LEGO tried to copy another UCS set for the Venator – ‘it’s not working at all’

The designer behind the brand new UCS Venator has revealed that he initially tried to copy the build from a previous LEGO Star Wars set – but quickly found out it ‘wasn’t working at all’.

When rumours of a UCS Venator first emerged, expectations were that it would effectively be a Republic reskin of the approach taken to 2019’s 75252 Imperial Star Destroyer, which consists of a Technic frame surrounded by large assemblies of plates. The result is a capital ship that is not especially receptive to being moved around, but makes up for it with showstopping shelf presence.

Given the Venator is a precursor to the Star Destroyer in-universe, it made sense to emulate that design for 75367 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser – or so the set’s designer Hans Burkhard Schlömer thought. When he first started working on this year’s flagship LEGO Star Wars set, he immediately turned to the original trilogy capital ship, which was brought to life by fellow designer Henrik Andersen.

“My initial plan was to take all the learnings from the internal structure of the Imperial Star Destroyer, which – remember – is 100% Technic,” Hans tells Brick Fanatics and other LEGO Fan Media. “It’s very light, very sturdy, and I thought, ‘It’s a Star Destroyer – just copy it.’ Imagine my surprise when I figured out that it's not working at all.”

It quickly emerged that 75367 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser – while similar in size and stature to the Star Destroyer – was just different enough to the 2019 model that it required a fresh approach in design, owing mainly to its unique arrowhead shape.

“The Venator is a lot flatter than the Imperial Star Destroyer, so you have a lot less height to work with,” Hans explains. “On the Technic frame on the inside, you need some height. You also need the width. The Imperial Star Destroyer is one big triangle on the side; you have the sides going down all the way and they add a lot of strength for the model.

"[With the Venator] there's a big cut-out, so you get nothing for internal support. All the strength had to come from that one spine that runs from [the back] all the way to the front.”

Problem solved. Except – in a tale as old as time – fixing that initial issue only prompted another to rear its head. The ship’s spine had given the model the strength it needed to support its massive size, but suddenly the front of the Venator started to point down. Short of releasing a Star Wars-themed Concorde, complete with drooping nose, Hans needed to find a solution.

“For a long time, I couldn't figure out what was going on there,” Hans recalls. “I moved the stand a little bit, but it still didn’t work; then I realised it was the tail that was creating the problem, because there's a lot of mass on the tail. Someone told me it's 1kg of bricks in the tail. And that was pulling down the spine in the back, which then caused the front to bend down. It wasn't drooping – it was pushed down by the tail.

“So the trick was to lock the tail to the structure and that fixed the bending. In the end, it worked out – but halfway through the [design process] I thought, ‘What's going on? This is supposed to be easy, like on the Imperial Star Destroyer.’”

Bringing 75367 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser may not have been as simple as Hans initially expected, but the results speak for themselves. (Check out our review for more.) You can order the latest LEGO Star Wars UCS set with double Insiders points through October 15, and you’ll also receive 40597 Scary Pirate Island through October 22 (or while stocks last).

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