I just built the longest Lego set ever produced, and the Executor Super Star Destroyer is bigger than my dining room table

The Lego Star Wars Executor Super Star Destroyer (#75457) isn’t just the latest Ultimate Collector Series set to leave its Billund docking bay; it’s the longest Lego Star Wars set ever produced. This 6,130-piece representation of Darth Vader’s flagship measures an imposing 53.5in (136cm) long – that’s the width of my dining table!

It’s not the first time Lego has produced a UCS Executor, though. Back in 2011, the Lego Star Wars Super Star Destroyer (#10221) launched with 3,152 pieces. Even today, long after its discontinuation, it remains a grail set for many Lego Star Wars collectors.

So, what could Lego possibly do to make this update appealing? Well, double the piece count, aim for a more accurate portrayal of the prototype, and include a full roster of bounty hunter scum. It’s impressive, all right, but is it most impressive? Let’s find out whether it can match the best Lego sets.

Lego Star Wars Executor Super Star Destroyer (#75457) features

• 6,130 pieces
• 18+ age rating
• 7 minifigures

Concentrate all savings on that Super Star Destroyer! The Lego Star Wars Executor Super Star Destroyer (#75457) costs £649.99 / $799.99. This hits upon the Star Wars license’s average price-per-piece ratio, but with a wealth of small pieces and a very flat profile, you could argue that the Lego Star Wars Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser (#75367) provides you with more bang for your buck.

In the current lineup, the Executor Super Star Destroyer is the third most expensive Lego Star Wars set behind the Death Star (#75419) at £899.99 / $999.99 and the Millennium Falcon (#75192) at £734.99 / $849.99.

It’s worth noting that the Executor Super Star Destroyer will launch with one of Lego’s controversial ‘Gift with Purchase’ (GWP) promotions, but I’m pleased to report that it’s a buildable Darth Vader’s Lightsaber, not something that actually adds to the set. I have no problem with GWPs, so long as they’re not considered a component of the set in question. It’s my opinion that when you spend hundreds on a Lego set, you certainly shouldn’t feel left wanting.

Lego Star Wars Executor Super Star Destroyer (#75457) build

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• 14-hour build
• Lots of Technic pieces
• Not the most difficult set to build

It took me an eye-watering 14 hours and 45 minutes to piece together the Lego Star Wars Executor Super Star Destroyer (#75457). I painstakingly pressed, pushed and clipped all 6,130 pieces together during multiple sittings, ripping open 54 paper-bagged sections in the process. The build is split across four thick instruction booklets. As with any UCS set, you get a bit of blurb at the beginning of the first booklet with information on the ship itself, including some nice detailed imagery of the original ILM model.

You begin by building the small Imperial Star Destroyer and blast doors diorama for Vader and the bounty hunters to occupy before building up the base. This takes up a good portion of the first instruction booklet, and it’s definitely worth it. I’ve built Lego sets with suspect bases in the past, but this one is designed as a handhold in which to move around the entire model. And with plenty of Technic beams, reinforced by SNOT bricks, it’s extremely sturdy.

You then begin to build the ship directly onto the base. It’s not removable like smaller UCS sets, but you wouldn’t want to be moving anything this size on and off a base. The rest of booklet one is spent constructing the framework of the ship’s bow. In booklet two, you add to the bow and start to construct the base of the middle portion of the ship, with clever use of clips to keep things in place.

All throughout these middle sections of the build, you’re constantly flipping the model upside down and then rewriting it to build up both the top and undercarriage. Eventually you get to the most forward-facing engines, providing some much-needed respite from the monotony of constructing largely abstract frameworks.

I wouldn’t say the build techniques used blew my mind quite in the same way that the UCS Jango Fett’s Firespray-Class Starship (#75409) did, but the sheer muddle and volume of bricks is utterly mind-boggling. I can at least visualize the design process for many sets, but putting this together is like watching Bob Ross brush random splodges of paint onto a canvas, until the landscape suddenly reveals itself at the very end. Booklet two ends with the construction of the tractor beam projector at the rear of the ship’s undercarriage.

Booklet three begins with more chassis work before moving onto some large sections of panelling. Panels are made up of two or three layers of plates and generally attached to the ship using clips. While each clip is obscured by the panelling, the shape of each panel tends to slot snugly into each space, making it easy to line up the clips. That said, it can sometimes be a little tricky to ensure that the clips are properly secured. They don’t always give you that reassuring snap sound, and if you press too hard, plates can begin to separate.

More panelling ensues before flipping the ship to rewrite it for the final time to concentrate on the top layer. Time is spent adding tens of 1x4 printed clear blue tiles to represent what is explained in instruction booklet one as 250,000 ‘light openings’ that featured on the original movie prop. These printed tiles were made for this set and are entirely unique. Lego, take note: this is exactly what I expect from a premium UCS set.

