Travel the LEGO® galaxy in the ultimate Millennium Falcon!

Ten years ago, the 10179 - Ultimate Colletor's Millennium Falcon made its appearance. For one whole year it was the biggest official LEGO set ever. Unfortunately, only a year later the 10189 - Taj Mahal was released, deposing the beforementioned Falcon. Of course, it still remained the biggest Star Wars LEGO set ever, packing a whopping 5197 pieces. At the time I just came back from my dark ages (more info in my 75144 - UCS Snowspeeder Review) and the thought of forking out 500 euro for a LEGO set didn't even make it to the consideration phase. Two failed scam attempts later (in hindsight, they were too good to be true), I still didn't own the pinnacle of LEGO Star Wars vehicles.

Around 2013 I resented not getting the 10179 so much, that I decided to start Bricklinking the parts. Several (a lot) of orders later I got most of the parts. Obviously, I skipped the riggings (80 euros each), the radar dish (60 euro) and the light bluish grey levers (1 euro a pop). I did buy black riggings for a couple of cents though. You never know what can be achieved with a little spray paint. 

Collecting the parts was actually half (possibly more) of the fun. After I stored the inventory in boxes I never got around to building that hunk of junk. I started working on it a year or two ago, but I never got passed the chassis. It has been taking up place in the LEGO room for quite some time. Until recently. When I got word that I would be getting the new UCS Millennium Falcon, which is simply called 75192 - Millennium Falcon by the way, I felt the need to finish the old one, so I could do a proper comparison. Since my parts were stored with other LEGO parts it took forever to find all the pieces, so the build was actually quite tedious. Let's say I was glad that it was done. I will go into more details about both builds later.

The Millennium Falcon from the saga has changed owners more than a few times, so you must be wondering how I obtained the Corellian Freighter. Well, we played a game of Sabacc and when another player thought he was winning, I countered, "Not so fast, it appears I have an Idiot's Array". I had a good feeling about that!

For those of you still thinking "What the hell is an aluminum falcon?!", I recommend consulting the Wookiepedia.

"This amazing LEGO interpretation of Han Solo’s unforgettable Corellian freighter has all the details that Star Wars fans of any age could wish for, including intricate exterior detailing, upper and lower quad laser cannons, landing legs, lowering boarding ramp and a 4-minifigure cockpit with detachable canopy. Remove individual hull plates to reveal the highly detailed main hold, rear compartment and gunnery station. This amazing model also features interchangeable sensor dishes and crew, so you decide whether to play out classic LEGO Star Wars adventures with Han, Leia, Chewbacca and C-3PO, or enter the world of Episode VII and VIII with older Han, Rey, Finn and BB-8!"

PICTURES
Pictures can be clicked to view hi-res versions. Whenever you see this icon, you can tap the image (or swipe your mouse (or finger) from left to right) to change the image.  

More pictures can be found in my Flickr album. Pictures of the official press release can be found in this Flickr album.

DISCLAIMER
This set has been provided by the CEE Team of TLG. It's not my goal to promote this set. It's my goal to give you an honest opinion about it. Therefore, the opinion in this review is my own and is in no way linked to TLG.

75192 Millennium Falcon™
Ages 16+.  7,541 pieces. 
US $799.99 - CA $899.99 - DE 799.99€ - UK £649.99 - DK 6999.00 DKK
*Euro pricing varies by country.  Please visit shop.LEGO.com for regional pricing.

Number: 75192 
Title: Millennium Falcon™ 
Theme: Star Wars
Released: 2017
Part Count: 7541
Box Weight: 14,4 kg (approx)
Box Dimensions: 0,00 cm x 00,0 cm x 00,0 cm
Set Price (MSRP): US $799.99 - CA $899.99 - DE 799.99€ - UK £649.99 - DK 6999.00 DKK
Price per Part: US $0.107 - CA $0.112 - DE 0.106€ - UK £0.086 - DK 0.928 DKK 
Links: Brickset, Bricklink

How do you start a review of a set this big?! Well, just like any other review, with the box :laugh: The main difference between this box and most other boxes is that this one is GINORMOUS! Weighing over 14kg (14,4 kg according to the freigh letter), this is by far the biggest official LEGO set box, you will see for a long time. It's not very likely that TLG will produce a non Star Wars set this big and it's not likely that TLG will produce an ever bigger Star Wars set in the near future. Of course, this is mere speculation, because you never know what TLG will come up with. Most likely, there will be a new Taj Mahal in the near future and I will have made a fool of myself with this comment, but let's wait and see how long it will hold.

