Review: 10212 UCS Imperial Shuttle

Set ID: 10212 UCS Imperial Shuttle

Number of Pieces: 2503

Year of Release: 2010

Minifigs: 5

Purchased Price: About SGD 470

LEGO Star Wars fans like myself will always look forward to the launch of the UCS sets released each year. They do cost a bomb, but it comes with a lot of details, lots of fun building it and well ... takes up lots of space. From time to time, LEGO does get their act together and come up with UCS sets that are really worth waiting for. This, to me, is one of them. It is not without its shortcomings but the fact is, I could not wipe off that smile on my face upon the completion of the set says something about how much I like about it.

Best viewed display angle

To start with, the Imperial Shuttle is a beauty by itself. In almost total white, it has a strong contrast with  the black Darth Vader and the red Imperial guards accompanying him on his work trip. It has the word "Triangle" written all over it, from the shape of its wings and cockpit, to its profile during flight. Its oversized dorsal fins and wings made it one of the more recognisable vehicles in the Star Wars Series. And because it is "triangular", its aerodynamic design does exude a sense of speed when it ferries its occupants through space.

Mini sets aside, there was only one Imperial Shuttle set released so far. In 2001, the 238 piece Imperial Shuttle made its debut, with a much smaller size and lesser details. In contrast, this 2010 release is a monster, with slightly more than 2500 pieces of bricks and most impressive of all, built to scale for the minifigs. The only other UCS set that was built with such scaling is the UCS Millennium Falcon, the current record holder for brick count and size in the entire LEGO collection.

UCS sets are meant more for display (i.e. flaunting) than for playing, therefore explaining the lack of playable features in this set. Both wings can be posed in various position, adjusted by turning two knobs at the rear of the Shuttle. Both wings are independent of each other and therefore is not easy to get a totally symmetrical profile. Due to the sheer weight of the huge wings, the gears responsible for lifting them do struggle a little when they are in action. I will need to assist by lifting the wing tips off the ground before the gear can do the rest of the job.

As this Shuttle is built to scale relative to the minifig, the cockpit is large enough to accommodate FOUR minifgs inside, with space to spare! There are five control (all different stickers) panels inside the cockpit with a couple more panels for the occupants to meddle with. The cockpit is hinged near its nose and can be opened by tilting the canopy forward. A separate hinging piece of canopy completed the profile of the entire cockpit. The Shuttle's armoury include four pairs of front facing laser guns and another pair at its rear. 

The shuttle's fuselage resembles a flat box, concealing a complex gear box system in its belly. Part of the gear system can be seen from the top, turning as the wings fold up / down. The Shuttle can be displayed in two ways - (1) mounted on the display stand and (2) mounted on its undercarriage. The Imperial shuttle is best viewed and appreciated on the cross-shaped base display stand. Once the shuttle is elevated on the high display stand, its wings can be folder downwards to form the triangular profile.

What a ride?

There is little worry about loose pieces on the completed model. In fact, it can take a few light knocks and nothing will have come off. Very solid indeed. Do not expect to lift this model and zoom around in your room, its hefty weight will limit its playability and confine it to the display shelf in your collection chamber, that is, if you can afford the space for it. 

Building Experience

There are 2500 bricks in this set, so expect to set aside some time to embark on this building journey. Add some more time and difficulties during a rebuild process and it totaled to around 6 hours to complete this shuttle. When dismantling my version 1, I sorted them into 12 packets, mainly segregated by shapes. From the completed model, it seems that there are nothing but white bricks. The truth is, there is a good assortment of other colours, contributed by the large number of Technic parts which are largely blue and black.

The box is huge, and I remembered attracting some attention as I ferry it home. Once again, I like the way the box is opened without any perforation or damage. Four thick instruction booklets can be found in a pack, supported by a cardboard backing. The 1st booklet documents the step to build the gear system and most of the fuselage and part of the cockpit. Booklet 2 continues with the ginormous dorsal wing and undercarriage. Booklet 3 is for the other parts of the cockpit and the left wing while the last booklet completes the construction with the right wing and display stand.

The construction process is not without its challenges. First, you have to be really meticulous in reading the instructions right, especially when it comes to finding the pegs with the right length. There are at least 4 types of Technic pegs with various lengths and the best way to determine that you have the correct one is to make a quick comparison to the to-scale drawing in the instruction page. A mistake here can result in much frustrating and laborious backtracking.

The pegs are instrumental in keeping the 3 wings in shape. Weaving through the bricks, they provided the much required horizontal support to hold the bricks together and preventing sagging in the massive wing structure. Contrary to my initial fear of a boring building process for the wings, the good mix of different brick types and shapes made the building a lot more fun than it looks. My big challenge eventually came at the the critical juncture of fixing the wing to the fuselage. They are attached by piercing 4 pegs firmly into the cross-haired apertures. A slight misalignment will prevent any of the peg from total penetration. Brute strength and some trial-and-error will be necessary in these steps.

Minifigs

This is one of the few UCS sets that comes with minifigs. I must say the accompanying minfigs are nothing to shout about. This is Darth Vader's shuttle so there is no surprise of his inclusion. Taking out his helmet will reveal a battle scarred grey face with a rather serious expression. A stormtrooper, an imperial commander and an imperial pilot completes his entourage. Frankly I will like to see more of his entourage thrown in but the cockpit is designed to carry four only and there is no space at all in the fuselage. A smiley Luke Skywalker is also included in this set.

Conclusion

I placed the completed UCS Imperial Shuttle beside the UCS B-wing that I have recently constructed and I must say it was a non-competition. This Shuttle simply beats the latter hands (or wings) down, in terms of design, size and yes, poise.

+ Solid model. No problem about moving the set around at all
+ Versatile display options
+ Spacious cockpit to accomodate 4 minifgs

- Gear mechanism of the wings not adequately designed to lift the wings
- Quite difficult to fix the wings to the fuselage