After sitting unopened for almost 3 years, I finally set aside the time and space to build this. The completed model is phenomenal. The detailing is second to none; between copious greebling and a few layered spots where additional detail is visible (like the maintenance holes on the mandibles), it's a feast for the eyes. No previous Falcon, including 10179, even approaches this level of detail.

This is the ideal scale for the Falcon. The smaller playscale incarnations look great, but this level of detail just isn't possible there. Any bigger and it would be unmanageable. In fact, it's barely manageable at this scale. The size/weight specs are easy to find, but they don't really register until you've got it in front of you. The model's glorious presentation has been amply discussed here and elsewhere, so I'm going to detail a few areas of concern for those considering this purchase.

Build Area

You will need a significant amount of room to build this. Aside from the model, which is huge, the manual is enormous. A typical 30 x 50-inch desk is not big enough for both, let alone the parts and an assembly area. I experienced this size manual previously with 10188, but it wasn't as much of a problem because even the Death Star pales in comparison to the size of this Falcon. Both ring-bound manuals could easily be half or two-thirds their size; with few exceptions, each page includes a lot of unused space.

The weight is significant. The landing gear are attached early on, and while they're plenty capable of supporting the growing weight, they're not well attached -- just three Technic axles each, only one of which is tightly gripped. So sliding the model is out of the question; it must be lifted every time you reposition it.

At about 30% complete, this becomes a challenge as there are few safe ways to grab it without stressing the structure. (The Technic-heavy skeleton is indeed strong, but only just barely strong enough.) At 50% complete, there's noticeable flex when lifting it. At 80%, it's disconcerting. The instructions state that it should not be lifted by gripping any outer edges, instead only with arms fully underneath it, but this is easier said than done, and largely unworkable if you're working at a desk/table and need to rotate it.

Construction

The build is split among a handful of areas: the skeleton, interior areas, circumference trim, mandibles, bottom panels, and top panels. The interior areas and mandibles are solidly attached to the frame with Technic pins, and the mandible attachments are reinforced with plates, but even so they still want to sag a bit -- not terribly surprising given that both mandibles together weigh about as much as a playscale Falcon. The bottom panels are mostly attached with Technic axles, which work well enough, but just barely. A few top panels are solidly attached with pins, but those over the interior areas are essentially just sitting on the model (guided but not gripped by a single Technic axle).

As the model grows and becomes denser, some elements are difficult to put in place -- the lower wedge between the mandibles in particular: the instructions are clear enough about how it attaches, but finding safe places to apply pressure to mate the parts is very tricky.

Presentation

While gorgeous, the completed model is disappointingly fragile. As strong as the skeleton is, it should be stronger, probably at the expense of the interior play areas. Given the unprecedented size of the model, I think consideration for wall-mounting should have been given during design.

No standard shelf is even remotely deep enough for this model, and while custom coffee tables are a brilliant and attractive solution, not everyone wants that. I'm mounting mine vertically in a custom-built frame, and it's a major undertaking to determine and implement proper attachment points, and modify the model to ensure pieces don't fall off.

The completed model is truly a statement piece, worthy of a featured place in your home/office, but I recommend determining how you intend to display it before proceeding.

When this baby arrived....wow!

I distinctly remember going to the Lego Store in early 2018 and being greeted by this behemoth in the storefront window. From that point on, I set a goal to earn enough money to buy what was, at the time, the largest Lego set EVER.

First things first - minifigures. Embarrassingly, this set provided my first OT Han and Leia, but come on...what happened to my boy Luke? I am not too harsh about the lack of a certain Skywalker, as the Falcon is based on the asteroid chase scene from Empire Strikes Back, but the two Porgs could have been replaced with Luke. Just to make it perfect. Oh, and Lando and Nien Nunb couldn't hurt either!

Next thing - the build. Woah. Before purchasing this set - I need to warn you. The set is $850 USD. However, for the full experience, you will need to pay at least a thousand, for shelves deep enough for display! But really, the build is gorgeous, probably having the best greebling out of any Lego set (although some fans of the OG UCS Falcon will disagree). I have heard some people gripe about the lack of functional hallways inside the Falcon, but the stickers panels do not really detract from the general look. I have found that the cockpit has room for three figures, so you can recreate the classic 'Han and Chewie with Leia watching from behind them' pose. It may also be possible to attach the included Mynock to recreate the 'Leia jumpscare" scene, but I have no desire to try.

