Fifteen years ago, I built one of the greatest LEGO sets of its generation, the LEGO Star Wars 10188: Death Star, in a two-bedroom apartment in Smithfield, with the low hum of city traffic outside and the quiet glow of December lights inside. It was a Christmas present from Jill, who, back then, was my girlfriend and my biggest enabler when it came to collecting LEGO. Life has changed since then. Jill is no longer my girlfriend, she’s now my wife, my partner in LEGO crime, and the mother of our two beautiful, wonderful children, Luke (7) and Rose (4).
And so, in the summer of 2025, it felt like the right moment, nostalgic, chaotic, and joyful all at once, to dust off the old UCS Death Star, carry it (carefully) down from the top shelf of my office, and give it the re-review it deserves as it found a new home in Redmond’s Forge.
A Galaxy Not So Far Away – Back in 2008
Released in 2008, the LEGO Death Star (set 10188) was a game-changer. At 3,803 pieces, it wasn’t the biggest UCS set in raw count, but it was the most playable. Rather than offering a purely sculptural model, LEGO gave us a fully explorable multi-scene playset, essentially a 3D movie set capturing the best scenes from A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. From the detention block rescue to the trash compactor, the Emperor’s throne room, and even the Death Star cannon control room, it was, and still is, a masterclass in LEGO storytelling.
Back then, I built it over Christmas week, at a time when my only responsibility was to make sure the painting of the cat didn’t leap onto the dining table to eat the fish mid-build. I remember marvelling at the modular floor design, the rotating turbo-lasers, and those charming (if slightly over-posed) mini-figures.
2025: The Family That Builds Together…
Fast forward to today, and the Death Star’s journey is now a family one.
We moved it down from my office’s top shelf, “careful Daddy!” Luke warned, his little hands already itching to turn the laser turret. Rose, ever curious, spotted Princess Leia and immediately claimed her as “mine now.” And so, we cleaned it, restored it, pressed down a few panels, and gently reattached a few stormtroopers into their scenes.
This wasn’t just a display move. It was a symbolic passing of the lightsaber.
How It Holds Up in 2025
Here’s the surprising part: 10188 still slaps and does not disappoint.
While more recent UCS models like the Millennium Falcon (75192) or AT-AT (75313) impress with scale and detail, the 2008 Death Star still delivers something unique, dynamic, movie-accurate scene-building paired with long-form storytelling.
Strengths that Still Shine
- Scene Diversity: No other LEGO set packs in this many recognizable Star Wars moments. You can act out nearly half of A New Hope without ever leaving this ball-shaped fortress.
- Play Value: It’s a legitimate toy and a collectible. Every chamber is interactive, doors open, bridges collapse, lasers rotate, and elevators ascend.
- Minifigure Lineup: At the time, 20+ mini-figures was mind-blowing. Darth Vader, Tarkin, Obi-Wan, Luke (x2), Leia, Han, Chewie, Palpatine, droids, troopers, you name it.
Where Time Shows
- Sticker Ageing: If yours was built and displayed like mine, you’ll see yellowing tiles or even some stickers peeling. Nothing a replacement sheet or Redbubble workaround can’t fix.
- Limited Exterior: The Death Star shell is deliberately open for play, but compared to today’s fully enclosed UCS sculpts, it looks a bit skeletal.
- Technic vs. System: The internal structural work is heavier on Technic beams and old-school methods. Newer sets are more refined in hidden stability.
Into Redmond’s Forge
Now nestled in Redmond’s Forge, on a Star Wars section behind the LEGO City’s Motorized Lighthouse on its rocky coast and Luke’s towering Daily Bugle, the Death Star commands attention. It’s the only open-faced build on display at the moment, which works thematically. It’s a cross-section of chaos, a behind-the-scenes look at galactic villainy.
We decided to build a small space hangar base beneath it, and Luke has already proposed adding a X-Wing attack run made from pieces we scavenged from various Star Wars sets. Rose, meanwhile, insists on tucking her minifigure bunny into the prison cell. Because why not? It’s a LEGO City & Toy Museum.
Final Verdict: A 10/10 Nostalgia Bomb
If LEGO ever wanted to remaster this set with modern bricks and better figs, I’d be first in line. But truthfully? 10188 doesn’t need a reboot (although it did get on with 75159). It has soul, playability, and a storytelling magic that few UCS sets have ever matched. As a set, it marked the moment LEGO truly understood the adult collector without forgetting the child within.
Now, it’s not just my story, it’s our family’s LEGO legacy, and watching Luke and Rose interact with something I built before they were even born… well, that’s what this hobby is all about.
📸 Coming Soon on redmondreviews.com:
- A photo gallery of the reinstalled Death Star at Redmond’s Forge
- The review of the 75159 Death Star (stay tuned!)
- A comparison article: 10188 vs. 75159 – Which Death Star Rules the Galaxy?
Do you have your own LEGO set that stood the test of time? Share your rebuild stories in the comments or tag us @redmondsforge on Instagram. May the bricks be with you.
