UCS or not UCS?

As a Star Wars Lego nut, something that has bothered me for some time is the inconsistency between what is and isn't a UCS set.  There are various lists out there such as this one at Brickset and a fairly comprehensive review at Brickipedia. 

The series launched back in 2000 with 7181 (Tie Interceptor) and 7191 (the excellent X-wing) and broadly speaking, around 2 a year have followed, though with some breaks.

The problem is that Lego has been pretty inconsistent over the years, by including large playsets such as Assault on Hoth, Cloud City and Ewok Village but not Betrayal at Cloud City or the Cantina.  And why is the 2012 R2-D2 a UCS set but the near identical 2021 re-release not?  And how on earth did the Tie Fighter Collection get to be classed as UCS?  

In 2011, Lego tried to be definitive by producing a UCS promotional poster.  However, this includes sets that had previously not been labelled UCS and didn't give any greater clarity as to the logic.

https://www.hispabrickmagazine.com/blog-imagenes/2021/02/U2-CB-Pag43-EN.jpg

So, here are my own rules on what I consider to be a UCS set:

  1. The set should focus on detailed design with play features a secondary consideration.  Large numbers of minifigs will strongly trend towards a set being eliminated (though I would consider them to be part of the new "master builder" series).
  2. As a rule, the set must be at least 1,000 pieces, though there are a couple of exceptions
  3. The set should come with a plaque with a sticker giving key information about the set

So, here is my list of what I consider to be UCS sets:

  • 7181 Tie Interceptor (2000).  Fails the number of parts test but otherwise is a classic UCS set
  • 7191 X-wing (2000).  The one which really sets the mould
  • 10018 Darth Maul (2001).  Fails the plaque test and isn't my favourite set but I think it counts.
  • 10019 Rebel Blockade Runner (2001)
  • 7194 Yoda (2002).  Similar thoughts to Darth Maul!
  • 10030 Imperial Star Destroyer (2002).  The set that started it back off for me and a classic
  • 10129 Rebel Snow Speeder (2003)
  • 10134 Y-wing Attack Starfighter (2004)
  • 10143 Death Star II (2005)
  • 10174 AT-ST (2006)
  • 10175 Vader's Tie Advanced (2006)
  • 10179 UCS Millennium Falcon (2007).  Awesome in every respect
  • 10186 General Grievous (2008)
  • 10212 Imperial Shuttle (2010).  Another classic 
  • 10215 Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter (2010).  Fails the number of parts test but is definitely big enough to count
  • 10221 Super Stardestroyer (2011). I've debated this one as it's a big disappointment in terms of design compared to 10030 and has play features to it.  However, I've just about included it
  • 10225 R2-D2 (2012)
  • 10227 B-wing (2012)
  • 10240 Red Five X-wing Starfighter (2013)
  • 75060 Slave I (2014).  Great set
  • 79095 Tie Fighter (2015)
  • 75144 Snowspeeder (2017)
  • 75181 Y-wing (2018)
  • 75187 BB-8 (2017) Not in the UCS list but passes every test
  • 75192 Millennium Falcon (2017)
  • 75230 Porg (2018) Not enough bricks but otherwise in the list
  • 75252 Imperial Star Destroyer (2019)
  • 75255 Yoda (2019).  I see no reason for excluding this if 7194 counted
  • 75275 A-wing (2020)
  • 75278 D-0 (2020).  Fails the number of parts test but is otherwise a UCS set
  • 75319 The Child (2020).  Meets all my rules!
  • 75306 Imperial Probe Droid (2021).  Fails the number of parts test but passes the other two
  • 75308 R2-D2 (2021).  Absolutely no reason to exclude given that 10225 is included
  • 75309 Republic Gunship (2021)

I've not included the helmet collection though they do get close and I've also excluded Yoda's lightsaber on the grounds that it wasn't a properly released set and doesn't get close on the number of parts.

Which means that I have excluded the following sets that are often listed as UCS:

  • 10026 Special Edition Naboo Starfighter (2002).  While it passes on test 3 and is a very attractive set, it massively fails test 2 and doesn't have enough detail to pass test 1
  • 10131 TIE fighter collection (2004).  Can't believe that this was ever UCS!
  • 10144 Sandcrawler (2005).  Lovely set but a large playset not UCS (though to be fair to both this and the 2014 version, I struggle to define how they would make this into "UCS").
  • 10178 Motorised AT-AT (2007).  Nice set and clever mechanism but no better detail than any of the other versions of this vehicle
  • 10188 Death Star (2008).  Basically a play set and not enough attention to detail
  • 10195 Republic Dropship with AT-OT Walker (2009).  With some reluctance, I classify this as a playset, though it is close to being included in my official list and made it on to the 2011 poster
  • 10198 Tantive IV (2009).  Again, eliminated with some reluctance as this is a playset, though it does have some of the design hallmarks of a UCS set
  • 10236 Ewok Village (2013).  Great playset.  Should be part of the Master Builder series
  • 75059 Sandcrawler (2014).  Another great playset that should be part of the MB series
  • 75098 Assault on Hoth (2016).  Not a great set all told and barely deserves to be classified as MB and definitely not the heights of a UCS
  • 75244 Tantive IV (2019). As above
  • 75159 Death Star (2016) As above.

Happy to get shot down!

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