REVIEW - Mould King Imperial Star Destroyer Model Building Blocks Set
When it comes to Star Wars, the Death Star, lightsaber, stormtrooper, and Darth Vader may come to
your mind at first, but another most eye-catching symbol should be the Star Destroyer. Although in the
original movie, the Imperial Star Destroyer rarely has the opportunity to exert its power, it plays an
important role and acts as an indispensable iconic battleship among the Starfleets.
Hi guys. Welcome back to our blog. It’s Connie from the GULO GULO team here. Today,
I will introduce to you an incredible Mould King Imperial Star Destroyer Model
Building Block Kit that highly restores the movie.
Even though the model contains no interior place to play with, which may somewhat decreases its
playability, to me, personally, I don’t find it disappointing in that it makes no compromises in details
and size. Since it is oversized and rich in detail, this Mould King Imperial Star Destroyer Model
Building Blocks Set can be viewed as a milestone in Star Destroyer building blocks. I believe that
Star Wars fans like me or large-sized brick-building fans will be crazy about this awesome starship.
So let's not waste time and take a look at it together! Let’s go!
- About The Imperial Star Destroyer -
The Imperial Star Destroyer first appeared in the first scene of the movie Star Wars: A New Hope
in 1977. During the chase with the Tantive IV, the director George Lucas took a 12-second long shot
to show the huge size of the Imperial Star Destroyer, which left a deep impression on everyone
at the first appearance. I can say that the Imperial Star Destroyer is undoubtedly the
most powerful symbol of the imperial fleets.
In the movie, the Imperial Star Destroyer is in the service of the Imperial Navy. Also, it is the iconic
warship of the imperial fleet. Designed and manufactured by the Kuat Drive Yards, this incredible
star destroyer appears in almost all the movies of Star Wars and serves as "the signature vessel of
the fleet" for the Galactic Republic, Galactic Empire, the First Order and the Sith Eternal in numerous
published works including film, novels, and comics.
For Star Wars fans, the Imperial Star Destroyer is so significant that having
a model of the Imperial Star Destroyer is definitely one of their dreams!
- Set Details -
I was more than satisfied at the beginning as it took me only 3 days to receive the package in
perfect condition. When I received it, I was shocked that all I saw was just an enormous but plain
cardboard box. When I opened the cardboard box, I found a huge and delicate packaging box inside.
Then, I realized that the cardboard box on the outside is only to protect the delicate inner box from
damage, and I love this double protection design.
Another aspect about the packaging box I have to say is that it weighs 16.6kg, which
is the most weighty model I have ever bought. I couldn’t wait to open the box to see what
was inside, and it turned out that the accessories were placed in two separate large boxes.
Also, the outsides are marked with A and B logos to make it more convenient for us to
distinguish them. It took me almost 20 minutes only to get the box out, and it was finally
with the help of my husband that I was able to make it. I have to say, it was really not
easy at all, mainly because the boxes were so heavy.
When I opened the box, I was greeted by 2 thick instruction manuals.
The instruction manuals showed a total of 2487 steps in building the Star Destroyer
model, which sounded scary. But don't be intimidated by the complicated steps, because the
clear printing and easy-to-follow picture steps on the manuals provide us with a clear idea of building.
Let's take a look at the bags!
There were quite a few, 22 big bags in total.
These suggested that the finished model would be a massive piece.
I felt a bit disappointed that there were many small packages in each
large bag and these small packages were not sub-packaged in steps.
Therefore, I needed to unpack all the small bags at every step.
After I unpacked all the small bags, the clutter of parts was annoying me.
However, I found an effective solution. I cleverly sorted each part out by size and color
and organized them into small boxes so that I could easily access the accessories I needed
without losing the parts in the building process and madethe building process neat and efficient.
- Completion -
Alright, so it’s obvious that this is one amazing and awesome model. Of course,
its building process is not an easy task. All that beauty and detail come at a price.
It took me a week to build this Mould King Imperial Star Destroyer Model Building Block Kit.
But that's okay with me because I enjoyed the challenge. I believe that after completing such
a giant monster, no one can not be satisfied or shocked.
