A new LEGO Star Wars Republic Gunship construction set has become the latest addition to the LEGO Group’s Ultimate Collector’s line-up, having triumphed in the public vote via the company’s LEGO Ideas platform.
The Republic Gunship rose supreme when LEGO invited fans to vote on the top three requested sets across the fan engagement and creativity platform, securing an impressive 30,000 votes, accounting for 58 per cent of all votes cast.
Inspired by Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and featured in the animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the new set weighs in at 3,292 pieces and includes LEGO Star Wars minifigures of Jedi Master Mace Windu, and a Clone Trooper Commander.
The challenge of creating the Star Wars Republic Gunship in LEGO brick form was given to designer, Hans Schlömer who used his experience – including designing the UCS Millennium Falcon and UCS A-wing – to complete the task.
To date, the LEGO Group has developed around 150 LEGO Star Wars sets inspired by the prequel trilogy films (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith), with this set being the third UCS prequel-themed build.
Others in the line up have included Darth Maul and Obi-Wan’s Jedi Starfighter.
The Gunship’s large free-swinging doors on both sides are some of the largest moving parts ever created in a LEGO Star Wars build and the set is completely open beyond the nose portion. Given the size of the LEGO Star Wars ship, a supportive LEGO Technic frame has been incorporated, hidden by the exterior panels and allowing Clone Troopers to load for their next mission via lift arms on the passenger compartment doors.
Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, creative lead of LEGO Star Wars at the LEGO Group, said: “Our fans are always coming up with concepts and ideas for the LEGO Star Wars range – so it was great to give them the opportunity to let their voices be heard and choose the next UCS set.
“There is always an enormous responsibility to deliver a quality design, and the set that Hans has crafted is a triumph, particularly the size. We knew our fans would want to display this model but we didn’t want to compromise on the scale versus the ability to exhibit it. I can’t wait to see how the fans incorporate the set into their Star Wars collections.”
The LEGO Star Wars Republic Gunship set will be available starting on August 1, 2021 via LEGO Stores and LEGO.com and will retail for the recommended price of £329.
