Lego Guardians of the Galaxy Ship review

If you like piña coladas, getting caught in the rain, and building intricate Lego recreations of famous sci-fi spaceships, then you need to get hold of the Lego Guardians of the Galaxy Ship (officially named Lego The Guardians’ Ship). It’s easily one of the most enjoyable builds we’ve done, and the bright colors mix with a raft of small, fan-pleasing details to make each stage an entertaining one.

Of course, we’d expect nothing less from a ship that features in one of the best Marvel movies of all time, although it’s worth pointing out that this model is of the Infinity War version of the Benatar – a rebuild of the ship from the original movie. It’s a pretty fantastic spaceship, but it’s just eked out of a spot on our coolest spaceships in sci-fi list by its predecessor, the Milano – although both Guardians of the Galaxy ships each have quite an interesting history.

As ever, when tackling the Lego Guardians of the Galaxy ship, we implemented our standard testing process. We timed our build, noted how long each section took, and asked a younger builder – in this case, a six-year-old boy – to take part and see how difficult they found it to create. In fairness, this model is recommended for builders of 14+ years, and is mainly aimed at collectors (it comes with a display stand), but we found that kids will enjoy putting it together too. 

If you grab it for less, we have seen it go on sale occasionally, but you’ll have to be very patient and keep an eye on our best Lego deals hub. And to see more great Lego kits, check out our best Lego space sets guide.

Related: Lego space deals

Lego Guardians of the Galaxy ship review: Build

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In all, the build took about 6-7 hours, and we tackled it over the course of a week. There are 14 bags/sections in total, and while some are definitely more interesting than others, each one has its own charm. Lego has been cunning with this build and spaced out the fun minifigures to give you a new character during some of the less entertaining sections. And while recreating the wings is perhaps the slowest part of the build, we found ourselves very impressed by how intricate and detailed each part is – right down to the controls in the cockpit, the coffee machine inside the living quarters, and the stray donut left on one of the tables. 

It’s a genuine delight to see how much detail goes into this model, and how cleverly each section fits together to accurately recreate the actual ship. Nothing here feels forced or fudged – the curves are right, the angles of the wings are right, and the proportions are excellent. The build really gives you an appreciation for how much work has gone into recreating the Benatar.

The result, however, is a pretty complicated build that uses plenty of small pieces, panels, and interlocking sections. We found that our six-year-old tester could get to grips with some of the more intricate sections in the body of the ship, but – with the best will in the world – they did get pretty bored halfway through, as layering on the detail makes progress very slow. This one really is best for collectors and adults, although older kids looking to build with parents or siblings will still have heaps of fun.

Lego Guardians of the Galaxy ship review: Design

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The Lego The Guardians’ Ship is a very faithful recreation of a surprisingly complex ship. While it appears to be simple on the outside, there are so many clever little construction tricks that gives the model such accuracy. The way the wings attach, and hold in place, is very smart and the fact that you can access the interior via the cockpit and the top of the ship is a real neat feature. We’d maybe like the opening method of the top section to be a little more graceful (essentially, you pull off a section of the roof), but it works well and doesn’t spoil the aesthetics of the model itself.

The stand is necessarily sturdy, and it features a rotating section that attaches to the model, so you can angle it as you please to suit your display. Overall, it’s a really heavy and solid build, made of multiple layers, so it’s unlikely to break if you nudge it or knock other pieces of Lego against it. One of the problems we find with a number of models in the recent Star Wars Lego range is that they have flimsy elements, which makes them tougher to keep pristine. There are no such weak points on the Lego Guardians of the Galaxy ship.

The minifigs you get with this build are all cool characters. You get Star-Lord, Thor, Teenage Groot, Rocket, Mantis, and a single Chitauri warrior. We’d have liked a Drax too but… hey, this line-up is pretty fun. And we do understand why Gamora isn’t represented here (no spoilers).

Should you buy the Lego Guardians of the Galaxy Ship?

If you’re a fan of the movies, or just someone who loves cool Lego models, the Guardians’ Ship is an absolute must. It’s bright orange, wonderfully detailed, accurately recreated, and sturdy. The display stand makes it perfect for collectors, although those with space museums are advised not to place it too close to Howard the Duck. We really like the minifigs too, as several of them are properly bespoke for this ship.

It’s a more complicated build, for sure, but not impossible for younger Lego fans. The main barrier to entry for those under 14 is the fact that there’s little instant gratification here – it’s a slow, steady model primarily aimed at adults. At 1,901 bricks, and a good 6-7 hours to build, this is good value for money (for Lego), especially as the end product is such a handsome, iconic piece of sci-fi history.

What else could you buy?

There aren’t a whole lot of alternatives to the Lego Guardians’ Ship. While you can buy plenty of space-themed Lego, and there are a whole range of Marvel builds, nothing directly compares. Marvel fans may want to try the Rise of Domo set, from The Eternals, which does feature a smaller ship but… it just isn’t the same. It’s $90/£90, and features a handful of characters and Deviant models.

We do like the Infinity Gauntlet build, though, so if you’re a Lego collector and want a different kind of Marvel fix, this is probably the one to get. You can usually pick it up for $70/£60, and it displays extremely well. For those who just want a cool spaceship, then we’d definitely recommend the Lego NASA Space Shuttle Discovery, which is a delightfully detailed ship. Get it for around $199/£160.