Death Star - is it worth it?

[Banjo]

Apologies if this is in the wrong section, but I was strongly thinking of buying this but it's a HUGE investment, so I was hoping some other AFOL could help reassure me before I go ahead and drop the hammer...

I only got back into Lego after buying Heroica and a couple of random on-sale Alien Conquest sets. I fell in love with both, especially AC, and now have a small armada of the line! I ended up buying the LOTR/Hobbit lines and a bunch of random City, Space Police II and Star Wars sets too, and have enjoyed them all (particularly the licensed stuff); Star Wars (original trilogy) has been massively nostalgic for me too, since I was a huge SW fan as a kid and remember making my own "Star Wars Lego" creations with space and knights back in the day... still amazes me to see how far Lego has come!

But the Death Star... it looks pretty cool and detailed, but I've got limited space. I couldn't warrant something like the UCS Executor, X-Wing or Falcon price tags as I'd never keep them built. But the Death Star has enough "play value" and cool bits and pieces to make it a neat talking point and display rather than something that just hangs from the ceiling or sits on the table and might as well be a non-Lego model, right?

I'd honestly sworn never to spend THAT much on a single Lego set, but I loved the look of it since I first saw it (and nearly had a heart attack at the price... remember I've been away from Lego for twenty-five odd years!) and have been debating buying it ever since.

One other thing: I love minifigs, but notice that the ones in this set are the "older" designs... are they that bad compared to the new Lego Star Wars ones out now? I've bought every recent SW original trilogy set (Jabba's Palace, Y-Wing, Echo Base, etc.) but not tracked down the older ones as I've preferred the newer designs in most cases. The Death Star is an "old" design, though, that has just stuck around a long time (a rare thing for Lego it seems!).

I've pretty much committed to buying it tomorrow, but am suddenly feeling a bit nervous, and hope I'm not making a big mistake... are there any happy owners of this set, especially those who are also Star Wars OT fans, who can reassure me that this is awesome and not a giant waste of money? :)

[streifen]

The Death Star is one of the most iconic symbols of Star Wars. If you have to get just 1 Star Wars set, this is highly recommended. It comes with many minifigures, has high play value and has a more compact size. Go get it before it is gone forever!

[Phoib]

The 16 hours I spent building 10188 were some of the happiest of my life.

So, yes. Buy it.

[Banjo]

Thanks for the replies! The "compact size" was something I value! It actually reminds me of the (rather big!) micro machines Death Star I bought on a whim after arguably outgrowing such toys, because it seemed cool. The Lego one seems even cooler, though.

Very minor complaint: as a huge fan of the Death Star/Imperial Trooper uniform, I wish we got the new custom helmet seen in the TIE Fighter set, instead of the old "make-do" one!

16 hours?! Wow, that does sound awesome! That's why I find it very hard to buy the Executor, as amazing as it looks fully built (and I REALLY want Dengar!); hours of nothing but grey plates just seems rather dull to me, I'm afraid. But the Death Star looks like real FUN to build! :)

It shall be mine. Especially since, knowing my luck, I'd say "oh, I'll wait and see if it goes down further in price later in the year" and it'll finally be discontinued instead.

Edited May 8, 2013 by Banjo

[shaggysanchez]

In my opinion it is worth every penny. I had reservations about spending $400 on it at first as I saw it more as a play set than a collectible like the UCS Falcon but once I started building it I was hooked. I should mention that I used a 10% coupon when I bought mine and also got it during double VIP so those two things helped but I would pay full price for it right now without any VIP points and still feel that it was worth it.

The figs are older but it doesn't take away anything from the set if you ask me.

[The JMC]

As someone who has also recently come back to LEGO (been about 15 years I reckon), I think there is 2 things to consider. Can you afford it and can you find a decent deal? I managed to pick mine up for €270 and I felt that was much too good to turn down. You will always regret not buying it as opposed to buying it. Atleast if you own it before it ever retires and you need the money you could always sell it on. I can't imagine anything worse that the Death Star running out of stock and it doubles in price and suddenly you have this regret that you never pulled the trigger. I also tend to agree that the new minifigs and models look much better but the minifigs in this are excellent and must haves. I would absolutely recommend, even when I didn't have an interest in LEGO, it was the 1 thing that always drew me back to LEGO.

[Chills]

My wife bought the SSD for me and that brought me out of my Dark Ages. Not long after that I bought the Death Star. While the SSD is my absolute favorite ship from the SW universe, the Death Star was more fun to build and is cooler to display. There are so many minifigures, so many details, and it takes a long time to build. The set is definitely worth the money and probably the single best set in my collection.

