Lego Star Wars Death Star Trash Compactor Diorama review

One of five available Lego Star Wars dioramas, the Death Star Trash Compactor might be the most iconic of them all. Who can forget the tense scene in A New Hope where our heroes are trapped inside a trash compactor, moments away from getting crushed? Making a fantastic-looking Lego set out of, well, a pile of trash, is quite a feat but the designers have pulled it off.

Despite its sea of brown and gray, the Lego Star Wars Death Star Trash Compactor looks absolutely fantastic, and its moving parts – two side walls that can move closer together – set this diorama apart from the rest. At $90/£80, though, it’s a little on the more expensive side. However, it is an engaging build, an excellent display piece, and six wonderful minifigures makes it worthwhile.

Lego Star Wars Death Star Trash Compactor Diorama: Build

The act of putting together the Lego Star Wars Death Star Trash Compactor is split into four sets of bags. Essentially, each bag focuses on one side of the model: the first bag sees you construct the floor, the second bag is the back wall, and the third and fourth bags are the left and right walls respectively.

Throughout the whole set there’s a lot of mosaic work as you lay a series of flat, smooth tiles to create the surfaces of the Trash Compactor. The flooring contains a large number of singular, 1x1 tiles, and so getting these in place is one of the most time-consuming parts of the build. The resulting structure is pleasing to the eye. However, the clear, gray, and brown bricks arranged in a randomized pattern is far more eye-catching than a solid color would be.

Image 1 of 4

Putting together the back wall is more of the same - it’s largely a series of brown, gray, and beige pieces arranged in a random mosaic pattern. The center has a cross-shaped design and some orange-colored studs to represent the heat element of the Trash Compactor.

It’s the side walls that are the most engaging part of the build in our opinion. A slot system built into the base allows both walls to slide backwards and forwards to resemble the crushing process. As for the trash within the compactor itself? Most of it is built onto the side walls, cleverly shaped so that when the walls close in, it all slots together neatly. 

There’s a great selection of random parts used to create the effect of a jumble of thrown-away components. Some of the pieces you might recognize, like an R2 droid leg, or what could easily be the head of an R5 series droid. Lego has put a lot of consideration into the placement of these random parts, which is a nice touch.

Lego Star Wars Death Star Trash Compactor Diorama: Design

It may have moving parts, but the Lego Star Wars Death Star Trash Compactor is clearly a display model. Lego’s designers have put a lot of thought into how best to recreate the scene from A New Hope, and barely a detail has been spared. The finished build really is a joy to look at.

Take the back of the model, for example. This is a part you won’t see on display unless you know it’s there, but even that is jammed full of fun details. There’s a computer panel, with enough space for C-3PO and R2-D2 minifigures to stand as they try fervently to disable the crusher. The other four minifigures - Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Chewbacca - all have specific places to stand within the model so they’re all on view whether the walls or expanded or contracted.

The most impressive part of the Death Star Trash Compactor model, however, is just how well the sides of the build fit together. The random selection of Lego pieces, perfectly giving the illusion of discarded parts, have been placed in such a way that they effortlessly slot into one another. It’s impossible to move the walls too close together - it’s built to be just-so. It also means that the Trash Compactor diorama looks fantastic on display no matter where you position the moving walls.

Should you buy Lego Star Wars Death Star Trash Compactor Diorama?

We whole-heartedly recommend the Lego Star Wars Death Star Trash Compactor Diorama. Yes, its $90/£80 price tag may seem a little high for a set of this size, but when you consider the detail packed in here - and the included six minifigures - we think it’s well worth it.

You’re getting a brilliantly engineered set with moving parts created on a level of precision you don’t see very often. For any fan of the original trilogy, this is a piece you’re going to love having on display.

Other Lego sets to consider

Any of the Lego Star Wars diorama sets make excellent purchases for adults and are up there with the best Lego Star Wars sets for fans. Not only are they fantastic display pieces, but they’re each a delight to build, too. There’s the Death Star Trench Run set that’s both reasonably-priced and surprisingly intricate, or the newer Endor Speeder Chase, recreating a scene from Return of the Jedi. 

Outside of Lego’s diorama collection, its range of  the best Star Wars helmets make for great display pieces too. There’s the wonderfully colorful Luke Skywalker (Red Five) Helmet  or the striking Clone Commander Cody helmet, for example. 

Whatever you fancy, fans will definitely want to keep an eye on our Lego Star Wars deals page, which gets updated regularly.