The dimensions of the completed model measure 118 cm(46 inches) in length
by 72 cm(28 inches) in width by 38 cm(15 inches) in height. With such a surprisingly
huge size,it is necessary to provide room for building and then for exhibition. Somehow it's
hard to convey in pictures how large this set is, but in person, it really has a lot of impacts.
In addition to being larger than the LEGO version, the de-grained surface of the Mould King
Imperial Star Destroyer Model brings the number of parts to an unprecedented 11,885 pieces!
Needless to say, building this creation is no easy feat, as everything from the sheer number of
parts to the cluttered pieces makes the building process difficult and painful. Fortunately,
it is all worth it because the completed model looks so terrific!
The point I want to emphasize is that there is a display stand at the bottom of the model
to support this huge beast. Also, the display stand is directly integrated into the structural frame
of the model, so building the display stand is the very first step to complete the building. The firmly
held parts and the embedded display stand provide a solid foundation for the model and therefore
ensure the stability for subsequent operations.
I notice that 99% of the parts are from high bricks, so the quality of this model is
excellent and the parts fit together very tightly. At the same time, its burr-free and
fur-free material ensures safety during the building process.
It's a pity that some of the steps in the manuals are inaccurate.
I did run into the problem when I built this model. I installed the wrong part on the
stern engine due to the misleading steps in the instructions, resulting in missing parts for the
subsequent installation of the armor plate, which made me confused. Fortunately, I found that the set
provides us with extra parts, and thanks to these extra parts, I ended up with such magnificent work.
- Features -
On the whole, the look of this Mould King Imperial Star Destroyer model fits perfectly
with the Imperial Star Destroyer in the movie. There is no doubt that this huge model with
a length of more than one meter has achieved a satisfactory degree of reduction. That is,
the overall proportion of this spacecraft and the details of various parts are relatively
reasonable. It is no less impressive from any angle.
From the front, the Imperial Star Destroyer model looks like a monster whose
overall outline is arrow-shaped with strong attack power. The two deflector shield
generator domes on the bridge look like the eyes of the monster, and the gap
between the bottom and surface armor plates looks like the monster's mouth
that opens slightly as if it is waiting for its prey. The overall huge shape
really brings a greater visual impact.
The hull of it in the movie is not completely horizontal, but more like a square pyramid.
And this model also makes a process of splicing the wedge plates diagonally,
giving a perfect reproduction. It is so awesome!
As you can see from the side, this amazing model captures all the authentic
details of the Imperial Star Destroyer as it appeared in the opening scene of the
movie, such as a large number of conduits, circular gun barrels, etc. These make
the model more mechanical and realistic.
The Imperial Star Destroyer model appears so large but it's mainly composed
of the prow, the hull, the bridge, the stern and the bottom. Next, we'll break
this down section by section.
- The Prow -
Now, let's turn our gaze to the front section of the Imperial Star Destroyer model,
which is what we call the prow. In fact, the structure of the prow shows the designer's
extraordinary attention to detail. With some jumping colors and some small bumps on the
surface, the model highly restores the small external details of the Imperial Star Destroyer
in the movie, whose armor plate surface is covered with various mechanical structures.
Here, we look at the prow from the front. As the wedge plates are spliced diagonally,
there is a slightly big gap between the wedge plates. Fortunately this doesn’t affect
the stability at all, but I filled the gap with some gray blocks because I’m kind of mind the gap here.
Then we turn to the side of the prow, where the ion cannon sighting system is located.
At first glance, the design here seems to be very messy, but a closer inspection reveals
that it is equipped with weapons such as barrels and shell launchers. These weapons can
keep the starships from functioning properly and destroy the core of a planet in only one shot,
which makes the Imperial Star Destroyer a deadly warship in the movie. These details do
surprise me a lot as I never thought this model could reproduce such tiny details so well.
- The Hull -
Moving slightly up along the prow, here is the hull where mainly lies the superstructure of the ship.
What comes into first sight is the flight control cabin, which is located on the lowest and forward-most
platform on the surface of the hull. It controls both the flight and the shooting of the Imperial Star Destroyer.
We can also see 3 movable axial defense turrets are located above the flight control
cabin, which are used to destroy incoming missiles and interplanetary fighters. I notice
that the turrets can be rotated 30 degrees left and right. Such key details just prove
how closely the designer pays attention to subtle details.
