75159 Death Star has been the subject of enormous speculation for months, with some believing that we might see a display model akin to 10143 Death Star II and others considering the possibility of a set based on Starkiller Base. Now that the set has been revealed, under bizarre circumstances, this has been proven incorrect and 75159 is instead almost identical to 10188 Death Star which was retired earlier this year. This has elicited a great deal of disappointment which is understandable as there is plenty of room for improvement and this has not been exploited to the fullest extent possible. The reveal of 75159 Death Star has altered our schedule a little so What's Missing? Return of the Jedi will be published next Sunday instead but for now we are taking a closer look at the new set and how it differs from the original. The most apparent alteration has been made to the minifigures. 10188 Death Star was released in 2008 and was finally withdrawn from sale in December of 2015, seven years and five months after it first arrived.
The design of minifigures was greatly advanced during that time but the selection included in 10188 remained the same, but for the addition of white pupils to the eyes in latter production runs. This therefore left the 24 minifigures looking rather outdated after the set had been available for a few years and I am glad to see that they have been suitably updated for 75159. There are now 25 minifigures included but only a few are brand new. Han Solo features a new hair piece and the RA-7 Protocol Droid head first seen in 75051 Jedi Scout Fighter is finally re-used on an updated Death Star Droid. The Imperial Astromech Droid has also been improved and now has blue markings to match those of R3-M3 from the film. Grand Moff Tarkin has also been updated with a new hair piece and is flanked by a pair of Imperial Officers which did not appear in 10188 Death Star. Death Star Gunners have been introduced since 2008 as well so were not included with the original set. The white Assassin Droid is the only figure to have been removed.
The new set is obviously very similar to the original but the piece count has increased from 3803 to 4016 which suggests that some changes have been made. The ones I have spotted are as follows: The back of the box shows the other side of the model and reveals a few more updates: I like 10188 Death Star very much but it is not perfect, particularly by the standards of today. The original design was very successful and it would be unwise to overhaul the entire model but there are therefore several improvements which could have been made and these are described below: The long lifespan of 10188 Death Star suggests that the set was exceedingly successful and I am sure 75159 will prove similarly popular with children and new adult fans. However, the majority of existing LEGO Star Wars fans are understandably disappointed as it would have been nice to see something new or at least see some further improvements over 10188 as there are plenty of alterations which might have been made given the huge range of new elements which have been released since 2008.
Inflation would warrant an increase over the original price of £274.99 or $399.99 but the increases far exceed that of inflation as the new set is priced at £399.99 in the UK and $499.99 in the US. Ultimately, I do not object to the fact that 10188 Death Star has been remade but an opportunity has been missed by not making further updates. 10188 is not a perfect set and 75159 makes no attempt whatsoever to improve upon the original which is not good enough in my opinion. I think the LEGO Star Wars range has been poor in 2016 and this set does little to change my view. 75098 Assault on Hoth was very disappointing and I do not think the standard of retail sets has matched that of earlier years. However, the Rogue One selection looks great and I look forward to reviewing them towards the end of September. We have plenty more Star Wars coverage to publish before then including two more 'What's Missing?' articles, a review of 75159 Death Star and much more! Are you satisfied with 75159 Death Star and what changes would you have liked to see?
