The LEGO designers behind 75419 Death Star have explained why they opted for one giant set rather than a modular approach, affirming the $1,000 set is ‘more than just a collection of dioramas’.
You’d be forgiven for looking at the new UCS Death Star and getting a strong sense of déjà vu, because nearly every room in the 9,023-piece set has been seen before in LEGO Star Wars in some capacity. Several have hit shelves as part of the Diorama Collection (officially or unofficially), including the Emperor’s throne room, the trash compactor and Darth Vader’s meditation chamber.
That’s resulted in some corners of the community calling out the set as simply several dioramas bundled together in a circular outline of the Death Star – a criticism that goes hand-in-hand with shots taken at the general concept of the set, which rejects the notion of a sphere in favour of cutting out a cross-section of the battle station. LEGO designer César Soares argues 75419 Death Star operates in a different ballpark to the Diorama Collection, however.
“It's much more than just a collection of dioramas, because everything is connected,” César tells Brick Fanatics and other LEGO fan media in a roundtable interview. “Everything is interlinked. If you have the trash compactor diorama at home, you can't make a figure fall from two floors above to the trash compactor, right? And here you can. There’s so much more to this than just an amalgamation of dioramas.”
It’s true that 75339 Death Star Trash Compactor Diorama doesn’t include a chute through which the minifigures can drop down from the detention block. But César’s answer there also touches on another approach that the LEGO Star Wars community has floated in response to seeing the Death Star unveiled earlier this month: a series of smaller and more affordable sets that can be purchased individually and then connected together.
That’s the same method of building a larger structure that the LEGO Harry Potter theme has employed time and time again since its return in 2018. We’re currently deep into our third modular Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which is the biggest and most detailed take on the castle yet, and comprises everything from the Great Hall and Main Tower to individual classrooms.
The same idea was put to César and LEGO Star Wars Creative Lead Jens Kronvold Frederiksen in our roundtable interview. “It was something that we talked about,” Jens says, “but from the beginning it was, ‘This one time we want to bring out a complete package.’ But of course we've talked about it, because it is sections, as you're pointing out. So it could have been done like that, but we just wanted to offer the whole thing.”
Releasing the Death Star as a series of individual rooms could have presented its own challenges, too. The modular Hogwarts sets generally have a recommended configuration, but you’re not bound to a specific layout. Achieving the footprint of 75419 Death Star using individual sets would have presumably been a little more prescriptive, not least thanks to that outer shell (even if it is a slice rather than a sphere).
The trash compactor, for example, couldn’t necessarily sit two floors beneath the detention block because those sets would be presumed to interlink regardless of whether you purchased the middle tier. But with one eye again on Harry Potter, that didn’t need to be a complete roadblock: the current version of Hogwarts tops out with the enormous
A modular LEGO Star Wars Death Star could have taken a similar approach, combining rooms where it makes sense to allow for particular functions and connectivity (even if meant sacrificing the working elevator). Each individual set would still have been cheaper than the wallet-destroying £899.99 / $999.99 / €999.99 that 75419 Death Star commands, even if the overall cost wouldn’t necessarily have been much different.
Alas, we’ll never know: or at least not until 75419 Death Star is ancient history and the LEGO Star Wars team has the chance to revisit the Death Star again. See you in 2035, maybe?
Read more…
- How much would a half-sphere LEGO UCS Death Star cost?
- LEGO Star Wars UCS Death Star designer reveals his only regret
- How not to display the $1,000 LEGO Star Wars Death Star
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