The box measures 53,5 cm x 45,5 cm x 38,5 cm. The width and height are slightly less than some of the other big boxes, but the tremendous depth makes up for it. I need to find some good usage for the box, since I don't want to throw this away after building the set. Maybe pack some parts and/or other LEGO inventory in it.

FRONT AND BACK SIDE
The front of the box isn't cluttered with marketing gimmics or any other distractions. It shows what this set is all about...The Millennium Falcon! Granted, there are some Tie Fighters and in the back you can see a Tibana gas mining colony floating in the clouds of planet Bespin, but other than that it looks lean and mean. Showing Cloud City leads to believe that the front art is depicting a scene from The Empire Strikes Back, arguably the best movie in the saga :wink: 

In case the front image doesn't convince you, the rear side of the box emphasizes on some of the key characteristics of this new UCS version. It shows several interior sections, interchangeable radar dishes, removable gunnery station and a brand new cockpit canopy element. The rumors about an interior were true after all. Albeit not a very big interior, but an interior nonetheless. At least, there's more interior space than the previous UCS MF.

If you are not paying attention, there's a fifty-fifty percent chance you will end up opening the box on the wrong side. You need to open the side with the top and side blueprint images of the Falcon. Red and green icons have been printed to show you where to cut the sealings. In one's excitement, they can be easily missed though. To be honest, I totally missed them. I was simply lucky to open the box on the right side.

The other side shows a partial bottom view blue print, along with an action scene near the Death Star and a flavor text explaining in eight different languages why this is a must have set for all LEGO and/or Star Wars enthusiasts. It says:

"You missed out on the 10179, haven't you? And you have regretted it ever since?! This is your chance to bring balance to the Force. This is the prophecy. You really need to get this set. No matter what it takes. You could sell a kidney. Or one of your kids. Maybe your wife. What are you waiting for?!".

 

If you open up the box on the right side, you will be welcomed by the instruction booklet. Correction, the enormous ring bound instruction manual. As with other luxurious products, it starts with the unboxing experience. When you pick up the manual you realise the uniqueness of this set. Not only the size of the manual, but the weight as well. It weighs almost 3kg, which is unprecedented. Most LEGO sets don't even weigh 3kg, let alone the instruction manual.

This is something you probably don't want to see when unboxing a luxurious UCS set like this, a sticker sheet. Unfortunately one has been included, which means that not all parts are printed. Even though I would prefer to have printed parts, I have come to peace with sticker sheets. It's simply not feasible to turn every stickered part into a new element. One can argue that for a set like this, exceptions could or should be made. Looking at the time it took for TLG to completely sell the initial stock, I don't think that it makes much of a difference.

The outer box packs four inner boxes, containing a total of 66 bags. Four bags are unnumbered and the other bags are divided into 17 stages. Cool thing about the inner boxes is that combined they show a cool blueprint-like image of the Falcon.

Each of the boxes shows a quote related to one of the movies.

• Box 1: She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid
• Box 2: I've made a lot of special modifications myself
• Box 3: It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs
• Box 4: She's the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy

UNNUMBERED BAGS
These are the four unnumbered bags, containing special parts.

   

I will include thumbnail images for the bags used in each step in the building sections.

The book contains no less than 466 pages with 1379 building steps, divided over 17 stages. I expected the build to be divided over more than 17 stages, but some stages contain multiple subassemblies. I have taken pictures of some of the pages. Of course, I haven't included all the goodies. That would spoil the fun. Click on the images to scroll through the pages. These pictures were taken after building the set, which explain some dents and bruises. The dark pages are easily smudged by the way.

Or click on one of the thumbnails to view a high resolution picture.

         

 

For some people the sticker sheet is even more annoying than Jar Jar Binks, but I have accepted the fact that not every part can be printed. It would be cool to have a printed UCS plaque though. That would probably be feasible (TLG pretty please). The stickers I really do like are the hallway ones. I have read that some people don't like 'em, but I would go as far to say that I love 'em. They way they give the flat parts a more or less forced perspective look works really well in my opinion. More on that later by the way.

Given the part count, this set doesn't contain a lot of very special parts. However, it does contain some cool printed trans clear parts, and not to forget the re-issued 10179 radar dish and boat mast riggings.