[legomas]

I just finished building the first box (4 in total) and I'm pretty happy with the model so far.

To me looks like a collection of rooms inside a spherical shape.

Something similar to a doll house for Star Wars.

Figures are without pupils but Palpatine, Obiwan and Han Solo had pupils (new type).

Obviously this doesn't matter for stormies and guards.

The only figure that feels outdated is Leia, the new hair and head from 7965 are way better.

It is worth it? As a (almost) pure OT fan, the answer is YEEEEES!!!!

Do you like non-vehicle sets like Echo Base or Jabba's Palace?

In a way the Death Star is quite similar to them.

[darwin316]

absolutely worth it!

[MarkyG12]

Most defo, i have some pics of ours on our site, take a look

Http://legostarwarz.com

My kids love it

[Banjo]

I saw a Falcon UCS for sale for $4000 yesterday and I laughed. I can't think of ever wanting any set THAT much. It's actually what put the Death Star in perspective for me as "affordable" by comparison, however!

I actually really like the "doll house" style Lego sets; the Haunted House was one I debated due to price for a while but adore, and I really want Orthanc! As much as I like the vehicles as display pieces, my childhood loves the diorama potential of the "playsets" like Jabba's Palace, Rancor Pit, Hoth, etc.

The SSD is my second-favourite SW ship but I can justify the price of the Death Star for all the figs, bits and "playset features" far more than a static (giant!) ship with almost no interior, I have to say. Plus, I'm a pretty hardcore OT-only fan myself (the PT actually is what got me OUT of Star Wars! LOL!) so anything current (2012+) and OT-related has been bought already. :) Now I wish they'd re-release updates of classic stuff like the Blockade Runner and Slave I!

I didn't notice that some of the figs had pupils... that's added good news, especially since I already have the updated Leia and can likely swap out Luke's head for a later one if it sucks. Just checked more pics and Palpy looks awesome! Plus, love that Royal Guard! :)

Thanks for reassuring me, folks! Will be ordering tomorrow as planned!

Especially since my favourite SW ship is the Lambda shuttle, and my one Lego regret is missing out on buying THAT set. :(

Edited May 8, 2013 by Banjo

[The_Chosen_1]

You should absolutely own the Death Star. If I could only keep one piece from my entire Lego collection (which is quite large), that would be the one.

[Dhivael]

It's one of the best sets I've ever purchased, although I got it on sale. Absolutely worth the price tag though-- many parts, interesting build, and great selection of minifigs. I'm sure you won't regret it. Good luck in your decision.

[Banjo]

Thanks again for the input, folks! Will be ordering tomorrow... now wish me luck building the thing! :D

[fred67]

I think it's a good value, objectively, I just can't afford it. If you put a value on those figures, and then calculate what's left, it's not a bad deal at all.

[Mr. Elijah Timms]

I guess the real question is "Is it worth the reaction I'll get from my wife when I tell her I've bought it?!"

[Fuppylodders]

I guess the real question is "Is it worth the reaction I'll get from my wife when I tell her I've bought it?!"

Wrong way to go about it...

One of 2 ways to go:

1) Let her see it and find out about it once it has arrived and you have opened it so there is no chance she can blackmail you into returning it

Much easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission!

'Enter' a competition....

Then randomly cheer as you receive this thing in the post which must be the prize!!

*edit*

I also have this set. If you can afford it, it is a DEFINITE must buy. So much value inside this set, recreates sooo many iconic scenes on the death star, and the amount of figures/choice of figures is excellent. Mini Tie X1 is awesome as well :P

Edited May 9, 2013 by Fuppylodders

[ISDAvenger]

It is a awesome, must have model for sure. It is a very worth while build with a lot of fun features. I thoroughly enjoyed building mine. Enjoy building it!

[Little_russian_AFOL]

Death star is looks bad, but minifigs is nice.

[Ki-Adi-Mundi]

Much has been said already and i don't want to repeat. So just some complementary thoughts.

While i am in an inner constant struggle about buying the set, in the end i won't do it. I don''t want to eat that price. The set without a doubt is valuable and price ratio for what you get is ok. But my consideration goes as follows:

I'd have to justify an invest of 400 EUR for one hobby (of many) at once. While the money is available and my collection already went beyond the 3k line, this aspect blows the positive result that ought to remain after a 'good' decision. With 400 bucks you can do so much else... And even in LEGO terms - one could start and finish a fine LEGO SW collection consisting of memorable (and a few even big) sets with this amount alone.

