Sweden
12-03-2002, 08:21 PM
Wednesday the 4th of December 2002.
Since I’ve been so incredibly busy working driving the taxi cab and sleeping I haven’t been able to write and post my review of the “Imperial Star Destroyer” until today...
Anyway, on to the review.
The box:
The “Imperial Star Destroyer” box “IS” labeled “Ultimate Collector Series” and with full color artwork and is “NOT” labeled/called a “Sculptures” series model unlike the “Darth Maul Bust” and the “Rebel Blockade Runner” that LEGO Direct made and released last year.
The box itself is “HUGE” and measures around 58,5 centimeters (23 inches) wide, 50,5 centimeters (20 inches) high and 21 centimeters (8.5 inches) thick looking at it from the front and worth to mention is that there’s additional pictures of the ship on the backside of the box.
This box is unlike the previous releases of the “Darth Maul Bust” and the “Rebel Blockade Runner” boxes rather classy, a qualified guess because of the way it’s done is that it’ll hit retail some time next year, but it’s very fragile as it’s very thin and will easily get damaged.
Another thing to mention to all the LEGO fanatics out there who are completists and into box variations is that the “Imperial Star Destroyer” box is of “US of A” style with piece count and notification that it’s a building toy on the lid just like all the other “US of A” box releases.
A warning:
In my case at least my sample of the “Imperial Star Destroyer” was shipped in a cardboard box just half a inch wider, higher and thicker then the set box itself that resulted in receiving a set box that had been crushed during shipping so this LEGO Shop at Home solution is crap.
Pure crap I might add.
Since I at least know how incredibly rough and brutal the postal service can be and usually are with packages sent it’s bound to happen that your set box for sure will be (badly) damaged so demand that LEGO Shop at Home ship it in a much larger and sturdier cardboard box.
It’s a good thing to do so especially if some of you guys and girls collect opened LEGO Star Wars set boxes in “Near Mint” condition like I do since I feel I got ripped off by LEGO Shop at Home as I received a crushed set box that now has “NO” collectible value at all for me.
Shame on (the postal service and) LEGO Shop at Home. I just have to say that.
The instruction booklet:
Is of course in full color and takes you through the building of the “Imperial Star Destroyer” step by step but please note that caution is needed as there’s a whole lot of pieces to keep track of and it’s pretty easy to make minor misstakes if you’re in a hurry building the ship.
So carefully look at all the drawings of what pieces that are needed for each and every step that you are building on the “Imperial Star Destroyer” or otherwise you might end up missing something vital out and have to start searching for your misstake and where you did them.
The building of the “Imperial Star Destroyer” is divided into first building the two “frame” halves on pages 2 to 29, second the two “display stands” that are being built on and attached to the two frame halves on pages 30 to 39 and third the “engine area” on pages 40 to 57.
Fourth the “lower left hull plate” on pages 58 to 81, fifth the “lower right hull plate” on pages 82 to 104, sixth the “upper right hull plate” on pages 105 to 127, seventh the “upper left hull plate” on pages 128 to 150 and eight the lower 2/3 of the “tower area” on pages 151 to 189.
Ninth the upper 1/3 of the “tower area and the command bridge” on pages 190 to 220, tenth the “Mini Rebel Blockade Runner” on pages 221 to 222 and eleventh the “display sign” on pages 223 to 226 that concludes the building of the “Imperial Star Destroyer” set.
The gigantic 228 pages long A3 sized instruction booklet is in itself a true collectible item but the cower is so very thin that it doesn’t hold the pages that eventually will fall off and worth to mention is that “NO” January 2003 LEGO Star Wars sets are shown off on the last page(s).
Another warning:
As i said in my diary and building posts “Building the 10030 Star Destroyer set Part I, II and III” I managed to find a few but vital errors in the instruction booklet and I’ll bring them up in this review once again in order to collect all the information about the ship in one post.
The error are as follows:
Lower right hull plate (pages 82 to 104) Step 20, page 98.
A magnet that aren’t supposed to be attached until Step 21 on page 99 is already in place.
Lower right hull plate (pages 82 to 104) Step 21, page 99.
I looked at the picture on the left upper corner of what parts that are needed for Step 21 and discovered that one 2 x 12 plate and one 2 x 16 plate is not included on the parts needed picture but on the hull plate progress picture they’re shown already attached and in place.