CANOPY ELEMENT
This part was first seen in the Ninjago Ice Tank from The LEGO Ninjago Movie. Upon seeing this new part in that set, it was immediately trans clear (hehe) that this part would also be used as a canopy element for the rumored (at that time) new UCS Millenium Falcon.

Looks like one of the Apollo capsules, doesn't it? Creating a Saturn V in this scale would definitely make it an even bigger set than the Falcon.

PRINTED TRANS-CLEAR 6X6 DISHES
Besides the printed canopy part, this set comes with two types of printed 6x6 Radar Dishes, one with and one without handle. 

TRANS-LIGHT BLUE RIBBED HOSES
Instead of 1x2 tiles, this rendition of the UCS MF uses six Trans-Light Blue Ribbed Hoses to comprise the hyperdrive engine.

BOAT MAST RIGGINGS
Here they are. Back by popular demand. 

The new parts can already by found in the Bricklink Inventory.

The part list is spread out over four pages. The previous UCS Falcon had only a two-page part list, which shows that the variety of parts in this set is way higher. Click on the images to scroll through the pages.

   

Or click on one of the thumbnails to view a high resolution picture.

   

The side of the box shows the array of included minifigures. Not counting the two Porg and BB-8, you get seven cool minifigures. 

The picture belows shows the line-up of the actual figures. Except for Chewie and C3PO all of the figs have a double side head, revealing another facial expression or setup on the back. Click on the image to alternate between faces. The second picture isn't really sharp, sorry about that.

Chewie and C3PO have been around for a while and they don't appear to be aging :wink: Even though a relatively new design on both figs, we have seen these before. The other five minifigs are divided into two crews. One for The Empire Strikes Back version of the Falcon and one for The Force Awakens. Cool thing about The Empire Strikes Back version is that Han and Leia both have respiratory masks, used when they venture outside of the vehicle, looking for Mynocks. Younger han is looking as slick as he does in the movies. Leia is ever so stylish, even in her thick jacket and gloves.

The second version of the crew is the one we have seen in The Force Awakens, and it's comprised of older Han, Finn, Rey and good old Chewie. Chewie has takien a liking to Rey, which provides some continuity after certain events in the movie. We will probably see more of that duo in the upcoming installments. For certain in The Last Jedi, which will air in a couple of months.

As I mentioned earlier, I have built the previous (10179) Millennium Falcon recently. I didn't really enjoy the build. Part of this was because I had to lookup every part in a bigger inventory, which was very time consuming. Another issue was that I didn't really like the way the model is built, loosely attaching the panels to the frame. All in all I experienced it to be a tedious build. I sure hope the build is better executed in the new version. 

STAGE 1: FRAME

     

Bags: 6 (and the beams from the 2 unnumbered bags)
Build duration: 2 hours (approx.)

The frame is reminiscent of the old (10179) chassis. The designer (insert name) more or less copied the way the 10179 was built. The reason behind this is explained in the instruction manual, but it basically boils down to "never change a winning team" or winning design in this case. The main difference between the two versions is that the new version uses more colors than the old one. I was expecting the chassis to be a complete color vomit, but that's not the case either. Using colors like tan, dark tan and brown, the chassis has a Steampunk feel to it.

The 10179 used a lot of 3L Pin with Bush in red and I was surprised to see them included in light bluish grey. I was expecting them in red again. It somehow makes sense, also because red 3L Beams are used in red. It doesn't really matter since you won't be seing the pins anyway. A relatively new part, which hasn't been used in the 1079, is the 3L Pin Connector with 2 Pins and Center Hole. This part is used to keep the Technic Beams tightly together and provide the frame with rigidity.

Whenever you see this icon, you can tap the image (or swipe your mouse (or finger) from left to right) to change the image. In this case you will see a comparison between the old and new frame.

STAGE 2: LANDING GEAR

  

Bags: 3
Build duration: 45 minutes (approx.)

During this stage six of the seven landing struts will be built. The last one will be built during a later stage. 

The image below shows the subtle differences between the new (left) and old (right) landing gear. The main difference is the 6x6 Webbed Radar Dish, instead of the 4x4 Round Brick. Looking at the actual Falcon from the movies, you can see that the 6x6 Dish is a better representation of the right scale. Comparing the old and new landing gear, it's clear that both models are built using the same scale. The size of both struts is identical.

