Super Star Destroyer (10221) - Final Thoughts

I am a Star Wars fan, so needless to say, I am biased in my thoughts on this set. The real deciding point was how much my mom ended up liking it in the end. She did not start off as a Star Wars fan but by the end, I think she appreciated the set and the franchise in general. In fact, she liked it so much that she has proclaimed her like and desire to do some additional sets - Millenium Falcon, Imperial Star Destroyer, B-Wing, Y-Wing, AT-ST, AT-AT. I would say that is quite the turnaround!!

This build was definitely challenging, even with both my mom and I working on it. The similarity in the colors of the pieces required focus to not only select the correct pieces but then assemble them correctly. There were a few instances in which I picked the wrong color pieces and my mom put them together incorrectly due purely to the similarity of color and the difficulty in making out the instructions.

Aside from color, the sheer size made this a challenging build as well. Finishing at over 4 FT in length, this took up a large portion of our Lego table and at times, it was even partially hanging off the side. This made it a little unwieldy to flip upside down and rotate to continue building it. Not to mention trying to take decent pictures of it! With previous sets, I could leave it on the table and get some fairly un-cluttered shots but with this behemoth, most of my pictures either have the surroundings in them or I had to move everything onto the floor to try and get a shot of just the ship.

There were also some blind build sections, which took a little maneuvering to snap together. Examples include attaching some of the engine sections underneath the chassis and snapping the two "wing" top deck sections onto the frame. These were done completely blind and to this day, I am not sure whether ALL the snaps were done. Seeing as it hasn't fallen apart, I am working with the assumption that enough of them were successfully aligned and snapped. :)

The look of the set is spectacular. It is definitely meant more as a display set than a play set. The play functionality is very limited but the raised stands and the descriptive placard really make this set look superb sitting on whatever display surface you have chosen.

Super Star Destroyer (10221) - It's All Done!

This past weekend was a long weekend, and we made excellent use of the extra time off! We finished off the super star destroyer and even found a place to display it (on top of the piano).

The view from the back end is pretty impressive too. You can almost imagine the engine banks igniting and propelling this behemoth around. Maybe Lego 50 years from now will be able to do just that!

We had a lot of fun putting this together, despite the occasional griping about the lack of color :)

We are still waiting for pieces to finish off the carousel (fingers crossed there are no problems getting them). We've already started thinking about what we might build next. Continuing on the Star Wars theme, and particularly the Ultimate Collection Series sets, mom has said she likes the looks of the B-Wing and the Y-Wing in particular. So those may be coming up in the near future. She also likes the AT-AT and AT-ST sets, so those are a possibility as well.

In non-Star Wars related sets, she is a fan of WALL-E as well as the Technic Bucket Excavator. I was a little surprised at this since it's not, at least in my opinion, a really good looking set. I think she was drawn to it because of the plethora of yellow pieces hahaha.

So keep your eyes peeled to see what we get up to next!

Super Star Destroyer (10221) - Fire Up The Engines!

Last night saw the beginning of the work on the propulsion system for the SSD. We put together a couple of the engine banks and put them into place.

Also managed to do a fairly nice printout of the placard sticker and got that set up as well. It looks pretty sharp!

The SSD has grown to the point where it is quite unwieldy to move around for photo shoots. It's been really nice outside these past couple days so I may take it out today and get some shots of it in the driveway. At least, there won't be clutter in the background of the photos that way.

Mom also picked up a Slave I set yesterday. She said she was tempted by 3 things:

1 - it is also part of the Ultimate Collectors Series
2 - it is colorful (its got some green, dark red, and yellow)
3 - it "looks like a turkey drumstick" - those were her exact words

She is such a riot!

Super Star Destroyer (10221) - Middle Section Complete

The "crumble" is done! I'm talking about the bumpy section in the middle of the ship that reminds me of the crumble on top of an apple crumble pie.

It looks pretty amazing with the whole section done now. I can only imagine that the remainder of the build will be putting the top deck plates on and installing the engines.

Mom is going to the dentist tomorrow and is already planning on stopping by the lego store. She claims she will just be browsing to see what other sets there are but I'm thinking she may give in to temptation and bring home another set. Not that I would complain about that. We are going to have to do some serious thinking about where to display all these builds!

Super Star Destroyer (10221) - It Takes To The Air!

Well, not really - at least not like you might be imagining. It did get put up on supports to raise it off the table though, so there IS air between the bottom of the ship and the table ....

Made some decent progress this weekend - got a lot more of the greebling done in the center part of the vessel and of course, got the stands put together and attached. Here is a picture of one of the supports. They are pretty beefy but still classy looking!