What behind the control cabin is the main cabin. The layered superstructure makes
the Imperial Star Destroyer model even more magnificent. It looks not only like a continuous
ridge but also like a beast crawling on the ground. No matter how you look at it, it is very shocking.
On the sides of the hull are two rotatable quad heavy turbo lasers, which can also rotate
30 degrees left and right. Also, the turrets of this model can be arbitrarily rotated, so we
can point them at multiple targets. In the movie, the quad heavy turbo lasers serve as the
core weapon of the Imperial Star Destroyer and need to defend against danger and attack
enemy starships from all directions. Compared with the LEGO Star Destroyer model, where
all the turrets can only be rotated in the same direction, I think this model is more in
line with the way the turbo lasers attack in the movie.
Actually there are many more unexpected small details on the surface and sides of
the hull, such as the dual heavy ion cannon turrets that lined the superstructure,and
the small movable machine guns that can be seen everywhere. I think the embellishment
of these small details is very interesting, and at the same time, it also makes
the model more realistic and vivid.
- The Bridge -
At the top of the Imperial Star Destroyer model is the bridge.
There are also commendable details here.
Here is the main control tower, with mechanical front parts and small square
parts that look like viewfinders. These are incredible! I can nearly imagine the
scene that Darth Vader looks through the viewfinder onto his magnificent ship.
On top of the main control tower is the movable X-shaped radar, which looks nice on the
hinge and can be moved up and down smoothly. The tractor beam targeting array is below
the radar, which can launch a tractor beam to lock the enemy aircraft, and complete
the attack together with the ion cannon.
The deflector shield generator domes on both sides of the top of the main control
tower are the defensive device of the Imperial Star Destroyer model, which are mainly
used to prevent laser cannons. The smooth surface and the angularity of the
bottom struts make it textured and realistic.
Lastly we come behind the bridge and is the waste ejection port is right there.
It is a standard protocol to dump the ship's garbage before entering
hyperspace to reduce the weight of the vessel.
I try to open it, and it can actually be opened upwards, up to nearly 90 degrees.
Looking at the empty black channel inside, I can imagine that the discarded
starship waste is flying out from here in a real battle.
- The Stern -
At last, here is my favorite section of the entire model, the stern.
Of course, the most important part of the stern is the engines. The Imperial Star
Destroyer model has 3 KDY Destroyer-I Ion Engines and 4 Cygnus Spaceworks
Gemon-4 Ion Engines for emergency use.
Building these engines is slightly repetitive, although this is inevitable given their
duplicated design. Unexpectedly, the result seems the most fantastic. As we can
see, the 3 main engines are mounted in the middle and 4 auxiliary engines surround
them. In peacetime, the flight of the ship is mainly propelled by three Destroyer-I Ion
Engines. The huge solar ionization reactor supplies the energy required by the hyperspace
and subspace engines, which is very powerful and cool.
Building these engines is slightly repetitive, although this is inevitable given their
duplicated design. Unexpectedly, the result seems the most fantastic. As we can see,
the 3 main engines are mounted in the middle and 4 auxiliary engines surround them.
In peacetime, the flight of the ship is mainly propelled by three Destroyer-I Ion Engines.
The huge solar ionization reactor supplies the energy required by the hyperspace
and subspace engines, which is very powerful and cool.
While the engines themselves are nothing fancy, they captures the shape
where the engine barrels should be curved, which makes the engines more realistic.
Though the outlines and details of the interior of the stern are complicated and detailed,
the parts can fit together so securely that the designer's intentions and the quality of
the parts are worthy of praise.
- The Bottom -
Now, let's look at the bottom of the Imperial Star Destroyer model. There exists a
docking bay, which is also the attack hangar that is generally used to park starfighters
and typically carries an impressive complement of troops consisting of seventy-two TIE line
starfighters, eight Lambda-class T-4a shuttles, and twenty AT-AT walkers. So here is also an
important section that deserves our attention. Also, there are two curved rails in the hangar for
capturing and launching starfighters. Here is kind of a fun and realistic gameplay for me and
you just keep following reading with me.
Image by CK via sohu
With the support of the display stand, the enormous Imperial Star Destroyer
model hangs on the table, which is very cool. Also, there is no need to worry about
the problem of shaking or falling apart in that the display stand is very solid.