All in all, this set is absolutely drop-dead amazing, even though no Lego designer in their right mind should ever price a Lego set at more than $700. Wowee...I can almost hear my wallet screaming in pain...

Fell in love with the building process. I was impressed by the detail and engineering of the build. This is actually my first UCS set and after completion, I ordered the UCS star destroyer and UCS A-wing. Only negative is that it was missing two pieces (not significant pieces) that I was easily able to order through Lego with quick processing and shipping. Overall, I rate this highly. Yes, the price is insane for a lego set, but this is considered the best UCS of all and is one of the best investment long term.

As soon as I saw the first images of his set I knew I had to buy it. As both a massive LEGO fan and a massive Star Wars fan, it seemed obvious that this was the ultimate set available to me. With the reputation it's predecessor had (and still has) among not just the LEGO community but the wider world in general, this set was sure to be very highly anticipated. Add to that the legacy of the Millennium Falcon as a cultural icon, and the fact that the new rendition retakes the crown of the largest commercially available LEGO set ever.

This set was initially supposed to made available to V.I.P. customers early, sometime around September (if I recall rightly), but was only in fact made available over a month later much closer to Christmas. This became a fairly long-running joke in my family, with people regularly commenting on how long it had been delayed and speculating as to when it might be made available. Well, eventually it was, and boy was it worth the wait.

Box/Packaging:

The first thing you will notice upon buying this set is the sheer size of the box. And unlike most LEGO sets, this one really does come in a box. Most LEGO sets come in a box with one side much shorter than the other two, as I'm sure every LEGO fan will be familiar with; with the Falcon, this is not the case and it is much closer to a cube elongated along one axis. It's big, it's impressive, and it's incredibly difficult to find enough space to store it in. Inside the box there are four white boxes with the instructions set into a further piece of white cardboard so as to ensure they are not at all damaged.

Minifigures:

With a massive set like this the minifigures are never going to be the main focus, but nonetheless they are somewhat disappointing. We get both main crews of the Falcon, the Original Trilogy crew and the Episode VII crew. I do understand with a large UCS set that the ship should take centre stage, but for £649.99 I would expect something more, perhaps an exclusive minifig like Nien Nunb or a new Lando Calrissian, or just Luke and Old Ben Kenobi. If TLG had really wanted to go wild, all the major heroes we have seen aboard the Falcon in all their various forms would certainly not have gone down badly with fans. Anyhow, the minifigs we do get are superb, with the new C3PO once again back in action, and the new Han Solo hair mold looking much better than its predecessors. The Leia minifigure is also a wonderful addition, as are the porgs, which have never appeared in minifigs scale before or since.

The Build:

The build is, naturally, quite lengthy. I can't remember quite how long it took me, but it was build over several weeks with about an hour each day. It can get quite repetitive if you don't break it up, so I would definitely recommend taking your time over this one, rather than finishing it as quickly as possible.

The Completed Model:

The completed Falcon is nothing less than spectacular. It is absolutely enormous, much bigger than basically any other LEGO set I've seen. If you intend to display it, you are going to need to put serious consideration into where you are going to put it, because it is highly doubtful you will have a big enough space readily available. The model itself is highly detailed, far beyond the normal level of detail on a LEGO model. The greebling is so amazing in fact that from a distance it is hard to tell this model is LEGO at all, as the characteristic studs blend in with the other detailing. The cockpit is well constructed, with enough space to fit four minifigures inside if you position them just right. The passage leading upto the cockpit, while not hollow on the inside, does provide a nice smooth contrast to the greebling on the rest of exterior. The gunner's station is also included, basic though it is, with a curved window piece working nicely. The two interior sections are very well detailed, with most of the important features from the films. The lack of a full interior might be disappointing to some, but it means the exterior can be as well detailed and finely polished as it is, and the model dipoles the collapse under its own weight.