And the vessel looks really majestic when it is raised up like that. It's going to be a treat to see when it is 100% done. We put together the placard (bottom right of the picture below) which typically would have a sticker attached detailing what the vessel is along with some technical specifications. I didn't buy stickers for this set (and wouldn't put them on even if I did - all that glue and limitation of re-buildability etc.) so for now, it's just going to sit as a plain black piece. That looks a little odd though so I'll see if I can print off a paper copy and just tape it on.

And a few closer shots so you can get a better look at the awesome greebling!

Super Star Destroyer (10221) - Mega Greebling!

I think mom has found her calling - Master Greebler. Despite vociferous complaining about how hard it is to make out the differences in color (light bluish gray, dark bluish gray, and black), she has done a really good job on the nit-picking greebling that really makes the SSD look great.

A lot of the tail section is now done and we have started working our way towards the nose of the vessel.

She was also itching for a Darth Vader minifigure that she could parade through the ship. I didn't pick up any of the minifigures when I put this set together as I had intended it primarily as a display piece. I told her that when we build our Death Star, Darth Vader can come for a visit :)

We've also picked out a pretty good place where we can display this once it's finished. We're thinking it will look pretty sharp on top of the china cabinet in the formal dining room.

Super Star Destroyer (10221) - Gucci Plays Hide & Seek

Gucci loves joining mom and I for our Lego sessions. She's got her own amply padded chair that she curls up in and listens to us rustling around with the pieces. Occasionally, she takes a peek out just to make sure we are staying on track.

We did some more work on the internals yesterday - put in some of the command areas (they would look more like command and control centers if we applied the stickers but we feel that limits the re-building capability so we leave them off).

We also added some more greebling to the sides, covering up some of the exposed tiles and giving it a more detailed and finished look.

The main decking is starting to come together as well. I *think* this section may be visible on the outside. I am guessing that all the tiles with the single central attachment points are for future greebling. We'll see if I am right about that.

Super Star Destroyer (10221) - Upwards and Onwards - Chapter 2 Finished!

Either Chapter 2 was pretty short or we really picked up the pace. It didn't seem like that long ago that we finished Chapter 1.

Where Chapter 1 was all about laying down the foundation for the ship, Chapter 2 started building up to give it some height. It also fortified the structure a lot with interlocking layers of plate and technic bricks. And of course, it lengthened the overall vessel by adding the "backbone" that lies down the middle and extends out the back end.

The piece now is getting pretty heavy but is very solid. It's also almost at its final length ... I think ... At any rate, it's already longer than 2 of Gucci lying head to butt.

Mom got her first taste of "greebling". That is, the detailing of some of the exposed areas of the vessel. The SSD, of course, has a lot of turbo-cannons and other structures dotting the top of the vessel and the model does a great job of capturing these by using a lot of small pieces to re-create that landscape.

The last piece that we built in Chapter 2 is going to have the top exposed and thus required this detailed greebling. You can see this in the picture below. The piece includes the command tower for the SSD - that raised section with the distinctive dual deflector-shield domes.

Super Star Destroyer (10221) - It Keeps Getting Longer!

Got a decent amount done on the SSD this weekend. We finished chapter 1 on Saturday - all the base plates have been put down. I imagine that subsequent steps will start building upwards from here.

Here is a shot of one of the bow cannons that seems to mount inside the ship.

 As expected, all the building on Sunday started to add some height to the model. Starting with the two long side walls. It's not the easiest thing to see but if you look closely, you can see that the starboard side wall has been installed in the below picture.

Here is a follow-up with both side walls installed as well as some additional structural pieces down the "spine" of the ship.

Super Star Destroyer (10221) - It's Getting Bigger!

We accomplished quite a bit of the SSD last night - not a particularly impressive number of pieces mounted but the physical size sure does look impressive. It's starting to give a taste of just how big the finished model is going to be.

It hasn't been an easy build so far - a lot of pieces are similarly shaped and colored, so very careful perusal of the instructions is required. As this is an older set, the instructions don't have the yellow outlines to show where new pieces go on each step either, which makes things even more difficult. Furthermore, with many of the pieces being the same color, you really need to double and triple check against the instructions and count the nubbies to make sure you are placing things correctly.

We are still working on mom's attention to detail so this has been a tough challenge for her. She may finally have lost some of that addiction to Lego, declaring that she was not a fan of this set and did not wish to build any more of it.

We'll see how long that lasts. :)

Here, you can see how big the model is going to be. I don't think this is the entirety of the base either - I believe it extends even further back (towards the "legs" of the A). The mini Imperial Star Destroyer that we previously built has been placed in the picture to give an idea of the size and scale of the SSD.

Super Star Destroyer (10221) - To The Shipyard We Go!

I was completely unsurprised when I arrived home yesterday to find that mom had packed away all the carousel items and had laid out the boxes full of super star destroyer parts. I'm telling you .... MONSTER!!

