Building Ambition in the LEGO® Star Wars™ Ultimate Collector Series (2005 – 2009)

Join us as we continue to explore the evolution of the Ultimate Collector Series between 2005 and 2009 – a time when innovation and scale was the focus!

With demand for more advanced LEGO® Star Wars™ models now firmly established, the Ultimate Collector Series would continue to expand in the years to come. Not only were six further sets produced from 2005 to 2009, but the record for the LEGO set comprising the most pieces was broken twice!

2005: Armed and Operational

The classic Imperial Star Destroyer (10030) was released in 2002 and included the most pieces of any LEGO set until 2005, when an even bigger piece of Imperial hardware was launched – the Death Star II (10143)!

This magnificent recreation of the Emperor’s fully armed and operational battle station comprised 3,449 pieces, many of which were used to create its exposed decks. Just like its onscreen counterpart, the Death Star II’s spherical hull is incomplete and the detail across areas still under construction was remarkable, although this also created some challenges for LEGO designers.

After all, building a sphere is bound to be difficult using LEGO bricks, and having areas missing makes it even harder. Fortunately, the model designer, Søren Dyrhøj, found an ingenious use for ship’s wheel elements at the poles of the second Death Star, to which the Technic™ frame supporting the exterior panels could attach. Impressive, most impressive.

2006: Imperial Power Grows

2006 introduced two more Imperial vehicles, with a towering Imperial AT-ST (10174) and Vader’s TIE Advanced (10175). Though much smaller than the Death Star II, this pair was no less detailed and their scale provided a great opportunity for mechanical texture.

The AT-ST walked onto shelves first, featuring an opening hatch on top, plus articulated weapons. The classic ‘chicken walker’ legs were static, though, a compromise required to support the weight of the cockpit. Darth Vader’s TIE Advanced also included a functional access hatch, with extensive controls inside the cockpit, while the viewport on the front returned from the TIE Interceptor (7181), albeit with updated colors.

2007: Bigger Than Ever Before

Only one Ultimate Collector Series set was released in 2007, but that set is generally considered one of the most iconic in the whole LEGO Star Wars UCS line! The amazing Ultimate Collector’s Millennium Falcon (10179) debuted in October 2007, containing 5,197 pieces and comfortably surpassing the record of the Death Star II (10143).

The idea for this set originated with comments that existing versions of the Millennium Falcon could not accommodate four minifigures in the cockpit, as we see in the movies. Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, now the Creative Director for LEGO Star Wars, took it upon himself to develop a model that would have space for four in the cockpit, which defined the massive scale of the whole ship, reaching 33 inches, or 84cm, long. This ‘hunk of junk’ is often seen as the crown jewel of any Ultimate Collector Series collection.

2008: Varying Scales

While all Ultimate Collector Series sets are big, their scale in relation to the characters and vehicles seen onscreen vary. That was particularly true in 2008, as the statuesque General Grievous (10186) was assembled at approximately 1/6 scale, while the Death Star (10188) included 24 minifigures to populate its many rooms.

Areas to explore ranged from the detention block and Superlaser control room to the Emperor’s throne room and an extensive hangar bay, complete with Darth Vader’s TIE Advanced suspended on an adjustable launch rack. Two functioning elevators allowed characters to move between floors, or you could drop Leia, Luke, Han and Chewbacca from the detention area into the trash compactor!

This truly was the ultimate Death Star set and an excellent model for display, too. This version of the Death Star remained available until 2015, in testament to its amazing popularity.

Of course, the Ultimate Collector Series would soon return in 2010 and beyond, drawing us closer to exactly the kinds of stunning models we see released today. There are many more sets to discover as we make a hyperspace jump into the next chapter of our LEGO Star Wars history!