The Empire’s ultimate weapon is looming over the galaxy far, far away once again, but at an entirely new scale. Blocks explores the creation of LEGO Star Wars 75419 Death Star with Design Manager César Soares team as they explain the challenges with stabilising the massive set.
75419 Death Star is not a small model. Using 9,023 elements, it presents a dollhouse take on the ultimate superweapon. Because it is 70cm tall, the design team had to ensure it would be stable and secure on display. If you preorder it early, you can get a free gift with purchase set; 40771 TIE Fighter with Imperial Hangar Rack.
Part of George Lucas’ vision for Star Wars: A New Hope was to have a spherical space station under the command of the villainous Empire. Concept artist Colin Cantwell came up with the original designs, but the props department couldn’t find a way to fit it together in a way that was perfectly round. So the design was altered and a trench added around the equator, which then inspired one of the most famous scenes of the film.
LEGO Design Manager César Soares faced similar challenges in 75419 Death Star, with the scale of the space station putting immense stress on the bricks involved. “There’s a black panel with stars in the hangar, but in the beginning I had it open so you could fly the shuttle through it,” he says, pointing out the layers of plates dotted with stars behind the Lambda-class ship. “So in the beginning that wall was actually removable and you could choose to have it there or not. But fairly late in the process we discovered that the panel was not fitting very well for some reason. And then we realised that without the panel, the whole Death Star was skewing a couple of millimetres to the left. So having a big gaping hole there was not a good idea and we had to incorporate that panel.”
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Along with stabilising the model to ensure the Death Star does not have any System related issues, the team also had to figure out a way to safely move it that does not exert pressure in a way that may cause elements to collapse from the strain. “If you want to lift it up or move it, then there’s only one place to pick it up without anything coming off,” continues César, boldly picking up the entire model to demonstrate. “So down here at the bottom there are these two panels here on the side that kind of flap up a little bit because they’re not fixed in place. And that’s where you should put your hands so you can pick it up and kind of balance it. Always pick it up at the bottom – either from the front or back is fine. But don’t pick it up above there, otherwise it will be a disaster!”
The base of the model is the most essential part to ensure that 75419 Death Star is as stable as possible considering its weight. “From the beginning, we knew that the base would have to be really, really sturdy. And that was my first priority as everything is going to sit on top of that. Another thing that helps a lot is the fact that all the floors are thick and they are connected across pretty much the whole length of the Death Star. So the base is built sideways and then crossing the floors on top of it holds everything. Each floor is only connected by a couple of studs, but you don’t need more, because everything gets connected together in the end anyway.”
With a stable model determined, the team could focus on capturing the cross-section without having to think about what the Death Star would look like from all angles. “We always discuss everything about a model, including the rear of the set. With this particular one, from the very beginning, we kind of decided that the back was going to be on the background – no pun intended!” César laughs. “Most people will put it against the wall, on a shelf or on a piece of furniture, so the back is not the main focus. Also, the activation of most of the features can be done from the side or very close to the side, so you don’t have to put your hand all the way around the back.”
If you’re eager to build your own space station when 75419 Death Star releases on October 1, 2025, then preorder it via our affiliate links to help support the work we do at Blocks.
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