Lego Death Star Redesign: A Definitive UCS Model

With the arrival of October, a new wave of Lego sets has hit the shelves, both digital and physical, but one colossal creation dominates the conversation: the long-anticipated, officially released Lego Death Star UCS Model. This set is not merely a re-release; it represents a fundamental rethinking of how the Empire’s ultimate weapon can be immortalized in brick form, offering a single, definitive model packed with iconic scenes.

Available now and a key addition to the Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series, this monumental set is priced at $999.99. It challenges the boundaries of Lego engineering with a staggering piece count exceeding 9,000, and it introduces an entirely novel structural design for the moon-sized battle station. To uncover the design philosophy and technical challenges behind this epic build, we spoke with César Soares, a Master Model Designer at the Lego Group, who spearheaded the ambitious project.

The Cross-Section: A New Vision for an Icon

Developing the Lego UCS Death Star has been an intensive, year-long effort at Lego’s headquarters in Billund, Denmark. Soares revealed that he took over the initial concept model in late summer 2023 and worked on the project for approximately 14 months—making it the longest he has ever spent designing a single model.

“We had a concept model made during one of our design boosts in the summer of 2023,” Soares recounts. “I picked it up in late summer that year, and I worked on it for about 14 months. It was by far the model I’ve spent the longest time designing.”

Previous iterations, including the fully spherical 2016 version, were considerably smaller and only provided glimpses into a few key areas on each level. This time, the design team opted to reimagine the Death Star as a dramatic, thick cross-section, exposing its intricate internal geography to the builder and observer alike.

“From the very start, the idea was the cross-section,” Soares affirms. “We wanted fans to see all the rooms and all the iconic moments in one view—every scene interacts with another.”

LEGO Death Star – Engineering the Ultimate Collector Series Experience

This pivotal design decision necessitated multiple prototypes and extensive refinements before the team finalized the structure. “I made maybe four or five different iterations, every time building again from scratch and evolving the design,” Soares says. “Once you get to a point where you’re happy, it becomes about refining every detail—room by room, function by function.”

The finished Lego UCS Death Star model stands at an impressive 20.6 inches in height, 18.9 inches in width, and 15.1 inches in depth, meticulously detailing six distinct floors. These floors are packed with references from both the first and second Death Stars, ensuring a comprehensive Star Wars experience.

Key locations included in the model are:

• Ground Floor: A vast hangar bay capable of holding Imperial vessels.
• Iconic Middle Floors: The infamous detention block, the trash compactor (a must-have reference), the superlaser control room, a formal conference chamber, and the deadly reactor core.
• Top Floor: The pivotal Emperor’s Throne Room.

Given the sheer scale of the set and the anticipated time commitment for the build, the designer placed a high priority on keeping the process captivating and non-repetitive. Soares implemented a Modular Building Approach, where each distinct room or section is constructed as a separate module before being seamlessly integrated into the main structure.

“You start by building room by room,” he explains. “So, you build the trash compactor outside, and when you’re finished, you put it on and then move on to the next room.” He emphasizes that this approach makes it “like the ultimate Lego building experience, because you never get bored.”

This construction method also mirrored the internal development process. Soares often started with physical, brick-by-brick models, building from the bottom up, then repeated the process before digitally rebuilding them to fine-tune connections and subtle details. “We physically recreate it piece by piece,” Soares says. “It’s a process of back and forth—you never jump definitely to digital; it’s always both at the same time.”

Deep Lore, New Minifigure, and Lucasfilm Collaboration

The Lego UCS Death Star is liberally sprinkled with Easter eggs that honor both the Lego brand and Star Wars lore. Hidden within the foundation is a subtle nod to the fictional Lego power company, Octan. Perhaps the most surprising inclusion is the “hot tub Stormtrooper” room near the top, a playful reference that originated in the Lego Star Wars video games.

“We approached Lucasfilm about that, and they were totally on board,” Soares laughs. “They thought the idea was brilliant.”

The long-standing relationship with Lucasfilm collaboration—dating back to the first Lego Star Wars set in 1999—is central to this set’s authenticity. Soares confirms that the design team maintains regular meetings, shares ideas, and has direct access to Lucasfilm’s extensive reference archives. This new set is so significant it will likely join that archive, and it’s already featured in the new special, Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy – Pieces of the Past, available on Disney+.

For Soares, one of the set’s proudest achievements lies in its adherence to Lego’s core design philosophy: system efficiency. “We Lego designers are very proud of the Lego system in play,” he notes. “We always try to use what we already have available to us.”

Remarkably, for a model of this magnitude, only one new element was created: the hat for the Imperial Dignitary Minifigure. This small piece was vital for the figure, which is a first for Lego Minifigures and one of the 36 included with the set, adding tremendous value and collectibility.

This efficiency is evident in the structural integrity as well. The entire set relies almost exclusively on standard Lego System elements, using only minimal Technic parts for a crucial, working elevator mechanism. Soares sees this as proof that the existing Lego system is still capable of new, complex tricks, even at this gargantuan scale.

Ultimately, he sees the project as the pinnacle of what the Lego Star Wars partnership can achieve. “Every major room or scene is there—from both Death Stars. We wanted the definitive version, with everything in one model,” he concludes. Even after months of development, testing, and rebuilding, Soares admitted he was genuinely excited to build the final model again, which, he believes, “says a lot about the building experience.”

The Ultimate Build Awaits

The journey of constructing the Lego UCS Death Star is a substantial undertaking, but early reports indicate it is surprisingly engaging. The instructions wisely break up the early process, interspersing the assembly of sections like the hangar floor with the building of mirrored sections, which maintains a high level of interest even during the foundation work.

If you’re ready to embark on this ultimate building experience, the Lego UCS Death Star is available now directly from Lego. However, its immediate popularity has led to backorders, so be prepared for a potential wait of a few weeks before you receive this highly sought-after piece of Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series history.

While Soares remained tight-lipped about the future of Lego Star Wars, his personal passion for the saga is clear. “I grew up with the original trilogy,” he says. “So everything that I can work from the original trilogy, I will be very, very happy.”

The new Lego UCS Death Star may not be the franchise’s first attempt at the Empire’s ultimate weapon, but its ambitious cross-section design, engaging Modular Building Approach, and unprecedented attention to lore-specific detail cement its status as the most complete and definitive version ever released. It is a true testament to the power of the Lucasfilm collaboration.

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