18 hours of build time in 30 seconds.

Here's the time lapse video of our construction efforts:

Lego Death Star timelapse from Trent Patterson on Vimeo.

This is what I look like after all that work

Together we can rule the galaxy as father and son.

After all, look what we just built together. IT'S DONE!

Note the entire rebel alliance applauding us in A New Hope, on the right. Okay, they’re applauding Luke, Han and Chewie because they just blew up the Death Star, but come on, we deserve some credit for completing it, right? Yes, that's correct, we watched A New Hope again. The circle is now complete. Actually, it is really cool to see A New Hope right after watching I, II & III.

And now, for more pics. As I said before, this will be a day long remembered.

By the way, this Death Star can stage reenactments from both A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. It's like two, two – two Death Stars in one.

There will be nothing to stop us this time

Closing in on it. How cool are these guns?

There’s also an elevator that goes all the way through the core of the thing, operated with a little knob. Most impressive.

Last box

I thought the last box would be an easy sprint to the finish line. Nope. Still a lot to do. I'm seeing little plastic pieces in my nightmares. This experience has raised a few questions in my mind. Like, was I insane buying this? Or will building it drive me insane?

Also, just how in the world do the Lego people pull this off? Not the little Lego people. The real people at Lego. How do they print this book with every little step laid out perfectly? They obviously have this entire set built virtually. I'd like to see an animation of the computer putting it together. And how do they proof it? Do some poor Lego lackeys have to follow the instructions in the book and see what happens? "Whoops, I built a windmill. We better edit this manual a little. What's Darth Vader doing charging a windmill with his lightsaber?" How much do they get paid to painstakingly build the Lego Death Star at work? And do they give the completed thing to some lucky kid who lives near the Lego HQ? Are the kids who live near Lego HQ sick of Legos? "Could you give me a toy that doesn't fall apart when I mess with it already?"

And, this is big. How on Alderaan do they get all the right pieces into all the right bags, and all the right boxes? How do they make sure that not a single one of these kits goes out missing just one or two crucial pieces (which would absolutely make me go certifiably insane at this point, guaranteed. So far so good.) What does that factory look like? What kind of sorting machines have they built? And are there any Lego robots working in that factory? That would be so cool. Some Lego robot nabs a random piece going down the conveyor belt. "Hmm, I always wanted another arm." Click, click, click. "Check it out, fellow Lego robots. I built myself a new arm. Jealous?" They all start copying him, modifying themselves. Click, click, click. "Haha! Look at my new Lego satchel I made. See how it hinges here? I can store other Legos…" Suddenly the Lego foreman barges in and yells at the robots, tells them to stop building on themselves, but he's used to it, they do it all the time, so he's got a little twinkle in his eyes that tells the robots that he's not really mad, but there are children waiting for these sets so they can drive their fathers mad, guys, so get back to sorting, you wascally wobots. He talks like Elmer Fudd for some reason. Because he's Danish?

I digress. Here's Vader's tie fighter. And a shot of our progress after that.

All six episodes watched

And one more box of Legos to go. We’re watching assorted animated things now. The old Clone Wars TV show, the new Clone Wars movie, and next probably the new Clone Wars TV show. 


But we’re ready for the top and final floor. The Force is with us. There will be nothing to stop us this time. Did I already use that line?

Vader says its power is insignificant?

Balderdash. It can destroy a whole planet in one blast, so yeah, maybe that's not as powerful as the Force, but insignificant? It also has the power to destroy a grown man's back as he hunches over trying to put it together. NOT insignificant.