Battle of the ISDs

I've decided to bite the bullet and deconstruct my two big ISDs over the bank holiday weekend.  Mainly this is because they take up an inordinate amount of useful shelf space that I would love to have back, but I'll be sad to seem them taken down.

The 2002 UCS ISD (10030) was my reintroduction to Lego after the dark years - I clubbed together all my Christmas and birthday money (the latter is well within the 12 days of Christmas) and got it delivered to my mother's house.  It took me most of the day to build but it was such a satisfying day that I got a couple more UCS sets in the following years... before I met my now wife and spent all my money on things like houses and cars.

10030 remains, for me, one of the all time best sets.  Its sheer scale is awesome and the level of detail, build ingenuity and fun factor were unmatched until the UCS Falcon came along in 2007.  A helpful article on Rebrickable tells me that at 3115 parts this was also the biggest set released by Lego until they did the Death Star II in 2005 (and I've always had ambivalent feelings about this one).  However, this one no longer even makes the top 30 largest Lego sets, which feels sad somehow.

When the 2019 UCS ISD (75252) came out, I put my order straight in and got building.  It is bigger than the older version and has more pieces (it would!) at 4784.  This is still enough to put it in the top 30 biggest sets as of 2021.  However, at £650, I've always felt it was a bit expensive.  

Obviously, the level of detail is ramped up in this version and I like the fact that they took the time to revisit the substructure (that's always been my only complaint about the second UCS Falcon).  The superstructure above the main hull is pretty nicely detailed on both but I have soft spot for the older set.


However, one area where the newer one pips is in the side of the main hull, where the level of detail is ramped up.  And of course, the fact that it has detailed docking bays on the underside (though it's almost impossible to see them once you've done the build)

Of course, while both of these are amazing, they do pale into insigificance when compared to Raskolnikov's "Moderately Sized ISD" with its amazing interior (there's a photo of my version on the Rebrickable page).  Here's a photo of all three:







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