Orthanc will make an exception but my upper limit for a single set will remain at roughly the 100 buck mark. Some recent headliner sets (Helm's Deep, especially Jabba's palace and a few others) only found their way into my collection after the prices were falling into the range of the reasonable.

Regarding the UCS aspect - i have a few 10xxx sets but all of them are part of the system line. The thing that attracts me to LEGO was, is and will remain the 'toy' factor. After all, the only thing that could change my reasoning, would be a tremendeous discount (... they won't offer...) when the death star goes out of production.

Edited May 9, 2013 by Ki-Adi-Mundi

[MonkeyCrumb]

I love this set SO much, I want to see more of it's kind (giant SW locations in one giant "doll-house" style playset)!

That said, don't sweat the old-style figures! Swapping heads is easy!

BUT, if you're continuing with Star Wars, the important part to know is you're going to be adding to it eventually!

IF you've bought everything new from 2013, you've already got an extra Jedi Luke! There will always be refreshes of Army Builders in things like the Advent Calendars and Planet series, so TIE Pilots and Stormtroopers continue. Tarkin is necessary, and an easy head-swap to keep current! The torso print still holds up. You can buy the Endor Rebel & Imperial Battle Pack, use brasso to remove the beard print and you have a new flesh head for Tarkin along with another Stormtrooper and Biker Scout among other parts! (OR just get a new Lone Ranger Calvary Battle Pack for a smirking beardless flesh-head if you prefer, or even better get a Lex Luthor!)

I know OP plans to buy this, so this is directed at anyone who's still on the fence about this set: GET IT!

It's an epic set, a VERY fun build, and an incredible set to keep assembled and on display. Moreover, you WILL continue to add to it over the years when basic characters are updated IF you wish. The recent Millenium Falcon set had great updates to the core cast, and you know we get refreshes of them every few years. Hopefully we'll get cheaper sets with them, but they look great on the Death Star and with extras you can even update the Han & Luke Stormtroopers.

This set has been around a long time, but DONT count on it being at retail forever! Get one as soon as you can, it's the crown jewel of minifigure-scale Star Wars sets!

[Banjo]

Thanks again for the FANTASTIC feedback and advice, everyone. I really appreciate everyone who took the time to comment and help me with this decision.

So... guess what I ordered tonight? :)

[TheLegoDr]

That is a huge purchase. As iconic as the Star is, I've never considered buying it, mostly for price alone. But since I am a minifigure collector (and builder) I don't want that pile of older figures. I love the new style and printing. So let's say you remove all of the figures, the set itself looks quite nice. A lot of great details here and there. My main problem is I didn't see SW until the PT (I'm 29, mind you), so I never had a huge interest in it. None of my friends did either, so I never considered watching them. With that said, I don't have the same affinity to SW sets as others. It sounds like you do/did, so I'm glad you made the purchase. You will be most pleased with it.

Have fun!

[Jedi-Bendu]

I'm giving this thread a kick since I'm in doubt if I should get this set.

It's either this set (for +-400)......or get the new AT-AT (+-100) and Star Destroyer (+-100) and have another 200 to spend on the winter wave/Bricklink.

I've been collecting SW since the early 80s, but only started this year with SW Lego (and grabbed quite a few sets and some loose minifigs). My SW collecting focus is now (besides non-fiction books, the upcoming Imperial Asault boardgame) Lego.

My biggest concerns regarding the DS are:

-the Death Star minifigs are kinda outdated plus I have newer versions of almost every fig included.

-the design of the walls seems blocky instead of round. (I bet thats beause some newer parts weren't available back in 2008?)

-it's a whopping 400!!!!! For 1 toy! In over 30 years I have never ever spent that on a single NEW toy.

-I love Cloud City. I adore Cloud City. I want Cloud City. If Lego should release a Cloud City set Death Star style I'd get it and I wouldn't need someone to convince me. So....why do I have the feeling that when I get the Death Star set it'll retire in a few months and Lego announced a Cloud City set???

-If I don't get the set.....and it retires......maybe I'll regret it......(or maybe I won't)

Arrrghhh...it's killing me!

What do you guys think??

PS: while going trough some old pics I found a few of my gf and me at the Lego store in Florida in 2008. I shot some pix of the DS back then Never thought I'd be collecting Lego 6 years later! Also, there's a pic of me standing in front of a wall of sets including the Imperial Landing Craft. I wish I could go back in a time machine and get that set!

[PromocjaLego]

The Death Star is a set of unique but costs a lot .