When you look at the attached landing pads, you can see that the vehicle is actually resting only on the middle axle. 

STAGE 3: DEJARIK CONTROL ROOM AND FRAME ADD-ONS

    

Bags: 5
Build duration: 1 hour 45 minutes (approx.)

This stage introduces the first minifigures. Chewie, C3-PO human cyborg relations and two porgs make their appearance. Unfortunately they are in a bit of a predicament. The porg can't reach the dejarik table, Chewie wants to blow it up and C3-PO needs to do some construction. Always wear your helmet by the way, safety first!

CONCEALED CANNON

The starboard bow bay of the ship contains a concealed blaster cannon. The guns pops out when you slide the panel to the side. The two pictures below show the mechanism.

 

MAIN HOLD

In contrast with the 10179, this model features several interior areas. One of them is the main hold which features a seating area with a Dejarik holographic game. This game was introduced in Star Wars IV - A New Hope, by C3-PO and R2-D2 (check of dit zo is). The main hold also features an engineering station with turning minifigure seat and a doorway build with passageway decoration. It even has the combat remote training helmet, which Luke was using during his training. He failed miserably, until Obi-Wan put down his visor and let Luke use his senses to counter the combat remote.

Sorry if you have a bit of OCD, like me. This picture is killing me. My fingers are itching.

The designer chose to add the Dejarik table early on, so when you need a break from building, you can play a game of holographic chess :wink: 

  

The fact that you add something of an interior early on in the build is really joyful. The 10179 was a rather dull build and adding these little rooms to the model, makes the build lots more enjoyable. I absolutely love everything about the main hold. The seating area is very cleverly built, the turning seat is properly built and not just the standard minifig chair. I also love the passageway decoration, with the forced perspective. It gives you the feeling that the room is bigger and that it's connected to other parts of the ship. Thumbs up for the main hold.

The main hold is actually hanging underneath the frame. This is a very practical solution to have an interior, while maintaining structural integrity. After adding the forward landing strut, the model looks like this. 

STAGE 4: REAR COMPARTMENT AND FRAME ADD-ONS

   

Bags: 4
Build duration: 1 hour 45 minutes (approx.)

After building the main hold, we continue with building the rear compartment, which is the engine room. Even though this room isn't very big, it packs all the important details, like the hyperdrive, computer consoles, two doorways and two hatches leading to the escape pods.  

The room also contains the hidden floor compartment where Rey and Finn try to hide from Han and Chewie. The compartment is hidden underneath the 2x4 Technic Plate with 3 Holes. Unfortunately, Han knows his own ship like no other, so they were easily found. Finally, there's a ladder which leads to the gunnery station. 

Like the main hold, this room is attached to the frame using 3L Pins with Bush. Basically the compartments are hanging underneath the frame. This proves to be a proper mechanism, since they are well secured.

I am very happy with both interior compartments. Some of you might feel disappointed that it's not one big interior, but given the size of the model, the frame should be very rigid. There's a trade-off between rigidity and playability. The designer managed to pack a lot of iconic details from the movies into this model.

Han and Leia have joined the party. They are already inspecting the Millennium Falcon for Mynocks. Han is sure he heard one near the bottom of the ship, but they can't seem to find it. Makes you wonder where it is hiding.

STAGE 5: SRB42 SUBLIGHT DRIVE

   

Bags: 4
Build duration: 1 hour (approx.)

During this stage the aft section of the vehicle is built, including the sublight drive. The SRB42 was a sublight drive manufactured by Girodyne that equipped the CECYT-1300 light freighter. The engines formed a long strip on the stern of the vessel that became known as a "wide bar" engine.

I have never been a fan of the Boat Mast Riggings used to build the grill for the wide bar engine. It feels like a cop out. So I was very surprised that the new versions uses the exact same solution. There's only one good reason for using the riggings again and that's giving the fans the opportunity to get a hold of another set for their Bricklinked 10179. If so, thanks TLG, I really appreciate it. If not, I would be very interested to know why these parts have been used again.

STAGE 6: FRONT MANDIBLES

   

Bags: 4
Build duration: 1 hour (approx.)

The ship is slowly taking shape. We are still missing the iconic front mandibles, which are used to lock the cargo payload.