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The end of the booklet is spent constructing the beginnings of the habitable cityscape portion in the centre of the ship. In booklet four, you build the rearmost thrusters and then continue with the cityscape. You then construct the top layer's panelling before finishing the entire build with the cherry on top of the cake: the main bridge/command tower.

Despite the huge size and piece count, this certainly isn’t the most difficult Lego set I’ve put together. I found the aforementioned UCS Jango Fett’s Firespray-Class Starship to be much more challenging due to some very creative build techniques.

The Executor Super Star Destroyer is an exercise in patience more than anything. Not only does it take hours upon hours to build, but it is a perfect example of the Lego Star Wars ‘Big Grey Ship’. From AT-AT Walkers to Imperial Star Destroyers, TIE Fighters and even the Millennium Falcon, big grey ships are a Star Wars staple, and it doesn’t get much bigger (or greyer) than Executor.

And yet, I didn’t find this to be a boring build. Sure, it’s not as interesting as an intricately detailed modular building or playset, but there’s definitely an excitement regarding the immense scale and gradually watching it come together. This is an excellent set to enjoy while listening to a podcast or watching a film.

Although this is a mainline Lego set, there are a huge number of Technic pieces. You simply cannot build a model of this magnitude without using a Technic framework to keep things sturdy. However, due to the irregular shapes of many Star Wars ships, Technic is a rather common fixture in Lego Star Wars, so most fans should be used to the mixture of Technic and traditional Lego.

Lego Star Wars Executor Super Star Destroyer (#75457) design

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• Diorama side build
• Unique printed tiles
• No stickers!!!

This latest incarnation of the Super Star Destroyer is much flatter and wider than both the original UCS set and the recently discontinued midi-scale Executor Super Star Destroyer (#75356). As such, this has created plenty of discourse online discussing the ship’s accuracy.

However, it’s clear that the design team has modelled this version on the original model from ILM. Online imagery shows that the ship is indeed much flatter and wider than Lego’s previous efforts. The confusion may stem from the movies, where presumably the camera angle makes the ship appear more svelte.

I think the whole point of a UCS set is to deliver unrivalled accuracy, and with that in mind, replicating the shape of the original model is a definite improvement. Probably the most attractive angle is actually the ship’s rear due to the highly detailed arrangement of 13 sublight engines.

I think the cityscape is a marked improvement over the original UCS set. Some may prefer the abundance of dark grey pieces used to create contrast, but I much prefer the uniform light-grey look, which is accurate to the ILM prototype. The previous UCS set also included no representation of the blue lighting.

The printed ‘light opening’ tiles look particularly convincing as a trim that traces the sides of the ship. They don’t quite hold up to the same scrutiny on the cityscape portion, and I do wonder if a few clear-blue 1x1 square plates scattered around would have added to the aesthetic, but I really am being picky here.

I’m also pleased to see plenty of studs on the ship’s surface. I’ve never been scared of visible studs. I like my Lego sets to look like Lego sets, and I find that an overabundance of tiles can make sets look untidy due to scratches and fingerprints. But the surface of the prototype is not completely smooth, and the random assortment of studs does a good job of replicating this. On the original UCS set, the studs were more uniform, which to my eye doesn’t work. The studs on the new set feel more akin to the scattered and random texture on the ILM model.

Kudos to Lego for fully panelling the underside of the ship, too. It’s so low to the ground, they could have ignored the undercarriage, but the designers have paid almost as much attention as they did to the top. For a model of this size, the Executor generally feels surprisingly sturdy, but I do wish the panelling had a few extra supporting bricks in places. You’re not meant to lift the ship anywhere but the stand, but if you do catch the panelling, it is prone to separating or a piece or two breaking off.

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I’ve noticed that the very tip of my model sags ever so slightly. I’ve tried to rectify the problem, but cannot seem to prevent it from happening. This doesn’t detract much from the overall model and may be an isolated incident, but it’s worth noting.

A casualty of the more accurate form factor is any form of interior. In the original UCS set, a small section of the cityscape could be pulled out to reveal a miniature bridge interior, and while this would have been nice to see once again, I wouldn’t have wanted it to impact the aesthetic or stability of the model.

The designers have softened the blow somewhat by including a bridge-and-blast-doors diorama to recreate the bounty hunter scene from The Empire Strikes Back. I would have loved for this to have been extended to feature a small section of the computers along with an Imperial Officer or two, but that would have pushed the piece count and price even higher.

You also get the standard UCS printed plaque, with a blueprint and information pertaining to the Super Star Destroyer. And like the original UCS set, you also get a miniature Imperial Star Destroyer build that’s roughly to scale.