Final Thoughts:

There can be no doubt that this is one of the best LEGO sets ever made. It has everything, size, quality, high piece count, and superb minifigs. It is hard to imagine TLG ever going much further beyond this set in terms of size and price, as both of these features are reaching the limits of their practicalities with this model. That said I would definitely recommend it to any die hard LEGO Star Wars fans out there that have the budget - LEGO may never get better than this.

Out of my collection of over 200 sets, this set certainly tops the list. Because it is one of the greatest sets in all time, I am going to write a review on it.

Box/Instructions:

The box is the biggest LEGO has ever produced, at 6,063 cubic inches (99,360 cubic centimeters). The box by itself is an amazing thing to see and hold, and shows many details of the set around the box. Sadly, though, as I was carrying mine into my house, I tripped and this left a gaping hole right where the LEGO logo is. But, with a little perfectly clear tape and a steady hand, there is only a slight dent and no more huge hole. Now on to the instructions. It is one of the huge spiral bound books, and has 496 pages. When you open the box, make sure the side that is opened faces the ceiling, or this monstrosity of a book will flop out onto the table.

Parts:

In total, I believe there were 66 bags of pieces divided into 17 numbered bags which were divided into 4 different boxes, all of which were specially detailed. Many of the 7,541 pieces were standard pieces you'd find in other sets, except there were a lot of them. For example, you get 243x of the 1x2 Dark Tan Plates in this set. Also, there are some exclusive pieces such as the cockpit windshield, the radar dish, and the game board in the interior. There are stickers, but not too many considering the size of the set, and only one is applied on the outside of the set, the rest are on the interior.

Minifigures:

I love minifigures and all, but I'm not dedicated to them more than I am the set itself. Rarely I find myself buying sets for the minifigures only. But, if it is minifigures you want, this is not the set for you. Many of the figures are not exclusive. The ones that are are the Episode VI Han and Leia, which are good figures with great new prints on the faces. The porgs are also exclusive, but with a few spare parts and the porg heads from 75200 Ahch-To Island Training, you can make them pretty easily. The same principle also applies to the mynock. It is cool since this is the only official LEGO mynock, but you could probably buy the parts for it easily. Overall, the minifigure selection for this set was good, but it did not reach its full potential.

The Build:

It took me 16 hours and 20 minutes over the span of four days to build this set. I would have spread the build out longer, but I got this set on December 20, and I wanted to finish this before I built my sets I got for Christmas. I grinded this set on Christmas day to finish it, and I worked all day on it and built the last 7 out of 17 bags. The build was not boring at all, and there was always something different you were doing. There were countless building techniques I would never have thought of, and this led to a sturdy frame and tight placement of the outer panels (minus the ones that were designed to be removeable).

The Completed Model:

This model is huge. There is no other way to describe it. Yeah, it says it is 22 inches wide, 33 inches long, etc., but even knowing the dimensions of it does not do it justice. The set is so huge, I could not even put it with the rest of my LEGO sets, I moved it to the basement to put it onto the only table that could fit the model. Speaking of carrying it, if you do it wrong, it will end in disaster. There is even a page in the instructions telling you how to hold it, from the bottom with two hands, on in front of and behind the lower turret. If you hold it by the mandibles, it will break, so do not do that. This does not mean that the mandibles were put on weakly (as a matter of fact, they are secured tightly), it just means the sheer weight of the model would bend the mandibles to their breaking point.

Overall Opinion:

I am so glad that I bought this set, and I recommend it to anyone who has ~$850 just laying around. For Americans, the set is not just $800, its closer to $850 because of tax, and even though the set cost so much money, it is reasonably priced. At 10.6 cents per piece (~11.4 cents per piece after tax, may change depending on your state taxes) the set is around average for any Star Wars set. It is a lot to save (it took me three months to get this money) and even harder to spend all of it at once, but I do have to say it was well worth it. I strongly debated buying it when I did, but after having it for 6 months, I am glad I did. The value of the set comes with time, and not all at once, so if anyone is considering buying this, I say go for it, just have a little patience and this amazing set will not seem like a waste of money.