LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series 75252 Imperial Star Destroyer: First Impressions

The Devastator is arriving in the Ultimate Collector Series with LEGO Star Wars 75252 Imperial Star Destroyer

For the first time in 17 years, the Imperial Star Destroyer is back in the Ultimate Collector Series (UCS). The LEGO Group has announced LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series 75252 Imperial Star Destroyer, which recreates the Devastator for fans who missed out on 10030 Imperial Star Destroyer back in the day.

Given that timespan, it is hard to argue that the mighty Imperial vessel isn’t overdue – fans of the prequel trilogy might have longed to see the Naboo Royal Cruiser, Delta 7 Interceptor, Republic Gunship, ARC-170 Starfighter. Naboo Starfighter, V-wing or Jango Fett’s Slave I – but the most reliable fans with expendable income are classic trilogy devotees. While there are a few original trilogy ships that could work in the UCS line, like Jabba’s Sail barge, there are few icons left.

So given that its existence has been justified, how does 75252 Imperial Star Destroyer look from these initial images? It looks like exactly what a Star Wars fan would want from a UCS version of this ship. It looks huge, accurate and a worthy follow-up to 75192 Millennium Falcon.

While a glance at the box may not yield too many obvious differences between this and the original, the new version is longer than the first version – 10030 measured around 94cm, while 75252 is 110cm long. The key difference here looks to be that the smooth triangle looks to be longer than before, with the staggered section further back. This definitely looks to be more movie accurate, which will please hardcore Star Wars fans (and anyone who is dropping £649.99 on this release deserves the label ‘hardcore’).

Another thing that will almost certainly have changed on the interior is the way the ship holds together. The 2002 version used magnets for a rather disappointing solution. Given the sturdiness that modern LEGO sets strive for, this one will undoubtedly have an extremely pin-heavy Technic frame holding the entire structure in one, enormous piece.

With sets this large, it can sometimes be hard in images to fully appreciate the scale of them – there is always something much, much better about seeing them in person and really getting the ‘wow’ factor. For a hint at the size though, the rear engines really demonstrate just how huge this model is going to be. They look absolutely spot on, with some nice greebling filling in the empty space.

The mini Tantive IV looks delightful, as it should – given the engineering marvel that 75252 Imperial Star Destroyer looks to be, its tiny companion would not have challenged the designers. Given the size of this thing, the two minifigures are hardly a selling point, but no LEGO Star Wars fan can have too many Imperial goons.

75252 Imperial Star Destroyer is the Empire’s iconic star ship and it looks fantastic. While the price is high, those who pick it up are likely to find themselves with a model that looks incredible on display. Tell my shelf to await for its arrival…

75252 Imperial Star Destroyer will be available exclusively at LEGO.com from September 18.

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