Lego Star Wars Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser review

The backbone of the Grand Army of the Republic's fleet is back in Lego form, this time joining the Ultimate Collector Series (UCS) alumni. Let's check out the monstrous Lego Star Wars Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser set.

At $649.99/£559.99, this is one of the more expensive Lego sets on sale at the moment. It's also one of the biggest, especially in length — it's over a meter long! Sets like the Eiffel Tower are taller, but in terms of pure shelf real estate, there isn't much bigger that you can buy right now.

The Venator was the main cruiser in the Republic fleet during the Clone Wars aka the prequel era of Star Wars. It's basically the prototype for the Star Destroyer that was introduced in the original Star Wars, but a bit less evil looking, to reflect the fact that the clones and Jedi are the "good guys."

As an Ultimate Collector Series set, the Venator is a display piece and it's not meant for kids or to be played with. Considering that it weighs nearly 10 KG when built, most kids would struggle to pick it up and play with it anyway. If you're looking for a large-scale, stunning display piece though, the Lego Star Wars Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser is one of the best Lego Star Wars sets in years.

Lego Star Wars Venator: Build

• Loooong build time
• Needs ample building space
• Varied build techniques keep you interested

The Lego Star Wars Venator is an Ultimate Collector's Series set with over 5,000 pieces, so it's fair to say that this is a serious build for experienced Lego builders. There aren't many complicated or challenging parts, but it's just an absolute marathon of a build laced with intermediate difficulty techniques.

It took me around 13 hours total in pure build time to complete the Lego Star Wars Venator, plus an hour just spent sorting pieces. That means you're going to need a dedicated space to build it on, like a dining table, that you don't mind being occupied for a week or two, depending on how quickly you try to get it done.

The first few bags contain the central frame of the ship, which ends up looking like a massive Lego pickaxe. It's incredibly sturdy due to the layers of interlocking pieces and plugs. The stand that supports the ship is actually built into the central frame. Whilst this is great for stability, it does make it near impossible to remove the ship from the stand once it's built.

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Overall, it was an enjoyable build. There's a lot of variety in the construction techniques used throughout, and it's structured well so you don't end up doing the same stuff for too long. You do end up building the mirrored top and bottom panels of the Venator in order, which might seem a little repetitive on paper, but in practice it all just breezed by.

After I'd finished the central structure, the stern was next, followed by the central tower that houses the bridge (or bridges in this case) of the starship. This dual-bridge design is one of the more iconic parts of the Venator's layout. After that, I moved on to building the underside panels and attaching the massive engine array, which uses some cool techniques to prevent the free hanging engines from sagging under their own weight.

Finally, I built out the top of the Venator, adding the top panels. Things get a bit more colorful here, as the red markings on the hull break up the otherwise largely gray build. There are a couple of stickers for some of the big details, like the beige circles on the top of the hull, but they're easy to apply thankfully (big square stickers to center on big square tiles). With the stickers done, I finished up with the recognizable red stripe that runs down the center of the ship.

Lego Star Wars Venator: Design

• BIG!!!
• Very sturdy display piece
• Gorgeous recreation of the movie ship

When it's all built, the Lego Venator is a magnificent sight to behold. I have a personal soft spot for the Venator as it's my favorite ship in all of Star Wars. There's just something about the design — I think it's the more realistic, military look that they gave it, while still making it an obvious predecessor to the iconic Star Destroyer.

The sleek form is reminiscent of a modern-day aircraft carrier, with a long, flat deck juxtaposed against the imposing command tower that rises up above it. The red paneling helps to break up what would otherwise be a boring, gray design too (an issue that other Star Wars ships like the Star Destroyer had). It all comes together into one fantastic-looking model.

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The chunky engine array sticking out of the rear of the ship looks excellent too, with some clever use of various cylindrical Lego pieces to create the massive ion thrusters. The recessed side panels that run the length of the ship are ingeniously put together too — they're long, flat panels with articulated joints built into them, that you end up fitting to the contours of the ship when you attach them.

Could the Lego set have been engineered to fit the hangar in? Maybe, but it'd undoubtedly have cost more and been less stable, so we can see why they didn't bother adding this in for what is a display set, and not a play set that benefits from moving parts. It would have been awesome though.

Measuring in at over a meter long, it's a massive model. This is both a strength and a weakness for the set. On the plus side, it's one of the most imposing and impressive looking Lego sets that you're likely to lay your eyes on, and the size means that the engineers were able to add some great details to the ship, like the turbo laser turrets on the top and the hangars on the side (complete with a tiny Republic Gunship in one of them). The downside is that its size makes it very difficult to display and store. The Venator is nearly two feet wide at its thickest point, which is going to rule out most shelves as a display location.

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One of the biggest disappointments of the ship is the lack of a working main hangar. The Venator is famous for the main hangar which sits under the red stripe and runs almost the entire length of the ship. In the Star Wars TV shows and movies, the hangar opens up by splitting down the middle and it looks spectacular. Sadly, physics gets in our way here as the central structure that supports the ship sits where that hangar would be.

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Alongside the Venator itself, you also get a couple of minifigures with this set — namely Captain Rex and Admiral Yularen. Both of these characters have been in other sets before, though these exact models are new. Alongside these, there is also a printed plaque that lists the key specs of the Venator and a printed Clone Wars 20-year anniversary brick, which is a nice touch.

The red bridge on this ship signifies it as a command ship. This explains the presence of Admiral Yularen as one of the two included minifigures — he was in command of the Resolute, which was Anakin's personal command ship during the Clone Wars. The set isn't officially called out as being the Resolute anywhere though. If you're interested, some intrepid Lego modders have already put together kits to help you switch out the red bridge for a gray one, if you'd prefer a regular Venator.

Should you buy the Lego Star Wars Venator?

The Lego Star Wars Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser is a simply stunning addition to the Lego Star Wars roster, and one of the best UCS sets to come out in quite some time. If you're a fan of the Clone Wars TV show or the prequel movies, then you're definitely going to want one of these. You will need to rustle up a hefty pile of credits to requisition one from the Kuat Drive Yards though, and you'll need an enormous landing pad for it to live on.

If you tick all those boxes though, then you should absolutely consider adding the Lego Venator to your fleet.

Other Lego Star Wars sets to consider

If you like the look of the imperial-style triangle of doom ships, but don't want to drop over $600, then you should check out the Imperial Light Cruiser. It's Moff Gideon's ship from 'The Mandalorian' and it's a wonderful set. It comes with working guns, an internal bridge area, and loads of minifigures, including Mando and Grogu.

If you are looking for a big Lego Star Wars set but want something a bit more classic, then the Lego Star Wars UCS Millennium Falcon is the obvious choice. This enormous replica of Star Wars' most iconic ship is packed full of details. You can pick it up for an eye-watering $849.99/£734.99 — no wonder Han Solo was in debt with Jabba.