Star Wars

Imperial Star Destroyer

The definitive grey wedge of doom, and a proper display monster.

4.4/5

Set 75252 · 2019

Pieces4,784

Minifigs2

Year2019

Set number75252

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The verdict

If you want the single best Star Destroyer LEGO® has ever made, this is it, and your mate should grab one if they've got the shelf and the budget.

It's a huge, greebly, genuinely impressive display piece that looks incredible from across a room. Just go in knowing it's a repetitive grey build with only two minifigs, and now that it's retired you'll pay well over the old price. For the right collector it's a no-brainer.

Best for: adult UCS collectors with a display shelf measured in feet

The full review

What it is

Let me tell you what you're actually getting here, because it's a big deal. The 75252 Imperial Star Destroyer is the Ultimate Collector Series take on the Devastator, that iconic grey wedge that chases Leia's ship across the screen in the opening seconds of A New Hope. It's 4,784 pieces of pure Imperial menace, stretching about 43 inches long once it's on its stand, and it looks the part from every angle. This is the model that finally replaced the old 2002 UCS Star Destroyer, and pretty much everyone who built it agrees it's now the definitive version. The surface detailing, or greebling if you want the LEGO word for it, is dense and screen-accurate, and the whole thing sits on a tilted display stand with a little info plaque like a proper museum piece.

The catch

Now the honest bit, because a good mate tells you the catch. First, the price. The RRP was 699.99 dollars, which already made you swallow hard, and it retired back in December 2022, so you're now looking at secondary prices well north of a grand. Second, only two minifigs. At this scale most people expected Vader or Grand Moff Tarkin, and instead you get an Imperial Officer and a crewmember. They're nicely done, but two figures in a 700 dollar box feels thin, and nearly every reviewer flagged it. Third, the build itself. The Technic core is smart and the hull detailing is lovely, but there's a long middle stretch that's basically attaching plates to bigger plates in various shades of grey, and Brickset's reviewer called those greebled side strips just as monotonous as they were back in 2002. It's the price you pay for a smooth brick-built hull, but you'll notice it.

Who it's for

So who should grab it? If your mate is a Star Wars collector with a serious display spot and the cash to match, this is one of the most satisfying big-ship models on the shelf and it earns its space every single day. It's also great for a patient builder who enjoys settling into a long, methodical project rather than chasing a fast dopamine hit. The Brickset community rates it 4.4 out of 5, and the consensus is that the finished model is worth the slightly tedious journey. Who should skip it? Anyone chasing minifigs, anyone on a tighter budget who'd get more play and value from the UCS Millennium Falcon, and anyone without a clear 43 inches of shelf to show it off. But if the Empire calls to you and the space is ready, you won't regret this one.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

Building this is a proper slow burn, and it splits into clear phases. The first bags give you the stand and then the triangular Technic frame that runs down the spine of the ship, and honestly that skeleton stage is some of the most satisfying engineering in the box. It's a lattice of liftarms and Technic plates arranged in counter-reinforcing triangles, and it matters, because the 2002 original was famous for drooping after a few months on display. This one stays rigid. From there you build outward, layering the lateral greeble strips and huge grey hull plates along that central axis. The front third, the command tower and the pointed nose, is where the fun lives, with the swivelling turbolaser guns, the tilting radar dish, and the packed detail of the bridge. The long midsection is more meditative, lots of repetitive grey plating that turns a big frame into a bigger frame, so put a podcast on and enjoy the rhythm.

On the parts front, the real draw for LEGO fans is the sheer volume of light and dark grey slopes, plates, and Technic panels, plus a generous haul of the small greeble pieces (clips, bars, droid arms, taps) that make your bulk parts drawers very happy afterwards. There are recoloured elements that collectors happily hunted down on BrickLink, and the printed info plaque is a lovely display touch. Value-wise it's the honest sticking point. At the old 699.99 RRP that works out to about 15 cents per piece, which is pricier per brick than the UCS Falcon, so you're paying for size and presence more than raw part count. Still, that mountain of grey Technic and System parts is a fantastic foundation for any big MOC builder down the line.

Fun facts

01It's the second UCS Imperial Star Destroyer, replacing the 2002 set 10030, and it dwarfs that older model in both size and structural strength.
02The set includes a tiny buildable Tantive IV, the little Rebel ship from the opening chase, specifically so you can display the scale difference that made the film's opening shot so famous.
03The finished model measures roughly 110cm (43 inches) long, 66cm (26 inches) wide, and 44cm (17 inches) tall on its angled display stand.
04It retired in December 2022, and its value has climbed sharply since, with sealed copies now trading well above the original 699.99 dollar retail price.