Lower 2/3 of the tower area (pages 151 to 189) Step 14, page 161.
On the parts needed picture on the upper left corner it’s shown that you need a blue, part# 4274, Technic Pin ½ but you aren’t told how many of them you need but on the progress picture all 22 of them that you actually need are being shown already attached and in place.
The “Imperial Star Destroyer” itself and building it:
I built the “Imperial Star Destroyer” in 20 hours and 50 minutes divided in five sittings, first sorting out the pieces and then building the frame and the two display stands in 6 hours and 30 minutes, second the engine area in 1 hour and 20 minutes, third the two lower hull plates in 3 hours, fourth the two upper hull plates in 3 hours and fifth the lower 2/3 of the tower area, the upper 1/3 of the tower and command bridge area, the Mini Rebel Blockade Runner and display sign in 7 hours and after all those days and hours I were finally done with the beast.
The construction of the “Imperial Star Destroyer” was pretty much straight forward even if I found some minor errors in the instruction booklet but it was time consuming to build all the detail parts that go on the hull of the ship but then again it’s mostly repeated building.
It was quite a experience to build the “Imperial Star Destroyer” as one really gets to see what can be done with the famous building bricks and parts and it’s amazing to see what the LEGO designers have created and what solutions that they’ve used making this monster model.
In my opinion I got a whole lot of (LEGO) model for the 2990.00 (around $299.00) Swedish Crooner I paid for the gigantic “Imperial Star Destroyer” as a “real” model kit version of this size probably would have a $1500.00 to $2000.00 price tag if not even more expensive.
The LEGO version of the “Imperial Star Destroyer” is in my opinion of (almost) model kit quality as the LEGO designers has gotten the most shapes and details as correct as could be done with LEGO bricks and parts and this set is bound to be a true classic in the near future.
I placed my sample of the “Imperial Star Destroyer” on the top shelf of my computer desk where it’s firmly in place for me and guests to view and study and the good thing is that the set is kind of modular so it’s pretty easy to move and transport it if it’s ever needed.
So is it worth the investment you guys and girls ask?
Yes, but even for me who has a job and make my own living the price of 2990.00 ($299.00) Swedish Crooner was “VERY” high as it basically cost 1/3 of what the average Swedish citizen makes in a month working real hard to pay the bills and it took ¼ of my pay check.
However...
I feel sorry for the younger children, teenagers and low incom workers who possibly couldn’t afford a expensive set like this as it’s a work of art that any LEGO or Star Wars fan should have in their collection but then again this product is aimed at the collector who can afford it.
So is there something that’s bad with this set you guys and girls ask?
Yes there are a few bad things.
First:
The two display stands included in the set does their work holding up the massive “Imperial Star Destroyer” but in my opinion at least they’re a bit pathetic and doesn’t make a impressive display for the monster model but I’ll design a new and larger display stand later in the future.
My guess is that it was designed that way to keep the price down.
Second:
The hanger bay on the middle of the “Imperial Star Destroyer’s” belly is just a gaping hole that really needs an interior as it can be seen really well and I simply can’t understand why the LEGO designers didn’t finish off this area of the ship before finally releasing it on the market.
Third:
There’s also a quite visible gaping whole in between the two display stands.
Fourth:
The dome on the belly of the “Imperial Star Destroyer” just in front of the engine area isn’t included in the set but I guess it was left out because of the two display stands and the angled shape of the hull and then again maybe they didn’t come up with a good design for it.
A minor thing that I wouldn’t complain about but that’s worth to make a note about is that it’s possible to see through the ship at the sides, top and bottom etc but it’s not as bad as it was seen on the pictures that were taken I think it was in Germany that were found on BrickShelf.
If one keep in mind how the “Imperial Star Destroyer” was designed and that this was probably the best and only way to do it in order to keep the price tag down this monster model is truly the finest work of art that The LEGO Group has released from the Star Wars films.
The “Imperial Star Destroyer” is according to The LEGO Group 93,98 centimeters (or 37 inches) long and 58,42 centimeters (or 23 inches) wide and since I was curious about the scale I calculated that the model is around 1:1703 scale but that’s just some rough maths I did on it.
There you’ve got it people.
File closed.
End transmission, Wednesday the 4th of December 2002.
