As the largest, most expensive, and seemingly most controversial LEGO® Star Wars set yet, the 9,038-piece Ultimate Collector Series Death Star is also packed with minifigures. In fact, it features 38 of them from different eras of the Star Wars timeline, and many of them are connected to particular moments aboard the Imperial Battle Station. After already taking a look around the UCS Death Star and its accompanying GWP set, here’s a closer look at the large group of minifigures found in and around the largest ever LEGO Star Wars set.
Product Details
Set Name: Death Star | Set Number: 75419 | Pieces: 9038 | Theme: Star Wars
Number of Bags: Bags x 81 + loose elements | Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Sticker: sheet x 1 | Minifigures: Luke Skywalker x 3, Princess Leia, Han Solo x 2, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan Kenobi, C-3PO, R2-D2, Grand Moff Tarkin, Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Sim Aloo, Imperial Royal Guards x 2, Colonel Yularen, Admiral Motti, General Tagge, Imperial Shuttle Pilot, Imperial Navy Officer, Imperial Crew Members x 2, Imperial Navy Troopers x 2, Imperial Gunners x 2, 5D6-RA-7, R3-T6, Stormtroopers x 6, Hot Tub Stormtrooper, Galen Erso and Director Krennic.
RRP: £899.99/999.99€/$999.99/1499.99AUD/1299.99CAD
Availability: LEGO Stores & LEGO Online
The most unusual inclusion of the 38 characters found in the set is Galen Erso and Director Krennic. They were both introduced in the Star Wars prequel story, Rogue One, with Krennic also making an appearance in the award-winning second season of Andor. So their connection to the Death Star is through its construction. Galen Erso is forced to work on the construction of the super weapon, but he has never appeared in a set. Here he is featured in his Imperial scientist outfit, which is mostly green. The torso features minimal detail, such as Imperial code cylinders and the Tarkin Initiative patch on the left arm. The hairpiece seems a little too light, especially as it’s the same colour used for Krennic. Galen also includes a printed 1×2 tile, which represents the Death Star plans. Krennic has appeared in a previous set, and this new version of the character is almost identical to his first outing, but gains a pouch on the torso.
The rest of the characters are tied to the original trilogy and include variations of the same characters. Starting with their ‘everyday’ outfits. Luke’s ‘farm boy’ outfit has been improved upon since previous versions, with his white tunic flowing over to his legs. I’m glad to see this hasn’t become washed out, which often occurs when a light colour is layered on a coloured surface. Han is similar, as his torso is slightly tweaked compared to other versions of the same outfit. Han’s undershirt is a little messier, and there has been a slight improvement to his weapon holster features on his legs.
As they sneak aboard the Death Star in search of Princess Leia, Han and Luke switch to Stormtrooper disguises. These basically take the heads and hair from the normal outfits and pop them on Stormtroopers’ bodies, along with blasters.
Luke makes a third appearance in the set, this time in his ROTJ costume. This features his black robes and a far more serious-looking set of expressions. Plus, the newer take of the character’s hair, which pairs well with his more stern demeanour. Leia has multiple outfits, but the only one relevant to the Death Star is her white Senate outfit. This includes a tweaked torso design and legs. Although the legs offer better posing options, it would have been nice to also include the sloped dress piece.
Often considered secondary characters, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2 have appeared in many other sets. Due to the characters’ appearance across eras, little can be done to change them. Chewie’s minifigure has remained unchanged since it was first redesigned in 2014, but it gains a piece of random pipe to hold along with his Bowcaster. Artoo gained back print a few years ago, and that is featured on this version. Threepio is a little disappointing, as it lacks the much better-looking lone dual-moulded leg used to show the droid’s matched parts. An unusual and annoying choice for such an expensive set, regardless of how important the characters are.
Those aren’t the Droids to feature in the set; a pair of random Imperial Droids is also included. But randomly, they only appear in the background of scenes aboard the Death Star. 5D6-RA-7 is a protocol droid, but unlike Threepio, it has a different style of head. This has been used before, but this is the first time the eyes have been coloured, and the gold really stands out against the darker grey colouring of the rest of the Droid. R3-T6 is an Astromech Droid and so uses the same parts as Artoo. The white drum body features red detailing, but lacks any detail on the back of it. I really like the transparent dome used for the head, even though the print detail gets lost a little.
The Emperor doesn’t appear on the Death Star until Return of the Jedi; however, he appears in an important scene. This version of the character has previously appeared in a set, in fact, one which has partly been replicated in the Death Star set. Palpatine has gone through various skin tone changes, with this one being a pale yellow. He lacks his walking cane, instead featuring force lighting bolts. Unlike other attempts to recreate the force power, these are the smaller, single coloured bolts which are mounted on transparent action pegs. One of the most striking minifigures featured in the set is a pretty deep cut. Kitted out in bright purple robes and a hat, Sim Aloo is one of the Emperor’s shady advisors. He appears, albeit briefly, with several others in Return of the Jedi. His robes are a lot brighter than they appear on screen, but it’s a decent representation of the character, although the sloped element used in place of legs looks odd without print detail.
