Lego's Giant New Imperial Star Destroyer Is Simply Spectacular

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It's almost the longest Star Wars Lego set ever!

Lego just tapped the Dark Side of the Force for its longest "Star Wars" set available today: an epic Imperial Star Destroyer that would make Darth Vader proud. 

The new set, revealed today (Sept. 5), is a truly massive to scale model of the Devastator, Vader's Imperial flagship from "Star Wars: Episode IV, A New Hope." The new set will be available for $699 exclusively at Lego's stores and online shop Oct. 1, but VIP members will be able to pick it up Sept. 18. 

"With over 4,700 Lego pieces, this Ultimate Collector Series 75252 Imperial Star Destroyer model captures all the authentic details of the starship as it appeared in the opening scene of 'Star Wars: A New Hope,' including swiveling guns, a tilting radar dish, huge engine exhausts, intricate surface detailing and of course a buildable scale version of the Rebels' Tantive IV starship to chase down," Lego wrote in an official product description. "This galactic civil war UCS set also includes a display stand with informational fact plaque and 2 Imperial minifigures, making it the perfect Lego Star Wars collectible for discerning fans."

Video: Watch Us Build the Lego UCS Millennium Falcon!
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The Lego Ultimate Collectors Series Imperial Star Wars set is a 4,784-piece set that lets Star Wars fans build Darth Vader's flagship, the Devastator, from "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope."
The Lego Ultimate Collectors Series Imperial Star Wars set is a 4,784-piece set that lets Star Wars fans build Darth Vader's flagship, the Devastator, from "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope."(Image credit: Lego)

Lego's new Imperial Star Destroyer set is just 7 inches shorter than my 10-year-old daughter!

So, how huge is it?

When complete, Lego's Ultimate Collector Series (UCS) Star Destroyer is nearly 4 feet long, measuring a whopping 43 inches (110 centimeters). That's just 7 inches shorter than my 10-year-old daughter! It stands over 17 inches (44 cm) tall with its stand (which adds 3 inches) and is about 26 inches (55 cm) wide. 

Editor's note: Lego's discontinued Super Star Destroyer set, released in 2011, was still a bit longer than the new set. It was nearly 50 inches (124 cm) long. 

To put the Lego's UCS Imperial Star Destroyer into perspective, it's about 10 inches longer than the company's last epic Star Wars set (2017's UCS Millennium Falcon). It's also 2 inches (5 cm) wider and 9 inches (23 cm) taller than that previou set.

So yes, it's bigger than the biggest Lego Millennium Falcon (which was already pretty massive). But, at 4,784 pieces, the UCS Imperial Star Destroyer is nowhere close to the same number of pieces as the Falcon. That Lego UCS Millennium Falcon set had 7,541 pieces and sold for $799.

With this new Star Destroyer, Lego appears to be clearly targeting Star Wars collectors looking for their next display piece from a galaxy far, far away. After all, the next film in the "Star Wars" franchise — "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" — hits theaters in December and will feature a mindbogglingly massive fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers, according to its most recent trailer.

But, with only two mini-figures in the set and no discernible features that open for play, this set looks like it may be purely for display for Star Wars fans, or maybe as a set piece amid other Star Wars sets for active play. 

This new Star Destroyer set comes during the 20th anniversary of Lego's first wave of Star Wars sets in 1999. So far this year, the company has unveiled a new Rebel Tantive IV Blockade Runner set, five different sets to celebrate the anniversary and a Darth Vader bust. The company also set a Guinness world record for the most Star Wars mini-figures in one place.

So, what do you think? Is the Force strong with Lego's latest UCS Star Wars set, or do you have a bad feeling about this?

If we can get our non-Force wielding hands on one of these, you can be sure we'll make a time-lapse build video and the model will rival our Millennium Falcon, which is now a permanent landmark at Space.com. 

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. Original article on Space.com.

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Tariq Malik
Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.