However, I WAS pleasantly surprised to see that a package from Lego Pick-A-Brick had arrived. That means that barring any unfortunate counting and organizational errors on my part, I should have everything I need to complete the SSD.

On a side note, I think Gucci is also addicted to Lego - before supper, I went to the living room (where we do our building) just to check things out. She came strolling over with a look that clearly said "Is it Lego time?". She really loves snoozing in the chair beside us as we build.

We didn't get a heck of a lot done on the SSD last night - actually we didn't get ANYTHING done on the SSD. We did, however, manage to put together the small Imperial Star Destroyer that is included in the set as a means for size comparison against the SSD. For a small model, it's got fairly decent detail but nothing nearing comparison to what the SSD is going to look like.

Super Star Destroyer (10221) - One More Shipment!

All the pieces I ordered via Bricklink have either been picked up or have arrived in the mail. That means the only package that is still outstanding are the pieces that I ordered from Lego's online Pick-A-Brick service.

I am anticipating it's imminent arrival. Parcel tracking shows that it arrived in the US a week ago. With any luck, it will be waiting for me when I get home today.

We are approaching the point with the Grand Carousel where we will be needing one of the critical missing pieces (the first was ornamental and can be added at any time). As I don't anticipate receiving the missing pieces for another 2 weeks, that means we'll either need to take a break from Lego or put the carousel on hold and get started on the star destroyer instead.

While either plan works for me, I think our resident super Lego enthusiast (mom) won't be able to contain her addiction for 2 weeks. So, despite her relative dislike for the SSD (it's only got grey and black???? That's so boring!!!), I think she is going to cave and start building it.

Super Star Destroyer (10221) - More parts gathering

My SSD is a few steps closer to being build-ready. Did a few more local pick-ups this weekend and the only things left are in 5 mail shipments that I am awaiting.

I was really hoping to start this build before the Grand Carousel but mom just couldn't wait to do that one. I think I have created a monster by suggesting that we build these sets together. She needs her addiction fed on a daily basis now hahahaha.

Take Saturday, for instance. We were out for most of the day, doing the Lego pick-ups and then tackling a few chores while we were out. I confirmed the count on my pick-ups as soon as we got home and then put the packages on our Lego table, planning on knolling them as our Sunday night Lego activity.

Well, mom just couldn't wait until Sunday night. She had those pieces knolled and sorted early Sunday morning and was prodding me to start building the carousel on Sunday night instead. I am guessing that had we not been busy with other plans on Saturday evening, she would have had them knolled then!!

Super Star Destroyer (10221) - Everything is ordered!!!

Had to commemorate this milestone with a celebratory post. I just placed an order for the last 2 pieces of the kit (at least I hope they are the last 2 and that I haven't miscalculated somewhere!!!).

Thank goodness for sellers who DON'T have a minimum buy amount and are willing to take my 25 cent order. These are the people who truly care about your projects and aren't in it just to make a couple bucks.

I've had mostly good experiences during this journey of parts gathering. The vast majority of sellers were very friendly, eager to help and ready to share knowledge. As with most things in life, there were a few ignorant sellers out there who didn't even have the courtesy to respond to an inquiry - they have already been added to my "dislike" folder and I will be staying away from them in the future. In case any readers are also looking to purchase parts, stay away from the Bricklink stores named "Emmets Room" and "MAMMY STORE". These sellers need a lesson in customer service.

Rant now over :) All we need to do is wait for the remainder of the pieces to arrive and we can begin construction!! Mom is not really looking forward to this one as it's a pretty dreary and boring build color-wise. She's all about the color, which is why the ferris wheel excited her so much.

Super Star Destroyer (10221) - Down to the last 100 parts

After my latest round of parts buying, I have only 103 parts left to get. Unfortunately, these are proving to be difficult to round up in the quantities that I need with local buyers. I may even be hard pressed to be able to get everything from within Canada.

I'm hoping that if I give it a little time, local sellers will have pieced out some new inventory so I don't end up paying an arm and a leg on shipping.

I did a pick-up run this weekend - 3 packages from around the city. A few more arrived in the mail as well so things are slowly starting to come together. I've got another few parcels that should be arriving this week and will have another 3 packages from around the city to collect this coming weekend.

Super Star Destroyer (10221) - First Parts Order!

I went to pick up my first order of parts last night. Over 1300 pieces!!

I started counting them to make sure everything was there but only got a fraction of the way through last night. On the bright side, the parts I did manage to go through were all present and accounted for.

The seller had everything neatly separated and bagged into like components, which definitely made it easier to locate the pieces.

Ferris Wheel progress may slow down a little as I use the table for piece counting. Sorry mom!

Super Star Destroyer (10221) - The End Is In Sight!

... at least as far as ordering the parts goes ...

