If this 7-foot long model of the Mon Calamari flagship from Return of the Jedi—complete with integrated lighting—doesn't impress you on first sight, consider this: It uses 30,500 bricks valued at $5,500.


The stunning Lego model—created by Thomas Benedikt—was created to scale from the official Lego Star Destroyer, which is an impressive 3,104-piece beast on its own. According to Thomas, the ship was almost impossible to recreate in Lego because of the difficulty of its surfaces: There are no right angles at all.

On top of being difficult for creating the CAD plans, in a Lego model the curved surfaces make construction extra difficult. After considering many building techniques, he decided to use studs joined by hinges, with transparent yellow studs to let the light from the star cruiser's interior shine through.


The resulting model is beautiful, bigger than many apartments in New York, and the final effect when lit up is simply amazing, as you can see in this gallery.
















I love how Lego creations keep getting bigger and bigger. Next on my wishlist: A Star Destroyer created to the scale of the official Lego Millennium Falcon. [MOC Pages via The Brothers Brick]