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This is a marked improvement over its predecessor’s miniature, but I do think the design could have been better. For one, the front triangular portion of the ship is attached by just two studs and is prone to breaking off when handled. I also think it could have been slightly more detailed given the size, and I know it’s easily rectified, but I would have loved to have seen three clear-blue studs used to represent the three sublight engines on the rear.

What I do love is a teeny tiny 1x1 circular tile with a gorgeous print of the Millennium Falcon. This confirms the Star Destroyer as Avenger, which Captain Needa commands in The Empire Strikes Back and is used as an unconventional docking surface by the Falcon as a means to avoid being tracked by the capital ship.

When you include this tile, the plaque, the roster of minifigures, the tens of ‘light opening’ tiles and the tractor beam projector, there are quite a few printed pieces and no stickers. Sure, the UCS Imperial Star Destroyer (#75252) itself was nearly stickerless, but predated printed plaques. This set has no stickers whatsoever, and it’s an absolute joy.

My problem with stickers on expensive UCS sets is twofold: they simply don’t look as good as printed pieces, and they have a habit of peeling off over time. You really don’t want a collector's edition Lego set that costs hundreds to have messy peeling stickers. Well done Lego. More of this in the future, please.

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One of the biggest talking points from the release of the Lego Star Wars Executor Super Star Destroyer (#75457) was the roster of seven minifigures. The last UCS capital ship Lego released (the Venator) only had only two minifigures and the Executor could have followed suit. However, I’m extremely pleased it didn’t and what a great selection we received.

This set features every single one of the bounty hunters that Darth Vader addressed on the bridge in The Empire Strikes Back, along with the Dark Lord of the Sith himself. This improves upon the five minifigures present in the 2011 incarnation, which included Admiral Piett, IG-88, Bossk, Vader, and Dengar. The new version has swapped out Piett for Boba Fett, Zuckuss, and 4-LOM.

It is a shame that Piett wasn’t included, as well as perhaps Admiral Ozzel who Vader dispatched following his botched attack on Hoth. But a full roster of bounty hunters is certainly more than I expected. This is a premium set of minifigures, too.

Dengar, IG-88, Bossk, and 4-LOM are exclusive to this set. We’ve had the Boba Fett before, but not with the soft-goods cape, which now elevates it to the definitive Empire Strikes Back Boba Fett minifigure. Vader is nothing new, but an exquisite minifigure nonetheless and the same can be said for Zuckuss, who had previously only appeared in one other set.

Each figure’s execution is near flawless. IG-88 has a beautifully moulded head (borrowed from IG-11) with its own exclusive print. Every other figure has full-body printing, with printed arms on both Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and 4-LOM. The latter’s slightly metallic printing is gorgeous, as is the updated Dengar.

But the pick of the bunch by a country mile is the all-new Bossk. Apart from his arms, Bossk is fully printed. And get this, the legs and arms are dual moulded to represent his 3/4 sleeves and trouser legs.

I’ve said it before and say it again, despite Lego Star Wars fans having extremely high standards when it comes to minifigures, the Star Wars license continues to turn out the very best minifigures Lego has to offer. And this roster reflects that.

Should you buy the Lego Star Wars Executor Super Star Destroyer (#75457)?

I was a little worried that the Lego Star Wars Executor Super Star Destroyer (#75457) would embody the movie ship by becoming a lesson in futility. Big, brash, but ultimately succumbing to an A-Wing in the face. Sure, the size and price will always put some people off, but strip away these variables and you’re left with a gold standard Ultimate Collector Series set.

It’s impressively faithful to the prototype, has a healthy roster of premium minifigures, and even a unique solution to a unique problem in the form of those gorgeous clear-blue printed ‘light openings’. The complete absence of any stickers and two neat side builds in the form of an Imperial Star Destroyer and a diorama for the bounty hunters is the meiloorun fruit on top of the cake.

An interior would have been nice (however impractical); the panelling could be a little sturdier, and you can always ask for more minifigures in the form of Piett, Ozzel or Needa, but on the whole, this is a premium UCS set done right. Oh, and for minifigure collectors, Bossky Bossk is one of the best Lego has ever produced.

Ratings

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Lego Star Wars Executor Super Star Destroyer (#75457)

It took me multiple sittings over the course of a week to put together the Lego Star Wars Executor Super Star Destroyer (#75457), totalling over 14 hours. It sat in my conservatory (the only place I could house it!) for a few days before I tested its durability during the photo shoot.

I’m a ‘90s kid who started collecting Lego right off the bat and quickly discovered Star Wars. I was there when Lego first got the license and have been buying into the brick-built galaxy far, far away… ever since.

For more information on our procedure, take a look at how we test products.

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