LEGO

LEGO

LEGO

LEGO

LEGO

LEGO

LEGO

LEGO

LEGO

LEGO

You probably remember the first time you saw Star Wars, the first time you saw that opening crawl give way to a star field above Tatooine as the Tantive IV tried desperately to escape the clutches of an Imperial Star Destroyer as it filled the screen.

I do. I remember in particular how the sheer size of it made me feel. This was one big ship—a mile long from the pointy bit at the front to those three huge engines at the back, I'd later learn. Afterward, you may have gone straight for the Lego bricks to recreate it. If not, now's the chance, because Lego is bringing out a new Ultimate Collector Series (UCS) edition of the Devastator, the Imperial Star Destroyer from the beginning of Star Wars: A New Hope.

The specs are not for the faint-hearted. Made from 4,784 pieces, the model is 43 inches long (110cm), 26 inches (66cm) wide, and 17 inches (44cm) tall, so it will need a fair amount of room on your shelf (or above your bed). Lego says the model features a tilting radar dish and swiveling guns, and as you'll see from the images above, the build looks like it involves plenty of greebling to keep you busy for hours.

In addition to the Devastator and its display stand, there are also parts to build the rebel blockade runner the Tantive IV at the same scale, and two minifigs, an Imperial officer and an Imperial crew member. Be warned: like all of Lego's UCS sets, this one doesn't come cheap, although the $699 price tag is $100 less than the UCS Millennium Falcon.

As Ars' resident Lego Star Wars obsessive (no, really), if I were about to drop that kind of wedge on a new box of bricks, I think I'd save up another Benjamin and go for the UCS version of the ship that did the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs. For starters, with 7,541 pieces the dollar:brick ratio is a lot higher. And more importantly, the UCS Falcon is built to the same scale as the minifigs it comes with. Sadly, a minifig-scale Imperial Star Destroyer would be about 87.5 feet (26.7m) long.

Listing image by LEGO