César Soares, master model designer with the LEGO Group, takes StarWars.com inside the reimagined LEGO® Star Wars Death Star - Ultimate Collector Series.
César Soares, master model designer at the LEGO Group, led the reimagining of one of the most anticipated LEGO® Star Wars sets — the LEGO Star Wars Death Star - Ultimate Collector Series — for three years. The final result, available now, is a diorama model set featuring 9,023 pieces and sitting at an impressive (most impressive) 20.6 inches high, 18.9 inches wide, and 15.1 inches deep. Three different Star Wars films (and a hidden nod to Andor!) have been merged together to bring iconic scenes to life — with the help of the set’s 38 LEGO minifigures, the largest single-set minifigure lineup in LEGO brand history.
Like many LEGO set designers before him, Soares found inspiration in existing sets. “The previous diorama sets were certainly an inspiration for this model. But, more than that, these previous sets showed us that builders and fans really appreciate this type of intricate, detailed-oriented model,” Soares tells StarWars.com.
The decision to include scenes from Star Wars: A New Hope, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was made very early. “They all feature scenes that are important for the story of the Death Star and Star Wars altogether,” Soares says. “The Death Star scenes are so loved and iconic that we had to include them — like the Throne Room and the Trash Compactor.”
But Soares and his team also found ways to incorporate other areas of the Death Star that aren’t all that familiar. “With components like Darth Vader´s Meditation Chamber, there was a bit of creative freedom, as you never actually see a room like this on any of the Death Stars apart from a deleted scene from Return of the Jedi,” Soares notes. “Nonetheless, it would make sense that Darth Vader would have one, so we included it.”
A nod to video game history can be found with the addition of a hot tub for the Hot Tub Stormtrooper. “The Stormtrooper in swim trunks is a favorite amongst fans that played the LEGO Star Wars video games!,” Soares shares. “We always try to include fun and funny moments in our sets, so having some Easter eggs referencing the video games was important for us.”
Soares and the design team also had fun deciding what minifigures to include in the set, such as the all-new minifigures Galen Erso and the mysterious Imperial Dignitary. “Just like the chosen scenes, most of the characters we decided to include as LEGO minifigures were a must-have, because they have a pivotal and important role in the movies,” Soares says.
When it came to the actual design of the building set, there were some tough design challenges. “We had to make sure that the bottom half of the circle structure was very sturdy, because that is the foundation of the entire build,” Soares notes. “All floors above rest on it, so it required some clever engineering.”
Now that the LEGO Death Star set is complete, the high level of detail and accuracy is a major highlight of the set for Soares. “It is a delight to simply build the set and discover all the features and details in each room,” he says, including a nod to Andor’s end-credit scene from Season 1. “There are a ton of Easter eggs scattered throughout the set. Some are brick-built, and some are on stickers,” Soares tells StarWars.com. “My favorites, as a model designer, are the brick-built ones, like the inclusion of a Mini Kit. But there are many more — you will have to build to find them all!”
The LEGO Star Wars Death Star - Ultimate Collector Series is the largest LEGO Star Wars building set yet and is focused on display features for Adult Fans of LEGO, or AFOLs. Build each room separately, then combine each smaller diorama to take in all of the details as you go.
“When you are finished building a given scene, you just add it to the main build and see the model progress!” Soares says. “The result is an appreciation for the wide variety of fun details in this set and the LEGO Star Wars universe.”
The LEGO Star Wars Death Star - Ultimate Collector Series building set is available for LEGO Insiders now from Lego.com and LEGO stores and will be available for all on October 4, 2025.