The mandibles hold various sensors and an anti-concussion field generator. There is also the freight barge clamp so the YT-1300 can act like a barge or tugboat and push around large cargo. Also on the port mandible there is the shield generator and projector. On the inner side of the mandibles there is a freight loading arm.

At this point it's getting increasingly more difficult to take a proper photograph.

STAGE 7: MANDIBLE BOTTOM PLATING

  

Bags: 3
Build duration: 45 min (approx.)

When building the 10179 this was the point after which it was mostly building panels to cover up the frame. Something tells me that's no different for this model. I have a bad feeling about this :wink:

STAGE 8: DURALOY PLATING

  

Bags: 3
Build duration: 45 min (approx.)

Plating, plating and more Duraloy plating, rated 102 RU (Resistance Units). The bottom panels are quite hard to attach. The pins don't easily align with the hole, so it needs some pushing and pulling. In hindsight, one of the center panels was not entirely in the right position, giving the grey minifig baseplate not enough room. Problem solved, however the ship took some damage from lifting it and bumping it into the slanting cealing I have. Nothing the Falcon can't handle though.

Roughly half way the build and we have spent around 10 hours building. So the estimated building time at this point is around 20 hours.

STAGE 9: MANDIBLE TOP PLATING

  

Bags: 3
Build duration: 1 hour (approx.)

After building the bottom mandible plating, building the top mandible plating feels somewhat repetitive. Even though there are subtle differences, you are more or less building the same panel four times. On the bright side; the plating and mandibles do look a lot better than the previous version. So, when you are done with the repetitive section, you will be filled with joy. 

The hunk of junk is starting to take shape. The front side is mostly done and the greebling looks very cool.

STAGE 10: BOARDING RAMP AND BOTTOM LASER CANNONS

    

Bags: 5
Build duration: 1 hour (approx.)

The boarding ramp features a neat little Technic mechanism, which allows the ramp to be lowered and raised. Other than that it's a pretty basic ramp. You are clearly looking at the bottom side of a plate. It's not a big deal, but it would have been nice to see a more studless solution.

This section is fitted underneath the vehicle and it packs the bottom Quad Laser Cannons. The shape is definitely rounder than that of the previous UCS version. Apparently, we did make some progress over the last decade :thumbup:

STAGE 11: ESCAPE POD CORRIDOR PLATING

  

Bags: 3
Build duration: 30 min (approx.)

One of my favorite improvements over the older version is the hull plating of the escape pod corridors. There's some confusion about the number of escape pods and where they are positioned. The floor plan has changed several time during the course of quite a few years by now. With lack of a definitive conclusion, I assume that the Falcon has two escape pods, located at port and starboard side of the vessel. Let me know if you think I am an noob, making this assumption :wink:

One thing that was slightly bugging me after finishing the complete model is the visibility of the tan plate. You will cover up the model with several panels, but the tan 1x2 part of the plate (the actual plate is bigger) is clearly visible. It wouldn't hurt to cover it up with a dark bluish grey tile, or even making the plate ifself dark bluish grey.

STAGE 12: REAR PLATING AND HEAT RADIATING VENTS

   

Bags: 4
Build duration: 45 min (approx.)

Since it's the fastes hunk of junk in the galaxy, the engines must get rather hot. To prevent extreme temperatures, the Falcon has heat radiation vents at the back of the vehicle. Here you can already see four of the six vents, installed by no other than Big Deal himself, with a little help from BB-8. This picture also clearly shows that there is room for another engineering or cargo section.

STAGE 13: MORE REAR HULL PLATING AND MORE HEAT RADIATING VENTS

 

Bags: 2
Build duration: 1 hour (approx.)

Closing up the starboard aft section of the hull. 

The port aft section of the ship will be covered by a removable panel, allowing you to show the engineering section.

The same goes for the panels covering the main hold with the Dejarik table. The hole covering the main hold is fairly small, so it's hard to be able to appreciate all the details in the room without having built the model. Of course, your friends and relatives will already be impressed by the rest of the model, so it's not that big of a deal :wink:

STAGE 14: FRONT CENTER AND SIDE HULL PLATES

 

Bags: 2
Build duration: 45 min (approx.)

During this stage you will use the parts from two bags to make the front cross-shaped hull plating. I forgot to take a picture when I had built it, so here's one from a later stage.

STAGE 15: ESCAPE PODS AND HULL PLATING

  

Bags: 3
Build duration: 1 hour (approx.)

