The GOAT. I saw this bad boy in the catalog when I was eight and could only wish that I would ever be able to afford it... but then it was somehow still in production when I had a summer job as a teenager, so you better bet I grabbed it!

That's no moon...

I never wanted either version of this set. I was one of those idiots that wanted some plating to go on the outside of it, which in hindsight would have looked awful. It works for 10143 because there's plenty of visual interest with it under construction, and it's designed to only be for display, but for a set like this, it would have been bad and inflated the price. As a playset, I'm sure it's amazing, but I don't think it would really work as a display piece like other playsets can. Certainly a conversation starter, but might just look a bit out of place among the other Star Wars sets in a curated collection.

@Retroblox77 said:
"That's no moon..."

It's a Lego set.

ah yes, back when they gave c-3p0 tan hands for some reason

also that black protocoldroid would make for a great 000 minifig

edit - apparently threepio doesnt have tan hands, its just the render. guess thats another one for the lego promo photo goofs pile, alongside wolf legend beast , claw catcher and city of stiix

@Billbuilds said:
"ah yes, back when they gave c-3p0 tan hands for some reason

also that black protocoldroid would make for a great 000 minifig"

Maybe it’s a person in a C-3PO costume who didn’t have any gloves.

Isn't this the one Spider-Man's friend dropped? Or the one Artemis Fowl had in his bedroom?

In any case, this set was amazing for its time, although 75159 was definitely a glow-up.

I got mine with box and I think the manual from a teenager living in a rural area; he wanted to buy a dirtbike or something. It was missing a few of the 20-odd figures but for the price I paid it was acceptable. I really should get around to getting those figs.

@AverageChimaEnjoyersaid:
"Isn't this the one Spider-Man's friend dropped? Or the one Artemis Fowl had in his bedroom?

In any case, this set was amazing for its time, although 75159 was definitely a glow-up."
So the one in Spider-Man: Homecoming is 75159 because of the updated Palpatine figure at the time, but the piece count attributed to it is 3803 pieces, which matches 10188, this version. Homecoming was made and released well after they revamped the thing, so it's a little annoying they didn't get the info perfect. Then again, the movie states it takes place 8 years after the first Avengers movie when it was really only 4, so it wasn't exactly the best with numbers.

Fun fact (my source is one of the DK Lego books), the original production run of this set contained no individually numbered bags. The build begins with the tiny grey pieces of the Interrogation Droid buried somewhere in a sea of huge grey plates lol

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I was a kid shopping on Ebay for this thing. I found one for a great deal: $200! I was very excited to get it. But unfortunately, it was a scam. Instead, I got a cheap pair of jade earrings. It was a good lesson for my young self that if a deal looks too good to be true, it is most likely a pair of cheap jade earrings.

This post was perfectly timed, I've been thinking about rebuilding this one.

@Wasthereonce said:
"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I was a kid shopping on Ebay for this thing. I found one for a great deal: $200! I was very excited to get it. But unfortunately, it was a scam. Instead, I got a cheap pair of jade earrings. It was a good lesson for my young self that if a deal looks too good to be true, it is most likely a pair of cheap jade earrings."

Unless you were specifically looking for a pair of cheap jade earrings, in which case, score!

My first visit to Brickworld Chicago, this was one thing I absolutely wanted to buy because the local LEGO Stores offered discounts to convention attendees. I think it was still only 20%, but that's $80 off on a $400 set. When I arrived on Wednesday, both the nearby stores were sold out, and wouldn't restock before I headed home. So I braved the traffic and went to the Chicago store. Got my Death Star...and also stumbled on the famed Classic Space messenger bag, which I had not heard anything about at that point.

I could have cleaned that store out and unloaded all the extras for twice the price. All weekend, everyone wanted to know where I got it. Whenever I told them, you'd think I said it was a bespoke custom that I had to trade a kidney for. _NOBODY_ was willing to drive to the Chicago store to get one. I did see several others using them the following year, but I had the only one at BWC 2009, and it was all because of this set. Which is still sitting off in a corner, wearing the raincoat they fashioned out of one of the old plastic bags.

And on the way back to my car, I got a call from...my own home. My mom had stopped by to drop something off, used their copy of my key to let herself in, and the phone rang during the short time she was there. Rather than let it go to the machine, she answered it. It was my credit union calling to check if my card (which they'd temporarily shut off) had been compromised, because it was the first purchase I made with it at an out-of-state location.

@Robot99 said:
"Fun fact (my source is one of the DK Lego books), the original production run of this set contained no individually numbered bags. The build begins with the tiny grey pieces of the Interrogation Droid buried somewhere in a sea of huge grey plates lol"

The 10179 UCS MF had unnumbered bags, and that wasn't the worst of it. They split the parts up between multiple copies of the same bag, with duplicate bags ranging between 2-9 copies. Remainders went into a couple catch-all bags that also included parts that were in such low quantity that splitting them up wasn't worth it. It was hands-down the worst build experience I ever had because it took forever to find the next part you'd need.

Looks fantastic on display!
Absolutely no regrets buying this set.

