From technology to politics to video games; these are the random thoughts of a geek with too much time on his hands
Published on October 16, 2005 By Zoomba In Blogging

The Imperial Star Destroyer LEGO Set

Purchased: Oct, 2005

I recently broke down and picked up the ISD LEGO Set at a LEGO store in MA. This is the second largest set LEGO has to offer, clocking it at an impressive 3104 pieces and boasts to be over 3 feet long when finished (the recently released Death Star II set beats it by about 400, coming in close to 3500 pieces). This set put me back about $300, which is a hefty chunk of change for what most people think of as a little kid toy. But let me tell you, this set blows away any LEGO creation you ever monkeyed with when you were a little kid.

The ISD and the DS 2 sets both cost the same, but I heard recently (after purchasing the set) that LEGO will be discontinuing production of the ISD in favor of the newer Death Star II set since the market doesn’t seem to be able to sustain two $300 LEGO sets. I wouldn’t be surprised if this set becomes extinct shortly after Christmas of this year.

Since most of my friends are either fellow LEGO nerds, or just nerds in general, I’m going to try and do a semi-regular photo blog on the building experience.



Day 1 - The Box (10/8/05)

The first day home with the set, all I did was take a good long look at the packaging. The box itself was pretty large and pretty heavy, so it at least FELT like I had gotten something of value for my $300. I didn’t even start building as I had to start clearing work space on the floor of my office (I don’t have a table large enough to lay out all the pieces. As a part of the preparation process, I took all the pieces out of the sealed bags they come in in the box, and transfered them to little ziplock baggies since I know I’ll be needing to restore them after every building session so my cat doesn’t try and eat them.

Note picture 3, there is a CD standing against the box to give you an idea of how large the packaging is. There is also no real empty space in the box, it’s packed to the gills. The manual is a 226 spiral-bound behemoth.

Needless to say, this set is going to take me a LONG time to build

Star Destroyer Box

Star Destroyer Box
The unopened box

Star Destroyer Box 2
Star Destroyer Box 2
Piece count
Star Destroyer Box 3
Star Destroyer Box 3
With a CD to give an idea of scale
Star Destroyer Box 4

Star Destroyer Box 4
Box contents

DSCF1400
DSCF1400
Second layer of contents
Star Destroyer Box 5
Star Destroyer Box 5
Third layer of contents
Star Destroyer Contents

Star Destroyer Contents
Pieces from one of the smaller boxes


Day 2 - Base Frame (10/15/05)

This was the first day trying to work on the set itself, so going was slow as I figured out where all the pieces were and such. I got about 23 pages into the 226 page manual, and all I have to show for it is the main base frame of the star destroyer. It’s just a triangle with a cross bar right now… hopefully in a few days though it’ll look a bit more impressive. Just one photo from this day’s work.

Base Frame
Star Destroyer Main Frame
A snapshot of the main frame of the star destroyer. I’m pretty sure this is the middle of the whole thing where the rest of the set will taper inwards from here.
   

Comments
on Oct 16, 2005
Ouch! That's an interesting puzzle going there.

Good luck with it!

As a major SW fan (and LEGO) I'd be more than willing to have a go at that one ... if I had the $300 to spare. And the wife wouldn't kill me on the front stoop as soon as she saw it.
on Oct 16, 2005
The ultimate in geeky coolness. And I would know too.

Very cool, have fun with it. Be sure to continue with the pics.
on Oct 16, 2005
I'm jealous. Not that I'd actually want to have a lego star destroyer, or would know what to do with it when I was done. But putting it together, that would be fun. Is good you mentioned that cd was for scale, I was wondering if it included one when I first saw the picture. Enjoy your new toy
on Oct 17, 2005
I am green with total, unabashed, unashamed, unmitigated, ENVY!!!!

As a 42 year old dedicated Lego Geek this series of articles will become regular reading (and drooling) for me. Like Danny, I don't know what I would do with a Star Destroyer once I had it built, $300 would be a small price to pay (if I had it) just for the thrill of running my fingers through all those legos and building the pinnacle of lego model sets!!!