- Three Delicate Mini Carriers -
The Mould King Imperial Star Destroyer Model Building Blocks also comes
with three mini carriers. They are so cute, and obviously tiny compared to the giant
Imperial Star Destroyer model that I can even hold them in my hand to take a closer look.
One of the big things for models of this tiny size is portability, I can move them around
and even put them all at my desk as a display to add a little spice to my drab desk.
Now let's take a look at these adorable mini carries one by one,
and see how many incredible details are preserved even in this mini scale.
The first mini carrier is called the Hammerhead Corvette. To my surprise, the
details that appeared in the later movies are also present in this model. The two
small gray cylinders side by side on the back of the ship are laser cannons used
to attack incoming starfighters from the air. What's more, the Hammerhead Corvette
is propelled by four ion motors that emit particles in the orange part of the visible spectrum,
and the four orange cones at the rear are its ion motors. This is also the most prominent
section of the model. As a Star Wars fan, I’m more than excited to see details like these.
Next is the Nebulon-B carrier.
Among the three small vehicles, this is the most recognizable one
because its overall appearance is gray, and its size is larger than the other
two carriers. Its outstanding feature is that it is composed of front and rear
parts. We can clearly see that the front and rear are connected by a slender column.
The front blade like a skyscraper is the main part of the ship,
including the remote main communication array, the command center, etc,
and the engine is at the back.
What's more, the thrusters at the rear are my favorite part.
Some eye-appealing orange elements are included here to break up the
monotonous gray overall, and indicate the realistic orange glow when the thrusters
are in operation. The small carrier certainly doesn't show as many details as the original
one, but the tough lines and some discarded details make it more distinctive instead.
Lastly, there is the Tantive IV, which has a very simple look combining white
and dark red elements to great effect. Its most notable feature is that it has 11 tail
thrusters, which are arranged according to the structure of 4-3-4 engines in each row.
That is quite imposing! Similarly, the thrusters also use orange parts to represent the
orange light emitted by the thrusters when they are in operation.
Although the Tantive IV is not as detailed as the other two carriers, it can be
clipped into the docking bay beneath the ship. In this way, it recreates the scene in
which the Tantive IV was captured as Princess Leia's command ship evading the pursuit
of the Imperial Star Destroyer commanded by Darth Vader. This not only accurately corresponds
to the movie, but also provides a more realistic playing experience. I feel like I am in the movie,
witnessing the scene where the Imperial Stormtroopers bring Princess Leia back to the Death Star
after the capture of Tantive IV, which is one of the most impressive scenes in the Star Wars series.
Image by CapnRex101
Then, let me tell you how I found these little carriers to play with!
The bottom of each carrier is equipped with a support rod of transparent material,
which can be used to stand the carrier up as a small decoration. That is exactly what I
did and makes me feel like I'm in the world of Star Wars.
More than decorations, the bumps on the transparent rods can actually interact
with the Imperial Star Destroyer model. And this is how my interesting and creative
gameplay with it started. I cleverly realized the specific concave building blocks on the
prow of the Imperial Star Destroyer model achieved the "accompanying flight" mode
with the help of the transparent rod.
For me, the most memorable part in the movie is the scene of the Imperial Star
Destroyer chasing the Tantive IV. I brought this to reality! I attached the Tantive IV to the
transparent rod that clips onto the side of the Imperial Star Destroyer model. It looks like a
trans-clear beam that links this Tantive IV model to the Imperial Star Destroyer model and
creates the perception that the Imperial Star Destroyer is pursuing the runaway ship, just
as it does in the film.
That is how I enjoyed my gameplay with this stunning model, but I'm sure you would have
more fun and creative play ideas with it. You can also leave a comment and share with me
how you'll interact with your Imperial Star Destroyer model.
- Summary -
All in all, with a unprecedentedly huge size, the Mould King Imperial Star Destroyer Model
Building Blocks Set looks phenomenal on the whole but there are plenty of beautiful details
to savor. The three mini carriers not only are used as decorations but also interact with the
Imperial Star Destroyer model to add more fun of play. In short, this giant Mould King Imperial
Star Destroyer Model Building Blocks Set highly reproduces the Imperial Star Destroyer in the
film, and appears to be a model worth collecting.
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