LEGO STAR WARS 75159 - Page 8

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Q: Is there a specific feature of the model that you enjoyed designing the most?
A:Well the spring-loaded-missile-shooting turbolaser on the lower floor was really fun to design,
because that was my design from the ground up. I also came up with a new trigger function
for the shooter, so I’m really proud of that part. Besides that, I really like my small tweaks to the
turbolasers on the top floor. I love the turbolaser towers in the attack run from “
Star Wars :
A New Hope”, so putting my fingerprint on those was awesome.
Q: What is dierent about this version of the LEGO
Star Wars Death Star set from the
previous incarnation?
A: A couple of major improvements have been made to the hangar bay elevator, planet killer
laser, turbolaser and Darth Vader’s TIE X-1 Advanced. Besides that, a lot of small, more subtle
changes have been made throughout the entire battle station.
Meet the Model Designer
Q: The LEGO
®
Star Wars Death Star is one of the most recognizable battle stations
from the entire
Star Wars canon. Known for its iconic round shape, how did you begin
designing this model?
A:I started by looking into what was great about the last incarnation of the Death Star, and
which areas could be updated. I especially looked at the dierent functions to see if they
could be improved. Besides that, I really dived into the overall building experience and how this
could be improved, to ensure that building this set will be a great experience for everybody.
Q: What kind of reference material did you use to begin designing the Death Star?
A: I used the two movies featuring both Death Stars (“
Star Wars : A New Hope” and
“ Star Wars : Return of the Jedi”), plus all the screenshots I could make or find to
get an overview of the rooms and scenarios.
Q: What kind of building techniques do you frequently use when designing a model
of this scale?
A: Stability is always an important feature for us when we design the models, but especially for
models this size the emphasis is on stability, simply because of the weight and size of the model.
In this set there’s a lot of stacking bricks, so it’s super important that both the walls and floors
are stable. This ensures that the model is stable during the build phase and also afterwards when
being played with.
Q: One of the best features of the LEGO
Star Wars Death Star are the rooms on the interior
of the model. How did these factor into your design process when creating a model that needs
to be functional while remaining stable?
A:The rooms were very much given from the last incarnation of the model – however, I did
work with optimizing the walls and floors for a better build flow. Securing stable walls and
floors are key here, because once you start adding functions in or through walls or floors,
you often remove stability. So ensuring that the model doesn’t get any weak spots (like exhaust
ports) while adding lots of playable functions is really important and a big part of the challenge
of designing a model like this.
Niels Mølgård Frederiksen
Niels Mølgård Frederiksen