After 20 years of partnership, the LEGO Star Wars line has constantly evolved and changed to meet the high standards of fans.
Since the release of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in 1977, the franchise has spawned another ten movies, two long-running animated shows, and won seven Academy Awards. From the movies and shows, all the way to the plethora of now non-canon books, the franchise has remained a driving force in pop culture. Along the way, it’s created a devoted fanbase that spans generations and that eagerly watches reads or plays games with anything Star Wars.
So when LEGO announced in 1999 that it was partnering with Lucasfilm to bring fans sets based on Star Wars characters, vehicles, and iconic moments from the movies—it was a match made in heaven. LEGO, after all, is the rare toy that inspires the same type of lifelong fandom as Star Wars.
The initial run of these sets was directly linked to the soon-to-release Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. It featured models of Anakin’s Podracer, several different speeders, and a set based on the fated meeting a duel between Darth Maul and Qui-Gon Jinn.
The initial run of these sets was directly linked to the soon-to-release Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. It featured models of Anakin’s Podracer, several different speeders, and a set based on the fated meeting a duel between Darth Maul and Qui-Gon Jinn.
Over the years the number of sets has grown each time a new movie releases, but the quality has evolved as well. From 1999 to 2019, the LEGO Star Wars brand is going strong right into their 20th Anniversary.
The Designs
If you want to see just how far the LEGO has come in improving its Star Wars projects, just look at their constant iterations on old sets. The prime example here is the famous ship of Han Solo, the Millennium Falcon.
Since the partnership began in 1999, there have been eight full models of the fastest ship in the known galaxy. And while the original model from 2000 is an excellent set, just compare it to the 2017 model released for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens in 2017.
The build itself remains unchanged, but the number of pieces, their complexity, and how they all come together to form a much more detailed replica of the starship is incredible. And it does it all while still keeping the charming LEGO look.
Similar improvements can be seen in the upcoming 20th Anniversary sets of both the Slave I or Anakin’s Podracer. Just looking at the older versions, you can clearly see that everything just looks more fluid.
This likely comes from the designers having more practice working on their designs while technology improved alongside their production. But their sets alone aren’t the only thing that received an amazing overhaul.
Just look at the Minifigures.
Take the two Han Solo figures that are included in each set. With the 2000 model, the character has minimal detail on his person, a generic face outside of a slight smirk, and his skin is tinted the color yellow like all LEGO characters at the time were.
Jump forward to the 2017 model, and it actually shows extreme detail. Wrinkles on his face, a more complex look for his clothing, and even his skin tone now match what we would expect. Overall, it just feels like the newer models are more vibrant and full of personality.
The Moments
Each set is trying to put you, the builder, back into the action of the movies or shows. Sure there are a few side sets that aren’t based on anything from the films, such as the Corporate Alliance Tank Droid set or any of the one-off shipbuilder sets. These are still cool, but most of the more memorable ones come from the most iconic moments in the franchises’ history.
LEGO did an amazing job recreating the scene for moments like the Betrayal at Cloud City (a structure built to resemble the inside of a palace) and Jabba’s Sail Barge (a large ship built to sail the dunes of the desert planet Tatooine), giving them multiple layers that tell the story themselves. And for each of those iconic scenes, LEGO didn’t leave out the more simple yet still grand scenes like the Final Duel between Luke, Vader, and The Emperor.
For something like the Assualt on Hoth or the upcoming Snowspeeder – 20th Anniversary Edition set, LEGO gives builders all of the necessary parts to recreate the scenes through dozens of separate, smaller builds. This lets them be easily spread out to recreate the expansive wasteland better that the battle took place on while still having most of the key monuments from the movie.
The same can be said for that Final Duel set. It gives fans exactly what they need: the characters and a single set piece to help set up the scene. The simplistic design lends itself to the moment, putting the builder right back into the simple scene in the movie.
It leaves them with the three key figures, Luke, Vader, and Palpatine while placing them in the throne room. The simple layout mimics the movie’s portrayal of the throne room being rather flat, which accentuates the sheer magnitude of the characters themselves.
LEGO is emphasizing the importance of the fan’s imagination rather than a need for exact one-to-one replication. You don’t need the entire Death Star to imagine the scene—but that is pretty cool.
The Death Star
One of the biggest names of the LEGO Star Wars franchise, this titan is what every fan wants and dreams of having in their collection.
Ironically enough, the first iteration of the Death Star wasn’t the original. Instead, it was the Death Star II from Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi the first model made in 2005.
The most recent Death Star model is from 2016. Simply called The Death Star, it is one of the biggest LEGO models out there and, while the 4,016 pieces don’t even sniff the Ultimate Millenium Falcon mentioned earlier, the size and complexity here are nothing to scoff at.
These titans allowed builders to take their time and inspect the insides of the complex machine from the movies in a new light. With multiple layers, an outer shell, and dozens of Minifigures included, the story told within is massive already.
And the story is something LEGO always focuses on.
The Story
And it’s not just the story of Star Wars—though, yes, of course, the sets are telling it. The bigger picture here is that LEGO is giving the builders a chance to tell their own, new story through the sets.
If you give a child who hasn’t seen Star Wars a model X-Wing and a Tie Fighter, they’re going to use them to fight each other just like in the show. It doesn’t matter what set you put in front of them; their imagination makes the story and then slots the models in. The context isn’t the important part; it’s having fun.
So sure sticking with the canon story can be fun, but you can experience that through the movies, books, and video games out there that weave those legendary tales. What the LEGO sets give that those other mediums don’t is the freedom to create your own narrative.
It doesn’t matter that the Boba Fett’s ship was used for evil purposes, what if instead Boba Fett was a bounty hunter set against the Empire and helped the heroes out? Or maybe, somehow Luke traveled back in time and was piloting a Jedi Starfighter into battle against the Trade Federation?
When you have all of these cool models and LEGO isn’t forcing you to abide by a story, making your own can be just as if not more fun than sticking to the script. You build the greatest battles and that kind of creative fun is really all that LEGO—and Star Wars—are about.
NOTE: This article proudly sponsored by LEGO.
Published: May 4, 2019 04:00 am