Part of series of iconic cinematic scenes from Star Wars LEGO is releasing as dioramas, the LEGO 75329 Death Star Trench Run Diorama is a classy display piece geared towards Adult Fans of LEGO.
It’s got a LEGO Architecture or LEGO Art feel to it. It looks like someone cut out the scene from A New Hope and put it in a museum display.
LEGO put tons of attention to detail in the trench part of the set, and that’s where it really shines.
Are you ready to use the force to check this set out?
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- Set #: 75329
- MSRP (USA): $59.99
- Piece Count: 665
- Minifigures: 0
- Price Per Piece: $0.13
- Release Date: 4/26/2022
- Age Rating: 18+
- Build Time: ~ 2 to 2.5 hours
Box Contents
The standout elements in this set are the rare, small detail pieces. The set takes lots of favorite droid features, brick pieces, rare plates, repurposed light-saber handles, and other intricate elements and uses them to create a sense of rich detail.
There’s even a specially-printed R2-D2 single-stud flat plate that completes Luke’s micro-scale x-wing.
The set comes with an instruction booklet that matches its collector’s edition level of quality.
It features some photographic stills from the movie, some close-ups of what the designers of the set were trying to capture when they made each part of the set, and a personal note from LEGO creative director Jens Kronvold Fredriksen.
With 6 bags and 104 pages, this build is pretty specific and meticulous for a 665-piece endeavor, which makes sense for a set that has such detail.
Building Notes
The build starts from the base of the set and culminates in the spaceships. Building these panels that are full of such detail is a treat—it won’t be a repetitive, predictable build, and each step adds something with visible results.
At roughly one hour for inexperienced LEGO builders, It’s not going to be a long build, but it’ll be a rewarding one.
Bags one and two of the build are dedicated to the base. The first bag gives you the museum-like bottom of the diorama with its black, smooth plates and iconic Darth Vader quote plate. The second bag is devoted to building the accurate features of the death star trench.
Bags four and five give you the back plate of detailing that stands upright towards the front of the diorama, and the Death Star laser turret that chases Luke Skywalker with its green beams of death in the movie.
The last bag gets you the spaceships and their stands, which are made of clear bricks. The spaceship build flattens out the fighter proportions, detail, and shape of the movie x-wings and TIE fighters, making them very blocky and angular.
It’s hard to capture the nuances and intricate details when you’re working at roughly a 4×4 stud scale.
A great aspect of this build is the placement of the TIE fighters and the creative way that they stay in place. The are attached just on the edge of the base, giving the set a dynamic look that makes you feel like the spaceships are about to burst out the other side of the set in pursuit of Luke.
Their laser cannons are mid-blast, too, which adds to the dynamic feel of the set and makes you hope Luke will dodge the incoming laser.
LEGO Minifigures & Characters
There are no minifigures of characters in this set unless you include the flat round piece that is supposed to be R2-D2.
The iconic scene is so memorable that my hope is if you are a fan of Star Wars, you should already know that this was Luke flying his X-Wing with Darth Vader & Tie Fighters in pursuit. If not, then this diorama is probably not for you.
Collectible Display vs Playability
The set is decidedly a collector’s set. “Diorama” suggests something you put up on the shelf or on your desk at work and admire from afar.
This isn’t the set you buy for a 12-year-old who wants something they can swoosh around the living room and make “pew pew” sounds with, unless you have a very refined and precocious kid. It’s more something for the AFOL in your life who wants a cool thing to spend an afternoon with.
Even if LEGO didn’t make this set with playability in mind, if you’re creative about it, there’s no reason you couldn’t pluck the spaceships off of their display and swoosh them around.
On the playability front, this set does have plenty of MOC-building use potential. All those fun little greebling pieces that LEGO put into this set don’t have to just sit on the shelf forever.
You can always take it apart and make something cool with it, and even learn something from the distinctive aesthetic that LEGO put into this set’s detailing.
More Brick For Your Buck
This set runs at $59.99, which works out to roughly nine cents per brick. Normally this wouldn’t be such a great investment, but the set is the cheapest in the Diorama series.
Even with its lack of minifigures, it does have a level of class that justifies the bump in price if you’re someone who truly values a LEGO collector’s item.
The biggest letdown here in terms of value is the absence of minifigures. They’re often the LEGO investor’s best friend, often getting released only once or twice in a specific set, and gaining value as they become for scarce.
If you’re bent on getting some minifigures, try the other dioramas.
Again, this set isn’t really geared towards kids, and for sixty bucks, you can easily find something that will make the little LEGO fiend in your life more engaged and happy. It doesn’t have the motion, minifigure play appeal, or swooshability of other non-collector sets.
The printed plates, one with a LEGO Star Wars label and another with quote from Darth Vader—”The Force is strong with this one”—complete the feeling of gravitas that this set gives to the climactic scene.
This set does have it audience who will gladly shell out for it, which is the dedicated AFOL and Star Wars fan.
Potential Lego Investment Value
This set is could be worthwhile investment proposition for all of its rare pieces that come into play in the detailing. To reach 100% ROI, it would have to reach just over $145 which is possible once it retires.
The piece with the highest resale potential in the set is the gold ingot bar, appearing here in light bluish grey.
Its current bricklink price in grey is 18 cents per piece. Expect the plate with the Star Wars quote to be worth a good amount once it retires.
Final Thoughts
A fun build and a worthy display piece, this set belongs on the collector’s stand of any true LEGO star wars fan. Its high points are its creative and fun detailing and the dynamic feel of its depiction of the Star Wars scene.
The micro-scale versions of Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing and the various TIE fighters, including Darth Vader’s Tie Fighter, are a bit underwhelming. They suffer from how hard it is to make a sleek, detailed LEGO model at such a small scale. They’re not bad-looking, but they’re not the most attractive design LEGO has ever put out.
The sets weak points are its high price, which definitively makes it a set for adults, the micro-scale ships that leave something to be desired, and its lack of minifigures.
Check out our review of the Lego Star Wars 75330 Dagobah Jedi Training Diorama here.
Related Questions
How Many Pieces are in Lego Star Wars 75329 Death Star Trench Run Diorama?
The Lego Star Wars 75329 Death Star Trench Run Diorama set has 665 pieces.
How Long Does It Take To Build Lego Star Wars 75329 Death Star Trench Run Diorama?
The Lego Star Wars 75329 Death Star Trench Run Diorama set takes about 60 minutes to build this set.
How Much Does Lego Star Wars 75329 Death Star Trench Run Diorama Cost?
The Lego Star Wars 75329 Death Star Trench Run Diorama set’s MSRP is $59.99 if you buy it directly from LEGO.
How Big Is Lego Star Wars 75329 Death Star Trench Run Diorama?
The Lego Star Wars 75329 Death Star Trench Run Diorama set is about 4 inches tall, 8.5 inches wide, and 6 inches deep.