Kindest Regards,
Lars “Sweden” Olsson in Sundsvall, Sweden.
Since I’ve been so incredibly busy working driving the taxi cab and sleeping I haven’t been able to write and post my review of the “Imperial Star Destroyer” until today...
Anyway, on to the review.
The box:
The “Imperial Star Destroyer” box “IS” labeled “Ultimate Collector Series” and with full color artwork and is “NOT” labeled/called a “Sculptures” series model unlike the “Darth Maul Bust” and the “Rebel Blockade Runner” that LEGO Direct made and released last year.
The box itself is “HUGE” and measures around 58,5 centimeters (23 inches) wide, 50,5 centimeters (20 inches) high and 21 centimeters (8.5 inches) thick looking at it from the front and worth to mention is that there’s additional pictures of the ship on the backside of the box.
This box is unlike the previous releases of the “Darth Maul Bust” and the “Rebel Blockade Runner” boxes rather classy, a qualified guess because of the way it’s done is that it’ll hit retail some time next year, but it’s very fragile as it’s very thin and will easily get damaged.
Another thing to mention to all the LEGO fanatics out there who are completists and into box variations is that the “Imperial Star Destroyer” box is of “US of A” style with piece count and notification that it’s a building toy on the lid just like all the other “US of A” box releases.
A warning:
In my case at least my sample of the “Imperial Star Destroyer” was shipped in a cardboard box just half a inch wider, higher and thicker then the set box itself that resulted in receiving a set box that had been crushed during shipping so this LEGO Shop at Home solution is crap.
Pure crap I might add.
Since I at least know how incredibly rough and brutal the postal service can be and usually are with packages sent it’s bound to happen that your set box for sure will be (badly) damaged so demand that LEGO Shop at Home ship it in a much larger and sturdier cardboard box.
It’s a good thing to do so especially if some of you guys and girls collect opened LEGO Star Wars set boxes in “Near Mint” condition like I do since I feel I got ripped off by LEGO Shop at Home as I received a crushed set box that now has “NO” collectible value at all for me.
Shame on (the postal service and) LEGO Shop at Home. I just have to say that.
The instruction booklet:
Is of course in full color and takes you through the building of the “Imperial Star Destroyer” step by step but please note that caution is needed as there’s a whole lot of pieces to keep track of and it’s pretty easy to make minor misstakes if you’re in a hurry building the ship.
So carefully look at all the drawings of what pieces that are needed for each and every step that you are building on the “Imperial Star Destroyer” or otherwise you might end up missing something vital out and have to start searching for your misstake and where you did them.
The building of the “Imperial Star Destroyer” is divided into first building the two “frame” halves on pages 2 to 29, second the two “display stands” that are being built on and attached to the two frame halves on pages 30 to 39 and third the “engine area” on pages 40 to 57.
Fourth the “lower left hull plate” on pages 58 to 81, fifth the “lower right hull plate” on pages 82 to 104, sixth the “upper right hull plate” on pages 105 to 127, seventh the “upper left hull plate” on pages 128 to 150 and eight the lower 2/3 of the “tower area” on pages 151 to 189.
Ninth the upper 1/3 of the “tower area and the command bridge” on pages 190 to 220, tenth the “Mini Rebel Blockade Runner” on pages 221 to 222 and eleventh the “display sign” on pages 223 to 226 that concludes the building of the “Imperial Star Destroyer” set.
The gigantic 228 pages long A3 sized instruction booklet is in itself a true collectible item but the cower is so very thin that it doesn’t hold the pages that eventually will fall off and worth to mention is that “NO” January 2003 LEGO Star Wars sets are shown off on the last page(s).
Another warning:
As i said in my diary and building posts “Building the 10030 Star Destroyer set Part I, II and III” I managed to find a few but vital errors in the instruction booklet and I’ll bring them up in this review once again in order to collect all the information about the ship in one post.
The error are as follows:
Lower right hull plate (pages 82 to 104) Step 20, page 98.
A magnet that aren’t supposed to be attached until Step 21 on page 99 is already in place.
Lower right hull plate (pages 82 to 104) Step 21, page 99.
I looked at the picture on the left upper corner of what parts that are needed for Step 21 and discovered that one 2 x 12 plate and one 2 x 16 plate is not included on the parts needed picture but on the hull plate progress picture they’re shown already attached and in place.
