but never would I pay that much for ONE set. But that's just me.

I'm not a huge SW fan, but the Death Star playset seems like a must have, just not at these prices.

So, just to get this straight, I can buy the same set I already have for an extra 100.00. Or, I could get all of the new Rouge One wave (the 5 system sets) for the same price or less? What a difficult decision that will be (snark).

My cousin has the older version of this set. Very nice model. $500 nice? No, he also has the UCS Falcon, a set much more deserving of that price tag.

OK, I'm neither a SW-fan or -collector, nor have I ever built / or studied (live in detail) the first death star, but my first reaction on the pics was "erm, what's different?". Personally I find it kind of disappointing enough if there are "relaunches" of sets / themes that might have already be covered well, but having a "new" one even more pricy than the old and looking quite similar is kind of sad, especially for that amount of money. Would have understood the realease of some smaller "playtoy"-deathstar or something like that, but as heavy duty big collector / adult set there could have been more Inspiration / changes.

All the people complaining about the $500 price tag... I find it hilarious. 10188 was $700 here in Australia and people still bought it.

@Brikkyy13

It's $799 now

Yes, yes, Hoth and this are lazy. Saves me the money – good. So here's to hoping for something awesome that is in development and forced LEGO's resources to be used differently.

I never got round to getting the 2008 death star but i can certainly see why those who did are very disappointed. An extra 200 pieces and a new hair piece on Han! are you serious??! So glad i didn't get it now as the future value of the old set will be affected massively. its basically a poor mans version of this one now.
I'm not going to be any rush to buy this DS though as i just cant cope with the scale element.
If only they would do a new Imperial shuttle as still devastated that i never managed to get one originally especially as not they are selling up to £600-£700 if you want one mint in the box. greatest lego set ever imo after the UCS Falcon of course.

What hurts this product is the fact it's a re-release, you’re going to get nothing but comparisons. Main factor being its price has been increased by £124.99, that is simply the because the price has been affected by inflation given the predecessor (10188) was released in 2008 and the fact that it's now a Disney product. With LEGO's decision to keep the original concept and not change about 99% of the model hurts it even more, going back to it being a re-release. They had a great opportunity to market the new Starkiller Base featured in last year’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), however if they wanted something to tie into Rogue One (2016) they could have at least done some major improvements as 10188 is not a perfect product.

Pros: Updated figures, more refined areas, better functions
Cons: $500, the old one is $411 on Amazon, nearly identical
The coin flip says to get this one.

I'd love to own this, as I never had the previous version, but... $500 is steep. Dream buy, but not a likely one.

$611 official prize at lego store here in Sweden.