Share your thoughts in the comments below.The #10188 LEGO Star Wars Death Star has been one of the best-selling LEGO sets of all time, originally released in 2008, and finally retired after seven years at the end of 2015. However this wasn’t a true retirement, just a bit of time taken off to get some updates and improvements, and now the Death Star is back! The #75159 LEGO Star Wars Death Star includes over 200 extra pieces as well as three new minifigures. Below is the full press-release with pictures and details. Here is the official description of the #75159 LEGO Star Wars Death Star: Win the battle for the Empire with the awesome Death Star! Reenact amazing scenes from the Star Wars saga with the Empire’s ultimate planet-zapping weapon—the Death Star! With over 4,000 pieces, this fantastic model has a galaxy of intricate and authentic environments, including a superlaser control room, Imperial conference chamber, hangar bay with moving launch rack and Lord Vader’s TIE Advanced with space for Vader inside, Emperor Palpatine’s throne room, Droid maintenance room, detention block, trash compactor, tractor beam, cargo area, turbo laser with spring-loaded shooters and seats for the 2 Death Star Gunners,
and 2 movable turbo laser towers. This fantastic set also includes 23 iconic minifigures and 2 Droids to ensure hours of Star Wars battle fun. Includes 23 minifigures and 2 droids: Grand Moff Tarkin, Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Imperial Navy Officer, Imperial Officer, 2 Stormtroopers, 2 Death Star Troopers, 2 Emperor’s Royal Guards, 2 Death Star Gunners, Death Star Droid, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, C-3PO, Han Solo, Han Solo (disguise), Luke Skywalker (Tatooine), Luke Skywalker (disguise) and Luke Skywalker (final duel), plus R2-D2, an Imperial Astromech and a Dianoga trash compactor monster. Features a superlaser control room, Imperial conference chamber, hangar bay with moving launch rack and detachable TIE Advanced with space for Lord Vader inside, Emperor Palpatine’s throne room, Droid maintenance room, detention block, trash compactor, tractor beam, cargo area, turbo laser with spring-loaded shooters and seats for the 2 Death Star gunners, and 2 movable turbo laser towers.
LEGO VIP members will get early access to the #75159 LEGO Star Wars Death Star on September 15th, followed by general release on September 30th. Prices are as follows: US $499.99 – CA $599.99 – DE 499.99€ – UK £399.99 – DK 4499.00 DKK (Euro pricing varies by country). The set will be available at official LEGO stores and under the LEGO Star Wars section of the Online LEGO Shop. Rumors started circulating even before the #10188 LEGO Star Wars Death Star was retired that LEGO was going to release a new Death Star. Some people thought it will be related to the new Star Wars film, others speculated that it would be like the old #10143 LEGO Star Wars Death Star II display-model from 2005, and some LEGO fans reasoned that it will probably be just an updated re-release with new minifigures and improved building techniques. And this third group pretty much had it right; the #75159 LEGO Star Wars Death Star is basically the same thing as the original set, with updated minifigures.
It is clear that LEGO felt that there was no need to change the original set, besides freshening up the minifigures and adding a couple of other small changes. On the box image the Death Star is even oriented almost exactly the same way as on the original set, to emphasize that it is the same thing. Nobody was expecting that the sets will be this similar. In fact, when the first images of the new set leaked in mid-August, most LEGO fans thought it was a prank. Even with a re-release people expected that LEGO will at least update some of the more unsightly features of the original model, like the stepped curves. Personally, I would have loved if the outside would be covered with opening panels! The collection of minifigures is nice, but I don’t think it justifies a $100 increase in price. Just to give you some comparison here is some data. The #10188 LEGO Star Wars Death Star was released in 2008 with 3,803 pieces and 24 minifigs/droids for a price of $400 (10.5 cents a piece). T
he #75159 LEGO Star Wars Death Star comes with 4,016 pieces (213 more pieces) and 25 minifigs/droids for a price of $500 (12.4 cents a piece). The #71040 LEGO Disney Castle is 4,080 pieces (so 64 pieces more than the new Death Star) for a price of $350 (8.6 cents a piece). From this perspective, it might make more sense to just buy the old Death Star (which still sells for around $400 on the secondary market and prices will likely drop once the new one is out), and maybe add a few updated minifigs. Or if you just want to get a big display set, the LEGO Disney Castle is a much better deal. Below are a few more comparison pictures of the two sets (old on the left, new on the right). What do you think? How do you like the new LEGO Star Wars Death Star? Do you think it is worth getting it? What interesting changes and updates you notice between the two sets? And how do you like the minifigures? Do you have the previous version of the set? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below! 😉