Lower 2/3 of the tower area (pages 151 to 189) Step 14, page 161.
On the parts needed picture on the upper left corner it’s shown that you need a blue, part# 4274, Technic Pin ½ but you aren’t told how many of them you need but on the progress picture all 22 of them that you actually need are being shown already attached and in place.
The “Imperial Star Destroyer” itself and building it:
I built the “Imperial Star Destroyer” in 20 hours and 50 minutes divided in five sittings, first sorting out the pieces and then building the frame and the two display stands in 6 hours and 30 minutes, second the engine area in 1 hour and 20 minutes, third the two lower hull plates in 3 hours, fourth the two upper hull plates in 3 hours and fifth the lower 2/3 of the tower area, the upper 1/3 of the tower and command bridge area, the Mini Rebel Blockade Runner and display sign in 7 hours and after all those days and hours I were finally done with the beast.
The construction of the “Imperial Star Destroyer” was pretty much straight forward even if I found some minor errors in the instruction booklet but it was time consuming to build all the detail parts that go on the hull of the ship but then again it’s mostly repeated building.
It was quite a experience to build the “Imperial Star Destroyer” as one really gets to see what can be done with the famous building bricks and parts and it’s amazing to see what the LEGO designers have created and what solutions that they’ve used making this monster model.
In my opinion I got a whole lot of (LEGO) model for the 2990.00 (around $299.00) Swedish Crooner I paid for the gigantic “Imperial Star Destroyer” as a “real” model kit version of this size probably would have a $1500.00 to $2000.00 price tag if not even more expensive.
The LEGO version of the “Imperial Star Destroyer” is in my opinion of (almost) model kit quality as the LEGO designers has gotten the most shapes and details as correct as could be done with LEGO bricks and parts and this set is bound to be a true classic in the near future.
I placed my sample of the “Imperial Star Destroyer” on the top shelf of my computer desk where it’s firmly in place for me and guests to view and study and the good thing is that the set is kind of modular so it’s pretty easy to move and transport it if it’s ever needed.
So is it worth the investment you guys and girls ask?
Yes, but even for me who has a job and make my own living the price of 2990.00 ($299.00) Swedish Crooner was “VERY” high as it basically cost 1/3 of what the average Swedish citizen makes in a month working real hard to pay the bills and it took ¼ of my pay check.
However...
I feel sorry for the younger children, teenagers and low incom workers who possibly couldn’t afford a expensive set like this as it’s a work of art that any LEGO or Star Wars fan should have in their collection but then again this product is aimed at the collector who can afford it.
So is there something that’s bad with this set you guys and girls ask?
Yes there are a few bad things.
First:
The two display stands included in the set does their work holding up the massive “Imperial Star Destroyer” but in my opinion at least they’re a bit pathetic and doesn’t make a impressive display for the monster model but I’ll design a new and larger display stand later in the future.
My guess is that it was designed that way to keep the price down.
Second:
The hanger bay on the middle of the “Imperial Star Destroyer’s” belly is just a gaping hole that really needs an interior as it can be seen really well and I simply can’t understand why the LEGO designers didn’t finish off this area of the ship before finally releasing it on the market.
Third:
There’s also a quite visible gaping whole in between the two display stands.
Fourth:
The dome on the belly of the “Imperial Star Destroyer” just in front of the engine area isn’t included in the set but I guess it was left out because of the two display stands and the angled shape of the hull and then again maybe they didn’t come up with a good design for it.
A minor thing that I wouldn’t complain about but that’s worth to make a note about is that it’s possible to see through the ship at the sides, top and bottom etc but it’s not as bad as it was seen on the pictures that were taken I think it was in Germany that were found on BrickShelf.
If one keep in mind how the “Imperial Star Destroyer” was designed and that this was probably the best and only way to do it in order to keep the price tag down this monster model is truly the finest work of art that The LEGO Group has released from the Star Wars films.
The “Imperial Star Destroyer” is according to The LEGO Group 93,98 centimeters (or 37 inches) long and 58,42 centimeters (or 23 inches) wide and since I was curious about the scale I calculated that the model is around 1:1703 scale but that’s just some rough maths I did on it.
There you’ve got it people.
File closed.
End transmission, Wednesday the 4th of December 2002.
Kindest Regards,
Lars “Sweden” Olsson in Sundsvall, Sweden.