Enjoy these days Zoomba, like all other special times, they will go far too fast!!! Thanks for taking the time to share the event with us!
on Oct 17, 2005
Wow! That looks pretty nice Zoomba... great article! I'll be watching.
on Oct 17, 2005
Featured huh? Boy am I glad I didn't link the larger images, woulda eaten up my host bandwidth fast

Glad everyone is enjoying the article so much I'm hoping to do this as a weekly digest of sorts. My goal with the set is to spend at least 2-3hrs a week working on it (spread over 2-3 days), with 1-2 pics after every sitting. I'm not worried about finishing this up too quickly. I've heard estimates that it takes an average builder working a little each day, about a month to assemble. Since I have work and other time-drains, I think I have enough here to last me up to Christmas

And what will I do with it? Why, put it on display of course! Oh, and maybe play with it, making all the laser blasts and engine sounds with my mouth as I zip my improvised mini-xwings around it. Might even do the Darth Vader voice too

It's kinda funny, I'm starting to gauge my age by LEGO sets. First, the older I get the larger and more complex the sets, and second, since I still sit on the floor to build them, it gets harder and harder to stand up after a few hours sitting cross-legged on the floor bending over to pick up legos.
on Oct 17, 2005
I can see why I am not Zoomba!  But I sure would love to have the time and money to do one of those!
on Oct 17, 2005
Zoomba! I love this! Not really a lego geek but I love that this kind of thing exists and that you are doing it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This totally makes my day!
on Oct 17, 2005
Dr. Guy -
This is when we separate the men from the boys... the Zoombas from the wannabies. Which are you? Do you have what it takes to be Zoomba, or are you just a weak-willed imposter?!

This is your test... will you pass?
on Oct 17, 2005

Dr. Guy -
This is when we separate the men from the boys... the Zoombas from the wannabies. Which are you? Do you have what it takes to be Zoomba, or are you just a weak-willed imposter?!

This is your test... will you pass?

OK!  I will go out and get the DS2! (or wait and ask for it for Christmas).

on Oct 17, 2005
And what will I do with it? Why, put it on display of course! Oh, and maybe play with it, making all the laser blasts and engine sounds with my mouth as I zip my improvised mini-xwings around it. Might even do the Darth Vader voice too


Ok, since you are willing to admit it, that's what I'd do with it too. ;~D
on Oct 17, 2005
I was once obsessed with LEGOs. I would buy a box what ever chance I could. I would always build the model, then break it up and add it to the rest of my pieces to build something bigger and better. I always looked for particular pieces that I would like to add to my models. I would spend hours and hours playing with them. Eventually at the age of 18 I had barely half of my pieces left. And was not as much into it as before, with girls and all. When I moved from NJ I didn’t realize that my LEGOs were missing. My mom realized that the kids next door (in apartments), who were know to do mischief’s, were playing with a set of LEGO she never seen then with before and that the storage looked familiar. But since my mom was not one to pay attention to my hobbies, she wouldn’t know for sure. After that I lost my interest in LEGOs, I then picked up an interest in Hotwheels cars but I let that one go about 4 years later. I gave everything I had collected, over 500 cars in their boxes, to my older son who was about 5 at the time. It was becoming too expensive.

I still love LEGOs today and always enjoy looking thru the shelves at Toys R Us to see what’s new and what new pieces have come out. But I fear that if I start to collect them again that I will end up in a financial disaster since I love them so much. Besides I wouldn’t want to take time building something that could take a lot of days to make from my mind (no instructions) only to have one or both of my kids take the fastest route to dismantling a LEGO set. I’ve already been thru a similar situation with my older brother and a friend of his when I was young. It’s almost as painful as someone hitting your brand new car you work so hard to pay and maintain shiny.
Enjoy it and keep the pics coming. BTW I would love to see what that DS2 looks like, hope someone builds the courage to by it and make a side by side challenge with you.
on Oct 17, 2005

But I fear that if I start to collect them again that I will end up in a financial disaster since I love them so much.

Going to Belgium any time soon?

on Oct 17, 2005
Going to Belgium any time soon?


Hehe, believe me when I tell you that a nuclear war would probably be the only thing that would make me leave the States anywhere farther than Puerto Rico. Still my financial status ATM is not to good. Still I have the kid factor to consider. I am very close to my kids and I know for sure (after giving my older son 500+ hotwheels cars after 4 years of collecting) that this set will end up in their hands which in turn will end up all over the house which in turn will end up in the garbage little by little which in the end will not be enough parts left to make an escape pod.

I have nothing against the rest of the world, I'm just to confy in my own home that being in a completely different place like another country I will feel lost and I can't stand that feeling. Some of use were just not meant to travel the world. At least not physically. There's always the internet super highway to get you virtually there. And cheaper.