Let’s take a look at some of the best Classic LEGO Star Wars Sets on May the 4th!
May the 4th is all about Star Wars. When it comes to LEGO, that is as true as anything else these days, with new releases and deals galore. Since 1999, LEGO has released over 1,000 Star Wars sets, and the majority of them are amazing builds that have brought tons of joy to fans around the world.
So in honor of May the 4th, I want to go back and look at some of the best classic LEGO Star Wars sets. And yes, it pains me to call any of these classics since I bought the first ones on release as a kid! However, for this, we will consider any sets older than 20 years to be a “classic set”. So let’s dig in and feel old!
X-Wing Fighter (7140-1) (1999)
Coming out in 1999 with the first wave of LEGO Star Wars, this was an instant classic. Now it does have a lot of the hallmarks of the older LEGO Star Wars sets. It’s a bit blocky/chunky. You have a lot of studs showing and not a whole ton of detail work. There are nicer-looking X-Wings sets (heck, there are better-looking classic sets). But this one is just special for all that it unlocked and the potential that it showed. And back in 1999, this was the peak.
USC Rebel Blockade Runner (10019-1) (2001)
The LEGO CR-90 Rebel Blockade Runner came out in the 2nd wave of UCS ships in 2001. Now I love the first two USC ships (the X-Wing and TIE Interceptor) and owned them both as a kid. But those kits are a bit blocky and fall into the early LEGO Star Wars pit traps a bit. By today’s standards, they also have very small parts counts (for UCS), with the TIE only having 700.
At 1,746 pieces, the Blockade Runner was a jump up, with over 400 pieces more than the X-Wing. It’s also just a really well-done ship. It’s got a lot of detailing on it, and it’s a much less blocky build than other early Star Wars designs. I think it also does a good job of getting the proportions right, something which other kits have failed to do. All in all, this is a standout set.
Republic Gunship (7163-1) (2002)
The 2002 Republic Gunship isn’t the craziest build, but I still have a nice spot for it. It came with some great mini-figs and was pretty movie-accurate. It’s also a set that really pushed the more smooth and curved aesthetic of the Republic a lot. While still blocky by today’s standards, this was a big leap forward and a much more refined look than other sets of the period.
USC Imperial Star Destroyer- 10039-1 (2002)
We’ve had a couple of UCS Star Destroyers over the years, but the original from 2002 was really groundbreaking. At 3,106 pieces, this was a massive set. It has almost twice the piece count of the Blockade Runner (which had been the biggest Star Wars set before it). In two years, we’d gone from a 700-part Interceptor to sets with more than 3000 parts. It really showed what UCS could be and set the standard for it. It’s also just a really cool, big, imposing ship that looks great.
AT-AT (4483-1) (2003)
The 2003 LEGO AT-AT is also another amazing classic set. At 1,052 parts, this was a massive set for the day, and it wasn’t even UCS. This was just… normal now. The set looked solid and also had some fun play features making it really great set and a stand out among non-UCS sets. I do think the kind of blocky and slab sided AT-AT lends itself well to LEGO, and this set did it well.
UCS Y-wing Attack Starfighter (10134-1) (2004)
Now you may have noticed that this list in chorological not in any particular ranking. How I will say I think that the UCS Y-Wing set for 2004 is likely the best of the classic Star Wars set. At 1485 pieces its not the biggest of the early Star Wars sets, but it’s up there. What it really is is just an amazingly well done set that looks great. This build has a TOOOOON of details on it. It really nails the exposed look of the Y-Wing.
It also avoids being too block-y with some great curves. Compare it to the 1999 (non-UCS I know) Y-Wing and you can really see see how things have improved. This isn’t just a bigger build, it’s a much much better look. I think this is a ship that really holds up and just looks great.
Get Your Own Star Wars Ships
While you can’t get any of these classic sets new from LEGO any more, you can still get plenty of great Star Wars sets. If you want to harken back to both the first days of LEGO Star Wars and the first UCS set, you can go wrong with the most recent UCS X-Wing build. This set is a massive step up from the original UCS X-Wing and possibly the best looking LEGO X-Wing we’ve gotten. While it might not quite have the nostalgia hit of the old sets, its a close way to fill in that gap of missing them.
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Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers Warhammer: The Old World, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe mourned over loss of WFB for its entire hiatus, but has been reborn like a gaming phoenix with Warhammer: The Old World.
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