With my 3rd round of buying, I have cut my "missing pieces" list down to 301. That's less than 10% to go. Unfortunately, none of my local buyers have any of these pieces so I may have to shell out yet more in shipping costs. That being said, people are always adding to their stock so I am sure that if I am patient enough, some of these pieces will become available through area sellers.

The total cost thus far has come out to roughly $480. I guess that's not too surprising considering the original Lego kit was selling for $500. If I was able to get everything locally, I would have saved at least $40 in shipping but I guess I can't complain. I have been able to get a good chunk of the pieces from local sellers. I had really hoped that I could piece it out for less than $500 but that isn't going to happen.

My first local purchase is ready for pickup, so I am planning on getting that tonight. I have 4 other parcels that I had to order from outside the city in the mail so I am expecting those within the week. Then I'll have to get my counting fingers out and double check the orders!

Super Star Destroyer (10221) - Round 2 of Buying Complete & Part Sub!

After many hours of searching through Brick Link to try and find the best possible pricing combinations on items, I have completed my second round of parts purchases. I have now purchased approximately 2,100 parts with another 1,000 or so to go. Unfortunately, a lot of the 1,000 remaining are the harder to find pieces :(

I've had to make another substitution on parts, this time for the light bluish gray cylinders that form the engines on the SSD. The original part that is called for is code 30360 but these were not only difficult to find but very expensive (in excess of $15 per piece). After some research, I found that piece 93168 was a good candidate for substitution. The differences between the two are strictly internalized to the connection interfaces. Thus, from the outside, you would see no difference. The 93168 were still, by no means, easy to find. They are still rare and I ended up paying about $12 per piece after shipping but that's an easier pill to swallow than $15 for the piece and ANOTHER $12 for shipping.

I've got 6 purchased so far and am hoping I can find a 7th to complete the set. You can see there are minimal differences between the two pieces below.

Super Star Destroyer (10221) - First Batch of Parts Purchased

So, as the title states, I have placed an order for the first batch of parts for this.

I was able to find a local seller so I'll be doing a pick-up and saving a few bucks on shipping. Of the 3,152 pieces I need, I was able to buy 1,327 on this first run. Not too bad, until you consider I still have another 1,800 ish pieces to go!

I just about went cross-eyed with my tracking spreadsheet over the weekend. For some reason, I was having some serious issues corroborating my list of purchased pieces against my master and my "to buy" lists. I was making simple subtraction errors, skipping over lines that I had ordered. It was a nightmare. Finally, after trying it for the THIRD time, I finally came up with a correct list of parts I still needed. How did I know it was finally correct? Because the sum of the outstanding parts finally equaled 3,152-1,327 =  1,825.

I must have expended all my detail orientation ability on building the ferris wheel because I sure was doing dim-witted things when updating my spreadsheet. Anyway, enough time spent being angry at myself. I need to start sourcing the next batch of parts!!

Super Star Destroyer (10221) - Sourcing the Parts

Now that I have my spreadsheet set up with (hopefully) all the parts I will need, I have to research where I can get them and how much I am going to have to spend to get everything.

I started with Lego's Pick-A-Brick. Unfortunately, they don't stock all the pieces - only the newer and more popular ones. Of the 3,152 pieces required for the set, I was only able to find 1,839 on Pick-A-Brick. Even then, those priced in at $380. Assuming equal pricing on the remaining parts, that puts the total at roughly $655 (not including shipping). Not a cheap build.

I decided to look at other options, like going through a 3rd party site like Brick Link. Not only are the prices a little more reasonable but there is also more variety available via 3rd party sites as Lego tends to stock only newer and more popular pieces.

I am only partway through my list right now. I am going through and making notes on each part so I can get a ballpark feel for how much going this route may cost and whether it's even possible to find all the pieces. Given that I am planning on displaying this and not necessarily playing with it, I've pretty well decided not to bother with getting any of the mini figurines.

Additionally, I've already found 1 set of pieces that I will be substituting with a different color as the exact ones called for in the kit are prohibitively expensive due to their rarity. The kit calls for 6 of the Right Angle 5x5 Yellow Technic Bricks.

Unfortunately, Pick-A-Brick does not carry these and Brick Link has them selling at almost $12 PER PIECE not including shipping. The thought of spending more than $70 on 6 pieces of Lego makes me want to puke so these will be swapped with the same piece but in black (which I can get for a mere $1.15 each). While still considered pretty expensive for a Lego piece, it is at least palatable.

Of course, before deciding whether to do a substitution, one must consider where the piece will be in the final product. These yellow pieces are internal to the SSD and not visible from the outside so I am not too concerned about the departure from standard.

As luck would have it, I found a dealer who lives in the same city as I do so I am hoping to pick up as many pieces from him as I can and saving on the shipping costs.