@MCLegoboy said:
" @AverageChimaEnjoyersaid :
"Isn't this the one Spider-Man's friend dropped? Or the one Artemis Fowl had in his bedroom?

In any case, this set was amazing for its time, although 75159 was definitely a glow-up."
So the one in Spider-Man: Homecoming is 75159 because of the updated Palpatine figure at the time, but the piece count attributed to it is 3803 pieces, which matches 10188 , this version. Homecoming was made and released well after they revamped the thing, so it's a little annoying they didn't get the info perfect. Then again, the movie states it takes place 8 years after the first Avengers movie when it was really only 4, so it wasn't exactly the best with numbers. "

Blame Doctor Strange: https://textsfromsuperheroes.com/image/179085590337

@TheOtherMike said:
" @MCLegoboy said:
" @AverageChimaEnjoyersaid :
"Isn't this the one Spider-Man's friend dropped? Or the one Artemis Fowl had in his bedroom?

In any case, this set was amazing for its time, although 75159 was definitely a glow-up."
So the one in Spider-Man: Homecoming is 75159 because of the updated Palpatine figure at the time, but the piece count attributed to it is 3803 pieces, which matches 10188 , this version. Homecoming was made and released well after they revamped the thing, so it's a little annoying they didn't get the info perfect. Then again, the movie states it takes place 8 years after the first Avengers movie when it was really only 4, so it wasn't exactly the best with numbers. "

Blame Doctor Strange: https://textsfromsuperheroes.com/image/179085590337 "

“Yeah, well, whenever you notice something like that…a wizard did it!”

“But what about-“

“Wizard.”

@AverageChimaEnjoyer said:
"Isn't this the one Spider-Man's friend dropped? Or the one Artemis Fowl had in his bedroom?

In any case, this set was amazing for its time, although 75159 was definitely a glow-up."

I definitely dropped mine and while it didn’t break into a million pieces (well, 3803 of them), I broke two long plates right down the middle due to excess stress. Good times…

Anyone else buy extra minifigures so they could have enough to redo all the movie scenes? My Admiral Yularin is sitting in the DS conference room having a drink with Tarkin.

@MandalorianCandidate said:
"My Admiral Yularin is sitting in the DS conference room having a drink with Tarkin. "

They should be playing video games if it's a DS conference room.

@TheOtherMike said:
" @Retroblox77 said:
"That's no moon..."

It's a Lego set."

No, it's too big for a Lego set.

@desser1 said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @Retroblox77 said:
"That's no moon..."

It's a Lego set."

No, it's too big for a Lego set."

Not by today’s standards!

This was the first large LEGO set I ever got. I still remember being almost embarrassed to spend so much money on a single thing (and I ordered it to and built it at my parent's home instead of my flat I shared with m "then-girlfriend now wife" ;-p ).

It was a great kick-starter to a Star Wars minifig collection, a very fun and interesting build and I still have it assembled (although it is NOT easy to display due to its size).

And yes, @mandaloriancandidate , I have added a great number of figs to it, including my 5002947 May 4th-polybag Yularen.

Back then I saw the price and thought that such a small amount of people would be able to afford this and that Lego wouldn't do it again. Boy was I wrong! At that time also, it never occured to me that AFOL were existing

Vader, Sir Lord Darth Vader, I run the death star.
What's the death star?
This is the death star, you're in it.
This is a star?
This is a ....ing star! I run it, I'm your boss!
You're Mr Stephens?
What? No? Who is Mr Stephens?
He's head of catering.
No, No I am Vader, I could kill catering with a single thought.
Ah sod it, Ill just get a tray.

@Brickchap said:
"Vader, Sir Lord Darth Vader, I run the death star.
What's the death star?
This is the death star, you're in it.
This is a star?
This is a ....ing star! I run it, I'm your boss!
You're Mr Stephens?
What? No? Who is Mr Stephens?
He's head of catering.
No, No I am Vader, I could kill catering with a single thought.
Ah sod it, Ill just get a tray."

“This one’s wet. And this one’s wet. And this one’s wet, all of these trays are wet!”

A perfect Lego set. This set has everything: fun play set and a magnificent presence. Personally, I think this is the best showoff set within the Lego Star Wars theme where Lego simplicity and aesthetics are nicely balanced.

This set is special to me. When I was a kid, I obsessed over the page in the lego catalog that showcased this set. I wanted it so badly but my parents were poor. One day, I wound up in the hospital with a terrible case of Swine Flu pandemic back when that was a thing. I was there for weeks. One day during the hospital stay, my parents (who were divorced and hated each other) came in my room to inform me that they'd joined forces to buy me this set. I was overjoyed. But I had to get better so I could go home and build it. It was an incredible motivator to heal, let me tell you. Greatest toy of all time.

@Wasthereonce said:
"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I was a kid shopping on Ebay for this thing. I found one for a great deal: $200! I was very excited to get it. But unfortunately, it was a scam. Instead, I got a cheap pair of jade earrings. It was a good lesson for my young self that if a deal looks too good to be true, it is most likely a pair of cheap jade earrings."

I hate to break it to you, but I doubt they were even real jade…