The Lego Company has announced a new jewel in the crown of the Lego Star Wars range: a brand new Death Star display model. Weighing in at a whopping 9,023 Lego bricks, the model also features 38 minifigures acting out well-known scenes from the movies. The set arrives on October 1 for Lego Insiders and is available to all from October 4.
The only trouble is, this is the most expensive Lego set ever created, costing $1000 (€1000/£900)! That's obviously an exorbitant price to pay for a Lego set, and - judging by reactions online - the price tag is overshadowing the model's charms.
At over 9,000 pieces, this Death Star is one of the biggest Lego sets of all time, and over double the size of the late 2000s version (which was 3,803 pieces), but it's not top of the list. The Lego Titanic and Lego Eiffel Tower are each about 1,000 blocks bigger, and priced at $630 and $670 respectively.
This set is a cross section, essentially a massive diorama that blends elements of Death Star 1 and 2. Most scenes are from A New Hope, but the set also contains the throne room where Luke and Vader have their climactic battle at the end of the original trilogy.
Fans have been universally slating the model online. The consensus seems to be that while the model looks cool, it's not worth as much as $1,000.
Collectors seem particularly displeased that the new model is a flat cross-section rather than a full 3D sphere. "I assumed from the thumbnail image that the other side would be the exterior. I'm sorry but what a joke," wrote one Reddit user. People are seeing this as effectively $1,000 for a small slice of Death Star - practically an incomplete model.
I will say, the set doesn't work from any angle but the front. You're definitely meant to push this thing up against a wall because the backside (not shown on any of the marketing) is objectively ugly.
Other Lego enthusiasts accuse the company of skimping on the details, complaining that the premium collector's set uses stickers rather than printed decals, and contains few figures with dual-molded legs. The TIE fighter in the hangar bay is also a gift with purchase model which will presumably only be around for a limited time.
One Star Wars lover also expressed displeasure at the choice of rooms, pointing out that it had no observation deck but included Darth Vader's meditation chamber, which is actually found on his Imperial Star Destroyer.
While it doesn't match the value for money of other very large Lego models, The new Death Star kit is actually the same price per brick (11 cents) as the Millenium Falcon that came out last year. It seems Star Wars Lego sets simply cost a premium.
Still, between the new record price and the cross-section design, this model has uniquely irked Lego's supporters. Now let's wait and see how many of them still buy it.
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