Vader’s minifigure has seen various tweaks and improvements over the years, and the result is the best take on the character. This includes the two-part helmet, softer cap, printed arms and a white head with print detail for his scarred head. Obi-Wan has been given the same treatment, offering the best takes on the former Jedi Master. Print detail is featured on the legs, and you have the option to use the cloaked hood element or the grey hairpiece.
One of the most iconic scenes from aboard the Death Star comes during the meeting of Imperial Command. Here, various ‘higher-ups’ of the Imperial ranks discuss the ever-increasing threat of the Rebel Alliance. Several Imperial officers are present, although many remain silent, such as Colonel Yularen. The character’s role has been fleshed out immensely since his first appearance, featuring heavily in the animated Clone Wars series and in Andor. At the time of his introduction, his white uniform was unique. We now know it’s what the Imperial Security Bureau wear. Yularen has previously been featured in his ISB guise in a polybag, but this version is much better. Although it features incorrectly coloured legs. They should be black, although the character has two great expressions. You can’t really have a Death Star set without Grand Moff Tarkin. The character has been featured in plenty of sets, but this one has a few tweaks to the torso. It’s yet another character to lack dual-moulded legs, which is a shame.
In the same scene, which features the above characters, we meet Admiral Motti and General Tagge. These are the two gentlemen having a lively discussion about the stolen technical readout of the Death Star. Motti is the overenthusiastic chap who gets ‘corrected’ by Lord Vader. His minifigure is a good representation, although his expressions could have shown a little more menace and struggling to breathe. General Tagge is similar to a grey Imperial outfit and correctly matched rank bar. Although I’ve never been a fan of the hairpiece used for the character, it is a passable match for the character, and I love his wincing expression.
There are various members of the Imperial ranks onboard the Death Star, and many of them are included in the set’s line-up of minifigures, including an Imperial Navy Officer. This female lieutenant includes a new torso and a recoloured version of the Imperial cap, with reddish brown hair. The Imperial Shuttle Pilot has a far more detailed outfit, with the flight suit-like overalls recreated with print detail on both the unique torso and legs.
The Death Star is a massive structure and requires a large number of personnel to keep it armed and fully operational. This is where the Imperial Crew come into force. There are two included in the same, and they both reuse the grey overalls from the UCS Star Destroyer. The female crew member features the cap and hair combination element, which really helps to bring a little variety to the various Imperial characters. The male crew member has a headset mic printed onto his head.
Elements used to create the two Imperial Navy Troopers are also sourced from the most recent UCS Star Destroyer. Their open-faced helmets are similar to those worn by Rebel Troopers. Both troopers use the same torso and legs but have different heads, which both include the additional print detail of chin straps.
The Imperial Gunners are one of my favourite minifigures in the set, mostly thanks to their super cool helmets. These are fully enclosed helmets, but the detailing on them is amazing. On the side of the helmet is a moulded panel which features coloured buttons. The element was introduced in the UCS Star Destroyer, which has proven fruitful for many of the Death Star’s Imperial personnel. Their uniform isn’t overly detailed, yet it perfectly replicates what the characters wear.
Imperial Royal Guards are seen aboard the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi. The crimson guards act as bodyguards to the Emperor. Their minifigures continue to use the same hood-like helmets with a plain black head beneath. But their torsos are now better detailed, and the softer cape sits better, especially when combined with the helmets. The pike weapons aren’t great. They are too chunky and look more like off-brand lightsabers.
Stormtroopers are the most generic of all the characters found in the set, and six are included. Apart from different heads of varying skin tones, they are all identical and equipped with E-11 blasters. Although Stormtroopers are in abundance in the Star Wars saga, six seems like a lot and possibly just a way to bolster the set’s minifigure count. I’d rather have had a couple of extra Imperial officers instead.
One final minifigures is probably the best of the bunch. Inspired by the LEGO Star Wars video game series, the Hot Tub Stormtrooper first appeared in TT Games’ very first LEGO title. Players could unlock various doors aboard the Death Star, and one would present them with a Garrison of off-duty troopers enjoying a soak. The Hot Tub Stormtrooper is kitted out in Imperial-branded swimming shorts and a helmet. Popping off the trooper’s lid reveals an extremely cheerful expression. It’s a fun addition to the set and minifigure line-up.
I’ve often said LEGO Star Wars fans moan a little too much about the most mundane things, and that could be said about some of the issues with the minifigures in this set. The fact that dual-moulded legs have been used before for some characters, such as C-3PO and this is an extremely expensive set, you’d expect it to feature the best versions of characters. It’s nice to see some characters making their first appearance in the set, especially as they are unlikely to feature in future sets. I doubt we’ll see ‘The Emperor’s Advisors’ Battle Pack or ‘Vader chokes the Imperial Council’ diorama anytime soon. But overall, it’s a pretty pleasing line-up of characters; some could and should have been better, but most do their intended job and help to bring certain scenes aboard the Imperial Super Weapon to life. The LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series Death Star will be armed and fully operational for LEGO Insiders from October 1st, before its general release on October 4th.
Shop Now: UKIrelandUSCanadaMexicoGermanyFranceDenmarkAustraliaNew Zealand
The LEGO Group provided this set to BricksFanz.com for review purposes. The thoughts within this review are those of BricksFanz.com and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group or Disney. Providing the set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