One of the most significant changes, compared to the 10179, are the escape pods. Using several modern pieces allows for making shapes, which were impossible back in the days. While these new pods look way better than the old ones, I do think that the actual pods should be a hybrid version of the old and new ones. The new versions omit the tapered shape of the pods, clearly shown on the "actual" Falcon. That being said, I do love this design, together with the attached corridors.

STAGE 16: COCKPIT AND CORRIDOR

   

Bags: 4
Build duration: 1 hour 15 min (approx.)

Nearing the end of the build, it's time to create the iconic cockpit section. Some of might argue that having basically two parts to represent the entire cockpit is not what LEGO is all about, but I beg to differ. Having such a detailed model requires a well formed cockpit. And these new parts allow for that. And the trans-clear one is printed, unlike the one used on the X-Wing. All things considered, I think this is a great solution. Did you know the cockpit is actually made of a material called Transparisteel?

The cockpit canopy can be detached, which allows you to seat the crew in the otherwise very basic cockpit. No fancy stuff going on in there. No sign of the faulty compressor, Rey expertly circumvented.

  

The cockpit allows four people to be seated. However, occupying four seats is only possible when you don't have any objections of someone invading your personal space, it's quite cosy. The better setup would be to have someone "riding bitch", like Chewie for example. As you can see the cockpit can actually be closed with a crew of four.

The rounded corridor to the cockpit is nothing short of magnificent. This is arguably the best improvement over the old version. The shape is so much better than the plates and hinges solution. I am still not a big fan of the way you need to slap on all the panels though, but given the circumstances, the ones on this model do fit way better than the ones on its predecessor.

STAGE 17: FINAL PLATING, GUNNERY STATION AND RADAR DISHES

   

Bags: 4
Build duration: 1 hour 15 min (approx.)

And now, the end is near. And so I face the final curt....building stage! The last stage is used to finalize the model, building the top Quad Laser Cannons, operated via the Gunnery Station. One of the two 6x6 trans-clear printed radar dishes is used to provide some visibility.

The inside of the gunnery station is very plain. Since this section is easy to open and it gives you a wide view of the interior, it could do with some extra greebling or decoration.

You will also be building two versions of the radar dish. After Han was captured on Bespin, Lando took command of the Falcon once more to search for him, and later flew the ship at the Battle of Endor, where it entered the Death Star II and destroyed it from within. During this battle, the starship's circular military-grade sensor dish was knocked off as Calrissian piloted it through the Death Star's interior.

Other than it's cool that you can switch between the two versions, it's extremely kind of TLG to include the old style dish. This is a nice gesture, whether on purpose or not, towards the ones who have Bricklinked the old Falcon and skipped the unique parts.  

As it turns out, Han and Leia were looking in all the wrong places. The Mynock is hiding behind the UCS plaque. 

FINISHED MODEL

There she is...the new and improved YT-1300 492727ZED. Isn't she an ugly beauty! It measures a length of (approximately) 84 cm, it's 56 cm wide and 21 cm heigh. Total building time was approximately 17 hours, which is way less than I anticipated. Having numbered bags makes a world of difference. For Technic I usually account for 250 parts per hour and I know I do more with "regular" LEGO bricks. Having numbered bags result in doing around 450 parts per hour, not rushing things. I still like to take my time and try to enjoy the build, even when I am writing a review. And let's be honest, you don't want to rush building a unique and expensive set like this. Take your time and enjoy.

Speaking of enjoying the build; even though this model is constructed in more or less the same way as the 10179, I found this build much more enjoyable. Part of it can be ascribed to not having to look ages for some of the parts, although some people actually love this. The interior sections are quite fun to build and they do add some identity to the model. Other than that, it is still mostly building panels. Building this model is definitely not as much fun as building a Modular Building for example. However, the end result is very rewarding, which kind of makes up for that.

The combination of studded and studless design is spot on. At first sight I wasn't very enthusiastic about the design. I figured it looked to much like the old version and it should have been more studless. I even remember being a tad disappointed when I saw the first pictures. I wasn't even sure it was the real deal. However, when the press release images appeared and I looked at it in more detail, I realized that the design is actually very good. There's a great balance between studded and studless, which accounts for the Falcon still being a Hunk of Junk and not a very modern sleek looking spaceship.

