The rugged and battle-scarred Razor Crest gunship is one of the latest (and arguably greatest) Star Wars vehicles to join the best LEGO can offer - the Ultimate Collector’s Series roster. Eager fans keenly celebrated the official unveiling of the gargantuan UCS set in September 2022 but were likely taken aback by its staggering price point, designating The Razor Crest as a set reserved for only the most devoted and deeply pocketed collectors.
And so, we’re here to answer the ultimate question – is the LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series Razor Crest worth the major cost? Ryan Houghton at What’s The Best has undergone the rigorous task of assembling this mammoth model to settle this burning question.
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Assembly
Measuring an astonishing 72cm long, 24cm tall, and 50cm wide with a total of 6,187 LEGO pieces, the LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector’s Series Razor Crest is not for the faint of heart nor the short of space.
The LEGO UCS Razor Crest is a true labour of love from its design director Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, senior designer César Soares, and the unconquerable creative team at LEGO whose passion for the Star Wars saga (and building excellent toys) is plain to see from the moment you open the set and begin assembling.
Upon starting the first of four tome-like instruction manuals, builders are greeted instantaneously with some brief, albeit poignant notes from the lead designer himself, as well as a wonderful behind-the-scenes look at the genuine model used in The Mandalorian television show, revealing the creative lead’s thorough design deliberation process.
After leisurely flicking through The Razor Crest’s introduction, I was promptly confronted by the sheer size of this endeavour and grew concerned with several questions; will I be able to balance and retain a social life? Will I be building this for the rest of my natural life and, most importantly, will I be left with heaps of loose pieces scattered about the place when I simply could not build anymore? While yes, my social life dwindled, and it took a good amount of time to finish, The Razor Crest’s construction process was incredibly modular, much like the finished model.
Each individual numbered bag, more often than not, completes a small subsection of the model itself, whether it’s a door, a section of wall, or intricate internal detail. What’s so brilliant about this modular-style assembly, is that you’re rarely left in the awkward position of halting construction midway through a large and complex section of the model itself, therefore building the model feels like an enormous collection of many sub-assemblies, keeping the building process ludicrously refreshing and invigorating. Such a thing may seem particularly minor, but when undergoing a large project of this scale, keeping consistently entertained is no meagre feat on the designer’s behalf.
These sub-modular assemblies seamlessly clamp together on a durable frame composed predominantly of LEGO Technic pieces in a way that looks and feels immediately satisfying, and in the blink of an eye, you’re practically done.
Design
If you happen to be a connoisseur of the breathtaking Disney+ series The Mandalorian, the very first, nagging thought you might have is “the colour’s wrong”, and you’d be absolutely right. Adopting a largely grey colour instead of the dirty, weathered metallic aesthetic seen in the show is a minor compromise that is more than made up for by the outer design’s series of mismatched bricks scattered asymmetrically on its surface.
Swathes of dark greys and small tan bricks break up the pristine grey panels to effectively instil a beaten and battle-hardened beauty to The Razor Crest’s design, in a manner that would have been both incredibly difficult and ludicrously expensive to implement with a completely chrome-coloured model.
Briefly looking over The Razor Crest’s massive surface, you’ll notice a bewildering saturation of detail in every corner, with ingenious piece usage to create a magnificent amount of depth and realism simulating rugged, battle-beaten circuitry and coarse industrial manufacturing that makes The Razor Crest such a unique vessel in the Star Wars universe.
The weathered, World War II-inspired ‘function over form’ aesthetic continues within the model itself, where The Razor Crest truly shines beyond its Ultimate Collector Series siblings. Inside, The Razor Crest is complete to Minifigure scale, with an almost-complete recreation of the gunship from The Mandalorian TV show itself (unfortunately excluding the toilet).
To reveal the interior, simply lift out the assortment of modular sections and you have absolute freedom to root around The Razor Crest’s cabin and cockpit, replete with excessive, yet glorious details, and plenty of nods to the show itself. Though some may shiver at the very thought of having panelled modules out of fear of stability, not to worry – each module miraculously attaches firmly with not even a semblance of wobbling during movement.
What may cause some discern from collectors, however, is not what lies on the surface of the design, but what is beneath. On the base of LEGO’s Razor Crest is not an abundance of grey panelling, but is instead some exposed LEGO pieces with various garish colours that should, in all honesty, be covered up for the sake of being faithful to the show’s design. As such, those who may look forward to posing The Razor Crest in an array of dynamic positions may find themselves frustrated by its exposed underbelly that clashes with the rugged, bulky, and militaristic tone of The Razor Crest itself.
For builders looking for functional features, retractable landing gear, firing cannons, and other-such articulation, you may be slightly disappointed by The Razor Crest – a majority of its features are purely detail-oriented, with some simple, yet appealing tidbits that’ll satiate fans such as a lovely, almost cinematic cargo door and a brilliantly-detailed escape pod (which doesn’t appear in the show, to our dismay).
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Additional features
As is now a long-held tradition, collectors are given the obligatory Ultimate Collector’s Series plaque (which remains a sticker, to my dismay), as well as four fantastic Minifigures – The Mandalorian himself (or Din Djarin), The Child (or Grogu), The Mythrol, and the ever-excellent Kuiil the Ugnaught, complete with a brilliantly-crafted Blurrg creature, each of which is sculpted faithfully and fantastically, with plenty of room aboard for all of them.
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Verdict
Now for the ultimate £520 question; is The Razor Crest truly worth the price of admission? Personally, I absolutely think so. That may sound quite difficult to believe, and my wholehearted recommendation does come with a series of caveats, but the fact remains that this one-of-a-kind, monumental model is something incredibly special.
At its price, most people wouldn’t even consider the thought of picking up this Ultimate Collector’s Set – at over £500, that’s a serious amount of money for a collectable, which makes complete sense. This set, however, simply isn’t for everyone – it’s explicitly targeted at major collectors looking for a set that both looks spectacular, and is also incredibly exciting to delve into.
Many die-hard LEGO collectors often define the value of a set by its price-per-piece, and while for the whopping 6,187 pieces included in this set, which is comparatively brilliant value to other UCS sets, The Razor Crest is considerably more special than the sheer number of pieces in the box. Building the set is a journey through some seriously clever engineering and design that simultaneously celebrates the history of Star Wars and LEGO itself, demonstrating a true understanding of the Razor Crest’s character, and how to replicate that feel in the most creative ways possible.
Collectors, and enthusiasts alike, if you happen to be lucky enough to afford a LEGO set of this scale, there are very few choices that can outright compete with LEGO’s Ultimate Collector’s Series Razor Crest, so clear some space in both your display case and your calendar, because you’re in for quite a journey - this is the way.
Score: 4.5/5
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