FRONT MANDIBLES
Like the radar dish the front mandibles can be altered to depict the latter version of the ship. On by latter I don't even mean the one in The Force Awakens, but the one in The Last Jedi. Apparently something is going to happen and the mandibles play an important role in it. Will it be tugging another spaceship? Who knows?! Well a lot of people do know, but I am not one of them, so like most of you, I need to wait until the movie comes out.

Part of me was hoping for a different rear setup, but this is not the case. Well, the 1x2 trans-dark blue tiles have been replaced by trans-light blue hoses. At first I thought it used 1x1 trans-light blue rounded bricks, which would immediately explain the high part count, but to my surprise only six hoses were used.

Here's a picture of the entire crew posing in front of the ship. Old Han must feel weird, looking at the younger version of himself. In one of the most recent trailers there was a Porg in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. I have a Jar-Jar feeling about it. I don't mind some comic relief, as long as it's not overdone. Let's hope for the best. 

Porgs were an avian species native to the planet Ahch-To, where Jedi Master Luke Skywalker made his exile in the years following the Battle of Endor. The creatures, who dwelled on the cliffs of the island where Skywalker lived, could build nests and fly. Baby porgs were known as porglets.

COMPARISON WITH 10179

Inevitably, this model needs to be compared with the 30 year anniversary edition. I have already done some comparisons in this review and now we will take a look at both finished models. Upon glancing the images, one might think it's the same model. Some people didn't even realize the second version was the older model. Of course, there are some things that definitely give it away.

First of all, the new version is a bit more colorful. The dark tan and olive green parts, placed on the hull here and there, provide some appeal to the design. I do like the fact that it's bit less dull to look at, but from an accuracy point of view, one can debate whether it isn't too much?! Unless, the falcon will be covered in mud in The Last Jedi. Than it would perfectly depict some of the mud still attached to the hull. I do need to admit that the overall look is way better with some color on the model.

Another difference is the use of more studless and more rounded elements. This provides for a more modern look, while still maintaining the characteristic scruffy look of the Falcon. And of course the cockpit section, with the molded canopy part, is significantly different and way better looking. While the old version does have the tapered forms for the escape pod corridors, I do like the new design better. In 2027 we will probably get a version combining the two designs to make the perfect shape :wink: 

Another difference is the way the engine exhaust vents are made. The new flat round tiles provide a nice smooth surface, while the old one was more studded. It's also clear that there has been a major improvement in the greebling. First of all, there's more variation and secondly, it's better executed. The holes in the mandibles are slightly smaller, but they aren't round anymore. So, the hole size is more accurate, while the shape isn't. All things considered, the old Falcon didn't look bad at all, but the new version is more up to par with the contemporary building techniques and looks. It's the logical evolution.

This review is already very picture heavy, so I have chosen not to include a gazillion pictures of the old version as well. But if you are interested, you can click this link to open my Flickr album with some additional pictures, also of several building stages.

COMPARISON WITH THE MOVIE VERSION

It's nice to see a comparison with the 10179, but that's actually not as important as a comparison with the movie version. After all, it's modeled after that. Having discussed the cockpit and escape pods already, I like to focus on the top view of the topic, representing the actual shape of the vessel. By clicking or sliding the images you can reduce the opacity of the model, showing a blueprint I found on the line. I am not sure who made it and how accurate it is, but I have compared it to several other blueprints and models, and it seems to be accurate. Thank you unknown internet user for borrowing your picture.

The overall shape and size do match quite okay. The mandibles have a slightly different angle, but there's only so much you can do with LEGO. Given the fact that LEGO basically only has a couple of angles, I'd say it's a job well done. The shape and location of the gunnery station is spot on. The engine vents and the equipment access bays aren't placed in the proper position though. The equipment access bays aren't even round anymore. The openings are smaller than in the 10179, but the shape isn't very accurate. To be clear; for me this is considered nitpicking, but I wanted to point it out anyway.

Other than some minor inconsistencies, I do like to express that nothing in the design seems way off or is bothering me beyond belief. Well, except maybe for those tan plates I mentioned earlier hehe.

Admittedly, at first I was somewhat disappointed and thought the new Falcon was underwhelming. Using the boat mast riggers again and being the same scale, I figured it was more of an evolution than a revolution. However, upon closer inspection of the hi-res press release images, I soon figured out that there was more to it than I initially figured. The rumored and highly anticipated interior was indeed present. Albeit not a very big interior, but an interior nonetheless.

This set being more of an evolution instead of a revolution actually makes sense. But in terms of building the model, I was hoping for a more different setup than the previous version. Of course, it didn't help that I had built the previous version only days before this one, which emphasized the similarities. That being said; I did enjoy this build much more than building the 10179. The two interior sections were a very important aspect of enjoying the build. TLG managed to pack a tremendous amount of detail in both rooms, depicting lots of iconic aspects from the movies. I also like the sticker simulating the depth in the hallways, a forced perspective if you will. This gives you the sense that you can actually walk around in the ship. Well, that a minifig could walk around, of course. I know the part count is already very high, but how cool would it have been to have two rooms on the other side as well. Possibly two simple storage bays.

The set is well built, but like the older Falcon, it's mostly a matter of slapping panels onto the frame. The finished model feels a bit more sturdy than the previous one, but the panels are still loosely connected, so they are not actually attached to the vehicle. They do seem to fit better, but you still can't hold the model upside down without panels falling off. Not that it's necessary to do this, but if you want to hang it on the wall, you will need to come up with a solution.

There's always lots of debate about which minigures should have been included, instead of the ones TLG decided to put in the set. Well, for me personally, I couldn't be happier with the setup in this set. The option to switch crew is very cool in my opinion. I'm really taking a to the new crew, so I will definitely display it with the new setup and new crew. Maybe I will even put it in a display case and build a Jakku setting around it. For now, I have decided to like the two Porgs. Maybe I will revise this statement after seeing the new movie.

The color vomit is actually not too bad in this set. I expected a lot more different colors used in the chassis, but the designer kept it nice and clean, using different shades of tan, combined with some bright accents. For me the tan color works really well in the chassis. Except for the two plates that is :wink:

I never imagined I would bring this up in a review, but the size of this set can actually pose a problem. Usually, I disassemble my sets, especially the Technic sets. I do like to keep some of the UCS Star Wars sets built and I do have some display space behind my desk. This set will fit that display space, but if I use a display case, I need to find another place for it. But where?! I have the big Technic Porsch on my desk at work and I was contemplating on putting this there instead. That way I can look at it for approximately 40 hours a week. That's more time than I see @Kitty :laugh: Not to mention the second (old) UCS Falcon I need to store somewhere. First world problems, I know. But it can seriously be an issue to give the model the proper display space it deserves. I have tried sneaking it into the living room, but somehow she noticed. Not sure what gave it away.

Let's not pretend that we don't need to discuss the most important aspect of this set, the price! For some people price isn't an issue, but the majority of the fans will scratch behind their ears a couple of times before forking out this kind of cash. On the other hand; seeing the queues before the stores at midnight, makes you wonder if price really is an issue. There seem to be lots of fan willing to part from their cash in favor of getting this unique set. Not all of them are genuine fans, but this review is not the place to discuss that. Fact of the matter is that TLG sold out quickly, even for this price. Obviously, I was lucky to get it for the review, but otherwise I would have definitely purchased this set. This might sound a bit stupid, but this set isn't more expensive than the Snowspeeder, when it comes to price per part. Yes, it is expensive, but it's a huge number of parts. It's not an overpriced set. At least not more overpriced than other Star Wars sets.

TL;DR
To conclude this review I like to point out that this set is a must have for every Star Wars fan, even if you are only a casual LEGO fan. The biggest LEGO set ever released respresenting the most iconic ship of the Star Wars universe! Need I say more?!

MINI CONTEST

Escaping from a fleet of Imperial ships, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Princess Leia fly the Millennium Falcon into an asteroid field. Landing inside an asteroid, the crew wear breath masks to brave uncertain atmospheric conditions outside the Falcon. Soon they discover mynocks, energy-feeding parasites, chewing on the ship's power cables. As the asteroid begins to rumble, they quickly find that they are actually inside the gullet of a huge space slug.

This is a scene from The Empire Strikes back. The picture below shows the Space Slug as seen in the movie.

TLG has released a promotional LEGO set depicting this scene.

You have a chance to win one of these rare promotional sets. What do you need to do? Post a mini build in this topic of your version of a space slug. It doesn't need to be this space slug, it can be any space slug. We're not taking this too serious, so by all means, go for a fun build. You will have at least one week to post your build. After that I will choose a lucky winner, possibly two :wink: 

Thanks you for reading this review. All pictures can be found here. Discussion about this set can be found here.